Here's the Church, Here's the Steeple

I have been taking my camera every where with me lately.  The other day I was lucky enough to have the long lens with me and got these great shots.  The church across the street from my work was getting a new topper for their steeple.  It was a fascinating job to watch.  I've been told that a local artisan repaired the original topper so it could go back up and maintain the historical quality of the church.

Its a beautiful church that is directly across the street from my office.

They closed the street so it was safe to put the crane in the middle of the road.

Sent the platform skyward

Opened the deck

And settled in to work

And I went back the next day to get the finished pictures.

The steeple is so tall, I couldn't get the entire church and steeple in the picture.

All done!

Its BEAUTIFUL!

The Down and Out Horse Limbo Competition

 At the farm, the trainers are riders as well as trainers.  Ms. Tori has won at Devon previously.  She looks marvelous on a horse, any horse!  Some where along the trail to the Barn Show a challenge was issued.  The students could out jump the trainers.  Challenge Accepted.

In the Down and Out Competition, the bar is started low.  Each time you make the jump you proceed to the next higher level.  If you miss the bar, you're out.  Whoever jumps the highest and is still in, wins.

First up, at a low level was Emily.

Emily on Buttons. She has been riding for about a month.  On her first ride at the Farm, Buttons decided he wanted to go over a jump.  Emily stayed right with him and is HOOKED!

Next up was Ms. Tori.  She makes it look easy.

Here is Eva and Milkshake.  Shake is her favorite horse at the farm and they have a special bond.

They moved the bar up a little higher and Emily was out.  This left Ms. Tori (trainer) and Eva (Student)

Good clearance, Ms. Tori!

Fabulous Jump, Eva!

They moved the bar to the highest level.  Ms. Tori went first.

And she MISSED!  Ut oh! Now Eva has to make the jump to be declared the winner

And she clears it with space to spare.  And judging by Jakes reaction, you'd think he jumped it himself.

What a beautiful smile!  You did great today, Eva!

 Suzanne is a mom of Emily.  Suzanne loves to ride herself and has just started back in the saddle.  She wanted to participate in the Down and Out with Emily.  So she got her own category, Horse Limbo.

Suzanne all saddled up and ready to go.

Way to go Pumpkin!  Let's see how low you can go!

And that's just one of the many ways we have fun at the Farm.  There is always much laughter and love in this little corner of heaven on earth.  Jakes and I were truly blessed when we were sent here.

The Barn Show

There was a Barn Show at the Farm this past weekend.  Jakes worked the Farm and I took pictures. I ended up taking over 600 pictures!  Don't worry, I am only going to share a few of them.  ENJOY!

The Gear all lined up and ready for horses

Every Ride starts with a prayer.  Everyone grabs hands or horse

Eva and Freckles.  I love Eva's seat on any horse. She just melds with them.

Megan brings her dancers grace to the ring.  She is riding Hershey who is a throughbred and can be temperamental at times. Megan makes him mind and won't let him bully her.  They are a beautiful pair

Jakes worked the gate for the show and did a wonderful job

Megan and Hershey walking in the morning sunshine/fog

This is Ms. Jill. Trust me, she's under there.

Here are some of the Therapeutic Riders. Everyone gets a leader and a side walker. They do wonderful and fun things on the back of the horse.

They even ride backwards with no hands.  Its great for the balance and to strengthen the torso muscles.

Buttons had a crush on Ms. Erica, our judge.  Or was he just trying to get more points for his riders?

here are the littlest therapeutic riders.  They are so tiny and SO good at riding!  They get a leader and TWO side walkers.  Don't want anyone taking a header off the ponies.

Of course, I'd want to ride horses all the time if I got to play fun games like basketball!  That's TWO points for Juliana!

I mean, look at that face!  Riding is FUN, not therapy!

Tomorrow we'll talk about horse limbo and the Down and Out Competition.

Double Wheelchairs Anyone?

I'm used to Daddy needing a scooter for getting around, with is heart condition and general weakness its best for him to be sitting down.  He gets to enjoy more.

Yesterday, I went to lunch with my parents.  I had a coupon for a free burger at Ruby Tuesdays.  ESM and I have been trying to have a mother/daughter lunch every once in a while at Ruby Tuesdays.  I love their coupons!  This time Daddy joined us, with his scooter.

ESM was having a flare up of her gout. OUCHERS in the foot.  That's going to make walking the mall a little difficult.  Especially, since Daddy doesn't know the lay-out of the mall and parked on the OPPOSITE side from where we wanted to be. I tried to explain to him but he had a plan.  Ok, done arguing with The Man.

Fortunately, the Guest Services desk has wheel chairs for your use.  So after trekking through half the mall, we got one for ESM. SO this is what my Lunch Date looked like.  Yes, ESM has to make silly faces in every picture.

Dad and ESM waiting for me to get pushing

My question is: where do I get one of THESE??? I'm getting the feeling we're going to need one someday soon.

BTW - Dad is doing well after his first round of chemo.  He said that he feels better AFTER the chemo than he did before it.  hmmmmm  what good things are they putting in that IV??  I hope that his health continues to improve with each round!

