Wildfires...

Before you skip this boring intro and statistics, please read thru: On October 25 of 2003 a flammable shrub called chaparral was dry, in abundance and ignited by a "hunter". Strong 40 mile-per-hour Santa Ana winds made for extremely dry conditions in and around San Diego County and Lakeside. Daytime temperatures were above 90°F and the humidity was in the single-digits. With all elements of the fire triangle present and at high levels, the Cedar Fire rapidly turned into a dangerous firestorm. Government reports support a final conclusion that nothing could have prevented major destruction after ignition. The Cedar Fire was the second largest wildfire in the history of the state of California. San Diego County's Cedar Fire burned over 280,000 acres destroying 2,232 homes and killing 14 (including one firefighter). Most of the victims were killed on the first day of the fire as they tried to escape their homes by foot and in vehicles. One hundred and four firefighters were injured. If you read thru it - you're probably wondering why I would be writing about wildfires in California. It's to make a point.... A single shrub set on fire destroyed 280,000 acres and destroyed 2,232 homes and killed 14 (including one firefighter). There is a familiar saying "Attitudes are contagious, is yours worth catching?"...I know I have not always had the most desirable attitude and it is something I struggle with. Regardless, I want you to know that one person can make a difference...one person can start a revolution....one person can start a revival....one person can start an epidemic...make your life count!

Update....

Dad's arteriogram went great! The Dr told my Mom that he did not see "enough change" to warrant any more stints at this time. He did say that based on what he was seeing he still feels like surgery will be indicated in the next five yrs.....we will just pray against that! I also got another blessing yesterday......in our search for hay! I know to some of you HAY does not seem like a big deal but with four horses, NO GRASS, and a hay shortage - it is a HUGE DEAL. So, we were supposed to go to Springville and pick up some hay but with Dad going in the hospital and last minute things to take care of for the wedding, there was no way we could get to Springville. Then I got a call that a man in Gardendale was going to be baling on Thursday. I was expecting that Chad would be able to go get it when he got home from work.....we had some bad looking clouds over the Gardendale area at lunchtime and the hay man was worried about leaving this in the field. Chad couldn't leave work at the moment and I didn't know what we would do. So, I ran by the hay field with Shelby in tow.....they were there still baling. He told me I could load on it on his utility trailer and they would help load it.....for me to just drive the truck thru the field. So, Shelby and I hopped in their old pickup and began driving thru the field. I have to say I think this is the funniest and most liberating thing I have ever done! Who would have thought I would have my four year old in some strange pick up driving thru a hay field (in our normal street clothes - clogs included) while some man is throwing and stacking hay behind us. I have always been seen as "Miss Priss" and was the pageant girl, cheerleader, etc.....this new way of life is shocking a whole lot of people - including me sometimes. Then they told me they would take it to my house for $35....can't beat that! So, I left to go pick up Jessie and Emilee (the neighbor) from school. They said they would meet me at my house. When I got back in my truck, Chad had called and was trying to meet me to get the hay. I was so proud to tell him it was on its way to our house. When I got home from the school pickup line (which I do not get to do everyday, so I am green at it), they were thru loading the hay in our workshop! Thank God for our blessings big and small, he cares about them all!

Hump Day - Part Two

Well, you know the saying "it can't get any worse".....of course you do and we all know better than to utter that phrase when a day has started out less than perfect. I didn't even have to utter that phrase for my hump day to get worse.... I left work at 3:00 to go by the hospital to check on my Dad. On the way there, my Mom called me to tell me that they were going to do another arteriogram on my Dad tomorrow (which is today). She was trying to leave the hospital for a bit to go home and get necessities as well as pick up her van which had been in the shop. I was letting her know that I was in the parking lot of the hospital. This particular hospital does not have any parking decks...so I was scanning the lot for a space and spotted one. As I approached it, a truck pulled into a parking space in front of me...which was on my passenger side. I was slowing down to pull into the one on my driver side. As I got even with that truck's bumper in the parking space, he decided to straighten up in the space and BACKED UP RIGHT INTO ME! My Mom heard all of it on the phone and came rushing down to the parking lot. We surveyed the damage which was a badly dented section on my passenger door....waited on police to come and then we were on our way. So, I am off work today since my Mom was scheduled to help with kiddo pickup today and obviously she won't be able to. Keep us in your prayers. Hope today is a better today and that Dad gets good news from his arteriogram!

