Riding free (again)

Just this week I have been out horse riding twice and have loved every magical minute of it.
As I have mentioned before my friend has just moved, and this ment that I could go and explore the new neighborhood.

Monday:
Although the ride started a little rock to say the least (Megs stood on my foot and bruised it quiet badly, it swelled up and was quiet tender and painful) by the end of the ride I was all smiles. I found a little lane way that was covered in grass and flowers, so beautiful. I cantered up and back half a dozen times before heading back to the paddock for another canter and some bare back warm down.




Today:
I decided to be a little more adventurous and went all the way to the end of the road were I found a reserve with horse-riding trails. It was marvelous, Megs and I eyes wide open, ducking and weaving through the trees, wind in my... Helmet. Magical, just magical, once I worked out Which way home was. Then back home for a hose down, for Megs not me. Although I did end up just as wet as she was after she shook all over me.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Riding Free

There is nothing on this earth that is as freeing as riding a horse. Well in my opinion at least.

Just the other day I went to see my friend who recently move to the country, although she was a little busy we had a quick coffee, and I saw her new house and how she had made it their home with her creative touch. She also recently moved her horse (Megs, whom I have mentioned in previous posts) to her new house, and I being the avid horse lover did not pass up the oppotunity of a ride. It had been some time since I had last ridden... and boy did my body tell me that the next day.

Anyways this particular afternoon was a beautiful one with a few showers here and there. I quiet like the rain so I didn't mind riding through it. It would sprinkle then clear up just enough to dry-off before it came again.
It was quiet out in the paddock not much noise from anywhere, just the steady sound of Megs canter as I discovered all the twists and turns to this new stretch of land. I like the quiet it gives me time to think and pray and contemplate a whole bunch of things that I tend to push aside in my busy day to day life.
During one of the 'dry' patches a woodpecker came out to visit, he was happily pecking away at the tree in the neighbouring paddock, I had never seen one in action before. He was focused and determined and majestic all at the same time. Isn't Gods creation beautiful.
At one point I was cantering straight up the paddock, my hair blowing in the wind, rain lightly dusting my face and I couldn't help but think how amazing and free I felt. Gliding through the air the thudding of hooves resounding in my ears, how magical, how heavenly, how utterly speechless I was. And how in awe of God I was for this opportunity, this time spent with Him.

The Shack

... sorry it took me so long to post this but I attempted several times to post a video, unfortunately it didn't work, so you will have to miss out on that funny and slightly embarrassing footage...

Isn't it funny how people leading a background/non-speaking roll in the play known as your life sometimes for some reason or another become a main character? Well that's the case with our new friend Rachel. She is a more then welcome new friend and has made my life all the more enjoyable.
Which leads me to the story of our fun weekend at her shack in Stansburry.
So as mentioned above we, being Rachel, Emma and myself went for a little holiday down to Stansburry to celebrate Emma's birthday. This trip was fun for a lot of reasons but I will just share with you a few of the highlights.

• A random night hike, during which Emma hurt her knee, and I piggy backed her up a very steep hill.
• The giant light outside the hotel which Emma decided to lick.
• The play ground, were we hung up-side-down from the climbing frame by our feet.
• At the same playground we decided to hitch a ride on the lockness express. (the photos are not flattering)
• Fishing although unsuccessful, cold and slimy wasn't too bad.
• The wooden spoon. Thanks Emma!
• Ping-Pong balls. We had seen you-tube footage of guys bouncing ping-pong balls off all kings of things and getting them into a cup so we attempted to do the same. We succeeded a few times, and our stunts were a little more 'beginner'.
• Squid fishing in the tidle pool at night. Again unsuccessful and really cold, but we got lots of casting practice.
• The wind farm. The windmills were huge and amazing and a little scary.

• The gate at the wind-farm should not be flipped over. All I can say is ouch! (see previous post)
• Cruzing hanging out the sunroof. So much fun.

• Fish and chips at the tidle pool. There were lots of seagulls and we got them to come so close, it was awesome.
• Then a $40 bet that resulted in me fully clothed dripping wet and freezing, with no towel and a 20min drive home. Crazy. (I tried posting the video but it wouldn't let me.)
• The Standsburry pub... no vegetarian meals. Grrr.
• To different park that night. We are so cool. lol.
• Teaching Emma to drive a manual shes actually really good.
• And soooo much more...

