Looking for Prayers

I posted a bright, happy picture today because that is what I need right now...

hope and something to look up to.

Yes, we are all well...

the house is fine.

BUT

After finally getting our power restored yesterday after Hurricane Irene,

not two hours later, our transformer blew and two live wires came down in our back field.

So, we are back where we started from...

playing pioneers in the twenty-first century.

And it is getting old fast.

When the live wires came down,

the horses were in the same field which meant 

I headed out in my rubber muck boots on a rescue mission.

I could not let my horses get tangled in live electric wires,

so I performed a one person rodeo rounding up 

the horses and goats.

I was able to get them all back in their pen/barn

safely but not before a scare with Toby,

our skittish Tennessee Walker who decided to run from me

straight toward the downed wires.  

I was able, by the grace of God, 

to out run him

(how is that possible?)

and cut him off at the pass and he turned back toward the barn.

So, now not only don't we have power,

but we have an active dangerous situation in my back pasture.

I am looking for prayers today, not for the restoration of electricity,

but for patience, endurance, perspective, and understanding as we 

tread through this difficult time.

Thanks, y'all :)

Hurricane Irene

I am blogging to you from my laptop that is running on a battery that is hooked up to the internet using my phone.  Hurricane Irene decided to wreak havoc on These Nine Acres and electricity is out all over the area.  While we "only" had tropical storm force winds around 60mph, combined with the soaking rains, it was enough to cause damage here.

The ground is so saturated that the trees are being uprooted at the roots by the wind.

The rain has now subsided but the wind is still causing trouble

and is forecasted to cause trouble for the rest of today.

We have 7 trees completely down or leaning, so we will have weeks of clean up to do.

We don't have a fireplace, so we have lots of wood for anyone who may 

need it for heat this winter!

I have more images of other trees down and fence damage,

but the internet on my phone is slow, 

so that post will have to wait for another day.

In the meantime, there are more pics posted

on my public facebook page which you can see here.

Our horses and goats are just fine.

They found shelter in the barn through the night

and are hungry and quite perky this morning!

All in all, we are very thankful for the little damage we have.

It is little more than an inconvenience that will take 

a week or so to clean up.

My thoughts and prayers are with others who weren't so lucky 

and lost homes or loved ones in the storm.

Hope everyone is safe and dry.

Hugs in the Mailbox

From the Hood family!

 Our collection of postcards is growing nicely!  Since I have last posted, we have received five more postcards; all but one from the United States.  We got a beautiful postcard from Hawaii from neighbors that were vacationing there, one from New Jersey that showed the beautiful NYC, one from Mississippi from my wonderful blogger buddy, Ramona; and a vintage photography postcard from Kansas City, Kansas!  The fifth card was from Russia and took 55 days to get here!

From Postcrosser Gino

From blogger, Ramona!

Ladybug and I finally spent a day in town shopping and were able to find
a large cork board, a large world map, and some map pins to start mapping out our cards outside of cyberspace!  As soon as I get it up on the wall I will share it with you all.

Thank you to everyone who has thought of us and sent cards.  They mean a lot to us and bring a smile to our faces.

From Postcrosser Croxx

From Postcrosser Olga

If you would like to add to our postcard collection and have your

postcard featured here, please send away! 

We would love it!

Our address is:

P.O. Box 133

Stewartstown, PA 17363

xoxo

Shake, Rattle, and Roll

On Tuesday, Maryland experienced a 5.8 magnitude earthquake

that originated near Richmond, Virginia.

Apparently it was one of the largest earthquakes 

recorded in this region.

For us, it was quite weird.

I was working from home with Ladybug,

the twins were at daycare,

and Ty was at football practice.

When the rumbling first began, 

I wasn't immediately alarmed. 

We often have VERY LOW flying military airplanes

that go right over my house.

At the exact time the earthquake began,

there was an airplane flying overhead.

There was a low rumbling sound and the floor and house were shaking...

mildly at first.

So, my first thought was,

"Holy cow that airplane is low!"

When the noise and shaking began to intensify

and the pictures on my shelves started to vibrate and shake,

I got up out of my desk chair,

my dog, who was next to me, jumped to his feet alarmed,

and I started toward the door to look outside.

I really thought there was a plane that was going to crash.