Hump Day

Well here it is "hump day" and what is this hump day bringing: Last night I took Jessie to have her dress fitted for the WEDDING this weekend. While at home on the range, Norman and Chad worked on the stalls. These things are going to be tall! I said we needed the clearance in case a horse rared up....thinking back to my days with Shorty....God love him! and We are on the hunt for hay...trying to figure out how and when we can squeeze in going to get some! Fun - huh? It gets better..... So this morning at work, my Mom calls me and tells me that they are taking my Dad to the ER. FTTDNK (for those that do not know)- Dad had a heart attack the day before my late husband's funeral. Like we needed more drama? He has had several stints put in place following that "epsiode". So, he had been having some nagging neck and arm pain which escalated this morning to the point he called his dr. on his own. They said he needed to go in to the ER. After getting to the ER, they began monitoring him and told Mom they were admitting him. At the time of this writing, I am still not sure what they saw or felt to cause the admission. We will see! On to more fun things, tonight we will go see our neighbor's - the Mcinvale's. Their daughter, Angie has been home for almost two months from Honduras where she serves as a missionary and runs an orphanage Hogar Esperanza. Angie is probably a few yrs younger than me (if you don't know my age, you don't need to LOL) I am so impressed by the tenacity and fortitude it must take to walk in her shoes. Anyway, we are sending back some gifts for the kids, the orphanage and Angie. So, we are dropping those off tonight. We bought the house a new DVD player (they had one and it broke)....we have two DVD's...and a game for their gamecube system. For Angie, I purchased some Estee Lauder face powder and perfume in her favorite selections. A little birdie told me what I could get her! We are sad to see Angie go but she has work left to do in Honduras! We will be praying for God to let her know when her work there is done and she can come back home to her family and friends. Her parents have been wonderful to us since moving out there and have helped us with letting us use their land and stalls when we had a need, wonderful Christian people and family that I thank God for! So, Hump Day is not over and it has had a bump in it's hump already but I am praying they will decide Dad can go home after all. Keep us in your prayers! PLEASE KEEP THIS FAMILY IN YOUR PRAYERS - THEY ARE FACING DIFFICULT TIMES http://www.caringbridge.org/la/jakeowen/

Barn Raising

Ok - not really a barn raising but more like a stall raising began this weekend.... On Saturday- Chad, Norman (aka Paw Paw) and Steve all worked on the site for our stalls. We will have a row of three walk in stalls and then a section that will "L" off of that with two walk in stalls. The short end of the "L" will meet the back of our workshop and create a "corral type" area in the middle of those structures. They did as much as they could with marking everything off and digging the holes on Saturday. Sunday morning Jessie woke up with what appeared to be the starts of PINK EYE. I had some drops and gave her those. As the day progressed, her eye got better - thankfully! With that event, it knockeed us out of going to church so Chad took the girls to get lumber. When he came back it began to drizzle. Norman and he barely got the truck unloaded and had to get inside. So, no progress was made on our STALL RAISING! However, I did get the afternoon to myself and went and piddled at the flea market and bought a few things from Goody's to wear to the upcoming rehearsal dinner and wedding this weekend. Pray that Shelby will go down the aisle since she vehemently refused at my own wedding last year....anyone remember my Mom carrying her down the aisle and then when she got up there with us she announced to EVERYONE that she had to go POTTY! Gotta love 'em! Jessie and I have made progress on helping the families at the Ronald McDonald house. We are trying to schedule taking dinner down there and completing the volunteer interest form. We are excited about helping the kids and families!

Why can't I (fill in the blank)?

Get a phone number who the previous owners are not running from their creditors? I even asked Bellsouth when they issued our number in February, how long it had been since someone had the number. I don't know the Butler's who had my home number before us - but obviously a lot of collection agencies would like to. Even my Nextel, which I have had for almost three years, still gets calls to a Yashica so and so who must owe a lot of people. So, here's to getting a phone number that used to belong to the all-american, bill paying, God loving family that moved and gave everybody they knew their forwarding info.