All in all it was an awesome weekend with two awesome friends and it was a little sad we had to leave.

Clumsy

I have just discovered that I am extremely clumsy.

Some might mistake this for lack of co-ordination, but I assure you it has very little to do with my ability to catch and throw a ball, and a lot more to do with my lack of attention and forward thinking.

Over the past few weeks I have managed to....

• Fall dramatically of a chair (in front of a class of yr. 7's I might add). I had really impressive bruises and a really sore back. Ouch.


• Bump my head on the monkey bars, after successfully flipping off of them.


• Hook myself with a fishing hook, after we had finished fishing.


• Stacked, tripped and stumbled numerous times.


• And the most clumsy of all, flip over a mettle grid gate, and smack the crown of my head on the gate.... gee was that stupid or what? I can't begin to describe the headache.

... I always have these unexplained bruises... and I have no doubt that they came from one of my clumsy moments. Just pinpointing which bruise came from what particular moment is the hard task.

House sitting with the 2 legged kind...

This past weekend I have had a blast....
I've been house sitting with my good friend Emma.

Usually when I house sit I'm accompanied with furry friends of the four legged kind, their fun and full of life (which is a good thing, nothing worse then coming home to a dead pet.... It hasn't happened yet.) but these friends are a little hard to converse with; at least on any basic human level anyway.

BUT....

This time I had a friend of the two legged human kind. It was awesome....
We both had a set of keys, so we were free to come and go as we pleased or as was needed for work and such.
We shared all the duties, with out even communicating it, we just did our part as needed.
We realised that we thought very similarly, often finding ourselves saying or thinking the same thing. We just both happen to be on the same quirky wave length.
And We had fun......
One night we went for a little drive to sus out a possible house rental, and the current tenant was out the front looking at us like we were stalking her, which we weren't....
That night just before bed we went to turn on Emma's fan and found out that the power points in the spare room don't work, so we climbed out of bed and hunted high and low for and extension cord. We ended up using 1 power board and 2 extension cords to make it long enough to reach the nearest working power point. Insanity Emma.
The next night we sat on 'our' couches watching One Tree Hill, both playing Sims on our lap tops. We are so lame.
Saturday night she corrupted me convincing me to not only paint my toenails black, but also my fingernails. (gasp, how dreadful)... (she wears black nail polish, not because shes goth but because she likes to).
And then just this arvo we got Maccas for lunch (our first lot of take out, thank you), and then went shopping with our friend Rach. Had a blast, then she took us to see her block of land, also known as a dirt patch. Now I should mention she has a slightly fancy car with an awesome sun roof, which Emma and myself may or may not have stuck our heads out simultaneously as Rach drove around the new development..... Its was thrilling, fun, a little scary (well it was Rach driving) and most likely a little bit illegal. and to top off a fabulous day we went back to 'our' house and we all played killer bunnies, which I won, and it was mine and Emmas first time playing I might add.

... All in all it was a good test run for Emma and I. We know we can live well together, now all were waiting for is money and a house.

let go...

Why is it so hard to let go and let God?

As posts in the past have suggested I am finding it hard to ‘find a future’ for myself. At the beginning of this year I started at an adult school with the intensions of gaining a TER and a position in the vet science course at uni. Well a lot has happened since then...

After just a term back at school I decided (rightly or wrongly), that it wasn’t for me. I pulled out of my classes and went back to a minimum wage income at my job of 6 years. Don’t get me wrong I love working there. It’s such a friendly atmosphere and I have been blessed with the best boss you could ever ask for; but it’s not a career.

So were to now? I have a passion for children and youth, and for animals. The saying goes don’t work with children and/ or animals, but the truth is that's all I could ever imagine doing. So all I need to do is find a career that encompasses one or both of these passions, right? And fits perfectly into my preconceived idea of the perfect career, right? Well somehow I don't think it's as easy as that.

I may have omitted the fact that I also have a passion for God and serving Him. But what does that look like? I don’t know. And to be completely honest I'm scared to find out.

See I am scared that if I LET GO of my preconceived ideas and what the world tells me is a suitable career, and a healthy enough pay packet. And LET GOD take reign over my future, guide my path, challenge me in ways I never thought possible; then well I wouldn’t be in control.

