Post-Riding Trauma, the Rodeo, and Dancing Under the Stars

Days in the Life...

Monday I was exhausted from my horse-riding adventure (almost falling off twice and being so terrified that you scream a genuine I-don't-know-if-I'm-going-to-be-okay-or-not scream will wear you out), so I slept in a little. Once I got up I felt like I'd been hit by twelve 18-wheelers, but that's okay.

I went on to spill coffee on myself twice that morning. It was a great day!

In the afternoon the kids wanted to hear all my stories from the previous afternoon and then Chloe and I took my car in to get new tires. (Yes, those are expensive.)


I got back in time to go babysit for small group and snuggle with baby Blaire.

Tuesday morning Christian asked me if I wanted to go for a run with him. I'm not a runner (we have established this about 12 million times), so I agreed. We left at 7:00 and this guy is fast. Eventually I told him I could not run anymore and gave him permission to take off for home. I was just fine to walk the rest of the way. This gentleman was very reluctant to run off and leave me, but I convinced him I would be just fine. 

All in the same day I learned that both Christian and Chloe are taller than me and that I am actually shorter than I thought I was. Mom and I are the same height, so Chloe and Christian have passed us both up, by a long shot. I'm fine with that. I've always wanted to be shorter than them. Christian is VERY fine with that. 

Gabe had gym in the afternoon and that night I went to babysit baby Sofia. 

She sat in my lap for .2 seconds, 

just long enough for me to take this picture. 

Wednesday I got to Kate and Blaire's house early again and got to sleep on the couch for two hours before they woke up!! It was a good day, although the big dog wasn't very nice to Kate or me. He spent a lot of time shut up in the bathroom because of it... 

Blaire slept quite a bit in my arms that afternoon. 

For some reason she would not go to sleep in her bed. 

I know Ava and Mia had their gym time, but I really don't have any idea what anyone else did during the day. 

Mom and Dad went out for dinner and then went over to see the progress on the little house. 

Thursday I was gone from 8:00-8:00. It was a long day! 

I had coffee with a friend, got my hair cut, did some shopping, remembered to eat lunch, went to the worship/Bible study, and met a lady from church for dinner. 

I felt like the biggest wimp EVER. 

I asked my hair-stylist to give me more layers, but save the length in my hair because it was too heavy. She only took an inch off the length and then added about three inches of layers. I then walked around the next two hours trembling because my head felt so much lighter it scared me. I know, it was bad. 

The rest of my day was great! 

While I was gone, Gabe had his gym practice and Christian spent most of the day at our little house with Micah and his friend working to pull up flooring because Mom and Dad found even MORE original hardwood floors in the house, this time in the kitchen. 

The three of them ended up spending about 10 hours working on it. 

When I got home I wanted to go see it so Dad and I went over there. We thought the guys were about done, but we got there and they were still working on this one little section that would NOT come up! Dad helped them and about 45 minutes and a lot of frustration and sweat later, they finally got it up. I will admit it was very entertaining to watch. I kept my mouth shut, though, and didn't give them advice. *wink* 

Friday I cared for Kate and Blaire at their house for a few hours in the morning and then came home to help Chloe deliver cinnamon rolls. 

I had had visions of retreating to my room for a quiet night alone recharging from the week, but when Rebecca invited me to go to the Rodeo with her and her sister spontaneously and then both Chloe and Christian expressed great interest, I waved goodbye to my tentative plan, in favor of time with people! 

By the time Chloe and I got home we had about 20 minutes to change and eat dinner before leaving to meet Rebecca and Amy at a gas station so we could all ride together. Jake works at the Rodeo at the Fort Worth Stock Yards so he was able to let most of us in for free! Micah met us there too so Christian wouldn't be the only guy looking out for all us girls. *wink* 

Now, Chloe and Christian love horses and are getting more and more and MORE into country music, trucks, cowboy clothes, and boots (ever since I came home from Summit with these three friends), so the rodeo was right up their alley, along with Jake, Rebecca, Amy, and Micah. However, none of that is really my thing. That being said, I actually enjoyed it all way more than I thought I would! I knew I would enjoy the time with the people, but the actual Rodeo was pretty cool too! I was the only one not wearing boots and a button down shirt, but that's okay. 

Bull-riding.

Jake (in the white shirt leaning against the gate)

 hard at work.

Line up for the calf roping.

Amy, Rebecca, me, Micah, Christian, Chloe.

My absolute favorite part, though, was when they opened the evening with prayer, the National Anthem, and the American flag. 

Saturday we had a family work day at the little house. Micah and Rebecca also came to help. The floor was all pulled up, but the entire house needed to be deep cleaned and there was a ton of trash that needed to be hauled off. The littles didn't stay the whole time and Mom had hurt her hand, but the rest of us were there a good five hours. 

It's always more fun working with friends, particularly strong friends who can help lift heavy stuff that otherwise would have taken just the four of us a lot longer to move... 

Mom picked up Chick-fil-a for all of us. Everyone had gotten their sandwich and I was reaching for mine, but the bag was empty... Within seconds pretty much everyone had pulled off a piece of their sandwich to give it to me. That was before I could say that I was genuinely not even that hungry. As it was, though, I ended up with more than a whole sandwich. I felt loved. 

After we finished working Rebecca headed home and the rest of us came home to clean up for church. 

Christian rode with Micah to church and I took Ava. 

I played piano during House of Prayer and everyone else met us for the church service. We visited for a long time after church. 

Before going home Chloe and Christian wanted a swing dancing lesson. Micah and I had learned some at Summit so we gave it a shot to see how much we could remember. It was more than either of us thought we would remember and it was definitely enough to be able to teach the others. 

So Micah turned on country music (no, that is not normal swing dancing music, but it worked) and we ended up dancing all together in the parking lot under the stars for almost 30 or 45 minutes! It was pretty fun and even Ava got to learn a few things. 

When we got home we taught Mia and Gabe as well. Gabe especially figured it out quickly!

Sunday was a normal, restful day until in the evening. Then we had people from church here for the Financial Peace University (FPU) class that Mom and Dad are leading the next several months. Christian, Chloe, and I are all participating as well.

That Moment When...

You trip over absolutely nothing.

You give the wrong directions to the person driving.

Your hair blows into someone else's mouth.


The Herd: Quoted 

"Turn it down! I don't want to draw any attention to us." -Me to Christian who was blasting my car radio in the church parking lot.
"But I do!!" -Christian dancing around.

"If you 'pear' with me, I will pare another pear and take care of that knife." -Mom to Dad after he cut his own pear.

"So, you remember last year when I said I hated country music with a passion because all it is is whiney people singing about all their problems with a fake accent?" -Chloe
"Yes..." -Mom
"Well, you can mark today as the day I eat those words." -Chloe

"I can't believe someone actually likes me!" -Mia when Dad said one of his work clients was hoping to see Mia again some time.

"That's okay I was just planning to not eat today...I'm seriously not hungry." -Me after I got handed pieces of everyone else's sandwich.
"Yeah, not eating usually works really well for you, honey." -Mom
"Well, I did have two eggs this morning!" -Me
"Oh wow! Two eggs! That will hold you over until Tuesday at least!" -Mom