Prayers For Another Mito Family, Please

I just learned that a child we met in Houston during Garrett's second muscle biopsy earlier this year passed away last week. Samuel Knight, 4 years old, died from complications of his fight with Mitochondrial Disease. His mom, Missy is a sweetheart, and his very special life was beautifully celebrated, according to a friend of mine who is close to Missy. When one of "our" kids leaves this earth early due to this disease, it really hits home with all Mito families. We all feel some pain and loss seeing a child fight a good, yet so incredibly unfair battle.

Please say a special prayer for Samuel's family tonight. He has an older sister, 18 months older, who has Mito as well. The Knight family is a beautiful example of never taking any time on earth for granted and celebrating every minute we have here.

Here is the link to Missy's blog so you can meet sweet Samuel and make a comment or contribution of you feel so led. www.missyknight.blogspot.com

Godspeed and hugs to the Knights,
CL

Ainslee and Garrett's Walk

This evening as we were preparing to load into the Yukon for our 15 minute drive to AWANA, a church club the kids LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, I looked outside to see Ainslee and Garrett a couple hundred feet into the 12 acre alfalfa field taking a walk. I heard Garrett say, "Iggy, it's a fwowuh for you!" And she walked over and he gave it to her. I was blessed to have the camera close by, and I captured this oh-so-sweet moment between brother and sister.
And then they walked home with their doggies.

And I was so amazed to see what a big girl my Ainslee is becoming. She will turn 8 in one week....wow, how time has flown!

And Garrett pushed his wheelbarrow all over the field before coming home. He loves all of his yard tools....including his new one, the sprinkler. I will have it on to dampen our newly-seeded yard, and I will then see a blur of movement across the yard. It's Garrett who has turned off the faucet and is booking it across the yard to put it to a place where "I can see it better!!" It's priceless to see, but it is causing some bare spots in the lawn where places are not getting enough water!!

Blessings to you and yours. We are enjoying another week of nice weather before fall comes and winter hits us!!

Godspeed,

CL

A Nice Day At Home

Last night I mentioned Camper's surgery on his paw. Well, here he is at home tonight feeling very humiliated in his "Cone Of Shame!?

Below, Garrett ran inside this evening with something in his hand, bounced off my leg and held up this tiny purple flower and said,"Here, Mommy, this fwowuh is for you!" I melted!

Here's Garrett's sexy pose!!

And below, here is Garrett in a monumental change. He LOVES water, but NEVER has liked it on his head or out of his control. This week he decided that he would be okay playing in the sprinkler. THIS WAS HUGE!!! Here he is after his nap in his jammies and rubber boots running through the sprinkler's rain!!

Ainslee and Daddy took their first ride together at our ranchette today. They rode at least three miles along the sandy road that runs along the large irrigation ditch behind out house. It was a beautiful sight to see them slip from my sight walking together, Ainslee chatting endlessly....I have NO idea where she gets that!!!! Aaaahhhh.....beautiful freedom. And while they were riding, Garrett was playing outside moving the sprinkler around to random places in the yard. Addie was watching some television, and then Grouchy and Ainslee returned, we switched some saddles and Addie and I took a short ride. She especially enjoyed riding along out alfalfa field down to the mailbox at the end of the ride. She slid off Ernie, checked the mail, and then walked home. I ponied Ernie home for her just like I did last week. We saw Farmer Bob, our next door neighbor, and asked if we could pick his apple orchard for him and bring the apples to his house.....it's a little land-locked one acre field with several varieties of apple trees. Farmer Bob said they would not use them, but for us to take all we want....HOW FUN!!!!! Addie and I each ate one today, and Ernie and Lucy were trying to pick them off trees!! THAT was funny......like watching kids bob for apples as the horses were just chasing the branches all over the place! We will be picking and sharing lots of apples! Might need to learn to can??? freeze?? Insert sound of crickets chirping...

Our dishwasher should be repaired Thursday AND the sofa for the guest house arrives then, too. YAY!!! The soda is a red, cloth, very simple sofa. Couldn't see another plain, neutral sofa in our life! Oh, and need another microwave....how exciting!!!

