Yesterday I rode for the first time since my accident, nearly six months ago.
I took Bannie out and lunged him first...he gets sappy after a week or two off...six months is a long time to go without any work! He tried to jerk me around a little (I was wearing my brace) and when that didn't work, he started bucking and jumping around. I just kept making him work until his head came down and he started to listen. We did some ground work, bending, backing and picking up his feet and he did much better with that, especially the bending, than I expected.
After about fifteen minutes of ground work I decided it was time to mount up. I had a little battle with my nerves as I put my foot in the stirrup, but it passed as I swung aboard. We mostly just walked. I asked him to trot twice and both times he got a little to energetic so I backed him down and did some turns to calm him. We had one moment were he locked up and it took me a minute to get him to move, but I did and it was fine after that. He has lots of energy and it will be...interesting...to work that out of him. Once we get him out into the 35 acre pasture where he can run and burn himself out he'll behave much better.
I had fun on my first ride although it didn't last very long...I'm really out of shape! Just before the accident I was up to going for a six to eight mile ride with ease....I've got a long way to go to get back up to that! But, the horses aren't up for it either...they've had the same amount of time off that I have.
Below are some pictures. I'm hoping to have a video up of Bannie and I lunging and riding soon.
The warm weather has been wonderful!!

Here's some fun black and white ones.

Steve and Teri Maxwell from Titus 2 have recently written a new book: Buying a House Debt-Free.
Steve and Teri, with their children, travel to conventions teaching about family relationships and homeschooling. They have been talking about the subject of buying a house debt-free for a long time and now they have all of it written down for you to read!
Visit their website at www.titus2.com.

    Have you ever looked at your dining room table as more than a piece of furniture? Or do you ever see your car as a trustworthy, or not so trustworthy friend? What about the sugar container?...now there's a real friend!
    When I look at the things around me, in my house specifically, I don't see just pieces of furniture, dishes, appliances….they have character, personalities….when I go to someone else's house and see the same things, they don't mean as much to me because I don't use them, handle them, clean them, or wonder where they came from.
    A while ago, my dad sold his old truck and got a new one. At first, the new truck was like a stranger, an intruder. It wasn't familiar and comfortable. There were no memories attached to it. But, five months later, that new truck has become familiar and has made memories of its own. 
     Another example would be my horses. Bannie and Smoke are my friends, more like people than horses. When I see someone else's horses, I don't see anything more than an animal. I don't know that horse's personality, likes or dislikes. 
     Every once in a while, its fun to look around me at each object I am surrounded by and evaluate how familiar I am with that object. Do I regard it as a friend or not?
I know this may sound a little strange, but I think it's the writer in me that does this. I can use everything around me in a story, therefore I tend to see things differently than other people. In order to use something in a story, I need to be familiar with it. I like to look at old pieces of furniture and wonder, if this piece could talk, what stories could it tell? Would they be good or bad? Dull or exciting? You can ask the same question of new furniture too. What would it be like to travel down an assembly line? What kinds of people put it together? Exactly what places has it been in its journey from the factory to your house?
    Okay, okay, maybe I'm the only one that does this, but I enjoy it!

To Thee My Master I Offer My Prayer
Author Unknown

 Feed me, water and care for me and when the day's work is done provide me with a shelter, a clean dry bed and a stall wide enough for me to lie down in comfort.
    Talk to me, Your voice often means as much to me as the
reins.
   Pet me sometimes, that I may serve you the more gladly and learn to love you.
   Do not jerk the reins, do not whip me when going uphill. 
    Never strike, beat or kick me when I not understand what you want, but give me a chance to understand you. 
   Watch me, and if I fail to do your bidding, see if something is not wrong with my harness or feet.
   Examine my teeth when I do not eat, I may have an ulcerated tooth, and you know, it is very painful. 
   Do not tie my head in an unnatural position or take away my best defense against flies and mosquitoes by cutting off my tail or limit my range of vision by blinders so that I am frightened by what I cannot see. 
    And finally, O my master, when my youthful strength is gone, do not turn me out to starve or freeze, or sell me to some cruel owner to be slowly, tortured and starved to death: but do thou, my master, take my life in the kindest way and your God will reward you here and hereafter.
   You will not consider me irreverent if I ask this in the name of Him who was born in a stable. Amen

Book Three
Today is exactly one year since I started this book. I haven't posted  the last three chapters because I didn't have titles for them...so here they are:

• Chapter 11: Surprise Meeting
• Chapter 12: Missing
• Chapter 13: The Search Begins

I am on page 99. My goal is 22 chapters and about 200 hand written pages. We have a very busy year a head of us so we'll see how much I manage to get done!

