A Joyous Weekend

I trust that everyone had a wonderful Easter! I hope that you were able to connect with friends and family for the Easter Celebration, and enjoy the seriously awesome weather! Our family had another reason to celebrate, as well. My little brother, Timothy Gerard Bontrager, got MARRIED on Friday, April 10th! He married Diane Clapsaddle at the Shepherd Of The Lake Church at Prior Lake, MN. They got married in the small chapel connected to the large church building. It was a small, intimate ceremony attended by just family and close friends as there were not many chairs inside. But the reception which was held at Dangerfield’s in Shakopee was attended by several other guests, and I would say that great fun was had by all! Good food and great conversation! I love my little brother so much, and I am so happy that HE is happy! He has been alone for so long, and he has found his soul mate in Diane. She has a gentle and peaceful spirit, and is extremely beautiful and graceful as well. I keep saying that she reminds me of Princess Diana. She is a Lab Tech at the hospital where Tim works, and she also plays the clarinet for orchestras. She has two teenage children, Andrew and Marissa. They both play musical instruments, as well. I will not elaborate any further, but I will share with you some pictures that I had taken at the reception.

The reception was held at Dangerfields Restaurant in Shakopee, MN. Tim and Diane live in Shakopee.

The happy couple at their reception. I can almost see them thinking, at this point : "THANK GOODNESS that part is over with! Whew!"

Diane and Marissa. Aren't they gorgeous?! And they BOTH had such LOVELY DRESSES, too!

Tim and Andrew. What a couple of handsome guys!

This is Tim's very good friend, Greg. He met Greg through the hospital where both he and Diane work. Greg has become an ordained minister, and he officiated at their marriage ceremony.

"It's okay, mom. It's a point-and-flash camera, mom. Ya just need to push the button. Go ahead, mom. Push it. WILL YOU TAKE THE PICTURE ALREADY, MOM! GEEZ!"

"See, ma? Just like THAT! POOF! Done!" I felt so fortunate to be able to do mom's hair and make-up for the wedding. She had on a lovely dress, and looked so happy! Of course, that was all due to her little boy getting married...it had nothing whatsoever to do with the make-up!!

And will you look at this! Melissa's dad and step-mom Kelly were there, too! I was so happy to see them when I walked into the church, and they sat with us at the ceremony, as well.

Tim and mom's good friends, Arlyn and Linda. This wonderful couple have 'gone the extra mile' for so many people, including members of our own family. It has been a real blessing having them as friends.

You know, it is just totally amazing who you run into at a wedding! This lovely lady, Jeanette, used to be neighbors with Steve and I when we lived in Jordan. And that was wa-aay back, um, well I won't say how many years ago. But I was pregnant with my 29 year old daughter when we lived next to them. :) Come to find out, she bowls with Diane!

Don looks dazed and confused. But then, WHAT ELSE IS NEW!!!!! Ha-ha! And Lorraine just looks hungry. Lorraine ALWAYS looks hungry!

It's a good thing that the food is nearby! And what a luscious spread it was. I especially liked the little puff pastries filled with spinach in a creamy sauce, served hot. Oh, YUM! Dangerfields really is a great place to eat! If you ever get to Shakopee, Mn, you will have to try them out! (Wonder if Tim can get a discount if I brag them up a bit!??? One can always hope, right?)

Two chocolate cakes with chocolate frosting. See those little tiny flowers? Steve and I nearly ate them! We thought they were frosting, but they were silk!

Tim and Diane are closely supervised during the cutting of the cake. No one was injured during the filming of this incident.

sigh...THAT'S MY LITTLE BROTHER!!! Always a clown!

As Tim was sitting at a table visiting, I 'puffed' some warm, moist air onto the top of his bald pate and began rubbing it with a napkin in order to 'polish' his head. He put on some "Chapstick" got up and kissed me on the cheek. IT WAS LIPSTICK! Oh, I just love my leetle brother SO MUCH!

