Compassion from the Catless

Ryan and I had a flashback today! While we were living in the Terrace I noticed a cat roaming the neighborhood. It was really thin...you could nearly see its ribs. I thought it was homeless. On one particularly hot day I left some water outside for him to drink while Ryan was at work. Weeks later I'm getting nervous because this cat starts showing up at our door every morning to greet us. He's there when I get out of class. Ryan is allergic to cats and I didn't think he thought all that well of them, regardless. I was careful not to feed him anything but I didn't think he'd be drawn back so much by a little water. We didn't talk about this cat for some time. I was kinda hoping Ryan hadn't noticed him much.

One day I hear him meowing incessantly and I realize there is no way Ryan isn't catching this...and as of late he had been bringing his little friend with him. This was becoming a problem! Ryan is not gonna be happy with me when he finds out I encouraged this cat and his little sidekick to frequent our house! 

These weren't the actual cats...just a likeness of them.  Except the big one was skinnier.

Testing the waters to see how upset he might be, I ask "Do you hear that cat? I don't know why he keeps showing up!" ...and as I'm about to confess that I only gave him water once Ryan blurts out, "Well, I know he likes ham!" 

Uhhh, what?!?!?

T: "How do you know he likes ham?" 

R: "I've been feeding him our lunch meat!"

Hahahaha! All this time I had been worrying about giving him one bowl of water and my husband had been providing him tastier food than he'd ever get from home...if he had one.

Well, we'd "made our bed"...so we bought some decent catfood and more or less adopted him.  We named them Maurice and King Julian!

Our favorite moments were when he would watch us pull into the driveway and then jump on the hood of the car and stare at us through the windshield. The younger one was a spaz and was always trying to climb our little tree in the front yard. We'd sit on the grass and let Maurice lay by us. Ryan would always have to shower after but he enjoyed it more than I expected he would. 

We eventually learned that he belonged to someone that lived nearby. They had noticed him frequenting our place but didn't really mind. 

I guess from this experience I should have known we would eventually get a dog. It was a fun time and a fond memory! 

Christmas in Cali

 Ryan and I decided to spend this Christmas in California with Sharlene, Dustin and their girls.  Richard, Tami & Josh came as well.  We needed the time away, appreciated the warmth & were so grateful for all the family time.  We were fortunate to be able to stay with Sharlene and Dustin, saving us lots of money!  They live in a beautiful neighborhood and belong to a neat ward, from what we could tell.  They are enjoying their time at their new place.  They moved to Irvine from Anaheim in September and have a townhouse that is a lot like ours.  It was tight quarters but oh so fun!  Ryan and I slept on a sleeping bag in the kitchen, haha.   

We visited Disneyland, California Adventure, the Aquarium of the Pacific, Heisler Park at Laguna Beach, USS Midway, Coronado Beach, Six Flags, and spent the other days relaxing back at home, learning about what life is like for their family there.  I got to see MaKenzie's school and her teacher.  I saw where they shop and different restaurants they enjoy in Cali.  Some of their favorites are Yard House, Acai Republic, Phils BBQ and Cheesecake Factory.  Eating out is one of my favorite things to do on vacation...and we ate well! 

We were so grateful to have bonding time with our nieces.  Kenzie insisted on riding most of the rides with Tanya and Ryan.  Tanya got to hear Alisha speak her first full sentence, "Dogs.  I like dogs!"  It was so fun watching the girls open their Christmas presents Christmas morning.

And Cooper had a ball with his grandparents and aunt back at home.  He found ways to be mischevious, of course.  Here is a picture my Dad took of him after some exploring in the yard.  We're still not sure where the black mark came from, haha. 

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Confession:  These decorations have been up for a good week or two but I now feel brave enough to blog about it!  Since we are going to be in Cali half of December and through Christmas we wanted to enjoy our Christmas decorations as long as possible...well most of us...I'm not sure Cooper loves his reindeer antlers, haha!  But he'll be all set when we finally pull together our Grinch, Cindy Lou Who & Max costumes for one of these next Halloweens!

And in other news, Ryan, Shale and I went to see Frozen today!

I was blown away!  The artistry in this movie is exceptional and the music was great!

I love that it highlighted the relationship of sisters and the power of love.

