THE Best News!!!!!!!!!!

TINKERBELLE IS HOME!

I am thrilled down to my toes!!!!!

Here's the story:

After a very disappointing day with our search, I asked Dave to have Sweet Pea go out and call her one more time before bed. She did so reluctantly. All of a sudden I could hear her calling Tinks name in a way she hadn't before. I threw up the window and yelled downstairs/outside, "Is she there?!?!?!? " Sweet Pea didn't hear me so I rushed downstairs in my pj's. I guess while I was doing that Sweet Pea was screaming for Dave because she could hear her meowing. When I got downstairs Dave was at the door frantically trying to slip on his shoes. I was running for the front door when he yelled at me to put something on my feet. I was going to go outside in my bare feet in the snow, I didn't care! Lol! But I did rush & got some boots on. We kept calling and following her meows. We couldn't see her and of course it was very dark outside being as it was almost 10p.m. here. Finally we heard her cries coming from a huge bush in the neighbors yard. Dave was yelling as he was all excited and determined not to let her get away. We tried to get into the bush but it was so thick. We finally spotted her up in the very middle of the bush. Dave finally reached in enough that he got her leg and started trying to tug her out. She was meowing very loudly at this point. He didn't want to hurt her but she wasn't coming on her own. I think she was too scared. He got her out and hugged her close and we all ran for the house. Sweet Pea & I were crying. As soon as we got inside the front porch and I had the door securely locked I told Dave, "Give her to me!" and grabbed her and hugged and hugged her. Kisses too! The kids all came running out and everyone was loving on her. We fed her, and Tucker too, tuna. She was tearing into it like she's a wild thing. She's now cuddled up in my lap purring & meowing and rubbing my face with hers. Oh I missed her! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for praying for my baby!!!!!!! I can't believe she is home! Thank you Jesus! You can believe I'll be praising up a storm in church tomorrow!

Reunion

I'm a VERY happy mommy!

Together again

Thank you all for your prayers & thank you God for bringing her home!

Saturday

Dave, Sweet Pea & E-boy are out passing out more fliers. I'm feeling frustrated. WHERE IS SHE?

Boo went to the movies with her best friend. She was super excited. It made me extra happy that we said yes & gave her that treat. They are going to see Alvin & the Chipmunks.

Bugs is snuggled up in my lap taking a nap. He is warm & cuddly. I decided to take the time & snuggle with him. The days will fly by & one day I will long for this time. It's special and one of my favorite times of the day.

We spent the morning working on chores. I'm hoping to get the tree down & decorations packed away before the weekend is over. I'm already missing our vacation days. Anyone else?

Let Go & Let God

A dear friend of mine received this email earlier this week. It gave me a lot to think about.

"Let it go for 2008...by T. D. Jakes

There are people who can walk away from you.

And hear me when I tell you this! When people can walk away from you: let them walk.

I don't want you to try to talk another person into staying with you, loving you, calling you, caring about you, coming to see you,staying attached to you. When people can walk away from you let them walk.

Your destiny is never tied to anybody that left.The Bible said that,"They came out from us that it might be made manifest that they were not for us. For had they been of us, no doubt they would have continued with us." [1John 2:19]

People leave you because they are not joined to you. And if they are not joined to you, you can't make them stay. Let them go.

And it doesn't mean that they are a bad person, it just means that their part in the story is over. And you've got to know when people's part in your story is over so that you don't keep trying to raise the dead.

You've got to know when it's dead. You've got to know when it's over.

Let me tell you something. I've got the gift of good-bye. It's the tenth spiritual gift. I believe in "good-bye". It's not that I'm insensitive or uncaring, it's that I trust, I know whatever and whomever God means for me to have and be a part of my life He will give. And if a relationship takes too much sweat I don't need it.

Stop begging people to stay. Let them go!!

If you are holding on to something or someone who doesn't belong to you and was never intended for your life, then you need to ..LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding on to past hurts and pains .. LET IT GO!!!

If someone can't treat you right, love you back, and see your worth... LET THEM GO!!!

If someone has angered you ..LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding on to some thoughts of evil and revenge ..LET IT GO!!!

If you are involved in a wrong relationship or addictive behavior..LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding on to a job that no longer meets your needs or talents .. LET IT GO!!!

If you have a bad attitude...LET IT GO!!!

If you keep judging others to make yourself feel better...LET IT GO!!!

If you're stuck in the past and God is trying to take you to a new level in Him...LET IT GO!!!

