Growth

With the New Year approaching, I have been trying to decide how much to post on my blog.  My old resolutions, new resolutions, a summary of what I've done this year...

The problem is that some of it is pretty close to my heart, and as much as I'd like to post it, I also don't want my blog to be my heart.  I express myself better with pen and paper (or Microsoft Word and computer keys), and I like to record things so I'll remember them, but I don't want all of those things out on cyberspace.

So, for the New Year of 2011, I've decided to post a few verses that I've held very close throughout 2010.  Read them carefully - I wish I could portray the same joy they give me to you in this post, but different words touch different people.

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Deuteronomy 4:7 ~ What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him?"

I love the casual yet sincere feeling in this verse.  And there may even be a hint of humor - after all, none of the other gods are real... :) But the best part is knowing that these words are true.

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1 Corinthians 10:13 ~ No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

I struggled with some very new temptations this year and this verse was a great comfort.

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Colossians 3:23-24 ~ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

We're working for the Lord! How exciting is that - our employer is the kindest, fairest, best, and probably most-well known in the entire world.  So why wouldn't we want to work with all our hearts for Him?

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1 Peter 5:7 ~ Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Something I murmur to myself when I need to stop, take a deep breath, and...give God control.

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Isaiah 40:31 ~ [...] Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Oh.  Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful - almost makes me cry.  Before this summer, this verse was just kind of there.  It's something lots of people use to inspire others and its very well known among Christians.  But what gave it new meaning for me was a scene in - very odd - Avatar! I'm not an Avatar fan, but this scene and this verse just go together so beautifully.  Can you guess which one it is?

not my image

The world does not Hope in God.  They are chained to the clifftop - which for the moment is safe.  But we - we who do Hope in God - we're free to fly! We soar, we run, we walk - we have wings.  When Neytiri is flying her dragon, and later when Jake is flying his, both of their joy at being airborne is just so overwhelming.  That's how we should be when hoping in God.  Have joy, friends! The clifftop won't always be safe.

not my image

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Romans 8:26 ~ We do not know how to pray worthily as sons of God, but his Spirit within us is actually praying for us in those agonizing longings which never find words.

To some, having an omniscient God may be a little frightening - but to me, it's encouraging.  It's good to know I can't have anything to hide from him, and even better, to know that he understands my feelings.  I don't always have to articulate what I'm trying to say in clumsy sentences.  He knows.

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Ephesians 3:20-21 ~ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ever wonder why God doesn't do everything we want? It's 'cause He knows way more than we do! :) He sees the big picture and He's always working in us, even if we don't feel anything.  He finds ways to accomplish His will that we could never have dreamed of.  He can do the unthinkable.  Isn't it comforting that the world doesn't go round on our own ideas? We would have crashed long ago.

To You be glory, Lord!

Amen.


Yours,

Ellyn

The Torn Heart Giveaway - Finally Here!

Did you all have a merry Christmas? By the posts that have been going up, I can tell most of you have.  I did too - I chose not to do a separate post about it because I didn't take any good pictures, presents were on the back burner, and this year, Christmas was a very personal time of growth for me.  I can honestly say that this year was the first year that gifts, carols, trees, and lights were an added bonus to the celebration of Jesus's birth - not the purpose.  And that was one of the best gifts I could ever receive.  Thank you, Jesus!

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Now, on to the giveaway.  This is the very first giveaway I've ever hosted, and I hope it will be a very success! (Especially since its my very own book up for grabs *wink wink*)

I will be giving away two copies of Torn Heart, just to make things a little more exciting.

Here's how to enter.  

