She's 8

Tomorrow Layla turns 8.  She's beautiful inside and out.  She's fiercely courageous and has an amazing gift of mercy.  Her feet are firmly planted.   She thinks ahead, she's organized...and quietly very competitive. Her favorite thing is when the 4 of us are together...doing anything  She loves to read and write stories.  She will try anything at least once and her number one dream is to be a mom.  She's a mixture of indoor and outdoor girl, of tomboy and girly girl.

What an amazing adventure it is to parent her.   She's extraordinary.

Layla on Grace this summer

Ice fishing on our pond this past winter

One of her first stories.  She wrote on her 7th birthday.

Layla on Buddy in December

First Day is in the books!

Yesterday was the first day of school for our kids. I am happy to report that we all did great!  Cooper came home wound for sound and Layla came home relaxed and happy....and that all lasted about 2 hours before they both started showing signs of a stomach bug.  A slightly rough night, but they seem to be on the mend today.  It's not so bad having day 2 of school off, sleeping in and watching movies all morning.  We'll just ease into this school thing!

When we got to school yesterday some older students, the principal, administrator, and mascot were greeting the kids.  What a joyful distraction for all of us!  The kids walked themselves in and Dave and I drove away with a few tears in our eyes.

When I have to deal with something hard, I push through it and deal with the emotions later.  Yesterday morning, I just put a smile on my face, a spring in my step, and pushed through the process of my baby starting full time school.  Dave, knowing that it was a hard morning for me, took me out for coffee after drop off.  I then went to the gym for a very long work out and spent the rest of the day catching up on a lot of admin for The Pumpkin Ranch.  It was a good day.  Thanks to all who prayed for us and checked in on me yesterday!

Little Answered Prayers...

About a year ago I started praying that God reveal to me our kids' gifts and interests so that I would be able to nurture those areas of their lives.  Since Layla was 3 she's loved horses, but what little country girl doesn't, right?  Since praying that prayer, God has brought us 2 more horses. Hmmmmm, maybe I should start paying attention to what God is revealing!

At the beginning of the summer we received a call from a neighbor who knew of an old 4H horse who needed a new home.  The kids and our horse expert friends rode her.  She was dead broke and it was a done deal.  No one knew her name.  Immediately, without thought, Layla picked Grace.  Well, in my mind, there were surely more unique, fun horse names than Grace, right?  No, Layla was stuck on Grace because of it's meaning in her life....God's unmerited favor.  Can't really argue with that!

In July we received another call....a horse was in need of a home.  I wasn't sure about Creek...the call came from a trainer...a race horse trainer.  He's a Thoroughbred...a race horse...retired due to injury.  Do you understand all of my concerns?  Well, we rode him, fell in love with him, and he came to live at our house.

And, of course, Buddy is still here ruling the roost!  And, ALWAYS getting into the burs!  He's in the same pasture as the other 2 horses, yet they stay clear of these nasty, pokey, hard to remove, little nuisances!. This is how Buddy looked when he greeted us last week.  Yes, he got a haircut.  There was no hope for removal!

The Bottle Calf Show

On Friday evening all bottle calves had to report to the fairgrounds in preparation for the Saturday afternoon show. Cooper was completely in his element.  As kids and bottle calves arrived he made his way through the barn talking to every kid and petting every calf.  What he talked about with all these kids, I have no idea.  But, watching him, there was no doubt whose son he was.  The apple does not fall far from the tree (and I'm not talking about this tree).

By Saturday morning, the kids were excited!  They went in early to get Cowgirl all cleaned up and to eat breakfast at one of the food stands.  They came home, rested, picked out their "calf showing clothes" and we headed back to the fair for the big event.  The kids were split into classes by age.  Each participant in the class had to walk their calf around the ring, answer interview questions from the judge, and keep their calf under control while the other participants were interviewed.  Both kids and, more importantly, Cowgirl, did great!  

There was no doubt that Cooper enjoyed every manure-filled, sweaty second of it.  He was grinning from ear to ear the whole time.  He was all about the show.  Layla was super composed and did awesome on her interview.  She went from just tolerating it all on Friday to really enjoying the process on Saturday.  

One of the things that made it so special for our kids was all of the friends and family who came to watch. Even the announcer commented on their cheering section when he announced their names when they entered the ring.  They are incredibly blessed kids to have so many people in their lives who care about what they do!  And, as we said prayers tonight, they both thanked God for Cowgirl and said they're ready to do it again next year.

Growing Up

It has been such a JOY to have Layla with me every day this summer.  First grade changed her...matured her.  She had to deal with a few tough personalities at school this year and there were times that it was hard for me not to call school and "straighten things out."  Instead, I felt that God gave us those opportunities to teach, learn and grow.

Layla had the chance to decide whether to just read the Word or read it AND put it into action in her life. She learned how to stay in peace and joy, even when her circumstances were hard and people around her were grumpy or unkind.  She decided to lean on the Lord when what she really wanted to do was cry and call mom.  She toughened up a bit, but she did not become hard...that's God's sweet handiwork.

I had to learn to trust what God was doing in my 7 year old and in her circumstances.  My black and white personality was stretched.  Instead of just telling Layla what to do, I had to guide her and help her listen to the Lord...and then let go just a little more.

We're approaching Layla's 8th birthday.  A friend of mine told me that 6 and 7 were emotion filled ages for her daughter, but that 8 is great.  I've seen that shift in Layla in the last 6 months.  It's been fun to see her mature.  To hear her very grown up thoughts.  To give her more freedom and to see how that freedom is bringing out God's plans for her.

Ei Ei Oh

At some point, I'm not sure when, I became Mrs. Old McDonald.  I know when the old part happened.  I'm just not sure how the farmer part happened.  Since April we've collected 2 new horses, a bottle calf and have had a litter of 8 lab puppies.  Needless to say, our evenings are busy around here.  Between riding, grooming, training, and cuddling....we've officially become a farm.

Yes, some mornings she just wants to get out there and doesn't care if she's in her PJ's...and neither do I.

 I think it was like 95 degrees the night I took this picture.  But he doesn't care.  Cowboys wear "long sleeve fancy shirts with jeans, a fancy belt, boots, and a hat."

Here are the pups at about 2 or 3 weeks.  I really need to take a new picture.  They are so cute right now. Their look is much more puppy and much less rat meets walrus.

A Blur of Motion

We just returned from a week at the Kalahari in the Wisconsin Dells.  It was a wonderful, fun, at times stressful, but great trip.  We went non-stop from 9am-9pm each day.  We made the most of every minute and every activity the resort offered.

This week is all about our first county fair.  Layla joined 4H this winter and LOVES it.  We are blessed with a great leader who makes it fun and shows more patience than I've ever possessed in one single second of my life!

Layla completed a craft project and the kids have been caring for a bottle calf since April.  Her name is Cowgirl and they have been troopers about being her sole care givers...which included giving her 2-3 bottles every day...rain, sleet, snow or hail.  They did it without complaining and without Dave or my help.  It's a huge responsibility for a 7 and 5 year old and we're really proud of them!  This week they get to take her to the fair and each of them gets to show her on their own.

The judge will interview them about the calf and then they have to walk her around the ring to show that she's been cared for and they have control over her (I think that's the goal, but I've never been in 4H nor have I ever walked a calf on a "leash" so I don't really know...this is totally Daddy's jurisdiction)!