The farther a long I get, the more thrilling the story! I think this is definitely going to be the most suspense filled book of the three. There are lots of twists and unexpected turns to the story and many unforeseen problems that crop up. I think it will also be the most difficult to edit because of all the fact checking I'll have to do, making sure the story makes sense and all the loose ends are tied up. This book will be different than the other two because it has one climax. The first one has several small climaxes all building towards the ending climax, the second one had two major climaxes, but the third will have one. In this one, everything that happens points to two things that are so intertwined, they become one at the end of the book. I love books that have a lot of suspense and this one definitely fits the bill!

As we were on our way home from the auction hall today, we got a call from Grandma saying that the horses were out and Grandpa was trying to get them in. Grandpa was driving the back hoe into the barnyard and the horses ran past him.  Bannie and Smoke were having the time of their life running around and chubby, miserable Lena was trying to keep up. They were back in by the time we got home.
Lena is getting close to having her baby. She is cranky and moody. Her belly is soooo big! I can't wait for our mule baby to get here.  

Here are some collages I put together of the horses

Here's 2 collages I put together recently. I love the antique look!

This quote was painted above a doorway at the Henry Ford Museum

Sheryl Aeschliman wrote this on her blog, God is Singing Over You.
I thought she did a great job of showing us what God wants us to do with our lives...Glorify Him!

Mom, Levi and Lydia went to a rabbit show today. They did great, winning best opposite and best of variety. They also won many first place ribbons. They were really pleased with the outcome and are planning on going to a show next Saturday too.
Seth went to Perry Toy Show with Grandpa and Uncle Greg. He bought a couple small scale tractors. They stopped at the rabbit show on the way home.
Dad went to the auction hall then on to the rabbit show too.
I stayed home and enjoyed some quiet time to work on the third book. I finally had to put Sabriyah out in her playpen in the garage because she would not sleep in the house unless I had her on my lap...and I needed my lap for either my computer or my book! So she took a nice long nap outside and I was able to get some work done. Then it was back to protecting my computer from being knocked onto the floor as she butted it trying to gain possession of my lap! She is sleeping on my feet as I type this. She has been driving Ranger(the cat) crazy all day chasing him around. He's a little tired of her. Up until Thursday, he could escape by going upstairs as she hadn't figured out the stairs yet, well, that isn't even safe anymore!
Here are some pictures from the rabbit show.

This one is my favorite..in black and white of course

Below is a picture of Seth's cake and one of Marilyn, my great aunt, feeding Sabriyah.
The day before his birthday, Seth said to me "I wish Mason(my friend Kristina's brother) could come to my party, but it probably wouldn't work out."
Well, for a surprise we invited Mason and Kristina, but didn't tell Seth...he was really surprised and pleased.
We all had a great time.
After Grandma, Grandpa and Marilyn left, Mason and Kristina stayed for awhile and Mason played nerf gun wars with Levi
and Lydia. They had fun.
Seth got a really big surprise. For two weeks he's been looking at a gun at a store near us and talking to Dad about
buying it. He called to check if it was still there yesterday afternoon and was disappointed when they told him it had been sold.
While Seth was opening some of the other gifts, Dad stepped out of the room and came back in holding a gun. My jaw dropped because earlier in the day Dad had told me that Seth had called on the gun and it was gone...and said NOTHING else!
Seth was speechless...a rare thing for him! He could not believe it. He is VERY  happy with it..

Spring is finally here, now lets hope it gets warm!!

Seth is turning 15 today.

Happy Birthday, Seth!

Pictures of his party coming tomorrow.

This is beautiful!