Grouchy is home, and we had a day of just being home today. Only outing was going to the vet to get Camper. We enjoyed just being here. One of our neighbors came over to meet Oscar tonight. They enjoyed getting to know each other, and they seemed to hit it off.

All's finally quiet here, so I sign off feeling so blessed. Thank you, God, for this life and these times. I hope I don't take them terribly for granted!!!

Godspeed,

CL

The past month has been like a big vacation from reality for us when it comes to Garrett. He is outside as much as he can be, enjoying everything he can find that doesn't make him mad, well, and that's pretty much bugs now. A few days ago I was inside doing one of my domestic goddess activities when I heard this horrifying scream from Garrett. He was on the treehouse platform of the swingset with a bottle of the girls' hair detangler screaming, "It's a BUUUUUUUG!!!!!!" Only two days later did I get the full story. He originally took a bottle of my kid-safe kitchen cleaners out to do the dirty work, but Ainslee convinced him to use her detangler bottle instead, since she had refilled it with water when the detangler was gone. Problem was he was too scared of the bug to squirt the water!!! Our very kind neighbors came over to help us set up the swingset Oscar took apart in LA. It is one of the Rainbow swingsets, and the children love it. We had trouble getting it completely finished because a few key bolts were damaged so that the nuts would not screw on. So our kind neighbors took those home to rework them and will return to complete the swingset later this week. We did, however, get the main section up that has the treehouse part, the climbing wall, rope ladder, tire swing and slide. Here you will see Garrett enjoying a free afternoon on his tire swing in his diaper and rubber boots!

Ainslee and Addie enjoyed some make-up application time on Sunday afternoon. Notice the bystander's scowl of disapproval....

Random: Here's our living room in our new home:

Addie and a neighbor were about to climb on the hay, but the cat beat them to it. I thought this was a neat shot.

The sky was brilliant Sunday night after we wrapped up Sundae Sunday Night, a new tradition our household has started, with some new friends/neighbors.

I want to share some neat God-sightings we have experienced lately. I already mentioned our loving families' support throughout our decision-making and moving process. I am sure there are still some not-so-great feelings a couple of folks have about our decision to move away from most of our family, but I rest well each night as I recall the prayers I lifted to the heavens asking for counsel, wisdom and guidance in finding the best place to bring up our children. I have probably mentioned the neighbors, several of them, who have made the trip over to our house, not having any idea who they might encounter in order to deliver cookies, meals, a warm welcome, handshake, and invitation to church. Our closest neighbor is a couple that has ten children, all out of the home but the youngest, a young adult daughter with Down's Syndrome. The mom is not in great health, and must wear oxygen, but cooked us a homemade dinner of THE MOST AMAZING enchiladas complete with spinach salad and homemade warm salad dressing. Then the realtor who had our home listed not only brought over livestock panels so we would have a place to house the horses until we built fence, but within three days of our arrival, he brought a large container of fresh, hot homemade chocolate chip cookies baked fresh by his sweet wife. Then we found the nicest pediatrician! Love her!!! Next it was on to the YMCA where we met the swim team coach/neighbor who has three kiddos, an incredibly fun, personable and kind wife, and are a military family AND homeschool!!! From there we learned about homeschool gymnastics, and the new neighbors who homeschool have been carpooling with us some.....such a big help!!! After that, we met more neighbors....a retired fighter pilot and his dear, sweet wife, who own over 100 Appaloosa horses and live near the end of our road. The same neighbor who helped with the swingset brought by fresh eggs from their hen house and the WHOLE SET of the Which Way USA activity set that they ordered for their grandkids but never used....all necessary duplications were made, they were alphabetized and cataloged into standing magazine boxes.....how cool!!!!! Then we had to take Camper to the vet yesterday for a very sore paw. The vet tech was so sweet to my three kiddos, and the female vet was so nice that she let us all stick around to watch Camper be sedated and have surgery on his foot!!! Camper had a sort of grass seed work up into the area between his little toes and cause an infection. The piece of seed needed to come out, but the vet couldn't find it. Camper stayed over last night to recover, and we will pick him up this morning. The kids were SO GOOD, and it was a good experience for them to see the procedure. Then yesterday around noon, Grouchy called from Alaska, where he was working for two weeks, to let me know that he might be able to come in that night instead of Wednesday afternoon.....SCORE!!!!! Problem was that he was going to fly in at almost 11:00 PM into Boise, about 50 minutes away from home. I called the listing agent's wife.....one who sent cookies and livestock panels....and asked if local rumors of babysitters among her household was true, and it WAS!!!! Not only did she confirm that one of her girls could babysit, but she also chatted with me for the longest time and even looked online for movies for me to take the girls to when I mentioned we might go to the movies but our internet was not cooperating for me to see listings. How nice was that?!?! So Ali came over last night, and we put it all together that she is also the girl who Grouchy and the kids buy ice cream from in town at the ice cream shop AND the local FFA chapter president. Really neat young lady....beautiful, smart, caring...total package!!! AND when she got here, Garrett gave her a tour then walked up to me and said," Mom, can you leave now?" Can't get a better approval rating than that!!!!! So I took the girls shoe shopping, to dinner, and then we picked up Grouchy. We are so glad to have him home but a little sleepy.....some people still sleeping...from the fun, late night.

