Horses Helping Children

Since 2009, I've volunteered with RDA, 'Riding Develops Ability' (formerly Riding for the Disabled Association). We have groups of school kids come in, and ride horses. 

It's been the favouritest place of mine that I've ever worked at. 

It's just amazing to see what placing a child with spastic (tight) muscles on a horse can do. 

Or those who are believed to have weak core strength. 

One girl is usually uses a walking frame and wears something to hold her body up while riding a bike. Her occupational therapist saw her sitting up straight on the horse, and walking just by holding someone's hand. She now knows what the girl is capable of, and is gonna work with her to concentrate on building up her core strength so that she can walk by herself and ride a bike with not as much aid.

They make us laugh alot, the kids. 

A boy who has Down Syndrome had flowers tucked into the back of his saddle one day, and I asked him what they were for. 

"Oh, I goddem for my girlfwiend!!"

So when he hopped off the horse, I told a lady who had a camera about his flowers, and she went to take a photo of him. He posed, holding the flowers out to the camera, and instead of saying "Cheese!" he said "GIRLFWIEND!!!!!!!"

So cute.

We get the children to work on their balance, their core strength, their coordination, 

their lefts and right, and stretching their muscles. 

But they don't know!

They are having fun carrying flags on sticks as they ride, throwing and catching a ball from horseback, steering an imaginary bus with a hula hoop, stretching their arms out being aeroplanes, ducking down to avoid being hit by the tree's leaves, clipping pegs into the horse's mane, reaching down and picking up puppets to ride with them, ringing bells that make a joyful noise, singing songs and doing the actions to them, and lots more. 

The movement of the horse really helps the children with tight muscles to relax. It's so rewarding to see the kids improving, throughout the year. Some get good enough to go off-lead, and they can steer the horse all by themselves. It's lots of fun; it's worth getting up really early and coming home with aching legs (You're walking for an hour each session, and there's 3 in a day. And I stay all day.)

{me with Tilly}

I will continue to go there as long as I live where I live.

(even thought I've lived here for 12 years and want to move)

I love the kids, I love the horses, and I love being outside 

and being helpful and feeling needed.

What To Do With Clay

Round balls of clay on vaselined skewer.

Let dry in sun. And wash hands.

When dried, paint.

You now have beads.

These are about to be flowerfied. With end of paintbrush.

Ta da!

Pretty colours in water.

Not just beads you can make!

-brooches

-pendants

(just a brooch with hole)

-buttons

Wash hands once again.

And decorate brooches!

Success.

My Humour...

STRANGE SENSE OF HUMOUR NEEDED TO APPRECIATE THIS POST.

My humour.
Some might call it black or sick.
I'm not that bad; I still laugh at normal things!!
One of the things that make me laugh so much is at rodeos,
when someone is mustering all of his strength to stay on the back of a bucking bull,
and his little head is being whipped back and forth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

But cartoon bunnies trying to die is pretty funny.
Yesterday I found this book called 'The Bunny Suicides' by Andy Riley.
It is what it says- a book of illustrations in which bunnies try to end their own life.
Oh they cracked me up. Something as innocent looking as bunnies, just makes it all funnier.
The ideas are so creative!

Look at his little foot on the 'close' button!!

Oh dear...

'Magnets R Us- opening Monday'   

I find this one hilarious!!!!!!! Poor little thing, sitting there, waiting...

A magnifying glass; oh this would be so painful and slow!!

Hahahahaaaa I love this!!!!! I love how he's looking at the 'camera'.

*sniggers*... Stupid rabbit!

Please let me know if I'm not the only one who finds these funny!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another thing that makes me giggle, is anti-jokes. Some people think they're stupid, but I love them. 

Here's some of my favourite:

Knock knock

Who's there?

The doorbell repair man!

Knock knock

Come in!

What is red and smells like blue paint?

Red paint

How do you make a plumber cry?

Kill his family

A white guy, a black guy, and an asian guy are all sitting on a park bench.
They share several minutes of uncomfortable silence due to cultural differences.

A horse walks into a bar
Barman says "Why the long face?"
The horse replies "My mum died this morning".

Whats the difference between a horse and firewood?
Firewood is meant to be burned in a stove or firepit while a horse is an animal.

What do you call an arab flying a 747?
A pilot.

 A woman walks into the kitchen to make a sandwich because she is hungry and she likes sandwiches.

