Is it really Thursday? I think I've finally recovered from my weekend! Last night was crazy hat night at AWANA, and I made the mistake of letting Josh pick out a "crazy hat" for me. I wore a bike helmet the whole night, and as one of the leaders, I didn't even get AWANA bucks for it.
Saturday was the MQHYA (Missouri Quarter Horse Youth Assoc.) show.
Here's Mercy, warming up for the barrel race on "Snuggles". As you can see, she's not entirely thrilled having a handler lead her, as she is used to riding by herself. But, them's the rules. There were just too many children and too many people there that day. Her class lessons on Thursdays give her lots more freedom.
Abigail gets her turn as well, on her favorite horse Dolly.
The girls watch the other competitors...
Plenty of games for the other (non-participating) kids, to keep them occupied during all the excitement of watching children endlessly parade around the arena (yeah...it's the kind of thing that only parents love!).
Judson ropes a dangerous bale that is sporting fake horns.
Gideon and Isaiah get in on the "orb-roping" action, but get their toys twisted up.
Wow, look at that group of participants! What a great day.
Abigail and Mercy got a plaque for barrel racing, and three ribbons: for participating in the trail ride, the general ride, and all-around...participation. They're quite pleased, and begged daddy to hang them up in their room as soon as they got home. Caveat from mom: I had to get a picture first. Mercy's lips aren't really blue...well, they are here, but it was from the blueberry kool-aid. Not normally though.
Sunday brought us to our piano teacher's church. We've tried to plan this event for some time, and it finally worked out. The children played piano, and Susannah sang.
What a sweet church, and everyone was so nice!
Beautiful inside and out!
Mercy played "Funeral March of the Marionettes"
Susannah sings "Jacob's Ladder." She really belts it out at home, but still gets nervous in front of crowds. Can't blame her, my mind goes completely blank in front of a crowd! As the song goes on, she is more sure of herself.
Abigail played "Blessed Assurance"
Yeah, I don't expect you to watch everyone's. But as their mom, I think they all play beautifully! So this is mainly for my benefit (and extended family members if they so choose).
Josh plays "The Wandering Musician" and "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross"
Well, I can't get youtube to upload any more right now. Well I *can* but the upload time keeps saying "153 minutes left" so I'll upload the rest another day.
There was a "Carry-in Supper" after the service. We brought deviled quail eggs. They're tiny, delicious, and draw attention to us ;) A little boy once asked me at another carrry-in, "Are your chickens sick?"
There was so much good food there! By "good" I mean, "no canned fruit floating in gelatin." Oh, but it really was good. Loosely quoting Dolly Parton from Steel Magnolias "There's nothing better than fried chicken made by good Christian women." I think that was Steel Magnolias anyway.
And now, The Retrospective (queue reverb):
Now that I'm a grandmother and have been a mother for even longer, I look back at some of the things I put my own parents through. I've apologized for most of them I think, but I remembered something this morning that I feel needs to be addressed. In high school I had a serious boyfriend, and a friend whose cat had just delivered quadruplets. One of the kittens was a Calico and I love (even to this day) calico cats.
I wanted a kitten SO badly but I knew my mom wouldn't allow another cat in the house. So I decided to ask her a hypothetical question--"What if someone told you were going to be a grandma?" I made it clear that it was just a simple question that meant nothing, but for some reason she freaked out. I found myself in the unexpected (yes, I was that naive) position of having to reassure her several times that she was NOT going to become a grandmother "per se." That did not seem to soothe her. When I finally mentioned the kitten, she was so relieved that she said yes. The kitten, which happened to be in my pocket for some odd reason, was then introduced to her catmother. But my mom drew the line at being called anything but "mom" by anyone else.
Shasta the cat went with me when I married and she lived a good life. But I'm quite sure it took a few years off my own mother's life. Sorry, mom!
Have a great weekend, all!