As I was reaching for the door handle,

Ladybug, who was in the living room,

called out, "MOM! Why is the ground shaking?!?"

and it hit me.

This is not a plane...it is an earthquake!

I ran to the living room, 

told Ladybug to come with me

and we ran outside, dog in tow.

We went to the middle of our pasture where no trees could fall on us

(we had no idea if it was going to get worse)

and stood there with our arms wrapped around each other

watching the house shake from the outside.

The window screens undulated making it seem like

the house was dancing.

It was so bizarre!

It all lasted less than a minute or two

but it was a scary experience,

being an east coaster and having never experienced

anything like that before.

Afterward, I grabbed my cellphone and started dialing

but so was everyone else on the eastcoast...

so the networks were jammed and that was freaky too.

No calls, no texts, no nothing for about half an hour.

It was a weird, isolating feeling not to be in contact with the world

for that period of time!

Mother Nature seems to be pissed.

We might have an earthquake AND a hurricane in ONE week...

not to mention the thunderstorms that are predicted today

to bring torrential downpours.

Fabulous.

The goats and horses might float away.

Hope y'all are staying dry and safe.

Wordless Wednesday- A Bunch of Bull

Watching this bull stick his tongue in his nose

made me wonder if I could do the same.

No, I don't have pictures of me trying ;)

Happy Hump Day!

Where Are You Going?

I know I have mentioned this before, 

but sometimes I hear songs when I see images.

My brain must be wired incorrectly.

I know, big shock, right?

Well, when I was editing this image,

an anemone flower petal in my garden bird bath,

the Dave Matthews Band song 

"Where Are You Going"

came into my brain and stayed there.

And so, this song is now the soundtrack for this image

and I have no idea why. 

Where are you going? 
With your long face 
Pulling down 
Don't hide away 
Like an ocean 
That you can't see but you can smell 
And the sound of the waves crash down 

I am no Superman 
I have no reasons for you 
I am no hero 
Oh, that's for sure 
But I do know one thing 
Is where you are is where I belong 
I do know where you go 
Is where I want to be 

Where are you going? 
Where do you go? 

Are you looking for answers 
To questions under the stars? 
Well, if along the way 
You are grown weary 
You can rest with me until 
A brighter day and you're okay 

~Dave Matthews Band

I love that song, don't you?

Scrimmage: North Harford Hawks

Jodie shooting North Harford High School
Varsity Football

 There is something about teams and team work that makes me go all gooey inside.  Maybe it is because I grew up playing organized sports.  Maybe it is because I am a teacher and cooperation makes me happy.  I'm not sure why, but team sports does it for me.  Especially football, as most of you already know.

Saturday was the first scrimmage game for my son's high school.  It was like a scrimmage I have never seen before.  There were six teams there...four teams at a time on the field...each set of teams only used half the field.  The varsity boys were on the field for 10 minutes of offense and then rotated to 10 minutes of defense and then sat out for a rotation.  They repeated this over and over for about 2 hours, playing a new team each time.  It was more of a practice than a scrimmage as they did nott keep score and if the ball was turned over, the offense still got the ball back to finish out their 10 minutes.  It was a great learning drill for the teams.

North Harford High Varsity team and coaches

 JV did the same scenario only they were on the field for 15 minutes at a time for offense and then 15 more for defense to give the coaches more time to teach and coach the younger boys.

I had the pleasure of being second shooter for team and had a blast shooting in conjunction with Jodie Otte, whose son is a sophomore on the JV team.  We are going to have so much fun this year working together and bouncing ideas off each other.  Being on the field and photographing my favorite game was awesome!


It was a long, hot day as it was near 90 air temp and on the turf it was even hotter.  Jodie and I were out in the sun shooting for 4 hours straight!  The only thing I didn't like about being on the field was the smell.  I am here to tell you that a bunch of testosterone filled young men in 90 degree heat can create an aroma that can kill a person.  Holy cow!  I wasn't even sure what it was at first because it was so rank!