On Sunday afternoon I took Bannie out to one of the fields so Mom could get some pictures of us. She got some good shots. As I was leading him back up to the barn, he decided it was time for a roll! He flopped down in the snow and rolled like crazy. His halter started to come off and I fixed it when he got up. I turned to say something to Mom and when I looked back at him, he had somehow gotten the halter all the way off and it was lying in the snow....uh oh! I don't think he realized it was off so I was able to get it back on before he took off. There were a few spots in the field where the snow had melted away completely and he enjoyed some bites of grass.

Nothin' like a delicious warm cheesy casserole after a long day. I got the idea for this casserole from a blog post by Erin Harrison on Homestead Community Post. With a few variations, it fit my needs.
So here's how this casserole got started. I started browning hamburger for spaghetti, then realized I was completely out of all kinds of noodles....hmmm. What do I do with this hamburger I have browning?
I thought of the casserole Erin had posted and thought maybe I could make it a main dish instead of a side dish.
Here's what I came up with.

Brown 3 lbs. hamburger with medium size onion

Mix together:

• 7-8 medium potatoes (you can also used canned potatoes)

• Dash of
  parsley, salt and pepper
• 8 oz. cream cheese
  (softened)
• 1 C. sour cream (I didn't have sour cream so I used
  about a 1/4 c. of milk instead. It tasted great anyway!)
• About a cup and
  a half of shredded cheese

Spread hamburger in bottom of pan

Spread Potato mixture on top and bake at 350* for 35-40 minutes.
If you are using canned potatoes, bake for 25 minutes at 350*

Spread cheese on top and put back in oven for about five minutes.

Enjoy! I think this is going to become a favorite at our house.
It's very filling...as Erin says, a MAN meal!

Just remember...cooking is all about being FLEXIBLE!
This dish is really easy to change to fit your needs. The ingredients are simple and it can easily be changed to feed more or less people. I love recipes like that.
Try different spices or seasonings...make it fun! My family hates it when I do that! They really don't like it when they hear me say "Ooops!" while I'm in the kitchen.
"What are we eating tonight, Lauren....another experiment?"
This recipe was definitely an experiment!

We have some friends that we have known for years that are missionaries to Ireland. They recently moved to a new house that over looks the ocean. Karissa, one of the girls that is my age, sent me some really pretty pictures she has taken recently. The bottom picture is a baby seal they found near their house.
(No, I didn't post this because it's St. Patrick's day...I already had this post planned for today!)

What Would It Take?
Matthew 16:26-28

You wake up each morning with a brand new ship to sail.
Your day is full of  plans and dreams - there is no room to fail.
But emptiness surrounds you like a sea that's rough and dark.
The happiness you long for seems to mock your lonely heart.

What would it take to fill the void - the emptiness inside?
What would it take to wipe the tears that pridefulness can't hide?
You can live a life that's full of  things that bring prosperity,
But what about the pain that grows in the night when you can't sleep?

Would it take money, silver and gold
To repay a debt untold?
Precious jewels and worldwide fame,
And for everyone to know your name?
How far do you go to play the part?

Would it take health to live for years
With friends to drive away your fears,
Or a beauty rare - a face that glows-
A heart to win - a hand to hold?
Is this where the joy of life must start? 

If peace and love go hand-in-hand,
Then can't you see that love's a Man
And the thing that He is living for
Is to be your everything and more? 
You'll never beat the price He paid for you.

There is one Who died you.
How far do you have to go to prove
What it takes to have the best
Of  life and love and all the rest?
Jesus Christ - and that's the best that you can do.

Today, for the first time since my accident, nearly six months ago, I worked with a horse! I took Smoke out on the lunge line and we had fun. I thought about doing Bannie, but he tends to lean on the rope really hard and I wasn't sure I was up to holding on to him, so I chose Smoke, she always keep slack in the rope.
For not having been worked in so many months, she did great. I was able to snap a few pictures of her with my phone. I absolutely love the one at the top of this post! She seemed to enjoy having a job to do. When the horses got out the other day and she was tearing around like crazy I made the comment, "Boy, she's going to be fun to get back on!" Dad gave me "the look"! I thought she would be crazier than she was on the line, but she moved through the gaits smoothly and came down quickly when I asked her to. She turned in with my body language and stopped and faced me exactly as she was supposed to. It was a good feeling to work with a horse like that again.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our trip to the Henry Ford Museum with a little editing. I love black and white pictures and a lot of the pictures I take I turn black and white. My absolute favorite pictures are the ones of the staircase. Before I edited the pictures, the staircase was blue. I took all the pictures in this post except for the one where I'm standing in the doorway with my back to the camera, Mom took that one.
We had passed the stairway twice before I gave into the temptation to take a few shots. I'm glad I did.
Click on the first photo to see a larger image.

