Dreaming of Blue Bonnets and Warm Spring Days

The Blue bonnets are out.

 So much has been going on these last couple of weeks! It is hard to believe that it has been a couple of weeks since I have last posted.  I guess it is a true saying, “Time flies when you’re having fun.”

 Two Wednesdays ago, Tyler’s mom and dad, Karen and Dennis, treated Tyler and I to the Houston Rodeo. Sadly, Tyler was away on business, so I decided in his place to invite my friend, Hannah. Karen, Hannah and I went early and shopped and got to look at all the cool things that they had at the rodeo. Than when Dennis came, we went and watched the Rodeo. It was so much fun! I just can’t help but appreciate the riding for the roping teams, bull riders, and bronco riders. They got spunk, I’ll say. After the rodeo, the main event came on…..The Band Perry! So goodJ

The fun doesn’t end with the rodeo though. The next day Karen and I headed to the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at Texas Children’s Hospital and painted plates with some of the children there. I got the privilege of working along a little girl. Despite not speaking English very well, we had a grand time. I believe she pulled the inner child out of me! I discovered that finger painting is an awesome thing!!! I am in love with this child like painting style. Thinking of her toothless smile just warms my hear. After the kids had put their hand prints on the plates, Karen, Val(another volunteer) and I had to go back and finish the dishes. All the dishes we painted are going toward a golf tournament that His Grace Foundation is hosting in April.

Could my last two weeks get any more fun? Wait, the adventures are not over.

Monday of this week I got to go shopping with Karen for art supplies for the next couple of months supplies for the art program I am starting on the Unit. I can’t tell you how much fun it was to go through Hobby Lobby and pick the things that I wanted off of my prewritten list. I am so excited to do starting these art projects. I started putting together kits as soon as I was finished shopping and home. Then of course, I had to try some of the projects. I am in love with paper Mache. Flour and water! That is all you need, plus paper. How cool is that? Why did I never try this before?

Thursday of this week was one of my greatest highlights. This is a monumental day. This was the first day I got to go on the unit and do art all by myself! The event coordinator told me that there was 4-5 kids who wanted to do art. I was so thankful for Karen! We split up to conquer. God had a funny way of it all. I wound up working with the same little girl that I had the week before. This time she and I worked on molding with clay. We made beads and a beautiful multicolored horse. I had no objections so the horse;) She even taught me a few words in her language. You can have some much fun and not speak a single word. I love art!

Friday…oh Friday….I finally got to go to Tyler’s work! I got to see his office space and get a tour of the building and see Dennis’s office as well. Than we all went out to eat for lunch. I enjoyed ever moment of it. I got all dressed up like a little cowgirl for my hubby. I love looking pretty for my man;)

And so the last two weeks ends with today. Saterday….

Dad

I wrangled up a crew to come with me to Sandy Creek Bible Camp. YAY! Dani, Karen, Dennis, Tyler, Zed and I all went. Five horses ridden! Yay! It was a lot of work getting everyone situated and all, but it was totally worth it. I feel like everyone had a good time. I had the pleasure of riding a new horse that they actually got in a couple of weeks ago. His name is Henna. He has the stocky body of a quarter horse and is a chestnut color with a funny looking stripe/star on his face. I would like to highlight him.

Henna, from what I know is a very well trained horse from a ranch near camp called Miracle Ranch. The ranch does roping and team penning and the like. Sadly a year ago or so, Henna injured his shoulder and could no longer be used for the high activity of the ranch. So at 6 years of age, the ranch donated Henna to Sandy Creek. I was a little unsure of what I was going to be dealing with, specially since this horse hadn’t been worked a lot since the injury.

Mom on Rocky

Dani on Montana

When we went to go get the horses in the pasture, he was the one horse that kept walking/trotting away from me. I managed to get all the other horses we needed accept Henna. By God’s favor, I managed to get him into the arena. With gates closed, I was hoping the smaller space would encourage him to let me catch him. He would have none of it.

Not a very attractive picture but there's Henna

When Henna had first arrived, one of the staffers at Sandy Creek was working with him the round pen. I had noticed that Henna seemed to know the round pen game very well. So today as he was running around the arena, I decided to use that to my advantage. If he turned away from me, I made him run. If he turned away from me, I made him run. If he pinned his ears at me, “    “….The list goes on. Basically the idea with this game is if he wants to pay attention to anything but me, he gets pressure in his life. When he turned to face me, I let him rest. It was not easy, he knew the game. He wanted to anticipate, call the shots. The one thing he didn’t want was a halter on his head. I could see the wheels turning in this well trained horse. He knew the game, and this was different. He had to play by my rules. When he finally let me rub him down and put the halter on, we were both tired.

