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There is a horse in my yard!

All of my life I have wanted to own a horse. I was born with a love for horses, took riding lessons growing up, did 3 or 4 years straight of "Horseless Horse Project" in 4-H (sad, right?) until we leased a horse my last year so that I could actually show at the fair... you get the idea. So here I am, years later and in the Dominican Republic, with 4 horses at my disposal. And to be honest, for the first 6 months that I have been here, I have focused more on the fact that 3 out of the 4 are stallions and a little more on the rowdy side, definitely rusty with being ridden, and are smaller than your average horse. Plus, they just do things differently here. It is common to simply tie your horse up and let it graze, rather than turning it out into a pasture. They use different saddles,which don't always have the right parts. On top of that, we live on the side of a mountain, so finding a flat area to try and lunge a horse or do some practice-riding is virtually impossible. Let alone, trying to find time to ride with a baby!

To say the least, even though I would typically say that when I'm around horses, I'm "in my element", I have to admit that being around horses here, where everything seems different to me, I don't feel in my element at all! 

Just this past week, one of the horses has been tied up in our back yard consistently. One morning, I woke up and looked out my window to see this horse grazing and it suddenly dawned on me, "There is a horse in my yard! What a blessing!" It was as if I was able to recognize the blessing because my brain did not have enough time to register the list of negatives I'd been compiling. 

I've been reflecting on that  a lot this week. Sometimes our attitude about life is just a matter of perspective. You know, is the glass half- empty or half-full? A cheesy saying, but there is truth there! 

So, I'm starting to finally come around to embracing what is in front of me. The horse in my yard. The beautiful view. The pace of life here. The opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom. I could (and have) found negative things to say about each of these things, but I'm much happier and at peace when I embrace them and give thanks for them. We have SO much to be thankful for. A little gratitude goes a long way.

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.1 Thes. 5:18

You can be praying for ...
- CMA-we are in the process of hiring for several positions. Pray that the right people come along!
- Encouragement for staff here as we continue to go through the transition of directors 
- Our little family of three as we continue to adjust and learn and grow

We love and miss you,
Jamie, Matthew, and Gabe