"And in the end, its not the years in your life,
but the life in your years that count." -Abraham Lincoln
but the life in your years that count." -Abraham Lincoln
There is a time for work and a time for play. A time to eat and a time to rest. A time for peace and a time for war. Exercise, sleep, house cleaning, farm chores and yard jobs are all included as well. But most importantly, time for God....a time to pray, read the Bible and sit and listen. Sometimes it is so hard to balance this all out. There just isn't enough hours in a day.
Tuesday the 17th was a busy dissection day at school. Once home I needed to sit, eat lunch and rest before heading out to the barn. (I actually took a little nap even.) Joe and I completely cleaned out the two stalls and then filled them with new wood shavings. Just as we were finishing
Courtney came over to work Zorro.
Then I groomed and loved on Amiga who is still on stall rest.
It is so good to have Courtney coming back here on a regular basis.
In the evening, I read an e-mail update from Britney: "Just wanted to let you all know that I am safe. For those of you who haven't seen in the news, Guatemala has declared a 30 day state of emergency in the Peten region. There has been a huge massacre in the north of Guatemala by a Mexican drug "mafia" and 27 innocent people were killed/beheaded. This is a huge and unexpected emergency for Guatemala, but I am completely safe where I am at and it doesn't directly affect me. Please keep Guatemala in your prayers." It was time to pray.
The cow boys looking in on Zorro and probably wanting their evening grain.Wednesday I headed home early enough to go to Marj's for a riding lesson. Since Amiga was still on stall rest, I rode one of the horses who is boarded there, but for sale. He is a 16 hand Tennessee Walker I thought I would give a try. He is a very nice, gentle horse, but needed a lot of pushing to get him to move out. Again, nothing like my hot little Amiga, but he would be good for less experienced riders. It just got me re-thinking about the possibilities of a third horse here. All in good time...or maybe I need my head examined.
Thursday our vet from Gibson City, Emily Tucker, came to give the horses all their annual shots, cog-gins test, etc. She checked Amiga for lameness, and like the farrier, said it wasn't real pronounced, but she did look off on her back left leg. While I had Amiga in the round pen free lunging her, she took off and raced around like a wild woman. I was not driving her up at all, but had to "push" her back out away from me when she came in to the center of the ring at a high stepping pace. She looked so pretty prancing around, and you would never guess she was lame. But, when in gait, she was taking shorter steps on her back left leg.
Friday we finished up the rat dissection lab. I was quite pleased
at how well the students had done.
I went to Ann's after school to check on her condo "renovation" project, catch up on life and celebrate the end of a work week. We soaked up a few Bud Light Limes and enjoyed snacks while conversing for almost 2 hours. On the way home I bought a few little trees and some flowers. Then I was off with Joe, Bob and Marge to have dinner at Jacks. When I got home, going to bed was about all I had the energy left to do.
The iris are in full bloom and are just gorgeous. Don't forget to
take time to smell the flowers.
I picked some and put them in a vase along with this pretty and unusual peony.
Saturday I was up early and bound and determined to get my final exam, review, and study guide written. It was supposed to be rainy all weekend but didn't look too threatening to begin with. By noon the sun
had broken through the clouds
and I decided to plant the Althea (Rose of Sharon) tree before the rain came. I put it in front of my office window to replace the red bud that did not make it through the winter. I also staked up the bird bath that had the bottom broken and had kept falling off the pedestal.I continued with flower planting around my new little tree and birdbath and moved to the wheelbarrow planter next. It ended up being nice all day. The wind picked up a bit, but it never did rain.
Sunday morning it looked like rain...but we only got a few sprinkles. I took this picture before the sun came up. After Church Sunday I went to
school and finished up my exam,
Speaking of weeds, our State legislators have been in the process of trying to pass a bill that will cut pensions for public employees. Teachers, social workers, and other public employees across the state have been rallying to try to stop this. Things are still uncertain.
Monday morning the sun was shining but it was very windy. Because I had spent so much time at school Sunday, it did not feel like a Monday. I had a ton of grading because I had collected the Rat Lab Packets...5 days of work the students had completed. So, even though all my plans and paper prep were done for the year....the grading was astronomical, but it would have to wait. We had a cookout at growth group and a time of fellowship.
I heard this song "The Words I Would Say", by Sidewalk Prophets, while driving home today, and it really struck a cord with me (get it...lol). Not only does it give me encouragement, but these are the words I would say to Britney as she faces new challenges in the mission field in Guatemala. I also hope it would speak to Daniel who is on a military mission over seas. And even give encouragement to Courtney who faces the day to day challenges at State Farm and when working with her horse here at our farm. I would say these words to all of you, whom I love.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fpKwja0j50
Some of the lyrics:Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
Thank God for each day,
His love will find a way,
These are the words I would say
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