I share all of these blessings, and leave out many like finding AWANA, finding a great church nearby, very sweet pharmacist in the local grocery store who showed her stallion in the AQHA world show this past year, the friends we are meeting at the YMCA....to show how God provides for us....not just health-wise, although we are seeing those benefits here too, but in our emotional lives. Sure, we are still struggling with adjustment issues some, Grouchy's career change, questions about what we will do when we grow up and how our kiddos will do, but God shows us His face through the kindness and love of other people and the beauty of His creation as I watch the sunrise over the mountains this morning. That sustains me this morning as I pray got God to show us where he wants us to fit into this community, this world......no what does he want US to do?

Godspeed,

CL

Our Kids Are FUNNY!

Don't know why this is underlined, but it is!! Here is the Kid Train ! This was a funny site......moving pretty fast, really!! Girls enjoyed the free ride, and Garrett loved to push!!!
Ainslee licked the moon last night:

Ainslee got Lucy all stirred up while she was dragging boxes across the yard to the burn pile. Then, of course, Ainslee kept banging on the box to keep the horses moving. Lucy looks like a nice cutting horse here!

And here are Lucy and Ernie prancing around like Arabians as the boxes were still being moved.

End of a very pretty day!

Godspeed,

CL

This was such a surreal moment this evening. The moon was such a sight!!

Garrett loves seeing the bus come up the driveway.

Garrett forgot to pack his LittleKinz Monkey named "Monk-Me." It was left and Nina and Pop's house in Alabama, but it arrived via Pony Express yesterday, and he was oh-so-happy!

Have I mentioned that Addie and Ainslee LOVE mail? No need for toys or games these days. As long as you keep writing them, they will keep writing you. This was their letter-writing campaign yesterday before lunch.

And then they walk to the mailbox. You can just see the mailbox on the left of this photo. We are so excited to see Addie want to walk like this. It's such a blessing. She finally has energy!!!

Today was busy. We skipped school today, and that was needed! The girls have been working so hard on their lessons while I have been not as focused as needed since I am still trying to get us settled in. This morning the girls had their third week of homeschool gymnastics at the Caldwell YMCA. They look so cute in their little leotards and shorts, and they can both do back bends now from standing!!! Ainslee is working on trying to walk it over now, and she is so proud. Addie is so graceful and simply beautiful on the balance beam!

Next we drove to meet Garrett's school class at the Boise Zoo...VERY neat zoo!! We had picnic lunch with his class, then took him to his first visit with our local pediatrician as Garrett is getting a cold. She thinks he just has an upper respiratory cold, but then she noted that he has one ear tube missing and one hanging on barely. This was his fifth set of tubes, and each time they come out, he gets chronic ear infections and he needs new ones. I am praying this time he is really ready to go without them.

