Another story for those just learning to read ...

(Warning. Rated PG for some suspense.)

I rode my horse today.
His name is Gallant.
I brushed his soft coat of fur.
I brushed his mane and tail.
He is a very handsome horse.
I put his bridle on.
I put his saddle on.
We did a few practice drills.
Gallant moved each of feet right when I told him to!
He behaved so well when I was not riding him!
Mostly.
I tied a rope onto his saddle horn.
Then I asked him to trot around in a circle.
He did one circle.
But then ...
... he ran away and pulled the rope out of my hands.
He ran over to the other horses.
I was angry.
I took a deep breath.
I went over to him and brought him back.
I took the rope off of his saddle horn.
I got on Gallant.
He did a good job walking.
He wanted to run.
I wanted him to walk.
When he tried to run, I made him turn around in circles.
He did not like that.
He jumped around a little bit.
But I stayed on.
He did better at walking after that.
I asked him to trot.
He did trot, but he still wanted to run.
When he tried to run, I made him turn circles again.
Again, he did not like that.
He jumped around a little bit more.
But I stayed on.
He did better at trotting after that.
I asked him to run slowly.
He wanted to run very quickly.
I tried to make him turn around in circles again.
But he did not.
He ran, and Ran, and RAN!
I was pulling on the reins very hard.
He ran under a very low branch.
I ducked, but it hit my head.
He ran under another very low branch.
I ducked again, but it hit my head, too.
He ran straight for the fence!
He is a very fast horse!
I was afraid!
I didn't know what to do!
He was running and jumping.
And then Gallant stopped very quickly.
I fell off right before we got to the fence.
I rolled on the ground two times.
And then my back hit the fence post.
I was angry again.
But I was not hurt badly.
I took Gallant back to the round pen.
I tied him up and let him calm down.
He calmed down for two hours.
While he was calming down, I rode another horse.
His name is Blaze.
Blaze is Gallant's boss.
Blaze and I rode down the road a long way.
Blaze walked when I asked him to walk.
He trotted when I asked him to trot.
He ran when I asked him to run.
But best of all, Blaze slowed down when I asked him to slow down.
I liked riding Blaze a lot.
When we got back, I brushed Blaze.
I told him that he did a very good job.
Then I took his tack off and turned him loose in the pasture.
I untied Gallant and took his tack off, too.
Then I turned him loose in the pasture.
Does anyone want to buy a horse?

Quiet waters vs. Living waters

I'm doing the Beth Moore study, "Beloved Disciple," about John. Granted, she can be a bit over the top at times and sometimes she makes a whole lot out of nothing. But she forces me to think and helps me thirst for answers and feel the need to drink in the scriptures for relief.

I got excited today thinking about her comparison of Psalm 23:2 ( ... he leads me beside quiet waters ...) with Revelation 7:17 ( ... he will lead them to springs of living water.). The imagery of the Shepherd is the same; leading his sheep, feeding them, protecting them, supplying their every need.

But I'm fascinated with the kind of water to which we are led: quiet waters vs. living waters. Now, Jesus is the Good Shepherd yesterday, today and forever. Why the different kinds of water? Aren't the sheep afraid of lively waters? The difference, I think, is this: Our Shepherd will only lead us to places we can handle. On this earth, we're going to need some quiet waters from which to drink. But hang on, because Heaven is a whole different story! It is alive! We'll get the good stuff there that we can't handle here!

One of Beth's points was that we tend to think that everyone will look alike and everything will be white, and everything will be completely and utterly monotonous. Why leave a life of excitement to go there? No, I think we're in for the ride of our lives. The way she puts it is that on earth, it's like riding the Teacups. But when we reach Heaven, it will be like going from the Teacups to the Rockin' Roller Coaster!

I'm so thankful that our Good Shepherd gives us exactly what we need, and that his timing is perfect! I can't wait to see with my own eyes what he has in store for us!