Sometimes when I flap my arms, my arms move.

Sometimes when I close my eyes, I can't see.

What did Tarzan say when he saw the elephants coming over the hill?
"Here come the elephants over the hill."

Why did the boy drop his ice cream?
Because he was hit by a bus.

Heheheheeeee...

She Flew High

I made a little clay bird...

... and made her fly.

Then I painted her blue.

She currently resides in her resting place...

Kodak and Brownie... My Little Treasures

Oooooooohhhmygoodness!!!!!! 

I was in our shed today, randomly looking through a box of old stuff that we have from my Dad's family. I found these two leather cases...

They looked deliciously suspicious so I eagerly opened them up to reveal...

THESE cute faces!!

I was soooooo thrilled!!!!! Because I have always wanted an old camera...

I don't know anything about them- does someone else?? Please let me know any info if you do!

{Modern camera bag and not-so-modern ones  :p}

Oh joy, I hope they work.

xo

A Letter From God

Good morning my child. I am God Almighty.

Today I will be handling all of your problems. Please remember that I do not need your help.

I am able to do anything and everything.

Nothing is too hard for me.

If the devil happens to send a situation or a problem to you that you cannot handle, do not try to resolve it.

Kindly leave it to me! I saw what happened.

You do not need to fear and you don't need to work it out. 

It will be addressed and taken care of in MY time, not yours.

Once the matter is placed in my hands, do not hold onto it or attempt to remove it. Holding on or removal will delay the answer of your problem. If it is a situation that you think you are capable of handling, please talk to Me  in prayer to make sure that it is the proper way to do so. 

Because I do not sleep, nor do I get tired.

There is no need for you to lose any sleep, so rest my child. 

If you need to contact me,

 I am only a prayer away.

I will be with you always, so do not fear.

Love always,

Your Father, Almighty God

She...

SHE

she stretches out happy and content. 
lazing in the sun with the ones she loves.

she's happy surrounded in a bubble of peacefulness

creating a perfect picture.

she arrives in a swirl of rainbow. life of the party.

she returns to find her life's been turned around.

she fills her room with the sound of music. trying to block out yelling voices.

she dreams a fairytale life. a slamming door interupts and her dream shatters.

............

she yawns and stretches. warm feet on cold floor.

ear to the door. listening for their voices.

she musters every ounce of confidence she has and pushes open the door

their world is still with bitterness hanging in the air.

pretending nothing has happened. little do they know she has been listening

she floats around in the form of a moonlit shadow.

like a ghost she wisps in and out of her so-called life

............

thoughts cluster up her mind and 

she breathes deeply knowing it wasn't her fault.

she frowns. this is not what life is meant to be

she stares out the window. watching sparrows flying around in freedom

her eyes overflow with tears that are invisible
............

she prays a prayer for her life to get back the way it used to be.

an angel comes along and heals the wounds

the people around her return to their lives of harmony

gradually the pieces are placed together. it all starts to make sense.

the jigsaw of her life is complete.

she starts to smile and realises it's all over

life begins again much better than it ever was before

A-Z

...of moi...

A. age :: nineteen

B. bed size :: single

C. chore you hate :: making my bed from scratch

D. dogs :: Pepsi  <3

E. essential start to your day :: apple

F. favorite color :: deep down inside, it's royal blue

G. gold or silver :: gold

H. height :: five.feet.seven

I. instruments you play :: violin and... guitar, kinda  :p

J. job title :: sister, daughter, peacemaker, make-life-awesome-er,

lover

K. kids :: Haha- my siblings Eve and Janae, and my almost-kids:

Becky, Chrissy and Jose.

L. live :: in my purple and green room in my family's house

M. maiden name :: not yet!!

N. nicknames :: Han, Hannah Bananna (only selected people 

allowed to call me that!)

O. overnight hospital stays :: Nope, not yet.

P. pet peeve :: girls who think the frog face is hot.

Q. quote :: "I am who I am, and that's who I'll be."

R. righty or lefty :: right

S. siblings :: Jeremy- 16, Eve- 11, and Janae- 3

T. time you wake up :: 8:00-8:30 (if no alarms are required :p)

U. university attended :: Victoria University (that sounds

impressive. I actually only did a TAFE course. But it was at Vic uni!)

