"Can I milk your goats?!"

Many people have been asking how Thomas and I met. Well, it was roughly 12 years ago when I asked Thomas (aka - Chicken Man) to show my younger siblings and I how to show poultry (birds) at the Montcalm County Fair. I was 11 years old, and Thomas was 15 years old. We, of course, saw each other around fair, but now we had exchanged words. So, that is how we met, but as far as how we became friends, the credit goes to Thomas. He had an interest in my dairy goats. A couple years later (I'm now 13), he came up to me and inquired, "can I milk your goats?" That might seem strange, but there were always people asking me if they could milk my goats. So, per usual, I informed Thomas when I was scheduled to milk. That following evening, I was eating pizza with family from out of town, and a 4-H leader informed me that there was a guy asleep at my milkstand. OOPS! I knew that I was pushing back my milking time, but family trumped milking (to some extent, at least). What I forgot was that Thomas intended to meet me that night when I was milking; so I inadvertently stood him up. About a week after fair, Thomas looked up my parents' number in a phone book (yeah...those things are practically obsolete...lol), gave me a call, and invited me to go swimming with him at his grandparents'. We would be chaperoned, of course, by his mother, seeing as I was 13 and Thomas was 17. At this time, he was still using me for his infatuation with my dairy goats, which his parents would not allow him to raise.
As time wore on, Thomas continued to pursue me more and my goats less. He asked if he could come over during the summer on his way to work (it was a little out of his way) to help me milk my goats in the morning. This time, he was less interested in the goats and more interested in me, meaning he was using my goats to spend time with me. Due in large part to our age difference, I insisted that we just remain friends, and that we did. We became really good summertime friends, and eventually, we expanded our friendship to span the school year. During the last year Thomas was eligible for showmanship as a 4-Her, he requested permission to show one of my goats at the county fair, and he came over every day (except Sunday) to take care of the goat he chose. Thankfully, I managed to squeeze out a place higher than him in the senior goat showmanship class, eventually winning Grand Champion Showman.

Through the ups and downs of our friendship (admittedly mostly ups), Thomas pursued a formal "dating" relationship, which was described in the "On this day in history..." post (5/25/11). Now, as per God's guiding hand, Thomas and I are preparing to embark on a lifelong marital relationship.

Senior showmanship: I got 1st place, and Thomas got 2nd place. It certainly would have been weird if Thomas, whom I taught, beat me in showmanship with one of my goats.

Here again, you can see me on the right (with Melly, my Lamancha) and Thomas one goat back (with Sarina, one of my Alpines).

Don't forget that the Montcalm County 4-H Fair is taking place this week (July 3-9) at the NEW fairgrounds. Today, ironically enough, is both the goat show at the Montcalm County 4-H Fair and my birthday. That's right - I'm now a whopping 23 years old. So, I will be 23, getting married on July 23! To make things even better, I'm pretty sure I was supposed to be born on June 23...I was late...and Sweetie, my first goat, had a collar with the tag 23!

In the spirit of fair week, here's the 4-H Pledge:

4-H Pledge

I pledge:

My HEAD to clearer thinking,

My HEART to greater loyalty,

My HANDS to better living,

For my Club, my Community, my Country & my World.

For the Bradley Bridal Shower, my mother adopted a version of the 4-H Pledge for me as I enter matrimony with Thomas. Here it is:

Shirley's Wedding Pledge

Shirley will pledge:

Her HEAD to clearer thinking (about Thomas),

Her HEART to greater loyalty (to Thomas & the Lord of all),

Her HANDS to larger service with Thomas for others,

Her HEALTH to better living for each other

For their Lord, their family, and their Community & World.