Life Lessons

Well, what is day without "living and learning".....lately I find myself immersed in it. Whether it's kids, husband, horses, work or even self reflection. I also have this hope that my girls in their "living and learning" can also learn some personal lessons and form respectable values and humble character in the process. I want to give them the benefit of "things" yet try to not spoil them in the process. There is a real fine line there! This weekend we had a discussion about their Christmas "wants". After my oldest rattled on and on....she even said, "well if I get a go-cart - I can't get an American Girl doll and I just don't really know!". So, I quickly reminded both of them the REAL REASON we celebrate Christmas is - what? who? and they were immediately quiet and reflective on what they had just been saying and doing. They both said very humbly....you can get us whatever. On Sunday evening, Jessie and I were in the kitchen and I took the opportunity to bring up our "blessings" in a different way. Some of you may not agree with what I did....but that's ok....I know Jessie's nature and I knew how impactful this would be. I took her to a Caring Bridge website and showed her a beautiful little girl and her two sisters...this beautiful little girl is missing the curls and long locks she once had as she is going thru treatment for cancer or neuroblastoma. I showed her another picture of this little girl in her cheerleading outfit and I began to let Jessie scroll thru pictures and read Madison's story. Jessie's eyes began tearing up and she said "Mama can't they help her?" and I told her "they are trying". I took her to a few more sites and she was stunned. Finally, I took her to a few final ones. These were children who have "earned their angel wings" (see previous posts for more on those children). I let her look thru their sites and then told her they were in Heaven. If you don't know, Jessie's Dad and my husband passed away 3 yrs ago when she was 5. She knows all too well the finality of death and sickness....and I knew she would understand these stories and where I was headed. What I wasn't prepared for was her response....she began making a list of "goodies" she wants to sell to help the kids and families. She put down her goal was $1000.00 and she was writing intensely. She showed it to Chad and took it with her to bed. The next morning she got up and brought it upstairs with her...she took it to school and she solicited her friends. Yesterday she told me that a few of her friends are going to help and some have to ask their parents. I'm not quite sure yet what our business strategy is going to be on achieving this or executing this but we will see what we can do to help her with her goal! She has a huge heart and I knew this "check" in her life would help her put some things in perspective. So, that was a life lesson for both of us. But on a different note, my horses continue to be a huge part of my life lessons. I had such a bad experience with Shorty that it's amazing we still have horses. Seemingly overnight he just "snapped" and it was all down hill from there. But, luckily with the help of our friends we have horses that are providing us with renewed confidence. In a previous post, I told about selling Sonny. As I mentioned, it was hard but we got him to sell him and once I got to the point that I "could" part with him...I knew it was time. I don't like being vulnerable or confrontational and horse selling is not my thing. Let's just say I didn't know how much I would mean it when I wrote below that I hope I never have to sell another one! Another one of life's lessons! Be Blessed!

Where did the Weekend go?