Tidbits

Dad starts Chemo tomorrow.  ESM is going with him and they are expecting to be there until early afternoon.  UGH.  Makes for a long boring day.  Dad will come home with a pump for two days and then go back to have it removed on Thursday.

I will be stopping over to walk their dog at lunchtime. Oscar is a sweetheart!  He just spent the weekend with us as Dad and ESM were taking one last long weekend trip for the end of summer.

The 4-legged boys relaxing in the sunshine

Jakes and I didn't have a very good weekend.  I picked him up at 5:30 pm Friday and he was back home by 9:30 am Saturday.  I will not be disrespected and threatened to the extent that he did in my own home.  I don't know that he learned a lesson but he's sent me a text today to apologize and ask my forgiveness.  Jakes and I will be having a talk before he comes back to my house for a visit.

Huny and I had a pretty good evening this weekend.  We went to a backyard wedding reception that ended with beers, wines, and a bonfire!  Lots of silliness, adult time and relaxation was had by all!  I met some of Huny's old friends and got to hear some "stories" of the old days.  They are good people who we need to hang out with more often.

A fabulous way to relax with friends

That's my weekend.  How was yours?

ESM vs. The Bug

My ESM has a great sense of humor.  She also can laugh at herself.  We've had many giggles over things ESM has done.  The other day she was telling me a story about how she killed a bug.

Their trash cans are stored across the street in a wooden enclosure.  On the wall of the enclosure, ESM saw this bug that blended in with the wood but she knew it was a bug.  And it was BIG.  ewwww.

She took off her flip-flop and smacked that bug really good.  There was no missing and no squishing of the bug.  When she removed her flip-flop from the bug, it was still there, in one piece.

She got closer and saw that it was a leaf.  That leaf did a good impression of a bug.

But she got that leaf but good!  Good shot, ESM!  You got good practice for when its a REAL bug!  

I'm so glad your my Evil Step Mother!  Love you!  giggle

Quick Update

I know I said I was taking a break.  BUT, there are family members who read my blog for the details I share.  Dad has been keeping his sisters and brother up to date on things happening but he's a To The Point kinda guy.  lol  His email this week:

"Mediport placement went well. Chemo orientation 9/10. first chemo appointment 9/16"

Just the facts, ma'am. giggle.

SO!  Dad is doing well. While he was at the hospital all day long for the Mediport placement, the surgery went well and he's healed very well from it.  He said there is still a little bit of pain but he's still healing around the port.

I am very proud that he's taken ALL the advice of the drs.  He's eating more frequently and smaller portions. He said its like he's grazing all day long.  He's also resting more, which is good too.  

We are exploring ways to build him up a bit before the chemo starts.  They will also do what they can to minimize the effects of the chemo on him but still target the cancers.  He is going to try making shakes with a protein powder. Hopefully, this will help to build him up with some extra calories.

Dad is doing what he can to prevent infections, trying to keep from banging himself up. And not falling down.

I went to dinner with them last night and I have to say, he looks pretty good.  Still super skinny but he looks more alert and I don't know, he just looks healthier. I can't say what exactly but I'm liking how he looks.

He is still smoking as he always has.  I think if he were to cut back on those, he would feel worse and would be grumpier with everything around him.  Which is what we want to prevent.  No grumpy Daddy.

I am proud of him for his efforts to get healthier before he starts the chemo. He's got a good attitude, which is helping me to be strong and positive around him.

Break Time

I'm going to be taking a break from Blogging.  With everything going on, I want to be able to concentrate on Real Life.  

I will miss you guys and might still pop in once in a while.

Please don't worry about me.  I will do everything necessary to take care of myself and my family.  And I will be back, eventually.

I will be posting to Twitter more often.  You can follow me @amylk103.
 

What's Expected

All my life, I've been a good daughter.  Ok, I had a rebellious period where I thought I was grown and didn't need my parents dictating to me what I was supposed to do and be.  But my parents and I worked through it and things settled down.

I have always followed the rules.  I graduated High School, went to college, graduated college, went to work.  I dated and partied, but I've never experimented with drugs and I didn't drink alcohol when I was underage.  I bought a house near my family, got married and eventually had Jakes.

I have always been close to my family.  When Mom was sick, I did everything I was able to help and support her in her fight for her life.  After she passed, I was there to help Dad through the hard times of finding his way alone in the world.

I did all this because it was expected of me.  I was supposed to do the college thing, get married and pop out a kid or two.  I don't think it was expected for me to divorce but it also wasn't expected that I would stay in a miserable marriage.

Now as we start this journey in the fight against cancer once again, I am doing what is expected.  I'm offering my services to be there for Dad and ESM and Oscar.  I will go with Dad to infusion appointments, I will walk Oscar on the days that ESM goes with him.  I will make dinners and other fattening foods that appeal to Dad.

But there is a part of me that just wants to run away to someplace warm and without the responsibilities of fighting cancer for someone else.  I said to Huny the other day that someday I'm just going to do something that is not expected of me.  He said he doesn't think I have it in me.  How disappointing for me.  It might be time to shake things up and surprise people.