Next, we checked out Costco, grabbed some Golden Arches (McDonalds) and headed to the YMCA an hour earlier for swim team. Garrett got to play in the indoor splash park and beach for an hour before the staff turned off the spray toys, and then my friend Karen and I walked to the park with Garrett. It was wonderful to see Garrett, even though not at the top of his game, RUNNING across two soccer fields to get to the park. I was in tears!! Then he played there for about an hour before we had to pick up the girls at the YMCA. If the past month is any indication of how much Garrett can do in this new climate, I have SO much MORE hope for his long-term energy and health. I know I have mentioned it before, more than twice, but he really has had more physical freedom than ever. He is free to play, to move about outdoors, and is no longer handicapped by the heat. Next....buy him his winter gear and hope he likes it!!!

We tried to Skype with Grouchy tonight with no luck. We did it the other night, and it worked beautifully.....once I got our sound turned up!!! DUH!!

Tomorrow Garrett is home and we will try to squeak into a new week of lessons for the girls' homeschool work. We are in week 4 now, finally! They are doing so well. I am so proud of them.

We started Ainslee on an ADHD medicine last month, and we are seeing her become more mature and organized, less impulsive, and less hungry. Before the medicine, she was wanting to eat anytime she wasn't busy. I think that was her way of getting moving....although doesn't make sense in most ways!! Lately I have caught her organizing her bedroom doo-dads, refolding and organizing her clothes, organizing her desk items, remembering to do things I ask of her...it really is amazing, and she is STILL AINSLEE!!! We have put this off for three years, feeling like we didn't want to "drug" our child, but just before the move, I caved and talked to our Louisiana pediatrician for the second time. She agreed it was time, and we prayed and started it. We are pleased with the results, and I pray that she will grow into her brilliant, busy brain and not need it before too many years pass.

I had an amazing horseback ride with Addie yesterday. It's a long post of its own, but let's say that she is on her way to healing her heart and mind from her broken arm accident off of Lucy last November. It took some work and some tears and struggle, but she's back in the saddle without white knuckles holding on anymore, and all because she could get back on her baby, Ernie. Thanks, Vicki, for the idea!!!!!

Off to bed too late for the girls and me. Garrett has a new humidifier and some Vicks vapor going into the air. I pray he sleeps well, avoids another ear infection, and wakes up happy and ready to "farm!"

Godspeed,

CL

Back In the Saddle

Here are a few pictures from the girls riding Lucy and Ernie. Addie was very, very nervous, but she rode. We have so far to go to get her back to relaxing and enjoying it again!!! When the girls were done warming up the horses in the arena, I walked with them out into the freshly mowed 12 acre alfalfa field for us to take an exploration ride. Addie had me lead her, but towards the end I let go. Lucy, Addie's mount, got a little high-headed watching our neighbors horses run up to their fence to see us and decided to get off early. A few minutes earlier, Garrett realized we had wandered away from the house where he had been happily pushing his wheelbarrow, wagon and tractors and decided to take off with his Thomas blanket over his shoulders running across the field. It was too cute!!! Cute to the point I realized he was very unhappy with us for "LEEEEEAVING ME!!!!!!!!!!" SO he came along, walking beside me, but then wanted to get on Lucy when Addie dismounted. I convinced him to wait until we got back to the arena, and then he put on Addie's helmet and rode Lucy ALL BY HIMSELF!! He was so proud of himself, and he would grump at me if I touched the horse. He had the best time marveling over how he could control the horse. He made her walk, stop, turn and back up all on his own. He would say, "Wow, it works!!" I had to laugh...lots!!

Grouchy is out of town, so we all miss him terribly, but we are pressing forward to unpack, hang photos on walls, get homeschool lessons going so we can have lots of time off for visitors in the coming months, etc.

Hugs to you and yours, and may you be thankful for each of the day's blessings!!
Godspeed,

CL

So excited to have guests!

One of our top priorities in a place, after we narrowed our search area for our "Little House On the Prairie On Steroids" experience was a house and a guest house. We moved into our house with Grouchy's mom, DiDi staying in the guest house for almost a week as we got settled. We hoped to have more visitors enjoy the guest house soon, but I had NO IDEA we would have so many wonderful plans come together from so many of our friends and family!!!! My parents are scheduled to be here October 16- November 2. Jason and his two daughters, our dear friends from Whitefish...the ones whose guest house we enjoyed all of July....are coming the first week or so in November. Aunt Jen and cousins Chris and Sarah are coming out November 20-25, and then our sweet friends Vicki, Laura, Leah and Jacob are leaving Daddy-Marty back in LA for 14 days to come hang with us....even keeping my kiddos for three days and two nights so Grouchy and I can go to his company's Christmas party in Texas. Whew, how much fun is all that!?!?!?!?