P. S. I love that Beth is from Arkansas. Her hilarious accent is impossible to camouflage no matter how hard she tries. It catapults me back to my growing up years in Searcy!

Update on ZOE Conference

We have always loved the ZOE Conerence in Nashville, TN. This year was no exception! We heard from Randy Harris, Brian McLaren, Mike Cope and Dean Barham as well as other class presenters. They each did an outstanding job. It was Mom's first time to go, so it was fun to share all of that with her! We (Mom, John and I) stayed with my cousin, Elizabeth. It was so good to see her and her family! Thanks, Elizabeth, for letting us crash! We also met up with Pat and Deborah and their boys as well as Matt, a good friend from high school, for lunch one day.

We drove back to Searcy on Saturday night full to "overflowing," as that was the theme for this year. I think we can make it until next year now!

Here are the pictures I promised from our day at the farm and from Kalleigh's b-day lunch:


Okay, not from the farm or the party, but I had to snap this one of Johnathan and Uncle Kreg in their matching shirts!


Digging into her yummy cake!


Mamaw, the mastermind behind the Tinker Toys creation!


Kalleigh's cake that Mamaw made.


And my personal favorite of all the pictures I took that day!

There are several more pictures on Facebook, but these are the highlights.

While we were at the conference, John's mom kept the kids. I wasn't ready for how much I would miss them! I wasn't worried about how they would do with Momo, or how they would do without us. I just really missed them! Martha said they did just fine, as I expected they would. I am so thankful to her for keeping them! What a blessing!

So, we got home to Tyler Sunday evening. On the way, we had a tire blowout, so that was far from fun. But it couldn't have happened at a better place. We were just on the south side of Little Rock and in the right-hand lane when it happened. It was the back left tire that popped, so since we have front-wheel steering, it didn't throw the van out of control. We were able to exit immediately where there was an empty lot where we put the spare tire on. I called Mom and she looked up the closest Wal-Mart. It just happened to be the next exit. It just happened that the automotive service center was open - on Sunday after 4pm. It just happened that ours was the last job they were taking for the day. It just happened that the tire was actually repairable and we did not have to buy a new tire. Amazing! The whole ordeal set us back about three hours. Thankfully, we weren't rushing back for anything except bedtime! The kids made the most of the pit stop:


The Flat.


The Feast (okay, it was popcorn).


The Fun - Look Out, Little Rock!

So much to say ... so little motivation ... I'll play the tag game instead!

I hadn't seen this one before. It's a Husband Tag! We all like to brag on our husbands, so here goes!

1. Who is your man? John
2. How long have you been together? 9 1/2 yrs
3. How long did you date? 2 1/2 yrs, although 2 yrs of that was long-distance!
4. How old is your man? just turned 33
5. Who eats more? Depends on what we're having. Chicken? John. Donuts? Me.
6. Who said "I love you" first? I did
7. Who is taller? John, by 4 inches
8. Who sings better? Like Harry Connick Jr? John. 40's style lounge singer? Me. Country? We can bring the house down together!
9. Who is smarter? Book smart? John. Common sense? Me.
10. Whose temper is worse? Mine
11. Who does the laundry? I do
12. Who takes out the garbage? John
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? John
14. Who pays the bills? John
15. Who is better with the computer? John
16. Who mows the lawn? Both; we take turns edging and mowing
17. Who cooks dinner? I do
18. Who drives when you are together? I do
19. Who pays when you go out? John
20. Who is most stubborn? Hmmm ... probably I am, but John might say otherwise!
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? John
22. Whose parents do you see the most? Mine
23. Who kissed who first? I kissed him
24. Who asked who out? He asked me out
25. Who proposed? John
26. Who is more sensitive? John, unless I'm pregnant ... then it's me. And, no I'm not.
27. Who has more friends? I do
28. Who has more siblings? John -- he's the youngest of 6
29. Who wears the pants in the family? We try to share them mostly. It's pretty tricky, but gets a lot of laughs!

