Three of my siblings, including myself, have each had a chance to spend a night in the cabin.
With just one or two of us in there, it feels huge!! It has a loft, a futon, a hutch and a dresser. Here's a photo tour.
I've mentioned before that Grandma and Grandpa Lotter built a small cabin on their property, mostly for when my uncle and his family comes to visit from Wisconsin, but it can also be just a nice quiet place to go sit and relax for a few hours, or overnight.
Three of my siblings, including myself, have each had a chance to spend a night in the cabin. With just one or two of us in there, it feels huge!! It has a loft, a futon, a hutch and a dresser. Here's a photo tour.
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Hi, I'm Denalyn Johnson, and I'm a nineteen year old amateur photographer who's desire is to one day be a professional photographer. I first started taking pictures with a digital camera when I was about ten, and continued from there. I've always enjoyed photography, but I've mainly focused on nature. Now, I'm feeling led to expand to something bigger, such as people (I've been terrified to do so up till now). I hope that my photography will please people, while still giving glory to God. If you would like to see my work, you can visit my blog here. www.denslens.blogspot.com I hope you all enjoy. Big thank you to Lauren Lotter for inviting me to post pictures on her blog. You're very sweet, Lauren! Thank you for joining us and sharing your pictures, Denalyn!
Here is another short excerpt from "Whisper". I am at 9000 words and it is still flowing very well. I haven't had much time to work on it this week because we were picking up a large estate, but the few times I did sit down and write were very productive. Enjoy! Six weeks after bringing her home, she was doing very well, hardly showing any aggressive behavior at all and allowing me to sit right outside the fence while she ate.
She had made so much progress, that Dad felt it was time to test her with someone in the pen. He didn't want me to do it, but she wasn't used to anyone else, so finally he agreed to let me try it with him a short distance away. I felt confident that the mare would be fine, but as I approached the gate, my heart was pounding. I had seen what the mare could do and what she had tried to do to Dad and multiple other people who had crowded her. The mare eyed me curiously as I approached the pen, seeming to sense that something unusual was going on. I took a deep breath and focused on relaxing. I knew that my emotions dictated her emotions to a certain extent and the last thing I wanted was her becoming more nervous than she already was. When I felt ready, I slowly eased open the gate and inched inside. I kept my eyes averted, my shoulders round and my head tilted to one side, just as Dad had taught me. I watched the mare out of the corner of my eye and saw her head come up and her nostrils flare as she realized there was no fence between us. With a challenging whinny, she started toward me. I held my breath as I waited to see what she would do. Her manner didn't seem as confident as when she had charged Dad that first time, so I just stood there, ready to slip out the gate if I needed to. But the mare stopped in the center of the pen and reared up. She pawed the ground and snorted, but did not come any closer. During the next ten minutes, she trotted back and forth across the far side of the pen, stopping occasionally to stare me down and paw angrily, but she did not charge me. With tears streaming down my face, I latched the gate and ran to Dad who was waiting with open arms. "I did it, I did it, I did it!" I knew we were still a long way from being able to handle and ride her, but that didn't matter right then. I had seen her behavior before and this was a huge step in the right direction. Dad's eyes were shiny as he held me at arms length. "I'm so proud of you, honey. You've done a great job." I smiled. "Now do you think it’s a crazy idea?" Dad laughed. "No, Rachel. I think you both needed each other. I'm glad I bought her for you." On Saturday after work, we went out to eat at Big Boy. I was bending down to take a picture of some snap dragons and looked up to find Dad snapping a picture of me...so I took a picture of him taking a picture of me....did that make any sense!? I went home with Dad and when we got there, Sabriyah met us in the yard as usual. I sat down to have some cuddle time with her and other animals began trickling in. I didn't know Dad was taking pictures of me! I took some selfies too. Maple is usually the one that comes to cuddle with me, but Shep must have been feeling left out. He's getting more clingy the older he gets. Sabriyah loved the buttons on my dress! She loves to climb on the old van. She even sleeps on the warm roof sometimes. Doggie Kiss! Pet me please!
I first heard this song about three years ago when a family we know sang it for a family sharing evening. It impressed me so much I asked them to give me a copy of the song. I didn't hear it again until about a year ago when I found it on a CD by Daniel O'Donnell. It is a beautiful song to listen to, but the words have a powerful message. Footsteps walking with me
Footsteps I cannot see But every move I make And every step I take I know they're there with me They walk with me all the way Beside me day by day Through good and bad Through happy and sad Those footsteps won't go away I'll never walk in life alone There'll always be someone there I know He won't let me down He's with me everywhere The special things in life I've done Have been through Him and His love I've been blessed in so many ways Thanks to the Lord above Footsteps walking with me Footsteps I cannot see But every move I make And every step I take I know they're there with me They walk with me all the way Beside me day by day Through good and bad Through happy and sad Those footsteps won't go away I think that my life's been planned By the one who's guiding me When I'm led by the hand Of someone I can't see I'm not always sure where to go That's when I follow his lead I know that the pathway that He shows Will help me to succeed Footsteps walking with me Footsteps I cannot see But every move I make And every step I take I know they're there with me They walk with me all the way Beside me day by day Through good and bad Through happy and sad Those footsteps won't go away Through good and bad Through happy and sad By my side they will stay Unfortunately we have had to cancel our trip to Alaska for this year. Dad took the RV in to get new brakes put on it earlier this week. Shortly after he got home from dropping it off, he got a phone call from the shop saying that a semi had "bumped" the RV and they wanted him to come in to do a police report. The damage was pretty bad and it will take a couple weeks to fix. We have decided to put off the trip until next year. We are planning on taking a few weekend trips this fall. Here's some pictures of the damage. Ok, that is not our RV! When Dad was on his way to look at the damage, Mom texted him and told him to send her pictures. This was the picture he sent her! Now these are the real pictures!! Everything happens for a reason and obviously we weren't meant to go on a trip this year.
