De-lightful!

I FINALLY made it back out to GGYR! I know, amazing. It was such a fantastic day. I met several new volunteers I haven't had the pleasure of knowing until today. Pretty sad. Some of them have been out there sweating away for a month and I hadn't said thanks yet. I had a happy day walking around, doing nothing, meeting people and saying hi to familiar faces. Good times.

Because I'm exhausted and basically new to blogging (after my time off), I'm going to gradually ease back into this reporting business. Here, a small sampling of my most splendid day.

The E. Family was been coming out to GGYR for the last two years. Eddie and Denise had four precious children--well-behaved, willing to work--just great! In December they added SIX more children to their family when they adopted Denise's sister's kiddos. (You might remember a post I did back in December about them.) Today was the day Denise (second from left) brought them out to ride with the help of one of her good friends (far right.) Of course they were wonderful. Of course they were polite. Of course Denise was calm and collected. Of course I loved them all! What a pleasure. I bet it's a safe bet to say Denise has to be happy GGYR is a free program. Seeing a family like this, it makes me all the more happy it is.

Our volunteers--WOW! I could write a novel on the help we've received. These two ladies have done more than their fair share. I met DeAnne, the one on the right, but today was the first day I met the other Dee. Every time I've heard a story about one of them, I asked, "Blonde De? New Dee?" Eventually their names became Blon-de and New-dee.
When I told them as much this morning, they filled me in on the nickname they prefer--the name they told Max that made him blush a thousand blushes--Double D. Great stuff. What characters the De/Dee gals are.
And to close, thanks to Tim and others who used a day off from work
to help out at the ranch.

We are blessed.

It's great to be back.

I survived! Barely.

I am going to take the rest of the weekend off, but come Monday I'm back in the game. I can even go to out to GGYR for a change! What a difference a week makes.

Hope your weekend is a great one.

Thanks to all who sacrificed so that we can be free!

I interrupt my mandatory post hiatus with a few quick words--Happy Birthday to my sweet, pregnant baby sister Erin. I love you!

Have fun on your vacation.

Delirious.

Tired of sitting at my computer. Yep, you heard it from me. I am so consumed with slide showing I have no time to read blogs and facebook at my leisure. Brutal days.

I'm off to bed so I can refresh myself to sit on my rear for many more hours again tomorrow.

Is it June yet?!

I think I can. I think I can.

Go get some fresh air for me, will ya?

Hello, Good Bye.

This morning Max's father did a huge favor for us--he loaded up the two Haflingers and drove them back to their original home in Farmington, NM. Sweet, scared animals that could probably be excellent horses if they had A LOT of work. Since there are much more pressing matters to tend to in GGYR land, they were giving their walking papers and returned to their previous owner. Pop, thanks so much for doing that for us! Mike and Steph, thanks for opening up and helping Jerry out. Dee, thanks for feeding AGAIN! We are surrounded by awesome people!!! Have I mentioned that before??

More awesomeness--a guest post for your reading pleasure! Trish took it upon herself to write a little something in honor of Buff and Shorty leaving. AND, she also took pictures for it!! Trish, you're pretty darn cool.

In Trish's words:

Think of the Beatles song Hello, Good bye. Well go ahead I'll wait…………

Do you have it now?

This had been the relationship with GGYR and these two bundles of joy Buff(aka Hindi) and Shorty from here on out known as the twins

(I asked Buff to turn for pictures)

GGYR says yes, Buff and Shorty say no

GGYR says stop and Twins say go, go, go

Oh no GGYR finally says goodbye and Kaley my daughter says hello hello hello. That is five year crying for don't take my favorite horses that we can't catch or ride away from my ranch.

Sorry my little cowgirl it is time for them to go to a home more suited for them. In all her sobs the only way to calm her down was to promise that we (well Max and Mike) would catch them for a picture to put in her cowgirl room.

Kaley and Shorty

Kaley and Buff

In this picture I think even Mike is having a hard time saying good bye notice the lack of smile.

So my cutie putie but pains in GGYR sides Good Bye Good Bye Good Bye. You will be forever in Kaley's heart and cowgirl room.

Thanks, Trish!

