Miss Kitty

 

Ever since our beloved Shadow cat went away, there’s been an empty place in our hearts. It’s no surprise that the kids have been asking when can we get another cat but it was amazing when Ian said one day “we should think about getting another cat”. He has not always been a cat-lover but had his mind changed with our first cat and her gentle nature.

A sister of a friend’s was looking for a good home for a few kitties she had. So we called her up to meet. This is what we came home with, (because no one ever goes to “just look” at kitties)

Our little kitty, Tejas (pronounced Te-ha-s, and is spanish for Texas). We don’t know if she is a she or a he yet. Frankly, we don’t know how to tell either. Either way, she’s super cute!

She and Daisy are already getting along famously.

Of course all the boys love her, but Austin perhaps loves her the most. He’s still confused and calls her Shadow sometimes but he also likes to call her Baby. “I’m going to feed my Baby” he’ll say.

She’s a funny little thing. She likes to sleep in weird positions. She likes to pretend she’s a lion hunting prey in the grasslands. And while she’s super snuggly and loves human affection, she can be really feisty and playful with your toes!

It’s been a lot of fun having a kitty in the house again. The boys are anxious for the day she can sleep with them. I on the other hand, am waiting for her to start catching those pesky mice that keep coming in the house!

Just Like a Baby

Puppies are funny creatures.
Boys are funny creatures.
Now it makes sense that boys and puppies go together!
This little puppy (who remains nameless. And now we’re testing out “Daisy”) is convinced she is a baby!
For instance, she likes to be held like a baby. Ian is all too happy to oblige.

She thinks the bouncy chairs were bought just for her.

She marvels at how well made a Boppy pillow is for sleeping puppies. Even though it was strategically placed on the couch so she couldn’t reach it.

It’s like we have child #5 in the house!

The Newest Family Member

Ever since the fall, the men in my house, with sad longing faces, have been asking this question, “when will we get another dog?”. 

We knew we had to wait for the baby to come and get a little older. New babies and new puppies are not a good idea.

I suggested we wait until after our homeschool co-op was finished. With that added work load, a puppy would not be well taken care of.

Two weeks after the end of our co-op, Ian found a family whose Labrador had a liter of puppies. “Let’s go see them. I mean, let’s just go look at them.” Now everyone knows you don’t go and just look at puppies. So, we came home with a puppy of our own.

Ian wasn’t the only one happy! This is our 6 week old chocolate lab coming home with us.

We still haven’t officially named her. The boys are calling her Brownie, I like Gracie ( in keeping with our previous dog’s name Glory) and Ian likes Lady. We’ll have to decide soon.

She is super sweet. Loves to cuddle. Has the prettiest eyes. Hates to be alone. Loves her tug of war toy.

Needless to say, all the boys in my house are in puppy heaven.  And even though I’m not a fan of puppy training, housebreaking, crate training, and endless chewing up things, I must say, I’m having fun with her too. How could you resist this face?

Dear Old Friend

We knew this day would eventually come. We were just hoping it would be later, much, much later.

September 20th, 2011 was the last day we spent with the greatest dog ever. Our girl, Glory, was as faithful a friend as they come. She'd been with us from practically the beginning. We got her while living in Germany in 2001. She was just a few months old and full of spunk and energy. She went everywhere with us in Europe. She rode the train to Paris, traveled to Normandy, Switzerland and more. 

She was there when we brought each of the boys home from the hospital. Wagging her tail and eagerly sniffing them as if she was welcoming them in.  Even when we just had baby Jacob, she got a lot of our attention with lots of walks in the Buffalo Forrest and playing with Ian. As the kids grew, so did she.

We'll never forget that her most favorite thing to do was to go to the beach. She loved to run free and swim after us as we got in the water. Chasing birds away never got old.

She was the best family pet EVER! She was so kind and gentle to all the babies. She always loved them and protected each one of them.

 She loved to go on hikes and long walks. Even a run with Ian would barely exhaust her.

I never thought it would be so hard to say goodbye to a pet. But she was more than that to us, she was part of our family. At ten years old, her body was suffering and mercy became more important than our feelings. The hardest part was knowing we had the appointment and knowing our time with her was numbered. It was sad to imagine family life without her around. 

We were all there with her when she went down. The vet came to our house and we all sat with her and told her what a good girl she was and how much we loved her. And just like that, she was gone.

The boys handled it much better than I thought they would. I think they knew she was not the same dog, not enjoying her life. They had pity on her and because of that, were willing to let her go.

They still say goodnight and good morning to her, where she was buried. And throughout the day they'll say "I miss Glory". To which I can only say, "I miss Glory too".