Comforting...

Ruidoso: Our Favorite Memory ;o)

Our favorite memory from our Ruidoso trip was the day we went hiking near Bonito Lake. I had been on several of the trails before and knew Joey would want to do a challenging one. So, we headed UP the Big Bonito/Argentina Trail. I remember 3 trails from my former hiking days in these mountains and this was one of them. It has always proved to be the most difficult....and it proved to be the same this time around as well. It's a 7 1/2 mile loop, but the majority of it is straight up! Although, the view is always worth the climb because it takes you above the treeline so you can see everything! I have only hiked it twice and one of those times was on horseback so that doesn't really count. lol. The last 1/4 of a mile up is ridiculous. In fact, I was wondering how Joey was going to do it with Presley on his back! You literally go three steps and feel the need to stop for a water break. Originally, we planned on doing an easy trail first and then return later in the week to climb to the top. However, it didn't turn out that way....luckily, I brought a ton of snack food and water. ;o)

Ahhh, we made it past the half way point....just in time for a little lunch and just in time to see this.....
Me: "do we turn around?"
Joey: "I don't know, what do you think?"
Me: "I don't know what do you think?"
Joey: "I don't know, we've come this far."
Me: "So, do we turn around?"
Joey: "I don't know"
and repeat, repeat, repeat.........

So.....did we turn around or go for it???
Either way, we we made it back to the car and Presley was still as snug as a bug in a rug and did not have a drop of rain on her. In fact, she slept her way through the entire thunderstorm....including the hail!

Ruidoso: Paddle Boats, Petting Zoos, and Playgrounds

While we were in Ruidoso we visited the Inn of the Mountain Gods and rented a paddle boat for the morning. It was beautiful and Presley enjoyed "looking at all da wader."

On our way to Ruidoso we stopped in Roswell, New Mexico. Oh what fun it was! We had two choices: visit the Alien Museum or the Kid's Zoo. We chose the Kid's Zoo. It was extremely hot so the train wasn't working and the carousel wasn't making it's rounds. All of the animals were in their cages except the annoying peacock that insisted on flying around everywhere and chirping every 10 seconds. BUT, the animals were still very friendly and in desperate need of some attention. ;( Poor things....it wasn't the worst of times, but it definitely wasn't the best of times either for these little guys.

This was Joey's favorite little guy, of course!

Excuse me mam, I think you dropped something!

We spent some time at a park or two while we were in Ruidoso. Presley loves the park and we haven't been to one since our time in Colorado because it's been way too hot down here in Texas to do much of anything outside.....except swim ;o) and even then- you are still pushing your luck.

Ruidoso: The Horses

I grew up riding horses.....amazingly enough, with the same two girls I went to Ruidoso with every summer. ;o) We would do lots of horseback riding back in our Ruidoso days and things seemed to hold true this time around as well. ;o) Presley A.dores animals and just loves horses.....does my heart good. I thought, for sure, she would be scared to ride on a horse! However, she ended up falling in love with it.

She loved riding the ponies

But her heart was with Duke, the huge horse! I will admit that I was a little nervous about Presley being on a horse with me. I am comfortable around horses and know how to handle them pretty well...usually ;o) but I'm not familiar with handling horses while a two year old is sitting in my lap! Duke was a gently giant, but he definitely wanted to be in charge. He was also a little irritable. If you could see his ears in this picture then you would see the irritation written all over his ears....flat as a mat on his head! lol. He kicked Joey's horse who insisted on either 1-smelling Duke's rear-end the whole time, or 2-eating everything that passed in front of his jaw. He also got irritated when I took my feet out of the stirrups and let them dangle against him while I got readjusted. He kept turning around to nip at my foot. Whenever he would turn around Presley would say, "what you doing horsey" or "why you doing that horsey." My thoughts exactly! Obviously, HE was acting more like a SHE....if you know what I mean. We had a few words and then he managed to recognize that mama bear was not havin any of his shenanigans. ;o) It was a beautiful ride and a lazy ride....perfect for when you have a little one with you, but not something I would have wanted to do had I been on a horse by myself. There's a better ride up in the mountains, but definitely not safe for little ones.

After the ride, Presley got a horsemanship certificate. ;o) I love this picture....she's so proud of herself.

