Nicaragua: Post #2

Leaving Jinotega was emotionally difficult! The visit was so quick and so full of love! And there were tears all around.

... Continued from Post #1 http://amishhighway35.blogspot.com/2010/11/nicaragua-post-1.html

Finding the "express bus" in Jinotega, we were quickly ushered by our bus guide to our seats. Now in Nicaragua, an "Express Bus" means that you purchase seats and it goes directly from Point A to Point B. And I incorrectly assumed that if everyone purchases seats there would be no one crowding in the aisles. Hmmm ... I should never assume! I can tell you exactly what it said on the gentleman's belt buckle that was less than 2 inches from my face for at least 2 hours, as he hung on tightly to the ceiling rail while we bounced along back to Managua.

Upon arrival in Managua Alli waved down a taxi and we shared the back seat with a nice young woman and her baby. That little baby, about 5 months old, took one look at Alli with her beautiful blond hair and began to scream in fright. The Momma was not at all daunted and quickly exposed half of her torso and the little guy "latched on"! These taxis are about the size of one of those zippy little electric cars that you see in the US, so as we traveled to our next transfer location Alli & I felt like we were a significant part of that little baby's dinner!

Our wonderful taxi driver finally found us our "shuttle van" that would take us to Jinotepe. The van is slightly larger than a mini van and has 3 partial bench seats facing forward and then a 6 inch wide board nailed behind the front seat facing toward the back. That is where I quickly perched my behind, staring at a young man who was facing forward. Alli was beside him, sending me calming smiles. I thought the van was packed when we climbed aboard but there was much more excitement to be had. The driver continued to stop and pick up passengers! At 21 I thought for sure he wouldn't squeeze anyone else aboard, but of course he didn't stop at 21. I stopped counting at 29, because I was sure there were poor souls buried deep in the body debris that I couldn't even see! I was sitting kind of at an awkward angle with my right cheek pressed against the window, with the rain blowing in the driver's open window giving the back of my head a good wash. With my weird angled body, the person beside me was continuously bumping body parts on me that historically haven't been touched in a vehicle! My knees were confusingly intertwined with the young man's across from me. I was concerned that one big bump, and that nice young man with the baritone voice would be forever speaking in falsetto. All of that description to say that there was no way to tell where one person's body parts started and another's ended. But we arrived safe & sound back in our first town and it felt good to "be home".


Alli made reservations at this really cool motel/outreach ministry type place. It's called "House of Matthew", and it is the place where her SST group held their group meetings. This picture is taken on our balcony looking down the street. Alli's family's home is about 3 blocks from here.

Alli and her little sister, Anna. This is taken in their couryard in front of their home.

Enjoying Alli's favorite dish, tajadas. It was delicious! Fried plantains with steak or chicken laying on top, then a pile of slaw-type mix on top of that. For me this was a great change from rice & beans. I liked the rice & beans, but after 3 meals a day for several days of of rice & beans, my body felt like I had opened my mouth at the end of a cement truck chute.

I took this photo of the water heater in our hotel shower. The white dome on top heats the water as it goes through to the shower head. Never fear folks, the electric wires are fastened to each other and the wall with black tape. And most importantly we had warm showers!

Another picture of the courtyard outside the home. This was a wonderful place to just sit and wait ... for whatever was to happen next ... in 15 minutes or 3 hours ... we never knew.

We helped the family tie ribbons onto the wedding favors.

Woo Hoo! Buying cotton candy at the market.

Street shot at the front of our hotel.

Large parrots that called the courtyard of the hotel "Home".

The beautiful bride & groom, Rosaly & Joel.

My wonderful & patient daughter who perfectly took care of me, in a really cool role-reversal type of way.

Alli & her Mom (Mother of the Bride).

This picture brings tears to my eyes, because it just bursts with the love that these two have for each other!

Before leaving for the airport we took one last picture of Alli with her Mom & Dad. To give you a brief snapshot of the relationship that Alli has with these wonderful people, I will tell you a quick little story of our trip to the airport ...

Of course the chatter on the way was all in Spanish, and I was pretty clueless to the conversation. However, at one point I caught on that Mom was talking on & on & on, and no one was responding to what she was saying. Finally, she said "Amen" and Dad & Alli also said "Amen". Alli told me that Mom had asked to pray for us, and that is exactly what she was doing! At our goodbyes at the airport, I shamelessly wiped at the tears that streamed down my face. These people opened their hearts and their homes to us, and now a part of my heart has remained in Nicaragua along with a larger piece of Alli's heart!

te amo, Nicaragua!