YOU MUST LEAVE A COMMENT FOR EACH ENTRY.  You should probably all know this by now as almost every single giveaway has this rule.  However, some people still don't do it.   I will not go through and correct multi-entry comments.  Sorry.  Oh, and don't forget to leave a comment at all! :)

- Follow Life's Better at a Gallop (1 entry)

- Follow my role-play blog, Cleití (1 entry)

- Write a post about the giveaway on your blog and include the link.  Please include the link to your post in your comment.  (1 entry)

- Facebook or Tweet about this giveaway.  This is on the honor system - I probably won't be able to check up on you, so do what you say you do! (1 entry)

- Put this little ad on your sidebar (1 entry):


<br /> <a href="http://betteratagallop.blogspot.com/2010/12/torn-heart-giveaway-finally-here.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Enter the Torn Heart Giveaway" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibnHHyUddwTKl9BStoIuMbhs-N6VbqbKYDdAtvBtD386g2xpfRyrjHKkVYAJ6InIVE5KaSGsxQ1o0pPL9zl1CNsnjpV_I7g0XP6nJvIQLHwi8KPZS2vT7RrcBzPrij7Z2u4WsnmYVg-dw/s1600/giveawaybutton.png"></a><br />

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The contest will run until January 11.  I will then do a drawing with a random number generator.  Good luck! I can't wait to see who wins :)

Love,

Ellyn

Changes

There have been a few changes around here.

Thanks to Olivia's tutorial at Robin Blogs, I now have a drop down toggle menu! I moved all my stats (Current mood, Currently Reading, etc.) to "Check Up On Me".

You can get my button from"Grab My Button" - Wow, really?

And for a taste of posts coming in the future, click on "Watch For..."

Also, my pages are now at the top of the blog.

Have a merry Christmas! I'm off to look at our shoveling situation...

Indy wishes you all a happy holiday season too! Yeah, he's covered in hay...I gave him a good brushing, don't worry.

Go Here to Buy Torn Heart!

Woohoo!

Check it out!

I'll be hosting a giveaway sometime next month, but if you just can't wait *hint hint*...go here to buy my little book:

Support Your Authoress: https://www.createspace.com/3509189

I'm smiling big right now :)

Love,

Ellyn

Miracle Mountain Ranch

This post has been long delayed! Nela asked about MMR a long time ago, and I want you to know I have not been paid to advertise them in any way.  I plan on going there if God wills it and want you fellow horse-lovin', Bible-believin' Christians to know about it too.

Miracle Mountain Ranch Ministries, set in Pennsylvania, do a variety of things but what I am mainly interested in is their apprenticeship program.  I love how horses, although one of the main aspects of the program, are not the reason or the very center.  The reason you work with the horses is to glorify God, improve your character, and learn lessons that you can apply to other parts of your life.  Through hard work, good Christian company, and Bible classes, you learn how to keep God the most important part of your life.

And one of the best parts - you don't have to be really advanced with horses! They've got classes for beginning riders, intermediate, and advanced, as well as horse training classes which would totally be a go for me! :)

So, if you think you're interested, pray about it and check out their website: http://www.mmrm.org

To hear one of the apprentices talk about her time at MMR, watch here.


Apprentices - Episode 1 from Miracle Mountain Ranch on Vimeo.

Here's the Horse Lover's Camp video.


Fall Horse Lover's Weekend 1 2010 from Miracle Mountain Ranch on Vimeo.


Thanks for reading!
I hope you're having a merry Christmas season.

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And now, for pure random enjoyment, here's what happens when a girl and her brothers are home alone for the whole day and snow is falling hard and fast outside.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.  We had videos too, but I decided against that....you know, better to "keep your mouth closed and look like a fool than open it and remove all doubt." :)

Love, your very 'umble pirate,

Ellyn

You Know You Belong in Narnia When...

not my photo

...Whenever you're nervous, you reach for your imaginary scabbard.  Or maybe you really have a sword and scabbard.

...You believe your animals really can talk; they just don't ever feel like it.

...You take fencing lessons - just in case you get attacked by a wolf or a hag.

...After seeing The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, you go into the back of your closet and feel around.  Not just once, either.

...After seeing Prince Caspian, you would have offered a great deal to have it re-done more like the book.

...After seeing Voyage of the Dawn Treader, you buy a painting of a ship and hang it in your room.  You stare at it every so often.

...You listen to the Narnia soundtrack before bed so you might have dreams about adventures there.

