So if you don't care a bit about horses then don't read this, this is for my horse friends who care to know what's going on. This is what I found today...
Stone BruiseIf your horse does not have adequate sole thickness, he will be prone to bruising. Flat footed horses are also more prone to bruising. Hoof testers can be used to localize the area of soreness and very gentle paring with a hoof knife should uncover the extent of the bruised area. If the bruising is in a 1/2 moon shape across the entire toe, it indicates a more serious internal problem with the hoof. The best treatment for bruising is protection in the form of a boot or pad. Otherwise you will need to keep your horse stalled on soft bedding until the soreness is completely gone. The homeopathic remedy Arnica is very helpful in simple bruising. This remedy helps the body reabsorb the blood or serum from a bruised area. This speeds healing and reduces pain. If a bruise is particularly painful, you can soak the foot in a saturated solution of epsom salts to decrease the soreness. If your horse won't hold his foot in a bucket, you can put 2-3 TBS of dry epsom salts in a few ounces of water and wrap this onto his foot. Sometimes horses can get very deep bruises, especially if they lose a shoe on rough ground. These deep bruises also occur after extended periods of wet weather followed by hot, dry weather. During the wet weather, the horse's feet soften then get badly bruised as the ground gets hard and uneven. Sometimes these bruises don't show up with a hoof tester because they are very deep. Suspect a deep bruise if your horse is lame on one foot and has an increased digital pulse but no obvious heat or swelling. Regular soaking and 2-3 weeks off will generally resolve a deep bruise.

Kelly and Daniel had just gotten engaged this very night! Daniel is from germany and they will get married in less than a year.  

This was my intarmural soccer team at Iowa. It was a great break from studying!  

This is my grandma Pauline. She's got a great sense of humor and I believe she's where I got my love for horses. When she went to college she used to ride also.  

My dad training for a triathalon...he could totally kick my butt in any type of workout! 

These are my cousins and their children, Emma was getting baptized. 

My very dear friend Kelly trying on bridal dresses. This of course was not the one she ended up with, I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise for Daniel.  

Brutus, my old dog. He's recently passes away.  

Heather and Doug after an evening of boating. (My sister and her boyfriend) 

Matt and Jessi at the Gold Rose formal. 

This was at the gold rose formal. Alex is pretty good with swing dancing so we've picked up some moves over the years. This one in particular is where he flipped me over. it looks cool and it's not really that hard. 

Gold rose formal 

Alex and I at the Goldrose formal this past school year.  

My parents and I in front of the engineering building in Iowa City. My dad had just finished his Ph.D a year earlier here.  

This was sometime during my first year at Iowa.... 

This is about the only meal I can prepare....but hey it wasn't bad. :) (in Arizona at my grandma's condo) 

Alex and I in Sedona Arizona. 

Sedona- we got here a little late and couldn't stay the night so this was pretty much the only good picture we got. Although there was a great shopping area, it was just closed by the time we got there.  

This was in Flagstaff Arizona. The first time I've ever been on a real mountain! It was a ton of fun.  

Alex and I...i 

Grand Canyon ...over spring break. 

Getting ready to go skiing.... 

Check that cactus out! 

My Grandma Dodo and I in Arizona. She was kind enough to let Alex and I stay with her over spring break.  

For a few days this summer Em came and stayed with me. I LOVED being able to hang out with that sweet girl again! We had a ton of fun hanging out, she even dyed my hair! This picture was at my cousin's graduation party.  

This is my sweet cousin Heidi, she's like a sister to me.  

My Uncle David got married, and so this at his reception. From the left side is Heidi my cousin, Heather my sister, Doug Heather's boyfriend, Nels my cousin, and myself.  

On our way home from a wedding a group of people went to Mt. Rushmore, and so this is Alex and I there.  

Jessi and Matt....good friends for sure! (Also in Wyoming) 

At Jamo's wedding in Wyoming..... 

Jessi and I in Wyoming! A guy from Beta Sigma Psi got married and we all took a road trip out!  

Alex in Ames right before the school year got out... 

