ST Rea of Sunshine

If you had told me yesterday afternoon that 24 hours later I would be watching a little filly be-bop (that's the only way to describe it!) around its mother in circles I would have given you a look of doubt.
Reagan showed none of the classic signs:

• Acting "colicy"
• Waxing of udder
• Sweating in the flank area
• Voluntary distancing from other horses
• "Off" her feed (not eating)
• Appearing cow-hipped and block-sided
• Restlessness

She simply had the baby sometime between 2:30AM and 4:30AM. I arrived at 8:30AM. All of the horses in the barn neighed at me, which I thought was strange since they never do that, but I went about getting breakfast ready for the girls. I called out to the paddock where they spent the night and saw Kahlo in a corner of the front and Reagan in the back with eight legs. EIGHT LEGS! Placenta! Umbilical cord! Small little horse head growing from Reagan's chest! BABY!
I was the only one there. I can't put into words the excitement and disbelief ( something like Christmas morning - HE REALLY came!) that I felt. I know that I was shaking with joy. I so wanted to see the birth, but I was not at all disappointed. The beauty and overall health of Reagan and Baby out shined any negative feelings that may have wanted to creep in. To top it off she was a little girl - a beautiful little girl! I had thought all along I might have to keep it if it was a little girl. And Reagan was alive and healthy as well. And she didn't hurt Kahlo, though Kahlo was quite aware that she was to come nowhere near that little baby.
And the people at the new barn... they have bent over backwards, moved horses around, helped us and given to us in every way imaginable and treated our sweet girls like the princesses they are. As the little foal trembled from the cold of the falling rain it was so comforting to be able to bring her into a safe, clean, dry stall and care for her and her mama.
Sam rushed to the barn from work. Family and friends were called. The vet came and performed the necessary and welcome health checks. The baby and mama were loved on and snuggled. I bought pink ribbons and decorated Reagan's stall. She did a great job, afterall - all by herself!
So now we have a little sorrel and white filly with legs already as long as her mama's and the cutest little hooves I have ever seen. Everything a baby does is cute.
Her name has so much meaning behind it. "Shine" was the name of the happiest sick dog at the vet clinic I used to work at. It's also the name of a Newsboys song that I like as well as a Bible verse, Matthew 5:16 KJV. Sam's Chinese given name was Sunshine, given to him by the students in China where he did some mission work. And Reagan - Rea Rea as we call her, is our Rea of Sunshine, so now we have a little (90 lbs) Rea- Rea of sunshine! SHINE!

Have I told you about my hand? I didn't think so.

To all you DIY-ers and Old House people - heck, to anyone who uses one hand for most tasks, beware! Look up DeQuervain's syndrome. I honestly believe this is from a combination of too much time on the computer when I first started my business, scraping life back into the kitchen floor in the foursquare for countless hours, painting trim for countless hours, knitting, painting, writing and having a busy, busy right hand all of the time. New moms can be susceptible to this as well by the way they hold their child with the wrist turned. So, if it hurts, stop!

Anyway, after many months of anti-imflammatories, saltwater soaks, tons of prayer and rest in the brace, I think my right hand is ready to ease slowly back into work!!! Praise God!

Believe me, it was and is an artist's nightmare.

But, my mom and I worked on making these weatherproof canvas tags and my hand made it through ok! I'm still wearing the brace at night and doing most writing with my left hand (unless it is something that someone else needs to be able to read!) as well as brushing teeth, eating, etc. I'm almost ambidextrous!!!

Aren't they cute? Not exactly something for the Met or The Louvre, but it was fun and I've made a little money off of them.

Here's a happy customer:

Or Perhaps he's just a very, very good sport!

Now that Spring seems to have crashed into Winter, run over it and totaled it, I'm looking forward to new projects and inspirations (like Springtime foals and such).

What Winter projects are you finishing up and what Springtime ones are you planning?

The Whole Truth and Nothing but The Truth...

"Hey baybeeeee! We love yooooooooou!" I shouted into my cupped hands pressed on her flank. Sam reminded me that it might not be as enthusiastic about people it has never seen yelling about their love as it tries to find a place to put those long legs.

(The foal at 7-8 months)
(How big is the head, Doctor?!)

It's the truth about Reagan. She's 7 months pregnant. And I think little baby Rea-Rea was very startled to hear my voice so loud.

The tired look in her eyes, the occasional nipping, the deep breathing after walking across the road, the food anxiety... it all makes sense now.

(Proud "Grandpa")

She knows me as "the food lady" who gives her supplements in corn oil drizzled over a heaping bucket of all-grain, who pops a treat in her mouth every time she turns around, who leads her to the greenest grass, who has been begging for her to tell her secrets and to listen to mine. She's having a baby. It's my first involved experience with pregnancy and birth (other than the occasional c-section or secluded mama cat at the vet clinic). I held many different species of babies from human to who knows. I've helped to raise some.