If you are struggling with the healing of a broken relationship....LET IT GO!!!

If you keep trying to help someone who won't even try to help themselves.. LET THEM GO!!!

If you're feeling depressed and stressed ...LET IT GO!!!

If there is a particular situation that you are so used to handling yourself and God is saying "take your hands off of it," then you need to... LET GO!!!

Let the past be the past. Forget the former things. 2007................LET IT GO! 2008................BRING IT ON!

Fresh and new in each moment. God Bless us all as we move forward into newness with courage and trust that all is well in our world."

Another Funny

Last Sunday we decided to stay home from church. We had an open house Christmas party to attend in the early afternoon and knew Bugs would be a mess if he went to church, Sunday school, the hour drive and then the party. We also knew we needed the extra rest from Christmas and all it's activity and prep. Later we were all in the van & on our way to the party. E-boy happily declared, "Yeah! We are going to church!" His sister explained to him that we weren't going to church & that church was over for the day. He was so disappointed. Dave & I started to feel a bit guilty. I told him I was sorry we didn't' go this week but we were going to a party now. He replied sadly, "I wanted to go to church." Now I was feeling more guilty. And then he added, "I wanted a doughnut." Dave & I cracked up. He was very upset that he had missed out on his chocolate doughnut. Poor guy. And BTW, he does love church & his teachers. But I think they have some competition. *wink*

Phone Calls

We received 3 phone calls today regarding Tinkerbelle. One came this morning from Heather who lives about 8 houses down. She heard a cat meowing outside her window at 4 a.m. Friday and thought it was her cat until she saw hers was indoors. She hadn't seen our flyer yet. When she did she called. Boo & I walked down to her house and saw kitty tracks around and called and called for Tinks. Nothing. Heather said she would call us if she saw or heard her again and would also try to bring her inside. Later this afternoon another lady down the street but only 3 or 4 houses down said a cat has been hanging around her house the past couple of days. She put food out for it last night and it was all gone this morning. She is also going to keep an eye out. We don't know if this cat is Tinkerbelle as neither lady actually saw her. But we are hoping. Sweet Pea & I walked down after Dave got home from work. We ended up walking the neighborhood again and posted 5 more fliers on poles. We were out for an hour. Then tonight around 9:30 we received another phone call from a man that lives more in the downtown area. It is much further than we thought Tinkerbelle would wander but it's not impossible. He said he came home around 6:30 and saw a cat fitting her description eating on his back deck. He leaves food out for the stray cats. He then later saw our 'lost' add in the paper and called us. We went down there and called & looked under his deck but the cat was gone. In fact, there were no cats around at all only a ton of paw prints in the snow. We went home and walked up and down our street again calling. I'm so disappointed. Three trips out today and still no kitty. Please keep praying. These phone calls have given us hope. Hope that maybe Tinkerbelle is still out there and hope that there are some very nice people around that are willing to help bring her home.

I Needed This

E-boy was upstairs in my bed lying down for his nap. There is construction going on outside on our street. They are digging a HUGE hole. A large section of the road is impassible. There has been noise for the past 2 days. They were still working and suddenly a new & very loud noise started up. E-boy asked me what the noise was. I told him I didn't know. He replied very emphatically, "Well, they are ruining my beauty sleep!" Lol! He gave me a much needed laugh. What a kid!

Today

The kids & I are making fliers & hope to pass them out & post them this afternoon.
I called the shelter, Humane Society, animal control, the local vet & the newspaper. No news.
I dreamt of Tinkerbelle last night. They were good dreams & she was home safe & sound. Thank you to those that have emailed with your sweet understanding & prayers.

My Heart is Breaking

My Beautiful Sweetie

This is how Tinkerbelle always slept with me at nap time.

I replaced the blanket in the tub we put outdoors for Tinkerbelle. I put 2 large warm towels & a flannel sheet inside. I also put out food & water. The water will freeze but I made it hot so it will take a little longer to turn to complete ice. I pray to God she comes home. I can't stop crying. My poor baby. I keep wondering, "Is she hungry? Is she suffering? Scared? Freezing to death? Already gone?" It's going to be another long night. Tinkerbelle, your Mama misses you so very much. Please come home.

Such a sweet, cuddly kitty.

A Pleasing Pantry

I decided it was high time to clean out the pantries. They were done this summer but things get chaotic so quickly. We don't have a lot of cupboard space so I use these two pantries to store food. We have them upstairs to protect the food from mice. We keep our extra canned goods in the basement.

