Horses, Job Offers, and Brilliant Ideas

This is Danni. She lives on a farm. Well, she lives in Murray, but her parents live on a farm. And this weekend, we got to go to her house.

Danni's family is absolutely amazing, and are some of the best hosts and hostesses I have ever met. They are warm and welcoming, honest and genuine, sweet and sassy. And they randomly ask people to come live with them. (I'll explain that later)

I can easily and truthfully say that Danni's house is one of my all-time favorite places to visit.

This is city-girl-J-lo, my best friend. Jennifer was born to live in the city.... you have no idea how true this statement is.

This weekend when we went to Danni's, Jennifer came along and we had a wonderful time. A highlight that, of course, included Jennifer was watching a highly suspenseful movie, "When a Stranger Calls" and watching Jennifer jump out of her seat (she was laying down) and give a gut-wrenching throaty scream. =) How fun!

And this is me with my new best friend, Duster.

The best part of this weekend was that we got to go horse back riding on Duster and Jake, two of LeeAnne and Patrick's horses. We road all over the farm in the most beautiful weather we have had in a while.
The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the fields were a brilliant green.

I love farm life. This isn't something that I just recently figured out... I have always loved being outside and I have always loved animals, and I have always wanted a cow. The fact is, this trip just intensified the desire to live on a farm. And while we were out riding I fell in love with horses. I haven't ridden a horse since my family moved away from our Mountain Shadow Manor Lane horse ranch in California, where we bred Arabians. It's been a long time, about 11 years. Well, Duster brought back that love of horses that is in my blood -- I get it from my parents. I remembered how to saddle a horse, put in the bit, and lunge the horse before riding it. I feel quite pleased with myself, since no one showed me how to do this, it was just something that I remembered to do and was good at. Nobody even had to tighten the girth on the saddle! *score*

Not only do I really REALLY want to live on a farm now, but I must own horses. It's a given. There is no way to get around it. And I need to have a dog like Rain (sorry, I don't have a picture of this golden haired beauty) to ride the trails of my 235 acre ranch with me.

Do you get the picture? I want to live on a ranch, own horses, go horseback riding, plant a garden, have a cow (not figuratively, literally), walk in the woods, and spend quiet times sitting on a log in a flower-carpeted meadow. 

To make it worse, LeeAnne offered me a job. As a live in Nanny. If you were to open up my journal and read it, you would probably find where on some dream-infested days I have entered in my desire to be a live-in Nanny. That's how much I love kids. Well, Tanner and Macy are great, LeeAnne's farm is great, LeeAnne's horses are great, LeeAnne's house is great (there are chickens under the porch!!) and LeeAnne is great. That's a lot of greatness for one farm. She said that she would pay me $25 a day and give me room and board. In return, I would "slave away" while watching the two children. I would "work" and participate in the children's daily activities to keep them safe and keep them from getting bored while the parents were at work.... The job description is gruesome, I know, but I must go on. I would have to play outside, go fishing, and ride horses all day long.

Gah. It's killing me. Unfortunately, *sob* I can't. I have to stay here in Murray and work at Sparks to earn a lot of money. If it weren't for the fact that from January to May I won't be able to work due to my social work internship, and for the fact that I will be going to grad school in May where I will also not be working.... I would call LeeAnne right now and tell her I'm there.

But it's ok. Life moves on. I'm pretty sure that I will somehow get to live on a farm someday. What would be REALLY awesome and would incorporate ALL my desires would be this (imagine with me): I could work at a residential treatment center ranch.

Here's what that would do:
1) Allow me to share the all-consuming love of Jesus with people who desperately need it.
2) Allow me to use my Masters in Social Work.
3) Allow me to be a counselor/therapist.
4) Allow me to work with eating disorders and self-injury.
5) Allow me to work in a residential setting.
6) Allow me to work in a christian work place.
7) Allow me to live on a ranch.
8) Allow me to have animals.
9) Allow me to play outside.
10) Allow me to go horseback riding. (It's a type of therapy!)

It's brilliant.

Those are basically ten things that I have wanted to do for years now....
And it would be perfect.

So instead of pining away for a summer job that I desperately want but cannot have, I will pray that maybe one day God will be able to use me in a residential center for girls.... that is a horse ranch. And has lots of animals. And a garden.