Monday, September 28, 2009

Life and Times of Sheba the Kitty



The adventures of Sheba the Cat continue. She came into our lives as a kitten about a year ago and immediately stole our hearts away. She's much bigger than these pictures show because they were taken immediately after she arrived, but she still retains that kitten curiosity that will be a part of her forever, we hope.





After several trips to Raleigh to visit Lindley Marie to make sure she really is here and really is ours to keep, we decided to relax a little.

Ok, so I was knitting a cute little dress for Lindley Marie Rose, and the guys decided they wanted to go to the beach. After all, we had a 3-day weekend because teachers at the school needed a “work day” (don’t they work every day?), and it was our wedding anniversary and sort of close to son’s birthday. He wanted to invite a friend and celebrate his 15th birthday. Our ‘cat sitter’ friend, Sonja, was also out of town for the weekend, so we decided to be brave and leave the kitty locked inside the house with her litter box, food and water for the 3 days and 2 nights we would be gone. She usually has to fend off raccoons and other critters in order to eat her catfood when we're away, and then Sonja rescues her and gives her more food every day anyway. So this time we felt we were doing her justice so she wouldn’t have to fight the raccoons for her food.

She decided, left to her wits, to be very brave and kill one of the other critters who lived in our house, too. The critter was (and I do mean WAS) a skein of yarn that I planned to use in the dress I was knitting for Lindley Marie. I’m certain the skein of yarn attacked her first because she really had to fight it hard to persevere. I say that because the untorn label was on the top step of the stairs along with the largest wad of yarn (looked a lot like over-cooked spaghetti), but the yarn had literally been strung down the stairs, around the corner into the dining room, around all 4 legs of the table and all 16 legs of the dining room chairs, back up the stairs and around the legs of the bed in my bedroom. She must have also been fearing for her life, because she had bitten through it in one place. It took me over 2 hours to untangle it and wind it into balls (yes, plural). Thank you, Sheba, for protecting us from that killer yarn animal! And, no, I didn't take any pictures. I was too frantic to rescue my yarn before it really was "dead".

We did sneak a couple of peeks at the new baby on our way to and from the beach (wasn't that convenient??), and she's just as gorgeous as ever!
Smartest, cutest, most loved, certainly the most photographed child ever, I'm convinced!

But the thing that makes me most proud is the way her parents have both stepped up to the plate for her. She is the center of their universe, never out of their sight, and meeting her every need is their only desire. The most fulfilling part of parenthood for me has been to watch my own son experience all the feelings I felt for him when he was born, and knowing how happy it makes him to be a father. And Ashley is a natural-born mother, so instinctive, persistent, and tender. She appears to be calm in the face of every storm, and I commend her for taking the drama out of motherhood (so far). I'm sure that Lindley Marie will put some of that drama back into their lives as soon as she is able. Little girls have a way with drama, after all.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Let me introduce you...



...to our new granddaughter, Lindley Marie Rose. Her name is as beautiful as she is! She was born on September 15, weighing in at 10.5 lbs. and was 22.5" long! WOW!! You'll be reading more about her here in my blog as she grows and steals more of our hearts away.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Anticipating...

Waiting and anticipating the birth of a grandchild reminds me of the stories of the Jews awaiting the arrival of the Messiah. As Christians we are taught not to anticipate, but to experience the moment and enjoy the process. Still, it is very hard not to anticipate the birth of our baby granddaughter; we are so excited about her arrival and look forward to every second with her, holding her, hugging her, watching her grow. Being parents, we know the wonder of the moment we first lay eyes on our own children and the immediate emotional response to that magical realization when the myth becomes real, the dream comes true, the waiting is over.

We pray for Lindley Marie Rose, that she will be born healthy, that her birth process will be easy for her and her dear mother, that her mother's suffering will be mercifully shortlived and not unbearable. We pray that God in His infinite wisdom, compassion and love will wrap His comforting arms around all 3 of them, Ashley, David, and Lindley, keeping them safe and pull them through the storm, and that they will feel His presence in that moment when Lindley finally greets her worldly parents face-to-face. Amen.