I'll tag my cousins and my sister. Brag away!

Lectureship & Beyond

First off, thanks to those of you who have been praying for John in his part of Harding Lectureship. He taught three classes on Monday (his birthday!) on worship, and they were full and there was some good meaningful discussion! This evening he co-presents the keynote with Bruce McLarty as they lead everyone in a meaningful praise experience. Keep the prayers coming!

Jan Jones's celebration ceremony was just amazing. It was in the Admin building on Harding's campus, and it was PACKED, upstairs and down. Quite a tribute to her. Thanks to John for handling Kalleigh on his own at church Sunday morning, and to Dad for picking up Johnathan and me early that morning so that we could go.

I so missed being with my Ladies' Bible Class group on Tuesday! Thanks to an excellent back-up leader who filled my role, I knew you were in good hands!

As I eluded to earlier, John's birthday was Monday, and then Kalleigh's was yesterday! The kids and I spent most of the day yesterday out at the farm with Mamaw and Papaw. Papaw is doing just about as well as can be expected. Several of you have asked about him recently. I think the last time I gave an update, he had just had his first round of chemo and felt okay after it. He has now had at least 4 treatments, and from what the doctors can tell, the chemo is doing its job. Papaw can eat whatever he wants now--we didn't know if he would ever be able to be off the tube feeding again! He can get around pretty well now. In fact, yesterday, he saw a dead limb on the tree in front of the porch and was able to go get his saw and saw it right off! That's hard work for anyone! All of the surgery wounds on his abdomen are healed. We are all SO GRATEFUL.

Also while we were there, Mamaw made Kalleigh's first birthday cake! It was beautiful, of course, and I did take a picture of it, but you'll have to wait until I get home to post pictures from our trip, for I have forgotten my camera cord.

We've eated with Kreg and Keleigh a couple of times. Today for lunch, we met John's mother, Martha, and brother and sister-in-law, Joe and Laura, their son, Jake, and Kreg and Keleigh to celebrate Kalleigh's and John's birthdays. Later we'll meet up with Mom and maybe Mamaw and Papaw at Mazzio's.

Mom's been in Chicago on a recruiting trip this whole time we've been here, so I'm looking forward to seeing her in about an hour and a half!

Then tomorrow we head to the ZOE Conference in Nashville! I can't wait! The kids are staying with Martha--thank you so much!--and Mom's going with us. This will be Mom's first time to go to the ZC, and I just know she's going to love it! Plus we're staying with my cousin, Elizabeth, so that will be fun, too.

I'm sure I'll have a full report from tonight and after the ZC. So, until then, I miss you, friends, at home and look forward to being with you again!

A Hard Day

When you lose someone, you start reflecting on your own life and your relationships. I've been doing a lot of reflecting today.

John's aunt, Martha's sister, died this morning. She was older and it was not unexpected. But it has caused me to think of my own sister and how much I love and appreciate her, even in all of our many differences! I can't imagine losing Kristi, and so I feel for my mother-in-law. To make it more difficult for her, she is the Harding Lectureship Coordinator ... and Lectureship begins Sunday. Please pray for her and the decisions she will be making over the next couple of days.

Jan Jones also went on to be with our Maker early this morning. My heart breaks for Craig, Rees and Elaine. Jan fought a six month battle with pancreatic cancer before it was finished. One of my great joys is playing the piano at home to relax and relieve stress. I wouldn't be able to play at all if it weren't for the three years I spent as Jan's student! Then, she accompanied me for a couple of different auditions, and was always so complimentary and encouraging! And we had fun "cutting up" during Spring Sing rehearsals as she worked with the hosts and hostesses. It's so hard to believe that she's gone. I can only imagine the applause of heaven as Jan finished her grand concert before God!

Buddies

Kalleigh and Abigail were born two weeks apart. Abigail's mommy and I shared the joys and pains of carrying our little girls and grew to be close friends through it! I am thankful to have such good Christian friends as these!

