Shortly after we got married, we moved up to Central Michigan University where Craig had taken a job after finishing his Masters at Purdue. We also started our family.
Craig and me with newborn Denver Daughter Sarah. (And our bird, Sky.) Those were very lean times for us financially. With Craig's support, I chose to be a stay at home mama, and there was no money to spend on horses, real or model. I left my collection at my parents' home planning to get them soon, and my sister Leslie took Amy and my other horses and cared for them with hers. (She didn't charge me a cent - now THAT'S a sister!)
Taking Sarah for a walk - yes, I am wearing my cowboy boots!
We learned to be creative in earning money - once we traded the top to bottom cleaning of a home in exchange for a month of groceries. We survived, but I couldn't even afford to photo show.
Two years later we were transferred to the University of Illinois. We added five more children, and I took a job filling newspaper vending machines. I had to get up at 4:00 AM to pick up my papers and run my route, but I was done and home by 7:00 in the morning. Our finances steadied and I was finally able to go back to Indiana and get my models.
It was so good to have them with me again! I'm glad I took this photo back then - it's the only one I have of my entire carpet herd!
Even better, that vending route was lucrative enough that I was able to afford a horse and pay a board bill. Instead of bringing Amy over - she was in her twenties and I did not want to uproot her - I bought a half Arab gelding, Indabab's Image, or Indy as we called him. That's Teacher Daughter Lisa riding him.
I had Indy until I became pregnant in 1988 with Cole, our sixth child. With five kids, I was already struggling to find time to get out to the barn to visit him. Sadly, I decided it was in Indy's best interest to sell him, and so I brought him back to Indiana and sold him to an old friend of mine.
I hadn't bought a new model in years (aside from the Classic Mustang and Andalusian Families that "Santa" put under the tree for my daughters) but my mother had. My parents had supported my horsey tendencies when I was young and living with them, and they continued to do so during my adulthood.
I'll never forget the birthday when I opened her gift to me and inside was this Abdullah. Just look at his shading! That prompted a shift in my thinking - my carpet herd and Windsong/Pawnee Stables things were with me, no longer did I have to set aside money to pay for Indy and his board... I now could afford to photo and live show again.
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