V. vegetables you dislike: Chick peas, kidney beans, white beans, butter beans, COOKED green beans.

W. what makes you run late :: filling my tummy  :p

X. x-rays you’ve had :: In my mouth and of my legs.

Y. yummy food :: FRUIT

Z. zoo animal favorite :: pandas and monkeys  :)

Times When You Wish For A Letter From God, Telling You Where To Go

This awesome post.

It was so cool to read.

Lily, from Snatched From The Wind, talked about how sometimes we bloggers avoid our 'more-on-the-negative-side' emotions. It's true for most of us. She said that she wanted to start being more real.

And right now, I want to do the same. I'm not whinging, but writing down what's been swirling around in my mind the last few days. 

~my future; the next few years~

I am 19 and have just finished my Certificate 4 in Disability, so I am free. 

I also have a Certificate 3 in Education Support (teacher's aide), so I am definitely qualified to get a job at any school, or anywhere in the disability field. My choices are endless. 

I have some particularly narrowed down ideas, and something to say about each one. This is just me sorting out what I think. I so wish God would write me a letter and tell me what it is that HE wants, because that, is the most important factor. 

A friend gave me some advice; he said kinda to do the one that I want to do, and if it doesn't work, God will have something better in store. He said the right opportunity tends to arise itself.

Yeah, but I don't want to make any wrong choices! I want to go straight to the right one!! And who doesn't? This is what life is about, learning to trust God, and have patience. 

Patience.

It one of those things that if you ask God for more of, He sends tough things your way. 

It's the best way to get more patient!

Anyway, here are some of the possibilities that I am considering...

~moving in with a lady and her three children and fostering a baby with them~

This is my 'favourite' choice at the moment. 

This lady, she's one of my best friends, and I have looked after her children for three years now. They treat me more like a sibling, which is very annoying at times! But I love them to bits. 

My friend has been trying for a long time to persuade me to move in with them, so I can just be a permanent babysitter. I'm still not quite ready to leave my family yet, and Mum's not quite ready for me to go. She is amazing, and has many wild ideas. Over the last three years, she's made plans to go and live in an Aboriginal community somewhere in the middle of Australia, and to move to Papua New Guinea for a while, because there's plenty of work for her in both those places. None of them worked out (she was SO close to getting the job in PNG though!), but she wanted me to come to both of those places. For different reasons I was a bit hesitant about both of the plans. 

But her latest plan?

Me move in (her dream come true), her foster a baby or a small child (she has fostered many baby orphans in Africa), and me look after it while she's at work and the kids are at school. It's the plan I've felt most happy about. The kids will be at school, so I don't have to homeschool them or put up with their bickering all the time, and a baby? Perfect! I'm so ready for another baby; my one is now three years old. (Ah- she's my SISTER, but almost like a daughter). I've had experience, obviously, and where they live now is much closer to my family than PNG. 

I think I'm up for it.

~fostering a child myself~

Now this one I don't think I'm ready for yet, but maybe in a few years time. Apparently the government or whoever, is making a plan for foster carers to receive more money, because they are so desperate for place for children to stay. I'm not very sure of the details, but someone mentioned that they might 'give' you a house to live in, if you're fostering children. I could foster a child with a disability. It sounds like an awesome job to me!!

~working at the school I currently volunteer at~

They want to employ me. I should be really thrilled, but I really do not want to work at a school. Maybe one day I should post my list about why I hate working at schools, haha. Though I don't want to have a job there, I don't mind volunteering, because I can choose my days and hours. And which classroom I can go in. Hah, I feel so selfish; but I will take the job if I don't get any other one. That is my plan, to secretly get a job before the school talks to me again about working for them. Hehe.

~working at a day centre for adults with a disability~

Now this is the place where I want them to employ me before the school does. It's in my hometown, which the school is not, and I know that they need casual workers. I shall put my resume together soon, and quickly apply for a job there, and they should employ me!! Except I still don't know if I've officially passed my Cert 4 in Disability. So I don't think I can put it on my resume just yet...

Oh I don't know!!

~work with a young girl who I kind-of know~

A friend knows this four year old girl who has Autism, and I've looked after her a few times. She'll be starting school in a year or two, and if she goes to a mainstream school, she might need an aide. Like me. 

Even though I don't like working at schools.

And, my friends, I think that is all for now. 

Sit back and enjoy seeing where the One above takes me.

{Sorry about the annoying orange stuff, I can't work out how to get it off}

{and all these pics are from weheartit}

xo