FRIDAY: Chad left Friday morning to go practice at Logan Martin for a BFL tournament he had this weekend. I took Jessie to ball practice Friday night and we finally saw the house after practice. SATURDAY: We made the decision to not go to the barrel race in Nauvoo and go to Chad's weigh in. Before we could go, we had to make a few stops. Once down I-20 we went to the Pants Store to look at some bibs and jacket for Jessie. She wanted a Carhartt pair! We had to run in the Pants Store because we were cutting it close to get to the weigh in at Riverside Marina. While we were in there, we saw that Crocs are now making rain boots. However, we couldn't get their sizes in the colors they wanted - pink and purple. So, we left with bibs and jacket - no croc rain boots. Also, they don't make them for adults and I wanted a pair! We barely made it to the weigh in but saw Chad weigh in five fish - a little over 10 lbs. After he weighed in he was going to take his boat to the other marina he launched from and he would be gone for a while. So, we decided to go looking around in Pell City. Some of you know I graduated from there, but it has changed a lot since I lived there. It's funny to see places and sights and remember how it used to look versus now and in some cases not even remember how it used to look. While we were out, I took the girls to the house I lived in my last few years of high school. The neighborhood has kinda gone down and the house we lived in was ugly! Jessie's comment was she couldn't believe I remembered where I lived....that made me feel really old! We also stopped by Little Lambs clothing and made a few purchases. The lady there was really nice and gave me a coupon for a sale which would have been starting on Monday....so I got some cute things. Jessie got a shirt that says "Rodeo Queen" and I got Shelby and James Adam matching Bailey Boys outfits for pictures. They are chocolate brown checked with a Paint Horse on the front! Toooooo Cuuuuute! While we were there Chad called and he had made the cut for Sunday. We were excited but sad because we knew we wouldn't be there on Sunday since Jessie had a ball game. We left to go meet him to eat at Sammy's Touch and Go at the PC Airport. While there Jessie and Shelby got to see the skydivers. Jessie promptly told two guys who were eating and then going back to the hangar for more skydiving that I used to jump. I was a little embarrassed but she was about to bust to tell them. I had even made two jumps right there where we were standing. It was fun to watch them jump and brought back some fun memories. I won't deny that I think that is probably the "coolest" thing I ever did and did it close to 100 times but given where I am at in my life....I also think it's the dumbest thing I ever did. I'll stay a "whuffo" forever and be content to watch those other "cool" people do it....and hug my girls while I'm at it. We followed Chad back to the trailer he was staying at which belongs to the Sexton's. The girls went down to the pier and then inside to "check it out"....quick potty break and we were on the road back to Corner. Before we could get to Corner, we had to detour thru Trussville. We HAD to get Savanna Hill a birthday present for her party on Sunday and I had told Jeannie that we would drop some silver trays off for her to use at Ryan's rehearsal dinner. So, we went to Academy at Jessie's suggestion thinking we would get Savanna some type of Girl's Rule shirt or something!!!! We immediately spotted some pink, black and white pajama pants with horses all over them for Jessie to give and then found a chocolate John Deere shirt with Cowboy boots on them for Shelby to give. We also went to check out the rain boots. Jessie found a pair completely shaped like pointed toe western boots but they are rubber rain boots and Shelby found a pair in true Shelby style that had a kitty cat face on the toes of them. Finally, Mom found a pair that were chocolate with hot pink trim around the edges. We finished that up and ran by Ron and Jeannie's. They weren't home but we left the dishes and headed home over the back roads. We pulled in the driveway a few minutes shy of 10:00 and STILL had horses to feed. SUNDAY: I didn't want to kill myself Sunday morning or the girls (ha ha ha) trying to get to church so we hung around the house and got ready for Jessie's 1:30 game. Of course, I was still late getting ready so Jessie rode with the Tanner's. My parents got there before I did! The game went great and Jessie had a good time. Chad called after the game and he didn't have a big enough sack of fish to win but still got a check for over $400. Yeah for him! With that tourney, he finished in the top five for the points in the division. The girls and I headed to the Birthday party and they had a blast there as well. I was tired and ready to get back home...had not eaten and was ready to have something on my stomach. Got home and immediately began fixing dinner...the girls went to ride go carts. Chad got home and things began to return to normal. After they all went to bed, I mopped - cleaned up the kitchen - and did some laundry. AGAIN, I ask where did the weekend go?

Letter to the new owners of Sonny:

Below is the letter I wrote to Sonny's new family. Thank you for buying Sonny. He will be missed. I have learned so much this past year in having the horses. I am thankful for every minute I have had with everyone of them…even my crazy horse that I traded for Sonny. I am so thankful that Sonny has shown me the “childlike” side of a horse that wants attention, loves to be groomed and won’t stay out from underneath you like a toddler. He has brought a renewed confidence to me and my family. I am “selling my husband’s dog” as we have referred to it…..hopefully we can get an actual dog and not something that is a horse masquerading as a “dog”. I hope you and your family enjoy Sonny and learn things you might not yet have learned or see a different side to horses because of your experience with him. I hope all your experiences with horses are positive but even if they aren’t, and they probably won’t be all positive, I hope you will see those as I have – as learning experiences and grow thru them. I hope Hayden’s confidence increases daily and her love for horses is immeasurable. I’ve been told there’s something special between a girl and her horse. I’m not a “young girl” anymore but I remember my first horse like it was yesterday and that love for horses has never faded. I see the same twinkle in both my daughter’s eyes and am so glad we have this opportunity. I never intended to be writing up a bill of sale or seeing a horse leave my property to go to someone else. I know he will have a good home and I am hopeful that I won’t be doing this again. They become a part of your life and routine, even in a short while. So, tomorrow morning when I fill four buckets instead of five – I know there will be an empty place, but am glad to know I helped fill a place in someone else’s life. Happy Trails and Clean Stalls to you all!

