Consequences from Our Choices

I got a call last week that has left me sad for a friend and his family. "John" and I met when he was still in prison. I wrote him through a prison ministry and we became quick friends. Seven years later, he was finally released on parole after being the "model" prisoner and causing no issues at all. He made many friends and was a good influence on all he met while in prison. He was finally granted parole and got to spend the last 5 months with his sons that are now 14 and 17. It was a dream come true for him to be able to catch up with his sons after a long seven years. He made promises, and the three began dreaming of the future they would have together.

Over the last 5 months, priorities for "John" included spending time with his family and finding a mate/companion to make up for his 7 years of loneliness. He dated several women, including a very young woman named "Julie". Things were going good, or so he thought, until he discovered she had another boyfriend at the same time. He made a choice to confront the other man. A few days later, he was called by a detective and found out he was getting slapped with charges of sexual assault. Today, it broke the news, stating that the girl said it was sexual assault with a knife.

This allegation is literally ruining the life of not only him, but his parents and his sons. Although it doesn't matter what I believe, I know he is innocent. Sad thing is he will have to pay for the consequences of getting together with a vindictive woman as he, in the minimum, serves his final year in prison from his original charges.

Why do I share all this? "John" is a friend, a brother in Christ, a son, a father, and a man. He is just like anyone else on this Earth just living one day at a time. He made a choice to date a woman that, in turn, will change the future he had so hoped for. His heart was in the right place - he longed for love - but his innocence and ignorance in how to handle a situation has cost him his freedom. I ask you to pray for this young man's future and the future of his precious family that has already been through so much. And use this story as a reminder that ALL of our actions, whether or not innocent, will have consequences that we have to life with that will inevitably change our future.

Who will they become?

Last night, I sat watching my 22 month old son and my 5 month old daughter. Each day, they change so much and I see more of their personality emerging. I began to wonder what they will be like when they are teenagers, adults, parents, etc. Who will they become? I grew up believing that a person can be ANYTHING they choose to be, and I will instill that in my children as well. I look at them now and wonder if one will be a future president, a teacher, a famous sports star, a homemaker, etc.

Are we born with our future planned? I don't believe so. I do believe we have talents that we are born with, but we have to discover them before we can make the most of them. How will I encourage my children to find out what are the talents they were born with? Getting them involved in a variety of activities is my goal. When Treyton was born, he had the linebacker build that most football coaches drool over, so I assumed he might play football. Instead, he has LOVED dribbling a ball since about 14 months. I had no idea it was not typical until a visit to his doctor. He can dribble almost ANY ball you give him, most often 5 to 15 times, without even looking. So, it seems that already his talents are beginning to show. Although he might play football someday, I have no doubt that he has the potential to become quite a star in basketball, as well.

Molly is very young still, but has a happy, bright personality that lights up a room. She wakes up happy, smiles all the time and loves to be around people. I have no doubt that her future will include working with people in some capacity. I just pray she will remain the optimist and happy person that she is today.

The other thought that goes through my mind as I look at my precious babies is about the prisoners in the world. As my mind drifts to a serial killer, I wonder how he or she was as an infant. Were they happy? Were all their needs met? What happened to cause them to stray from a life in the outside world? My heart aches for the innocent infant they were in the past.

I just pray that my babies will know I believe in them always and hope they will change the world they have been born into.

Baby Blizzard!!

He is here! Our FIRST baby llama. :) On Saturday, a gentleman came to buy one of our male llamas. While we were out in the field attempting to load the llama, our oldest female llama dropped to the ground. A few minutes later, the baby was born. He is precious. He stands about 2 feet tall and is all white with a black tale and a small smidgen of brown on his back. We dried him off and put him and his mama in a horse shed to keep them protected from the cold temperatures. Appropriately, we named him Blizzard. Up to this point, his mama has been nameless. Her name now is Snowball (Treyton can actually say her name clearly). :)
We plan on keeping the two of them in the shed for a week or two, so if you are in the area and want to come see her, let us know. :)

Laughter is the best medicine

This weekend was the beginning of a blossoming relationship. Molly turned 5 months old yesterday. Off and on since her birth, Treyton has been a little jealous of her. He didn't know what to think of her and for the most part got annoyed by her taking away attention from him. It has been quite a juggle with the two only being almost 17 months apart.
This weekend, though, things changed. Sitting in my lap, Molly was looking around our bedroom until she locked eyes with her big brother, Treyton. Molly let out a squeal and then giggled at what Treyton was doing. This continued all weekend. Anytime Treyton would look her way and do something (smile, be goofy, throw something, etc), she would grin as big as she could and giggle non-stop at him. After he realized she was laughing at HIM, Treyton grinned and giggled back at her. The two were so cute and it melted my heart to see the two having fun together. I hope this is now the beginning of a relationship that will always be close.