Random Good Stuff

No theme to this post. Just have a few cuties worth discussin'.

First up, my little boyfriend Gabriel. The boy looks adorable in ever single picture he's in. (Yes, even pictures with a blown out background.)
Really, Mike? Thank you for feeding the horses this weekend but why do you encourage my dog to climb up on the picnic table? You both know better. Hank rarely jumps up on anyone, but he sees Mike and forgets the rule. Might have something to do with the fact Mike slaps his own legs as a cue. The turd head! Please note how sweet little Miles is loving on Hank. He followed him all around giving him affection.
Ask and ye shall receive! Melissa posted on facebook that we would love aluminum cans. Just look what our friend Raina and crew donated Thursday afternoon--three huge bags of already crushed cans!

Wowsers!! Her children have been collecting cans for some time to earn money. Instead of cashing them in for their own monetary gain, they donated them to our cause. Thanks, T family.

Max's gratitude board. The pictures, the notes. . . we love them!

For your amusement!!! Here Grant is seen sporting one heck of a gigantic helmet!

Go ahead, chuckle away. Our family did the day I pulled that bad boy out of the box. When I ordered it I thought, "Oh how cool--the kids can wear helmets that look like a cowboy hat." What I didn't realize was just how enormous the hat would appear. Yep, I actually PAID for this helmet. And of course I never returned it. Now, it brings pure joy to children while making mamas cringe from its hideousness. Can you imagine the pictures in scrapbooks?

Does anyone want to paint a mural on it? Believe me, there's room! We could proudly list some sponsors, write out our plans for the future, or scribble the Declaration of Independence right on its front. The possibilities are endless.

Steph, you are sweller than swell! Hey Toots, you are such a sweet horse. I'm so glad you came to live at Galloping Grace.

Ginger, I don't know if you still read this blog, but thanks so much for donating your angel to us. Once she got her hormones in check, she has turned out to be a huge asset to the program. She's calm, sweet and so very gentle! We really love her.

This family--gush gush!

Jenn is the mama on the far left. After every time her daughter Grace has a session, she sends the sweetest emails of thanks. She also comes with a baked snack for all the volunteers on her visits. (Jenn, please do not feel obligated to that every time!) The dad--you might remember him as the man who came out to work on a Saturday with their baby on his back. That was actually pretty rude of him. He made me feel guilty for simply taking pictures while he lugged a human around. Who does that?!

It was no surprise to me that Jenn's aunt and uncle were also off-the-charts sweet! Do you ever start to babble and can't stop yourself? That was me with them Thursday morning. I guess the fact that they were in town from Pittsburgh struck a tell them every single detail of how Galloping Grace came to be mood in me. They showed interest and listened. Then they listened. Then they listened again. And again. And then they listened. If all that listening wasn't sweet enough, Sweet Aunt then put a fifty dollar bill in my hand. Now that I think about it, maybe it was payment to shut me up. It worked. I was speechless and so very grateful. Thank you!!!

Jenn, when will they be coming back? I left out a few details. . .

Until next time.

Painting Party

And this time we weren't painting a horse. It was time to get the display boxes spiffied up and looking fresh. That's where all the cool kids came in.

That's my Misha. She has been there for me since I was four years old. We lived two doors away from each other and were the best of friends.

Did you know we could control the wind with our blankets? We could indeed. We also used to catch grasshoppers to feed our pet lizards, polish rocks together, and wear matching Jordache jeans we bought with our own money after babysitting together all summer as the amazing duo of Mommy's Little Helpers. Good times.

It turns out Misha is still there for me. Now, she cleans and paints pumpkin display boxes and serves on our GG board. I love my Misha!

I happen to be falling in love with a lot of other super nice people.

Melissa started off as mom to Phoebe, a GG participant. Now Melissa is a facilitator running her own sessions. She has shown up at the stand several days offering her support. Phoebe loved the stand last year, so they're both really excited to be a part this year. I love when Melissa is around because she makes me laugh. There are Frank and Carri again. Wowsers! What work horses they are. You'd think the head wound would have discouraged Frank. Nope--not in the slightest. He has been there just about every day working like crazy helping Max get set up. Carri is there almost as often as she juggles her two cutie pies and their school schedules. Both of you, thank you so much! Carri, thanks, also, for all the goodies you bring for Max. Geez, at least someone bakes for the man! (I'm too busy organizing my house and dusting and stuff.) There's the ever helpful Rebekah. She started off as a participant last year, which she still did this year as well, but she is also so much more to GG. She worked many shifts last year at both the pumpkin and Christmas tree stands. She also served as a junior volunteer this past season. She has a servant's heart, that's for sure!! Thanks for all you do, Rebekah!
Here is Katy and her always expanding crew! Max and Trish tease her all the time because she shows up with extra children to almost all her sessions. I'm not too sure, but I think she has one of the biggest hearts in all of Albuquerque.

Max says she takes in strays, but I think she wants other children to experience what her children get to do. Really, who brings SIX young children to help paint???! My nerves wouldn't hold up. Katy was loving and patient and kind--cool as a cucumber! The children worked so hard and were so proud. They left with just a little paint on themselves, but Katy didn't even seem to notice. Please, no one tell my children just how cool other parents can be. Katy, you may not borrow my children to take on any of your wonderful adventures. They'd be so disappointed when they return to me. Jack was back. He's the retired police officer who left a paying job only to work hours and hours and hours on end for Galloping Grace! He has driven at least SEVENTY-FIVE T-posts into the ground by himself in the last couple of days, bucked straw bales, moved wood, etc. When offered food, he flatly refuses. He might be some kind of robot man in disguise. He happens to be extremely camera shy. Isn't that odd? I mean, if someone wants to take my picture, I happily let them. Jack just kept saying, "No pictures." I'll keep trying. He couldn't mean it. No way.

Jack, Frank, Carri and Trish--you four have been more than absolutely amazing helping get the stand ready. A million thanks for all you've done!!

B. Family, you are terrific! Robin read the blog in the morning and saw we were going to be painting.

They finished up their school work only to come do more work at the stand. Polite boys, hard workers--just great people to be around. i'm pretty sure they painted more than their fair share of boxes. Robin, Zachary, Jonathan, and Benjamin--thank you so much! Thanks, also, for jumping out of the car and posing for a group shot. Notice the two younger boys already had their shoes off? Good sports happily hurt their feet so I could take the picture. Couldn't you just pinch him? This young man and his mama had a session at GG in the morning. They heard about the painting party from Trish. Jennifer decided she was going to help out, but Tristan needed to stay home and finish his schooling for the day. I guess he asked his mom if he could please have homework so he could come out and paint. What a sweet guy! I think I know where he gets it--I love Jennifer! GG has introduced me to some of the nicest people around.
T and J, thanks for giving up your afternoon. We really appreciate all the help.

Kaley and Grant were so happy to be painting. Great news came of it--Grant now officially has a pair of jeans and a shirt especially for painting. So does Kaley for that matter. So Ms. Barb gets off work and comes over to see what she can do to help. That is typical Barb for you. She is such a dedicated pumpkin stand volunteer! Some of you might remember one of her kind deeds from last September right after we met her. One day she saw us setting up the stand as she drove by. Instead of driving home, she went to the store and brought back two boxes of Popsicles for everyone to share. Boy, did they ever hit the spot! Barb, you're a great friend and we love you. Wouldn't you know it--Misha was there at the end helping clean everything up. That's her style. She is always in the background doing whatever needs done, seeking no credit along the way.

Thanks, paint crew! You were so helpful I could almost jump for joy.

For now, I think I'll leave that to the experts.