Here's a few of the shots of the staircase with their true colors

Here's some more pictures of Sabriyah. I had to take her with me to the auction hall yesterday  and today because she needs a couple bottles during the day. She stayed in a big box most of the time but before or after feeding her, I would take her out and let her run around. If she ran around inside, I put a diaper on her. She had fun running outside too. It was really warm yesterday and today, I think the highest it got was 51*.
She is a real cuddle bug. It's fun to snuggle with her.
She was having fun yesterday butting her reflection in the mirror at the hall! It was hilarious to watch. She even laid down and slept with her "twin"!
Lena is getting close to having her baby. When the horses got out on Sunday, she was trying to keep up with Bannie and Smoke and her poor belly was swaying from side to side as she ran! The baby has moved down and back and her udder is building. If she keeps progressing at this rate, she probably only has a week or so. I hope the warm weather holds until after the baby is on its feet. She looks soooo uncomfortable!

Update on my back...I was really pleased that I was able to work the last two days without putting on my brace at all! My back ached some but it held up pretty well considering. Hopefully I won't have to wear it at all soon. I'm up to lifting about 20#'s without the brace...really happy about that. Now I've got to work at getting back in shape. Most of the time, it isn't the break that bothers me, my muscles are what gives me grief! After being supported by the brace for nearly six months now, they are pretty wimpy! I can hardly believe the accident was all the way back in October! You can read about it by going to the October section in the blog archives.

I've been your friend for a while.
I know you're hiding behind that smile,
And you're keeping inside tears that should have been cried.

You've been brave through this trial;
You've been as strong as a stone
Against the stormy winds that have blown.
But you have friends who care,
More than willing to share.
Don't face those troubles alone.


Can I pray for you?
Can I mention your name to the Lord?
When I seek His face, can I plead your case?
That's what praying is for.
I'll help you carry your cross
And find the way when you're lost.
If we'll let Jesus be true,
I know that He'll see you through.
Can I pray for you?


I know that there'll come a day
When I'll have trials and need you to pray.
Just like you've done before,
You'll mention me to the Lord.
That's why I'm here to say,
"Let me be there for you.
We'll divide all your problems by two.
And very soon there'll be three-
You and Jesus and me.
That's what friends are supposed to do."


Can I pray for you?
Can I mention your name to the Lord?
When I seek His face, can I plead your case?
That's what praying is for.
I'll help you carry your cross
And find the way when you're lost.
If we'll let Jesus be true,
I know that He'll see you through.
Can I pray for you?

Here's another recipe Carolyn sent me...I haven't tried it yet but it sounds really, really tempting!

 1 lb raw ground beef pressed into greased (sprayed) 9x9 glass baking dish
Sprinkle ½ finely chopped onion on top of raw beef
Spread 1 can cream of mushroom soup on top of onion
Place slices of cheese on top of mushroom soup, completely covering mushroom soup
Place tater tot’s on top of the cheese covering them as much as possible (I line them up in rows)
Bake 350* for 1 hour
This tastes much better than it looks…trust me!

               Thanks for sharing this recipe with me, Carolyn!

After getting spoiled with warm weather for the last few days it was a surprise to wake up to a snow storm this morning. Its snowing pretty heavy and the wind is blowing hard too.  This was the view from the side door this morning.

Here's that excerpt I promised

I'll recap the story a bit so you'll understand what is happening. Amy and her friends are looking for a hidden treasure in her great uncles house. Right now, they are searching in the library. Amy has just finished searching the desk.