So that's the fall and half the winter. We have bookings open for Spring 2011 and will happily pencil you and yours in!!

Thank you to all of you who have sent messages, emails, posts and who have called to check on us. We are settling in!! I still have lots of photos and art to hang and many, many thousands more rocks to move, but it's looking better. Grouchy is working now, so he has a break from the rock farming. Oh, now I am adding turd farming to the rock farming we are doing. Grouchy selected a spot for our garden to form, and each day we haul poop from the horse area to the garden area. Hoping for a bumper crop this year!!!

Godspeed,
CL

Sunrise brought these two clowns over to the fencing wanting to know why I had a camera instead of alfalfa hay and grain!! Love the sunrises and sunsets here. The sky does some beautiful things, and the wide open spaces and mountains in the distance add to the moment. The flies here are pretty bad in the evenings, so the horses have had their sheets on in the evenings. Tonight it was cooler, so I left the sheets and masks off. For those who haven't met our two ponies, Ernie is wearing the shades. The black one is Lucy. A little history: I snuck around behind my parents' backs and took out a loan to buy Ernie while I was in college. A riding lesson student's dad, and still dear friend, Don, co-signed for me.....totally on the hush!! How funny is that!?!? Only after I paid the last payment...early, I might add, did I tell my parents Ernie wasn't just another horse I was training during college but one I owned. We purchased Lucy over a year ago for Addie. Then Addie broke her arm coming off Lucy last November. She couldn't ride for several months, and although she has ridden Lucy a few times since, she isn't in love with her like she was before the accident. I have "bought" Lucy from Addie, and we will start looking for a good ranch gelding for Addie soon. Ernie was Addie's for a few barrel racing seasons, then when we bought Lucy for Addie, Ainslee took Ernie. Now Garrett is riding Ernie some....this horse is worth an endless amount to us as he has taken great care of the kiddos!!
Here's another shot of the sunrise this morning. It was much prettier in person, but still, here it is! And those sprinklers you see in the forefront are wheel line irrigation. It's a long pipe with sprinklers along it, but the pipe is elevated off the ground a few feet by what looks like wagon wheels that roll the pipe along the field. As Grouchy stated last week, "Man, these people don't farm out here! They just chase water all day!!" And the latter is true. All you see the farmers do here when they are not picking or harvesting something is them out in the fields in rubber overalls moving pipes and lines. It really is a testimony to how much water means to this area.

Everywhere there is land in this area, it is used for farming, and these irrigation systems run 24/7 right now.

And here's Garrett's bus leaving the house this morning, driving past the big hay bales in our yard. He LOVES riding the bus!!

Blessings to each of you tonight. Come out to stay anytime!! Oh, but the bookings for the guest house are filling up, so call ahead and make your reservation!!! HA!!!

Godspeed,

CL

Thunder Egg Photo and Other Pictures

We met some friends in Boise for dinner tonight. Garrett was just so darn handsome that I had to shoot this one!! You can see his sleepy eyes, but he tried so hard to squeeze out that awesome smile!!

I promise Ainslee wasn't pulling on Camper's face to make this happen!! He yawned just as I was taking this one.

This was sunrise this morning just before I got Garrett up for the bus. It was so peaceful. The highest mountain you can see on the left side of the photo looks to be the one with the ski resort, Bogus Basin.

And finally, here's the thunder egg I mentioned last night. This is one I found broken open in the horse area. And the photo doesn't do it justice!!!

That's all I've got for tonight!

Godspeed,

CL

I figured it out....