Ruidoso: At the River

Growing up, I spent a lot of time in Ruidoso with two dear friends of mine. I think I went a total of 5 times from 8th grade-college. I have fond memories of Ruidoso and have not been back since I took a last minute ski trip with friends from highschool back in 1999. Things were a bit different this time around and the town was not as quaint as I once remembered it to be. However, the one thing that was still the same was the charm of this little town. The hiking, horseback riding, and the river was all as I had remembered. The river was a little low, but still existent...seems everyone is battling a drought these days. ;o(

Presley loved the river and she loved trying to hop the rocks....something my friends and I would spend hours doing, back in the day.

Presley spent a lot of time throwing rocks in the water....something she learned from her Grandpa Axtell (thanks dad)

beautiful weather to compliment a beautiful river

Presley does such a great job with the camera ;-p

Ruidoso: Our Cabin

We rented a 2 bedroom cabin called The Birdseye View while we were in Ruidoso. It was really nice to have our own space away from town. We rented from an agency called hummingbirdcabins.com

The view

The back porch was a great place to relax. Presley loved swimming in the hot tub.

There was wildlife everywhere and the deer were very friendly.

....however, we found out later that it was against the law to feed them
Happy Trails..... ;o)

Hope

Without getting too personal, can I just say that I love it when God's presence is all around me. I began the morning, like I should every morning but struggle to, in prayer. I continue to keep a prayer journal, but let's just say that it had a few months missing. Summer is always a hard time. It seems that when summer roles around it's a time for everyone to just "relax and do nothing." It's always easier to spend time with God in the Fall when school starts back up and all activities return to normal....including Bible Studies and church attendance.

Within the past 6 months Joey and I have had an enormous amount of loss surrounding our family. It's been loss after loss, after loss. I would say that loss has definitely affected both families all around. My heart goes out to Joey's cousins who lost their father in January, to his Granddad who lost his wife in February, to his sister who lost her mother-n-law in July, to my step-sister who lost her newborn child in April, and to Joey and I who lost another pregnancy in March. It's times like these that I would think one would consider God as being unjust, unloving, and not present.

Having dealt with loss before, death is a heartbreaking reality that just stares me in the face every morning. I lost a friend to cancer when I was in 9th grade, I lost my mom at the age of 21, and two weeks later buried a good friend of mine who I grew up with in church, and two years ago my former BSF leader passed away giving birth to her 3rd child. All of these dear loved ones, in my mind, died before their time. However, no matter what I think, I still believe that God is just, loving, and ultimately good. I also believe in His timing and that He does make all things beautiful in his time.

With all of this loss surrounding our lives I have been held captive, once again, by fear. Fear is something I have struggled with since I was little. I was always shy and very cautious, and I see that my little sweet P is a bit the same way....something I always pray about. This morning I woke up and started writing in my prayer journal about fear. I was lead to read Psalm 91. Talk about the perfect chapter to read at a time when fear is captivating my thoughts!

There's a blog, Angie Smith: Bring the Rain, that I have been following since January. It's an amazing story how I came upon this blog, but that's another post. Her husband is the lead singer of a Christian group called, Selah....I LOVE them by the way! ;o) She is an author and has written several books. One of which is called, "I Will Carry You." It was written shortly after her newborn daughter passed away. She is a great blogger and I just love keeping up with her. She just came out with a new book called, "What Women Fear: Walking in Faith that Transforms." I know what you are thinking because I was thinking the same thing...and Yes, I will be buying it as soon as it reaches the shelf!

For the past few months, I have been trying to turn my fear into hope. Hope for what the future holds. However, it's hard to do that on my own! The girls in our Hometeam got me a bracelet after I had my miscarriage a few months ago. On my bracelet is the word HOPE. I wear this bracelet everywhere because it is a constant reminder of the hope I have in Jesus. I think about the name hope and what it means to have it. I can't imagine not knowing Jesus because there would be no room for hope in my life without Him. My heart always breaks for those who lose a loved one, but have no hope because they don't know what it is to have a relationship with the one true God. They think of knowing God as a religion rather than a relationship. I look at this word hope and think about what it means for me and Joey....and our families. I see a child yet to be conceived, I see a heart yet to be mended, and I see a life yet to be saved. I have hope that a child will be born, a heart will be mended, and a life will find salvation in the Lord....because without hope I am left only with fear and I refuse to be held captive by such a little word!

There's a verse that I wrote on a sticky note and stuck to my mirror a few days after I miscarried. It's the first thing I see when my feet hit the floor in the morning and the last thing I see before my head hits the pillow at night....

Now faith is being sure of what we HOPE for and certain of what we do not see. -Hebrews 11:1