Some of the JV players watching the Varsity play

I was super nervous for Ty as it was his first time in a game type scenario. I was pleased the coaches got him in to play a few plays on defense and he was able to make a tackle!  I didn't get a shot of it because I was so dang excited I forgot to shoot it!  :)

I am looking forward to a fun filled season of being on the turf and shooting all the action I can.  I still have tons of images to edit, but I am loving every minute of it.  I hope everyone has a wonderful, productive work week :)  I've already been out this morning to scout out a bull for an upcoming photo shoot I have been hired to do.  Ever tried to stalk a very large steer in cute flip flops?  Um, not the best footwear choice I've made recently!

The Meaning of Courage/North Harford Hawks Football

"Courage is the discovery that you may not win, and trying when you know you can lose."

 ~Tom Krause

How many times in life have you not wanted to try something because the fear of failure holds you back?  I am ashamed to admit that it happens more often than I would like in my own life.  With everything in life there are drivers and preventers...forces that are either driving us and supporting us in our efforts to reach our goals or forces that act as roadblocks in our journey to realize our dreams.  Fear of failure is probably the most common preventer.  And courage, according to the quote above, is the ability to meet the fear of failure head on and try something anyway...even when you know the chances of losing are great.

He is going to look good in a football jersey, no?

In that case, I am proud to say that my son is a courageous young man.  Ty decided this spring that he wanted to try to make the high school football team despite the fact that he had never played organized football in his life.  He had so much going against him...he is light for his height (now over 6 foot tall at age 14 but willowy thin).  He had never played football before.  He was an incoming freshman.  He doesn't have an aggressive personality...

When Ty first told Brian and I he wanted to go to a weeklong camp the high school coaches offered for boys who were interested in the football program, I was shocked.  Where did this desire come from?  Didn't he know he didn't have a snowball's chance in Hell to make the team?  I honestly figured that he would go to the camp and decide that it wasn't for him.  He would see that almost all the other boys had been playing the game since they were 5 and he would be finished with the idea of trying out for the team.  So, off to camp he went.

But despite the fact that he was discouraged somedays because he wasn't familiar with the lingo and the play patterns, he kept going back every day for that week, trying harder and learning more.  By the end of the week Ty had decided that yes, indeed, he did want to give it a shot and try out for the team.  I was shocked.  Really?  After seeing how far behind the game he was (literally, not just figuratively) I thought for sure he would want to try for something else, like soccer, that he had been playing since he was 5.

Brian and I both are supportive parents.  Who are we to squish his dreams?  It is our job to give support and encouragement despite the rough road ahead.   The only action to take was to support his decision, buy him the equipment he needed, and sign him up for the training camp that started the week after school let out.  All summer Ty went to agility and weight training camp three days a week.  He put his heart and soul into transforming himself into the best physical condition he could before tryouts.

This week was finally the week.  After a long summer of working hard and training, it was time to see if he could make the cut.  Football two-a-days began on Saturday.  Ty had to report to tryouts at 7AM and stay the whole day for grueling practices until 3 PM.  He had to wear the heavy equipment for the first time.  He had to learn the plays and how to be a good offensive player as well as a defensive player.  It was a huge learning curve for him.  After 4 days, the moment of truth came...cut day.  Would he make the team?

I sat in the parking lot of the school yesterday like an overprotective nervous mother.  I was shaking so bad it felt as if I had an earthquake starting in the pit of my stomach, tremors working outward to my limbs.  I was fidgety and twitchy.  I couldn't stand the fact that after all this hard work, commitment, and focus he would be called into the coach's office and told he had been cut.  It broke my heart to think about it.  I wanted my child to succeed.  I wanted him to learn that those who set a goal and fight for it win.  But you know what?  The reality is that it isn't always true.  Sometimes those who work hard are not rewarded.  Sometimes in life we still fall short despite our greatest efforts.

After an excruciating hour long wait, Ty came out of the high school gym.  He showed no signs of what the verdict was.  It was killing me...his slow walk across the parking lot struck fear in my heart.  His head hanging low, looking at his phone while texting was a sure sign he didn't make it.  "Crap, crap, crap." I thought.  How could a walk across a parking lot take so long...hours it seemed!  I started formulating a speech in my head of what I would say to make him feel good for trying....

And then he lifted his head and looked at me.  Our eyes caught each other's and a slow, casual smile spread across his face..."I made it." he said in the quietest, most calm voice I ever heard him use.