Yay For Jayna!!!

I took the following from an email sent from Jayna's mother to her contact list. I thought you might appreciate the follow-up/happy news.

Hello Everyone,

Great News! Jayna survived open-heart surgery. A new pulmonary valve was placed on Friday May 14th, at the Lucille Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford (in California).

Surgery lasted just over 6 hours. She spent 4 days in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit, and 1 day in the intermediate care unit. Jayna's recovery was so amazing, that she was discharged from the hospital and flew home to Albuquerque only 5 days after surgery. Jayna had a check-up with her pediatric cardiologist today, just 1 week following surgery. She is doing so great, that she is not scheduled to return for another check-up for 3 months. Jayna should be able to resume regular activities in 6 weeks, and should be off all medications within the next 6 months.

Thank you all for your prayers for Jayna's surgery and health. Our friends from church tracked that Jayna had prayer warriors in all 50 states, and 4 additional countries! God is Good!

With Love,
Kristi
We are so happy and relieved for this sweet family. Reading Kristi's updates on Jayna through her Caring Bridge site was an absolute pleasure. Kristi was grateful for every bit of good news. She focused on the positive the entire time. Strong mama with incredible faith! From the posts I read, the doctors and nurses were blown away by Jayna and her sweet, cooperative disposition and her lighting fast healing.

We've very fortunate to have met this family at the pumpkin stand this past season. I hope Jayna can come out to see the horses very soon. Kristi--I think that sweet little girl of yours should get to paint a rainbow on one of our horses. Let me know when you'll be there so I can work out the details.

Praise God!!

Mud Bath

From the vault of summers past--

One day last summer while hanging out at our family cattle ranch, Max willingly loaded up a group of little rascals and took them out for a swim.

If that wasn't sweet enough, he also took pictures for me! Ahh, true love!
I love that man and his willingness to make sure children have a great time.

I think I'll keep him forever.

Roy The Rattler

A beautiful, wonderful guest post for your reading enjoyment! Melissa, thanks for all the pictures and the words to go along with them.

“Knock Knock-
Who’s there?
Roy.
Roy who?

Roy the rattlesnake!”


Minding his business under some wood,
Until Max came along and lifted it up--
Roy was discovered and misunderstood.
Then lo and behold, he was put in a can,
Where he slept and he crept and most likely wept—
Until Max lifted the lid and showed Roy his plan.

It wasn’t for soup, or cake or snake pie,
But to give the kids a peek and let them say hi.

And he slithered and hissed and tried to rattle with all his might,
But stage fright overcame him and not a sound he could make-
A big thank you to Melissa and Garrett,
For saving this snake.

The End

Melissa, you're such a hoot! Thanks for the great pictures and the cute poem to go along with them!

To those wondering, the snake will be released.

Ginger

Sad news at the Wade house. Hank, the world's best dog, slipped a few notches tonight. He mortally wounded our pet rabbit--Max had to put her out of her misery. Claire devastated. Grant devastated. Garrett really sad. Brooke just fine. (Guess if you've seen a horse be put down you can handle a rabbit.)

Max looked in the backyard and saw Hank shaking his head with something hanging out of his mouth. Max assumed it was one of his stuffed animals. As soon as he realized it was Ginger, he yelled for Hank to release her. He obeyed immediately, but it was too late. She lay there

breathing but not doing much else. Max ordered us all inside so he could do the deed. Claire and Garrett pleaded with him not to do it. I suggested she might be in shock. Max told us to go inside. Poor Ginger was not going to recover.

A picture Melissa texted for Claire.

Hank and Ginger have been great pals for the last two years. We already had Ginger when we got Hank. (You can read a post about their early interactions here.) We think because he was only a puppy when they met, he was always good with her. Sure, he would chase her all the

time, but she liked it. Ginger has been caught biting Hank while he sleeps to get him up to play. He would catch her and then let her go. It worked for them. Well, until tonight.

I took pictures with my phone of Claire writing over and over again, "I Love Ginger" on a dry erase board and of Grant bawling out of control, but the shots did not make it to my email account. Pretty precious.

These are pictures Claire took of Ginger hanging out in her room. Claire was forever dressing her up or posing her with a stuffed animal.