So tonight was a little dissapointing. My horse (Juliet) was lame. (that is a horse term for not being sound, or in other words her foot was still sore). I'm not really sure what it is that's wrong with her, hopefully it's still just a bruise. I must say I feel helpless. My only action right now is to pray that God would fully heal her. I don't have a clue as to why this is happening now, but I have to find my trust in the Creator of the universe. I don't understand, and yet I know that I don't always have to understand. This whole summer had been outside of my comfort zone. I feel the Lord directing me to trust in Him at every new bend in the road. There was the step of finally deciding to sell Juliet, which was huge in itself. The Lord gave me a peace like I'd never had about selling her, and I found myself praising him for the years well spent with her. Then I had to make some decisions on how I was going to sell her, which took me to a few old trainers in the past before deciding to try a route I would have never guessed I'd take- working with patty to sell her. After moving her to another barn 40 min away from my home. Every step wasn't comfortable, every step was in faith.
In one way this summer helped me to learn to make a decision and then live with it. If I was to debate every step, I might let fear of change stop any progress change might have brought. Not a lesson that is well learned in other ways besides for experience.
Well I'm dead tired...sorry to stop mid thought but I've got to get some sleep. Please pray for Juliet's healing on her left front foot.
-Beth
PS
This is a verse that spoke truth into my life tonight:
"Naked I came from my mother's womb,
And naked I shall return there.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord."
Job 1:22

So I must say that I thought this was pretty sweet. Not only does it look super cool, and I wish I had one of these things but I actually know the person who made it. Yep, you might have guessed it, Alex. He's been working on this piece by piece this summer and it's finally finished. I'm very proud of his hard work and thrilled at this whimsical piece.

Also, today I went out to the stable to find that Juliet's foot is HEALED! She was a totally sound horse, praise God! We put some new shoes on her that have pads. So tomorrow morning I'll be able to ride once again. :)

-Beth

Here's a few picture from the stable today. Juliet's foot is still hurting her so the top picture I'm soaking her foot with some salt. Then the bottom picture I thought she looked real cute so I added that one on here.
-Beth

Prayer of St. Francis
Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
where there is hatred, let us sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is discord, union;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy;
Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we recieve;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

We have history....

So today was another day of trying to help my horse out a bit. Today she had a chiropracter adjust her back. It did do wonders, but that's not the point of this story. While he was adjusting her, we got to talking a bit. He asked me all about Juliet, and I told him a few stories of the past. One being eight years ago when she literally flipped over, cracked her head open, and almost died. When my trainer at the time found Juliet she had her eyes rolled back in her head with blood coming out her nose, all the while laying in quickly forming pool of blood. By the time I was taken out of school and rushed to the barn, Juliet was conscious again, but not yet walking. She was thrashing around on the ground trying to get up, and having many failed attempts. All my sixth grade mind knew at the time was that my love was out in that ring and I had to help. When she finally did get some balance back I walked her all night long. I still remember the smell of the DMSO medicine that the vet used to help stop inflamation. I still remember the feeling of not knowing if she'd get better, not knowing if she had internal bleeding that could lead to a quick death. It took months to rehabilitate her, people were skeptic that she's ever be able to be ridden again. For a while she walked crooked, and held her head at a slight slant. The night after it happened, my mom slept out in the barn in front of Juliet's stall on a cot. She woke up periodically through out the night to check on her. (what a great mom) As I was telling him that story he smiled, and said "the two of you have quite a history."

It was hard in a sense to think back to tough times that Juliet and I have gone through. Tough to really think through all that I'd learned about life through that horse. I don't mean this to sound arrogant, but I wonder what type of a person I'd be without horses in my life. They've shaped the very essence of who I am, and probably taking care of Juliet helped me to aspire to become a nurse.

I decided today that I appricate having history with someone or something. I think that some of the best things in life don't come quickly, but slowly and surely they form drop by drop till all of a sudden you don't know where it started but you do know that your thankful, and blessed. To have a joy with something (riding and Juliet in my case) or someone ( friends and family), to have a history of interaction is joyous. .

I appriciate all of those people and things in life that slowly came to be history. I am thankful to have wonderful true friends, whom I love with all my heart, and am so glad that God chose to place us on earth at the same time, living for a while in the same location. Some of them are even married (Emily & Josh, Katy & Billy) and some are soon to leave the state of singleness to join in the married life (Kelly & Daniel).

Enjoy the stages of life, don't rush a moment. Live in today, and then when tomorrow comes enjoy that stage. (my words of wisdome) :)

-Beth

Bruised.....

So I just got home from the stable, Juliet had her very favorite person visit her today...the vet. Unfortunatley I do not share the same sentiment as her, hopefully it will be a while before he'll have to come back. So the past week or so she's been dead lame on her left front leg. I've tried to ride her a few times and I get nothing but lameness. Finally the vet came out to visit her today, and as I suspected she has a bruised hoof. I came to that conclusion before he even came, but no one would listen. I knew she'd never had a problem with lameness in her front legs, she's always been a bit stiff in the back when I first get her out. So I thought it had to be the footing at this new stable, it's rock hard on the rail. Anyway, the Vet blocked the nerves to her foot for an hour and I trotted her around, and she looked great. So it seems that the problem is in her hoof. And since she hasn't had problems with her hooves at all, it probably isn't navicular, rather a bruised hoof. That is a prognosis I can live with.

There still isn't much news on selling her. I guess Patty had a few calls back on Juliet but at the moment she's so lame that Patty didn't set up an appt. to have those people visit. I think I have decided that if the lady at William Woods University wants her, then I will send her down before school starts. It's a great school, I even know a guy who went there for his degree in equestrian something or other. Pray for the situation if you get a chance.

Sonshine......

Sonshine was SO fun! It was Great to be with Alex for a little more than just a weekend, and the music was pretty good also. I was a fan of Main Stay, KJ52, and John Reuben. They all gave sweet concerts, and John Reuben was awesome! He has this cheesy smile when he preforms, but I say that in a good way, he was really fun to watch. KJ52 could dance pretty well, which is something I admire a lot! The food was great thanks to John, the cook.

Sunshine

Tomorrow I'm headed to a Christian music festival called Sunshine. Last year Alex went with his fraternity, and this year I'm heading up with them also. There's about 30 -35 people going, so it should be an interesting group.

Tomorrow night we'll be staying in the Twin Cities with Alex's aunt, then the rest of the nights everyone will be sleeping on the ground....

I'll be back in a few days, till then take care.
-Beth

I watched two interesting movies tonight with my good friend Kelly. Hotel Rwanda & Blackhawk Down. The combination of movies worked very well together. At first we watch Hotel Rwanda in which I found myself disturbed at the lack of world support for Rwanda. We chatted about how the United States didn't have any interest in Rwanda, and how it was sad that most times it comes down to what the other country can do for ours. That was something shocking that I heard from my rhetoric teacher this past school year. I'd alway just believed that the government did what was best for the world. Believed that every war we'd gone to in the past was the right decision, fully supporting our president. I was disheartened, almost like when I found out that Santa Claus wasn't real. I'm not saying that I totally am against our President, I just think that I need to find out more about war before I decide what I believe.

So with Rwanda and the genocide that happened, it seemed that we later regreted not helping. I wonder if that will be the same with the genocide happening in Sudan right now?

Moving along to the second movie, Blackhawk down, I found myself realizing a little of why it would have been very hard for Clinton to have sent troops to Rwanda in 1994, it would have been very difficult to gain American support. See in 1993 we send troops to Somolia, which after a few months Clinton took the troops out. We went over there because there was a famon, and some political leader was in a sense hoarding all the food for his own clan. It's interesting how many people know about the starving children in Somolila but not many know about the fighting over there. As far as I know, and I looked this up tonight, Somolia is an anarchy in the present. I will attach an article at the end of this paragraph that kinda explains the despiration of the country. This article is actually real, it's not a joke, althought the way it's written makes it almost funny. I suppose it would be funny in the sense that it's so actually horrible. I never realized there was even places like this in the world. I wish I could help, if only we could help every cause and every need that arose. So anyway, since their wasn't much progress made and US troops were getting killed in Samolia, there wasn't much support in homeland. From what I understand some of the citizens in the US thought we shouldn't be over there because it was a civil war, and therefore we should let them work it out themselves. Then a year later when the fighting in Rwanda started, no one was eager to go back to an African country and fight in another civil war that we didn't fully understand. I am sure that it was a bit more complicated than that, but that's the main idea.

