Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Stayin' alive, stayin' alive....

Ok, really, I can't believe I used that as a title as I absolutely hate that song... done by the Beegees (or however you spell their group name). However, it does fit. Folks, I AM alive still! I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. I realize it has been a looooong time since I've really posted... and I'm truly ashamed of it. Life has just been such that things like blogging fall by the wayside.

In any case, yes, I am here. Life has been going on as usual, but it just feels slightly busier than normal. Don't know why that is... Perhaps it's because it IS busier... My brother, Josh, just graduated and got himself a full time job, so perhaps having 5 adults in the house now with different schedules makes it much busier. I don't know. =)

So what's been going on over here at the ranch? Well, let's see. We've gotten quite a bit of rain, so the pastures are looking green (which is just fabulous.) In fact, as I type, it looks like rain clouds are rolling in! =) Yay!  Green grass makes for happy cows, which makes for happy ranchers. =)

On more personal news, I'm very excited to announce that I was able to get another nanny position! As some of you know, I have a one day a week nanny job with a fabulous family that only lives about 30 minutes from me. This job has been a huge blessing in more ways than one. For thing, they are a Christian/homeschool family, so it's great that our values line up already there. Secondly, the kids are just a blast. I always come home with funny stories to tell my family. And secondly, it helps me put some money away into savings. =) However, I really wanted another one day a week (or two days a week) job someplace. I wasn't really wanting to work 5 days a week because I do have other things going on (drama, fiddle lessons, writing, ranch stuff, etc). Well, I was recently convicted that I haven't been very good about sharing prayer requests. If people ask I tend to just say everything's going well.. not because I don't want to share, but usually because I have a hard time remembering them off the top of my head. So in any case, I decided I would share the prayer request on Face Book for my friends to pray for me. Well, about 2 minutes after I posted, a mother friend of mine messaged me saying they were looking for a nanny one day a week! I was so excited. Once again, a wonderful Christian family that homeschools and who has a bunch of wonderful kids! =) So naturally, I was just THRILLED! =D
Of course, the best thing was how God totally orchestrated it.

Needless to say, it's good to share your prayer requests.

On a second note, we've been having a lot of fun on Tuesday nights attending a swing dancing group in ABQ. It has been a blast to learn swing better. We know the basic steps and a few moves, so it's been fun to learn more and swing with other people. =) Usually a group from our area goes in, which makes it a lot more enjoyable (having friends in strange places is always awesome!). Met some new people, reconnected with old friends. It's been a blast!

One of Caleb's ducks hatched out a little duckling this week. It's SO cute! Course, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. I want to name it Jemimah, but we haven't agreed yet.. not to mention we don't know if it's female or not.. lol


And now, just a few random pictures to show what else has been going on. =)




 We just have awesome clouds out here. Don't know what it is.. but we do. And the bottom pic turned out super cool!!!


 Muh dog. Ain't she purdy??

 This little fella came all the way from Tucumcari.. Was Caleb's pet for a bit until he ran away (or slowly crawled away) when we were busy with some stuff...

 My latest embroidery project... taped up to our window so I could trace the pattern onto my cloth. This window is awesome for tracing! =D

 Working on figuring out our volleyball court that we are putting in...


 Muh sister's dog.. who is adorbs!


Playing monopoly with Caleb on his birthday. 

Thursday, July 3, 2014

In Which I Give Fair Warning

Hello friends!

I haven't posted here in a while because, quite frankly, I wasn't sure what I would post about. Life has been normal, and more than likely quite boring for all of you to read about. So, I didn't have much of anything else to say. Rambling, though fun, can be a bit boring, too, I realize. So, I've decided to make a slight change to this blog.

Don't worry. It isn't *too* big, but big enough. See, I've begun to suffer from something lately.. it's called 'fear'. I'm afraid to post certain things because I don't know what others will think of me. I don't want to post anything controversial, because I don't want people to get into a huge blog debate and use my posts to knock one another down. So, instead, I've just sat quietly, only posting things which were 'good' or 'biblically based'. Now, don't get me wrong. Those are very good, I know. And when the Lord is teaching me something, I like to share, so I'll continue to do so. But, I'd also like to use this as more of an online journal, so to speak. To post questions I have about varying things in life, to ponder over different things that have been going on. To use this blog as more than just a hobby writing place, but as a place I can share my thoughts and views and not worry so much about what others will think.

I suppose all bloggers have to face the 'big question' at some point. That question being: Why do I blog? So that is my answer. I want to blog because I want to share my thoughts on ALL of life, not just a little scope of it now and then.

With that being said, I've been pondering over a rather funny question lately. I hope that I don't sound too weird or pushy or something for saying it, but it is something that has been foremost on my mind lately.

How much do you think a young man needs to have before he marries? In terms of money, house, job, etc? Just as a general question. Where do you base your opinion (biblical or just personal preference)? I'm just curious to know your thoughts on this. =) Also, what about the young women? What do they need to have/be in order to get married and why?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Discussions are more than welcome here.