But this is my first time and I'm so excited! I don't know if she is. She's done it so many times before (babies/foals). I almost feel as I look into her eyes that now she's saying, "Here's my secret. I'm here to show you it's OK. I'm here to show you that you have to trust in more than yourself to raise a baby... something so much bigger than even myself. I've done it before, so don't worry. I may need your help sometimes, but I'll mostly need your love and friendship. Thank you for showing me I can trust you."

(Me -crying- calling Sam to tell him the news)

I cried when the vet told me. I cried with joy and with sorrow. I cried for joy because of this gift of experience and this opportunity to love. I cried with sorrow for the emptiness of my own nursery. Did you know I have one? A room for a girl and a room for a boy. You may not know by looking that's what they are but it is. They are empty because "I don't know why" and because of fear. And that's why we have Reagan. I believe that. She's here in our lives for so many reasons, but God knows how much of a heart I have for animals. He made me that way. So He "speaks" to me through them.

(our girls together at the water troth.. both loners that are slowly bonding)

This may be Reagan's last baby she has, but it will always be my first.

(will our baby look like this one?)

Uncovering The Truth About Reagan

I know it has been mentioned here before, and if you know me at all you know that we bought a horse for my husband. Horses are largely considered property. They are sold, traded, leased, etc. Just like a house has a history of buyers, important owners and a plat book, horses have a little history that follows them as well. I mean, if you've read Black Beauty you know what I am talking about. Now, if your horse is a purebred, his or her history is much more easily traced. Kahlo, my horse, has more of a verbal history with interests than her paper history. And Sam's horse, Reagan... well... hers is a very colorful one - and I'm not saying that because she is a Paint. I won't bore you with the details of buying her - only horse people really care to know all of that. But if you have every been close to an animal or a child that is not your own you know what I mean when I tell you that I see something in her eyes. Not a good or really even a bad something... Everything is not OK. Somewhere along the way, something has hurt her heart and I'm determined to get to the bottom of it. The trouble with animals is that they can't tell you with words.

I love Reagan. I love her different than Kahlo. I worry about her different than I do Kahlo. Kahlo was hurt in her past, but it was in a completely different way. It was fear. Though her look was mostly consumed with fear and looking a little lost there was still fire there. She was still willing to fight. And fight she did! But that fearful, lost look is gone now. Reagan looks as though she's tired of caring and she's given up. She just wants to be left alone. Her eyes are dull. She looks down. i still see a bit of a spark there, but I honestly feel as though she has decided not to love anything again or to be attached to anything again. That's the best way to describe it.

Due to this burning worry I have for Reagan that i just can't shake, I've talked to anyone horsey who will listen about her behavior. I've bought books. I've spent time with her. I've poured over anything on the Internet that I can find about her, and, believe it or not, there's quite a bit. She's had anywhere from 6 to 10 owners in her 13 years of life and lived in at least 6 different states in the northeast to the deep south. She was auctioned off on April 15 of 2000 starting at 5,100.00 (We DID NOT pay that much for her by any stretch!).

While living in Virginia, she and her foal were stolen for 3 days, then returned. She's had AT LEAST two foals. One, a 2002 mare (registered)named Buckeye Two Two. The other, born in approximately April of 2003 was a filly I do not know the name of. I found pictures of her this evening. It really touched me to be able to know just this little bit more about her. Here she is:

Look at that face! How I wish I could know her more!

When the two of them were stolen, they listed Reagan's personality trails on the flier as follows:

Very Friendly. Loves people. Very protective mother.

That is what affirmed to me more than anything that something happened to Reagan either gradually or sudden that hurt her. She runs away from us and other people when she sees us coming. When we saddle her up her ears go flat against her head and she tries to bite. I would have thought of it as a possible pain or previous injury, but once you get on, she's totally content. Loves people? Who broke that trust? What happened along the way?

I realize that many of you are thinking to yourself that i need to get a life - she's just a horse! But God has given me a huge heart for animals. I can't shake this concern I have for her. Maybe this love of animals will fade if I have children of my own. Thus far it has only gotten stronger.

I want to know more about our Rea Rea simply because I want to help her and have her know she can trust us again, and mostly that she's come to the last stop. She doesn't have to worry anymore.

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies ? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. ~Luke 12:6

Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God. ~Psalm 84:3

Merry Christmas!

I am babysitting sub-contractors today, so I am locked in at home. The printer is not working, so I can't complete the projects I had plans to do today. So here I am posting my SECOND blog entry in ONE WEEK!

