Another Chance Ranch

Stories About @thepioneerwoman's Photos of the Rodeo

I just have to say that I absolutely love, LOVE going to the OCA Range Round-Up each year with Ree and her family.  It was fun going to the rodeo before Ree met MM, but it is so much more fun now that she and Missy are there.  :)

Ree posted a few photos today, one of a very handsome man named McD, okay she posted several photos of several handsome men.  It's just that none of them are as handsome as McD.  :)  Sorry Josh!  Sorry MM!  Sorry Tim! 

First of all I need to direct you back to her post. 

Here. 

Now, look at the first photo.  

The first photo is of all the little ones standing with their hats over their hearts during the National Anthem.  First of all, let me just say that if this really tugs at my heart strings.  I love each one of these kids!!  Now, down to the details.

If you read Ree's post you will know who I am talking about here.  Her nephew, the one to the far left of the first photo, was kind of slow to get up and take his hat off.  Her niece, third from the left, was quickly informed him, in a whisper mind you, that he needed to stand up and put his hat over his heart.  It was one of the cutest "bossy" moments ever.

The other...

The previous night she helped the little guy on the very end put his hat over his heart.  Then, see the little girl, fourth from the left in that first photo (go back here).  Pinkie was quick to notice that she had forgotten to bow her head during the prayer.  So, she very politely told her that she needed to bow her head, and then used her index finger to push her head forward.  It was too stinkin' cute!

Now you might wonder why my head wasn't down during prayer, yea well, you sit in the middle of a bunch of punks and keep you head down and eyes closed.  It isn't always advised.  And if I had done what I was supposed to I wouldn't be able to share these details with you.  Now see!!!  Aren't you glad I had my eyes open?

Let's move on to another photo.

Photo #6

Let me tell you a little about this guy.  Yes, this is Ree's baby.  I think he was born with a sword in his hands.  Every time McD would stop by their house this little dude would HAVE to have a sword fight with him.  These days the swords don't come out near as much, but as Ree explained in her post, they have started the fist fights.  You have to start these UFC fighters young you know!  He's gonna be the next Randy Couture.  (I kind of like Randy Couture, don't tell McD.  Shhh!)

One of the cutest things I saw at the rodeo involved this little dude.  Ree touched on this story in her post, but I want to be Paul Harvey and tell you "The Rest of the Story."  Anyhoo, so this little dude who I sometimes call Toad, came back to the stands after going to the bathroom or something.  He had found another neckwace that he wanted to buy his mama.  BUT, he had listened to his mama when she told him that he couldn't spend HIS money, so he asked the big dude with him if he could use HIS money to buy his mama that pwetty neckwace.  In my opinion, he's a smart little dude.  Oh, and don't go calling him Toad, he doesn't like it and he will hit ya.  Consider this your warning.  I would hit someone if they called me Toad too.

Moving on (geez sorry this is a long post - she posted a lot of photos).

Photos #9 & #10

I kind of like this guy.  I'm just sayin'.

Photo #17

You see MM?  He is the best durn mugger there is.  Again, I'm just sayin'.  He can stop those big ol' cows every single time.  I love watchin' him mug.  (Ackward sentence, just keep reading and pretend you didn't read that.)

Photo #19

The track star of the whole bunch.  We love cheering him on!  It has to be hard to run in boots and in that soft dirt.  Good job Tim!!

Photo #21

My favorite photo.  Thanks Ree, I could look at this all day long!  Hmmm.  Oh wait, I have to finish this. 

Photo #25

I love Team Penning too!  Especially with times like that!  Woohoo!!

Photo #29

These babes were adorable!!  And Missy too!  Have I said how much fun it is to be there with her?  Let me just tell you, it is FUN! 

Photo #30

Awww, Petunia!  She is a sweetheart!  No, she is a SWEETHEART!  And she just had a birthday.  I love the cap and scarf she bought at the trade show.   She was pretty quiet.  We didn't hear too much out of her, but she sure looked pretty.  (So did her big sister!!)

I sure wish my friend Vicki could have been there! 

Well, that is all folks.  I hope you enjoyed my thoughts and stories on Ree's photos.  I am sure if you asked someone else what they remember it would be completely different.  It's funny how we can all be at the same place, at the same time, and come away with so many different views.  I said views because I couldn't come up with anything else.  My brain is telling me to stop.  So here I go.

Enjoy!

Art of Our Master

I had a really deep post for today, it wasn't finished but I was going to work on it this morning and get it posted.  But I kept watching the sunset last night, and it kept getting prettier, and prettier.  I was in complete and total awe.  What I love about photography is that you can capture those moments and have them forever! 

I ran outside with my camera and started clicking away.  I decided to make sure that I was getting what I wanted and pushed the display button.  These dreaded words came onto the screen - NO CF CARD.  I think I said a bad word, in fact I know I did.  I ran back into the house, yelling at the dogs to get out of my way and McD thought I was yelling at him.  Sorry Hon!

I missed a lot of really, really good shots, but I did come away with a few decent ones. 

I love the way you can see the rays of the sun coming up through the sky.  Oh it was so much prettier in those shots I took without the CF Card.  **Slaps self on forehead!**

Then this morning I started playing with them in Photoshop, and I put a frame around them.  I kind of liked the framed look.  How about you?

I love watching the colors change during a sunset, that is one thing that never ceases to amaze me. 

Here's one more.

I can't wait to see tonight's sky!

Random Question

What is your ringtone?

Do  you have several ringtones for different people?  I do.

McD - song from Lonesome Dove soundtrack

Mom - Rockford Files

Dad - The Tonight Show (Johnny Carson's) or Top Gun Anthem

Grandad - Theme from Bonanza

Sister - Fat Bottom Girls

My Default is the music from the BEEF commercials, or sometimes it is the Star Wars theme.