Plus it's just really fun to watch the girls play together ...


Abigail is so much taller than Kalleigh (big surprise)!


Soft hands ...


Sharing a book.


Best buddies!

We have a walker

She's definitely walking. Kalleigh has been standing up from the ground on her own (not just pulling up) since 9 months. She has been taking a few steps at a time for maybe a month now. But it's finally starting to click that this could be a more efficient mode of transportation. She is realizing that she can carry things around in her hands (rather than her mouth!) when she walks. And she's doing it more and more without encouragement.

This is early for us. Johnathan didn't walk until 14 months, and it was even after that that he learned to stand up from the ground on his own.

I think she's definitely trying to keep up with Johnathan!

I don't have video proof of the walking yet, but here's a picture of Kalleigh on the day she learned to stand (about 2 months ago):


Did you see that, Mommy?

She is up to 6 teeth; all four in the front and the ones just to her left on the top and bottom. She's a little lop-sided right now!

Tomorrow I'm watching our friend's little girl who is two weeks younger than Kalleigh. I should have some good pictures from that play day!

Story for those just beginning to read ...

That's about where I am mentally today!

I rode my horse today.
His name is Gallant.
I put his saddle on.
I put his bridle on.
I took him into the round pen.
Gallant worked on obeying me.
He kicked high in the air when I was not on him.
He was like a bucking bronco!
Then he calmed down.
I was a little afraid to ride him after that.
But I did.
We walked by the side of the road.
Gallant was afraid to go across the bridge.
I got off and led him across the bridge.
I got back on him.
He was afraid of the cars.
He was afraid of the cows.
He was afraid of many things.
I was afraid, a little.
But he never kicked high in the air when I was on him.
Gallant wanted to trot.
I wanted him to walk.
We walked ... most of the time.
We rode back to the barn.
We were both safe.
I love my horse.
I think he loves me, too.

The end.

The Tagging Game

I've been tagged...here's the rules:

1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.

2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

3. People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules

4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.

5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.


Eight Random Facts About Me

1. I once got sun poinsoning so badly that it made my forehead swell up like a Klingon.

2. I am a huge procrastinator.

3. I have had two surgeries on my left upper eyelid to raise it to the same level as my right upper eyelid. It helped, but they're still not the same.

4. I have always had a problem with popping pimples. I could spend a long time searching every millimeter of my face for anything remotely possible to extract and then work incredibly hard to extract said thing.

5. I am ambitious and independent, but no good at follow-through ... until the last minute, of course.

6. I don't like my knees to be touched.

7. In high school I pierced the second hole in my left ear by myself. The ear lobe on the right has never had a second hole.

8. I love the smell of horses. Even their poop smells good to me.

Okay, that's it! I'll tag Amanda, Kisti, Kristi and Britney. I know that's only four. I'll think about the other four later. ;)

Sometimes there are just more photo opportunities

Suddenly, it seems, my children are doing more interesting things of which to take pictures. Here are a few and the stories that go with them.

Kalleigh loves to look at her baby book. Aren't children good for our egos?! We usually look at them together, and we'll point at her pictures and say, "Kalleigh," as well as whomever else is in them. One morning, I was in the kitchen and heard my little girl say what sounded like, "Kie," in that same down and then up voice inflection as when we say, "Kalleigh." She said it over and over, and knowing her baby book was not where she could reach it, I went to see what she was talking (literally) about. She had found a box containing baby gear that had a picture of a baby on the outside. She was pointing at the baby and saying, "Kie!" Makes sense. Every other picture of a baby is of her, right?!

This morning, before school, we got out Johnathan's baby book. Kalleigh pointed at a baby Johnathan picture and said, of course, "Kie." Johnathan was quick to correct her. :)

My boy can sleep anywhere. This picture was taken at 6:45 last night. We had just gotten home after being out all day, and he had missed his nap. After I took the picture, I proceeded to remove all of his clothes and put a Pull-Up on him. He did not wake up until 7:15 this morning. Bless his heart!

