Just Catching Up...

Life is just peachy here in middle Tennessee. Well, not really peachy. More like hot. Extremely hot. HELL hot. The humidity is so high that when I walk out the back door to get in my car to go to work (all of about ten feet) I am sweating by the time I arrive to the car.

Ick.

Hot and sticky. Two things that I am not excited about. Especially since it is only June. There is still July and August to get through.

Ick again.

Then, out of the blue, my nephew turned 15. Okay, it wasn't completely out of the blue. We've seen it coming for a while. He's been counting down the days. He is taller than I am now. That is slightly humiliating. He shaves too. What is that about? This baby to whom I fed his Very. First. Bottle. Ever while the sister-in-law was recovering from C section number three, now shaves and has a driver's permit.

I am looking for a nice walker.

Here is a picture of the 15 year old when he was only 14 (last week) playing ball.

This is him talking with the first base coach

And this is him batting.

For his birthday, I got him a commemorative UK2K basketball and took him to see the movie The A-Team. It was a great movie. Really! From beginning to end, it did not disappoint. Afterwards, I let him drive my car. Yes. I am the best aunt ever!!

The other thing I did last week was take my eldest brother (he really is an elder!!) out to Lantern Lane Farm in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. He wanted to meet the owners and the horses too. Here is Earl with Dolly, the walking horse.

Dolly is not in some sort of undercover secret op group. She's just recovering from an eye infection. She wears this mesh "mask" to keep the dirt and flies out while she is in treatment. She's getting eye drops to clear up the infection.

Now... this week? I will be working out at Lantern Lane Farm getting things a little more organized. Fun, fun, fun!!!

Spring Cleaning at Lantern Lane Farm

I've talked about Lantern Lane Farm a few times on this blog. I wanted to share with you a great opportunity to help us out.

On April 10, 2010 starting at 9:00 a.m. we will be having a volunteer work day. That means we need your help.

You. The Volunteer. We need your help. I'll even keep my comments to myself if you wear orange.

We are going to do some work around the farm. We will be working both indoors and out. We need to clean and organize the barn. We need to wash the fencing. We need to spray weed killer around the fencing as well.

We will also work on the Selah House. There is some staining that needs to happen there as well as a good "spring cleaning". We are also going to work on some of the flower beds and mulch, etc.

If you work with a scout troop that needs to work on their badges, we would love to have the help! Please come out! It will be hard work, but so much fun too!

Please go to www.lanternlanefarmtn.net and click on the Get Involved Tab - and then the calendar tab. If you go to the April calendar, you will see a place where you can sign up to help. We'd love to see you there!

It was a West Wing Kinda weekend...

I had a friend that spent a few days with me this weekend. We hung out and laughed on occasion. My friend got to experience life at my house with the parentals and the blind dog.

But that's okay. We watched the West Wing.

Have I ever mentioned my absolute love and obsession for the television series that was The West Wing? I love this series. LOVE it. As far as I can tell... it was the very best written television show OF. ALL. TIME.

AND... there were more than just 12 episodes in a season.

My friend and I watched the entire First Season and most of the Second one.

At some point, I headed over to Lantern Lane Farm and did something I have never done before...

I cleaned out a miniature horse's stall.

I believe the correct term is muck. I had to actually look up that word because it just sounds dirty. There's a reason for that... it IS dirty. It derives from a middle English word from the 13th Century, pretty much meaning manure.

I guess it would sound silly to say that I manured out a stall. So, muck it is.

Now, I see the three of you who read this post, and I know you are saying to yourself... "It's a minature horse. How bad could it be?" Well... let me just tell you, little Aurora - that's her name - leaves PLENTY of jewels for her friends.

I was her friend last week.

She left me a wheelbarrow full of muck. Or, manure. Or poop. Maybe I should say I pooped out the stall.

Oh. No. That doesn't sound good at all.

So, I spent time with my friend. I did not take any pictures of her, even though there were opportunities to do so. I am trying to make up for something I did last week. And I mucked out a stall and fed a bunch of beautiful horses - and a couple of donkeys, can't forget them.

Oh... and I attended my nephew's championship basketball game. They won. They are undefeated. THAT I took pictures of. Enjoy.

