Sunrises, Spring, Blessings and holidays, oh my!!

The sunrise this morning was absolutely gorgeous! The colors in the sky were so vibrant and bright, full of deep reds and oranges and pinks and silvers and oh my!! Simply stunning! You just can't improve on God's artistry no matter how hard we may try. I was talking on the phone to my hubby when he says that I should grab my camera and head on out and snap a few pics of the day's sunrise. So, I go take a peak and exclaim at the beauty. I head into the other room to grab my camera, but wouldn't you know it...the coffee was kicking in and I had to make a little detour first. *sigh* Sometimes timing really is everything. I know, sorry...TMI as my hubby says. By the time I took care of business, put my shoes and coat on, grabbed my camera and made it outside the colors had already changed, but it was still very pretty. Maybe next time...the weatherman is predicting the rest of this week to be sunny and with warmer temperatures too. Yippee!!

From my count on the calendar, the spring equinox is just 30 days away. Oh, I am soooo looking forward to spring and warmer weather and drier pastures and longer days and beautiful flowers blooming and oh, just everything that beautiful weather entails! I'm sure that we will be having plenty more days of wet, rainy weather, hey - this is the Pacific Northwest and you know what they say don't you? "It's so very pretty there, and it's just so very green!!!" Well, you know how that happens don't you? No? Well, let me tell you, we have plenty of annual rainfall, that's how...and we get a lot of it in the spring. However, at least it's warmer rain and it's mixed in with beautiful blue skys and sunshine and blooming flowers and rainbows and warmer days and oh it's just something good to look forward to and I can't wait!!

Ladde's birthday is on the first day of spring too! Yep, March 20th is the Laddmonster's birthday and this year he's going to be a teenager! I can hardly believe it - a whole 13 years old!! Why, it seems like only yesterday that I completely missed the birth and I went out to check on my beautiful little angel mare Kadie and ...there was this big, boney, excessively long-legged, mule-eared, curly-haired (funny looking) colt laying right on top of a pile of very large rocks that we had picked up from the paddock area and placed in the corner of the small pasture area. Yep, of all the places in the whole vicinity, Ladde had decided to lay down in the corner on the top of a pile of rocks. And - he was stuck. Mama had been pawing at the wall of the barn for apparently a long time judging from all the scratch marks on the wood above Ladde; but you see...he was on a pile of rocks and could not get his footing to stand and...well you know, he needed help. So, I squeeze inside and shimmy along the wall between Kadie (she wasn't about to move) and pick up the big, funny looking foal and place him on his feet. Did I mention that he had a huge, bright pink abrasion on his right hip bone? Well, he did and it was big and he still has the scar to this day. Anyway, so the instant I set him on his feet, Kadie gives me a definitive shove with a look that says now get the hell out of here and leave us alone - so I did. And then I started to cry because after all that time waiting and waiting, I have no idea just what I had expected but it sure wasn't this!! He was kinda funny looking, but I was so very thankful that he seemed to be doing fine and Kade sure seemed perfectly fine and all was well...and I was thankful and relieved and completely in awe. So, I went in the house and called my boss and said that I needed to stay home that day and I changed my clothes and headed back out to the barn to watch Ladde. And now, almost 13 years later, I'm still watching that horse and am totally and completely in love and enamored with him. Lord help me...I'm so hooked on the big old galoot. But, still to this day am counting him as one of my most dearly beloved blessings ever received from God above...and so very thankful to have him in my life. *sigh* I have no idea what I had in mind when I started typing this post this morning, but this wasn't it...see what I mean...it's all about Ladde.

I digress...once again. :) I'm blaming it all on hormones - that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

So, I read my church newsletter the other day and inside was this true story and I thought I would pass it on. I enjoyed it very much and it made me smile.

The Atheists' Holiday

In Florida, an atheist created a case against the Easter and Passover holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians, Jews and observances of their holy days. The argument presented: it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized day(s). The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring, "Case dismissed". The lawyer immediately stood, objecting to the ruling, saying, "Your honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah. Yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays". The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant." The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists." The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is 'April Fools Day' and Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, it is the opinion of this court that if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his holiday. Court is adjourned."

Can we get an Amen!?