Nicaragua - Post #1

Recently Alli & I spent an amazing 5 days traveling in Nicaragua. This was Alli's second return visit since she had lived there for 3 months in 2008. I was excited to be her tag-along and see for myself everything that had captured her heart when she lived there. She had stayed with two different families in two different villages. In 2008 these two families accepted and loved her as one of their own. The purpose of our visit was to attend the wedding of one of her "sisters". (when Alli speaks of these families, she refers to them by Mom, Dad, brothers, sisters, so I will use the same)

There are so many memories and stories to share ...

After arriving at the Managua Airport we were met by Alli's Dad and sister (bride-to-be). We threw our luggage into the back of the pick up truck and headed out of the bustling city. I was speechless as I watched out the window at all the activity going on around me. Or maybe I was speechless because the conversation was in Spanish and I am only bi-lingual in Pennsylvania Dutch!





On the way to their village we stopped at this wonderful roadside restaurant for a late lunch. This was when I first realized that I would be totally dependent on my daughter for any survival-type conversation ... like eating, lodging, transportation, and Diet Coke!


The second day we had planned on traveling by shuttle van -- bus -- taxi to spend a night and day visiting the second family. The first family made arrangements for a friend of the family to drive us to the Managua bus station in order to avoid numerous transfers that would need to be made. I knew then that this family was concerned for our well-being.



On the way to Managua we passed many pineapple fields and roadside stands selling fresh-picked pineapple. (my favorite fruit of all time!) The family friend stopped at this cool fruit stand and asked the owner if he would cut up one of the pineapples that we had stopped and purchased a few miles back. The owner gladly cut up a plate full of this delicious fresh fruit, and then went on to prepare these coconuts for us to drink the milk right out of the coconut.

The village lies in a valley surrounded on all sides by mountains.



Alli with her sisters and little brother.

As a gift we took them a puzzle. When we dumped out the pieces they were astonished that all those pieces would make the picture on the front of the box. We worked long & hard on that puzzle and finished it in about an hour. The little guy by the table was a neighbor boy that was intrigued by all the noise going on in the house, so he was invited in to help.

Jose' entertained us for at least an hour playing piano and singing ... wow, could he sing!!! He also danced and danced and danced. Two things that he loves to do! Jose' has Down's Syndrome and attends the school that Alli worked at when she lived here. Jose' is the most wonderful guy ever, and I fell in love with him & his sense of humor.

I then entertained them with Cum-bay-ah. I couldn't understand their accolades but I think they were impressed, or maybe they were saying they wish I would just go to bed.

Here is Dad sitting inside the little gate/door taking orders from people that stop by the Pulperia (store) that they have in their home. They have EVERYTHING! Even firewood! I asked what their hours are (or rather, I had Alli ask) and he said 7 in the morning until 9 at night. This is pretty much what keeps the family busy and entertained all day long.

Leaving the home to walk around downtown. This is the street that leads to their place.

The park downtown.

Ready for bed ... hearing the pigeons softly coo. They have nested on the metal roof above the bed. At sunrise, about 5:30, they start leaving and returning to their nest. The sound of pigeons on takeoff & landing sounds very much like rats skittering across a tin roof. Alli looked at me sleepily out of her eyes and assured me it was the pigeons. She slept here for 6 weeks and I wasn't about to argue with her. I figured she knew what she was talking about.

The whole family, except the big brother wasn't around for the picture, so we replaced him with the curious little neighbor boy.

Alli with her Mom. Loved the beans, rice, and warm tortillas that were made in this kitchen!

And then we were off to find a taxi to take us to the bus station for our return trip to Managua and then the first village again. But that's a story that will need to be on Post #2. Sneak Preview ... riding in a mini-van with 27 people! Stay tuned...

Confession Time

I've done a few stupid things in the past few years. Like the time I thought my oven was on fire? Look here.

Or the time I cut my finger on a silly mandarin orange can lid? Look here.

Several weeks ago I added another one to my list.

On a cold & rainy morning I pulled into the Essenhaus for our weekly "Bontrager Women" gabfest. Sitting in the parking lot, I finished up a phone call and then quickly sprinted inside for some warm coffee and excellent conversation.



