an excavator borrowed.

Dear Robert,

Thank you for loaning us this mighty little machine.  It made heavy work a whole lot lighter than it could have been, and I know these three certainly appreciated your generosity.  The new corals are cleared of hazards, the wells out on the range are flowing freely, my dying, overgrown, old trees and shrubs have been uprooted, and the new water troughs are ready for branding day.  Now if only the sun would shine and warm things up!

You're one of the greatest brother-in-laws - and don't let anyone tell you different!

With thanks for you and your giving spirit,

 (your favorite sister-in-law)  Lindsay

P.S.  You can come for hot dogs, cheetos and cowboy beans anytime you want!

my look-alike.

Dear Mom,

I don’t remember a time in my life when I haven’t been told how much I look like you, act like you, and resemble everything about you.  We have similar mannerisms, the same desire to make others laugh and be happy, and a love for life that is contagious.  The older I get, the more I appreciate the resemblance – in fact I’m proud of it. 

Kirsten captured us trying to be coordinated enough to play a game for kids – and as I pulled the pictures up on my computer screen, I couldn’t help but laugh.  In fact, I’m still laughing.

Thanks for looking and acting just like me.  There’s no one I’d rather imitate or look just like than you.

Your look-alike legacy,

Lindsay

"that" friend.

Dear Canon Rebel,

It may seem that in recent weeks you’ve been neglected. Believe me when I say that it was not that I didn’t think about you day after day, or wish that my crazy, busy schedule hadn’t messed things up between you and I, but I really have no excuse.  It’s funny how “busy” can take the best things away from a person.  Anyway, busy or not busy, no excuse I could come up with would make it better, so I’m just choosing to move forward with our relationship.

We met again just the other day.  The wind had stopped blowing, the sun came out, and cows needed to be moved.  I picked you up out of your case and it was just like riding a bike.  My fingers rolled the dial, pressed buttons to focus, and managed to capture another afternoon in the life of us as if you’d never left my grip.  You seemed to not even remember me putting you down for awhile.

You and I … well, our relationship is very similar to friendships I’ve kept over the years.  The ones that remain connected and important no matter how much time passes between conversations.   The relationships that stand the test of time, don’t require much maintenance, and thrive when their time together is quality, not necessarily quantity.  Thank you for being THAT friend.  The friend that is a means for me to stop life long enough to really “see” the beauty that surrounds all that defines me.

Did you know that living and non-living things need each other to survive?  A while back I did a science lesson with my second graders about living and non-living things and their dependence on each other.  At first I wrinkled my brow a bit at that statement, but then it started to make sense.  Although you’re not light, air, or water – you are a non-living thing that has allowed me to see life in remarkable ways.  I push a button and you freeze a memory.  You make me better by capturing blessings that are often disguised as storms.  It’s amazing actually – how my time away from you only causes me to enjoy you more.  I have other relationships like that too – in fact I think everyone does.

You are my friend – sweet Canon Rebel, and although we don’t meet for lunch or call each other on the phone - you are an irreplaceable tool that captures my life ways that words can’t even explain.  Thank you for fitting back into my hands right when I needed you most.  May you know that each time I press your shutter open and focus on that which is in front of me – you’re giving me a gift and a reminder to create and capture that which is most important – life.

With admiration and respect,

Lindsay

my counter.

crippled.

Dear 0-1,

Your mom had a difficult time giving birth to you.  In fact, the scar from the c-section will be with her for the rest of her life.  A scar to show that both of you are here for a reason this season.

I remember the first time I saw you.  You were nestled in a bed of straw – content and worry-less.  Your mom watched you carefully – protective of you and cautious of me.  Cautious and protective because you’re crippled.  Your front legs hold you just high enough to nurse and they wobble all sorts of ways when you walk, but they work. They’re just high enough and just strong enough. 

What is “just high enough or just strong enough?”  Is there such a thing or place? 

I remember thinking to myself time and time again – “how and why are you still alive?”  I questioned Ian’s reason for keeping you mainly because it was so painful for me to watch you move.  I caught myself looking away on more than one occasion.  Pathetic, but true.

Will you ever run and play like the others?  Your steps are labored and hard - and look to be exhausting.  And yet, you do it.  You take one step at a time – one hoof in front of the other.  Crippled to my eyes, but not to my soul.

You see, there is this amazing thing about looking at things with eyes of faith.  Faith in the fact your head does reach just high enough to live.  Faith in the fact that you’re no longer in the barn yard, but roaming the small pasture below our house – wobbly legs and all.  Faith.

Who am I to question someone’s crippled state?  Am I not crippled myself?

Crippled with the fear of failure?

Crippled with anxiety of deadlines to be met and expectations of others?

Labored with exhaustion of keeping a household alive and well, while remaining sane?

Struggling to rest in His presence – the place where I need to be most – each and every day.

Crippled by a lack of faith.

……………..

And then I remember the story.  The story of people responding in faith to Jesus – rewarded by blessings greater than they could imagine.  The story found in Luke 5:18-25 that gives hope to the crippled and to his faith-filled friends.  A story of healing – not just of one’s body, but of the soul as well. 

……….......

You are here, grazing with your mama -right below my home, ever-present in my life, for a reason.  You were born in the winter of 2012 to teach me about faith.  A faith that believes in the impossible and trusts in that which is unseen to most.  Unseen to the naked eye, but evident through one’s belief in that which is eternal.  

I named you a while back.  A name that suits you well.  And when I walked to the barn yesterday and caught a glimpse of you trekking up the hillside with your mama. I smiled to myself and then yelled hello across the pasture.

“It’s a beautiful day isn’t it Grace!?”

You looked up, and I know you were nodding in agreement.

and I swear I heard a whisper in the wind … “A “grace-filled” day indeed.”

With all His grace and thankfulness for you, 

Lindsay

three words.

Dear boys,

Someday I'll find time to write about our adventures during the past month.  I really will.  In fact, I have about 4 days scheduled for just that very thing starting on Saturday.  Who would have guessed that so much would happen at once ... and I wouldn't have once extra ounce of time or energy to post about my favorite thing:  life with you two and your amazing dad in our little corner of heaven on earth.

Anyway - if you see some of our followers and hear them whispering about the fact that your mom hasn't posted anything for quite some time, just say these three words:

Wait. Hope. Trust.

She'll be back.

I love you from the tips of my toes to the top of my head - and then some,

Mom

cousins.

Fun in the mud and some singing/dancing by Leslie too.

Morgan shaking his brains around ... yep, they're there ... I hear them rattling.

 free entertainment at the ranch ... always dirty, but always fun!

Goodness in a box.

Dear Brooke,

You knew just what I needed ....and just when I needed it. Thank you just doesn't cut it. I love you for being the thoughtful, creative, gift-giving cousin you are! May you know what a great gift you gave me and my boys!

Your chocolate & strawberry loving cousin,

Lindsay

P.S.  Box # 2 came today.  :)