So, tell me, what are your ringtones.  I am wanting to add a few to my list, but am drawing a blank.  I am thinking of adding the Looney Tunes theme song for my friend Vicki. 

Abby Update - Ears

Oh my!  This little lady has stolen many hearts.  She is such a character.  Let me share some of our most recent happenings with ya.

First of all, you are all aware that we had her ears cropped.  Surgery went well, and she did great.  She never acted as though her ears hurt her at all.  She was still her ornery little self.  I say little but she is well over fifty pounds now, and is taller than Mia.

As you can see, her ears are not quite standing up yet.  When we had her stitches removed the doctor told us to give them a week to see if they stood up on their own.  They are trying, but most of the time they look like this.  Or one ear is up and the other is down.  Sometimes she resembles the Flying Nun.  I will be calling the doctor today to see when we can get them taped.  We gotta train those babies to stand up.  She certainly looks like a completely different dog with her ears cropped.  Don't ya think?

When we got her ears cropped she started terrorizing the cat, Mordecai.  She played with him before, but now that she has this crazy thing going on with her ears Mordecai is scared half to death.  His tail gets real fluffy, his back is arched, ears laid back, and his pupils are huge!  Then he starts making these strange noises that I've never heard him make before. 

I have been having a lot of fun sneaking up on Abby when she is outside, or when she is walking down the dark hall at night coming to bed.  When she isn't sure who is there she lowers her head, one ear goes up, and sometimes she growls.  Sometimes she tries to be stealth-like.  When she gets close, I make a lunge toward her and she jumps for me.  Her little nub of a tail wagging the whole time.  Then she goes crazy, running in circles, all wound up and ready to play.

She still talks to me when I don't pay attention to her.  Yesterday I was leaving for the grocery store and I said, "See ya later Abs."  She stopped, turned, and barked once.  I took that as, "Later."  Wouldn't you?

One last story.  Last night Abby was messing around outside.  When I went out to check on her she had drug up a bunch of stuff.   Some of the stuff is from a pile of lumber that will be burnt this fall, there is a couple of rugs, and more lumber.  Her favorite thing to do is chew on wood.  Check out them ears! 

I gotta call the doctor today.  We have to get those ears taped!

The Highly Anticipated Post

Godly Friends & Family

A while back I decided to start reading the New Testament again.  I have found that when I re-read the Bible I get something new out of it every time.  Preachers and teachers have always said that we could read the Bible over and over, and learn something new each time.  The reason that is possible, they would say, is because our lives are constantly changing.  Or, "things" in our lives are constantly changing.

A few weeks ago the following scriptures jumped off the page at me, not literally of course, but they certainly caught my attention. 

"Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.'"  ~ Matthew 15:17-18

It really made me think, and the first thing that came to my mind was something a good friend of mine said to me.  As soon as the comment came from their mouth I think I realized it had come from the heart.  I was hurt.

More recently a situation arose with the same friend.  At first I was just irritated, kind of put out, and not really sure if we are as good of friends as what we claim to be.  All of this made me curious as to what the Bible says about friends/friendship.  I mean, let's face it, the Bible is THE rule book of life.  When we play a new board game and we are confused, or don't know what we are doing we read the rules.  So, I went to THE rules.

I found tons of scriptures regarding friends and friendships.  Here are a few of them.  Please keep in mind that I was studying out of two different Bibles during this time, so some of these are NKJV* and some are NIV**.

Proverbs 12:26 (NKJV)

    The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray.

  Basically, those who walk in opposition to God's word can cause you to go astray. (I read this somewhere a long time ago and honestly can't remember who said it.)

1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV)

    Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."

Isn't it funny how our parents would say that you are known by the company that you keep.  "People will think you are just like them."  I heard that from my parents and my grandparents.  Hmmm, maybe they were onto something. :)

Proverbs 13:20 (NKJV)

    He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.

This one certainly made me think about the different relationships I have with my family and friends.  I include my family here because I am friends with most of my family members.  Aren't most of us?  Friends with our family, I mean. 

As I sat there holding my Bible I made a mental list of my "Godly Friends" and my "Not-So Godly Friends."  I thought about each person and their good traits, and not-so good traits.  The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. 

Then something hit me, and hit me HARD.   

We are supposed to apply the Bible to our own lives, not others.

There I was sitting there practically judging them, putting them into categories.  Not good. 

As a friend, I am supposed to be encouraging.  It says so in the Bible.

Ephesians 4:29

    A godly friend is one that encourages others.

It is much easier to criticize people than to encourage them.  Have you noticed that?  I mean, seriously, how hard is it to find something nice to say, and to encourage. 

I've gone back through my recent readings and applied them to myself instead of envisioning my friend.  I know that I need to work on being a better godly friend myself, an encourager if you will.  Not only do I need to be an encourager, I need to encourage them to be godly friends too.  (This is my first step.)  Hopefully, I can save this friendship, because I don't want to be a companion of fools.

Let's all try to build people up rather than knock them down. 

_______________________________________________________________________

NKJV - New King James Version

NIV - New International Version

I'm Working

I'm working on a really heartfelt blog post.  It is about friends, family, and stuff.   But I am going to head to lunch, do some shopping, and then get ready for the big rodeo tonight!  Woohoo!

Be back later!

(in)Courage

This is the reason I haven't blogged today. :) 

I have been here reading, and reading, and reading, and reading.

They have giveaways going on too.

Check them out.

I will be back tomorrow with a real post, but for now I am headed back to (in)Courage.

Join me!