Meems

..... Oh Mia ... affectionately called Meems by most of us ... Mia, our sweet guinea pig, properly called a Cavy. Mia passed away Wednesday morning between 3 am and 7 am.

..... We'd only had her about nine months. Officially, I suppose, she was Trinity's pet. However, I was the driving force behind getting her and I loved her and shared in her care.

..... We knew something was wrong Tuesday afternoon. She didn't look right and was sluggish and when we realized she wasn't really eating, that sealed it. We got her in at the vet at the last minute that afternoon. I had a hard time falling asleep; kept going in to check on her.

..... Before Mark left for work I asked him to go check on her. When he came back and said she didn't make it, I bawled. He stayed home from work. I broke the news to Trinity. She cried and cried and I cried right along with her.

..... Will was concerned that perhaps we were wrong. Part of his processing it was to actually look and touch her. He wanted to make her move.

..... We let Trinity take the lead on how she wanted to deal with things. A shoebox with a pink lid was appropriate she thought. Her daddy dug a nice hole in the back yard. The kids helped fill it back in.

..... All day we were subject to tearing up. We decided we would wait a couple of weeks before entertaining the possibility of a new small pet. I mean, Mia was so cool! For real ... a cool rodent. She had personality. She oinked ... when she heard one of us in the kitchen. She came to the door of her cage when we opened it and stood up if she wanted to be held. She also, and most adorably so, would hold her chin up high in the air and let you scratch and rub under her chin. (See picture at left.) Her nostrils were two different colors; one dark, one pink. And the whiskers on each side were corresponding colors; light and dark. She was no ordinary rodent.

..... Thursday the kids and I were so sad. Her cage was still there with her tiny carrot and spinach left. It stood empty and frankly, it was hard to bare. So, we went to look at rats. Yes, rats. My thinking was that if Trinity wanted one that might just work. I would in no way get attached, so I wouldn't have to worry about letting go of another pet. Well, as it turns out, doggone rats have a much shorter life expectancy that guinea pigs. Argh!

..... Petsmart let Trinity hold a rat. She just didn't seem comfortable. Then we got the lifespan data. That idea was a dud. We decided to go to the pet store we'd gotten Mia at. We thought surely they would have a baby we could hold and love on ... ya know, tangible therapy of sorts.

..... They had babies. One 8 week old little angel with crazy hair. Another 5 week old little angel who was white with pink eyes. Oh, we loved on them and loved on them and it was so good for us. So, we left.

..... Then, we pulled over and called Daddy. Most of this information was exchanged. Yes, we found one. Is is too soon, is it okay? By the way, we didn't just find one. We found two. We can't choose between them. And, oh yeah, one is a girl and one is a boy.

..... By the time the call was over we could go back and get one. And Daddy was apparently in shock. (Two? They want two? And a pair no less?) So anyway, a crazy haired little fellow came home with us that afternoon. He is an Abyssinian piggie. His name is Jasper. He is so soft and pretty mellow. He is primarily Trinity's pet.

..... After much conversation and having a night to sleep on it, Mark decided if we really wanted a second one, well, we could indeed have her!!! I was floored. So, we went on Friday and picked up Joy. She was destined to be Alice (Alice and Jasper from Twilight) but it just didn't fit her. Joy worked. She is a Teddy Bear piggie with funny hair. She is very gentle but still pretty scared of us. She's so tiny and just as precious as can be. An added twist with Joy is that she is primarily William's pet. Hmmm .... After we got her home and started looking at her, we realized she had one dark ear and one pink ear. And even more cool, one dark nostril and one pink nostril ... just like our Mia. At left is a picture of Bella checking out Joy. She licks them ... and wags her tail. I think she is hoping we'll put one down so she can chase them.

..... And what do you do with two guinea pigs?? Well, let's just say that come July or August, our family may grow just little. That's right. We are actually planning on having wittle cavies (piglets) at our house!

..... Here's the pair of new members of our family. They are so cool and we're enjoying them already. They really have eased the pain of losing Mia. She was special. They won't replace her. But they sure have made their own places in our hearts!

25 Random Things About Me

So this is a repeat of a Note I posted on my facebook page. If you read that one, don't waste your time, as this is exactly the same!

