We become US

Ten years ago, our family............

met this family.

Right from the start, we just clicked. You know how that works? Some families come into your life and then fade out, and others stick. They stay. Sometimes........forever.

This boy.

At twelve years old, he made me crazy. I was far too high and mighty for my own good, and thought he was ridiculous and immature. 

But man, he had long eyelashes. 

Years passed, and we did everything together. Literally.

Rode horses..............

Shot guns.....

Butchered chickens..........

Attended political rallies and took weird pictures with weird people.......

Had water gun fights........

And whipped cream fights.......

Moved hay........

Did parades..........

Swam in lakes (and took more weird pictures).......

Went camping.......

Had camera wars.....

Kayaked in multiple little creeks in northern Arizona.....

Played in the water..............

Had  crazy birthday parties............

Birthed baby horses...........

Did some archery...........

  

Shot more guns..........

I took pictures and he drew them......

Did I mention that he's an artist? An ammmmmmmmmaaaaaazing artist?!? 

And somewhere, somehow over the years, the boy grew up.........into quite a man.

Strong.

Passionate.

Funny.

Loving.

Thinker.

Chaser after God.
And blessed with one seriously awesome set of hands.

Slowly, almost imperceptibly, I came to rely on this man.....for everything. I wanted his opinions, his approval, his humor - but most of all, I just wanted him. Anything we did was never complete to me unless he was along. 

Two weeks ago, to my utter shock and complete delight, I found out that he kind of liked having me around, too :) He asked to court me with the intention of marriage, and after finding my tongue again, I said yes!!

I'm still slightly in a state of disbelief, but it's becoming more and more real each day.

Oh, and get this - we have always managed to end up next to each other in group pictures over the years..........

And even wrote LOVE on a wall in Wickenburg! :D

So now, there's an "us". And we need you guys to be lifting us up in prayer....because there's no way we can do this without God.

I'm so excited. And so happy.

And the man still has such long eyelashes :)

Still here!

I know, I know.....I've slacked off terribly with my rampage of quote posts lately. There's a reason - honest! Kind of a silly reason, but a very real one nonetheless.

Truth is, I've been doing some deep thinking, praying, and soul searching recently, and as such, have been in a generally somber mood. The next few quotes in my folder are all silly and slightly sarcastic ones, and I'm having a hard time posting them when, quite honestly, I don't feel like being silly or sarcastic.
Silly? Yup.
But true.
And insane, OCD me can't bear to just skip them and go out of order..........that would be the most sensible thing to do. But no, instead, I sit here and bewail the fact that I have to get past the silly ones before I post the ones I want to.

So tonight, I'm just doing it. Posting all the silly ones in one fell swoop.

Enjoy.

And smile :) :) :)

Whew! That feels better!
**Warning**
Lots of serious blog posts in the near future..............

:) :) :) :) :) 

Humor :)

Some humor tonight :) :) It's almost Friday!!!

Back to normal life..........

I survived! What do you know? Last weekend was absolute chaos...complete with standing on my feet for an average of 12 hours a day holding a very heavy camera/lens, interacting with people on a constant basis, about 4 hours of sleep each night, living in continual fear that the pregnant mares we brought along were going to have their babies at the show, having a great time, being blessed by so many people, and coming home with over 4,000 images.

I LOVE my camera and lens even more now...they handled the wacky indoor lighting like the champs they are!

Mom and Beamer were seriously impressive....brought home the blues!

Jessie enjoyed the show....despite her crutches! (BTW, we heard this past week that the Dr thinks she doesn't need surgery!! Praise GOD!)

And a good time was had by all!!

At this point, life is settling back down again, and the next big thing on our platter is the arrival of some new baby horses! Can't WAIT!! The first mare due is the mare I showed last year, so I'm especially excited ;) 

Now that I've gone through all my pictures and organized everything, I'm slowly pulling my head back above water, and really want to keep sharing quotes. So in honor of my return to blogland, here's a deluge! :) :) :)

....especially Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata.

...I have to remind myself of this from time to time.

...actually, PETA might be right ;) 

.....I had a shirt that said this on the back for the longest time. Then it disappeared. I have a strange feeling Mom threw it away :'(

.....yep! I've got friends like this.

.....okay, okay. The dog is cute, you have to admit!

.....guys, you know this one's your fav :)

.....which is why I want to MOVE! Summer is coming!! Aaaahhhhhhhh.....

......and horses.

......and in Him, we find the greatest satisfaction, the deepest fulfillment, and the truest joy.

God bless you all!! ♥ ♥