Update time!

I realized tonight that I am WAY behind on blog-posting! 

There is SO much to be said and so little time as it is already late, 

so this will be the condensed version of a very lengthy tale...

I don't remember if I mentioned that my chicks came in the mail last week? They are doing very well now and the cats are not happy with the cat-proof floor we put down, so I'm pleased. ;)

 Michael came on Saturday and was able to stay until Tuesday. It was a great delight and comfort having him here while we worked through the sadness of Grandpa Earl's funeral (Monday).  I thank the Lord over and over for sending such a wonderful, caring man into my life to be my future husband!!!

 There was a viewing/prayer service on Sunday that we all went to. My mom took the picture below. I was not feeling well at all during the funeral, so I wasn't thinking about taking pictures at the time. Please keep my grandma Marly in your prayers as she adjusts to life without Grandpa now. I talked to her on the phone tonight and she sounded pretty well, but I'm sure she has some challenging days ahead of her.

Pastor Steve K. and his wife, Vangie came from Jamestown and Michael's Pastor, Dan H. came all the way from Little Falls, MN to attend Grandpa's funeral. While we had both pastors in one place, Michael and I talked to them a bit about our upcoming wedding. We'll be going through counseling with Pastor Steve and his wife once the books arrive that he ordered for us.  Pastor Dan came to our farm after the burial and visited and spent the night too. It was really good to get to know him better.

Michael & I had some time to work on wedding plans (and have been working on it ever since too). Please pray for God to open doors for a church to hold our wedding in. By the looks of our guest list, it will need to be a large church (much larger than either of our churches).  We're hoping to have our wedding somewhere in between my place and Michael's place, so everyone will have some driving to do. Ideally, we'd like to get married in a country church, but do you know how hard it is to find a LARGE country church? There is one option we've found South of Fargo and Michael talked to the Pastor there this morning. They will discuss the matter at their meeting sometime next week. I'm trying not to worry about it, as I know God has everything planned and very much under control. BUT, if you'd add your prayers to ours for wisdom and for doors to open, it would be very much appreciated!

Another big decision/prayer request is knowing where to live once we are married. There is a possibility that Michael and I would live in North Dakota! We're checking out all our options at present. We even drove around and looked at some farms while Michael was here, so that was a fun little adventure. Lots to think and pray about these days...

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

Tuesday afternoon, Paula brought Vonn over so I could babysit him for a few hours. He is growing up so fast. Look at the way that he wanted to drink his bottle: 

He already pulls himself up on things and crawls pretty well too. Won't be long before he's keeping up with his sisters.

~~~~~~~

 On Wednesday, I went with my brothers to Dickinson. 

From this picture, do you want to try to guess why we went there and what we were buying?

If you guessed it, you should get a prize!! :)

 Yes! We pooled our money and bought a camper (a '99 model). Now that we don't have many cows to care for, we might actually get away from time to time?  It should come in handy for farming in SD next year (if that happens) and also for packing full with wedding supplies this year. ;)

 Inside the camper:

There are bunkbeds in the back room and a queen sized mattress in the front. The couch is comfortable enough to sleep on too.

Comfortable, Andrew?

 It needs a good cleaning, and a few things need fixing, but then it should be ready to go.

 I like how cheerful the kitchen area is. It has a refrigerator and freezer; stove-top/oven; microwave; and there's even a washer and drier. 

 ~~~~~~~~~

 I spent most of today out in the garden, trying to get caught up there. My dad cut hay. Mom went to Bismarck and bought paint for their house. Andrew worked on the camper, and Jacob used the tractor to clean out the south pole-barn (where we'll store hay).

I've probably forgotten something, but I can post that another day. 

For now, I'd better call it good and get some sleep.  

Until next time~