So Many to Things To Do...

This weekend was a fun weekend.
On Friday, Ivan and I went to the Minnesota Horse Expo and meet up with Kristin, Kody and Brenda Lee. Kody is 4, and the boys love to play together so they enjoyed seeing horses and tractors together. The boys were very good and got to enjoy horse and pony rides. Both Boys loved to walk thru the Horse Barn and see all the horses. Ivan got to see tractor, lawn mowers, and a bobcat so his day was complete. We spent almost the entire day at the Expo so I had a very tired boy when I got home.
On Saturday, we did the paper route and then went to Grandma and Grandpa Bunker's house for dinner with Auntie Missy and Uncle Phil. Ivan got to spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa, and he kept them very busy.
On Sunday, a family from Merrill, WI came to look at the donkeys I had for sale. They liked the donkeys and bought both of the gray dun donkeys and my 2 goats. The donkeys were a surprise for Mother's Day and their daughter wants to breed the goats to have kids for 4-H next year. I am very happy that I found a loving and caring home for the donkeys and the goats. Dan is happy the goats are gone because he did not like the goats on the cars!!! So that leaves us with just 1 donkey and he will make a great buddy for Catcher.
I hope everyone had a great weekend because was very full!!!

Going for a Ride with Mom

Today was a glorious day, warm weather and sun. Ivan and I took a ride together and I wanted to share this wonderful event. Ivan loves to go for short rides with me on the horse, and he loves to go for long rides with Dan on the Three Wheeler!! I am glad that he loves to do both! We are riding Myrt, a 17 yr old Quarter Horse Mare. She is the great old mare that I got from Jerry Haire. I have known Myrt since she was 3 yrs old and she has been living with me for the past 4 yrs. Myrt has many jobs: watching over the foals, Dan's trail riding horse, Ivan's pony, and she helps with the training horses. We thank the Lord for great horses!

Loves of My Life

Most of you know, I love horses and have loved horses for as long as I can remember. I have had a horse since I was 13 yr old, but I have found another love, maybe not as much as horses but I do love it. I have found the sport of Dog Agility, let me explain......
Besides, Ivan and Dan, there are 2 other boys that I absolutely love: Catcher and Rodeo. Catcher is my 5 yr old Quarter Horse Gelding and Rodeo is my 22 month old Australian Shepherd.
Catcher has a special place in my heart, I owned his mother for 15 yrs before I lost her last summer. I have had Catcher his entire life and he will spend the rest of his life in my care. Unfortunately, I have not had as much time to ride as I want to, so Catcher leads the life of a pasture pony most of the time. I hope to have more time to ride this summer, but with gas prices as high as they are, we will be staying at home and riding around here.
Now to Agility...
About 5 yrs ago, I got my first Aussie, Ella and began training in Agility. After 2.5 yrs of training and taking classes, I finally entered my first trial and it was tons of fun. Tragically, I lost Ella about month that trial. Shortly after her death, I began my search for another Aussie. After a short search, I found a breeder that was going to be breeding a litter, and I decided to put down a deposit and I placed my order for a blue merle female. I was excited since I had pick of the litter and was looking forward to getting back to agility and having an Aussie. After a what seemed like forever, the puppies arrived and there was 1 blue merle female. I went to visit the puppies for the first time when they were 2 days old. The litter was good size with 6 girls and 1 boy. This was the beginning of the 10 week waiting period. I visited the puppies as often as possible and I began the process of trying to decide on which puppy to make mine. To make a long story short, I ended up with the red merle male, not exactly what I had order but I would not give him back for anything. The red merle male was given the name Rodeo and the full name of Fourwinds Raggin Rodeo.
Rodeo and I started agility training immediately. Now 22 months later, Rodeo and I have enter 3 agility trials and have earned 1 leg of our Novice Tunnlers Title. Rodeo is not ready enter the full trial but we have been gaining valuable experience. Last weekend, we entered the ACTS NADAC Trial and we had a successful trial for us. Not everything went as planned but that is OK .
I am looking forward to future trials this summer with Rodeo and future horse shows with Catcher.