For my friends and family that can't be here during the holidays, I have taken a few pictures of the house decorated on the inside:

Since we are in a different home this year, decorating has been different, obviously. Instead of hanging our Christmas cards from the front room garland, I decided to hand them around the mirror above the music boxes. My Grams gave my sister and me one music box every Christmas when we were growing up. My sister lives in Chicago in an 800 square foot apartment. We live in a 3,300 square foot house. My parents didn't have to pay shipping to get the music boxes to me and safely away from a hurricane prone area, so they are in my care until something can be done to get half of them to my sister safely and with minimal expense.

Here's where the stockings were hung with care. We have a new one this year! No, not a baby's, but another horse. Reagan's is bright green. We have eight total now! We plan to frame a copy of our Christmas card each year and put it on the mantle at Christmas time. It'll be a fun new tradition. Now we don't do Santa here at 22ft, but we have stockings up. I have no idea how you reconcile those two things, but I really don't care anyway. We do what we want here, as long as it causes no personal harm.
Here's one of my famous sideways pictures. We have a lovely staircase in this house (two actually, but only one is lovely). When we were growing up my mom placed these two holly decs on our staircase. She has no use for them, so now I put them on min! They compliment it so nicely.
Ah, and here we have the Christmas Tree! Other than the Nativity, it is probably my favorite decoration. You can tell so much about a person by their Christmas Tree, you know?

Sam and I have started another tradition of our own by buying a Christmas Tree ornament every year that, from the selection given, symbolizes the past year and the gifts God has given us. In our marriage, we've never had just one ornament for the year so far!

Let me tell you about them:

If you can't guess what type of ornaments we had for our first Christmas as a married couple, them you might be drinking too much eggnog. I don't think we bought one ornament the first year. They were all gifts.

I believe my mom gave us this one. It says what any newlywed ornament would say and it has the year. I don't know if you can tell, but it is a heart cut from a mirror. So, when Sam and I look at it together we can see ourselves in it - TOGETHER! AWWW!!! Ok, now you can go throw up. It makes us a little nauseous too when we do that.
This one needs little description. A gift from a thoughtful neighbor.
I have no idea who gave us this one. It could have been my Grams, my in-laws or a neighbor. I have no idea. Out of the three though, I would pick this one as our ornament of 2006.

And here we are in 2007. This year we went to Idaho to celebrate Christmas with my mom's maternal side of the family which included 20-30 people here and there. We stayed in a cabin in the mountains. This side of the family is densely populated by women, so needless to say when you smashed us all together there was just a little DRAMA from time to time. Everyone brought an ornament though, and we did an ornament exchange Christmas Eve. It was a lot of fun. Sam and I brought two very silly ornaments and one nice one. We ended up with this wreath, which my Grams brought and two others. We got a lot of ornaments in 2007, but this is in the top two.

Next up is this little house. December of 2007 we had our house on the market, tried several times to buy the one we are in now, we were renovating it, starting up a business in the other and I was preparing to be in Idaho for two weeks for Christmas, but we did it! We got the house. My mom found this little ornament which says "New Home" with a little key at the top and 2007. It is the other than made the top two. Christmas in Idaho and buying the Foursquare were the big things of 2007.

Here's another that was good too. My brother-in-law made this one which has the family name and 2007 on it. Stained glass is my FIL's business. I like it because around this time he became engaged to his now wife, and joined with his girls (our nieces) they make four. There are four pieces of this ornament that join together and in the center to make one. It's just kinda sweet.

Ah, 2008! Looking at this cute little ornament, you would never know that it was quite controversial for 22ft. I LOVED it the moment I saw it. Sam - I won't really say how he felt about it other than he was happy that it made me happy and that's where his attachment to this ornament ends. I picked it because it contains different little animals in the house and on the back it says "Happy is the home that shelters a friend. 2008" One of our reasons for buying a larger house was so we could better use our home for the service of others. We do our best to regularly have people stay with us, eat with us and visit with us. Whatever little animal that needs a place to stay is also welcome. So, I thought this ornament was perfect. The only reason we ended up with it is because Sam really wanted to leave the mall, so he told me he thought it was ok and here we are.

Ok, this is the ornament that we really wanted to 2008, but nothing like it was to be found at Hobby Lobby, Hallmark or any mall kiosk for miles around. Where did I get it? Tractor Supply Co. Yup. We wanted some type of horsey ornament to symbolize the search for Reagan and all of the fun we have had being together and with the horses. After the cancer scare with Sam we just bit the bullet and got him a horse so we could spend that fun time outdoors together doing something active and relaxing and thrilling and wonderful all at the same time. So again, for 2008 the house has been a huge blessing and so have the horses.

So tell me, what kind of ornament would you pick to symbolize your blessings in 2008? What big or significant events have happened? What little things stand out? I can't wait to hear your responses!