Photos of Sparkle

We got Sonny and Sparkle together in the trade for Shorty (see previous posts). When they came, we drew names out of a hat to choose Sparkle's name. Since they came to us as a "pair", I would sometimes refer to them as Sparkle and Shine or Sonny and Cher. Now there's just her and our cornerstone horses! She is a 12 yr old grade mare with the cutest white star spots on her body. She is a great horse and I really don't want to sell her. We showed her in Costume Leadline and won first place (see pictures)! Jess showed her in Walk-Trot and took home 4th place! They did great considering it was Jessie's first time in the arena and probably Sparkle's first time too.

My FAQ's

Many websites will have a FAQ section, so you can easily find the answer to the questions they have obviously been asked one million other times. Almost seems lame if it's been asked that many times why is the answer not more obvious? Maybe we secretly need those FAQ sections to confirm we aren't so different after all..... and that there is some common thread of thinking between me and the other end user of the site who by all appearances is my total opposite. Anyway, as the mother of two small girls I feel like I am their walking FAQ at times. They drill me on things that I am supposed to have the answers to and should be able to spout them out in record time....if not answered in their timing, they will ask me again and again, 'til I feel like the Calgon commercial posterchild. Well, I have my own FAQ's and doubt someone will have the answers to these. If you do, you may just win the Nobel Prize! 1) How do you explain a full term 11 day old baby dying from a heart defect? In Memory of Owen Bryant Nelson: http://obits.al.com/birmingham/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?PersonId=19161408&PageNo=1 2) How do those parents ever get over that? 3) How do I explain to Shelby that her Daddy, she never really knew, is really ok now and that he is not bleeding inside his head anymore? 4) How do you dry the tears of children when their Granny's baby kitty dies? 5) How do I let my child ride a horse again after reading this story? http://www.barrelhorseworld.com/contribute/topstories/brianna/brianna.asp 6) How did that Mom ever write that story? 7) How do the parents blogging on CaringBridge.org go thru each day? My heart aches for the families of Bailey Warr, Cassidy Tierce. When I saw Bailey Warr's pictures and read her story - I thought how she could be any of Jessie's friends, then the hemorrhage on the brain stem was too close to home. One look at Cassidy Tierce picture and I was struck at how much she looked like Shelby. My heart aches equally for the parents going thru treatments daily with their children...God give them strength. www.caringbridge.org/visit/godsjourneywithbailey http://www.caringbridge.org/al/cassidytierce/ 8) Why do these things happen to these families and not the atheist down the street? I think I know the answer to that one.....the Atheist down the street wouldn't be able to stand on God's word during such a time of adversity and share their testimony with others. Do I get a Nobel? Probably not - I mean I can't even win the war with my husband over loading and unloading the dishwasher on his own. 9) What is the deal with parents when it comes to their kids competing? I think I'm going to come up with a Ball Park Parent's Prayer, a Saddle Club Parent's Prayer, a Dancer's Parent's Prayer etc and post it all the events. 10) And for my last FAQ of the day...yes there will be more, who invented the word MERGER?

Sellin' Horses.....

