Another Update--Go me!!

Hello All...it is me again and I have another update for you. It is kind of lengthy, but there is a lot of humor.

This weekend was very eventful for our family. Staring with Friday night. Well Friday night I was able to find some medicine for Jacob's hamster Baby. She had gotten sick Wednesday. I think it was a cold, but I am definitely not a vet for little critters. Anyway, we gave her the medicine and left her in the small bathroom to stay warm (in her cage). Saturday morning we got up and went to the farm to hang out for a while. We had a GREAT time. We got Thunder out to handle him because that is what you are supposed to do with a colt. I am told the more you put hands on them the better they are when they are older. So...into the round pin we went with Luke. He wasn't on the same page as us though as he thought playing tag was fun (he was the taggee and Luke the tagger). That was really funny for a little while. Well, being the "cowboy" of the family Luke got a lariat (a rope with a lasso on the end) to "catch" Thunder and allow us to put a halter on him and let him get used to being walked around. Well, in the manner of a stallion (stud) colt he acted like an idiot and managed to cut his leg and I mean bad. So fun was over for the time being and medical attention started. Remember now that this colt has still not been caught. We still have to catch him and manage to now banage his wound. Thank goodness I had decided to buy treats when we stopped for propane. Horses apparently like peppermints and I learned today that they can have actual peppermints from the store. HALLELUJAH!!! Less money for those and it is Christmas. Looks like all of our babies are getting candy canes for Christmas. Back to the ding dong colt...Well we did catch him and manage to banage his leg. It took 3 of us and a stall to do it though. Thank goodness he had been vaccinated in the spring for tetnus. No vet needed. Another big HALLELUJAH!!

Well after that fiasco Luke told me to go catch my horse, Pilgram! I got him into the pin and managed to get him caught. We hung out for a while and I talked to him. He loved on me and I on him. I love that horse. He is absolutely the sweetest thing. So Luke comes out to the pin to inform me that we will start breaking my horse and he won't be doing the riding...I will.... HA HA HA HA HA I laughed at him. I consider myself a good rider, but breaking a horse is something that I have never done, didn't think I would ever do, didn't really have a desire to do. How wrong I was. Luke was right...he wasn't riding, I was. We got to the middle of the ring and got set. Luke started to give me a leg up on the horse (no saddle, no bridle, just shipping halter and bareback). Needless to say Pilgram wasn't real wild about it and moved. Try #2 wasn't successful either. So you know the saying...third time is a charm. Well apparently Pilgram hasn't heard that one. Third time wasn't any better than the first 2. Luke decided that it would work better if Pilgram layed down. Rodeo move 1. He loops a lead rope around his front foot and around his neck pulling it up and causing him to lay down (it wasn't as easy as that, but that is it in a nutshell). Luke then tells me to come and talk to Pilgram and pet him..I do so..and then he says get on him and he will stand him up. HA HA HA...Well I did it because he said it would be OK. We stood up and he did GREAT!!! I loved it. We rode for about 20 minutes and I was in hog heaven. He did so good. I think he was happy too. Thanks to my hubby for making that happen.

We left and came home Saturday evening. Baby seemed to be getting better so I gave her another dose of the medication. If she had an infection she needed it for probably 3-5 days...right? Well, apparently not for hamsters...Baby got worse throughout the night and died around 11:15 or 11:30 on Saturday night. I buried her. Jacob knew before he went to bed that there was the possibility that she would die before he got up. Luke and I had also told him that if she did die we would let him go get another one. I guess that makes me mom of the year for him.

Sunday morning, we got up and went to early service for the 4th week in a row (that makes me so excited). The kids get there and literally run to Sunday School. I have never seen them that excited to go anywhere. Well when we returned home from church I had missed a call from my mom-in-law. Go figure I leave my phone at home and chaos ensues. The bandage on the wound was too tight and Thunder couldn't put any weight on his leg. We had to change clothes in less than 5 minutes and back out the door. We got to the farm in record time. We managed to wash the wound and rebandage the thing and restall the colt. Then I got to ride again. I thought it was going to be a repeat of the day before. Not so. Pilgram was easier to catch than the day before and he seemed a little more lovey. Well...he should have been...he must have had a plan and worked on it all night long for when I returned. We managed to mount without laying down and we did have a bridle with a bit this time. He did manage to at some point, because this is new to him, to break part of the headstall and then manage to jerk away from Luke. Yea...I am now running toward a fence with no control what so ever. I have mane in hand with half the reins. I was not the most optimistic at this point. Well he did manage to slow down and hang a hard left at the fence line...I almost stayed on...but regrettably I did not. I hit the ground. The good news is that I am not hurt..the horse stopped and backed up so that was good. I did get back on for about 15 minutes and then I was done.
I had a good time minus the falling off part. I have figured out that hitting the ground isn't so bad, but the falling part (the air in the middle) is just the worst part. I will repeat the whole riding thing later this week and will update then, but for now that was my weekend. Have a great day

Finally!!!!

