Horseback Riding

We got to go horseback riding this past week. We were kind of concerned about how well Ella would do because of falling off last time. She was scared at first and wanted to get off. However, she rode with Kirby and made both JD (Kirby's friend) and myself each hold her hands. It was quite the sight actually. Anyway, she finally let us go, rode with just Kirby and then by herself. She was pretty confident by the end, so we were excited about that. She was yelling, "Daddy! I'm ridin'!" Jenna has her mother's mentality.... haha.. now that you are done laughing. I can just see her brain at work... thinking.... why do I have to wear this helmet, why won't these people let me go, I can do this all on my own. Oh, well... what are you going to do... little Miss Independent. :-)
After riding, we always go see Kirby's goats. Well, this time, Jason caught one. So, the girls were able to pet the goat. I will attach pics. Kirby has two goats, one's name is Creme and the other is Brulee. The girls got to pet Creme. Kirby is in school learning to be a chef, so that is how the goats got their names. Anyway, we love horseback riding with Kirby. She is patient and loves our girls. We love her too!

Have a Merry Christmas!

Horseback Riding Lessons

Ok. So, our first lesson went well. The girls had to learn to brush Ed, pick his hooves and brush his teeth (haha- not really brush his teeth).

On the second lesson, the girls pretty much got right on to ride. All was well as Jenna rode. She had to make Ed turn one way and then the next. Getting him to even go was a chore. We had to get her to kiss at him and give him a little kick. She did really well, such a natural.

When we got to Ella, well..... what can I say but Ella turned into Superwoman. With one minute of getting on Ed and strapping on the spurs, Ella was running. I guess I should actually say Ed was running and Ella was on him. However, she did not last long. The fright on all of our faces would have been a picture to remember, but I really don't want to remember. Next thing we knew, as Ed was running, Ella was holding on, then she let go of the reigns, legs still wrapped around him, then she is laying down with legs still wrapped around, she is bouncing all over the place and then it happend. Ella flew into the air and was Superwoman. She landed face down- Thank the Lord--- as her helmet kept her safe. The bill of her helmet kept her little face from slamming down to the ground. Now, all of this is going on and we are standing in shock. As soon as she flew off, I took off running and behold I actually ran faster than Jason- it was a total miracle- which I would have wanted to see on tape, but oh well..... I picked her up and Ella had chosen a nice shade of arena brown dirt as her lipgloss. That was all there was, dirt on her lips. We thanked the Lord over and over again. Of course, at this time, Ella is scared to death, but not crying... typical of Ella. After Kirby (their teacher) teaches Ed he cannot do that, we put Ella back on. She was scared at first, but we wanted her to ride. About her third time around the arena, she was telling us good bye, so we knew she was going to be fine. You will see the pics of Ella riding with Kirby because we did not even get a chance to get pics of Ella riding by herself. So, anyway, we have not ridden again because of schedules and the weather. We should ride on Tuesday, but we will see. Anyway, here are the pics of my little cowgirls. :-)

Christmas is upon us

As Christmas is upon us, we remember that the reason for this time of year is to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the author and the finisher, the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega, our Savior. He is the only reason we are able to breathe. May we all remember Him and make Him our priority, not just at this time of year, but all year long.

From our house to yours, Merry Christmas!