Well, the two people that e-mailed about Sonny were very interested. Really strange how he has been listed for a while and no bites and then in one evening I had two e-mails about him. I know everything happens for a reason and in God's perfect timing....we had just gotten to the point that we knew we needed to sell the "spare horses" and we really felt ok with it. If someone would ride Sonny regularly then it would be different but since he's not being ridden regularly he really needs to be sold. I am less inclined to sell Sparkle because she is small and older. I'd like to have her for other kids to ride and for costume leadline. But I know we got both of them to sell, so if the right buyer came along for her, I would have to consider it now as well. So, one of the interested parties was a family and they wanted to come down as soon as possible to look at him. They came down Sunday evening and then called once they got home to say they wanted him. They thought they wouldn't be able to get him until Wednesday. Then on Monday afternoon, they called and said they could come that evening. So, I rushed home to get everything pulled together - Coggins, Shots, Bill of Sale and my parting note to the family and Sonny. I will post the note later..... I cried at work knowing they were coming and cried when I called my Mom to tell her. Once home I was busy and couldn't think about it. When they loaded him up my girls were boo-hoo'ing and then I started. Chad thinks we are all nuts! The mom that bought him said she couldn't watch us cry. I told her about the note and told her my husband thinks I am a real dork. She said she writes letters about lots of things and I think she will appreciate what I wrote. Turns out her husband used to work with Paw Paw Waid's company and knows Paw Paw. She is a nurse in the Neuro ICU in Huntsville....so I told her my experience in the NICU. They have a 7 yr old daughter and they are all so excited to have a horse. It is not their first experience with horses...Mom and Dad used to have horses, Dad used to train - break horses and the daughter is in lessons. I know Sonny is going to a great home and I am glad I was a part of making that happen for them. It is hard to not get attached! I have now sold a part of "Shorty" and that was hard too. But, Shorty is still doing well at Cathy's.

Lesson Day

Jessie had a friend come over this weekend and we had lessons. Her friend, Kara, rode with us to lessons in Haleyville. Lessons went good. Jessie told me before we left that she wanted to ride Jack...Ms Cathy's horse. She started out timid and then loosened up. They had a good ride. On the way home we stopped by the livestock auction where a man was selling tack. Browsed thru his stuff and then stopped at Cowboy Way in Jasper. Got Shelby some new boots and headed home. After getting home, the neighbor and a friend of hers came over so I had five girls at the house! Whew! I rode Sonny that night - because I had two e-mails from people inquiring about him. He rode just as good as the last time I rode him....really better since I had an O-ring snaffle on him this time! So, I responded to all the e-mails and waited to hear back from them. Chad fished a tournament in Demopolis and got in after 6:00...no payout from this trip!

Horses on the Loose - PART TWO !!!!!

So, in the past week our horses have now gotten out twice. The last time was the straw that broke the camels back. Went out to feed them as part of our normal morning routine and it was eerily quiet. Goldie was the only one to be seen and that was because she was in the round pen with her hurt hoof (thanks to yet another roofing nail!) We milled around doing our normal gathering of buckets and such and still no horses. I caught a quick glimpse of the gate and noticed the "perfectly fine chain" that has to be wrappped two or three times hanging down the gate. My horror of all horrors was unfolding before my eyes and with my 8 yr old standing there. I screamed "they're gone"! She was screaming - crying and neither one of us could think straight. I got my wits about me and went into action. Grabbed 4 lead ropes, 4 halters, two buckets of feed and headed to the house. Went in and told Chad "the horses were gone". He got up - we both knew he was the last one to open / close the gate and knew where the blame lay this time. But blame or no blame we had to find our babies. I went to our dead end and no sign of them. I was even looking for horse poop! But figured they wouldn't be walking on the road and that they would be in the grass, eating grass and all of it they could! Heaven's, if they had been out all night they would be about to explode by now. I went to the other end of the road and went to the right. I felt strongly my husband headed to the McInvale's to see if the horses were there...since two of ours that were out were very familiar with there place. So, I headed the opposite direction knowing there were several fields that they could be grazing. As I passed the first field, I was disappointed to not find them in there. Immediately after that field, there is a house and then a trailer. As I passed the house and came even with the trailer's driveway - I saw my black and white spotted horse. I pulled into the driveway and said "Hannah"! She raised her head at the sound of my voice and then I saw a man standing with her. He said "you missing some horses"....I said "yes sir - FOUR of them, you got FOUR"...he hollered back "Yep, got four!" I was never so relieved in all my life. Thank goodness for herdbound horses sometimes! As I approached the driveway, with two halters, ropes, and a bucket of feed, I was met by my babies. I got Blackie haltered quickly and tied him to a tree. Then tried Sonny - the big puppy dog! Got him in a halter and the man tied him to the back porch. So, I took the feed and lured Hannah and Sparkle back to the back yard to keep them out of the driveway. Tried to call my husband and he had not turned his cell phone on - found out later he thought he had but it never powered up. Chad came down the road shortly and saw my truck. He came back with lead ropes and halters in hand to get the other two tied up. Then he left to go get the horse trailer. He came back with the horse trailer and loaded all up but Blackie and then made another trip to get Blackie. Needless to say, I bought a NEW CHAIN and latch that day as part of my errands and hopefully this will not happen again. Our neighbor had poop in his yard and the neighbor down the road with a garden paid us a visit because they visited his garden. Luckily they didn't do too much damage or else I would have been paying for his lost profits from his collard greens.

