Why Michelle Doesn't Get Invited To Many Lunch Meetings

I realized something about myself today--I am courageous! There is no other way to describe someone who foolishly takes her camera into places and then uses it when it is most awkward to do so. I should also mention that my camera is not a point and shoot discreet little number. Doesn't stop me. I press on. I humiliate myself in the pursuit of journalistic excellence, to show all of you the events shaping the entity that is Galloping Grace Youth Ranch.


Lunch at Weck's restaurant in Rio Rancho provided me yet another awkward photo op. Max and I met with the engineers and contractors bidding to do the job for our water line. Three of the four men I had never met. How often do you figure these men are photographed while dining and discussing roads, easements, stub outs, utilities, etc.? Not often, I would argue.



I announced that I had to take a few pictures for a blog I keep on the ranch. Imagine my surprise when Tim, pictured on the far right, said he has read it! You just never know who checks in--possibly because few comment and thereby satisfy one of my love languages. (I'm just sayin'.) Tim heard about GG, looked at the website, and then found the blog. I get a little nervous when I hear something like that. Which post did he see? I can't seem to pull myself out of this boring slump. Perhaps a vacation is in order.



Here I present the amazing Bill Joiner! Yep, the same man whose company hauls water out to GG EVERY WEEK! He has done so much more for us. Seriously, his heart is gigantic! He cares, he helps, he gives. We have no way of adequately thanking Mr. Joiner and his sweet wife, Evonne. They are well known in Rio Rancho for their kindness--we can definitely attest!

Bill's company, which he is now closing, bid on the job. One of Bill's employees, Mike (far left in above shot) is starting up his own company. Bill and Max talked that perhaps some of the fees the engineers built into their bid might be waived if his company were to do the construction on the water line. This lunch was set up to determine all of that. As lunch progressed, the two groups discovered that a few items might have been left out of the original bid--the cost might go up! Ahhh.

I found all the talk interesting even though most of the concepts and issues floated right over my housewifey head. I must admit I didn't bring a lot to the table. At one point I asked Tim and Kim, the engineers, if they knew my sweet friend Pam who is also an engineer in Rio Rancho. Kim (striped shirt) did know her. He said she works for another engineering firm (company?). Bill Joiner then started teasing me that I threw her in while negotiating prices as a bargaining tool. I assured them I had not. I didn't know Pam did that kind of work. I said, "I thought she designed the lay out for the new high school in Rio Rancho." Kim said I was right--the utility lay out! Yikes! Pam, my sweet love who reads this blog, please know that it never occurred to me that we should ask you for a bid. Clueless and out of the loop, I am. I promised the men over and over that I was innocent. Did they believe me? Don't know. Does Pam believe me? I hope so.

A little background on Pam. We played basketball together in high school. We really were great friends. Geez, that girl could dribble!! Pam was always smart, sweet, and fun. It's really no surprise that she is a talented architect now. In December I had the pleasure of reconnecting with her in and another friend, Kelly, after almost twenty years. So good to see them!

Tim and Kim, my new dining buds, thanks for taking the time to meet with us and explain your bid. Pam, if you want to throw either of my new friends under the bus with a lower bid, have at it. :)

Teasing.

A little.

Sort of.

Perhaps I discovered something else about myself--I'm a cutthroat business woman at heart.

Hee hee. Who am I kidding? Engineers, new friends and old, why don't you just work together on this one? Wouldn't that be something new and fun? Have your people call my people and we'll work something out.

Water line construction--a nerve racking experience.

Groundhog Day

Max posting AGAIN:

Have you ever had the feeling you have been somewhere or done something before?? Of course you have. Call it deja vu or Ground Hog Day or whatever works for you. Today was Ground Hog day (in a good way) for me because AGAIN I encountered some people who were nothing less than amazing, and the name of the company just happened to be Groundhog Excavating Inc.

So here is how it all went down. It was exceptionally hot and the horses worked hard this week which made them extremely thirsty, which in turn caused them to suck down virtually all of their water by Thursday evening. Joiner Construction, who also worked hard this week, was not able to refill our tanks. I cannot say enough great things about this company. Bill and his staff have bent over backwards to help GGYR--this was the first time ever that they were not able to fit us in. So for all of you who are part of Joiner Construction that might be reading this post, we love you and thank you for all you do. When I talked to Bill on Thursday night, I did not want him to know how desperate we were for water because I know he would have rearranged his life on his day off to take care of us. I also knew that if we sent out an S.O.S to our followers, someone would lend a hand. That is exactly what happened.

Our great friend and soon to be board member, Tim, talked to a workout buddy of his who owns Groundhog Excavating Inc. about the possibility of using one of his water tanks. Troy Otero was more than willing to allow us to borrow a 250 gallon tank and trailer for which to haul it. As if it were not enough for him to agree to this, he and one of his employees sweat in the hot sun for nearly two hours to make sure that the tank was clean enough and secure enough for me to take. These are some hardworking, tough dudes that not only made time to help GGYR, they took the time to involve my 3 year old Grant in the process. He will remember his ride in the track hoe for a long time.

It always amazes me how God can take a seemingly desperate situation and turn it into a fruitful blessing. Troy mentioned that he had a friend who had a horse that he wanted to give away, so he gave me the info and told me to call him. I called his friend and found out that the horse was too spirited for the kids, but he wanted to help in other ways. Our conversation traveled to the fact that he owned several alfalfa pastures and that he would like to donate some of the hay to us. Our feed bill is by far our largest expense, so this possibility is huge for GGYR.

What can I say....Today was Ground Hog day.

Please give Troy a shout at http://www.ghoginc.com/ just to say thanks or to inquire about doing a job for you.

Water Crew

We do not have running water yet. That's OK, because we know God will provide when the time is right. In the mean time, we have a wonderful company, Joiner Construction, hauling water on a weekly basis. Some weeks are harder to coordinate getting the water out than others. If they cannot make it by Friday, they'll try and come out first thing Monday. Most weeks this works great. The horses have just enough water to make it, and then that glorious truck pulls and we all do a happy dance! But some weeks the horses must be thirstier than others. Some weeks we get real close to running out. We were a little concerned this past weekend, so Max sent in the big dogs to haul water from the tree troughs to the horse troughs. At most, the horses only had a day's worth of water left. He wanted to make sure they made it through the night. Good thing we have such a helpful work crew and that most of the water stayed in their buckets. Can you see the determination on Claire's face? Grant really likes to be on the water crew. It's one of his favorite jobs. Dalton and Spencer were great to have around. They were a little more effective than Grant and Kaley and much more serious. It was all about getting the job done. This is that cute Parker kid again. Turns out he can carry water as well as he can scoop poop. He fit right in on the crew. He hauled a whole lot of buckets back and forth.


Nice work, kids. No, child welfare does not need to be contacted. All the children want to do this manual labor--really, they do!

Bill Joiner and Joiner construction, thank you so very much for all those hundreds of gallons of water. We, the horses, and the trees are beyond grateful.