30 March 2013

Week 13: {sky} {my world}

52 Weeks
Sky


Project 52
My World

While technically this picture is a bit premature, the pursuit of owning this special horse is very much a big part of my world right now. Horses and kids consume my waking hours, and I love it that way.


27 March 2013

big girl

I met Shuga's hoof trimmer yesterday, and the vet walked me through the shots issue today.

This meant that the kids and I could hang out with our future horse some more. You know, since we were out there anyway.

Lila started screaming any time I or the kids came anywhere near a horse.

Soon, though, she was feeding Shuga treats. Then she was helping me groom her.

And finally, she was adamant that she would get a turn riding, too.

I am so proud of her.


26 March 2013

soulmate

We went to visit Shuga today. She was gorgeous and patient and gentle, as always.

We kind of like her.

A lot.

The kids took turns riding and leading her around.

As I watched them interact with her, and she with them, I realized that she isn't just my perfect horse anymore.

As I continue to get to know her better, I find myself completely stunned.

Surely such an incredible match can only be found in a soulmate.



Week 12: Black and White Self

Admittedly, I am not proud of this picture. I especially hate it when I remember how I had such amazing photos that I had taken this week . . . One random little technology glitch completely erased them.

This is the only one that survived the week.

I suppose I could take a "catch up" week, but since I have a photo that was taken during the week that actually fits both themes, I'm using it.

On the positive side, I learned that you can actually shoot in monochrome with a DSLR, instead of editing your pictures to be black and white. It's been making that style much more accessible for me.


16 March 2013

Week 11: {warm} {eyes}

I've already shared one of this week's photos but I didn't know it at the time. I wait until Saturday to pick out my challenge pictures, just in case I end up taking a better one.

52 Weeks
Eyes

I hadn't intended this to be my week's photo. I was just trying to take Sugar's picture today when she moved, and then I found that I love it too much to put up a different shot.


Project 52
Warm

You can tell things are getting warm when horse hair covers the ground . . .


14 March 2013

how quickly they learn

The kids are zooming through school like pros.

I haven't actually taught Yonah how to read for quite a while. Our reading "lessons" now are simply practicing and testing his reading comprehension.


He's been doing so well, in fact, that today we went to buy some more school books. We were focusing primarily on reading as far as "real" school goes. Now that he can learn more independently and is better at following instructions, we're switching our focus to math and science.

Arabelle is also doing well. She has spent the time so far practicing drawing and identifying shapes and letters, and specifically writing her name. This last month has seen an incredible amount of improvement.


We've tested the waters with reading lessons a few times, but she wasn't ready for it yet. Recently she's begun doing the first pages of Yonah's math book and has really excelled at it. We'll be trying reading lessons again soon.

Lila is also really into the school thing, though hers can't really be called "school" yet.

All in all, it's been a whole lot of fun for all of us.

10 March 2013

spring!

Spring is coming!

I smell it in the air.

I feel it in the sun's warmth.

I hear it in the birds' excited chirping.

But mostly I see it on the ground.

Who needs to ask a groundhog when there are horses nearby?

09 March 2013

Week 10: {Light} {Perspective}

Project 52
Light

My picture for this week has more to do with my internal light. When I am around horses, the depression I've battled for most of my life just disappears. This picture is not a "good" one, but it - and this horse in particular - makes my heart sing.

I loved watching her in today's jumping show. Now I have an idea of how awesome she and I will look together after some more training.


52 Weeks
Perspective

If there was one thing that ever gave me a new perspective, it was becoming a mother.


06 March 2013

Week 9: {new} {architecture} and an explanation

I'm still not sure how to share last week's post, but today I'm going to try.

Last month was a month of house shopping. It was an intense roller coaster of emotion, soaring in exhilaration only to crash into despair a moment later.

Houses were selling left and right. Many had offers accepted on them their very first day on the market. Many others had offers accepted almost the very instant we expressed an interest in them.

But we finally found our perfect house. The only real flaw was that it wasn't a horse property, but this I could deal with. Everything else was almost as if it had been made just for us. We rushed to put in an offer and it was accepted. In our minds we had already moved in. We were planning future expansions to make us even happier there.

Then everything unraveled with a phone call from the loan agent. He had been over-eager in pre-approving us, and the loan wasn't going through. Kim's suspicion that his job is too new was correct.

The crushing devastation we felt is pretty indescribable.

The loan agent and realtor are still working hard to make this happen if at all possible. We are still moving forward with the paperwork just in case God decides to pull a miracle out of thin air, but we are resolved that it won't happen. We feel far too raw to allow ourselves to hope.

I debated taking a different picture for the "New" inspiration, but ultimately I've decided against it. Even if the house is not our new home and future, the search for it was most certainly a new learning experience for us. We will feel more confident in our continued house search next year.

For New and Architecture, here is Week 9's picture: