Memorial Day 2017 | RYAN FLEW IN NASCAR!

Happy Memorial day, America!

Firstly, I am SUPER excited and VERY PROUD to say that my older brother, Ryan, flew a helicopter in the NASCAR Charlotte 600! AHH! It was EPIC!

He is the pilot of the third helicopter. 😀 Isn’t that amazing?! These guys rocked it out of the tracks, they did amazing!

If you can’t see the video here , here’s a photo.

I am very proud of my big bro. He’s epic. It was so cool! Wish we could have been there. Way to go, bub. ♥♥

May God bless our soldiers, our veterans, and every single person who protects, defends, and loves our country. America is what it looks like to love and defend to the bitter end; and it goes to show that good things only last when you fight for them.

Thank you to the ones, big and small, old and young, who have passed on or are still here kicking: thank you for serving. Words cannot express much, how much sacrifice, pain, and grief that goes on when you fight for a nation. The same goes for the ones left behind.

Freedom by Angela R. Watts

God is with us all. Today, and all the days past. May the souls of those who loved and fought till the end, may they rest with Jesus. And for the ones still here, may God bless you all. He does not leave us- even when the war gets bloody. That is when we must face God completely, with our all.

God is with us. As a nation, it can be hard to see ‘what are we fighting for?’; but there is good left. There is Light left in this country, and it’s people. We can’t give up. If the men and women behind us never did- we must keep going. We are the next generation. We have to fight. We have to love. We have to shine our lights. Like the ones before us did. Thanks to them, we still have something to fight for. Thanks to God.

God bless America. May we stand united. Amen.

-Angela

Gone Fishing! And a BIG Surprise!

A few weeks ago, my family and I went to a near by pond to fish! The pond was at a place that used to be a camp site/horse trails, and Tory and Roger used to work there. It isn’t a camp anymore, but a friend let us use the pond for a day on the weekend!

We packed up, and set off! The drive there was beautiful; curvy, winding roads in the middle of nowhere, hills, pine trees and brown trees just starting to bud with green. When we reached the cabins, we started unbuckling and looking around. We got down to the actually grounds, and there rested the pond! There was this little ‘hill’, so the pond rested where you could actually barely see it from the parking spot at the foot of it. Anyway.

We were all in bright moods! We got our fishing poles together, and looked over our bait. Well, Kody and I had gone down to our creek, hunting for crawdads. We were going to use them to fish with. However, they didn’t get much- one fish bit at my first crawdad, but after that, nothing. So, we used worms from then on out! The corn and fake fish thingies didn’t do much, either.

I didn’t get pictures of Kody and I’s ‘expedition’ to get crawdads. Kody caught 15 of the suckers. And he caught a newt for me. I named the lil’ guy Newton. We let Newton go, though.

Granny (Ma) and Laney Little! Laney ate strawberries and bananas, ha.

A daddy and his girl. 😉

Tory!

Kody the fisherman!

ROGER CAUGHT A LARGE MOUTH BASS!!

Dad baiting my hook

This fishing trip was amazing! REY CAUGHT HER FIRST FISH!!

Rey and Papaw reeling in the fish!!

YAY! She was SOO HAPPY!

♥

 

She was soo happy, it was great. ♥ And, it was Kody and I’s first catch, too! I caught 5 fish in total. And, I unhooked and carried my last fish all by myself! Awesome. He was small enough for me to grab- but he did prick me big time. It was fun! Roger caught the biggest one- the large mouth bass! Dad, Kody, and I caught some bass, too. It was mostly perch and brim. 🙂

 

My Dad is the strongest, smartest, funniest guy ever. His love is incredible. We all love him to bits.

We all laughed, talked, and just enjoyed the silence. It was so quiet there. A pair of geese came and hung out on the other side of the pond. Ma came up and sat on the grass with me. That’s where I caught my first fish, and at that point, we found that the side of the pond closest to the trees was getting shade. The fish really bit after that!

GOD IS GOOD! This is the first really good picture of a bald eagle I’ve ever taken! 🙂 I was so happy. It wasn’t really windy that day, so the eagle flew super high, and didn’t wobble about. And we heard him call!

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

 

It looks like a tracker on this guy… hm!

