Keeper of the Creatures

Lindsay has always been a lover of animals. My first realization of this was when she was a toddler. I remember one early morning as we sat on the front porch swing of our home on a quiet small-town street, a beautiful cat came wandering our way, jumped up to the porch, and sat. Swishing her beautiful long gray tail, she looked straight at Lindsay as if to say “good morning.” Swigging on her ever-present pacifier, Lindsay pointed at the cat, looked up at me with wide eyes, and cooed a soft “oooooooh!” then scrambled down to greet the newcomer. I don’t know how long she sat next to that cat, petting and cooing, but I do remember how upset she was when the cat decided it was time to go home! From that moment on, there have always been animals, animals, animals in and around our home. Cats, dogs, rabbits…she was never at a loss for animal friends. When we moved to the farm, Lindsay was thrilled to have a swampy area to slog around in. In addition to the dogs and horses, she maintained countless wet and dry aquariums full of hundreds of toads and spring peepers, thousands of tadpoles, and even a few salamanders, blue tail skinks, tree frogs, and baby turtles. She proudly designed and prominently displayed a wooden sign in the garage that designated her space as the “Treaty Line Wildlife Rescue.” She pored over books of uncommon pets, fed and exercised her toads daily, and filled notebooks with new milestones that each one met. She was obsessed with her little friends!

In the blink of an eye, that little animal lover grew up, put her empty aquariums in storage, and quit baling swamp water for tadpoles (although every now and then you can find her slogging in the swamp just to have a look around!). I began to miss those daily reports of how well Hopper-the-Toad was recovering from what seemed to be a sore leg muscle, or the number of tadpoles that were safely tucked away in our warm garage, their little delicate lives saved from that unexpected late spring freeze. Lindsay’s safe little world was frequently shaken by some small animal drama, but she was always there to pick up the pieces, fix what was broken, and turn them back out to their habitat to enjoy life.

I was reminded of all of this earlier this week when Lindsay came home from work. I could tell the moment she walked through the door that she was angry. Her jaw set with determination, she muttered a hello through clenched teeth, and my question of “How was your day?” was met with a huff and flaming eyes. “Do you remember Noble? You know, the horse at work that I fell in love with? The one Kim sold to another trainer a few weeks ago?” Yes, I remembered. Lindsay had told us many things about this wonderful horse that had quickly stolen her heart, and she was sad to see him leave the barn where she works. “Well, Kim visited that trainer today and saw that Noble was being mistreated, so she loaded him up and brought him back. Mom, you should SEE how ABUSED he is! He is skin and bones! His mouth is bloody! That horrible trainer nearly ruined him! I am SO MAD!” And there it was – the look of that little girl – protector of all things animal – her safe little world shaken again; this time by a tale a lot harder to swallow than a toad’s pulled leg muscle. I was heart broken too, grieved by the fact that my now-grown daughter had witnessed the all-too-common reality of a show-horse’s life. It’s a harsh and cruel thing in most cases.

A few days have passed since that initial blow for Lindsay, and time has tempered that first burst of anger that coursed through her veins, but I know, without asking or being told, that when Lindsay goes back to work today, Noble will get the treatment of a lifetime! He will be coddled and loved. His wounds will be soothed with gentle hands, his ears will be pricked by a cooing tongue, and his spirit will be calmed by a warm heart. I know this because that’s what God created Lindsay to be…a keeper of His animals…a defender of the defenseless. (And God help that trainer if he crosses paths with Lindsay anytime soon!)

“Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.” Proverbs 27: 23

Girls, Green Shoes and Giggles

For those of you who are acquainted with our family, you know that our middle daughter, Emma, was always the quiet one. When Emma was little, Lindsay did all of her talking. I remember one day in particular when Emma, probably nearing 3 years old, came into the kitchen and simply said "nyeh nyeh." I was both shocked and perplexed. Emma never spoke, and now that she had, I didn't have a clue what she wanted. "Nyeh nyeh" she repeated. What in world...?! I pointed to everything, tried to give her everything, but all she did was stare, stomp, and give me a louder "NYEH NYEH!" Six-year-old Lindsay came floating through the kitchen in her fairy costume and high heels and simply announced "She wants a drink mom." "Hmmm...you think...?" One more look at Emma...nothing but an icy stare. "Is that what you want, Emma, a drink?" She only stared. I filled her sippy cup and handed it over. She took it, smiled half heartedly, turned on her heel and went back to play in her own little peaceful world. I thought to myself "she must get that from Brian." After all, I was never at a loss for words!

When Emma turned ten, we began to notice a little 'coming out of her shell' but still when meeting someone new or encountering a new situation, you could literally watch her "sizing up" everything with that signature stare. No words, no expression, just a deep...dark...stare.

This weekend I was taken back to Emma's younger days when she was...well...quieter. Our family journeyed together to visit church friends near Columbus, Ohio, about a 2-1/2 hour drive one way. There was no lack of chit chat in the truck among the girls. Brian drove, glazed-over in his own little world of thought -- rarely acknowledging the comedy unfolding in the seat behind him while Emma's nonsense made the rest of us either roll our eyes and groan, or bellow with laughter. I claimed ownership of the radio and turned on a station Emma didn't particularly care for. After each and every song she would interrupt her current conversation with "can we change it now?...please?...mom?...are you listening?...seriously mom...hellooooooo...earth to mom...can we change it?...ooookaaaaay...guess not" then she would continue her story as if she'd never missed a beat.

And the storytelling itself? Now let me tell you, you have not lived until you hear Emma tell a story. Starting with her "Okay, yeah, sooo....." and ending with her signature "LOL, right?!" Emma's form of chit chat is kind of a morph between common English and Text verbage. She rarely gets through a sentence without communicating "JK!" At one point in the trip Emma was the only one laughing at her own story, so she followed it with "Wow guys, THAT was an LOL moment...and none of you are LOL'ing." I think it was at that point that Brian, with his quick wit responded "OMG." (See, I told you she was just like her dad!)

As we reached the edge of Columbus, Ohio, everyone in the vehicle was getting hungry and Lily, true to her nature, needed a bathroom (I might point out here that when Lily asked to stop for a bathroom break, Emma declared aloud "Lily's sphincter is full!"). Brian exited the interstate, pulled into a Wendy's parking lot, and announced that he would wait in the truck while we bought sandwiches. Leaving the other girls behind, I rushed Lil inside as quickly as I could. The scene before my eyes upon exiting that bathroom will forever be etched in my memory right next to the "nyeh nyeh" episode of Emma's younger years. Standing there, at the back of the line, was Emma. A huge smile plastered on her face, she was wearing a purple t-shirt, blue and pink shorts, orange, black, and white striped fuzzy halloween knee socks, and her new lime green converse tennis shoes. Whose child was THIS?! This was NOT the Emma that used to need her big sis to talk for her. This was NOT the Emma who used to stare through whoever was trying to speak to her. THIS Emma was a comical jokester! Smiling and laughing, she was wholeheartedly enjoying the stares she was getting from everyone in the restaurant. I rolled my eyes once again (I AM the mom after all...it's my job), but inside I was giggling...she is SO much like her dad! ;)

"Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad." Psalm 126:2-3

Going, Coming, and Chasing

A few changes have taken place over the past few weeks here at Jordan's Crossing. First and foremost, we said farewell to our equine friend Star whose new home is with one of our riding students, Miss M. Miss M waited a very long time to get Star (who was pregnant with Boomer when she decided to buy her), and we were all thrilled when the day finally came that we could deliver her to her new dwelling. Star was a wonderful mare who gave us both Zoe and Boomer, and she will be a great friend and 4-H project for Miss M.