Now, in all of this talk of decorations, don't think that I have forgotten the Nativity. I haven't. It's just that I have so many they require their own post!!!

Sunday Sermon

Well, sort of a sermon... It's not that I am a preacher or even a great thinker, but I often have to refresh my mind so that I can keep going from time to time. When you have two old houses, one of which was build about 98 years ago and has been neglected for a few years, it is easy to become downtrodden and want to give it all up and move to an overpriced new house (that will probably fall apart in a few years b/c it wasn't built by my dad) in the "better" part of town that has no sidewalks and very poor soil.

But, Sam and I do our best to remember why we are here in this part of town and why everything worked out so that we eventually bought the Foursquare and not the 3 other homes we tried for. There is a reason and a purpose for this house. When I stop to ponder these things, these events which have led me to this point in my life... when I stop to remember WHY I do anything and to what purpose it is for I am humbled and all of my selfish desires seem to blow away like petals in the wind.

It's not just the houses that cause me to become weighed down, nor are they the biggest concern in my life, but this is about 50 % a house blog, so that's why I mention it.

Sam and I have these song lyrics framed and hung in the Foursquare by the front door. The song is an upbeat one from the 80's I think (remember ELO?). It is used on some car commercial now. Sam and I usually get up and dance around (or make the dogs dance against their will) when it comes on. I looked up the words one day and realized they were quite relevant to several situation we find ourselves in in life, especially old house people, because we ALL know we are in it for the long haul and there will never be a day when the house will not need a repair or restoration of some kind. We will never get to it all and when we do have it done (or do it ourselves) it will not ever be done perfectly. Nonetheless, we hold o tight to our dreams relating to this house, our lives here on earth and what is to come. Without further delay, here it is:

Hold On Tight

Hold on tight to your dream

Hold on tight to your dream

When you see your ship go sailing

When you feel your heart is breaking

Hold on tight... to your dream

It's a long time to be gone

Time just rolls on and on

When you need a shoulder to cry on

When you get so sick of trying

Hold on tight to your dream

When you get so down that you can't get up

And you want so much but you're all out of luck

When you're so downhearted and misunderstood

Just over and over and over you could

Accroches-toi a ton reve

Accroches-toi a ton reve

Quand tu vois ton bateau partir

Quand tu sents ton coeur se briser

Accroches-toi a ton reve.

When you get so down that you can't get up

And you want so much but you're all out of luck

When you're so downhearted and misunderstood

Just over and over and over you could

Hold on tight to your dream

Hold on tight to your dream

When you see the shadows falling

When you hear that cold wind calling

Hold on tight to your dream

Hold on tight to your dream

Yeah...hold on tight...

To your dream

~ J. Lynne

Temper it with this:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

~ Proverbs 3:5-6

Sunday Sermon

To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
~ Ecclesiastes 3:1


According to the Twenty-Two Feet Living Translation, it reads:

To everything there is...

Lil' HENRI?!

Updates! and Flashbacks...

Updates! Updates! Come an get 'em!

I am sure there is a very creative way for me to put this in blog-form, but my brain is swimming with all that is going on and changing, so I'll be simple and to the point.

• I'm still teaching art lessons to my two precious little neighbors every other week. I really enjoy it, especially when they are captivated by what we are doing.


• The business is still. "Still what?" you ask. Just that. It's still.


• I'm now going to be teaching riding lessons at the stable probably 2 to 3 times a week in the afternoons/evenings. I hope I do a good job!


• I'll also help to run the Summer Horse Camps this year - five in all. I'm excited, but also nervous about doing a good job and making sure everyone is safe and having fun.


• Sam and I are trying out a new system between the two of us to try and get our Foursquare contruction projects done more efficiently and with less stress on our end. So far, so good.


• Lastly but not in the least, we have a contract on the Little Cottage - yay! It's very bittersweet to me. I am glad that someone (an individual), not an investor is wanting the house and seems to really want to put some work into it, but as I've said a million times before, I've created a lot of memories here. It will be so strange to say that it is not my home anymore. This is only the third HOME I have lived in for any length of time (I don't count rentals, apartments or dorms). The first I lived in from birth until fifteen, the second for two years before college (still my parents' current home) and then the little house. It's MY first home that I lived in by myself, paying all of the bills and, in my opinion, really growing up. It is time to move on, though. The house is comfortable with just us in it, a little cramped and cluttered with guests and would probably feel very crowded with all of that and a baby, so it's time to go.

Anyway, I'm so thankful to have lived here. I can't even begin to tell you how much I've learned and how I've changed. Here's to adventures and to life. Life is beautiful.

Family, Friends, Dinners, Parties, Birthdays, History, Weddings, Art, Animals and Children.... all such wonderful memories.

Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done, and Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count. ~ Psalm 40:5