...You whisper to the trees when you walk in the woods, hoping they'll whisper back.

...You know C.S. Lewis's full name, as well as the name he preferred.

...You own all the Narnia Radio Theatres, the books, and the movies.

...Your dream outfit is a long and flowing gown or armor and chain mail.

...You take archery lessons and pose with your bow in front of a window where you can see your reflection.

...You're always imagining auditioning for a part in one of the future movies.

...You have a weakness for mice wearing sword-belts.

...You're writing a story set in the medieval time period.

...You can rattle off the names of the Seven Narnian Lords in order according to when Caspian found them.  (I can't do this - yet.)


...You think Aslan is awesome.




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I made these up myself, but if you have any to add, please do! :)

My Button!

Note: My button on the sidebar is ready for the taking, so if you please... :D

By the way, we have to order another proof of Torn Heart, so it will be longer than I thought.  :)

Have a great day!

- Ellyn

Hey...

...I know I just posted, but the most wonderfullest thing just happened.  Most.  Wondefullest.  Thing.  EVER.

I got the proof copy of Torn Heart! It was worth the trek through our 'higher-than-boot snow', you betcha.

Here.  Just look at it! (I figure its no use hiding my last name anymore since I'm almost a published author.  Some of you already knew it, anyway.  :))

It's not ready to be released - not yet - but it will be soon.  Hopefully like tomorrow or the next day.  :)
Psst...be watching for a giveaway!

Love,

Ellyn

Experiencing Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Note: Please do not read this post if you plan on going to see the Dawn Treader.  I don't want anything to be spoiled for you.  :)

I got to go see this third installment in the Narnia series last night with my youth group - and Margaret Rowena :) I had been waiting two whole years for that moment, and oh...the shivers of excitement I felt as I saw the Dawn Treader plunging over waves... it was worth every day of those two years.

I loved the swordfighting - especially between Eustace and Reepicheep.  I loved the minotaur.  I loved little Gayel.  I loved the dragon.  I loved Lucy's longing to be beautiful (if she got any prettier, I'd scream :D).  And I loved the parts that seemed to fly you over the sea like an albatross.  Quite frankly, I'm afraid of the sea and hold it in the highest respect - drowning is one of my greatest fears.  But after VDT, I wanted to hop on a ship just like that one to battle huge sea serpents and risk my life swinging from the rigging.

It was great inspiration for Seaspear.

But....they changed it way too much, at least that's how I felt.  They switched all of the adventures around and added this whole "fighting the darkness" aspect, which made the whole thing seem pretty cliche.  I did not like the green mist, or that Coriacan - the "Oppressor" - told them about all the adventures they would have before they had them.

And Gayel - she was adorable, but what was her point? She was just there...she eventually made Lucy feel needed, but that doesn't seem like a good enough reason to have her on board.

I think they should have done more on the Lone Islands - where the slave-traders are - and had the part with Governor Gumpus, which I was really looking forward to seeing :(

But my biggest pet peeve was in Prince Caspian as well.  It is the underlying message that Aslan doesn't matter.  Coriacan tells the travelers that to destroy the darkness in the world, they must first destroy the darkness inside themselves.  And I sat there thinking, NO! Aslan has to destroy the darkness inside of them! And he already did that in LWW! But it seemed as if they had to fight everything by themselves, and then when they met Aslan at the end, he was just approving them.
And I suppose that will happen to us...God will say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."  But it's not because of ourselves that we are good - it's because of Jesus.

There's so much more I'd like to say about it, but since I have the Narnia Radio Theatres and almost all of their dialogue memorized, you probably wouldn't agree with my little nitpicking.  :D But it was really just great.  :) Eustace was fantastic! I loved when he was a dragon, and I was all right with the fact that he stayed a dragon for most of the journey.  His friendship with Reep is so sweet.