And you thought he fell asleep saying his prayers ...

As I alluded to this morning, this was Johnathan's first day of school. He's in Ms. Melissa's class every MW&F morning. But somehow in the last year, he went from being a baby to being a little boy! (Seems like I posted a first and last day in May, so you're seeing this 2-yr-old picture for the third time.) Check out that tan!

Pictures please

Here are the only pictures I have taken in the month of August. We seem to have been so busy doing so little! Plus I never seem to have my camera when we need it. Like Kalleigh's first trip to the zoo. Or second. Or third. Oops. Johnathan jumping off the diving board for the first time(s). Rats.

So, like I said, these are the pictures I have taken. Hooray!


Johnathan's most commonly used phrase at this stage is "all by myself," and I've been trying to encourage him in that when it's appropriate. So here's what he picked out to wear to dinner a couple of nights ago. And he put it on "all by himself!"


The "back" view.


This is Johnathan's swim suit. He LOVES it.


Showing off "his" muscles.


Kalleigh's little swim outfit.


The front view. The tongue is always out these days feeling the new teeth coming in on top. She has her bottom front two and the top left and the one to its left all mostly in. The other top front one is just about to break through.


She's taking up to four steps now! But I had to snap this one for the tan lines she's developed this summer. I use 50 spf!

Fruity flop

Not entirely a flop; just not what I had planned.

I buy fruit to have something healthy to eat. My kids love all kinds of fruit, so it's not like I have to struggle with picky eaters.

So, I bought all this fruit about a week ago: grapes, peaches, clementine oranges, strawberries. We did well and ate all the grapes and clementines before they went bad. But then there were the strawberries and peaches. I just kept fogetting to get them out.

So what do you do when you have a lot of fruit that needs to be used all at once? You make desserts! A strawberry pie and a peach cobbler later, I look back at my good, healthy intentions and chuckle a little.

I'll do better next time. :)

Boy, they were good!

One of those mornings ...

This morning was just one of those mornings. Crazy things that usually happen very rarely all happened at once.

First, I had gained 2 pounds. Nice.

Then, as I was getting a glass out of the counter, I bumped it on another glass and chipped that one. The glass shot out and landed in my hair and went down the front of my shirt. Thankfully, John was there to keep the children out, so there were no cut feet.

Yesterday I had made some really yummy mango bread -- recipe from Kristi--so I wanted to toast a few slices for breakfast. While the yummy bread was in the oven, Kalleigh started throwing a fit, so I tried several different things to calm her down. And then I smelled that horrible burning smell. Totally black. Ruined. I resorted to putting the next piece in the microwave.

I needed to feel better, so I put on some fun clothes with my favorite black beaded necklace and went to get Kalleigh dressed. As I sat Kalleigh down to put her outfit on, she grabbed my favorite black beaded necklace and ripped it right off. Of course it broke in the back, allowing all of the beads to roll down the back of my shirt, down inside my jeans and some even made it all the way into the underwear. Nice. The beads that didn't get caught in the underwear were all over the carpet, and Kalleigh started going after those. "JOHN!!!" Thankfully, he was still home and came running to get Kalleigh as I tracked beads across the house to take off the string that was once my necklace and to get the vacuum.

Ugh! And what time of the month is it? I bet you can guess. :)

"We'll all look back on this and laugh," right? Let's hope so! It was close to comical even this morning.

7 Years

To the man of my dreams,

I thank God for you ... for your patience with me ... for your leadership in our church family and in our own family ... for the way you dream big ... for your tenderness with our children ... for your example to them and to me ... for your faithfulness. Thank you for loving me! I love you, John!

One year

Blogging for one full year. Crazy. Honestly, I didn't think I'd make it this long! It's been such a fun way to keep in touch with so many of you. Thank you, readers, for your sweet comments along the way.