One of Claire's pic of the big, bad bunny killer. I have a feeling she won't be snapping any shots of him in the near future. He is definitely on her bad list for the time being.I was pretty impressed with my tough reaction. No crying here. Well, not until we finally got around to eating around 8:30 PM. Claire started off trying to say the prayers. "Dear God, thank you for this really sad day." That was as far as she went. Max then took over. "God, we're so grateful for the years we had with Ginger. We're going to miss her. I enjoyed watching her pudgy self hop around the yard in the mornings as I drank my coffee." So much for tough. Brooke and I sprung a leak right then and there.

Ginger, I will now publicly forgive you for the TWO VCR cords you munched during the early months when you were allowed free access to our living room. (I've read on Google that other rabbits also enjoy this jolting experience.) Rest in peace, you little chubby ball of spotted fur.

Cashton and Lovely Lisa, Happy Birthday! Love you both.

Oh magic water line fairies--we need you!

Folks, take a minute to appreciate your tap water.

Back to court we go.

Slide.

Show.

Season.

Anyone recall the misery I put myself through? Silly me.

Must go to bed.

Forgive.

Claire Claire

Happy Birthday to my sweet little Claire. Eight years old?! How is that possible? (Well, in this picture it isn't since it was taken over a year and a half ago--hey, it was right there on my desk top begging to be used.)

We love you so very much!

Check out the bday post I did for her seventh bday--back when I had a little more energy.

Trish And Michelle--Let's Clear This Up

This is Trish. Actually, it's Trish trying to be Michelle for Halloween. I should have taken it as a sign of what is going on. Clearly she's a little more "Single White Female" than I thought. All these years I assumed Trish was happy being Trish. Slowly, I'm starting to think otherwise. This is the real Michelle. The straight-out-of -Tammy's-camera Michelle. There was absolutely no wrinkle-minimizing going on in this shot. No sirree Bob. Here's Trish trying to be Michelle again. Peculiar. Odd also, Trish's husband is seen here trying to be Max. Are we noticing a theme? Are you as scared as I? I am writing this post to announce to the world that Trish is NOT MAX'S WIFE! She is not. Ignore her if she says she is.

A little background for you:

Trish does all the scheduling for Galloping Grace. This is her personal little project. We do not see her communication with the parents of the participants. It has taken me a while, but I have discovered something quite interesting. A large amount of new parents talk to Trish like she is Max's wife. They always act shocked when I announce that I, in fact, am his lawful and adored bride. "Oh, we thought Trish was married to Max." Of course you did.

Even stranger, there is a fairly considerable amount of people who call me Trish and her Michelle. So much so that we have contemplated ordering shirts that say, "I'm not Trish, I'm Michelle" and "I'm not Michelle, I'm Trish."

I think I'll fire Trish and start doing the scheduling myself from now on.

Wait.

Does that mean I'd have to do the scheduling myself?

I think I'll pass. Forget I said a word. Max who?

Love,

TRISH

Wordless Wednesday--Cochise and the Cowboy Cutie

No Deliveries During Business Hours

Sir, what are you doing?

This is opening day. We cannot have you bringing that big load in here while we have wee ones running amuck. What?

You're going to unload and stack it all for us?
Carry on. We'll push the little rascals out of your way.

It's tough work. . .
And I'm so glad you're the ones to do it.

Melissa D., Happy Birthday to thee.

Winner And A Waddle

Since I lack decision-making capabilities, I had to rely on Max and Melissa to help me choose the winner of the "caption the photo" contest. Many worthy entries, but we collectively decided on Tj and Mark's --

"Aim for Cowboy Max, you get no points for ringing my ear!"

Cute stuff, Tj and Mark. Let's chat via fb to work out the details. Congratulations.

Thanks to all who played along. We might have to have another of these contests real soon.

And now I need to share something important with all of you. Even though cowboys are usually tough as nails,

every once in a while they need a little comfort.

Scheduling Day and Stuff

Just a courtesy reminder that Monday, May 10 is scheduling day--not the 15. If you would like your children to come out and ride in June, you really should contact Trish right away. Last month spots filled up almost immediately. What makes it a little more (lot) tricky this time around is that school will be out and even more people will want a session for their children.

