In the midst of everything else that’s going on in my life, we currently have four pets and five baby kittens! The newest additions are just a few weeks old, they are so tiny! They have just opened their eyes and are learning to walk.
To begin with I’m not really an “animal person” I don’t enjoying touching them, I don’t like how they smell, I really can’t stand fur, haha etc.. So you’re probably wondering how in the world I’ve allowed all these animals in my house? That's a good question, and it's a good thing that I have stories for you!
We noticed early on that my oldest daughter Hadassah had a special love for animals. When she was little she collected stuffed animals and would have such a hard time parting with them. (Actually I don’t think she changed much). We considered getting her a puppy but not really anytime soon. Whenever I talked to her about it, we would dream together of that day and then I always left her with "you know what to do, pray about it and when the right time comes the Lord will take care of it."
She started praying consistently on her own, for a puppy while we were still living in Hawaii, after her closest friend got a Shih Tzu. Overall she had to pray and wait patiently for her answer, for about a year.
A few weeks after our first Christmas here is South Carolina, we had a snow week. It snowed for a few days and while the snow was still on the ground, my parents came over to play with the kids. After the snow ball fights and white washes haha, we all went inside, all that is except for Hadassah and my dad. She really wanted to go on a walk but no one wanted to go with her, so my sweet daddy took her. During their walk he asked her about her hearts desires, she shared with him that she's still praying for a puppy, and about her forty dollars (if I'm not mistaken in the amount) that she's been saving up to buy it with. It seemed like just a normal day for our family. But little did we know that our precious girl would receive the answer to her prayers soon after.
My dad took the information she shared with him to heart and kept on the lookout. And what do you know, my uncle decides to get rid of one of his dogs literally a few days after the conversation my daughter had with my dad. A small, one year old girl Shih Tzu/unknown bread dog. All the things that my child had wanted! My parents took the pup, got her washed up and taken care of, put a bow on her and brought her over. My little girl was so happy and excited, she teared up and kept saying "God finally answered my prayers, I prayed for a whole year for this puppy". And it just hit me that Belle (our new dog) was a year old when we got her. Hadassah prayed for her, her entire life pretty much. Isn't that amazing!
She spends so much time talking to her, caring for her and sharing every little thing with her.
Our little Belle.
That's the story of how we got our first pet Belle and how we walked our child through her own journey of praying, believing and waiting patiently on the Lord. The Lord came through for her in his own timing and in his own special way, which was unlike anything we could have imagined.
The next pet we got was a cat we named Ginger. Everyone here seems to have a cat, so our animal loving child began to sense a need for one of those in her life. We weren't really sure we could handle more then one pet but none the less we told her to pray about it. And what do you know on her eighth birthday we finally gave in and decided to surprise her with a baby kitten. She was stoked, me…. not so much. I loved the kitty and how happy my children were with her around but not that she scratched up my couches and curtains and everything else she could get her claws on. I guess that I should have expected it. We've learned how to manage the scratching and things were fine until one day she grew up and wasn't a baby kitten anymore, she wanted to be a mama cat, as my child says. We were sure we couldn't handle that so we decided we weren’t going to do kittens. (For now)
Our little Ginger Snippsy Buttons as a kitten. (That’s what Hadassah calls her.)
Since the house we live in now is in a subdivision, we have been having animals come to our place all the time. All winter long we would house animals, we found most of their owners, some of them ran away but one cat in particulate, no one claimed and he never left. At first we just thought he'd eventually disappear but nope he stayed and my Hadassah got attached. Ah, what's another cat we thought and let her keep him. He's black and white, pretty well behaved and he's a BOY (we didn't think that one through haha).
The kids named the black and white kitty Moonlight. He’s our indoor/outdoor cat and Ginger is our house cat.