1. I detest potluck meals. All those weird things that people probably licked their fingers making with kids helping themselves and sneezing in dishes. Uck. I'll pass, thanks.

2. Don't touch my pillow. Don't put my pillow on the floor, by penalty of death. Don't lay on my pillow, by penalty of painful death. Thank you.

3. I do not like for my food to touch other food on my plate. I avoid juicy things so the juice doesn't touch the non-juicy things.

4. I love Christian romance fiction with an Amish element. Reading novels such as these has encouraged my next random thing.

5. I am in the process of learning to quilt. At 35 I thought I would be the youngest student but I'm actually not. I love it. It is an expensive hobby. I'm enjoying although the kids haven't eaten in a month and have no college in their future.

6. I am a Girl Scout troop leader. I love it so much that sometimes I think I would want to keep being a leader even if my daughter no longer wanted to be in scouts.

7. I have more friends in Grand Junction, CO, in two years than I had in Deer Park, TX, in six. I don't know why, I'm just sayin'.

8. I miss Rosie O'Donnell's magazine and TV Show. (I don't miss her on The View so much.) Her magazine was my most favorite and her TV show rocked.

9. I hate vegetables. I'd rather chew on grass. I can't help it. They gag me.

10. I would absoultely love an Amish pen pal.

11. I manage to get my house cleaner for guests that are here for a few hours than I do for my family that are here 24/7. I don't pretend to understand that.

12. Simon actually likes me on Wii American Idol.

13. I spent an hour playing Skee Ball at Chuck E. Cheese (during a weekday) for my last birthday.

14. My 11 year old Peek-a-Poo is going to live forever. She just is.

15. I want to go to Hawaii some day. Badly.

16. I really hate the idea of walking in or out of the church auditorium while worship is ongoing. I would rather not go at all if we are going to be late or wet my pants than to get up. It would be especially dreadful if I had to wrestle a 4 year old in the aisle while he's screaming, "I don't want a spanking,". How embarrassing would that be??????????

17. I hate the noise our humidifiers make. It is not comforting or soothing. It grates on my nerves.

18. The only way I like to be awake at 6 am is if I have stayed up that late from the night before.

19. I love putting together computerized jigsaw puzzles.

20. I love paint by number puzzles (a.k.a. nonograms, paint doku)

21. I want to go camping ... in our pop up camper ... with my laptop ... and dvd's. Rustic, I know.

22. I enjoy fishing although I prefer my bait not be moving. I wish we fished more often.

23. I'm still surprised people look different from the last time I saw them on facebook. It truly surprises me when they don't look like they did 15 or 20 years ago when I last saw them in middle or high school.

24. It amazes me how often I still think of my Granny and wish she could have met my husband and children. I would love to see the approval that was never absent from her eyes. 18 years have gone by since she passed on to glory ... still wish I could talk to her once more.

25. I will most likely be in line with all of the teeny boppers in Grand Junction on March 21 to get the Twilight dvd.

Breakfast with William

I could have missed it. I could have walked away. I could have dropped him off at day care. I could have missed it; breakfast with William. We had the best talk; he over his Cinnamon Toast Crunch and I with my heart healthy oatmeal.

“Our tummies are in the middle of us, right Mom?” he asked.

“Right Will,” I answered.

“I have a wittle tummy now but someday I’ll have a big tummy like you,” he stated. (I winced.)

“Then I’ll be a grown up.”

“That’s right Will,” I assured him.

“Then I’ll have to go to work won’t I?” he questioned.

“Yes, you probably will angel man.”

“How will I get there? Will I go with Daddy?” he quizzed me further.

“Well, you might work with Daddy but you’ll probably have a job somewhere else. Soon you’ll start learning more in school and someday you’ll go to college. That is probably when you’ll decide what kind of job you’d like to have,” I suggested.

“Or maybe I’ll just get in love,” William stated.

“Well, I suppose that’s a possibility. You’ll probably still want a job though,” I told him.

“I might marry, uh, her, the one with the Thomas train,” he said.

“Who was that?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he said.

I could have missed it. Thank God for little jewels like that hidden in the busy-ness of my life. And thanks to my dear husband who not only encourages me daily but works so hard so I can not miss those precious moments.