When I was first chasing Henna around in the pasture, I kept thinking, come on buddy let me catch you so we can go ride. Then, when I got him into the arena and realized what I had gotten myself into, I realized this was bigger than a quick in and out job. That is what this horse needed at that moment. I then went from grumpy to content running after this horse.

Some how in the midst of all that running and sweat, a teachable moment managed to wiggle itself into my time at Sandy Creek once again. I knew what Henna needed. He needed to be pushed to think beyond where he had been training. He needed to get stretched and it affected every ounce of the rest of the time I worked with him. He knew that he should stand still to be caught by a human and he chose to ignore that training. God has a standard by which we as Christians should live by. Many of us have been trained up in those ways since we were little. Now as adults, Christianity becomes every day habit. We pray before meals, we got to church on Sunday, we read God’s word, etc. We expect God to pat us on the head and say good Christian. God has so much more for us than for us to be “routine Christians”. He wants us to be extraordinary. He knows that we are never done in our training. God knows that if we stayed where we were, we would never grow into He wants us to be, which is like Himself for His glory. So what does He do? He puts pressures in our lives. He gives us opportunities to run to Him and learn from him. Matthew 11:28- says “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

God does not plan to bring pressures into our lives with out not planning to walk with us every step of the way. The most perfect, on earth example of this peace vs. pressure is found in the round pen. The pressure that is placed through a rope or a trainer’s body, is not to cause harm to the horse, but rather to simply get the horse’s attention. The peace comes when the horse chooses to face and come to the trainer. That is where the horse finds rest, in the presence of the trainer. Let us seek our Lord with fervor in trial and in good times. Let us seek His word as deer pants for water. Let us continue to learn how to become more like Christ.

He's so lazy he drinks water lying down

 One last final note, Zed has captured our hearts! He is so cute. Every day is a new adventure with him. I find myself laughing at the things he does. Like for instance, the other day I was giving him a bath. The last couple of times have been filled with drama and whimpering, but that day, it was like a switch went on his is brain and he realized it was water and that retrievers play in water. Next thing I know he’s dunking his head under the water and swooshing it back and forth, water going every where. What else could I do but laugh.  We took him to a pond near Tyler’s parents house for his first water experience. It sure was an experience! He at first couldn’t figure out how to get down the cement ledge to get into the water. With my help, he got in. At first he just stood there, than all of a sudden it dawned on him that this was water. He first drank it, than ran in it, fell in it, and swam in it. I could seriously not stop laughing.  He is definitely a water dog. We think he will make a great bird dog. The other day out of the blue I through his favorite toy he went and got it and brought it back. That’s what I call cool. He’s already been programmed to fetch too…We really truly got an awesome dog! He’s a little lazy some times, but in general, a ton of fun.

Well I could keep talking about our lives till the cows come home, but it is time for bed. So I hope all of you are well.

We took Zed to Sandy Creek and he sort of rolled in the mud.

God bless

Jules

Our Pup, Zed

So you may be asking yourself what is new in the Kaminski house hold? Well it is small black and furry...Yes, we have finally gotten our dog. We have christened his name Zed. Now you may be wondering why that name? Well Tyler and I are a little bit a book geeks, and we have been listening to some audio books called the Sword of Truth series. In the series there is a Wizard by the name of Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander. Zed is a lovable character in the books and we thought it would make a cute simple name for our dog that is not common:) I think there are plenty of Shadows, Jacks, and Baileys in the world...We wanted something new and fresh:)

I feel I must tell you of our adventure to go get him. We left Friday afternoon after Tyler had come home from work. We drove all the way to Lafayette, Louisiana. Tyler and I were really struggling...We were both so tired. Some how we made it though:) That was only the 4 hour mark of our 11 hour drive! We woke up fairly early and finished our 7 hours left to get to Clanton, Alabama. 