Written in The Economist, March 6-12, 2004, page 44
Tourism in SomaliaFar from the madding crowd Well, far from other tourists, anyway
He has perhaps the world's hardest job, but very little to do. Abdi Jimale Osman is Somalia's minister of tourism. His inbox is always empty; unsurprisingly, given that his anarchic homeland has not had a single officially acknowledged tourist in 14 years. Somalia is not without attractions. The sun shines, the beaches are sandy and you can dine on lobster on the roof of the Sharmo Hotel, which commands a splendid view of the capital. Mogadishu. It is not safe, however. The Sharmo advises guests hire at least ten armed guards to escort them from the airport. Since civil war broke out in 1990, Somalia has been divided into some two dozen warring fiefs. But Mr Jimale is undaunted. "Tourists can still go and see the former beautiful sights," he says.
"The only problem is they're all totally destroyed." Your correspondent admired what was left of the cathedral. Graffiti outside warned "Beware of landmines". Mr Jimale wants donors to help rebuild Somalia's national parks, though they mainly lie in areas the government does not control. "Most of the animals have disappeared too," he concedes, "Because we have eaten them." Brave tourists can find unusual bargains in Mogadishu. In the market, a hand grenade sells for §10, a Howitzer for $20,000. For those who remain unconvinced, Mr Jimale is reassuring. "I'm sure tourists would leave Somalia alive and I'm hopeful they wouldn't be kidnapped," he says. "At least, we would try to make sure they were not kidnapped, although it could happen."
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Something to think about, I'd recomment those movies for you to check out sometime also.
Goodnight.
-Beth

Golf Classic.....

So as you could guess from my title, today I spend some time watching pro golfers. Mind you I might not have been out there had it not been my job, raising money for YFC, but it was still fun. Not too many people wanted to pledge for Birdie for Charity. It was pretty disheartening. It made me think about the reasons people give money. Now I'm not saying that people always give because of selfish ambition, but I do think that is the number one way to give money at least in what I've experienced from the vast majority. Now maybe people have given money to other organizations already, and it's not my job to judge anothers heart, but one thing is for sure: take a look at the way you spend money and the way your time is spend, and that's a good indication of what or who you worship. Do you really love God, show it. Is your time spent giving Glory to God or to yourself? As I was asking for pledges I thought about the way in which 20 dollars sounds like so much money to give an organization, but yet so cheap when finding a great shirt. Is there someting wrong, if all good and perfect things come from above, shouldn't we also then give our gifts that were given to us by God to glorify him?

Ok...so now I have this one thing that I can't stop thinking about. I have been neglecting to write about it in fear that my words would unjustly represent the idea that is so passionatly tucked away in my heart. Two words : Missionary Nursing. It is interesting, and quite wonderul I think, how God has slowly revealed a nursing career in my life. It all started my senior year with making the decision between nursing and secondary education. For the reason of working with people and hoping to help them by giving them Christ's love, I chose nursing. Although, I wasn't fully sure that was my heart's desire. Then I took a year to get Iowa residency while working in a Dr's office. I loved working with the people, and espcially found the health field interesting. By the time I went off to school last fall, I was ready to get schooling started. Most my classes were pretty interesting, while intense at the same time. My favorite class: Microbiology, least favorite: Rhetoric. By the end of last school year, I was fully assured of my aspirations to become a nurse. I would work at a hospital, do the whole family thing, and live comfortably. Then in the last couple months, I've not been able to shake the idea of working for the poor.

It seems to me that everything the world tries to tell people is many times completely different than the message of Jesus. While the world tells us to do this or that for your own happiness, Jesus says come follow me, being a servant is better than being served( in the revised Beth standard version). Following did not mean happiness, but it did mean true life. So what if following Jesus means no job security, giving up the american dream, and truly trusting in God's power for peace and meaning. What would it mean to truly trust Him with life? I am convinced that our world would look radically different.

So maybe we don't have control over others, but we do have control over ourselves. How would my life look if I gave total control to God? Radically different also, this I am sure. While I like to say that God has my whole life and to do with it as He wills, I am not at that point. I hope to be, although it's a little scary also. What would that mean, would it mean working in some African country doing medical mission work? Part of me doesn't want that at all, and yet the other part craves just that.