And now...in a way, I feel like Narnia is over.  Lucy and Edmund can't come back - I almost cried at the end when Lucy shut the door on the old guest bedroom containing the magic picture.  It's all Eustace now, and Jill Pole, who we'll see in The Silver Chair in two more years or so.  I can't help wondering what Georgie and Skandar will go on to do.  Whatever they do, we'll miss them in Narnia!





Love,

Ellyn

Here's the trailer - it gives me shivers up my spine! :D

Piratica by Tanith Lee

When Artemesia, "Art", Weatherhouse hits her head and remembers her past, everyone says she's gone crazy.  But sixteen-year-old Art declares she's gone sane, and she has definite ideas about how she's going to turn her life around.  Those ideas involve escaping her current home - The Angels Academy for Young Maidens - and reuniting herself and her dead mother's band of pirates with the sea.  Art plans to carry on her mother's legacy as "Art Blastside, Piratica's daughter."  But her new crew has some surprises in store.  Are things really as they seem?

The lovable cast includes Capt. Art herself, pale-haired Gentleman Jack Cuckoo - or is he? - Muck, the Cleanest Dog in England, and adorable Little Goldie Girl, who can kill without batting an eyelash.

The good news is that this is one of the best swashbuckling adventure stories I've ever read.  I couldn't stop thinking about it.  I ate it up like a big bowl of chocolate ice cream.  If you have a fascination with pirates and adventure like I do, you'd love it too.  Even if it is a little unrealistic.  Okay, more than a little...but I can't give anything away.

But there is a bad news.  For one, even though Art and her pirates don't kill, they do steal, lie, and deceive. They're pirates.  So as a result, we as Christians are not on their side all the time.  In this story, the Law is decidedly bad.  I was especially uncomfortable when I read what Art said in reply to a judge's verdict: "...You, sir, are a disgrace to this world."  And I thought, "Um, no, he's not.  He's doing his job, and he's doing it right."

For two, there's the treasure issue.  Naturally, in a pirate story there has to be treasure and a treasure map.  No problems there.  But there is no mention of why they want the treasure or what they're going to do with it once they have it.  I'm sure that if I ever asked the author about it, she'd say something relating to, "Well, to get rich, duh!" But to me, that's not enough.  Riches aren't what we're supposed to be striving for.  So, I wasn't with Art's crew all the way there, either.

There is some scattered language, especially in the second half of the book when things heat up.  There's quite a few dee-ay-em-en-ings, and two b-words that are both spoken by Little Goldie Girl during her sword fight with Art.

I also had problems with Art and her love interest.  He's the kind whom every girl immediately falls for, and it kinds of seems like Art falls in love with him for the same reason.  So I think that could have been much more emotional and more skillfully written.

So, with all that, you ask, why in the world did I like it so much? The characters are awesome.  (Though I feel a little gypped by Little Goldie - she looks kind of like my Merriam.)  Art is a teenage-female version of Jack Sparrow; they have the same wild and spontaneous "aHA!" kind of thought process.  I loved the Gentleman Jack Cuckoo thing too.

Also, the author has a great balance of setting and conversation, unlike me, who's top-heavy with dialogue and character information.  And the adventure is just so fun...this is one time when I don't mind things a little unrealistic.  :)

I want to read this book again, but I think I'm going to wait.  It's not the most healthy piece of fiction.

Torn Heart? What's that?

I haven't given you an update on my poor little book for so long that some of my new followers may not even know what it is.  If that is your case, just click on the "Torn Heart" tag on my tag cloud in the sidebar.  If you look hard, you'll find snippets to read...*winks*

As it happened, I hadn't touched it for almost as long, but when I finally went back with my dad to fix up our page size and chapter headings and such, I skimmed the story while I checked everything over.  And I loved it! It's my baby again.  (Sorry, Seaspear...haha, just kidding.  I have two babies now.  Well, make that three.)

So that was my inspiration to get gung-ho on the cover.  With the advice of Mom and Dad, I've got this for the front....

Obviously, my last name is not "*****"and I'm taking off the big "Copyright" thing in the middle.  They're just for safety reasons.

