My deal of the week

Sorry I have not posted in a while...we have been rather busy.  Thought I'd share a super cute jacket that I found for a super great price!  The tag on the inside of the jacket said that it used to be priced at $78, but I found it on the sale/clearance rack for $15.  I like the color (navy blue) as well as the elegant ruffles on the bottom of the jacket :)  All in all, it is definitely my style and was a great find (thanks mom)!

*sorry for the bad picture quality!*

Brand:  Francesca's (fun store!)

Original price:  $78

I paid:  $15

I plan to wear it with:  jeans and boots 

Season:  fall/early winter

Of Spring, Kittens, and Horse Shows

Spring is in the air, and along with a new season comes new life.  Our long-haired cat (named"kitty soft paws" after the cat in Puss in Boots) finally had her babies on Monday afternoon.  She had six, but one of them died soon after birth.  So, we now have five beautiful baby kittens (they have not opened their eyes yet; they probably won't until early next week).  Well, enough talk, on to the pictures:

(This picture was taken by the Vivacious Shutterbug)

Our garden

 These little weeds are everywhere!  Our friends, however, told us that they made Dandelion jelly and that it tasted like honey and was extremely good!  Another fun project....

Yay!  Our pasture is looking very nice...lucky horses :)

The raspberry bushes that we planted last year.

And the kittens!  4 dark ones, 1 orange one :)

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Also, last Saturday, I went to my first horse show on Hope (I've done shows before, however, this was my first one on Hope).  It went terribly well :)  Hope was quiet and well mannered and loved her job.  In the end, we got five 1st place ribbons, one 3rd place ribbon, and 2 division championship ribbons.  It was a fun day!

Various jumps

Some of my favorite pastimes or things I love to do when I can (as listed under my profile) are swimming, reading, biking, skiing, riding, and just being outside.  But the one I enjoy most is riding my horse.  I ride a quarter horse mare named Hope who loves to jump, just like her owner.  :)  Hope is a wonderful horse and I am blessed to have her!  One of the main reasons we purchased Hope is that she knows her job (primarily jumping), loves to do it, and gives me confidence because of her capability to smoothly jump many fences.  Even though butterflies often occupy my stomach before taking a fence, I love the thrill of leaping over the rails, great or small.  So, I thought I would show you some of the most common jumps in the Hunter world:

A simple coop jump is similar to an oxer in that it is slightly wide as well as tall

The classic and simple crossrail is jumped in the center (where the poles meet) and are usually not very tall

Oxers are jumps that are wide as well as tall.  Oxers force a horse to round his/her back over the jump.  An ascending oxer is a oxer that is taller in the back than in the front; hence, the rider and horse 'ascend' over the oxer.

Well, there you have it!  Now you can add 3 more jumps to your vocab list!  :)  What are your favorite past-times?  Do you enjoy riding horses?  Have you ever jumped a horse before?  If so, how did you like it?  What kind of jump was it?  Have you ever seen or heard of these types of jumps before?  Enter a comment in the box below:  I love to hear from you!

Hope you had a productive and blessed Saturday!

What is Bravery? Number the Stars

Here is a paper I wrote about bravery after reading the book Number the Stars.  Enjoy!

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Bravery

Shouts ring throughout the dank alleyways of Denmark, Copenhagen, as Nazi soldiers bellow orders.  Sirens blare and the cobblestone streets quake at the horrific noise.  Above the soldiers stands a faded brick apartment building, thin and narrow.  Inside, a family of four huddles together, hoping and praying for the lives of their Jewish friends.  A fair-haired girl of ten squeezes her little sister, attempting to comfort her.  Annemarie was an ordinary girl growing up during the Second World War.  She was not uniquely bold or extremely courageous.  Nothing out of the usual ever happened to her.  Until the soldiers came.  That changed everything.  Annemarie and her family lived in uncertain and frightening times.  Annemarie never liked to think about whether she was brave or not; why would she care?  But Annemarie soon found out that she could be brave and stand up for others when her friend faces great peril.  Her uncle Henrik describes bravery as, “…not thinking about the dangers.  Just thinking about what you must do.”  (Lowry, 123)  I believe that bravery is not the absence of fear.  Rather, it is having the full knowledge of the fact that what you are doing is dangerous, and doing it anyway.

               Bravery was easily and correctly defined by uncle Henrik when he stated that bravery is, “…not thinking about the dangers.  Just thinking about what you must do.”  (Lowry, 123)  Uncle Henrik explained to Annemarie that bravery does not mean that you are not afraid, it simply means that you choose to face uncertainty for the benefit of others.  Even though she did not know it at the time, Annemarie was brave when she took her friend’s necklace when the Nazis “searched” their apartment.  If she was found with a necklace with the star of David on it, the consequences would be serious.  Yet, she was not afraid for herself, only for the safety of her friend.  Thus, Annemarie did what she needed to do to protect Ellen, without thinking of the risk in doing so.

               Therefore, I agree with uncle Henrik’s definition of bravery.  Because there are many ways to elaborate on his description, numerous examples of bravery are portrayed in Number the Stars.  For example, Annemarie’s older sister, Lise, sacrificed her life for the potential freedom of others by working in the Resistance.  She knew that the punishment for rebelling against the Germans was serious peril or death.  Even though she was probably frightened at times, she bravely stood up for what she believed was right.  Likewise, Annemarie, unaware of the extreme importance of her mission, delivered the handkerchief to her uncle Henrik, saving her friends.  Truly, bravery can be expressed as, “…not thinking about the dangers.  Just thinking about what you must do.”

               Consequently, bravery is not the absence of fear.  Rather, it is having the full knowledge of the fact that what you are doing is dangerous, and doing it anyway.  Anybody, great or seemingly ‘insignificant’ has the option of being brave or not.  When fear tempts us to just give up, we must be ever confident that the truth will set us free, even if it means risking our own lives.     



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What do you think bravery is?  Have you ever been brave when the odds were not in your favor?

Vivacious Shutterbug/guest post

          One question remains in every one's minds:  what on earth happened to the nice weather!?  Yesterday was sunny and even slightly warm compared to the rest of the week.  Fortunately, I got to ride my horse outside instead of in the indoor arena...it is good to get the horses' minds refreshed by going somewhere new and trying different exercises in a field rather than going around and around the arena.  Anyway, earlier this week, my mother reported that it was 80 degrees this time last year.  I am definitely done with the cold, but the snow is pretty.  :)  Well, my sister (the Vivacious Shutterbug - see this post for more info:  http://day2dayjourney.blogspot.com/2012/10/fall-photos.html) took some pictures that she wanted to post and label as an official 'guest post' ;), so here goes!

 

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 An in between the basketball games post (:

 

 

 

so there you have just a few pictures from the past few months!

 

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Thanks, Vivacious Shutterbug!  Wonderful recap of the month :)

Glory be to God!