It made me so grateful to have been able to enjoy the experience with my sister and to know I have her in my life, in general!  Shale and I want to dress up as these ladies for Halloween as well!  Cant wait to see her with red hair...it'll be interesting making mine white! but I'm excited!  I'll have to costume search while we're in California!

Never Truer Than Today

Cooked my First Butterball!

Kay, I don't know if my turkey was technically a butterball, but I do know that I appreciate all our former Thanksgivings just a little more now that I've finally hosted one, myself! A lot of planning goes into these and cooking a turkey is an art form that takes real talent.  Ours was good but I'll admit I have much to learn! I was lucky to have a good group of helpers! 

Dad was on Cooper duty.  You can tell by the way he talks to Coop that he has a major soft spot for him. Mom helped me time everything right, took care of all the odds and ends and set the table. Shale made the yams & sweet potatoes and Ryan cut his first roast beast and then took care of dishes!! 

We talked about all we are thankful for and each of us mentioned family. I feel so fortunate to have my parents around...that they are healthy and close. I tear up every time I think that there will be a time when they can't just be reached by phone or hugged whenever I want. I try to soak up every moment I can with them. Shale and I have had lots of fun playing this year and I'm grateful for our closeness and that we share a past and get to share a future. She is so kind, generous and overall wonderful. And of course, I'm more than blessed to have such a loving, patient, doting husband. We talked about our appreciation for our freedoms in this nation, for our safety and security. We talked about the joys Cooper has brought to the family. We talked about our jobs, our homes, our vacations, etc etc etc. There is so much to be grateful to our Heavenly Father for. 

After dinner, dessert, and our little discussion we played Aggravation as a family and I got absolutely demolished!!! But we had a blast. I can't wait for the next excuse we find to celebrate together. My family is the best!

What are the Limits of Your Love?

We were fortunate to hear from a very gifted speaker in Sacrament Meeting today.  Being a psychologist by profession, I suppose he knew how to reach heart strings and tug just enough to make you evaluate things and feel inspired to change and become better.

He started out by inquiring about those who were NOT invited to our Thanksgiving tables.  Those who, for whatever reason, could be considered broken branches on our family tree.  He asked us to consider the limits of our love.

Utilizing cases from his past, he painted pictures of young people troubled with addictions who cause scenes in church.  He talked about adult members who fall less active and show by their tattoos, colorful language and body piercings that they probably aren't living the values the church teaches.  He asked how we would react if these people were to enter our chapel.  Would we be nervous?  Excited? Curious? Critical? Warm? Offended? Inviting?

Then he painted a very different picture.  He talked about the Smith family...you know...the ones that do ALL the right things.  They have a beautiful home, rewarding professions, weekly FHE and daily scripture study.  They are always perfectly groomed and even their youngest children (the ones who can't read) walk in with their triple combinations in tow.  They have "important" callings and just all in all seem like the measuring stick that we all evaluate our righteousness by.  How do we feel toward them?  Envy?  Admiration?  Guilt?  Gratitude because they are the ones you want to snatch up for callings before their names are even read before the congregation? Perhaps a little irritation?

What are the limits of your love?  Who do you choose to invite into your circle and who do you exclude?  and why?

He said that it is important to separate someone's worth from their worthiness.  Worthiness comes on a sliding scale...sometimes our efforts to live the gospel bring up our worthiness and sometimes we may fall short.  We are human.  We work these things out with our Heavenly Father and with a loving bishop. Worth, by contrast, is not changeable. Worth is a constant, it always remains the same.  A 12K diamond is always a 12K diamond.  A child of God is always a child of God.  Where we stand on the sliding scale of worthiness should not cause us to question our worth in God's eyes, or permit us to question the worth of others.

We are charged with the responsibility to show love.  Love is the strongest power in the universe.  We are taught that by showing love, we qualify ourselves for eternal life.

Starting in Luke 10:25: 

25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit ^aeternal life?

26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?

27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy ^aheart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt ^alive.

If we can manage to see past ourselves and to love those who challenge that ability, we become better qualified for the kingdom of our Father in Heaven.  We can do NO HARM by showing love to others.  Our Heavenly Father does much the same by loving each and every one of us, fiercely!

I'll admit there are some in my life, more particularly in my past, that I should learn to love a little more than I do.  I'm sure each of us can think of a few of these people.  I, for one, commit to the find love in my heart for these individuals and hope that it will bring peace to my heart and good to their lives.  No amount of love is wasted.  