And here's the blurb that goes on the back.  (Also copyrighted © 2010)

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A rebellion is rising…

The peasants of Sierr have dealt with Queen Livia’s cruel hand long enough.  Sixteen-year-old Jacha Simyrna, who has spent her whole life stealing food and places to sleep in the queen’s castle, finds herself trapped between the two sides.  The clink of promised gold echoes in Jacha’s ears as she sets out to do what the queen asks of her, but she finds life with the peasants different than she had ever thought it would be.  Will Jacha yield herself to the powers of money, or the powers of friendship?   

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So I have the cover, the spine, the back cover, the ISBN.  All I have to do now is change the resolution of the pictures to 300 DPI (dots per inch), which I have no clue how to do! :(  I'm going to ask my dad to help.  :)

And you know how I said we were doing Morris Publishing? We changed to CreateSpace.  Though not as fancy and professional, it is much cheaper, you can get your book made smaller - I'm doing 5.25 x 8 - and have cream paper! Which is much more relaxing to the eye and looks way better.  I'm hoping, though, that since its "cheaper", it won't turn out "cheaper", if you know what I mean.  

So my book won't look exactly professional, but that is okay.  I plan to send Seaspear in to Port Yonder Press when it's done, because its a nautical book.  :)  Incidentally, I'm on Chapter 11 or 12 of that one. 

Have a great day. I'm going shopping with a friend this morning in about half an hour, and tomorrow we're getting our Christmas tree!

- Ellyn

Posts to watch for:

- A book review on the highly enjoyable yet not squeaky clean Piratica

- Miracle Mountain Ranch - Why is Ellyn so excited?

This Christmas Season - Read the Words!

O come O come, Emmanuel

And ransom captive Israel

- image not mine -

That mourns in lonely exile here

 - image not mine -

Until the Son of God appear

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Give Thanks and Eat!

I'm amazed at how fast Thanksgiving came and went.  Did you get the same feeling?

I hardly got any pictures this year...not even one of the bird before my dad carved it up.  I guess that's good though - I was thinking about family and having fun and not about blogging.  Find the good in every situation, right?

Here's a picture of our full house - every name on our guest list is present.

I could describe in glowing detail who everyone is, what they do for a living (like Uncle Bill, who is the groundskeeper for the San Diego Chargers field!), and everything we did together...

But you would not enjoy it.  We just have too many in jokes, and if I tried to re-tell everything, it would lose its charm.  So...

Here's another picture.  The cousins!

Stuff we did..........

Saw Tangled.  (My favorite animated movie second only to Up! It was adorable and Rapunzel was so cute.  Even though I sensed a few bad underlying themes, you gotta see it.)

I learned how to play poker.  Not for keeps, of course.  :)   

Went on an excursion.  1 1/2 miles down the highway in the snow to get fried chicken...then we walked back.  It was fun.  And while we were there...

Returned a cell phone to its owner.  My brother found it, so we took it into the restaurant with us and scrolled through all the pictures (grand total of three) and finally, Uncle Bill called the home number and had this conversation.  

"Hello?"

"Who's this?"

"The person who found your phone."

"You found my phone?!"

"If it's your phone, I found it."

He said his name was Dwayne, so we left it at the counter for him to pick up.  Every person that walked into that restaurant was temporarily branded as Dwayne, until Dwayne himself finally walked it.  We didn't give ourselves away, and on the way home all our jokes were centered on Dwayne....oh, and hitchhiking.  With Dwayne.  Poor Dwayne.

Played games.  Battleship, Settlers of Catan, Taboo...and Sequence.  The Original Sequence Team has been going for maybe five years, and the teams consist of Blue: Cousin Frank and my brother John, Green: Cousin Larissa and me, and this year, since Larissa got married, we had to add Jimmy to the mix, so Team Red: Jimmy and Brothers Eli / Will.  

Red did very well, but I think it was partly because Green would much rather have Red win than Blue, and Blue would much rather have Red win than Green.  But Green did not do very well this year.  At least we won the last game.  Last Thanksgiving, Blue didn't win once though, so it was okay.  Here's our yearly team picture.