I had the girls take all the canned goods downstairs where they were supposed to be. Upstairs I cleaned the shelves and then organized each pantry according to the lists I had typed up earlier. They are each posted on the inside of the pantry door. It is an inventory list, (for each pantry), so not only do we know what is supposed to be each but how much we have. It should help us greatly when making our grocery shopping list. E-boy & even Bugs helped by handing me things as I was putting them on the shelves. I am very pleased with the results. Now hopefully everyone will cooperate and maintain!

Front Porch Pantry

Mostly our pasta, rice, flour & boxed cakes, etc.

Back Porch Pantry

Tea, Hot Cocoa, Spices & Herbs, Hot & Cold Cereals, Snacks, Daily Baking Ingredients

Puzzle Time

E-boy wanted me to post this picture of him with his completed puzzle. He was so proud! I was proud of him too. He did a fantastic job!

MISSING

My precious kitty Tinkerbelle is missing. The only thing I can guess is that she slipped out the door & no one realized it. I feel terrible that I didn't' see she was missing until late last night. I have walked the neighborhood, called & called, but there has been no sign of her. I'm worried because the temps dropped here and there is at least a foot of snow outside. If you think of it would you please pray that Tinkerbelle comes home soon? I'm scared that something bad has happened to her. We have a busy road the next road over and.................well things keep going through my mind. Her brother Tucker keeps looking throughout the house for her & meowing for her.

Walk in the Snow

It is snowing again today! Now it's light, fluffy flakes but for a couple of hours it was coming down fast & furious. It beckoned and I answered getting the family all from their various places in the house and announcing we were all going for a walk. There were cheers from all but one. He was hooked to his video game but soon conceded. We got outside and it is gorgeous. Just like a picture postcard.

Catching snowflakes. Yummy!

Snowing Hard

Loving His Sled Ride


And Away They Go
Bugs kept yelling, "Wheeeee!"

The first part of the walk was fun. The first 5 minutes, that is. Then Sweet Pea started sulking. Next it was Boo's turn & she started crying. Soon to follow was E-boy's whining & then the girls were fighting. They stopped to start pushing each other around. At first they laughed but it didn't take long before they were fighting again. E-boy spent the rest of the walk whining. I wanted to knock their heads together. Bugs was the only happy one. And many close to us wonder why we don't get out & walk more often. Are ya kidding me?!?!?

Let It Snow!

This morning we woke up to S-N-O-W! I was kind of surprised b/c I thought the temps would be too warm to get much, if any snow. Boy was I wrong! The temps must have dipped b/c we ended up with at least 6 inches of snow if not more! It was perfect for making snow people. I was super glad Dave was home as I'm not that talented when it comes to rolling snow. He is though. He did a super job and we had a BLAST. Even after the kids went inside Dave & I were still outside playing. We were the last of the "kids" to come inside. Lol! What a great morning!

The beginnings of a snowman......

Gorgeous!

What talent!

Remember the picture I took in the spring? Still beautiful! Now it's sporting it's "winter outfit".

Look how deep the snow is!

Big foot!!!!!!!

Boo & Daddy sculpt the snowman.

Daddy & Daughter

The Three......er........Four of Us

(Yes, my hat IS too small. Lol.)

Posing

Little Pumpkin

Boo & I made this little gal together.

Big Daddy

Time for Mama!

We decided we couldn't have a Daddy & a Baby and not make a Mama.

A Family!

All decked out and ready to have their family photo taken!

Styling!

Kids At Heart

Ooops!!!!!

I went to stand up, stepped in a hole, lost my balance and before I knew it was on the ground. LOL! Too funny!

My Hero!

We were laughing so hard I thought I was going to pull Dave down with me. LOL!

We Made It!

Whew! Sweet Pea told us there was a car driving by and they slowed down to stare & then laugh at our predicament. We aim to entertain! Hee, hee!

I can hardly wait to go out and play in the snow again tomorrow! We are supposed to receive at least another 6 inches - maybe more!

Can You Believe It?!?!?!?

Dave won! My Mom bought him a couple of lottery tickets for Christmas & one was a winner! At first we thought he won $30 which we were thrilled about. We had just put that amount in our gas tank before going over to their house for Christmas and were happy to have it return to us, so to speak. The next day he realized he got a bonus of $10 for a total of $40! I know it doesn't break any records but for us it was fantastic! Dave kept singing, "I have the golden ticket" (think Charlie & the Chocolate Factory) over and over. Lol! We used the $ on our errands for some trim for the bathroom update & groceries. What a blessing!