Looking Forward To Some Changes

2009 hasn't quite had the start I'd hoped for. Sickness has continued to plague our family... Katie getting sick with that stomach bug and landing in the hospital and then Don and I followed. Then personally there have been some let downs and I've had a hard time not being in a funk. Katie has really been struggling... we've finally finalized her move to a new school. And, for some reason, this has been one of the hardest things for me. I guess because for me, it's cementing the fact that Katie is not going to have a normal life... but then again, how many people have "normal" lives anymore. We all seem to struggle with something. Katie just has a lot that she is dealing with and I know her future holds a lot of struggles. Hopefully she will continue to be as determined as she is now.

I'm very hopeful about a little girl that is going to be in Katie's new class. She is actually a 4th grader, named Anna. She seems to be a lot like Katie with similar interests and personality traits. I'm praying hard that she will be a good little friend for Katie. Her new teacher seems WONDERFUL and we are very excited about that. But, we've also grown to love everyone in Katie's life at her current school and it's going to be hard for us and Katie to start over.

I've also really been unhappy lately about my situation with Belle. She means so much to me. Her and Sunny both. We love seeing Sunny when we go to STAR. Sunny looks amazing and is being so well cared for and she's making many people happy. But Belle does so much for me. My love and desire to be involved with equestrian activities was the motivating factor for me to have the WLS two years ago.



Well, since moving Belle to the new farm in July of last year, I've done some great work with her. A lot in part to Mike Branch, my favorite cowboy. He taught me more about horses than I ever learned and I've made a lot of progress with Belle.

But, now Mike has moved from this farm (he was renting a home on the farm) and Belle is always in a pasture with mules. I know people who own and love mules are passionate about them but I don't care for them. They are invasive and know NO boundaries. You can't get them to back off of you and they will kick in a heartbeat! So, I can't go spend time with Belle unless Don goes to help me get Belle... because of the dog gone mules.

Well, last Sunday night, I got an email from the owner of the farm telling me that if I didn't continue to pay full board for Belle, which is quite costly, that I would have to be at the farm daily to feed Belle grain. I can't commit to that. Not with life the way it is with Katie and being self-employed.

So, the search was on AGAIN for a new farm. We went and looked at about six farms last week and I settled on one that is only 5-8 minutes from our home. It's a small barn with only 9 other horses. All female owners... great bunch! I'm already making some friends there. They ride a lot together on the weekends.

I move her next Sunday, the 15th and I can't wait. I know she will be skittish for a few days but then I think this move will be good in the long run. I will see her much more and hopefully, by the time Katie is 11-12, Belle will be a great horse for her to ride.

Hopefully being with Belle and riding her more is going to be that motivation I need to GET AND STAY serious about getting this final 40 pounds off.

LA :)