A short time later, ummm ... 1 1/2 hours later (don't judge, we have a lot to cover when we get together) I paid my bill and headed out into the cold & dreary Northern Indiana weather and crawled into my vehicle. Upon sitting in my very warm car, I thought ... "ahhh, this feels good"! Then it dawned on me that my vehicle really probably shouldn't be warm! I glanced at my dashboard and realized that my car was running! Sure thing, for 1 1/2 hours my "stallion" was ready & waiting for me and the long ride home!



So what happens when your vehicle is left running in a parking lot for an unattended and extended period of time?

1. You only use a quarter tank of gas.

2. Someone told me I had to plant an acre of trees to make up for my carbon footprint.

3. You laugh at your stupidity with a good friend.

4. I may or may not have to replace the dead tree at the edge of the parking lot that was soaking up the fumes. Our lawyers are still working it out. (this is a joke) But supposedly if you go to the Tree Tour this weekend that the Essenhaus is having, you might just spot the poor emmission-ravaged tree!

Oh Summer, How I Have Loved Thee

As my faithful followers may have noticed, my blog took a "summer vacation" of it's own. So here is our entire summer packed into one Post!

First job of the summer is to take off the pool cover. The youngest is still excited about this task and even invited a friend to help scrub it off with degreaser. The oldest three are SO BEYOND this! After the scrubbing then it's a sprint to the pool to be the first one to jump into the 65 degree water. After your breath returns to your lungs, your skin turns pink again.

Our annual Sunday School Campout was a blast, as usual. This year I took a bunch of Minute To Win It games for a "trial run". I'd like to do something similar for recreation at the Youth Convention next summer, but might call it Win It In A Menno-Minute. In the next picture one of the big kids is trying to get the lamp shade, that's tied to a fishing pole, onto his head. Each year when I look at pictures from campout, I can't believe how fast our kids are growing up! Remember when they were all just little tots and we spent our whole weekend just chasing them around? Now we are just lucky to have them join us around the campfire that we sit at alllll day long!

Ahhhh .... Colorado Vacation! At the end of June we snuck in a quick 5 day trip to Colorado with Abbi & Kevin. Things are different now with Alli & Mitch "all grown up" with real jobs. Our complete family vacations are likely rare in the future.

When I was working on this post I realized that I hadn't posted about this awesome trip! I plan to do that yet, because we have so many pictures and memories.

Obviously, here we are freezing on top of Pikes Peak. Reminds me of a really old picture of my family, when I was about 5, standing in front of a real similar sign.

Abbi filled 4 weeks of her summer with various volleyball camps! She loves the sport, and I confess I love that she loves the sport! Especially in the fall when it's 50 degrees and raining out at the soccer field and I'm sitting in a warm gym.

HOWEVER ... I am trying to convince her to find other interests too ... like feeding her animals that she loved just a few short months ago and playing some basketball.

Abbi is now taller then I am by a few inches and I am officially the shortest in the family! But I'm also the most powerful, if you know what I mean!

OK folks, now this next picture ranks right up there with my most favorite event of the summer ...

I had the privilege of joining a gathering of my old (not really "old", just from the past) elementary friends. I went to a very small private school through eighth grade and spent all of those years as one of seven girls in our class. One lives in Ohio and didn't join us. When I went to a different high school, these girls still hung out together and made memories. They still get together occasionally and they were kind enough to invite me to their gathering this summer.

These fine ladies are all grown up now, but we still know how to laugh and have a good time!
What a blast to reminisce and just to be together! Thanks friends, for inviting me!

Of course we raised a barn full of chickens and rabbits again! Abbi raised Bantams for the first time, and later this summer one of those pretty little chickens actually sat on her eggs and hatched these cute little chicks! Sad to say, not one of them survived. One died after a few days, two died at the mouth of the dog, and the other two just disappeared.

And then there was the Fair! Abbi showed 5 different chickens and one rabbit. She got honor ribbons with most of her chickens. Her rabbit was over-weight so just got a blue ribbon. We didn't even know they weighed rabbits. Now the rabbit is on a strict diet & excercise program with The Biggest Loser. Perhaps you've heard of it?

Kevin entered this real cool picture of the Air Force Monument/Museum (?) in Photography, and got an Honor ribbon.

August 2nd! The best day in any year! It's the day I married my Best Friend! This year we celebrated 24 years of wedded bliss and headed to New Buffalo, Michigan to this very cool motel for two nights.