Volunteers, we need you! Let us know if you would like to help.

Trish, have a fun day answering hundreds of emails. Have we thanked you lately?

My dearest Mommy, I love you! Happy Mother's Day and enjoy your cruise.

Saturday work crew--we heard everything went really well. Thanks so much for giving up your morning to help out. I know there were about thirty thankful children who benefitted from your gift of time.

The Dream

Tim teared me up. Here, his unsolicited guest post:

Anybody that has spent any time with me knows that every day if you ask me what I am doing I will tell you “I am living the dream” then I laugh and say I just can’t figure out whose dream I am living. Saturday while “living the dream” I know it was Max and Michelle’s dream I was living. Nice thing is they are willing to share that dream with us, and allow us to take ownership in this dream.

Last year Renee and myself started doing sessions one Saturday a month for several reasons. First was probably selfish so we could experience the joy of sharing horseback riding with the kids because there is just no way to describe the joy or maybe “Pure Joy” that comes when a child gets on the horse. Secondly to allow dads, moms, grandparents and kids that otherwise could not experience this joy a chance to experience it.

When we left the ranch on that Saturday last September to go pick pumpkins we knew we had done good, and had a great year sharing with all the new friends we had met. We had no idea what was going to happen the next year. Saturday was the start of a new year for us and wow what an experience it was. We were able to give about 30 kids a chance to go horseback riding--some were old friends, some are now new friends, but it is no longer just Renee and me because Saturday it took 8 volunteers to take care of everybody. Doing rough math I figured with 30 kids, parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters there was probably nearly 100 people through the ranch to share in Max and Michelle’s dream. It was an exciting view to watch all these people going from one work station to the next, seeing the excitement on their faces when they realized they really could ride a horse and were actually riding a horse. For this experience I would like to thank Max, Michelle and everybody that donates there time, everybody that donates money, buys pumpkins, buys Christmas trees.

Thank you,

Tim

No Tim, thank you! Not only are you a wonderful volunteer, terrific board member and fantastic tree hauler, but you're a great friend. We're so happy Galloping Grace has you. And how cool are you doing a guest post for me??!! My cup runneth over.

You Say What?

This picture of Cochise really cracks me up. In the spirit of the great Pioneer Woman, let's have a "caption this photo" contest. Write the winning caption and win your very own Galloping Grace t-shirt. Do prizes get more exciting that that?! I would argue not.

Yep, if we pick you, Trish or Melissa or (insert any name besides my own) will plop your trophy in the mail.

Tell me all about it. Caption away.

Contest ends Monday morning.

Grace-full

Let me just say how much I love happy, grateful people. I'm so thankful Jenn took the time to send this sweet email. This 2010 season is off to a rip-roarin' start!

Michelle, Max, and Trish,

Thanks for allowing us to come to the ranch today. Grace had a great time and was so excited she was able to ride Cochise "on her own" and to stop him and turn him. Thanks to Steph so much for helping her with that.

We feel bad that we only did can crushing while the others did poop duty but Steph assured

Grace there will be 'extra poop' next time we come for her to shovel. That led to quite the discussion on the ride home!

Anyway, thanks again. I've attached two pics of the day. One is of our little can crusher doing her work.

The other is of her lasso-ing the 'bull'. I'm amazed that she was able to rope him on her first try and that I actually caught it in a pic!

We hope you have a great week and weekend. We will see you all on the 19th unless there are any cancellations and you contact us.

Take Care,

Jenn D

I neglected to mention this kind mama also made delicious chocolate cowboy squares for all the volunteers.

Jenn--bringing pure joy to adults!

I sure hope they hurry back.

The Broganator

Stylish.

Dedicated.

Enthusiastic.

Determined.

Precious!
Miss Brogan threw her whole cute self into her poop scoopin' duties yesterday morning. So much so that her sunglasses fell down. After a little readjusting, she was back at it. No pile was too big. Not for Brogan.
I loved the little grin on her face during the action.

After the manure was eliminated,

she let her hair down for some wild and crazy fun. Yee haw!