And at that moment those three words were the best words I had ever heard.  He had made it.  My son did it.  He set out to do something wild and crazy and far fetched and he had done it.  He made the high school football team that has gone undefeated for the past two seasons and he had never played one play of organized football in his life.  Holy crap.  He did it.  It took all I had not to embarrass him and scream and cry and jump in his arms like an idiot mother.  The pride welling up in me was so overwhelming, I didn't know what to do with it.  My boy did it.  And I am So.  Dang.  Proud.

Congratulations, Ty.  Not only am I proud of you for making the team, but I am proud of you for taking the chance.  Courage, my dear son, is looking that fear of failure in the face and beating it.  You did it.  You did it.  I love you, Ty!


~Your proud mama

Wordless Wednesday- Cowgirls

The Passage of Time

Taken with Retro Camera on my Ipod
and then compiled into a strip in Photoshop

The passage of time is a tricky thing, don't you think? I was sitting in the chiropractor's office yesterday morning, profusely apologizing for being 5 minutes late, and the subject of time popped into my head.  Time is, in my opinion, one of the most valuable things we have in life.  You can't touch it. You can't buy it.  You can't manipulate it.  You can't speed it up.  You can't slow it down.  It doesn't matter how rich or how poor you are, time treats everyone the same...steady, unbiased.

Time, though, is heavily influenced by perception.  When you were little, don't you remember feeling like time took forever?  I remember feeling like the summer vacations from school were so long.  I also remember feeling like it was ages until Christmas came around again.  Mathematically, the 3 months (give or take a week or two) of summer vacation was such a huge percentage of our lives back then.  Consider a 5 year old.  A five year old has lived for 60 months.  Summer vacation then, was 3/60 or 1/20 of our life.  A three month summer vacation to a 5 year old ends up being 5% of his life!  Not only did it seem like forever, it really was!  

Now consider a parent...I will use my age for reference...38.  From my perception my children's summer vacation from school seems like the blink of an eye.  This is why: A 38 year old has lived for 456 months.  That means summer vacation for ME is 3/456 or 1/152.  Percentage wise this is 0.6% of our life...a much smaller fraction!  No wonder it seems to fly by.  And, of course, that percentage becomes smaller and smaller with each passing day, month, and year.

How about that strange phenomenon where a day seems so L O N G (will this day ever end?) and then there are days that are gone in a flash (holy crap...where did the time go?) Our circumstances, then, can influence our perception of time.  Take, for instance, the first year a person is grieving the loss of a loved one...EVERY DAY seems forever...each day is cruelly long and time seems to stand the heck still.  And then there are the days we never want to end...celebrations with friends and family where there is laughter and good times and whoops...where did the time go?  Time flies when you are having fun, right?

Have you ever considered that we spend the first half of our lives wishing and trying to act older than we really are?  For example, T2 in the pictures to the right...he is wishing so much to be older so he can do big kid things like ride horses, chew gum, ride in the car without a booster, shave like Daddy.  We often wish our lives away hoping to be older and wanting to know what the future holds rather than be content with where we are in life.

The second half of our life we spend wishing we could turn back the clock and be younger again.  Oh, the things we would do if we knew then what we know now.  To not have the responsibility, the day to day grind....to be able to only play, eat, and sleep.  What price would we be willing to pay to stop time...turn it back and fix mistakes?

And then there is the end of time on the earth...death and dying.  Many of us are uncomfortable with it yet it is the one truth that every human being has in common...that one day we will die and our time here on earth will be over.  Would you want to know ahead the exact time of your death so you could prepare?

It is such a strange thing...time.  And stranger still? The fact that all of this popped into my head in 10 seconds flat while sitting in the waiting room at the chiropractor's office.  Sometimes it isn't time that scares me...it is my brain that scares me.

Have an amazing Tuesday, y'all.  Don't waste your time today...it might just be your last.

Cowboys

This weekend, Ladybug wanted to go to the barn where she rides,

Muddy Creek Meadows,

to cheer on her friends and trainers

during their annual Fun Show,

despite the fact she couldn't participate 

because of her broken arm.

She only has a little over a week to wait 

until we see the orthopedic doctor again,

so hopefully she will be back up and riding again soon.

I brought along my camera to catch some of the action...

Waiting for the jumps to be re arranged.

Wow, look at all of the dust!  Right after this we had 2 days of rain, thank goodness.

