Catching Up...

Hi there!
Lots to catch up on in this and the next few posts. Travel and illness have kept me away from the computer more than I would have liked. I sure hope you're enjoying beautiful spring weather. I know we are!

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-Long- If you get bored easily just know our cat had kittens. Now you can scroll to the next part...

Excitement Was In the Air!!!
A truly awe-inspiring event for our family. Our cat, Mischief, gave birth to 4 unbelievably tiny, remarkable, kittens just hours before we left for Florida. Our oldest son was home for the weekend to take care of the pets. We teased him that she would have the kittens while we were gone - we never considered she might have them before we left! Since nothing for us is ever "normal," I guess it's no surprise that the cat couldn't just curl up in a nice dark place and quietly have her babies - oh no - not our cat...

Ken noticed something by the cat (he thought she had caught a mouse or something) when we pulled in the driveway from dinner. On closer inspection he realized it was a baby kitten - and - there were two of them! We were so excited!

Our puppy, Izzie, was making a commotion in the side yard and when we turned our attention to her, she was trying to show us a baby kitten on the ground by her (on the other side of the fence). Oh! Ok, there are 3 kittens! We were so proud of Izzie - she saved that kitten's life. Next we had to determine how to get the kitten and its momma together. Ken carefully gathered it up and placed it in the box he quickly got together for mom and babies.

A short while later Mischief left the box and went over to her food. I peeked in on the kittens. When I looked back - there was another one (sack and all) on the ground by where the cat was just eating! Ken's on the phone for work, Christopher is hysterically begging me to do something, Ken's still on the phone. I'm a city girl and only know about birthin' human babies! Afraid to touch the kitten (and, in all honesty, a little grossed out), I did the only other thing I could think of - I walked around to where the cat was with the other babies, picked her up, and took her over to the kitten. It took her a sec but she finally realized she had a baby there. She grabbed up the sack and part of the baby and hopped back in the box - only - the kitten didn't make it all the way - it was stuck clinging to the side (towel). With a gentle nudge from me and some attention from mama cat - it finally made it into the box. I really can't convey the awe and excitement, and yes, stress, our family experienced that evening. None of us really knew what needed to be done and frankly, we probably didn't need to do much. This was a new experience for us and we kept a close eye on the cats the remainder of the evening. We hated to be leaving them in a few hours but knew we'd done all we could to make sure they were comfortable, out of the weather, and in a place acceptable to our cat.

While we were away our son was great at letting us know how they were all doing and checking on them regularly. It's amazing how much those babies grew in the 4 days we were gone!

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Florida Trip...
I can't begin to tell you how wonderful our Florida trip was. To see so many family members gathered together at once was heartwarming, to say the very least. To have the opportunity to share in the celebration of Ken's Aunt & Uncle's 50th Wedding Anniversary was an honor. My only regret was that our 3 oldest children weren't there with us. Ok, maybe two regrets...also that there wasn't more time to spend with individual family members and really catch-up.

Our family of 4, Ken's brother's family of 4 and my mother-in-law pretty much spent the 4 days together. That was different for us but very enjoyable. Some highlights...the Italian restaurant we ate at the first evening. We had a great time! ...our daily "it's too early to be out in public and sociable during breakfast in the hotel" mornings (Abbey never finished anything but was always hungry 10 minutes later)...A small beach outing followed by oceanside lunch eaten outside had us jockeying for position out of the sun...Seafood dinner (again) oceanside on our final evening - complete with key lime pie candies! And, of course, the anniversary party Saturday evening and visiting with relatives (and eating amazing leftovers from the night before) Sunday afternoon. And finally, being the ever-considerate family that we are, we didn't even make enough noise on our departure (at 3:30 am) to wake our fellow travelers who (yawn) didn't hit the road until 5 or 6 hours later! Did I mention how great Cracker Barrel's coffee is???

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The following arrived in my email today. If you are anythink like me, life's various truths are known to our logical minds but these reminders never hurt...



The Bottom Line...
FACE IT... Nobody owes you a living, what you achieve or fail to achieve in your lifetime is directly related to what you do or fail to do.



No one chooses his .parents or childhood but you can choose your own direction.

Everyone has problems and obstacles to overcome, but that too is relative to each individual. NOTHING IS CARVED IN STONE...



You can change anything in your life, if you want to badly enough. Excuses are for losers: those who take responsibility for their actions are the real winners in life. Winners meet life challenges head on, knowing there are no guarantees, and give it all they've got. And never think it's too late or too early to begin, time plays no favorites and will pass whether you act or not.



TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE...Dare to dream and take risks...Compete. If you aren't willing to work for your goals don't expect others to.



Unfortunately I don't know who to credit for these wise words. I just hope I (we?) remember them during those times of complacency.


Blessings...