Ate a lot.  Of course! Sadly, the pecan pie and the peach pie didn't turn out, but the apple and pumpkin were good.  The 24 pound turkey was very good too.  And Thanksgiving Lunch - now that was a wonder all in itself.  Olives, crackers, fancy cheeses, salami, veggies and dip, and dark chocolate make a great feast, don't you think?

  

Naturally, I'm sad today since everyone is gone.  :( But I think a romp in the snow will do the trick.  I'm off!

Love from a very thankful,

Ellyn

I Heart Barnes & Noble

Let's face it...who doesn't?

Tessa Emily Hall from Christ is Write is hosting a GIVEAWAY of a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card! That's right, folks, twenty-five big ones that can go toward books, books, and more books.

Scuttle on over to this link so you can enter.

By the way, Happy Thanksgiving! Our guests are arriving late tonight and I'll do a post on my holiday week after its over.  But I can't think about that now; it's just beginning.

Love,

Ellyn

If I were...

If I were a gemstone, I’d be a peridot.


If I were a scent, I’d be sugarplum!


If I were a pair of shoes, I'd be suede boots with fringe or ruffles.


If I were the weather, I would be the day of the first snow and around 30 degrees.


If I were a facial expression, I'd be serious.  (Even when I'm happy I tend to look sort of mad...)


If I were a car, I'd be a pink Hummer or a girly pick-up truck.


If I were a time of day, I’d be sunrise.


If were a month, I’d be May and November.


If I were a place, I'd be a brook flowing over polished stones.


If I were a liquid, I'd be grapefruit juice.


If I were a taste, I’d be tart apple pie.


If I were a sea animal, I’d be a dolphin.


If I were a food, I’d be a thick slice of french bread slathered with butter .


If I were a color, I'd be turquoise blue.


If I were a musical instrument, I would be the banjo or guitar :)


If I were a flower, I’d be a small violet.


If I were a song, I’d be a soft country song...or a bluegrass tune!


If I were a planet, I’d be Neptune.


If I were an object, I'd be an umbrella stand.  (Caught you off guard, didn't it?)


If I were a fruit, I'd be a wild raspberry.

If I were a day of the week, I’d be Tuesday.  (*shrugs*)

If I were a sound, I’d be the rhythmic beating of horse hooves against earth, or the quiet sound of wind on water.

This tag is for everyone! Thanks, Nela and Olive Tree.

(Horse) Bucket List

I was spending the evening with a great big stack o' Horse & Riders given to me by Margaret Rowena when I came across a "Things to Do With Horses Before You Die" kind of article.  Naturally, I decided to do a blog post on mine.

- Gallop my horse on a beach.
YES! This is one of my most important.  And while I'm at this "beach", I might as well...

- Swim with my horse.
I did this at camp three years ago, I think, and it was safe to say that it was the highlight of the whole week.  And it was a fun week, too.  I rode this big black Percheron named Jack, and one of the counselors led us around in the water.  I could have done it forever, but we only got two turns.  And it'd be way more fun to direct the horse yourself.  :)

- Go foxhunting.  (Draghunting; aka, no real fox.)  I got this idea from the magazine.  Wouldn't it be awesome?

- Go on an overnight horse camping trip.  Ahh, just like Darby and Hoku in the Wild Horse Island series.  Except I don't believe I'd want to be alone.

- Ride with a drill team.  This is one of my more feasible goals.  I just need to do a little research on 4-H drill team.

- Go on a cattle drive.  YESS! A real old-west thing to do, this, with no judges peering over their glasses at you with little notepads.  Hours in the saddle ending with beans and bacon over a campfire, only to wake again and start all over, blissfully sore from so much riding.

- Do the apprenticeship program at Miracle Mountain Ranch.  My parents and I have already discussed this, and I hope to go when I'm 18.  In three years!! This is most of my motivation for PSEO.