I have many other pictures from that day to share, 

but thought this was a good start.

The man in blue is Ladybug's instructor, T.

It was fun to watch him ride

because usually he is on the ground watching his 

students and making sure they are safe.  

The other cowboy, leaning on the gate,

is his brother who was visiting from out of town.

The dog's name is Wrangler

and he was so cute as he chased T around...

he didn't want to miss any of the action.

Ladybug was disappointed she couldn't ride

in the Fun Show this year, 

but that will just give her another full year to practice

and get better.

I will post some pictures of the cowgirls soon ;)

Hope you all have a wonderful Monday!

Hugs In the Mailbox

From a Postcrosser in Germany

From Jennifer in Hawaii, USA

From Julie in Missouri, USA

From a Postcrosser in the Netherlands

From a Postcrosser in Poland

From a Postcrosser in South Dakota, USA

From a Postcrosser in California, USA

I received lots of hugs in the mailbox this past week.

I am so thankful for everyone who is sending 

postcards to help our family geography project!

I want to send out some special thank you

to Jennifer from Hawaii who wrote that her sister-in-law

reads my blog and sent her my address!

Well, Jennifer, I don't know which reader is your sister-in-law,

but thanks to her and you for the postcard!

If you are Jennifer's sister-in-law,

please leave a comment so that I can

thank you personally!

Thank you, Jennifer and her sister-in-law

for sending us some love!

Also, thanks to my cousin, Julie,

who sent us some loving in the mailbox all the way

from Missouri!

Thanks so much!

And thank you to Sarah, an artist and Postcrosser from 

South Dakota for sending a one-of-a-kind,

hand-made postcard that she so lovingly created.

You all bring smiles to our faces when we 

see the postcards in our mailbox!

It is actually funny because now,

if the kids aren't with me when I go to the mailbox,

they swarm to me as soon as I come in the house and 

want to be the first to see the new postcards!

You'd think they were getting toys or money in the mail!

Check out how much our map has grown in just a 

few short months!

View Postcards Received in a larger map

Here is our address if anyone would like to contribute to our project:

These Nine Acres

P.O. Box 133

Stewartstown, PA 17363

This address is always in the Contact page,

located on the tab at the top of the blog.

Thanks again for making our day, everyone!

Hugs,

Tracey and crew

And the Winner Is:

To hear who won the Nine Acres give-away, press play to hear virtual Tracey ;)

Your exclusive 30 page photo book is in the creation stages!Let me know if you have a favorite 1-3 images you would like to haveincluded in this book.  
Thanks to all who entered.

Wordless Wednesday- Pigskin

Tis the Season for FOOTBALL!

I am so stinkin' excited about the football season

being upon us!

I bought two Ravens t-shirts to prepare

for the NFL season

(thank goodness that whole hoopla is over with!)

AND

Ty is trying out for his high school team.

Please send healthy, athletic thoughts his way!

I love football so much I even used to play

tackle football with my bother, my boy cousins, and their neighborhood friends.

AND

I can throw a spiral like nobody else's mother,

if I do say so myself.

:)

Ok, so it wasn't so wordless for a Wednesday, 

but I am just so dang excited for football!

Teacher's Pet

Ladybug and Rontu

Things I learned in my first day of class:

I am an overachiever.

Education is like a soap opera...

it is the same thing 15 years later 

with different faces and names, but the same thing nonetheless.

A good teacher knows how to teach

regardless of what they name 

(or rename or rename or rename)

the procedures and styles over the years.

My brain is not as flexible as it used to be.

I don't like sitting in a chair for 8 hours.

I don't like going to summer school ;)

Homework is no fun.

I may or may not be a teacher's pet.

One day down...Four to go.

Don't forget to sign up for my give-away!

New Beginnings

Some sort of buds in my garden post processed as a painting

I've decided to go back to school

to get the credits I need to keep my 

elementary education teaching certificate up to date.

This week I will be cramming in a 3 credit class

on the Classroom Learning System

Approach to School Improvement

so it should be a hectic week, as always!

Between being in class for 8 hours a day and then

doing the assignments each night,

I am sure I will be praying for the weekend.

I miss teaching very much...

there is something about watching the growth;

physically, emotionally, socially, and educationally,

of a child that is so rewarding.