This is and has been a huge struggle of mine for many years. I am a self admitted control freak who NEEDS to learn that GOD SHOULD be in control, and I am simply the vessel He MAY choose to use. My hopes and dreams pale in significance when it comes to what the Lord can achieve with a willing, eager, and faithful vessel.

Why should I conform to the ways of the world, their actions and their way for thinking? Should I not break free of the strong hold of this worldly thinking and be set a flight by the power, might and strength of GOD? And dare to dream the impossible, because through Him the impossible is made possible; if we have faith and we are in accordance with His will; A will that we will never know about if we don’t have a relationship with Him.

Four on Friday

I just realised I really like alliteration, I use it in most of my titles.
So Four on Friday...

I was blessed with the task of babysitting the four Rouse kids, over night on Friday night... That's right I had 4 kids under 8 over night all by myself, and as you all know nothing ever goes exactly according to plan, so I'll share the highlights of our wonderful 24 hours together.

• First up was the challenge of strapping the car seat into the car. It took us about 10 minutes to workout how to adjust the strap so we could anchor it in the boot. Then it took about 10 minutes to fold the stroller up, poking and prodding and pulling almost every part of the darn thing to get it to collapse, Before squeezing int into the back seat. Car seat, stroller and Anika all secularly in the car and off I was.

• Then came the school run, one kid there 4 kids on the way home sounds simple enough, right?!?.... well 3 school children equal, three: schoolbags, lunchboxes, homework packs, jackets. and 4 children equal eight legs. Ok head count, 3 kids .... 2 kids ... 5 kids (were did that extra one come from?) ... 4 kids, all rounded up and with bags on backs we were set to go.

• Dinner time, was so easy (thanks Flick), dinner all made and ready to stick in the oven, garlic bread on the side. awesome. A little argument about who got the privilege of sitting next to me. (very flattering..... see Emma Miss Stephanie is the best). 3 dinners devoured and the other two not so keen on finishing theirs, even with the prospect of ice cream. (sorry mum, not ratting anyone out)

[as a side note I should make you aware that I go to a home group on a Friday night as do the Rouses, and I was determined to get all the kids ready at to the home group on time, a few doubted but that just made me more determined]

• Home group time arrived, the kids bathed and in their jarmies, and their teeth were brushed. Pillows, blankets, teddy's all acquired and in the car along with the kids. done. Arriving at home group and jumping out the car Harry says "Miss Stephanie I forgot my slippers.", One kid forgot slippers, one forgot a pillow and another forgot their blanket, but all in all not a bad effort.

• Setting the kids up in bed, I gave them a few minutes to read. then lights out, they of course mucked up a little, but with a gentle reminder at the prospect of Maccas for breakfast I didn't hear another peep.

• Whilst at bible study, my car was egged, the last thing I needed when I had 4 sleepy children, but what can you do but soldier on... Settling the kids into their beds back at 'home', I set out to wash my car, I had to find a bucket and cloth, and wash the car under the illumination of a little light under the carport. Grrr.

• Sleep, that was defiantly a highlight.

• Jo and Anika woke up first at 6am. Not happy Jan. But Joanna played quietly in the toy room, and Ani snuggled with me for a while, so cute. Then Harry and Jessie got up at 6:30am, and it was time for snuggles with Jess.

• Anikas outfit, was adorable. The others are old enough to dress themselves, so I was helping Ani, she wanted to wear her bear dress, but it was too cold so I put leggings on a top underneath, she looked so cute.

• Macca's was fun, ordering was chaos, but we ended up with everything we needed. I also bumped into someone I knew and the Rouses didn't, they were surprised to see me with 4 kids until I explained that they were not mine, I was babysitting.

• At the park, the kids were riding their bikes around, and climbing on the jungle gym, I look up and Anika is right at the top, then she insists that she can climb down all by herself, standing by to catch her if she falls, she climbed down with quiet some thought and skill, shes growing up so fast.

These are just a few glimpses of our wonderful time together, I love the Rouse kids, I love all kids, and I really enjoyed spending time with them. ... but once Henry and Flick got home, I was ready to go home and have a Nana nap.

Thanks for all the great memories.