Our new addition...

No, people, I am not pregnant. We have a KITTEN! DJ thought it would be a good idea to get a cat for the kids. More so for Dutch since he loves my parents cat, sister's cat, and anyone else's cat he has seen. He is a cute little thing, but I am not sure it was the best idea yet. I must admit, I am not super crazy about cats to begin with - especially living with me. Dutch seems to like him, but can't quite figure out that he is not a toy or rag doll. If the poor cat survives this first month, it will surely amaze me. Just kidding - kind of! Dutch likes pulling his tail, picking him up by one arm only or the neck and chasing him under beds, under the sofa, etc. We are constantly reminding Dutch that the cat does not like those things and would rather be left alone. Lane also loves the cat. She can't ever seem to catch him to play with him so she just watches him a lot and laughs at him.

He is 8 weeks old now and his name is Pawley.

Halloween 2010

This post is coming a little late because I am just now realizing that I never posted about our Halloween this year. We spent that Sunday at our neighbors Halloween party then finished the evening with trick-or-treating with my nephews.

Dutch loved going door to door. We practiced at home before going out just to make sure that Dutch understood what he was doing.

I asked him, "What do you say when someone answers the door?"

He responded, "Give me candy!"

We had to repeatedly tell him not to demand candy, but to say "trick-or-treat."

Then it became, "What do you say at the door?"

He would respond, " Not give me candy!"

He did eventually figure it out and he followed his cousins' lead. Lane, well, she just enjoyed riding in the stroller taking it all in!

Let Us Be Thankful

I have had a heavy heart this week. The sweet, little two year old boy that I have blogged about recently, Ezra, passed away on Monday after battling a ferocious cancer beast, Neuroblastoma. A friend in Tampa brought his story to the surface for me and it amazes me daily that a child that I did not even know would captivate my attention so. His story reached thousands of people from all over the world, taking us through the motions with his parents and loved ones of love, hope, joy and loss. I read Kyle's posts, each update I received, and you could certainly tell the amount of love they felt for each other and their children, but also the amount of pain and frustration they were feeling. He has such a way of writing, so transparent, that you can almost visualize being in the hospital room with them and feeling whatever they are feeling. He writes about the alarm monitors going off to alert them of Ezra's heart rate slowing, so they climbed into bed with him and held him, kissed him, hugged him and told them they loved him as he drifted off into Heaven. They laid with him a while, then got up, packed their things and left the hospital without their son for the second time this year. They witnessed him being brought into this world and unfortunately, witnessed him leaving also. No parent should ever have to bury their child, but especially not two in the same year (the Matthews family also lost one of their newborn twins a week after birth in March). It saddens me that a child so young, with so much life to live was taken too soon. I am sure it touches me also because my two children are the same ages of their boys. Ezra has touched more people and changed more people than a grown person may ever do in their entire lifetime. We are all better for knowing his story and knowing him - if only through reading his parents' blog. If you want to read their story, you can do so by going to http://thematthewsstory.com or by clicking on the link to the right of the page. You can also donate to them by visiting their blog.

So, let us all be thankful for everything we have, every person we know. I know I am. I am thankful for a wonderful, loving husband, family and my two healthy, happy children that are full of life that I get to see to see their smiling faces everyday that I am alive.