The day was wonderful. We all had a great time. It was beautiful. We finally packed up and made home with our catch. 🙂

 

The fish big enough to eat! YUM!

Tory filleted/scaled/etc all of the fish! =D

Papaw and Laney, Roger and Rey. The girls were tuckered out.

You can also watch this little video I got of Laney when we were watching sissy scale. It is pretty bad quality but I tried to capture her silliness. 😉 Basically, if you ask Laney a question, her answer is “YES”. =D

 

And, also this month…. Gotta say, folks, March has been a pretty nice month…

MY FAMILY SURPRISED ME WITH A TRUCK!!!! A TRUCK!! AN AMAZING ’69 FORD!!! I am seriously SOOO blown away and ecstatic! I cannot thank my awesome family enough… THANK YOU GUYS!! =D ♥♥ It is exactly what I wanted! We started working on it today, too! Thank you Lord for my family.

 

Surprise!

=D

I AM SO EXCITED TO WORK ON IT WITH MY DAD!

I cannot thank my whole family enough!

♥

It is in really great condition. The guy had it in his garage for 11 years, so it’s very clean. We are going to clean it and replace some parts to make it run! We want to get it super nice and dependable, so for when we move. 🙂

I am so excited to work on it with my Dad and family! I’ve wanted to get a truck that we can do together- and IT HAPPENED! We already started working on it, and we’re getting some parts soon. Praise the Lord!

Of course, I’m loving taking photos with it! =D I’m also going to make it the cover for my book Seek. SO! I’m studying for my driver’s permit, and I’m not too stressed anymore. 😉 Praying and studying!

Like I said, March has been pretty nice. 😉 It’s also been rough, too. Mama has Chronic Lyme Disease- and she’s been having more frequent ‘episodes’ of extreme pain. It’s difficult. However, the month of May is Lyme Disease Awareness, and Charissa at Slice Of Lyme is doing a challenge! You don’t have to have Lyme disease to particapate. Please help me spread the word! Watch the video of the Lyme Disease Challenge HERE! KILL LYME PIE CHALLENGE

Basically, whether you’re ill or not, you can do the pie challenge and spread the word. Thank you all so much! So, that’s what we’ve been up to. We’re taking videos and I am trying to learn how to edit them together on Youtube. Wish me luck. Please. ;D It’s tricky.

It’s really fun taking the videos of everyone. 🙂 I’m going to work on compiling them for our Youtube channel, too. 🙂 I have been taking videos of everyday life for us, and how it goes sometimes with Ma and Lyme…. when we went to Lowe’s this week, the first time went bad. Ma had an episode, and we had to go home. I got videos of that day, but don’t like rewatching them much. Anyway- we went to Lowe’s again yesterday, and it went better! Praise God. Ma did well. So, we did get the tools Dad needed, and we all just enjoyed ourselves.

I can’t share the videos I got, though. 😉 Not yet. But here are pictures.

 

Kody at Lowe’s

Rey at BAM

The Wise Chinchilla. (Seriously. Look at this thing)

Well, I guess that’s all, folks! 🙂 We’re all doing fine. Busy videoing and everything.

God bless!

-Angela

Have you ever fished before (did you catch anything)? Do you have a loved one with Lyme Disease? Will YOU take the challenge? AND WHO ELSE IS EXCITED ABOUT MY FORD?! =D

Spring Suns And Snowy Days

Hello dear readers! Today, I shall be sharing ‘some’ (alright, ‘a lot’) of my recent photography. I hope you enjoy the photos!

♥

A rainbow blur!

The sunset when I was ‘dissecting’ dinner…

The sky is so, so beautiful. Always changing. And yet- always there. Steadfast. Every season changes, every color shades different- but it is always above.

Spring is here! It also snowed here, last Saturday…. so, yes. Spring time and snow.

Honey bee

Flowers

Blossom

Shofar

 

 

 

Snow/sleet. It actually snowed pretty good, but I didn’t get any pics.

Moon

Moon (Super Moon, in Feb.)

Cosmo.

