this is the last flashback friday about the proposal i promise.this post is actually more about all the little details before and after the proposal that i don't want to forget, and an update on my precious jersey calf that came along with the beautiful ring farm boy gave me.
farm boy officially bought and picked up the ring the day before valentine's day. on that same day he gave me flowers, chocolate and took me out to dinner with a gift certificate his parents had passed on to him for an italian restaurant in town. we were leaving for indiana the next morning to attend my grandfather's funeral, so it was our early valentine's day slash birthday celebration since my birthday is also on valentine's day.
ironically on our way to dinner, i mentioned to him that if he would just buy my darn engagement ring he would also get flowers, chocolate, and a gift certificate for dinner from the s.e. needhams jewelry store where i had already picked out my dream ring. i had no clue he was already in possession of the ring, and that my flowers/chocolate/dinner gift combo were all from the exact promotion i had told him about.
although, i never got the surprise of an engagement ring that night or on valentine's day, he did inform me about an amethyst ring he bought me! the store didn't have it in my size, but we went in the next day before leaving for indiana and ordered one, and i love it! and of course, everyone joked that it should have been an engagement ring.
after all of the proposal excitement, and lunch at mis amores with everyone involved, it was time to get to work on a proper home for our new baby girl. we cleaned out a calf hutch for her and moved it over to farm boy's parents' house so he could take care of her easier.
after all that work she was finally in her new clean and comfy home. we took a family picture that farm boy posted on facebook to get help with naming her. we got some great suggestions from all our friends, but farm boy came up with indy and i instantly loved it. indy, short for indiana, was a great fit for our little girl.
farm boy was busy all week long feeding indy a bottle twice a day, and of course i helped on the weekends when i came to visit.
everyone took a liking for indy though, especially farm boy's sister, kelsie, who was in charge of feeding all the babies at their family's dairy down the road. she sent us this picture one day after taking indy for a walk around their house.
she even made a debut in our engagement pictures!
i love this picture of her. so cute!
and i wish with everything in me that i could show you another cute picture of indy, who would be over 8 months old now. however, just three short weeks after the proposal farm boy woke up to a very sick baby calf. he rushed to the vet and picked up medicine for her, but by the time he returned she was already gone. unfortunately that's the name of the game in agriculture. not every one will make it. we knew we were taking a chance raising her, especially in the winter. calves are very fragile, especially jerseys who are about half the size of other dairy breeds. you have to take every precaution you can to keep them strong and healthy the first few weeks, and we thought we had. she had been slightly sick looking a few other times and we treated her quickly, but the morning farm boy found her she was much much worse.
when farm boy told me she was really sick that morning i said a little prayer for her, and when i got the news she was gone, i cried. if i think about it enough, i could probably cry again today.
i love love love jersey calves. she reminded me of all the times my dad made me walk out in our pasture to bring in the new calf one of our cows had during the night (that's how i got my farm girl muscles), all the times feeding countless little brown calves twice a day during milkings, all the times i would groom the cattle up and show them at fair.
i had big dreams for indy. we would breed her to a great jersey bull. she would have a sweet little indy jr. heifer calf (hopefully). and then indy would have been right there in the milking herd, although she would have been the only jersey in a sea of holsteins, i know she could have held her own!
indy will always have a special place in our hearts. i mean how could you forget this face?
(little secret: she is still the background picture on my iphone's lock screen! i can't bring myself change it.)
don't you all worry though, an indy II will be in our future. hopefully sooner, rather than later.
last little note: if anyone is interested, my amazing fiance, at the time, wrote up a blog post about our whole proposal story. you can check it out here. he actually includes way more backstory since he was the mastermind behind it all, so check it out for even more insider details!
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