---------------

John's and my newest obsession is with this group:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=o5udB-ZLCZg

We want to be just like them.

Talkin' to God

We were about to say our prayers as I was putting to Johnathan to bed last night. Now, we've been having an interesting issue recently with Johnathan not wanting to "talk to God." He'd say, "I don't want to talk," or "Not tonight, Mommy." What am I supposed to do with that? This is not another chore like putting toys away. It's an honor to be able to talk to God! Johnathan doesn't seem to understand that right now.

Anyway, he says, "You say the prayer, Mommy." I said, "Okay, how 'bout I say one and then you say one." Okay, he agreed to that. So I said a little prayer and something about "thank you for the blessings you give us like our family, our friends," etc. And I finish up, "... Amen. Okay, your turn." So he starts, and the rest of the dialogue goes something like this:

J: "Dear God ........ and Mommy and Daddy an-"

K: "Don't forget the 'thank you' part."

J: "Fanku for Mommy and Daddy ... and the blessings"

pause

J: "I don't want to say 'the blessings.'"

K: "That's okay; you can say your own words."

J: "Fanku for Gallant?"

K: "Yeah! You can thank God for Gallant!" (our horse)

J: "And what else?"

K: "Oh, I know! You can ask God to help Papaw Curtis feel better!"

J, looking up for the first time: "Hey, God? Can you make Papaw Curtis feel better?"

Long pause as Johnathan looks around the room with his eyes, while I force my shoulders to stop their laugh-induced shaking!

Then he looks at me and shrugs his shoulders, confused. And then we had the talk about how God answers prayers.

Whew! Another mommy/son conversation where I feel like I should know all the answers and leave feeling like I know absolutely nothing!

I love my little boy!



PS Papaw did not end up being able to go home last Friday, due to complications with his surgery incision. However, the doctor intends to do another chemo treatment today and shoot for going home tomorrow or the next day. We're very hopeful! Day 32 ...

You're gonna love this

First, I talked to Mamaw this morning who said that the doctors want to send Papaw home tomorrow! She said this is day 28 in the hospital for them! I couldn't believe it had been that long. And 2 BM's this morning! (I think we're all pretty open about it now!) I've never been so excited about poop in my life! It looks like the chemo did in fact shrink the cancer enough to relieve some of the pressure on his intestines. Praise God!!

Second. I just had to post some of the pictures that Keleigh (Kreg's girlfriend) took of the kids and me while we were in AR. She not only took them, but then edited them all and put them on a cd for me for my birthday! Thanks, again, Keleigh! You're amazing!

A good day

According to Mom, Papaw had a pretty good day yesterday. He doesn't seem to be having too many side effects from the chemo, other than a headache the next day. We are so thankful for that! Thank you so much for all of your prayers and encouraging words I continue to hear every day!

We're having an incredibly laid back week, which is SO nice! This week consists of play dates, singing rehearsal, swimming with friends, a scrapbooking crop, a birthday facial and sipping coffee slowly. Now, I have to admit that I have yet to unpack from our trip, but really, who does that surprise? Not me.

Now, I have to go get my pictures ready for my crop!

Chemo begins

Papaw received his first chemo treatment last night. Several of us went to the hospital to be with him. I was amazed at how "chipper" he was! He had told me that he was really dreading the chemo, but I think there is a part of him that is eager to see if this is going to work. So while we were there he was cracking jokes right and left and just really seemed to be in good spirits! He had been so down the past few days, so it was so good to see him so "up."

I stayed with him a couple of nights ago, and thankfully he had a very uneventful, very restful evening and felt rested the next morning. Yea! We keep looking for anything to celebrate!

Kreg and Keleigh are taking the kids and I home this afternoon. They'll get to spend the night in Tyler, go to church with us in the morning, and then they'll head back to Searcy.

It's been such a good week, and I'm so glad to have been able to be here! Thanks to everyone who helped make that possible for me!