I didn't get as many pictures as usual this week, so I pulled up some pictures from this past winter to go along with a few pictures from Kelly's shower. Which one is your favorite? Mine are the last two. From the Present...From the Past...Bannie and Smoke have each been a star so now it's Ashwin's turn to shine! Thank you for all your kind comments yesterday! I'm at just over 4000 words right now and the ideas are still rolling out! Let's hope they keep on coming! Here's a little excerpt from the new story. Let me know what you think! The girl's name is Rachel...at least for now! That may change later as I get farther into the story. She and her dad are looking at the horses at the local stockyard's annual horse sale. Her family raises Quarter Horses, but Rachel wants a special horse...a horse she picked. "Honey, we've been through almost all the horses and you haven't picked even one out yet."
I knew Dad was puzzled. I had been so adamant about getting a horse today. "They just weren’t the ones, Dad." I stuck my foot on the bottom board of the last pen and hauled myself up. As my head cleared the top board, I gasped. I felt Dad climbing up beside me, but I had eyes for nothing but what was in that pen. Unlike the other pens, this one held only one horse…my horse. I knew the instant I saw her that she was mine. A gray mare, almost silver in color, eyed us warily from the back corner of the pen. Head held high, eyes alert, she had air of a princess. She had a small head and daintily curved ears. Her body was small, but proportionate and she had the smallest feet I had ever seen on a horse her size. I watched her, fascinated, as she tossed her head and trotted in a small circle, then faced us again and pawed the ground with a challenging whinny. "She's the one." I whispered, my eyes never leaving hers. "That's my horse." Dad shook his head. "Honey, she's not the one for you. She's wild and independent." I couldn't tear my gaze from that beautiful horse…my horse. I looked into her eyes, and knew I couldn't leave without her. Dad sighed. "Well, you stay here. I'll check her out." He threw his leg over the fence and jumped to the ground. Instantly the mare's head went up and her nostril's flared. Dad waited a minute then slowly approached her, his shoulders hunched and eyes on the ground. I'd seen him use the same approach on other nervous horses and it always made the horse more comfortable with him. But it didn't work on the gray mare. A terrifying scream rent the air as she charged him, hooves flying. Dad leapt for the fence and made it over just in time. Shaken, I jumped to the ground and peered through the boards. The mare was running around the pen with as much speed as she could muster in such a small space, screaming her anger and, I realized as I watched, her fear. Dad pulled me away from the boards. "I'm sorry, honey, but she's too dangerous." A lump formed in my throat. Even after what the mare had just done, I wanted her more than anything in the world. Somehow, I knew that she wasn't really like that, she didn't want to be mean and dangerous. I knew that she was protecting herself from what she thought was a threat. I wondered what had happened to her to make her behave in such a way. "Sir, are you alright?" one of the employee's ran up to us, concern etched on his face. "Yes, we're fine." Dad placed a hand on my shoulder. "I guess we should have put a sign up. That horse is dangerous." the worker sighed in relief. "So I gathered. Why isn't she with the other horses?" Dad asked. "We tried to put her in with them, but all she did was fight. Some of them are quite beat up." the worker shook his head. "You should have seen her when they brought her in. Had to whip her to get her into the pens." Anger rose in my chest. How could anyone treat such a beautiful horse so badly? "Well, I need to move on. The auction is about to start." the worker moved away and Dad and I were left alone. "Dad," I drew a shaky breath. "I want that horse." Dad shook his head. "Sorry, honey. She's too much horse for you." Tears filled my eyes. "Now, don't start that." Dad knelt in front of me. "You saw what she tried to do to me. How do you think you'll be able to handle her?" I didn't think there was any way to convince Dad, but I had to try. "Dad," I said earnestly. "She's not really a bad horse. You heard what that man said. They were whipping her. If they did that in public, but what do you think they did to her back at their home. I saw the look in her eyes when she charged you. She was scared! Dad, please! Just give me a chance! I think I could help her. I have to try!" Dad sighed and standing up, stared through the boards at the mare who was still pawing the ground nervously. He was silent for a long time and I was beginning to think he wasn't going to answer me, but finally he turned around and took my hand. "Let's go watch the auction." he said. "Maybe you'll notice a horse you didn't see before." My heart sank. He was still determined to get me one of those old, calm horses. I followed along behind him as we made our way to the auction ring, picturing the frightened eyes of the gray mare and wishing I could help her. Horse after horse passed through the ring and whenever a calm one was being auctioned off, Dad turned hopeful eyes on me, but each time I shook my head. I couldn’t get the gray mare out of my mind. Leaving Dad standing by the ring, I walked out onto the platform that overlooked the pens and saw that most of the horses were gone. They would be getting to the gray mare soon. Forty-five minutes later, she entered the ring. I snapped this picture of Ashwin the other day and it just looked like a book cover. Whisper was the first name that popped into my head and soon a story followed.
