Here are three of the most recent -- all boys:

They start small, but within days they can fly!




I don't have the birth pictures of Syd, but he has a way of making his presence known.


This is the little face I see most mornings when I go out to give grain.

Of course, not to be outdone, Harry also wants a little love and will come over to get it.

We want them friendly, but it's a fine line between that and turning them into pets.

In closing, here's a shot of the colt from the last post (the baby learning to stand) at 5 or 6 weeks old out in pasture with his mom.

For those of you who think, "Wow, he's really big," yes -- he's about the same size as the babies who are a month his senior... and adorable as a big fluffy puppy, but probably with better manners.

Actually, they're black post fences with miles of wire to keep the horses in... or out, depending who's in the next pasture. That's the new view out my garden gate, as we settle into week one at our little ranch house.

Tomorrow ends three weeks of straight work with one day off (two weeks ago -- it doesn't count). I think I passed exhausted sometime last weekend, before we moved, and I've been living off stubborness and a deep desire to sleep in my hammock "one more time" ever since. Yes, we have the trees to hang it here, and hung it was on the day we moved in. I look at it longingly as I leave and come home from work... then run right back out the door to whatever plans were pre-lined-up for the night.

We started this endeavor with lots of boxes and little furniture -- a bunch of coffee tables, enough bookshelves to house half-a-library (a small-town libarary), a hulking cast iron stove, a desk, office chair, bed, and stool. Just a little stepstool that helps me reach things when Brendan isn't around. Oh, and bean bag chairs. Two. Both mine, as Brendan doesn't like them. His loss.

In the last week we have been donated a kitchen table with a leaf and two rolling chairs, two dressers, a couch, a loveseat, and another coffee table (lots of coffee going on in this house, apparently). And the fridge that came with the house, the gas range/stove, and the shared in-duplex washer and dryer. Not exactly furniture, but still very useful.

Funny how quickly I forget what God did to get me another job and get us into this place, all at just the right time. We didn't have furniture, and he gave us furniture. So why do I freak out about money? Obviously, it's not really necessary. Did I mention the part where Brendan's parents sent us packing with boxes of food? Or where we've both made random extra money from side jobs in the last two weeks?

I don't get it, but God is big and I am short of memory. Maybe once I get a little sleep that will change.

Not likely.

New life highlight? Getting to use the phrase, "Meanwhile, back on the ranch..." in everyday conversation and mean it literally.

With no further ado, may I present "The Abbreviated Adventures of Heather and Brendan 2011"... and yes, I realized I left out a 'b' but not till after we'd run all the copies. How I hand-write anything accurately without Spell Check is beyond me. On the upside, my hubby got the laptop working so I should be around more often again. Merry Week-After-Christmas.



*Click on the picture for a larger view. Enjoy!

...for another job.

So far I've applied for office work, nanny positions and just this morning I turned in my application to a doggy day care. Have to admit, I'm kinda pulling for the dogs.

Meanwhile, Christmas is approaching and I had NO idea we would have this much going on for having been in town such a short time. This month we're staring down the barrel of five parties, six birthdays, a weekend retreat, a skate party (which conflicts with one of the Christmas parties), nine study group nights, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Actually, it's hippos in a silver tinsel tree. A pair of hippos we got from Bronner's Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, and an 18 inch silver tinsel tree with fiber optic lights that change colors. If you can't get the real thing, you might as well go crazy. Fakes aren't worth the persistent disappointment because you're constantly wishing they were something they aren't. Silver tinsel tree? No such confusion.

And that's my life today. Internet keeps going out on my laptop (totally my computer's fault -- may have something to do with being able to pop the screen off the base), I have piles of dirty laundry on the floor, and a 75% finished batch of Christmas cards waiting to be stuffed with the almost-done-and-ready-to-copy-and-stuff lettertoon (letter in cartoon format, like a graphic novel but completely lacking in artistic ability).

What are you up to for the holidays?

What a can of worms I just opened!  Except, in this blog, the debate isn't theological, it's practical. In your list of things you want to know and understand as a maturing Christian, which comes first: Jesus or the End Times?

I fully believe that ALL aspects of theology are important, but the longer I'm around the modern church, the more I believe that we often pass off the immediate and obvious points of theology in favor of the debatable, simply because we prefer being right to doing right.

Many people have a strong view on the time of the rapture, or if it will happen at all, but don't know much about the nature of forgiveness, salvation or sanctification. We argue and fight over the modern use of tongues and prophecy, but can't list the dozen or so other gifts that are NOT in debate, which gifts we have, or how we should be using them... which implies that we're probably not using them as intended, if at all!

The simple truth is that Satan and the demons know more theological facts than we ever will. It's not what you know, it's what you believe. Satan and the demons know Jesus is God -- no debate there! - but they don't recognize Him as Lord. Not as Master. And certainly not unbeatable, in a league all His own. Who is Jesus to you?

Who is God? Who is Jesus? Our understanding of these play a HUGE roll in our daily lives. But so many other end times debates and denominational differences are just bonus points on an exam we never have to take. I do believe in a physical and eminent return of Christ... because that is the most obvious understanding of Paul's writing to the Thessalonians. If I'm wrong, I die and still go to heaven having lived a life that pleased God.

What matters to me today is how God views my mother-in-law, and how that should affect my words and actions toward her. Once I get that down, I have a husband to respect (it's in there somewhere... right?), sisters to love (70 times... how many?), and I need to review my theology of God as provider and protector, 'cause I keep worrying. Eventually I'll figure out how and when Jesus is coming back... but on my list of theological priorities, it keeps getting bumped down and I suspect that's going to keep happening for awhile. I need to know and be like Jesus first, then I'll worry about his travel plans. What about you? Where does your theological study have the most impact: your head or your heart?