When we arrived at the breeder's, Dana's, house, We were so tired. Dana and her three friends were very nice and told us all about flat coats and things to do   

or not to do. We then got to meet his parents. Lilli, his mom, was beautiful and well behaved and Dealer, his dad, was full of energy and rather large. We took pictures, and then came the final moment when we got to meet our puppy. They called him Double Yellow. There had been 9 puppies in the litter so every puppy got labeled with a color. He was the most chill puppy I have ever met. He was so content to just sit and play with us. Of the two puppies left, I am glade we got the one we did. He fits us perfectly. We then said goodbye to our pup and did paper work and set off to our hotel for dinner and bed.The next day was fresh and clear when we got there to pick up our pup. He whimpered a little when we left, but other wise was pretty quiet:) I thought the trip home was quite enjoyable, though it was much longer since we had to take potty stops along the way. 

Zed is quite a character. We have had him four days now and with each day I feel as though we are opening up a new aspect of his personality. He is very energetic when it comes to taking a walk outside or when meeting new people or when he gets to play with a new dog. Everything is so new to his world. 

Being the planner that I am, I read ahead of time about crate training and such and every book that I read warned about the first night and there being alot of crying. We got home from our long drive, and the whole night, not a peep. We were thinking wow, this is going to be awesome! We have this great amazing dog who totally is not going to be vocal! Tyler had to leave monday for work in Dallas, so our second night was just me and the pup. Don't ask me what made the second night different, but nether of us slept. He howled on and off all night. That was super tough:p and I was super tired!

 Yesterday was fun. Zed and I went to Petsmart. He rode in the buggy while we tried to figure out what kind of tie to get him for Tyler's parents yard. He was a little worried at first and then settled down quite nicely. I think he actually enjoyed meeting people.
What he had the most fun with though was Tyler's parents back yard. I let him run around. Just like any baby, he put everything in his mouth. He had to try every root and plant he could find. He found a couple of pine cones and a stick. Needless to say, Zed is going to be a constant entertainment factor.
I will say that as I lay in bed the other night listening to him howl and yelp, I had a moment of realization, or a teachable moment. I put Zed in his crate because I know that it is good for him. I don't want him free roaming because he could chew on something like an electrical cord and get shocked or go the bathroom some where, or even better chew up something he shouldn't. I know what is best for him and yet he complains because it is not exactly what he would call his favorite accommodations or circumstances.
As I was laying there reminding myself that I was doing this for his own good, I felt God speak. "Jules, how often do you act that way to me? How often do you complain about the circumstances or the problem I have put before you? Do you not know that I love you and have your best interests at heart? Do you not know that I do this so that you might grow and learn to be secure in me?" Wow... That is all I can say! It has been hard not having my husband home all the time. I know it will only get harder as he goes on his first off shore rotation April 18th. God, however, has it all worked out. He knew before we had even begun this journey of knowing each other, that we were going to go through this...and He wants to bring us closer to each other, and also closer to Himself. I am so glade that God knows what He is doing, because I would never have chosen this for myself or for my relationship with my husband.

Our little family:)

God has truly blessed me with an amazing husband! Today, March 14th, 2012 is our two year mark of when we started our courtship. How crazy is that?!?!?!?! Two years ago he asked my dad if he could court me:) I remember that day! I remember when he asked me through an email....I remember reading it and then going out to feed the horses because I was on weekend duty. I remember being so excited and so confused. The first man to ever want to pursue me and express it! God has truly blessed me. Choosing to wait for the right man was the best choice that I ever made!
Well I suppose that is all for now:)
Jules

  

The week that felt like a month...

I had someone tell me the other day that March is considered the start of Texas spring. I about fell over...Really?? I have a hard time believing it, but the weather, and the flowers blooming tell me that spring is not that far away. Feel like my seasons are off...Is it sad to say I miss Mud season?

 I have been up to so much this past week that I hardly know where to start my adventures. 

Maybe a good place to start would be the church youth retreat called Reverb that Tyler and I both went to as leaders this last weekend. Our church hosts every year a youth weekend filled with speakers and group discussions and fun things to do. I have to say that it reminded me of the retreats that we did back home only we called them Snow Camp...there was no snow here, so it felt a little weird and out of place. What an awesome adventure it was though! Tyler lead a group of 8th grade boys with his friend, Joey. I'm not going to lie, they had a rough group. God, I think, really stretched Tyler's patience and ability to not get angry over the weekend. 