Hadassah had fun taking all these animal pictures for me :)
We went on a camping trip this summer and accidentally left (I tell you it was seriously an accident) Moonlight in the house with our Ginger. Lo and behold, shortly after our trip we noticed that Ginger was pregnant. She's been pregnant all summer and I actually secretly like her that way. She's calm and sleeps most of the time, stays out of my way and minds her own business, what's not to like, right? Anyway at the end of August she had her first three kittens and the following day two more. It was such a fun experience to watch her give birth and then take such good care of her babies. We won't be keeping them, so if anyone from around here is interested they will soon be old enough to need a new home. Be sure to let me know if you want one! It’s so cute to see all the different personalities already even though they are still so tiny.
According to my daughter all the orange kitties are boys and the one in the middle, the black and white one, with orange spots is the girl :)
This last story I want to share with you is my favorite! One day we let Moonlight out and he disappeared, he didn't come back like he usually would. Hadassah trained him to come to her when she does a certain whistle, it’s the weirdest thing ever, he listens to her better then a dog! So she was upset when he wouldn’t come and prayed for him all morning. In the late afternoon we got a phone call from someone who found him, I got their address, piled all my kids into the van and went to go get him. The lady who found him was supper nice, she said she saw him in her yard in the morning before she left for work, and figured he would just go home but when she came back he was still there. She told us that she heard a lot of meowing from under the trailer in her yard and when she went to see what it was, she found two black and white tiny kittens. Moonlight stayed by their side the whole entire day, the lady said she didn't want them so we gladly took the little orphans. They were so tiny, we weren't sure they would even eat on their own but thankfully they were able to have some soft food. The kids were so ecstatic they told all our neighbor friends and one family actually wanted to keep the little baby boy kitten. We were originally going to find the other kitten a new home but some of us (my sweet hubby in particular) got pretty attached to her. I guess I would too if every time I came home or sat down she would crawl up in my lap and go to sleep. She's the sweetest little thing, plays with his beard and ears and snuggles with his face haha they have a special bond going on, so I'm not so sure anymore that we'll be giving her away, we're still debating that one.
She’s been named Wiskers, Orea, I’m insisting on Starlight hehe but for the most part we still call her the Baby.
There’s still cat food in there but after she eats she crawls in and sleeps.
Her little nose is spotted and she has a little sole patch on her chin. I love it, it makes her unique.
I never would have thought that I can be proud of my pets but here I am saying that I am. Moonlight for his unusual care for his little ones, we are most certain they are his because first of all they look so much alike and second of all, he has a very distinct meow and what do you know, the little "Baby" has exactly the same meow! Ginger did so great with adopting the little one and being such a good example for her. She truly took her in and I'm so happy that they have each other. She’s also a great mama to her own little ones.
Anyway I'm still learning to be more of a pet person but despite of how I feel about them sometimes, I'm very happy my children have them. Hadassah in particularly, every time she feeling down, upset or after she gets in trouble you can bet that you'll find her with one of her animals in her arms. They are always there for her and she says they’re the best listeners ever and I don't argue with that! More then any of the animals I'm most proud of Hadassah, she takes such good care of them. I never hear a complaint about cleaning up accidents or the litter box or the countless feeding that she has to do amongst all of them. Now on top of all that she cares for Ginger and the kitten area very diligently. And somehow she still manages to find time to take in run aways or strays that come into our yard.
One thing I've learned is to let my kids be who they were created to be. When I make room for that, they fully come alive and find joy and a sense of belonging. As hard as it is for me I need to put self aside and watch my children blossom and support their purpose in this life. I’ve been praying for the Lord to show me these animals the way my daughter sees them. I sometimes try to pet them and give them special attention because I know it makes her happy. I also try to catch myself when I make negative remarks about them because I know that also hurts her deeply. Through it all it brings my heart joy to see my precious girl so happy even if that requires a lot of change and growth on my part. She’s worth it to me. And through this journey she’s grown as well.
Thank you for reading and following along on this wild journey of mine! I appreciate each one of you!
Natty