I am not ready to go back full time right now,

as I would like T1 and T2 to be in school themselves

before I take on a full time position.

However, my certificate is up for renewal and I want to stay current

on the latest and greatest teaching techniques.

This fall I am going to work part time subbing at local schools

and getting my groove on back in the classroom.

On a sidenote,

I want to say that I am sorry about not getting back to 

MY GIVE-AWAY

last week, but as you know there

were more important things to attend to.

My friends and community come before my blog!

So, I am going to keep the contest open this week as well

and will choose a winner 

this weekend.  

So if you haven't commented

on that post and would like a shot at winning,

please visit and leave a comment there!

And lastly,

I wanted to thank all of you for still coming to 

this blog,

as inconsistent as it has been lately,

I wouldn't blame you if you deleted me off your feed.

I can't believe there are still people 

willing to check in

with all of the craziness that has occurred this summer.

I haven't been able to visit you all in so long

and this week won't afford me an opportunity to visit either,

but I promise to stop in soon!

I miss you all and can't wait to see what you all have been up to.

Hugs to all of you!

Grab Life By the Horns or Grab the Baretta by the Trigger

Since the death of our friend's daughter this week,

I have learned one thing for sure from it.

Grab life by the horns and experience 

all there is to experience.

You never know when you will take your last breath.

H, as I will call her, lived an extraordinary life in her

short 14 years she was on earth.

She was a girl of action and adventure...

world traveled and accomplished in many things.

So, in her honor, 

while we were at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort for Brian's work

this past weekend, 

we tried to experience all there was to experience in one weekend.

We took shooting lessons to improve our sporting clays game.

Loving this Beretta :)

Despite my extreme fear of heights,
we climbed a rock wall and went zip-lining for the first time.

Fear was not in H's vocabulary, so why should it be in mine?

This zipline is the largest in Pennsylvania and with my weight

can reach to between 40 and 50 mph!

And here is Brian videoing as he was on the zipline...
take a ride with him!
You can see how fast it goes by watching toward the end as
he flies past me waving to him on the ground:

It is going to take a long time for H's parents, family, friends, and community

to heal from the horrible, sudden loss of this incredible young lady.

But, a start for the healing for me is to live life the way she did...

fearless and ready for anything.

She would want us to.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Go out and do something adventurous this weekend

and when you do, think of H and smile.

(And don't forget to hug your loved ones just a little longer 

and a little tighter too.)

In My Mailbox

From a friend of a friend in Arizona...Thank you, Lisa!

From the same person as the card above...Thanks for TWO!

From a Postcrosser in Riga, Latvia

From a Postcrosser in Dresden, Germany

From a Postcrosser in Portland, Maine

From a Postcrosser in Thailand

From an Anonymous person in Texas 

From a Captain in the US Army stationed in Bagram, Afghanistan

In all of the craziness that has defined this past week,

I was so happy to get some hugs in the mail.

Our postcard collecting is going well

and the kids get so excited when we get one.

Our map is looking great!

Eighteen postcards in all...

eleven from Postcrossing and

seven from private friends, family, and strangers.

Thank you to all who have taken the time 

to pick out a card and send it to us.

It means more than you know.

If you are interested in sending the Nine Acres Family

a postcard from your hometown or from your travels,

you can see our address here.

We would appreciate it so much,

even if we already have a postcard from that place!

In addition to postcards,

we also received a very special letter from 

our adopted soldier from Soldier's Angels,

Sgt. F (Name is obviously changed for anonymity).

He is stationed in Iraq

and we have been sending him letters and care packages for two months.

We finally heard back from him and he is well 

and serving our country with such dignity.

We had not heard back from him until now 

because he was out on a mission for two months

and not receiving mail during that time.

We are happy to make him a part of our family

and get to know him even better.

Please keep Sgt. F's and all of the service members, 

who fight for our freedom here and abroad,

safety and well being 

in your prayers.

We can not forget what these amazing people (and their families) do everyday

and sacrifice everyday to maintain our freedoms here in this great country.

Have a great Tuesday.

I will be taking the older kids to town

to shop for dress clothes needed for the viewing and funeral

coming up this week.

They are growing so fast I can't keep them 

in dress clothes.

Hugs to all.