I lead a group of 9th grade girls with Bonnie and Abby. Bonnie and Abby have many of the girls in their week to week group, so for the group as a whole, everyone was pretty much comfortable with everyone else. So our group discussions were super good. I could really see how God was working in each of those girl's hearts over the weekend and I was encouraged.

Our speaker and pastor, Skeet, spoke a lot on the need of understanding our sin, God's holy anger against sin, our need to be saved, and our need to spread the word beyond just our selves. He was very specific in his examples and really hit home for most of these kids. I saw the girls in my group struggle with truth of what Skeet said. 

I feel so blessed to have been apart of the weekend. I have missed being apart of camping now since I left Camp Redcloud to plan my wedding. To be reminded that God is faithful to renew strength at 1:30 in the morning, to be reminded that He guides what we say, etc....It brought it all fresh in my mind of God's goodness to bring me exactly where He wanted me.

which one will be ours?

One of the hardest things about the weekend was knowing that my husband was leaving the day after the program ended to go on a four day business trip to Louisiana. I found myself having to lay yet again everything at my Lord's feet, because I knew if I let it get me down, I would miss chances to serve and minister.

So I guess that brings me to my second adventure.....Being alone in the apartment. Day one of Tyler leaving I was a wreck. I didn't really stop being a wreck until I realized that I had things to do. Than things got a little better. I found through out the week, if I focused on things I needed to do, then I wouldn't focus on missing my hubby. That worked fairly well, until it came about the time that Tyler would come home. 

Is it this one?

I first tried to bring Tyler's parents cat, Sadie, home with me. Not sure really what I was thinking. She immediately took to our apartment like it was her home. All seemed great until the following morning at 4 am she started talking. I am pretty sure she is part Siamese, because that breed often talks alot. My Father-in-law usually gets up at that time, so I can only imagine that was why she started making so much noise. Needless to say, She went back to their house that morning.  

Or this one?

Second evening, God was so good to give us a small group that I could go to. We ate dinner and talked and prayed together. I felt so at peace. Well that is until I got home. I hoped the garage door and low and behold staring back at me was a large cockroach. I am not sure why, but cockroaches freak me out and yet at the same time make me really mad. So I grab a shoe and I take off after it. A minute or so later I think I got it...by then however my adrenaline is going like crazy! I was so worked up about a bug. So then, I get up stairs and it was like, once your in hunt mode, every where you look, every shadow there is a big bug lurking. I definitely had to laugh at myself later...because...really...a cockroach is food for another animal in the food chain...

or this one?

There were many other things I tried to divert myself from missing my dear husband, but I finally realized day two or day three of him being gone, that I wasn't truly resting in God and trusting Him. Tyler had become my security blanket. Tyler being home had become my routine. I could call on him if I needed help with anything. I could cry, or talk, or laugh with him. I could hang out with him when I wanted to be near someone. I kept on thinking of all the things I relied on Tyler for...correction....still some times do now....and it amazed me. Those things I named and more were the things that God wants me to trust Him with. No human can hold up the weight of that kind of responsibility. Only God can! Now the true test of what I have learned will come when Tyler heads off shore for two weeks at a time in a month or so. But I am confident that God will be with both of us as we work through that.

Blaze is actually moving forward!

I think her smile speaks volumes!

 While Tyler was gone, I got a chance to go to Sandy Creek with my friend, Susanna again:) YAY!!! This time, we started from the beginning pushing Blaze. Last time I wrote, I had talked about how hard it had been for her and how discouraging. I decided to take the time and coach her through some tools to help her better ride Blaze. I can't explain what an amazing change I saw in both horse and rider! We worked on halt, walk, and trot transitions and just teaching her to anticipate when he was about to turn into the rail and when he was going to stop. She got him to do alot! We even got a couple good trot to canter transitions. The best part of it all was seeing her enjoy riding.

Or maybe one of these?

hummm....

My last and final word is a bit exciting.. We are getting our puppy this next weekend! We can't wait to bring our little guy home:) Its going to take a lot of work the first couple of months to get him potty trained, but we are excited to take on the adventure:)We find out this next weekend which pup we will bring home...Pray that we will get the right one!:) We are just so excited to bring this little addition home. I feel like we are bringing our first kid home:) Well it is a start...first comes the dog...than some day down the road a baby...with time....:)

Well I hope you are all well.

God bless

Jules