A photo taken through my tears, out the window of a plane. That pretty much sums up a very sad trip that Dave & I took to Alaska to spend time with a good friend who's wife & stepdaughter were killed in a plane crash in August. We shared hugs, tears, and quiet conversation. We attended two heartbreaking Memorial Services of two people that we had never personally met, but who obviously were exceptional human beings. Our feet were in this beautiful state for exactly 31 hours, and we came home emotionally and physically exhausted. But it's a trip I would do again in a heartbeat, it was just sooo important that we be there for this dear man at such a sad and tragic time.

We had taken our kids to Alaska in 2002 for a week of traveling in a Class C Motorhome. Our friend spent a portion of that week with us, showing us the most beautiful scenery that you will ever hope to see. Our hope is that we can return again with our kids to lend more time & comfort, and also to see God's handiwork.

And now that our summer is over, I'm on to more projects ...

1. Ripping out a bunch of ground cover that is about to choke our home!
2. Lots of work to do for the Youth Convention next summer!

3. Following my kids around to tennis, soccer, & volleyball games!

4. Cleaning the pantry, and maybe cooking?

Happy Birthday To Me!

I had a birthday earlier this week ... so you might be wondering why I would want to celebrate with the "world" at my age? Well, let me tell you why ...

1. I have had so many life experiences that have made me who I am, so what good would it do to not embrace everything ... good & bad?

2. My patient and loving husband has been with me for 24 of those 46 years. I am in awe at the steadfastness of his love! I will be the first to admit that I have not always been the easiest person to live with, but of course there's always excuses ... I'm pregnant, I have PMS, I just spent the last overnight hours being up with a sick kid ... you get the idea, always excuses! I'm just looking forward to my soon to be revealed excuse .... hot flashes and mood swings! Woo Hoo! But the best of all is that he has promised to be with me in good times & bad, until death us do part! I love this man!

3. I have four wonderful kids that fill my life to the fullest! At this age I am able to enjoy meaningful conversation with all four most of the time. Of course there are still moments of "Huh?" (especially with the verbally-handicapped 16 year old. Too much texting, I say.)

On my birthday I spent a blissful 2 hours with my almost 23 year old, just sitting at the kitchen counter, just "being", and enjoying some conversation about our upcoming trip to Nicaragua for a wedding. Then a few hours later my second son stopped in to give me a birthday hug. There are no words to describe how it feels to have a child that I've spent years raising, who is now 20 and bigger than me, envelope me in his arms for a big old bear hug! It somehow feels so safe and is a major role-reversal. My 12 year old is becoming more independent at the speed of light, but there is also beauty in that. We can leave for an evening and not worry too much. And my 16 year old is following his dreams ... driving in a few months and flying small planes with an instructor.

4. Over the years I have managed to have repair surgery on torn tendons & ligaments on my left shoulder, right elbow & wrist, right knee, and plantar facitis (the old person foot pain). So at least 1/2 my body is like new and ready to take on even the most difficult tasks! I figure I've paid my dues when it comes to repair surgery, so I've got nothing to worry about in the future. What is there not too like about that?

I am enjoying life to the fullest, even at the age of 46! There is something wonderful about being comfortable with who I am and where I am. Are there things that I wish I could redo? Absolutely! But I choose not to dwell on those and just move on with a vow not to make the same mistakes twice. I've learned much, laughed a lot, and loved always! I plan to continue ...

Happy Birthday To Me!

Normal?

Yes, I think life is finally normal, as of today. It's been a strange summer and I at times wasn't sure of the who, what, when, and where! We had one college kid move back home, then travel all over the U.S. for a total of 6 weddings. Another college kid moved home, then moved out again, and he is now happily living independently and working at a job that he loves! A middle-schooler raised animals for the fair, lost a few, got a few ribbons, then sold some animals at auction for big bucks. Our high schooler began flying lessons. Now that was strange! He can't drive a vehicle yet, but has no problems taking to the skies! Dave & I made a 2 day trip to Alaska to attend two memorial services on the same day. A dear friend of ours lost his wife & stepdaughter in a plane accident. That alone, turned my world upside down for several weeks, and I spent much time just sorting out my emotions.