After searching all the drawers and compartments, Amy hadn't
come up with anything. "Well, that didn't help much." she sighed, closing the top. "Where should we look now?" 
   "Why don't we try the books?" Roseann suggested. "I've heard of people hiding stuff in books." 
   "It's a start." Amy agreed. Then she groaned. "But there must be hundreds here! Well, we'd better get started on them." 
   A mischievous twinkle appeared in her eyes. "I'm going to get a drink before I start." 
   "We can get started then." Roseann pulled a book off the shelf. 
    Anders followed Amy into the hall. "You've got something up your sleeve." he said in a low tone. "What's up?" 
   "The ceiling." Amy grinned. "Yeah, I do. You'll find out in a minute." 
    "Better not involve me." he said. 
   "It doesn't. Don't worry, you'll think its funny." she assured him. 
    "Hope so." he went back into the library while she continued toward the kitchen.
   She took her time getting a drink and on the way back to the library, she took off her boots and tiptoed down the hall, then slid
along the wall until she was standing at the library door. 
    Just as she reached it, she heard Roseann say. "Where is Amy? She's been gone plenty long enough to get a drink. Maybe we should go look for her." 
    Amy grinned to herself. Her timing had been perfect! 
   "Maybe Harry came back and kidnapped her!" Anders teased. 
   Amy heard footsteps as someone crossed the room and approached the door.
   "Oh Anders!" Roseann sighed. "I don't know how…ahhh!" She never finished her sentence.
   Just as she reached the door, Amy leapt forward and grabbed her. 
    Roseann struggled for a moment before realizing who it was. She sagged against the wall, gasping. 
   Anders, Amy, Tyler and Hannah were doubled over with laughter. 
    "Amy Kentworthy!" Roseann cried as she caught her breath. 

Since I changed my site address to my own domain, my site stats have gone up considerably. So far the record number of page views for one day was 335. It's been pretty exciting to check the numbers every day and see how many I haven gotten! Above is a screen shot I took today of my stats bar.
Today I worked on my author bio and a summery for the first book. I think I have the summery under control but I'm not so sure about the author bio! It's not as easy as I thought it would be!
I've been working on the book summery off and on for a couple of weeks. I had written one several months ago that I put on that books page here on the website, but I didn't really like it. So I took some of the same ideas and redid it. I think this one sounds better. Once it's completely finished I'll post it here and on the book page.
Now, the author bio is a whole different story! It's hard to think of what is important to include in a three to four sentence bio and what to leave out. Since this is my first book, I don't have the usual things to put in the bio. I have the last two sentences written but I'm still working on the first one. 
I feel like doing some writing so I'll probably work on my third book tonight. I don't think I have to work at the auction hall tomorrow so I'll probably do some more editing on the second book.
The weather was warm again today, a welcome change after bitter cold! In a few areas, the snow has melted enough that some grass is showing! It's nice to see some color after so much white!
Sabriyah was having fun playing in the playhouse with Lydia today. She has really taken to the bottle and is full of energy! She is sleeping right now but she's probably due for another bottle soon.
I'll be posting an excerpt tomorrow or the next day.

I couldn't get the lyrics for this song, but I hope you'll enjoy the audio.

On Saturday Dad surprised us with a trip to the Henry Ford Museum at Greenville Village. We had a wonderful time looking at all the old fashioned things the museum is filled with. There was so much to look at! Dad got the membership so we can go back as many times as we want this year. Greenville Village wasn't open yet so we are already planning some trips during the spring and summer. There is a civil war reenactment in May that I really want to go to, wearing one of my old fashioned dresses!
Anyway, we all loved the museum and between me and Mom...we took over seven hundred pictures! Some of them I'll be doing collages with and sharing them later on. There's one in particular I'm really excited about and can't wait to share with you all!!
While we were we went to the Imax theater that is part of the museum. Wow!! It was incredible. Now, you will understand my awe when I say that I have never been to theater before so it was all new to me. The screen was 80 stories wide and had to be almost twice that tall. Incredible! You felt like you were inside the movie and when the camera tipped down over the mountains, whoa! It felt like the room was tipping. The sound quality was amazing...it seemed to be coming from every direction and it covered you like a blanket. The movie we watched was about the history of the Canadian Pacific Railroad. It was really interesting.
Dad was laughing at how many pictures I took....well, I'm already planning to take at least twice that when we go to the village! With all those old barns, houses and other buildings, the opportunities for amazing shots will be incredible! Do you know how interesting the corner, window, steps or door of a house can be in a picture? Can't wait to see what will be the most photogenic!

Click the picture below to see a slideshow of some of the high lights of our day.