Trail Ride....

So a couple of Saturdays ago...Carl & Hannah went on a trail ride. They go on trail rides frequently, as this is a horse neighborhood and there are lots of fields and vacant land and lots to ride on, so I didn't think anything about it....until they told me where they were going.

Love/Hate relationship between these two...

"We are riding over to our land.". That's what Carl said. You see, we STILL own that 10 acres about 3 miles from where our house is now. We bought it in 2004 to build on originally, when we moved back, but after acquiring the horses, we found it wasn't going to work for us and the horses. It is however, still the most gorgeous 10 acres in the subdivision...and it's still for sale...did I say it's still for sale? Yeah, it's for sale.

This is what Hannah looked like in the Spring of 2004 when we bought the land. She was 5.

The view is what we fell in love with. It's one of the higher points in the county, which is a huge selling point if you ask me, because you can see the tornadoes coming.

We fished a lot in the pond before we moved to Shreveport. Carl spent a lot of time cleaning all the brush from around the pond.

And this was Hannah's "horse" by the pond...a low tree limb that she saddled up and played cowboy on. Little did we know, that 6 years later, the picture would look like the one below....

Cinch is such a good horse. He's like a big Teddy Bear. He runs even on days when his knee is stiff. It's tough getting old and stiff Cinch, I can relate.

Check out that view...who wouldn't want to buy this? Now it's surrounded by houses. There are a few empty lots in the neighborhood, but not many!

Anyway, Carl & Hannah rode 3 miles to the land...and ran circles around the pond, all over the 10 acres for about an hour, then they called me to bring them Gatorade...took me like 2 minutes to drive it over there to them, which I thought was sorta funny.

After the 3 mile ride home...6 miles round trip, they were pooped...and Carl was so sore. He's not a seasoned Cowboy like the Marlboro Man and refuses to buy a pair of boots or a cowboy hat. Sigh.

Different day, but always a kiss... "thanks for the ride buddy."

Wordless Wednesday

What's Spring Break without a trip to the ZOO? Let me tell you...the ZOO was a ZOO! Everyone in Oklahoma City was at the ZOO. We went with my friend Helen and her girls: Peyton, Lauren, & Jordan. Hannah & Jordan have been friends since 2003 & the other two have just filed in behind as they've come along.

The Texas White Bud....

and Oklahoma Red Bud trees are in full bloom here and they are not in short supply around the zoo grounds.

I love Oklahoma, but I'm partial to the Oklahoma White Bud.

We got there just as the zoo was opening, so the animals were having breakfast. The chimps had strawberries and oranges...

Multitasking...a monkey after my own heart.

Wouldn't you like to be her for a day...

Or her...

Seriously? Who is watching the bear cubs?

I love monkeys. They're so maternal.

And silly. The daddy kept picking up this towel and throwing it over his back...when it slid off, he'd pick it up and throw it back over. Have to wonder why? Maybe to keep the sun off?

He was having a dead rabbit for lunch.

My favorite part of the ZOO is feeding the Lorakeets. Aren't they gorgeous? Basically, you pay $3 for a tiny cup of nectar, and you go into an enclosed area one group at a time, and the Lorakeet land on you and drink the nectar. It's quite entertaining. Where else can you do that?

They really are a gorgeous bird.

Need I say more?

I couldn't quit taking pictures of her because her mouth was open in almost everyone and her expressions were hilarious.

The End. Now back to school on MONDAY. This girl in this picture is a BEAR on Mondays.

LBBM (Little Brown Bag Mission)

This post is so overdue, but it's so neat that I have to post it anyway. Plus, I had a really fun time editing the pictures for the church slideshow, and I must share some of the touching moments of the day.

November

A PB&J, an apple, a bottle of water, and packaged snacks went in each bag, along with a toothbrush & toothpaste, wet wipes, socks, gloves, hats, underwear, scarves, a home baked cookie or two and a Bible. God bless the ladies who made 220 PB&J sandwiches. I can't really stand to make one...so messy. See everyone has a calling...:)

Youth who didn't prepare bags got busy preparing 220 encouraging, handwritten notes to include in each bag.

Coats were collected and handed out and picked through right from the bed of the truck. People were asking for shoes though, maybe next year, we'll round up some mens shoes. One lady had on socks with flip-flops and it was COLD.

Braums donated the brown bags for the stuff...we stuffed them with the donated stuff and off we went downtown. There are a lot of homeless people around the bridge areas down there, where the interstates cross over, as well as a couple of half-way houses for citizens being reintroduced into the workforce, and a soup kitchen.

Did I say that this was an Youth Inspired Mission Project? Emily, (not pictured) thought this up all by herself last year, (she's 16) and last year, they handed out a small amount of bags compared to this years 220. Emily rocks, and her mom's pretty cool too cause she's my friend. :)

One guy/man went with each of the three groups of girls, so we were safe. There was only one time that I didn't feel safe, and it passed quickly.

You can't see it in the picture, but this bicycle had no back tire. It was just a rim.

I got lucky enough to be photographer of this fabulous activity for the afternoon. Our church has a photography team, and one person comes to each activity to take pics so that they can be posted on the church website etc... The team person there for the day, took pictures of all the bagging and sorting but didn't know it continued later downtown. She saw me snapping pictures (big surprise) and she asked me if I could take over for her because she couldn't go. I had a lot of fun doing it and editing them, but it was difficult to take the pictures. Most of the shots are from the side or behind. I just felt strange letting them see me taking their picture in such a desperate situation.

I was way far away when I took this...out the window of my car leaving actually. This fellow had a bag and was walking away toward the shelter, when he spotted another bag behind this concrete divider. Someone had taken out the food and left the Bible. This fellow took out the Bible, and  looked up at me, just as i snapped the picture. I wonder who he had in mind to give it to?

This guys prayer request was simple "everything". He was in tears when we were done.

This family was homeless. They had the back of the truck full of what they owned and slept in their vehicle I'm sure. Sometimes we, me included, are guilty of thinking that if people have a car, then they could get a job and a place to live, but seeing it first hand made me a lot less critical.

I enjoyed so much doing it with Hannah. We had much to talk about after that morning and much to be grateful for. I might add that it's a lot different to actually participate in helping the needy, than to just write the check or donate the food. Everyone has a part to play and if you ever ever get the chance to serve the needy and interact with them, I encourage you to do it. Then, you too will drive around with a brown bag in your back floorboard to hand out to homeless people instead of cash. :)