The Spring of 2008 is full of changes and surprises. Most of us are feeling the effects of the current economic situation, and our family is no different. Currently, I am not working but looking for a job, and Dan has only worked 4 days since Christmas. Things at our house have been tight but the Lord has provided. Dan has been working at a Dairy Farm that is owned by a friend to help make ends meets. When he comes home, Ivan asks "What that smell, Daddy? With Dan working long hours at the Dairy, Ivan and I get to spend time together playing outside, feeding animals, and watching his new favorite movies "Cars" and "Snow Buddies". I am grateful for the nice weather so that we can play outside.
Dan is also thinking about a career move. Things in the construction industry are slow and there are not guarantees in the concrete business so Dan has decided to apply to work at the Union Pacific Railroad. My Uncle Tom works for them and has been helping with the application process. This decision has been difficult for Dan since has been with Cemstone for 12 years, his father worked for them for more than 20 years, and his brother still works for them. I also worked for them for 5 yrs and my Dad still works for them. He has been torn about looking for a new job but has decided that it would be in the best interest of our family to begin exploring other opportunities. Please keep Dan and our family in your prayers during this process.
I am also looking for a new job. I am hoping to hear soon about several positions that I have applied for, until then I will continue with my weekend paper routes, selling hay and something new that I am going to try is offering dog training classes at my house. It would be nice to walk out the door and be at work!!
We pray for economic rest in our country, for the families with love ones in Irag, and for the families that have less than we do and that are losing their homes.

Well, even though I am not working full time these days, my days are full. Dan and I have been looking for some calves to buy to raise our beef. On Tuesday, we drove out to look at some calves, and they also had 3 donkey that they wanted to sell. To make along story short, we bought the 3 donkeys and we decided to think about the calves. The donkeys are in good shape weight wise but they have not been handled or had any vet care. They are also very dirty since they had been living with beef cattle. We picked up our new family members on Thursday, just before the snow arrived. The first couple of days were rough with the snow storm and the wind, but nice weather has arrived. Ivan loves the donkeys and thanks me daily for buying them for him. I have not told him that we are only keeping 1 and trying to find homes for the other 2. I have been looking for a donkey since last fall since one of my horses does not play well with others and needed a companion, and somehow 3 donkeys now sit in my pasture. I believe that all God's creatures deserve a good home and hate when people do not provide that for him. Dan says that I would rescue anything if we could afford it, and I would. The donkey's names are: Nacho (gray), Burrito (brown), and Taco (spotted). Taco is going to be staying here to keep Catcher company after a quarantine period.

What I don't find to bring home!!

First Entry

Hi Everyone

I thought that I would get with it and start a blog so family and friends could keep in touch. Our family is very busy and things are changing all the time.

Since I have not been the best at keeping in touch with everyone, I will give a brief update of the goings ons of the DeVine Family.

On August 28, 2004, Dan and I were married and combined our love of horses and the outdoors. Dan loves to hunt, fish, ride horse and spending time with family and friends. On August 6, 2005, Ivan Joseph DeVine joined our family. While on maturity leave, we purchased a house in Braham, put up fence for the horses, and moved all with a 8 week old infant. What a ride.

We have been in our house for 2.5 years and love it. I always wanted to have my horses our my back door and now they are. Currently, we have 6 horses - Catcher, Myrt, Brownie, Ruby, Reba, and Sydney, 5 dogs - Rodeo, Ranger, Cowboy, Chance, and Gus, 2 goats - Molly & Mable and 4 cats - Ellie May, Splash, Spook and Spot, and you never know what we will get next.

Ivan is growing so fast. He loves digger, dozers and tractors, and he has my love of animals. He was trilled when we bought him a pony, Sydney. He loves to feed her treats and go for rides. He also loves to play with the dogs and give them hugs and kisses. He talks about everything and can't wait for the summer so that he can go swimming and fishing.

Dan still works for Cemstone as a truck driver at the new East Bethel Plant. He enjoys the shorter drive and he is the #2 driver. Currently, the construction industry is off to a slow start but we are hopeful that things will pick up soon.

As for me, I am currently looking for a new job and I am looking forward to the warmer weather. I have big plan this summer which include: riding Catcher, training our young horses and training my agility dogs - Rodeo, Ranger and Cowboy. I have high hopes for Rodeo this summer as he already shows great promise in the agility ring.

I hope everyone has a great summer and God Bless.