So He Showed Up One Day...

This teeny little thing...

 who was scared and hungry and lonely...

 he had a limp and half a meow...

and I was hooked...

but he was afraid as he had no reason to trust us.

I doubt that he had ever had any real human contact, not any pleasant human contact anyway.

So we fed him and we waited...

and we waited...

and we waited...

 but his trust was hard won, so we finally got the trap and set our minds hearts that we would simply trap him, have him neutered and then release him.

It didn't take long as he liked to eat...

but oh my was he scared.

Again, we set our hearts to neuter him and then let him go as we were convinced he was feral and not going to be able to be "reformed".

 However, this sweet child of mine...

told me that there is no such thing as a feral cat and that we should just try.

He also convinced me to keep Chewy and loves to remind me of that every chance he gets!

 Smart boy!

So, we neutered him, gave him all of his shots and then gave him a "shot" at becoming a member of this family.

It was slow going at first but we were all shocked when Christian actually turned out to be right!

hehe

This kitten wanted to be loved, was desperate to be loved but needed to learn how to trust.  

He had had a rough start and was battered and bruised but slowly and carefully, he began to trust and to heal and I slowly and carefully began to love this puny little thing who seemed to really need me...

 and so the name saga began, but first...

let me back up and bit and explain.

I am the "dog" lady

I love my doggies and they love me!

 I have always been the "dog" lady, even before I was a "lady".

*grin*

Just like my Grandmother, I just love puppy dogs...

and just like my Dad, I have just never been  a cat person.

I always thought they were cute but just never liked them as much as I did dogs.

My Dad just never liked them, until...

 Murphy

Murphy was a scrawny, sickly little kitty who needed someone and that someone was my Dad.

This teeny little kitty completely stole my Daddy's heart and transformed him into a an actual cat person...

and as I got to know the scrawny little black kitty who had taken up residence in our hearts...

the more he reminded me of Dad's Murphy.

So, back to the name saga!

Some of you may know that we are terrible when it comes to picking out names for our pets!

I guess that is what comes with the territory when you have 9 people with 9 different opinions of what names are cool and what names are just not!

Ahem...   Dustin

So anywhoo

To make a long story short, there were many different opinions of what this little black kitty's name should be.

So much so that this poor little guy has lived with 4 different names...

Duck
Black Kitty
BK - for, you guessed it - Black Kitty
and Dustin

and while I think we can all agree that Duck is just a super cool name for a cat, especially when you already have a dog named Goose...

for some odd reason, not everyone in the family approved of the cool name Duck!

It has become somewhat of a running joke in our family and as I pondered the cool name Duck...

the thought hit me that maybe, just maybe, we should have named him "Doc".

I mean he did remind me of my Dad's Murphy and my Dad was a doctor and loads of people called my Dad, "Doc" and...

this little kitty was certainly turning into "my Murphy" but was it too late?

I told Hubby that if we had found this little kitty on my Dad's birthday, then maybe I would have thought to name him Doc and as I said this, I began to think and then I went back to look at the pictures that I had taken when this little kitty had first made an appearance in our yard.

I looked at the first pic...

it was taken June 6th, oh well...

I looked at the next set of pics, when we had finally trapped him...

they were taken July 12th,  a little closer but not Dad's birthday...

I looked at the next set of pics, when he let us hold him for the first time...

they were taken July 13th, still not there.

I was about to give up and just let it go, until I saw the next set of pics.

These pics were taken on the day that we brought him into the house for the first time and decided to keep him and love him forever.

Can you guess what day these pics were taken???

Yep, on my Dad's birthday!!

I could not believe it and made the executive decision to formally change this little kitty's name to "Doc" and dared anyone to call him anything but!

Ha!

I miss my Dad and find myself thinking of him often and this little kitty, our "Doc" has helped to make me feel closer to him.

I know my Dad would have loved Doc and I feel like all of this is a sweet little gift from the Lord who knew my thoughts and my feelings and my prayers about my Dad and chose to send me a  confirmation and comfort wrapped up in a cute, sweet, needy little package who now and forever will be known as...

Doc!

Serving Heart

When people express concern about how our special needs adoptions have affected our other kiddos...

 I just have to smile and say that it has grown their hearts beyond their home and beyond their school and and beyond their friends and beyond their community.

 It is teaching them to serve and my precious Em is growing by leaps and bounds!

Since Lucy has been confined to a wheelchair, Em has been watching me.

She sees every grimace as I lift her sister and lift that wheelchair.

For weeks now, she has NOT let me lift the wheelchair in or out of the car or up and down the stairs, without her help! She will tell me to wait for her to help and she always...

always...

helps with a smile on her face! 

This child will know how to serve and is so learning to look outside of herself. I am so proud of the 9 year old that she will become in just about a month!

Thank you Lord for such a blessing as Emmeline!

To Know Him...

is to love him...

and I honestly cannot believe that I have loved this sweet...

silly...

handsome face for 15 years!

15 years of closing my eyes, holding my breath and praying for a soft landing spot for my crazy Charlie.

Charlie likes to live and laugh and although he would never admit it...

to love...

and he has a lot of love to go around...

Oh sorry....

meant to put this picture up there!  Yes, much better!!

hehe

Charlie has a way of drawing you in and instantly making you feel at ease.

I think it is his smile or the fact that he just does not take life or himself too seriously.

He is easy...

although sometimes a bit too much "whatev"...

but when called upon...

 Charlie steps up to the plate, does what needs to be done and does it well...

 except maybe when we're talking room clean up...

but I have learned to close the door and slowly walk away from that one!

*grin*

To celebrate, we went where we always go...

to JuJu's house...

where there was much showing off soccer playing with cousins...

and...

Charlie got to drive part of the way there...

cause, before we went to JuJu's...

we went to the DMV...

where Charlie officially became a menace legal driver...

Yikes!  All of a sudden, I feel the need for a safety helmet!

 hehe

Precious Charlie...

 it is always an adventure with you my love...

 and always fun and we are so proud of the wonderfully, caring, compassionate, funny, smart, awesome young man that you are turning into...

right before our eyes. 

You are incredibly responsible but hide it well behind your enthusiasm for life and for laughter and for just having fun!

Know that you are loved and cherished my sweet boy by your family and by One who is far greater and whose love is all consuming.

My prayer for you is that you will keep this in your heart and remember that as you journey through the next 15 years and beyond....

His love and His help are only a whisper away.

 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

Happy Birthday Charlie