"And though she be but little, she is fierce." ~ Shakespeare

I know I tease about Ella's "challenging" personality, but she really is precious. I see a lot of growth in her {mixed with many moments of "Lord , give me patience because if you give me strength, I may just kill her!"} and know she is, albeit slowly, maturing and finding her footing as a girl trying to follow Jesus in a crazy world. I forgot to mention this in the school post, but Ella received the Heart of Gold and Gentle Spirit awards on the last day of school. For all her faults {and don't we all have them} she has a good heart. One of my favorite things about Ella is her adventurous spirit, which is really apparent when she  is at her horseback riding lessons. I just love seeing her up on a horse, it makes my heart happy. I can't say she's nearly as passionate about horses as I was and still am, but I am just over the moon that she desires to ride and that she is brave enough. Horses are powerful animals and can be intimidating! So her riding instructor was also her 3rd grade teacher, she owns gorgeous Fjord horses, and she is an excellent teacher. I really want Ella to learn all she can and this is a perfect fit for her, plus she has to do "barn chores" and I think that is so important. So much of riding really isn't riding, but all the stuff before and after. Mrs. Rollins says that Ella has a lot of natural talent to ride and that she "has a good seat." Which is just horse talk for "doesn't look she'll get bucked off all that easily!" ;) She is having her do all sorts of movements with her hands and body, while not holding on {yikes}, to give her a feel for the horse and how to use her body to stay in the saddle. She gets on Ella about her posture too which is great, wish I'd learned that when I was young! After nursing 3 kids in quick succession, including twins for a year and a half, I look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Dawson really wanted to ride too, so Mrs. Rollins let all 3 boys take turns on Budea and they loved it. While Ella swept up in the barn after her lesson, the boys loved on the horse and stroked every inch of her soft coat.