Horses on the Loose!

On Tuesday, the day following Labor Day, Chad was taking the girls to school and the neighbor (Emily) told Chad that two of our horses got out while we were gone to Sipsey. Luckily she was in the driveway playing and ran in to get her Dad before they got too far. So, her dad - aka Tanner - came over and did his best at horse rustling. The two that were out were Blackie, Shelby's pony, and Hannah - my horse. Tanner said that Blackie went back into the fence with ease. But Hannah didn't want to go back in so easily...think she even raised her leg to kick at him! I had soaked Goldie's hoof that morning so I know I probably didn't have the chain secured. I told Chad I wanted us to get something less cumbersome and he chided me telling me there was nothing wrong with that chain. Sure, there's nothing wrong with trying to hold a lead rope, open a gate, lead it out, close the gate, hold the lead rope with horse and wrap a looooooong chain two or three times then clip it to itself. Sounds perfectly fine doesn't it?

Labor Day Weekend

Chad wanted to get the Alabama game on pay-per-view so we lined everything up to have family and friends over on Saturday evening to watch the game. Before that could happen, we had to straighten up and Chad had to go get hay. We did not know until Friday night that we were going to be getting it from the hay field. So, he had his first experience with loading it from the field and he was ALONE. I would have never had him do that by himself under different circumstances but I had to go to the store to get our food for the evening. When I got home he was home with the hay and he said he would not be unloading it until family was there and could help. He said it was tough and that he continues to show how green we are to all of this....when he was loading it into the trailer he borrowed, Mr Fuqua told him that stacking pattern would never work...so he helped him reconfigure it and Chad resumed loading. One day we will have all of this down to a science! Family began arriving shortly and the house began to fill with the buzz of the girls running in and out to see Granny and Nanny and the men going out back to talk about the things men talk about outside! We had Nanny, Paw Paw, Granny, Pops, Ryan, Sandi, NeNe and Big Ron all gathered round the tv's eating burgers, dogs, dips and sweets to cheer Bama on to a victory over the wooly booly hairy Hawaiians. (Did you see those guys? They were scary?) The men got the hay unloaded and heard a few complaints about how itchy the hay was. Itchy hay in my shirts, shorts and even my unmentionables just seems normal these days to me. Although I can use every minute I have in the mornings to get me and the girls dressed.....I am truly cherishing the moments we have out there in the mornings feeding the horses and putting out hay. I can see the pictures in my mind throughout the day of Jessie in her PJ's or a Barbie gown and her tennis shoes, shoving hay into the wagon or her walking up to turn on the water. Then there's Shelby who inevitably comes out after us and runs off the back porch hollering "I wanna help"....and "I'll feed Blackie". I see her with her wavy hair falling into her face as she picks up the biggest handful of hay she can. She will walk a little handful of hay over to Blackie and puts it down next to him - talking to him in that cute little voice...say "Hey Baby - that's my boy". Jessie will go out and put some hay in the round pen for Sonny and open the round pen gate back up and then she sees to it that Sparkle and Goldie get their share of hay. The next sight I see is Jessie trying to interven between Sparkle and Goldie and it is always a sight as she stomps her foot and get so mad but she can't do anything about it. I laugh and think how things have changed from one year ago! Ok - so back to the game night....Jessie had a meltdown when Nanny and Paw Paw were leaving because she has really been missing them. She had decided she wanted to try Fall Ball with Emily but realizing that practice on Friday evenings would keep her from spending the night with Nanny made her fall apart. It was awful seeing her cry like that and be so torn. I know she misses them more than she can express and I can't seem to get that thru to anyone. On Sunday, we played hookie from church and went to the river for a boat ride and caught a few fish. We had a good time and stayed 'till dark. Then for Labor Day, we rode to Sipsey which is near Northport to watch a barrel race. It was a great time...got to see Cathy ride and it was action packed. I know Chad probably can't imagine why I would enjoy watching perfect strangers run a horse around three cans!

