Pinch me....I'm dreaming!

When I woke up this morning the first thought in my head was, "There's a horse in our pasture".....or did I dream all that last night.

Nope. When I walked up to the horse paddock, there she was. Our beautiful mare was really there right before my eyes. wow.

John had gotten up there really early and let the llamas and goats out of the barn, refilled all the water buckets and then spent close to an hour just hanging out with our new horse. He had definetly made an impression with all the horse cookies he gave her, too! haha

I gave John a hard time about bribing Baby Doll for her attention, but I was happy to see the both of them together.

And Baby Doll was still happy to see me and she walked right up to me (Shhhh! And I gave her a carrot. Looks like I'm riding the same boat as John. hehehe).

John really surprised me by confiding in me how he had always loved horses and wanted one one day. I had no idea. He always seemed like he was supportive of my own dreams of wanting a horse and helping me to make it happen. I know he's not nuts about the llamas or the goats, though he is greatly amused by them, but he does take good care of them. So, I was surprised, but also happy that he is pleased and excited about having Baby Doll here with us.

Now here's where I get emotional. So grab a tissue. I am.

I spent some time today looking back over the past 3 years and the path that got us to where we are now. I almost lost 3 of my family members, my husband and both of my twin sons, in a horrific auto accident. They were hit from behind by another van and then forced into the on-coming path of an 18 wheeler.

My son, Jeremiah was thrown over 30 feet out of the window, breaking it with his head on the way out. My son, Jackson was pinned under the van after it flipped over. My husband smashed his head against the windshield and tore his tendon off the elbow upon impact.

You can read more about the accident, as it was in the news:

When Tragedy Strikes
Liberty Lacrosse Accident

The first year we spent healing, physically and emotionally. Jackson suffered 5 broken ribs, a broken arm and multiple contusions. Jeremiah had to endure over 75 stitches to his ripped and torn face as well as multiple contusions.
My husband suffered through arm surgery to repair his elbow, and brain surgery to install a shunt for the fluid that built up after impact.

But, they survived. That in itself is such a miracle.

Our next struggles were dealing with insurance companies that refused to take responsibility and tried to get away without paying our Dr bills....which were astronomic. We finally were advised to hire a lawyer because we were fast sinking. All of our savings were gone and we were living off credit cards. Life was getting scary.

We had to sell our house in South Carolina and move back to New Mexico into a smaller house. And things got alot worse before they got better. We literally lived hand to mouth. At times all of our food came from WIC and local food pantries. Our church helped us, too. God bless them all. Our church even paid our mortgage and utilities for several months so we wouldn't end up homeless.
We were at the bottom of the barrel. At the bottom of the deepest sea. Despair doesn't even come close in describing what we felt.

Our extremely compassionate attorneys were also very helpful and saved us a number of times financially. They even sent our kids Christmas gifts one year. That same year, some generous angels reminded me that the spirit of Santa still lives by sneaking up to our house at night, dropping off a huge box full of Christmas gifts, then ringing the doorbell and then running away before we could thank them.
I cried tears of sadness and tears of joy that night.

Being rock-bottom poor is a very humbling experience. I suggest that everyone experience that to some extent. I felt angry and sad that we had to rely on others for help, but also immensely grateful, too.

The entire experience has helped me realize how precious life is and how we just can't procrastinate in reaching for our dreams. And the experience has also taught my entire family not to take anything for granted and to appreciate all of the blessings, big and small.

So, hop forward a couple years from that fateful day where my family's lives changed so drastically.
I discovered blogging from a friend and decided it would be a terrific medium where I could journal my experiences and feelings along the way. I had no idea that anyone would ever read my blog. I was just doing it to document my journey, no matter which direction it went.

So, some have asked me, "Why 'Laughing Orca Ranch'?" The idea for the name came very simply actually. You can read about it in my very first post on Sept. 12, 2006 for this blog:

Why Laughing Orca Ranch?

After you read that first post, you will come to understand why today was such an epiphany for me and why it caused me to feel so emotional.

You see, today is my daughter's 5th birthday.

Bringing home our new horse, which just so happens to be the heart and soul of our ranch, because of my daughter, was never planned as a birthday present. In fact no thought was put into the date we decided to bring her home. It just fell into place that way.

In addition, I never sought out an "Orca horse" for my daughter or I. I will even admit that I was hoping for a a beautiful buckskin to call my own. But my most important criteria for our first horse was for it to be very well-trained and have a good mind and body. I honestly didn't care if it was the ugliest horse on the planet.

So, when Lorie stumbled upon my Craig's List ad looking for a bombproof family horse, she contacted me. She told me later that she rarely if ever reads Craig's List, so it must have been fate that day.

I was skeptical when she wrote me, especially when she told me that this mare was a Tobiano. What are the odds? And I had been burned once by a horse dealer, but thankfully got out of that 'disaster-waiting-to-happen. And there were a number of people who replied to my ad offering their horses for cheap...'they only need a little work', 'they might be a bit barn sour'. There were so many warning signs. I felt like a deer in the headlights.

But I almost instantly clicked on the phone with Lorie and decided to meet her and the horse in person.
And the rest is history, that you can read in my blog.

I truly believe that God chooses our paths and we just have to trust in Him. In the end we are shown what His plans for us are. Sometimes, not until we are in heaven, but oftentimes, if we just pay attention, we find out while we are on this planet.

I am completely in awe.

Pinch me.....I'm dreaming.



Baby Doll in her paddock. You can see our house behind her in the trees.
Baby Doll still seemed a little bit unsure of her surroundings and the llamas in the pasture on the other side.
But she readily came to us when called and enjoyed being stroked and petted.
John spent alot of time with her, but if he turned around to pet our neighbor's horse, Nadia, Baby Doll came straight over, as if to say, "Um, I think you're confused. I'M you're horse, not that other mare. You are supposed to only pet me, thank you."
Jenna was very excited to come outside and visit with our new horse. She wasn't all that fazed by the experience, but she made me catch my breath when she said, "I knew one day our orca horse would find us"......
One of the things I like about Baby Doll's markings is that little flash of white under her chin and jaw. I just really love it.
Our new horse is so very gentle and sweet. Just like our Jenna, too. Wanna kow something else interesting about Jenna and Baby Doll? Jenna turned 5 today....and Baby Doll turns 15 in April.
Another thing I love about this horse is that gorgeous half-moon of blue in her left eye.
(Click on picture for larger view) There's our new horse in her paddock. (Pinch me!)
I love this picture of Jenna, on her birthday. Happy, care-free, dancing without a care in the world. Life is good.

Happy Birthday, my darling baby girl.