So TODAY I think things are normal! Mitch 1/2 buried the John Deere tractor in mud as he was "working the land" in preparation for deer season. Abbi is Miss Grumpy after having a few friends over for the night. Kevin played soccer late into the night and then was up bright & early for more soccer. Alli played a tennis match today and is once again having problems with her cell phone. Yup, that's pretty normal. Dave worked at work and then came home and worked on his ailing truck ... again. But the most normal of all would be me! I helped coach at a JV volleyball tournament today. Oh the normalcy of yelling and coaching and sitting on the edge of my seat!

Sorry about the lapse of Blog Posts, it has just been a real strange summer.

And so it begins ...

This post is all about my sweet son Kevin, who will be turning 16 on July 7th! (tomorrow)

Today he took flight ... literally! Kevin has been dreaming of this day since before he could talk. We've held him off from flying lessons for as long as we could, and then realized that this is likely where he is really headed. He dreams of flying the BIG stuff like 777's, DC10's, and 747's all over the world, and I don't doubt for a minute that he will accomplish it.

When he was just a tiny little guy he spent hours "flying" planes all over the house. I always knew where he was from the propeller sounds he was making with his mouth, as he jumped off high places holding his toy airplane and landing his planes on creative runways. His favorite was the wrist bumper and mouse pad, arranged to resemble a runway with a tarmac at the end. His favorite matchbox airplane he called his "Virgil Plane", and if it was ever lost, we had to spend hours looking for it. This particular plane was named after a friend of ours who is a pilot and would occasionally land on our grass airstrip and eat dinner with us. Virgil now lives in Alaska and is a bush pilot.

In the last several years he has spent countless hours flying planes on his flight simulator. He can tell you about many airports and different types of planes. If you ever watch him playing in a soccer game at his high school, which is conveniently close to the local airport, you will notice him look skyward when he hears a plane in the sky.

Kevin was such a cute and loveable little guy, with a charming smile and sweet hugs. Here he is as a ring bearer with the flower girl at his cousin's wedding, before we had to bribe him to take pictures.

As a young boy his blond hair always drew a lot of looks, and I happen to think that his white blond hair still is quite good-looking. I definitely like it better when it's cut a bit shorter than what he likes it, but I choose my battles with this witty guy. He is quick with one-liners, and wise words of wisdom, and often has us laughing! He is pretty opinionated about Texas, Michigan, and women drivers. But I can forgive him for that. Colorado is his dream home ... mountains! That's all he wants! He doesn't ask for much, does he?

And so, my son ... Dream Big! Fill up that Pilot's log book and tell me the stories of your travels. I can't wait to see where you'll go! The sky's the limit (literally)!

Kevin with his pilot's log book and first entry.

Doing Battle With Mandarin Oranges

There was a major battle in my kitchen this past week. It was between myself and a seemingly innocent can of mandarin oranges, the kind with the pull tab lid. Sorry to say, the mandarin oranges won. But the good news is that it gave this Lady of the House the opportunity to experience lovin' care from one of her children and the undivided attention of the medical personnel at our local urgent care facility. I don't take these side-benefits lightly due to the fact that I have been on the caregiving end of emergencies in this family for far too long!

I was busy in my kitchen Wednesday afternoon getting ready for some company. I had everything ready except for the yummy spinach salad with strawberries and those tasty little oranges. Now I don't know about all of you, but I have always had a love/hate relationship with can lids that have pull tabs. I love them because I don't have to bother with a can opener, but I hate them because of the muscle needed to yank that lid off. Well, that little lid didn't realize exactly how much muscle this woman had, and when I gave it a huge pull with my right hand, my left hand got in the way of the sharp-edged lid that came blasting off the can with the speed of a launched rocket. Specifically it was the middle finger on my left hand ... more about that later!

A gush of blood and I immediately put a death grip on my poor middle finger. I yelled for my 15 year old couch potato son to come to my aid. He slooowly came wondering up the stairs (and that was in his high gear), checked out the view and I yelled for him to get a rag, which to his credit he did (a bit more quickly) while gazing at me slack-jawed. I thought of my oldest Princess working on her beauty sleep in my bedroom, and asked Speedy Gonzalez to go wake her. Drum roll here ... tah dah ... Super Daughter to the rescue! By this point I was laying on the kitchen floor allowing the passing out feeling to pass - the cold sweats, ringing in the ears, eyes seeing double - and it wasn't from the sight of blood, cuz I've seen plenty of that in my 22 years of parenting! I had so much incredible pain, from the cut and from the continued death grip on my poor finger.