Lantern Lane Farm

I know... you've seen the pictures, but let me explain a little bit about Lantern Lane Farm.

This is a great non-profit organization out in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. My friends Ralph and Joni Cook own and operate it. There is a log house on the property that has just been named The Selah House at Lantern Lane. It is a place for rest and renewal of the body, soul and mind. We are working on the brochure for the house as well as the counseling services that Ralph provides (he is a licensed counselor).

Here are a few shots of the photo shoot I took on Friday before the rains came:

Here's Riley and Cindy, the two cutest boxers around.

This is Lindsey. She is one of our volunteers. She comes out on Fridays and works with the horses and helps with the feeding/grooming, etc. Lantern Lane would be nowhere without the help of all the volunteers! There are six full-size horses, three minis and a couple of donkeys. It is a lot of work, which is why the volunteers are soooo appreciated and loved!

Here, we are showing how the counseling/therapy sessions go. The counselor and the client (Lindsey is playing the part for the photo's sake... she's not a client. I wouldn't put a client picture up without their approval first) work together to set up an obstacle course for the horse. Each object represents an obstacle in the person's life. Once the course is set, the client walks the horse through the course...


After leading the horse, the client would spend some time talking with Ralph about what those obstacles in their course represented and how to overcome those obstacles.

The other part of Lantern Lane Farm is the Selah House at Lantern Lane. It is a log house at the back of the property that is available for rental. It is really designed as a retreat for those people who need to get away. It has been rented for families who are vacationing in the area. But there are small groups that have used it as well. I know of a ladies' Bible study group that spent a weekend there and there have been a number of pastors and their families who have utilized it to recharge their spiritual batteries. That is the true purpose behind Selah House.

There was just a Board of Directors meeting this morning and are planning the first event for Lantern Lane Farm. On December 19 from 2-4pm, we will have Christmas at Lantern Lane Farm. There will be an area for people to have family photos made as well as hot chocolate and an hourly rendition of the Christmas story. There were be some live acoustical music and a bonfire.

So... mark your calendars now and plan to join us on December 19!

Just doing the stuff...

So... it has been a good week this week. I should be writing a paper right now, but... I'm posting a blog instead.

I really need to finish the paper. And other homework too. But, it has been such a pretty day... and I've had a lot going on. So, I PROMISE... I will get that stuff done soon.

I swear.

This is where I am really hopeful that neither of my professors reads my blog...

But today was a little bit busy. My friend Requelle and I attended the funeral of a very kind and special man... Curtis Poteete. Curtis attended Two Rivers Baptist Church with me and for many years he helped with the animals when we produced the Passion Play. He was such a character and so much fun to be around. I always loved to see Passion Play roll around because I knew I would be working with Curtis Poteete and Don Roney. Curtis was great with the camels... but he also always led in the white horse at the end of the production.

Curtis has been having problems with his heart and I am told was on a list for a transplant. Unfortunately, his heart transplant did not occur... but Curtis has been transported from this world into glory. The service today was a sweet time. I thought at one point that it would have been fitting to have a white horse hanging out in the lobby. I have a feeling Curtis has stepped right up to the Lord's stables and is giving those magnificent creatures a good rub down.

Speaking of horses... I left the funeral and found it fitting to go out to Lantern Lane Farms and help set up for their annual fall festival. Of course, Requelle came out and helped as well. There was plenty of food and horrible bluegrass music from Ralph's Iphone (thanks Ralph!) and they were planning a hay ride for later in the evening. (I had to leave in order to finish this paper that I haven't finished yet!)

Here are some shots of the festivities:

This is Scooter and Apostrophe. They are BFFs.

Here's Requelle getting the food organized...

Here is the cook fire! We roasted dogs and marshmallows here. And kept warm since it's getting a mite chilly in the evenings.

Mite chilly. I'm talkin' like a girl who likes bluegrass.

'Cept I don't.

Heh.

There was a friendly game of horseshoes going on...

And I thought this tree was really pretty. So I took a picture of it.

Then I wanted to take a close-up picture of Requelle... and it took about three minutes because she kept laughing!!! Seriously.