The story is about an abused mare and the girl who tries to help her move beyond her fear and learn to trust again. So what do you think? Today I did my first book signing. Our local library was hosting an art show to coinside with the towns annual festival. They were having another author come in on Friday, but since I couldn't make it that day, they let me come today for the art show.
I sold two books and left five more signed copies On Saturday I was asked to photograph my cousin Kelly's wedding shower. I had never done anything like this before, but I really enjoyed it and I think it turned out well.
Here's a few pictures from it. This is only a sampling...I took over 900 pictures. I realized last Saturday afternoon that I hadn't done a Photo Friday post! I had to make this weeks post a little longer to make up for it! As I mentioned in last Saturday's post, I just got a new camera and had lots of opportunities to try it out. What do you think of this weeks photos? Do you have a favorite? I love all of them, but if I had to pick, I think the top one of Rio, the one of Jolie sticking her tongue out, the watermelon and Moriah giving Smoke a kiss would be my favorites. I couldn't pick just one!
A few months ago I was interviewed for a special young author post on Xulon's Blog and it was just a posted a few days ago. Below is the interview and you can click here to view the post on Xulon's blog. Lauren Lotter Stats: 18-year-old homeschooled student in Michigan Book: Rustlers and the Texas Trail – book one of the Christian Cowgirl Adventure series, a book series focused on combining love of western culture with biblical values. Xulon Editor Blair Townley: What is the storyline for Rustlers and the Texas Trail, and how did you come up with the idea? Lauren Lotter: The story follows a young girl named Amy and the different adventures that she encounters. It also teaches life lessons with biblical principles that are contained in a fun and exciting historical story.I always loved horses and western stories, but I was having trouble finding exciting and thrilling stories that had a strong Christian standpoint. BT: Describe the writing routine that you created for writing your book, and what you experienced during the self-publishing process. LL: I didn’t plan ahead on where the story was going to end up, so I picked the name and let the story flow out. It took thirteen months for the first draft and went through ten revisions. There were times where I had all sorts of ideas and had to decide where to put them in the story; and then there were times when I needed to work on this, but couldn’t come up with anything. There were definite moments of writer’s block. I had other books I was working along with this book, but this series seemed to be one that I really felt comfortable with. I felt a little overwhelmed putting all the pieces together for publishing, but I had a lot of people helping me along the way, as well as the Xulon staff. It was definitely a good experience and I learned a lot of lessons from it. BT: How will you be promoting your book, and what do you hope readers gain from the series? LL: It feels strange being a published author, but growing up I always looked at book covers with the author’s name on them. It is different now seeing my name on a cover. I will be promoting the book on my family’s auction website, which gets about one million page views a month, and I have my own website also, www.heritageliterature.com. I’m already editing the rough draft of the second book in the series, which I hope to publish next spring, and am halfway through the rough draft of the third book. I do want to keep writing seriously and hope young girls read the books, giving them something to enjoy but taking something good away from it. Last Friday one of our neighbors called and asked if I could babysit their three horses this week while they go on a trip.
I had been observing these horses for several years from a distance as I rode past so I was excited for the opportunity to meet them! Tonight was my first time to do chores and it went fine. They were a little confused, but didn't cause any problems. I will be taking care of them for sure through Wednesday and possibly Thursday too. If it goes well this time, Connie and Rick want me to take care of the horses when ever they go away, and possibly do some training with Garth too. He sure is a big boy! Blue is very quiet and sweet, with pretty blue eyes. Oreo is a bit of a stinker...he certainly rules the roost! Check out this amazing video by clicking here.
Profound and Inspiring. My Uncle Ben, Aunt Carol and their five children, Carina, Evin, Kaden, Moriah and Quinton came for the weekend.
They stayed in the cabin Grandma and Grandpa built next to their house. We took them fishing, went to fireworks and rode horses. We had a great time and enjoyed visiting with them. Here's a few pictures from our weekend. I just got a new camera (Nikon D3200) since my other one (Cannon T3i) broke suddenly as I was using it to take pictures for the auction. With our Alaska trip coming up, I needed a good camera for that, as well as for the auction. The Nikon is 24 megapixels where as the Cannon was 13 pixels. It takes much better photos than my old one. I had a great chance to try it out this weekend and I was really pleased with the quality of the pictures. Also, we have decided to name the appaloosa Ashwin, Cherakee for horse. Thanks for suggesting this name, Lorna! |
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