So these rocks that are haunting us. I promise they multiply while we are sleeping. And I don't mean pebbles.....although we have millions of those. I mean ROCKS, as in baseball size and larger....not even possible to think we could ever mow the yard IF we ever get grass to grow. Here's the deal. I think that people here think we are aliens from the planet Mamma-n-dems (for those of you not living in Louisiana, that means Momma and Thems, or all the family you live near if you live in Louisiana).We were sent here to terrorize the local, laid-back farming community with out redneck ways. To combat that, the law-abiding, mostly Morman, neighbors here on Succor Creek Road, got together and developed this plan. Each night as we are sleeping, the farmers take turns picking up the rocks from their yards and then spreading them across our yard. See, makes complete sense!!! I'll rest better tonight having figured that out!

One of my friends commented on her yesterday that we should make a garden from the rocks....we already are!! We have lined the path from the house to the guest house, and the children named it the Coffee-Wine Path in honor of Grouchy's mom. It's a pea gravel path with our friendly rocks lining each side of it. Then we are putting rocks in all the areas where people in Louisiana would plant green plants, flowers, etc. Two days ago I spent three hours collecting rocks out of the riding arena/paddock area and built this wonderful rock fire pit for our plan of continuing our frequent campfires and bonfires. I have to mention that Grouchy has wanted very little of my help building fence, so I have still been busy, but it was mostly trivial things like the rock pit and feeding the family. It turned out so well...I need to take a photo and post!! Next will be continuing to line the driveway nearest the house with these rocks. When we build a garden for growing veggies and the like, we plan to border it with rocks.....rocks for dinner, anyone? We know what we send home with everyone as souvenirs!!

Speaking of rocks, we have thunder eggs here,too!! I thought they were just in a local canyon area, but upon more internet research last night, I realized we have them by the hundreds, RIGHT HERE!! They look like little plum to bowling ball-sized meteors. They are charcoal grey in color, are round, and if washed, you can see some shiny places on the outside. However, if you cut one open and polish it, it will yield beautiful surprises of different colors of agate and some crystal formations. Some are solid and some hollow. We read most here in this area are white agate inside. I found beautiful one partially busted open by the tractor, I am sure, and it was baseball size with a layer of clear crystal nearest the outside of the rock, then the inside was ivory color with some red veins. It is beautiful, but not even polished yet!!! My father, Pop, plans to buy a lapidiary saw to cut the thunder eggs open and a polishing machine to bring out the brilliance and make them shine. You may have seen pieces or "slices" of thunder eggs sold as jewelry or coasters for drinks. I have seen larger ones simply sliced in half and used as bookends. Some had blue, green, amber, or pink even!! Either way you slice it...ha...we are excited to know we have so many here and cannot wait to start cutting and polishing! What a fun project!! Grouchy isn't sure it will make us rich, but the children and visitors should enjoy it!!! So come hunt thunder eggs with us!!! All you have to do is walk outside!!

My half-dose of Tylenol PM is kicking in. Grouchy and I had a stomach virus today. It's probably the one Garrett had Monday. Nothing violent, but just feel plain yucky. We have been pretty useless today except for Grouchy taking the girls to the local Church of the Nazarene's family festival and round-up at the fairgrounds in town today. There were games for kiddos, food, fruity drinks, a team roping contest and a breakaway roping contest, door prizes, music and more. They also had a horse trainer doing clinics on starting colts and loading horses onto trailers for the first time. I stayed home in the fetal position in bed. Grouchy came home and joined me. The kiddos were ANGELS!! Addie fixed dinner for everyone....peanut butter and marshmallow sammies and brownies with whipped cream for dessert!!! And Grouchy and I ate next to nothing all day!! She even brought us water and coke in bed....each our specific type, and she even put some Captain Morgan in Grouchy's!!!!! She is amazingly thoughtful!! Ainslee had a fun evening playing with the cat and dogs outside, and Garrett chased the sprinklers with me. We run one for two house, then have to move it, then move it again, then once more to get front and back yards going with the grass seed out there....we hope!!

Hugs to you tonight. Please say and extra prayer for a family with a son with either Duchenne or Becker Muscular Dystrophy in hopes the drug trials they are about to begin will give them hope and more time.