Well it has been 12 days since I posted last. Sorry!!! My life to date has been so busy I don't know which way is up anymore. To catch up....the diet I started on Halloween....I have lost 14 pounds now. I am so excited. I am walking almost everyday and I am really following what the diet (Food) is.

Nursing school is still hard, but clinicals are over. I have one more care plan to submit by Monday. I have a paper due Saturday the 29th, a test on December the 4th and the final on December the 8th. So if you don't hear from me it is because I am covered up in books and papers.

The reason I titled the entry today Finally is because we went to the farm today and I got to actually get on my horse Pilgram. For those of you who don't know, I sort of inherited this horse. My husband's family has always had horses and when I got married I got my dream....HORSES!!!...I love them and everything to do with them. Oh yeah, back to my day today and how I got this horse....About 3 1/2 to 4 years ago my brother-in-law's mare Rosie had a colt and he was named Pilgram. Well, not too long after Pilgram was born Rosie got sick and died. Matthew lost interest in the colt and he became sort of an orphan. I loved him. He was, to me, just a baby and needed love. I continued to spend time with him and love him and just try to put hands on him. It was hard because he was skiddish and just all around weary of people. Well it came time that he really needed to be fed more than just hay. When I started noticing that he wasn't being fed I questioned my mother-in-law and she said that Matthew wasn't going to feed him grain because he didn't have an interest in the colt and honestly he could just care less. I think one reason was because he had found his current wife and he was just love smitten. Anyway, they got married in May 2007 and when they did Luke (my husband) spoke with Matthew asked him about the colt and then I had papers that said he was mine.

I was so excited. He was too young at that point for me to ride. All I could do was put a halter on him, get him used to a lead rope, and maybe used to one of the kids on his back (with the help of Luke of course). I have never broken a horse before, but that is Luke's thing. He is so good at it.

Well..Now he is old enough for me to get on and I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT. It wasn't a long time that I rode and getting up on his back was a little tricky, but we did it and I rode for about 20 minutes...bareback...with Luke holding the halter and lead. For me to get on took a little time. We tried just holding him in the paddock and Luke giving me a leg up, but Pilgram was not real interested in that so after a couple tries Luke made him lay on the ground and I was able to get on and then let him get up. It worked pretty well and I think it sort of put him in his place. Well, we walked around a little and then I got off. We then tried again and were able to get on with him standing up in the paddock. I was so proud.

I have waited 1 1/2 years to get on my Baby and now I have FINALLY done it. Luke told me on the way home that we would go back Thursday morning before we go to mom's for Thanksgiving Lunch and then again on Saturday. The more I get on him the easier it will be for both of us.

This is the best and I am so excited that I have started riding and working with my horse.

Hope you all have a great night.

Updates

Yes finally an update from me. Well, things are going well with me and my family. Nursing school is hard, but I am passing. The kids are finally finished with football and cheer. They had a great season and have made some great friends in the process. Luke is working hard at Pangean and is being given more responsibilities (I guess that is a good thing, but he is out of town for the week). We spent last Friday and Satuday in Savannah with the Johnson/Flanders family for a reunion. It was absolutely wonderful to see everyone. I miss all of them. My cousin Lauren is pregnant and due in April. Her little boy John Patrick is absolutely the cutest thing I have ever seen. I have pictures, but I don't have time to upload them right now. I will hopefully by the weekend. My Aunt Margie turned 80 and Uncle John turns 90 this year. WOW!! And they look GREAT. I hope at their age I look that good.

Well, sorry to be so short and sweet, but I have a clinical at Parkridge tonight and I have to go get ready. So Adios Amigos.

P.S. I started a diet on Halloween (yes, I know a really bad day to start) and I have lost 9 pounds to date. I am working on a bikini for summer !!!! YEAH ME!!