He shared this poem in closing:

                                    'Twas the night before Jesus came and all through the house

Not a creature was praying, not one in the house.

Their Bibles were lain on the shelf without care

In hopes that Jesus would not come there.

The children were dressing to crawl into bed.

Not once ever kneeling or bowing a head.

And Mom in her rocker with baby on her lap

Was watching the Late Show while I took a nap.

When out of the East there arose such a clatter.

I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash!

When what to my wondering eyes should appear

But angels proclaiming that Jesus was here.

With a light like the sun sending forth a bright ray

I knew in a moment this must be THE DAY!

The light of His face made me cover my head

It was Jesus! returning just like He had said.

And though I possessed worldly wisdom and wealth,

I cried when I saw Him in spite of myself.

In the Book of Life which He held in His hand

Was written the name of every saved man.

He spoke not a word as He searched for my name;

When He said "it's not here" my head hung in shame.

The people whose names had been written with love

He gathered to take to His Father above.

With those who were ready He rose without a sound.

While all the rest were left standing around.

I fell to my knees, but it was too late;

I had waited too long and thus sealed my fate.

I stood and I cried as they rose out of sight;

Oh, if only I had been ready tonight.

In the words of this poem the meaning is clear;

The coming of Jesus is drawing near.

There's only one life and when comes the last call

We'll find that the Bible was true after all!

Remembering Pepper

My sister organized a little memorial service for the 1 year anniversary of the passing of her young dog, Pepper. He suffered from some serious hip problems that doctors could not find a solution for so she ultimately decided to allow the pain to leave him.  Ryan and I were away on vacation during this time.  It was nice to have this memorial so that he and I could formally pay our respects to this beloved family member.

Pepper was a hoot! and he LOVED people.  You could coax him to stay near when he passed by other dogs but if he saw a human, good luck!  He was just too eager to make everyone's day with his infectious smile and piercing blue eyes.  He hated birds.  The second you gave him enough space to get through the sliding glass door into the backyard, he would bolt!!! and chase every bird he could find off our property.  It always made us chuckle.  On a good day, his stomach made a great pillow.  I was on my mission when Pepper joined the Hawkins family so initially I was a little nervous that he would feel the need to protect them from me when I returned a year later.  I was surprised, though, that I was immediately adopted into what he saw as his family and I didn't spend a day feeling like an outsider.  He always caught a ball in the air...I thought of it as a great talent!  He loved playing in the park.  He was the first of any of our family dogs that I ever remember obsessing over his toys.  He LOVED to play.  There was just so much to be loved about this guy.  Our puppy, Cooper, would have had soooo much fun playing with Pepper.  I hope they met in heaven before Cooper came down!  

The night before his service, Ryan broke down a little and mentioned how much good Pepper did for his opinion of dog ownership. He said Pepper was the first dog he ever felt emotionally connected to. Because of his fondness of Pepper, he became a lot more willing to consider Cooper...so in a way, Pepper is responsible for so much of the joy we feel in our home these days. I'm very grateful to him for that.

Shale was a trooper as we shared our fondest memories of Pepper. I know it was hardest on her.  They were best friends and he came into her life at a time she needed him most.  He loved her most, as evidenced by every time she walked in the door!! He would drop everything to run to her and maul her down and Shale ate it up every time, but I realized today that I could have probably been considered his mistress, haha. To preface this story I need to mention that Shale has always been the lizard of the family, liking her living spaces to be 1000 degrees hotter than I.  My room was known for being cooler than most other rooms in the house...which is just the way I liked it.  We are complete opposites in this way, much like the Heat Miser vs. the Cold Miser.  

Anyway,  Pepper would always start the night sleeping in Shale's room but after an hour or so he would sneak out of her room and upstairs into my bed! This little habit of his was not Shale's favorite thing.  I think Shale just kept her room too warm for him so he came up to the cooler space, but it still brought me lots of little smiles.  I enjoyed teasing Shale about it from time to time, saying it was her snoring or something goofy like that.  

To sum up, Pepper was one in a million.  He sincerely loved everyone and brought us lots and lots of joy for the short while he was with us. He is sorely missed but we really enjoyed reflecting on the good he brought to our family today.  Love you Pepper!