Update!

Tomorrow it will be 2 months since Michael and I were married!!!

  My, how the time does fly when you're having fun. :)

This is our home that we're renting from my folks.  I took this picture on a beautiful frosty morning last week.

 One of our wedding presents... :)

 We now have 2 guest bedrooms. The quilt on this bed was handmade by Rachael (Michael's sister) and was her wedding gift to us. Isn't it lovely?

 Our 2nd and smaller guestroom...  

Michael MADE this bed-frame years ago. :)

 The denim quilt was also a wedding present. Our friends were SO generous!!

 One of the largest of the 4 turkeys we "did in". It weighed 30lbs, dressed.

 A gift from my sweetheart...

 The honey we extracted from the honeycomb Michael discovered in SD...

 My beloved installed a new shower in our home! He's so handy...

 "They" sent us the wrong shower door home, so we used just the shower curtain until last night, when Michael brought the correct door home and put it in where it belongs. I love that man!!

He also dropped my rings off to get them bonded and it feels quite strange to be ring-less now.

 Here's picture proof that he even helped me write out some of our many thank yous 

(still a work in progress as there were 193 to write, but the end is drawing near).

And now, our big news!

It's about our new addition....

....to our farm....

Does this give you a hint?

 YES, we bought a milk cow!!!

 It took a while to decide on a name, but the matter is now decided.

Meet IVY...

Date of birth: July 10th 2013

Breed: Brown Swiss

Purchase date: 12/21/15

Bought from: Prairie Diamond Ranch, Steele, ND

Status: Milking for one month

Temperament: Very docile, but she does have the Swiss stubbornness and if you want her to go somewhere, it's best to let her follow you rather than trying to herd her.   

Notes:  She has quickly adjusted to being hand-milked, even without the kicker. Last night, she let Michael and I milk her at the same time, one sitting on either side.  We're highly impressed and pleased. 

We hope she'll be around for many years.

 She likes to eat...but that's no surprise.  She is a cow, afterall.

We are still waiting for wedding pictures to come from our photographer, but have a few to share.

Consider this a sneak-peek of our special day:

I bought my wedding gown on the Internet, as it is hard to find modest gowns locally. I wore my mom's wedding veil which was altered a bit (sequins were added and the front headband part was removed) by Michael's Aunt Joy.  Our colors were Watermelon and Sage. 

The flower girls, Amelia M, Johanna M, and Tracy Jo M looked like little angels. :)

Our ring bearer/wagon puller/wagon-sitter-baby boys were: Michael M, James M, and Vonn M.

My bridesmaids were: Anna U, Heather C, Miranda G, Dorena W, and Lauretta H.

Michael's groomsmen were: James D (his brother), Grant D (his cousin), Andrew B, Jacob B (my brothers), and Nate A (his college friend).

 My groom with our ushers:

Michael's cousins, Garrett and Ethan; our brother-in-law, Nicholas; and my second cousin, Hristiyan

 Michael's Aunt's sister, Katey has a flower shop (Paws Floral) and did all the flowers for our wedding.   She put these flowers in the bows on the chairs in the sanctuary a couple hours before the ceremony began.

That's all for now.