Godspeed,
CL

Little Dog, Big Hay

This is a very big hay bale. It weighs about 2000 lbs, or one ton, and it is alfalfa. I placed Addie's dog, Camper, atop the bale for perspective. Camper is about 10 inches tall. Hay out here is baled in 60-80 pound square bales....actually rectangular, but called "square," and in these huge bales. The huge bales are most common from what we have seen thus far. They are easy to move via forklift and truck/trailer, and then there are some really neat custom hay wagons and trucks. We bought two of these one ton bales to feed Ernie and Lucy for now. They are quite awkward when it comes to using the hay. We have so much to learn here!!! But Ernie and Lucy like alfalfa hay any way it is served!

Tonight we attended the local FFA (formerly Future Farmers of America) chapter's slave auction. The youth in the FFA program are auctioned off to people and farms in the community for one 8 hour day of work. In return, the FFA chapter keeps the money to help fund its programs. We bid on a few slave kids, but they were going for lots of cash!! Some kids went for close to $300.00!! The FFA chapter also auctioned off some nice items donated by individuals and business in town. It was fun to be back at an FFA function. In a past life, I was heavily involved with FFA for years, and I hope we can volunteer here if they need us. Oh, they also auctioned of some beautiful produce including peaches, apples, onions and potatoes by the case and bags!! They also had local honey, cheeses and breads and jalapeno ketchup. YUM!!

This evening we had out new friends over for burgers. Then Addie and Ainslee went to their home just down the street to hang out while we took Garrett to the auction. Garrett and I left the auction for a while to go to the park across the street from the high school. He liked the park but asked to go back to the auction when he grew tired. He is full speed out here all the time!! He is running lots more, staying outdoors so much, and is happier. It is a noticeable difference! PRAISE GOD!!!! Now, when December and January roll around, I fully expect some frustration with the cold and all the bundling-up required, but then if he is like the girls or me, he won't need to bundle too much. He is the only one in the house who doesn't have ski clothes, so we have to work on that for sure!! I can't wait to take him tubing!! And I hope he will tolerate the boots and skis enough to go down the bunny slopes between my skis. Ainslee loves that!!

Well, that's all except that I can say that there are rocks growing in our yard. I am sure of it. I have picked up about 500 pounds of rocks in the past week, and I am most certain they are multiplying, and I am also completely certain God is laughing!!!

Godspeed,
CL

SEND MAIL!!!

The girls can finally go to the mailbox at our home!! In Louisiana, we lived on a very busy road with a very tiny shoulder and a little brother who would follow the girls if we had let them walk to the mailbox. Oh, and the dogs and cat would have been ker-splat, too. Here, we are on a very lightly traveled road. I think we have counted ten cars in a week....each one may pass twice, but still, there isn't traffic to speak of, so the girls can walk the long driveway to the mailbox. I happened to see them returning from the mailbox today and got this shot. I am also attaching a shot of the arena and the guest house for reference as things change around here....like adding grass, for one.

I enjoyed picking up rocks, a wheelbarrow full...well, I enjoyed the first half, but not the second!! Who needs a gym around here??? My legs are so sore!!! I made a great fire pit for us to use when we have our campfire nights. We have always enjoyed a campfire, and we have weather for it now, too!!!


Tomorrow night, Grouchy and I will attend the local FFA chapter's "slave auction" where they auction off FFA members to do work in return for the payment to support the FFA chapter. We plan to "buy" a couple of guys to come rebuild the Rainbow play system we brought from LA. Grouchy took it apart but swears he will not even think about trying to get it back together!! We also heard from one neighbor that another neighbor had a Rainbow Play System dealership and is a pro at all that.....need to meet them...note to self!

Grouchy, the girls and I worked on the arena/paddock fence today..three strands of electric wire for now. In the future, like someday when we sell our LA house, we will take the wire down and put up pannels...aaahhhh...so nice!!! Grouchy keeps having neighbors come by to visit while he is working, but then he stops working while he and the guests talk, so today, about two hours were a wash!! Can't complain and the people are sooooooo nice and just stop in and are truly sincere...but I told Grouchy that he needs to just keep working and then ask them to help and keep talking while he has help!!!