And she should thank me for NOT posting the picture I WANTED to post.

Yeah... who's your friend, Requelle? I am.

After all that time... I finally got this shot:

And this is a great way to end a fine evening... with a horse grazing in front of a cabin!

Ahh... you know its fall when you come home smelling like you've been standing in front of a campfire.

The First Weekend - Post Wedding!

So... this weekend was a huge amount of fun! I started out working with my friends at Lantern Lane Farm (I get credit for my class on that). There is nothing like volunteering for friends who are getting their non-profit organization off the ground, getting class credit and then having them fix you breakfast!

Thanks Ralph and Joni!

Then went back home to await the arrival of my aunt and uncle (spending the night before heading to NC) and my niece and new nephew-in-law (fresh from the honeymoon). I should have done some studying... but there were so many people around and Gerard Butler was hosting Saturday Night Live.

I just HAD to stay awake.

Kristin & David brought over their wedding pictures that were taken by the lovely and talented Carla Lynn of Carla Lynn Photography. Here are a few.

On Sunday I went to brunch/lunch with Heidi and Lou Ann. KatyBell (all one word) came along and we just had a great time hanging out and eating too much food and celebrating Heidi's 33rd birthday.

Again.

Then, I made Katy come and pose for some pictures for me. Why? Because I was going to be taking engagement pictures of some people I had never met before.

Katy was a pro:

Then, I met Kathryn and Chett. Kathryn spells her name like me, but with a K. That makes her even more special! Here are a few of those pictures:

These would never have happened without Wanda Dulaney (the director) and Kaylie Dulaney (the self-proclaimed Fashionista). They rocked!!!

I just took the pictures. But it was a great weekend!

A Day On the Farm

Last Wednesday evening the members of the digital photography class I am taking had a field trip. We went out to Lantern Lane Farm.

Lantern Lane is a great horse farm in Rutherford County (even though you think you are in Mt. Juliet... you aren't). I know the owners. I knew them before they purchased the farm. They are great people! Joni is a real estate agent and one of the sweetest people I have ever met. She loves people... but she loves the Lord more. The best thing about her is that she lets the Lord love people through her. She is an amazing woman. AMAZING. Makes me wonder why she hooked up with Ralph all those years ago.

Ralph. What can I say about Ralph? Probably not much that is printable. :)

Oh, I'm kidding. I love Ralph. He's a fun guy. He tells it like it is and doesn't really let you throw a pity party. I worked with him when I was on staff at Two Rivers. He was the children's choir director. Those kids just did not mess with Mr. Ralph. He wasn't a Nazi about it, but he was firm with them and they respected him for it.

I don't really respect him. Just ask him and he will tell you. Kinda hard to respect a man who cheats at cards.

Seriously. He cheats. He will tell you he cheats. Again... he tells it like it is.

At any rate, they have a great place and they have horses. I love horses. I love taking pictures and I was very excited that our first field trip was going to be at Lantern Lane.

By the way... if you want more info about Lantern Lane, check out the website here:

http://www.lanternlanefarmtn.net/

The website is going to be updated soon, but that will give you an idea of where we were. If you are interested in volunteering with the animals, you can contact the Cooks through that website. Or, if you need a weekend away or have family that is coming into town and need a place to stay, the cabin in the perfect place! (Yes, that was a shameless plug for Lantern Lane Farm)

These are some of the pictures I took whilst I was there:

This is a picture of Dolly. She is a beautiful walking horse that was in foal with Apostrophe when the Cooks bought her. She was very patient with me and let me get in pretty close in order to take this shot...

This is Scooter. He is a precious guy who was really, really good with all the children that accompanied their parents to the farm for the photo shoot. Every so often Scooter would get a little nervous. So, he and I bonded that evening. I hung around Scooter and let him know what a great horse he was. He enjoyed the attention and snuffled the hands and shoulders of the little children who thought he was just as great as he is!

I also took some odd pictures. Because I like to take odd pictures. I loved the texture of the wood on the barn.

And here is the barn itself. It is a lovely shot of a lovely barn on a lovely farm. A lovely barn on a lovely farm owned by lovely people. Well... at least Joni is!

Oh, okay Ralph. You are lovely too!