There’s a Mouse in the House!

See this adorable, blue-eyed little guy? He is one of the strangest and friskiest little kittens that I have ever met.

There was a time when he wasn’t frisky, in fact he was sick-really sick.

Therefore, I gladly will trade all of those horrible sick days for his crazy shenanigans and up to trouble-ness.

Max has a favorite toy and his name is “Brown Mouse”. This cat loves plays fetch with “Brown Mouse”. I have spent many an evening throwing this mouse so that Max can thunderously retrieve. Then, he drops it in my hand-waiting for me to throw it again. It’s weird.

Lately, “Brown Mouse” has been stored here in the front windowsill by the aforementioned feline.

“Brown Mouse” used to have two ears.

He also used to have tail feathers.

“Brown Mouse” has a split in his side that leaves tuffs of fuzz all over the house.

But, “Brown Mouse” rattles and gets Maxwell hyped up.

I have tried replacing “Brown Mouse”, but Max won’t hear of it. This is his toy and he will play with it until he has determined it’s time to store it away in the front windowsill once more.

Or if he decides “Brown Mouse” needs a bath and I find it in the water dish.

I know, I have weird cats.

A Friend that Loves at all times

Dear Readers:

I have one of those friends that actually thinks my jokes are funny and I think hers are hilarious. Our friendship came out of the blue and was totally unexpected. And yet, we can talk about God, what’s happening in our lives or what we hope to happen in the future for hours. When we leave one another, we both walk away feeling encouraged and uplifted.

She’s embraced the good, the bad, the ugly in my life and has loved me regardless. She even loves me when I’m in the middle of Crossfit and super stinky.

We enjoy doing a lot of the same things together, but also just enjoy watching the world hurriedly pass by as we sip a cup of coffee.

She’s always got my back, never undermines or gossips about me. What I tell her is locked up in her vault and I know I can trust her.
But, she is no pushover. She’s told me like it is more than once. I love all of these things about her. She is definitely the “…friend that loves at all times…” Proverbs 17:17.

Do you have one of these friends? If so, how did your friendship form and what do you love about her?

How my faith can be tested.

We’ve had Maxwell for a little over 8 months. He’s the craziest, most rambunctious cat that I’ve ever owned. He loves to charge at things without a real plan and attack whatever may be in his way.

His blue eyes tend to get him out of a lot of trouble.

I’ve become so accustomed to him screeching around the house at 90 m.p.h., that I no longer think there’s a boogie man in my house at 2 a.m. I know it’s just this guy blowing off steam.

He also rests at 90 m.p.h.. It’s either full-on tackle mode for him or full on sleepy-mode, complete with whisker twitches, weird lip movements and tiny noises as he dreams.

I am fully in love with him-which was hard to do after we lost my buddy of eight years, Cowboy.

I’ve opened my heart to him and can’t imagine my life without this little bugger.

Two days ago, he started laying around and wasn’t eating. He threw up three times and made horrible sounds before he did so. I decided to take him to the vet and we found out he had a 105 degree temperature (4 degrees above normal for a kitten). He then received an antibiotic and a anti-nausea shot, which is presently at work in his tiny little body.

Here’s the thing. I’m going to be real. I don’t know if I can handle doing all of this again. It broke my heart to give Cowboy almost daily IV’s and watch as his body wasted away. Losing him was extremely difficult for me. I didn’t understand why God didn’t heal him. I know God cares, I know he’s faithful, I know he’s good. I still ask “why” from time to time.

I know it’s just a cat to most of you and to the rest of the world, but he’s become my little sidekick. I hate to see him in pain and I miss his rambunctious ways. We need your prayers, blogosphere-him for healing and me for peace and understanding. Thank you!

Meet the New Kitties

We loved our eight years with Cowboy. He was the weirdest and awesomest (yep, that’s a word) cat ever.

He was my little buddy and followed me around the house doing strange things. He would sit on my lap for hours while I would write my articles or blog. And, he slept on top of me each night.

He would sneeze quite often, make a sound like an Ewok when he wanted something, and fought until the very end for his furry little life. We didn’t realize what a gaping hole was left when he passed away. After several days of crying and being pretty mopey, Biceps said a strange thing.
“What about getting a new kitty? And maybe not just one, but two?”
I had a feeling he was lonely without the furry dude, too.
But, I was pretty resistant at first. I mean, how could a new cat-or even two new cats-take the place of Cowboy? But, Biceps reminded me that we aren’t replacing Cowboy, no cat could ever do that. We are giving two new kitties a new home–a much needed home. And they in turn will bring us happiness and entertainment.

And so, after days of scouring rescue centers, talking with several “foster parents” and driving around, we found our forever kitties.
This is Maxwell.
Originally he was named “Flame” due to his orange markings on his nose, ears and tail. But that name we decided was weird. For several days, we confused the he k out of the little guy. I called him “Scout” and Biceps called him “Piglet”. Neither of us could agree, until the name “Maxwell” surfaced. It stuck and the name fit his personality all too well.

He does everything to the max. Whether he is eating, sleeping, being extremely cute or playing, he does it full force. There is no half-hearted efforts here from ol Maxwell.
And, he is all that is boy-stinky, haphazard and always attacking something.

And this is Bianca-the complete opposite of Maxwell. She smells like roses. Literally. We have a feeling she is stuffed with potpourri.

Bianca has taken it upon herself to clean Maxwell. It may seem sweet and motherly, but deep down, I think it’s mainly because she can’t stand the smell.

They became best buds right off the bat, doing everything together. They’ll even eat at the same time and switch to their water bowl at the same time. It’s bizarre. But pretty par for the course in our house. Nothing around here is ever normal….

Welcome home, you two crazy cats. We are so thankful that you are here. Even if you have jumped into the toilet on several occasions, knock things off the fireplace mantle and race through the house at 500 m.p.h..
They have definitely brought life back into the house. Lots of life….