Now for any of you who know this family well, you will rightly ask, "Who took Star's place?" Of course we didn't have an empty space for very long! Soon after Star left Emma learned of a pony named Britches in need of a home. She called the owner, secured the purchase, and away went the truck and trailer to bring Britches home.

Surely you don't think I'm speaking of Britches without sharing a funny story...? What would a new pony be without a funny new-pony story?! First a little background: Britches had a short "vacation" here last winter -- he lived with us for 10 days between transfers from one owner to another (both of whom are friends of ours). Britches has always been known for one particular bad habit - playing "catch me if you can" in the pasture. When he stayed here that short span of 10 days, Emma was getting pretty good at convincing that pony to come to her without a chase. Well, the day Britches came to live with us for keeps, Emma was at a friend's house so Brian offered to pick him up and bring him home. Somehow Brian got totally distracted that day and absent-mindedly turned Britches out into an open 2 acre pasture. Bad idea! Just about the time night fell and it turned completely dark, Brian remembered that Britches had a wound that needed attention and he tromped out to the pasture to doctor him. Brian was gone for a very long time before my phone rang. "Can you come help me please?" I slipped on my boots and headed out to the barn to see what he needed, and was shocked to find him saddling up Dixie. "What are you doing?" I asked increduloulsy. "I can't catch that pony, and I can't let him win this battle, so I've got my lariat over there and I'm going to rope him I need someone to stand at the gate and come out to hold Dixie once I catch Britches." Now, I KNOW my husband is a cowboy in his heart, but seriously, I don't recall ever seeing him PRACTICE with a lariat before, and I was pretty darn sure that Dixie didn't have a clue what roping entailed. But not wanting to pierce his pride, I walked with him out to the pasture and opened the gate. As he entered the pasture and took a moment to set Dixie up, Lily hollered "Dad, how are you going to see anything out there?" He responded "By the light of the moon, babe, by the light of the moon!" And off he went to corner Britches. Now I won't bore you with all of the details, but I will say that if there had been the least bit of light that dark and beautiful night, it would have been a comical show I'm sure, but all we heard were hoofbeats and whinnies...back and forth...back and forth. After about 30 minutes and a long pause I finally yelled "Honey, you have to THROW the rope, not just hold it!" His response? "I'm afraid I'll miss and spook Dixie!" And with that, he tossed the lariat, which went flailing behind him, caught in Dixie's tail, and caused her to jump and dance and prance past the gate as Britches ran full force to the south end of the pasture. I couldn't hold my laughter any longer, and that got a glare with a "humph," at which time Lily hollered out "Dad, are you having fun?" And he replied, "I sure AM Lil!" That did it for me -- I KNEW it! This wasn't about catching a pony at all, but about my husband's sheer desire to feel like a cowboy under the blanket of stars. The end of the story is this -- Brian never caught that pony with his lariat that night, but as Dixie trod her way back to the gate to leave the pasture, Britches sure did follow her. He didn't like that his new playmate was leaving him. He let me pet him at the gate, but he wouldn't let me put a rope on him. Emma came home around midnight, and the next morning all three of us went out to try to catch that pony again. But guess what? Emma didn't need our help. Brian learned one very valuable lesson...it always helps when you arrive with treats in your pocket. :)

Enjoy your goings, comings, and chasings -- "...do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you." Hebrews 13:17

Wow, it's only been two weeks since my last post?! Maybe I'm beginning a new pattern here! (Eh, don't hold your breath...)

Today Brian had an opportunity to visit the Agape therapeutic riding center in Cicero, Indiana. He came home with pictures, stories, and excitement for all he witnessed there, having found great inspiration. We've been praying for guidance and direction for Jordan's Crossing lately. We have had impressions that it's time to expand our program, though we're not exactly sure yet what that will entail. Your prayers in this area would be appreciated as well.

On Thursday of this week we will exhibit at Reid Hospital's Pediatric Resource Fair. If any of you plan to attend, please stop by our booth and say hello!