Bareback

We have made some friends this year who live on a farm (at least for another couple weeks, and then they will be moving), and they invited us over for a spur-of-the-moment playdate recently. The kids played on the trampoline and ran all over the grass and played in the hammock.


Abby got a special treat though, she got to ride their horse...and she did it bareback! First Jackie (the oldest daughter who rides the horse in shows) let her ride with her. They trotted and cantered, and Abby loved it! Then Jackie got off, and Abby rode by herself with my friend Barbara leading her. Abby had been riding for a while and her bottom was a bit sore, so she was ready to get off.

Once our friends get moved, they invited us over to do more riding and to even teach Abigail how to ride. They have a small saddle and she'll wear her bike helmet! Abby loves animals, and Barbara was impressed with how easily she took to the trotting. She wasn't afraid or uptight, she just went with the flow (that's our girl!) and enjoyed the whole experience. (Ryan was invited to ride as well, but he only last about 30 seconds...just long enough for me to snap one picture.)


After that we went to see the two-day-old bunnies, the chicks that are a couple of weeks old, and to watch Barbara collect the eggs. It was a really fun morning, and the kids have been talking about it for days.

Loves Her Granpa

Abby just loves Granpa. Though we only get to see him once a year or so, she asks about him quite a bit. On his last day here last weekend, she was quite out of sorts, acting unusually mellow and quiet. She was just clinging to Granpa and didn't want to be parted from him. She fell asleep on the way to the airport, and she woke up briefly when we stopped and dropped my dad off. He kissed and hugged her, and she said good-bye to him. But an hour or so later as we were eating dinner, she suddenly realized he was gone and asked, "Where's Granpa?" We reminded her that we had taken him to the airport and he was on his way home, she had no memory of saying good-bye and was devastated that she didn't get to give him a hug good-bye.

Friends

Our new neighborhood has kind of turned out to be a retirement community. Most of the people who bought houses on our block are either retired or are at least empty-nesters. But thankfully the Lord heard our prayers early on for some friends for Ryan and Abby, and directly across the street is a family with two kids! We are the only two families with kids on our block, and I'm so happy that our neighbors' kids are near our kids' ages.

Isabelle (5 years old) and Vincent (2) came over for a play date last week, and they all had a great time getting out just about every toy we own! We have gotten to know them fairly well, and they are Christians...in fact they go to the same church we go to! God is so faithful to answer our "small" prayers, and I'm grateful Ryan and Abby now have friends in their neighborhood.

Surprise!

Waiting to be seated at the Cheesecake Factory.

We were all surprised to have Granpa and Gramie fly in unexpectedly late Friday evening to wish Mommy a Happy Birthday. Gramie was already playing with Ryan in his room when Abby woke up Saturday morning. She ran into his room and threw her arms around Gramie, hugging her tightly for about a minute! She was so happy to see Granpa again too, and could hardly contain herself the entire weekend. We visited, ate out, and enjoyed doing nothing for most of the weekend.