I asked Alli, in my best slurred voice, to call Aunt Julie, our very own family nurse who knows everything about burns, cuts, broken limbs, plus some! No answer ... call our pastor, who happens to be married to our family nurse, and might know of his wife's whereabouts, and if he didn't he could possibly come over and "pray me into Heaven", due to the fact that I had lost at least a pint of blood by this point! Anyway, as Alli frantically was making calls trying to get help, I also was instructing her on doing final preparations on the yummy dinner I was making ... "the potatoes need shredded cheese, oh and call Kim or Sarah and find out the amounts of sour cream and mayo".

Julie finally appeared and told me to get stitches even before checking the damage! Heck, I could've totally cut off my finger and she wouldn't even had known to be checking the garbage disposal! Then the dilemma of when to go and where? Should I go before company or after company? Should I head north of town for urgent care or into the big city for the ER? The statement was made that if I go to the ER I'd be there for hours, at which I reminded everyone that we have "frequent flyer miles" at that place, and surely I'd be moved to the head of the pack! After all, it WAS my middle finger!

Totally unaware of the drama going on in the house whilst they were basking in the sun and splashing without a care in the world, our swimming friends came in to say "thanks". Poor female friend/cousin saw me in one of my better moments and ooohed & aaahed appropriately. Thank goodness they are also cousins, because as I left to drive myself (yes, I'm stupid) to the urgent care, my male friend/cousin calls the place and tells them that his cousin cut her finger real bad and she's on her way. Seems he's got the place on speed dial, how cool is that?

I arrive and the receptionist lady looks at my upright, in your face, wrapped like the statue of liberty, middle finger, and sweetly says, "oh, you're the laceration"! You bet your booty woman, and you'd better get the blood transfusion ready, STAT! One tourniquet on my middle finger to check the damage, at which point I asked if I had hit any vital organs. A few incredibly painful numbing injections. Another tourniquet in order for the nurse practioner to better see her handiwork with a needle & thread. And I walked out of that place with 4 stitches, a wrapped middle finger that looked like a light bulb, and a prescription for antibiotics, all in a matter of 55 minutes! Pretty impressive!

I get back home to food ready, table set, and the entire family scurrying around. But the best part of all was the sympathetic looks from those who love me!

So I have the stitches for 7 days, which I am sure will not allow me to do much of anything around the house ... dishes, laundry, cleaning, you know, anything with water. Then I think I've convinced everyone that after the stitches come out, I will need another 7 days of recovery!

Mouse-capades

Seems there's been a little mousy-ness going on here at our farm-ette on Amish Highway 35. It involves these two special kids ...

Mitch & Abbi have always been two peas in a pod, in spite of the 8 year age gap. Mitch is now a *ahem* mature 20 year old and Abbi is marching along in his dust as a 12 year old in pretty nail polish and cowboy boots! They share a love for anything outdoors, have both enjoyed the menagerie of animals around here (both dead & alive), and both enjoy a good prank.

Mitch was always my helper and Abbi' protector when she was small. I never feared sending her outside with him, to discover the world!

Now fast forward to several weeks ago ... the 20 year old man and the 12 year old girl ... when each of their individual lives were about to collide for another long summer. For the last year and a half they have shared space in one of our buildings. He with truck pieces & parts, grease, boom box, and a red-neck flag hanging on the wall. (pictured below is the gem of a truck that has been a work-in-process for about 4 years, sad looking, isn't it?)


She with her horse stall for Kaia and a collection of pink bridles & harnesses, saddles, fly spray, oats, and hay.

Several weeks before Mitch moved home from college Abbi found a cute little dead mouse in the bottom of Kaia's hay bin. One day I was sitting outside watching her ride, and she told me how she found the mouse and threw it into Mitch's space. Then she asked "when is he coming home?" And every now and then we would check on the location of the mouse, and sure enough, it hadn't moved, and she would again ask ... "when?" She could hardly contain her excitement! The day came when Mitch arrived, and it didn't take him long to find his little gift, like about 5 minutes! When he came in from his shop, I asked him if he found Abbi's surprise. "Yes", he confirmed, "and I taped it by it's tail, from her horse stall handle." hmmmm ... sneaky! Yup, it didn't take her long to find it, scream, and demand that Mitch take it off. Since then Abbi & I have had conversation about the cute little moles that our dog kills and places on my front steps!

But for now, all is fair in love and war ... or however that saying goes. Mitch still works on Big Red in his shared space and Abbi lovingly cares for her horse in her part of the space.