Growing up I was never really taught the value in saving money for the future. I mean I knew it was a good idea to save for the future, I just never really was taught the particulars. I'm 36 years old and while I do have a Life Insurance Policy, I don't really have a plan for emergencies, retiring, weddings, colleges, etc. The Life Insurance I do have, I got out of panic after my first husband passed away. I did NOT want to leave my family high and dry if something happened to me. I wanted to make sure that my girls could have everything they needed if by chance something happened to me too. My first husband did NOT prepare very well for his death, he always made it seem like he did but he absolutely left us gasping for air. I made a vow to myself and for my girls that I would NOT do the same to them.

Wednesday I met with a Financial Advisor to start planning for Emergencies and Retirement. BIG TIME Adulting right there! I wish I had started this when I was younger, when I could make the MOST money and SAVE the most money, before I had dependents, a spouse, and a mortgage. I wish I had known how to make my money WORK for me so that I didn't have to work my life away. You know the phrase "Ignorance is Bliss"? Well, when it comes to your future and financial planning, Ignorance IS NOT Bliss. Thankfully, my Financial Advisor is a gem and believes that we can still make my dreams come true and thankfully I am starting now and not in my 50s. Better late then never I guess!

So, I guess the moral of the story and well the point of this random ranting is to get a financial advisor as soon as you are making money, and LEARN how to save and to make your money help you live comfortably in the future!

Have a great day dear followers!

Sorry I've kind of fallen off the face of the planet! I promise the blog WILL get more interesting in the weeks to come. I have some BIG plans ahead!

I love Fall! The color of Fall in nature with the bright reds, oranges, and yellows. I love Fall weather, the cool slight chill that beckons you to sit by a campfire and sip Apple Cider. To me Fall is the perfect time to ride and really enjoy the horses!

The Girls brushing their pony!

Ride 'em Cowgirls!

All these things I love, but I'm not going to lie, October is not my favorite month.

I do not celebrate nor do I enjoy anything to do with Halloween. The history of Halloween and why it was celebrated years and years ago are terrifying. I understand that it is commercialized now and that the reason people participate in Halloween is different but I can't help but feel like it is Wrong for my family.

Almost EVERYTHING on TV has to do with Halloween. You can't unsee something you have seen and I believe my daughters really don't need to see scary things if they don't have to. As they grow the world itself will be scary enough, they don't need these scary things bouncing around in their head now.

I have been filtering what Big Sister and Little Sister see, however Halloween stuff is everywhere. Just this week we walked into Target and there was a huge scary skeleton banner hanging as we walked in. Big Sister spotted it well before I did and pointed it out to me and said how scary it was. I know I can not shield them from everything, but I can equip them with THE MOST POWERFUL tool against anything scary.

God and Jesus Christ His Son!

I wish I could insert the theme song from the Veggie Tales episode "God Is Bigger Than The Boogie Man" right here!

Every time they are exposed to the Halloween scary things I remind them that God is more powerful than any of the scary things and that He will always protect them and keep them safe as long as they believe in God and Jesus, obey Him, and ask for His help and guidance.


Isaiah 41:13 NLV

The Lord is my light and my salvation - so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?

Psalm 27:1 NLT

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-descipline.

2 Timothy 1:7 NLT


I hope that they hold tight to these teachings and learn to fear nothing but God.
Have a wonderful evening dear followers and please stay tuned!

I was surfing the net a couple days a go and came across a wonderful blog, The Peaceful Mom. In the parenting section of her blog, I found a link to FREE Child Safe Kits. Naturally, I was curious so I  clicked on the link. The Statistics on their main page just floored me:

Watching the Breed Pageant, she LOVED the Fresians!

Last weekend I took Big Sister to the Hoosier Horse Fair at the Indianapolis State Fairgrounds. The Hoosier Horse Fair is an annual event in April and horse lovers around the state flock to the event. I remember when my Aunt and Grandma took me to the Hoosier Horse Fair when I was younger. The place used to be PACKED, not just with visitor but with horses, booth vendors, and demonstrations. The program alone was like a mini book at least 20+pages long.