More on this subject at a later date....

ok so this is the last sweet photo to share...let me know which picture you like the best! 

The bridge.... 

What a couple... 

Mrs. Effie's Garden...( I thought the photo was just beautiful!) 

This is one of my favorite pictures which happened to be taken this summer. 

It's been a busy weekend. My intentions were to write a little bit each day but as you can see that didn't happen. I spent my time at a stable for a big portion of the weekend preparing for a horse show and then showing Juliet. The other portion of my weekend consisted of spending quality time with my boyfriend, Alex.

I must say that I was very pleased with Juliet's performance. She did very well in the horse show, and the judge who was interested in her did happen to like her a lot. The only things is that the client who's looking for a horse doesn't really want a mare. I am personally a fan of mares (female horses), but they do sometimes have a reputation of being moody. I have decided to keep Juliet at this stable for the month of July, and hopefully by the end she'll have a new home. This means that I will have quite a drive each day. But it was quite fun riding with other people, and the trainer at this new barn has been so kind. And while I'd like to be a little nervous about this transition I feel that God is taking me out of my comfort zone and teaching me to have faith and trust. I know that life has so many uncertainties, so why should I worry life away?

Seeing Alex again was just great. I miss him when he's gone, but it's always refreshing for the two of us to get some together time. We watched a couple of movies..Hitch, Naked Gun, and Assault on Precinct 13. My favorite was Hitch. I didn't know in the beginning if it would be that great of a movie, but it gets better as the movie goes on. Naked Gun was funny, although, I kept falling asleep so I didn't get really into that movie. Alex, however, could not stop laughing. And the Assault movie was a bit too much killing for my taste. Although I do like action, that movie was a little too brutial in my opinion. We also went out to the barn together and he watched my riding lesson. One evening we enjoyed the Blues fest with his family. The weather was just perfect and it was just a ton of fun to relax and listen to music. I liked to watch the old guys in the band dance. They looked like they'd be fun people to talk to.... This really isn't in any logical order, but I gave him his 21st birthday present which was a kite. It's one of those big trick kites that has the two handles and one can be entertained for quite a while trying different stunts on it. His family flys kites a lot and I thought it would be a fun thing for him to have his own. Finally, for the 4th we baked a little, hung out with both my parents and his, and watched some fireworks. All in all, this weekend made me realize once again that I am so blessed to have him in my life. He's really, really, a great guy with a hilarious family. The more I get to know the Baumgarten's, the more I appriciate them.

And now the week has started. Work will be a challenge this week....
take care,
Beth

Here's just a couple pictures from today.

I don't have much time to write today. I'll be leaving here for the stable where Juliet is located to jump her around. Alex is home for the 4th so he'll joining me at the stable today.

I went out to ride Juliet yesterday because Patty (the horse trainer who's working to sell Juliet) didn't have a chance to ride her then. It was great to check out a new place and ride with a bunch of other people. The place where I board Juliet now is a beautiful little barn, but it's not to full. There are only 8 horses and I'm the only one who rides on a daily basis.

Actually, the barn I board Juliet is owned by a famous man in the Dressage riding world. I don't get to see him very often because he's almost always out of town teaching riding clinics. He and His ex wife are known throughout this country and germany. She went to the olympics and he's done a lot of training for top notch riders. Unfortunately, Dressage is not my discipline, and even if it was he only works with the best of the best. But I think it's still cool that when I talk to some trainers they'll tell me that he is just a wonderful rider.

Please keep Juliet in your prayer as this weekend is a big weekend for her. One trainer is coming to the barn to look at her and if she likes Juliet she'll try her out for a week. As much as I want to make myself feel anxious about this whole process, I know it's the right time and I am believing that God will find her a lovely home. So I will trust in Him. If it were a easy process I would hope that I would put my trust in Him as much, but I fear I would give myself glory, so I am thankful that when she does find a home I will praise His name.

Oh and the pictures- Juliet and I a few years ago jumping at a horse show.
-Alex and I at the Gold Rose formal
-Alex and Juliet last summer when he tried riding her

See ya.
-Beth