We had a lovely Easter Dinner at Melissa and Rick's house. Rick did a lot of the cooking. He actually is a wonderful cook. So wonderful, in fact, that you might even think that he was a BONTRAGER instead of a Burmeister!! ;) And, an added bonus: LORRAINE GOT ICE-CREAM WITH HER PEACH COBBLER!

And THIS is my beautiful daughter, Melissa. Did you know that Melissa has started writing Children's Books, and she has asked ME to ILLUSTRATE THEM?! I think that it would be so marvelous if Melissa could be published, and we could work together as a "Mother/Daughter" team!!

I Was Just Kidding...

No, seriously. I was kidding. That’s what I was doing this afternoon. I was in the barn, helping with the kidding! Miracle (aka: Miri) divided into three pieces today. She had twins!

She had a little doeling, and a little buckling. They are totally adorable! The little female looks so feminine, with her tiny mouth and delicate features. And the little guy looks a great deal like his daddy, only lighter. You can see the Boer goat markings coming in on his face, only his face is cream colored instead of rich, dark mahogany.


They are keepers, that’s for sure! And momma is doing just fine! Her first pregnancy, and she had twins! I tried out a technique called ‘flushing’ before I bred either of the does. This is where you feed them very high quality feed and hay, and just pamper the heck out of them. After about 2 ½ months, I bred them to Nimrod. ‘Flushing’ supposedly causes the female to produce more eggs. Well, I guess it worked! Happy Birthday, ‘Willow’ and ‘Kid Karate – Chop’!

Momma checks out these strange little creatures. Now, where did they come from???

Willow says "Grandpa brought us his brand-new quartz heater to use, 'till he hooked up a heat- lamp. What a nice grandpa we have!"

The little Karate Chop has some pale markings on his face; he is trying to copy his daddy!

We have located the cafeteria!!!

Gee, our grampa is really good at holding twins! He says: "Just ask Bob and Dan!!!"

Ahhh.! This is just like basking in the sun in hawaii! Ummm...what is 'hawaii?'

Palm Sunday

Sunday April 5, 2009. Last night we had sideways-snow. It hopefully will be the last major snowfall of the 2008-2009 winter season. As I took pictures of our near-blizzard conditions, a Robin chirped miserably in the Ash tree branches above my head. I wondered if he wanted to go back to his ‘winter’ headquarters, in some warm, balmy part of the world.

Silent Sentinels

Today is Palm Sunday, and I took a few pictures of our old Blue Spruce trees next to the road. They’ve withstood many storms, even a few tornadoes. And still they stand: tall, silent witnesses of time passing. And while they watched, I made my way to the barn to check on ‘the ladies.”

Miri and Rosie are due to have their very first babies soon. Miri, in fact, was due yesterday. She shows signs of being very close. She eats like there is no tomorrow. I believe that she will be having twins. She is very wide, and I can feel at least two kids in there. But this is her first pregnancy, and so I am fairly certainly that there is not three!

Miri from the top side.

On the other hand, Rosie has always been thin, and I have to fight to keep weight on her. I was concerned that she may not even be pregnant at all, but after palpating her sides, I am positive that she is carrying one kid.

What is this? Another fat, pregnant goat???

Ah, no! It's only NIMROD! The DADDY!

All the kids are active. I am excited to see what they look like. I bred my Saanen does to a Boer-cross buck. My dad named him “Nimrod.” It seems to fit his personality.

The miracle of birth is has always fascinated me. I am so excited to see these new babies and have them frolicking at their mothers side. But that’s not the ONLY miracle forthcoming…

My “Leetle Brother” will be getting married this week! He and his lovely wife, Diane, will be flying to California for their honeymoon. They will visit with dad and his wife Betty, and do some driving and sightseeing on their own. I am sure that Tim will want to show Diane his old ‘haunts,’ as Tim lived in California for well over 20 years. He still misses the mountains, and Yosemite. And although I never lived there, I do miss the ocean. I once spent an entire week there. We were on the beach at Montana de Oro. Jade washes up on the shore there, and ‘Sea Glass.’ I still have some in a bottle of sand. That was a very special time for me. And I am sure that Tim and Diane will bring back many good memories, as well.