Okay, here are the photos, and I am then going to sleep!! My apologies if they are before this text. I was told I might should cut and paste them to the right spot, but my eyes are crossing too much!! MUST SLEEP!!!!

Godspeed,
CL

Getting Acquainted and Photos!

Things are shaping up here in Idaho. We miss our family and friends, PERIOD!!!

However, we have joined the YMCA 15 miles from our little slice of heaven ranchette, and we have met some really neat folks!!! The girls are both on the swim team for Fall season, and today they started homeschool gymnastics. Their swim coach just happens to be our neighbor just down the little farm road we live on...three kids, homeschool, really, really fun people!!!! Meeting them helped the girls tons!! We have also located a church we want to try next weekend, and we have already signed up the girls for AWANA there!! Way cool!! Having kids whose names they know is so good. The girls were hanging in there well, but they were moody and were missing "home" in LA. Grouchy's mom was here for a week. We call her DiDi. She was so wonderful to come out here with us and help for the week. She left this morning. We miss her!!!! We could have NEVER gotten this much done without her!! Garrett woke her by banging on the guest house door this morning so she could watch him climb onto the bus IN OUR YARD...not out at the street, but AT THE DOOR!!! WONDERFUL!!!

Garrett was slated to have his first day at school Tuesday, but he woke up on the wrong side of the bed that morning, and then as he was sitting in my lap while I completed the paperwork at school, he barfed EVERYWHERE!!!!! "Hi, thanks for having us in your beautiful classroom...OOPS.....just a two foot puddle of neon yellow medicine barf on your nice, new carpet, my clothes, in my shoes, all over your new student. Think we will try this again tomorrow!!!" SO that's how that went!!

Grouchy went to swim team with us and dropped us off so he could get more fencing supplies. I had time to do some pool therapy with Garrett before he requested to go to the playroom for childcare. He and I enjoyed the indoor spray park and the lazy river. The girls had a very tough practice, especially for Addie who hasn't worked out in the pool since last summer really. Then they had fun on the diving board and indoor water slides before Grouchy picked us up and treated us to YUMMY Mexican food....my favorite!!! We then took a detour to get some vapor bath for a certain someone in the house who will not publicly admit he likes our new bathtub and some wine at the end of brutal fence-building days!!! We are now enjoying a movie, Dust Factory. Picked it up for $2 in a local little grocery store. It is approved by some of the family organizations.....weird movie so far.

I will again attempt to attach photos, although I have not been able to lately. It worked, but they are at the top of the post....no complaining...at least I can upload again!!

Godspeed,

CL

Garrett Starts New School Tomorrow!

Tomorrow will be Garrett's first day of school here in Idaho!! He will be entering a similar program to the one he attended in Louisiana. He will only be there from 8:15 to 11:15 though, quite a bit less time than his 8-3 schedule in Louisiana. His teacher sounds wonderful on the phone, and I hear great things about the program here.

Oscar's mom, DiDi is still here and is a MAJOR help!! Today she went with Addie and me to Lowe's to get fence posts and some yard items. We have no yard yet, so Oscar has been working like crazy to level the weed-overtaken ground and prepare it to be seeded with grass. We also selected some topsoil and some neat plants Addie and DiDi found. Oscar also got posts set for a temporary corral for the two horses. It will eventually become the posts for some panels to rest against for our arena. The ground here right around the house is MAJORLY rocky.....no fun to sink posts into the ground.

Addie, Ainslee and I went to the local MDA telethon at a local television station today. The girls got to help with posting stars on the board and I answered phones. We had a nice time and met a few very friendly families. Addie got to see some videos of MDA camp here, too. I hope she will want to try it out next year.

Finally, as Oscar continued to sweat it pounding posts into the ground, Ainslee and I rode the horses for a few minutes. It felt great!!!

Godspeed,

CL

WE HAVE ARRIVED!!

We are in the new house!!!
We are unpacking from sun up til sun down except church today.

I am tired.

Thank you for reading my blog.

God is good.

Godspeed,

CL

P.S. It is wonderful here, and once Oscar finishes leveling and seeding the yard, we will have a black horse again instead of a grey one!!!! LOTS of dust!!!!!