I remember Stallion Row, having TONS of different breeds of horses! It was a dream come true to see all the different types of horses I'd always read about in my horse books. My favorites growing up were the Thoroughbred and Bashkir Curly Horse. I was somewhat disappointed when we arrived this year and Stallion Row only included about a third of the horses that it used to. Big Sister didn't seem to mind at the lack of variety, but I couldn't help be feel bummed.

Painted Saddle Horse at the Breed Pageant.

 Not only was the Stallion Row population lacking, the variety in vendors and the amount of vendors was limited as well. I remember going home with BAGS of swag, my FAVORITE booth to visit was the Thoroughbred Racing booth, they gave away tons of stuff, including Blood Horse Magazine, which became my most prized possession for YEARS growing up. The Quarter Horse booth always had awesome posters as well, with beautiful photos of every color of horse possible. I used to plaster my room with posters I'd acquired from the fair, it was awesome!

My tired Cowgirl!

There also used to be horse items for sale of every variety and I DREAMED of the day when I had my own horse I could buy things for at the Hoosier Horse Fair. This year my mission was to find a pretty detailed blue halter for Rusty. I was also disappointed by my selection. I found a nice blue halter, but nothing like I'd seen from my childhood.

The COOLEST demonstration ever at the Hoosier Horse Fair was the 6 Horse Draft Hitch Competition! It was the HIGHLIGHT of the whole event! The Draft horses were MASSIVE in size, almost unreal, and they would take 6 of these horses and hook them together under harnesses to pull a large stag coach. It was BEYOND awesome to see the raw horse power pulling the coaches. The horses were always perfectly well behaved and acted like true professionals. They would get a least 5 or 6 of the hitches to pull around the Pepsi Colosseum all at once. The thundering of the hooves and the jingling of the bells along their harnesses made a permanent impression in my memories. This year was the second year in a row that they did not hold this epic Competition. I am bummed that Big Sister missed out on seeing the giant horses, but I can only hope that they will be brought back again in the future years.

I don't know if it just me, being an adult now and seeing the reality of places instead of looking at the world through a child's eye, but the Hoosier Horse Fair just didn't have the WOW factor anymore. I know a lot people are blaming the deterioration of the event on the economy, maybe that's it, maybe it's not. My hopes is that the organization that runs the Hoosier Horse Fair works to improve the Fair next year. It sure would be nice to walk into the Fair and have the same WOW factor that had as a child.

Thanks for reading and have a WONDERFUL weekend dear followers!

With "Easter" here, I am both pleased to be able to serve a Mighty God who gave his only Son for my sins and both saddened by the thought that so many don't know Him. I grew up with Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny, but I was also aware of the real "Reason for the Season," thanks to my mother who took us to church and never gave me a reason to doubt that there was a God.

Today, I'm not sure how many generations younger than I actually know why we really celebrate these holidays. They are very much commercialized and parents don't seem to talk to their kids about God and Jesus as much as they used to. I don't know why, I'm guessing they don't know how, aren't sure about the facts themselves, or just really don't care. To me these holidays are serious and very precious. In our home we have decided not to invite Santa and the Easter Bunny in to share in our celebration. Some people think, "Oh your poor kids" or that we are "Taking away a part of childhood" but I don't think that is true. Many times kids put Jesus in the same category as Santa and the Easter Bunny and guess what happens when they finally find out that Santa and the Easter Bunny aren't real? They start to wonder what else you have made up and they start to doubt their belief in God and Jesus. The world tries to give people so many reasons to doubt, I don't want to hand out reasons for my girls to doubt the existence of God and Jesus. I want my girls to trust me to tell them the truth and to be honest with them. I know at times I will fail miserably because I am human, but I pray that the times I fail will not permanently damage them in the long run.

Why is it that the kitchen table is always the dumping ground. At any given time if you walk into my home, there are stacks of papers or various items sitting on the kitchen table. It seems like every time I clean it off within 5 minutes SOMETHING appears on it. I don't know how to combat this problem, any ideas?

I thought you'd enjoy a photo of our after lunch table display complete with Little People Car, empty plate and jello cup, Sippy, Plush Pig (because Big Sister loves Pigs), Little Sister's Bumbo Chair (greatest invention EVER), and Little Sister's Formula and bottles... beyond the Formula what you can't see is my stack of samples for the interior design of our new house, coupons, and various other papers that came in the mail.

Have a lovely day dear followers, I'm off to go play out side while the girls are napping!
Kelsey