One Year Anniversary

On Aug 27, Chad and I celebrated our one year anniversary. We are going to celebrate it officially when it is cooler weather by going deep sea fishing. So, for this day we went to church at Gardendale First Baptist and Chad liked it - he really liked it. Yeah! While at church, we saw old friends and saw baby dedication. During that time, we got to see Bet Bet and Jordan's baby Jonah be dedicated and Philip and Rachel Hatcher's little girl. I didn't get to see Philip and Rachel but Jordan ended up sitting in the balcony right by us. I got to hold sweet baby Jonah and he is adorable. It is so hard to believe they are parents. But as good as Bet Bet and Jordan were with my girls - I know they are unbelievable parents. After church, we grabbed a burger and took the girls to my parents for them to keep while we had some time together that afternoon. Sandi had a tea that afternoon in Trussville so Chad took me to it and dropped me off. Sandi is marrying Chad's brother on 9/30. Then Chad picked me up and we headed back to Hoover to find someplace to eat. We milled around in Dick's Sporting goods before heading over to the Cajun Steamer to eat. The food and service were great. We were going to go see a movie but they had all just started and we needed to get the girls home and get ready for school on Monday. Happy Anniversay to us!

August End

On Saturday the 26th, we attended a little fun gathering at Colt 45 arena. Well, it was supposed to be fun anyway. We took Sparkle and Hannah. We took Sparkle for Jessie because Goldie was missing a shoe and still recovering from a nail in her hoof. The grounds were pretty empty so we let Jessie make a lap outside the arena on Sparkle. On the far side of the arena from where we were, Sparkle trotted off with Jessie and she began to panic. She was 50 yds away before she stopped her and we were headed that way and hollering to her at the top of our lungs. So, this little scene led to us putting her in the arena and it happened again. By this time Jessie was a wreck and so was I. So, I went in to walk her around and we did that for a few minutes. Then when I left, Jessie tried to take her around and she balked at something....Sparkle's balking panicked Jessie again. Every panic attack drew more attention from others there and more advice, opinions, etc. By this time I was sick of it all and just wanted to load up and go home. So, I told them to take her off....I just didn't feel she was thinking clearly and I felt her safety was an issue at this point. Then, I said I wanted to go.....and I said it loudly. I know everyone thinks I was mad about the whole scene but I was just a wreck and wanted to go. What was supposed to be fun turned into DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA. Chad coaxed me into saddling Hannah and I rode her for a little bit. A friend's teenager son, Matt, was ribbing me about taking her around the barrels. I told him I wouldn't but he could. He really couldn't because she was long-toed but I told him to ride her. He kept asking me what was wrong with her, was she spooky, etc. I kept laughing him telling him NO, NO and NO and assuring him I had gotten rid of the crazy one. He rode her and had fun on her as do I every time I ride her. Glad Chad talked me into riding her and calming down. Funny how Hannah helps me calm down and Shorty did just the opposite!

Another Child Needs Your Prayers

Owen Nelson was born this week in Birmingham to Steve and Amy Nelson. He was born with a heart abnormality. I am told Owen’s defect is called Hypo Plastic Left Heart Syndrome; basically the left side of his heart did not form completely. Rather than two valves, he has only the valve on the right side. The surgery will entail using artificial parts to re-route the blood through the left side of his heart. He was scheduled for surgery this morning at UAB at 7:30. The surgery may take 6 hours. The Dr and family are Christians. I pray they will rely on their faith to guide them all thru this. Please keep this family in your prayers.