 

And here are a few ‘people’ pictures, too. 😉

Rey, beating Kody with a weed! lol

DAD WHEN HE THOUGHT THE BEE WAS AFTER HIM AND HIS PINK SHIRT

Dad and Ma ♥

Big eyes

Kody let his chickens out (the first picture above), so he was shepherding them… sadly, we left for a day, and when we came back, we found one chicken had been taken. We figure that the neighbor’s dog came and snatched it… 😦 RIP chicken.

ALSO: be sure to check out my post about the USEWF CHAMPIONSHIPS! I won first place in the kata, and I am still pretty baffled, haha. Well, I’d better be going. I have writing to do! I hope you liked the pictures. God bless!

-Angela

Which of these photos did you like best? Did it snow where you are (in SPRING)?

Singing In The Rain

I am writing this at nighttime. It is dark outside. The moon is hidden by a thick blanket of overcast clouds, black and dark shades of blue. Only a few stars blur past the thickness.

Last weekend’s  weather was insanely warm- it got to 74 degrees today. Amazing!  It feels like spring. The daffodils are springing up from the leaves, their perfect little petals tangling free and bursting (that is, until a certain stallion decides to try and eat them… and then steps on them…. ah, Ziibi…). The weather is pretty weird for February, but we’ll take it! 😉 Of course, today, it was rainy and windy again… but I love that, too!

I didn’t get many pictures of this weekend. I’ll start trying to. But it’s hard, since I’m the photographer, and when I do stuff on the ranch…. not many pictures come out in the end. But no worries! 😉

Before I begin, I have an announcement. To clear things up. 🙂 We have renamed the Curly herd. We felt that Yahweh wanted us to change the names of that herd. So! The handsome stud, Ceremony, is now Rain. Ulu is now Luna (which is so sweet. Because my girl’s name is Hashi’ Taloowa… and Hashi’ means ‘moon’ in the Chickasaw language.) And Matoska is now Lily. We’re very happy with their names- and they like them, too. They really fit. ♥

I thought I’d get that out of the way, as not to confuse y’all. And their page is also updated with their names.

Roger worked with Lily some! Lily is a brilliant girl, and she has come such a long way since she first came home to us… Now, we can rub all over her (she especially loves itches, of course). Lily is very interested in youngsters. So, the recent work in the round pen has been a very big leap for her. She is doing well, she is a smart girl and learns fast, but she also isn’t one to easily trust others, and it takes time for her to respect everyone.

 

We rehomed Skip and Rocky this month. Rocky went to a wonderful home, where he’ll be spoiled and given the work and love he so, so deserves. We were really praying about him, and God answered. And Skip went home to our neighbors! So he’s fine.

Papaw, Granny, and Rey. 🙂

Me and my crazy girl, Taloowa! I need to change her halter… the color is awful, haha. 

We moved Sugar Baby into the baby field. We did this because Taloowa is not going to be in Ziibi’s herd. She won’t be in his family, because it will be difficult for Ziibi, who is a smaller pony, to breed with Taloowa. After a lot of praying (because I really wasn’t sure what to do… I love Taloowa, and want her to be with who she belongs….), God showed us that Taloowa belongs with the Curly herd. However, Taloowa is not old enough or big enough just yet to be with the Curlies. And Taloowa cannot stay with Ziibi for much longer. So! Until Taloowa is ready to go into the Curlies, we will put her and Sugar Baby into their own field.

We have also been taking Ziibi out to feed him separately. Poor boy… he hasn’t been doing well. He isn’t eating near enough. We’re not sure what’s up with him…. He must be having a growth spurt or something… Please pray with us that he does well. Ziibi is such a sweet boy, I hope we can help make him feel better and get the minerals he needs.

And yes… if you noticed that piece of flint in the trough, don’t worry, I got it out…. I have NO idea how it got in there, it’s my flint thingie…. weird. o-0

 I do have plans for this spring/summer. Like I said before, I will be getting more time in the saddle with Lucy. I prefer to ride Cosmo, because I just kind of trust him a bit better. Sure, he’s nearly backed us off a cliff. But there’s been times when he could have bolted and left me in the dirt- but he didn’t. But, Lucy can neck rein correctly and knows the good ol’ basics. So I shall be getting more learning time with her. 🙂 And I will be learning how to lunge and such (round pen work) with Sugar Baby! And then, I can take what I learn and do it with Taloowa. And, God willing, God will let me work with Lily some, too.