- Teach a child to ride.  I've done this for maybe one time per child, but I think it would be cool to actually watch their progress.  One girl I led around on Indy wanted to trot, but I told her I didn't think we could because I told her mom we'd just walk.  Indy, however, had his own ideas and trotted in a little circle in response to some loud noise.  "Well, Grace," I said.  "That was a trot."  She responded with a big grin and a loud, "COOL!!!"

- Learn how to trim hooves.  A very useful skill indeed.

- Do an Extreme Cowboy Race.  Looks extremely hard, but really fun, if you had a good horse for it! Here's a video.




- Ride bareback, bridleless, and well.  I've loped with just a halter, but not with the best control! There was a video of Stacy Westfall I was going to post here, but it was "removed by the user." :( Here's a picture, anyway...(not mine)

I may be ambitious, but no sweat if I don't do any of these before I die...I'll just do them in heaven! :)


Love,

Ellyn

A Book's Cover

They say not to judge a book by its cover, but really, everyone does.  Literally speaking.  A cover can set in your mind what the characters look like and what kind of world you're going to enter when you open up to the first page.

I'm copying Margaret Rowena and doing a post on my most favorite book covers!

This book is really fantastic, and I've had a craving to read it again for quite some time...it's got such a rich, "scrumptious" feeling all through the pages.  McKillip makes you taste the tender roast lamb and feel the briny air on your face.  She really has a gift with imagery.   Here's another one of her covers.

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I had to include this one.  It looks much more amazing in real life, though.  My dad LOVES this book.  He reads it all the time and he says he wishes I could read it, but as it is, I have to wait until I'm married....

AH! Fall of a Kingdom, a book which holds a fond place in my heart...(though book 2 is my favorite in the trilogy, its cover and that of book 3 are both kind of ish).

EAST! A fabulous book which I've been meaning to do a review on for months.  Sorry this picture is blurry.  Again, its much more amazing in real life, and I could - and have - spent a long time just looking at the detail on that polar bear's raised paw.  

Aagh! Blurry again...I just love this cover...you can see the fire in the girl's eyes and I've always longed to see the rest of her face...the horse is amazing too.  Naturally.

The images in this post are not mine.

What are some of your favorite book covers? And have you read any of these books? What did you think?

P.S. Our snow is melting, so its gone from Christmas to spring in just a day...I'm so confused.

Love, Ellyn

Blizzard!

Ha-ha! I think my state beat all of yours for the earliest and biggest amount of snow.

Yesterday morning, I woke up at 4 something to blow my nose and cough.  (I have a cold.)  I looked out the window - something I always do if I wake up in the middle of the night - and saw SNOW! A glorious white layer of snow that made the yard look like a MiniWheat caked with frosting.  :)

Around six-thirty, my brothers and I couldn't wait any longer.  It was still dark, but the snow was falling fast.  And best of all - it was sticky!

My brother making a snowball.

It kept snowing.  The flakes grew bigger and bigger and after breakfast, we put on all of our stuff and went out into the winter wonderland again.  We rolled huge snowballs and I made a snow horse - I would have shown you a picture, but its head fell off.... :)  Snow horses are something my mom always made with us from the time we were small.

Check it OUT! :)

By the end of the day, we had at least four inches.  

Our pond is a beautiful steel gray color...

Later though, we had to shovel the driveway.  Our driveway is made of dirt / gravel, and since the snow was packed with water, it was extremely heavy.  That was a job.  But Dad got the bright idea of rolling snowballs down the driveway.  It didn't work quite as well as we hoped, but it did help lighten our loads.   :)

This morning, my cold was worse and we couldn't go to church because our power was out.  It was supposed to be out until 1 this afternoon, but luckily it came back by 7.

So here I am, holed up in my big old house, writing to you, hugging my littlest brother, and feeling very cozy surrounded by snowdrifts.  I think I'll go put on some Christmas music.




And if the power goes out again, that's okay...I've got a nice warm hat...   

There's plenty of firewood outside...

And our new wood stove is burning downstairs.

Besides...with a family like mine, who needs electricity? :)

Love, Ellyn