My daughters creative creations..........

So-another reason I love homeschooling my kids is the fact that after they finish their schoolwork, they can choose how they spend their afternoons. Today, the girls chose to create saddle pads, horse turnout blankets, fly sheets, etc for their Breyer horse models. I love that they love to sew-a skill that has unlimited uses in the real world. I intend to show them how to sew and create their own clothes, purses, blankets, etc. Here are a few of their creations........

Horses heal the soul..........

Horses heal the soul. I know this to be true. This evening was perfect riding weather and I just had to spend time with Belle. We had a fantastic ride and I could just relax and contemplate about things that have been weighing on my mind as of late.

 Recently a dear horse friend (Belle's former owner) needed to find a new home for her beloved horses. She found herself in a place in life that she could no longer have them. She desperately wanted to keep the pair together but had no prospects that she knew of that might take them. She called me in hopes I might know of someone. By chance I did and I along with another good horse friend connected my friend with a fellow horse enthusiast who was interested in taking the pair. This lady had just experienced the loss of her horse and needed to find a new horse. She decided that my friend's horses would be a perfect fit for her family. I am so happy that during what must be an unimaginably difficult time in my friend's life that healing is taking place. She can rest assured that her horses are now in a good home and she no longer has to carry the burden of finding them a safe and loving home.

This whole situation has been on my mind lately. I cannot imagine if I ever had to make the same decision about my horses. I have always been indebted to my friend because she thought her horse Belle would be a perfect fit for our family. Belle came into my life at a time of great personal loss for me and she was a source of healing to me in a way I had never experienced before. I will forever love her for letting go of Belle and giving her to me. I am so glad to have returned the gift of healing and peace of mind that she had given to me through the gift of Belle. I wish the gift of a horse's love to everyone!

http://www.thehomeschoollounge.com/

http://www.thehomeschoollounge.com/

Give an older dog a second chance at life!

So I have been thinking about my daughter's dog Styder lately. We had to euthanize him due to cancer a few weeks ago. He was the best dog. And one that had been passed up for weeks in a shelter and then a rescue. To his former owners and society he was a “throw away dog”. At first glance he was not much to look at. He was extremely underweight and he had bad fly strike on both ears. He was collar shy and would try to bite anyone who tried to hold him by his collar. And to complicate matters, he was old. We knew he was an older dog-probably older than 8 but that didn't matter to us. We fell in love with him and wanted to give him a great retirement home. Stryder taught my daughter so much about unconditional love, forgiveness, trust, patience and responsibility. We never envisioned that we would only have him in our lives for two short years. We had to say goodbye to him sooner than we thought. Even though his story ended way too soon, we would go on this journey for Stryder all over again without question!

We adopted Stryder-a Norwegian Elkhound/Siberian Husky mix through Northern Lights Sled Dog Rescue in July of 2008 after her 14 year old German Shepherd/Siberian Husky mix dog Rolf had to be put down due to laryngeal paralysis. Through Stryder, my daughter found healing and love again. And Stryder got a second chance at life. He was found as a stray in Evansville, Indiana in 2008 and was due to be euthanized when the adoption coordinator by chance found him. He was sent to a volunteer boarding facility in Anderson, Indiana but 6 weeks went by and no one was interested in him. Then we found him and made the trip to visit him. We decided to adopt him but had to wait a week until our adoption contract was approved. The day we were to make the trip to pick him up we learned that he had tested positive for heartworm. We adopted him any way and had him treated for heartworms and kept him on crate rest for 6 weeks while he recovered. He was a very timid, shy and loner dog when we got him. We have since learned (through diagnostic xrays to detect his cancer) that at one point in his life he had been shot by a shotgun and had a bullet lodged in his pelvis all this time! He had such a hard knock life before we found him. But through Caroline's love he became a loving, loyal and trusted friend.

Over the past year my daughter and Stryder took many obedience and agility classes. In the fall of 2009, Stryder passed and received his AKC-CGC title. They were training for their first AKC agility competition this October with FWOTC dog club. They also trained with the Allen County 4H Dog Club and were able to compete in obedience and showmanship at the Allen County 4H Fair. Not bad for a “throw away senior dog”! Unfortunately Stryder became very ill, very quickly. We discovered that he had apocrine gland anal sac adenocarcinoma that had spread throughout his body and organs very rapidly and silently. We decided to humanely euthanize him to spare him any more suffering.

I recently came across this poem about adopting older "senior" dogs and I wanted to pass it along to everyone to encourage people to give the older dogs a chance at a second life:

A little old man, arthritic and sore,
It seems I am not wanted anymore.

I once had a home, I once had a bed,
A place that was warm, and where I was fed.

Now my muzzle is grey, and my eyes slowly fail.
Who wants a dog so old and so frail?

My family decided I didn't belong,
I got in their way, my attitude was wrong.

Whatever excuse they made in their head,
Can't justify how they left me for dead.

Now I sit in this cage, where day after day,
The younger dogs get adopted away.

When I had almost come to the end of my rope,
You saw my face, and I finally had hope.

You saw thru the grey, and the legs bent with age,
And felt I still had life beyond this cage.

You took me home, gave me food and a bed,
And shared your own pillow with my poor tired head.

We snuggle and play, and you talk to me low,
You love me so dearly, you want me to know.

I may have lived most of my life with another,
But you outshine them with a love so much stronger.

And I promise to return all the love I can give,
To you, my dear person, as long as I live.

I may be with you for a week, or for years,
We will share many smiles, you will no doubt shed tears.

And when the time comes that God deems I must leave,
I know you will cry, and your heart, it will grieve.

And when I arrive at the Bridge, all brand new,
My thoughts and my heart will still be with you.

And I will brag to all who will hear,
Of the person who made my last days so dear.

-Author unknown


I always felt that Stryder was so thankful to be in our home and to have my daughter's love and attention. I bet he thought to himself often “how did I get so lucky to be with this new family that just adores me?”. I know that even though he had such a hard-knock life before he found us-we packed a lifetime of love and great memories in the 2 short years that we were blessed to have him!

We love and miss you Stryder!!


Another try.......

Okay-here goes attempt #2 to try to blog about my life. I am finding it very difficult to learn how to do this!

I think it would be a great idea to blog each day about what goes on in my life-sort of like an online diary, gratitude journal. I don't want to forget all the little things that seem important in the moment, but can easily be forgotten a few days later.

I also would like to blog about our homeschool accomplishments "Providence Homeschool Academy" to track our progress.

My business "Sudsy Sweet Treats by Elle" is really taking off and I have created a blog for that as well- http://sudsysweettreats.blogspot.com/

Well see how this goes!