Migi

My goals with Taloowa are things I have full confidence she, God, and I can do. ;D Taloowa is turning 2 years old this March (at least, I think her birthday is March….). However, the primitive horses do not mature as quickly as, say, Quarter horses and such. I do not plan on riding Taloowa this year. She is not old enough, or big/strong enough. Also, I don’t want to rush into riding with her, until I know she has the basics down pat. 🙂 So! We will be working on ground work, desensitizing, and round pen work. Taloowa is already used to me grooming her all over, and she leads like a beauty. With leading, I do want to have it where she’ll lead right beside me, however. Taloowa also lets me pick up all four legs, so I am also going to work on cleaning her hooves myself. She does not like picking her feet up for getting trimmed- the noise does not scare her. But the gloves the farrier (aka, Roger, haha!) wear, she isn’t used to. So I’ll be working with her on that kind of stuff!

  Taloowa is a brilliant girl. Maybe too smart for her own good. ;D I know there is still so much we have to teach each other- things I will teach her, and things she will show me. God gave me this horse for a big reason- bigger than I could imagine. I am excited to work with her this year, and Lord willing, many years to come! 🙂

 

Well. That was only a slight ramble. But who doesn’t like rambles? I love rambles.    Anyway, that’s some updates on the ranch! 🙂 We’ve all been doing well. The horses are getting along, but I have no doubt they’re excited for warm weather, too. 😉

Also, this post is titled ‘Singing In The Rain’, because though a rainy, cold day may come, but the sun will always shine again. Life may be hard and foggy, but the Light will always shine through. That is what my family and I have been learning this month. We have to remember to sing in the rain!

YHVH bless.

-Angela

Romans 12:12 – Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer….

 Did you enjoy the pictures? Do you have a horse? What are your plans for the spring? Do you ramble?

Snow Day, 2017!

IT SNOWED!!! SNOW!!! AHH. I woke up at 7:30 to take Waylon out, and the world was blanketed with white snow. Ma took some quick pictures, and I went back to bed… I woke up again at 9AM, then got Kody up. We got all bundled up and went outside! We got 2-3 inches today. It is so amazing. I have been wanting snow and here it is!

For more pictures, you can visit Step By Step Sanctuary’s Facebook page!

Taloowa and Migi.

Migi, our Cherokee pony, joins the fun.

Ziibi, and his silly self, decided it would be be fun to bite Taloowa’s tail and lead/chase her with it… LOL!

Taloowa and I. 🙂

The babies were enjoying themselves! They were romping around with each other for fun, and to keep warm. 🙂

Ulu.

Ceremony and his girls. ♥

Mr. Handsome

Matoska

I don’t think they were impressed by our ‘sled’…

The curlies were beautiful in the snow! =D Ulu is so big being pregnant. We are so excited to meet her baby! Yahweh bless us. ♥

Then we all bundled up and went to the top of the property and some neighbor’s land, taking pictures to send to them! Here’s a bunch of pictures of us all! 😀

EATING SNOW! =D

Laney liked the snow!

=D

 

Tory got Kody!

Laney Little cannot see! ;D

No snowmen this year, too powdery… but the piles we made, Waylon and Hank made sure to trample! Here’s Hank going mad.

Ma and Roger saw two does… but Dad didn’t see them.

Rey eating snow!

My beautiful Mama

My AMAZING parents.

Laney fell asleep…

We all had an AMAZING day!! It was so fun.

Ma and Dad. ♥♥

Kody and his girls

We got back and hung out (Dad went hunting), and then we all ate dinner together. Roger made snow cream, which was delicious! 🙂

Step By Step Sanctuary had an amazing, fun, sweet day. We are blessed to have such a beautiful snow! Yahweh is amazing… Looking at the different snowflakes and how each of their designs are different… It reminds me of Yahweh’s LOVE. His power, His Beauty, and how amazing Creator is! Yahweh created people, and we are each different and unique. And Yeshua loves us…. Yahweh is a Sovereign Creator, and today, I was shown how beautiful His Love is. ♥♥

At the end of a wonderful, cold day, we all come inside to a warm house. Yahweh is good. ♥  YHVH bless!

-Angela