on having kids...

the things i love about have 3 kids are endless. i could go on and on.
but honestly, i think one of the things i love the most is my chance to be introduced to new things over and over.
see, somehow our kids don't always love the same things we love.
i know...shocking.
i think it's in our nature to lead them towards those things that make our blood pump. that bring us great joy. but our passions are not their passions.
and i love that.
i want to embrace that.
because i am being introduced to a whole new world with each of these kids.
recently it has been lani.
she has been trying to find her niche for a while. she has tried softball, cheerleading, dance and gymnastics. and in true lani fashion, she has tolerated each and every one of them. but she just hasn't loved any of them.
until she found horses.
oh my word.
she has found her passion. she literally dreams about riding horses. i've caught her mid-horse dream. so sweet.
so we started lessons last year. every other week. and she caught on quickly.
we decided to "lease" a horse starting this month. so basically she can go ride bridget anytime she wants. but we are not responsible for anything else.
i love it.
all the perks, no responsibility.
:)
yesterday her horse riding teacher gave us a crash course in getting lani all set up when she wasn't there to help.
and today was our first time alone.
HYsteriCAL.
oh my goodness.
trust me...you all wish you would have been there.
the horse almost got loose.
as in running for for open door and the teenagers there yelling "shut the door! shut the door!" fortunately for us, they shut it in time.
crisis #1 averted.
we needed help like 46 times in the 2 hours we were there.
i hate feeling stupid.
i do.
i wanted to walk out and say "nevermind. we have no idea what we are doing. we don't want to lease her."
but lani was so happy. even through my stupidity and ignorance, she was glowing.
so we will press on.
and we will make sure she knows that her riding is just as important to us as brigg's baseball tournaments. that we value her passions as much as our own.
and maybe...just maybe...we will eventually be able to go to the barn and decipher between a bridle and a saddle and a lead rope and bit.
it's a steep learning curve people. very very steep.
but we love her and it's worth it.
as you can see...brigg was ecstatic.
really, it was a fun sunday afternoon at the barn. i'm sure we have many more to look forward to in the near future.
oh...and she's joining the clover kids. 4H. i have no idea what to expect. but we are embracing it.