We Were Running a Little Low

We've only had two pets around here since December, having lost two that month. I think our all time high with regards to number of pets was six - two dogs, two bunnies, and two hamsters.  That's excepting the time when we had fish...there were a lot of those...but they died off quite quickly!

Two pets seems like hardly any!

Well, yesterday we decided to remedy that sad situation by adding two more members to our family.

Emily, at long last, was able to get her much-longed-for guinea pig.  After throwing out many names, such as Papua New and Gluten, she settled on Lila.  Lila is an adorable little piggy who makes all those cute little guinea pig noises! 

Marcus, after a seemingly interminable wait, finally got a replacement hamster for the one that passed away in December. His cute little friend is named Midnight. 

The rodent population is definitely on the rise at our house!

Molly is waiting (not so patiently) for when we will say "yes" to a husky, and Nina is holding out hope for a kitty.  Not seeing either of those things in the near future, but you never know....

A Heavy Heart

Many of you prayed for Molly's bunny last month when he was sick.  I reported on his apparent recovery right around Thanksgiving, but it appears that he was only given a reprieve from his illness, as he is once again very, very ill.  It is almost certain that he will not make it this time.

So, as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, we also prepare to grieve the death of little Starburst.  Strangely, this sad event makes me all the more thankful for Christmas, as it is a reminder that Jesus birth was the beginning of God's ransoming of his children.  Jesus came so that they can spend eternity in heaven where there is no death and no grief. No more tears and sadness!  Oh, how I long for that time!

Pain in this life always makes me long all the more for the next.

Please pray for Molly.  It is a sad day for her and our family.

Guess What God Did

Nine days ago, I posted about Molly's bunny being very, very sick.  And so he was.  The vet examined him and determined he probably had an intestinal blockage or ate something poisonous.  She also said he was showing signs of severe neurological damage.  His temp was 94 degrees (bunnies normally have a temp of 101 or so).  He could not use his front legs at all.

Although the vet suggested we euthanize him, we opted to bring him home and take care of him until the end came.  In the meantime, we requested prayers for his healing.  Many of you (and your children) have faithfully prayed that Starburst would get better.  Surely if not a sparrow falls to the ground without God knowing about it, he would be concerned with our little rabbit as well.

We went about caring for Starburst's basic needs - making sure he was getting food and water.  We made his cage "handicap accessibly" so he could manage without the use of his front paws.  We gave him water out of a syringe.  We hand fed him hay and alfalfa.

I didn't spend much time with him yesterday because of the holiday, but he seemed to be doing better.  Today, when I went to check on him in the morning, he was standing on both front paws, hopping around perfectly normal, cleaning his little ears....everything...completely normal!

Soooooo, thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who prayed for his healing.  In the grand scheme of life, a bunny is really a small, small matter, but the fact that God cared about this very small matter just reminds me that He cares about all that concerns me!

Yay, God!

Bunny Update

For those that are following Starburst's progress/illness, he is hanging in there.  He is eating and drinking water (albeit through a syringe at times) and does not seem to be in any pain.  His front legs still don't work, more or less.  He usually has them splayed out to his sides. 

We are very thankful that we didn't euthanize him as the vet suggested.  We are hoping that we will see continued improvement in his well-being, but for now we're taking it one day at a time.

Thank you to all who are praying for him.  It means a lot to me when you ask how he's doing :-)

The Problem With Pets

I love animals.  I love keeping them as pets.  Cats, dogs, bunnies, hamsters.  If they're furry, I love them. 

But there's a problem.

I get attached to my pets.  They're like a part of the family.  This does not make life easy because, unless your pet is a tortoise, you're going to outlive it.  I don't like this.  This is the problem I have pets.

Last December we had to put our dog Snickers down.  It was HARD! 

Now we have a very sick bunny.  This makes me VERY sad.  Still praying that little Starburst pulls through, and we would appreciate your prayers to that end as well.

We're Infested

I came home from camping last week to discover that my house was infested with fruit flies!  We had recently eradicated some pesky moths from our kitchen, and now this! My long-time readers know that these are not our first infestation problems.

Now we've had fruit flies before...mostly around fruit.  Not this time!  They're everywhere!  And don't even think about leaving a partially drunk cup of coffee on the counter!  It will be a swimming pool for little fruit flies before too long.  Yuck!

Well, my dear sweet husband has decided that today is the day we wage war on the fruit flies.  How does one wage war on fruit flies you ask?  Good question.  That's the same question we were asking ourselves this morning.  Thanks to the handy-dandy internet, we discovered that the first thing to do is put bleach down your drain. Apparently, fruit flies like kitchen drains.  Then there's the obvious stuff like wiping off countertops and keeping fruit in paper bags.

Finally, we built a fruit fly trap.

Already, our nifty little trap has caught many friendly, fruity flies. Can't wait to see it tomorrow morning.  While there were some catch-and-release traps on-line, we chose the catch-and-watch-them-die sort!  It's much more satisfying!

Hopefully, we will be fly-free REALLY soon.  Stay tuned to find out what our next infestation will be!

The Zoo At The Zoo

It was such a glorious day today, and I had nothing to do, so the little kids and I went to the zoo.  As always, we had a great time.

Spider Marcus is on his way to eat Fly Zoe

Everyone needs a bear hug

Ninja turtles?

A special giraffe exhibit which made Raelea VERY happy!

Okay Then

This is what you find on the office wall when you have children that stay up later than you...

She's kind of left the options wide open on what I should do with Mr. Spider.....hmmm....this could be fun!

A Boy and His Dog

Actually, it's a husband (acting like a boy) and his dog.

Note to Self

Note to self:

Do not go out to Boxer Rescue websites and look at adorable Boxers.  Don't do it.  Don't do it.  Don't do it.

Note to self:

You need to obey the first Note To Self!

La, la, la, la, la....I'm not listening.....la, la, la, la....

Peacock Spiders

Because you never know WHAT you're going to find out on my blog, today I present to you a very amusing look at peacock spiders.



Now wasn't that amusing!

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The Birthday Girl

Look who's two....and tired!

Mumford, in honor of your second birthday, we've decided to let your cousin Max spend a WHOLE week with you!  Okay, that's not really why Max is here, but it sure is a nice birthday present nonetheless.

We love you, Mumfie, and you are growing into a fine dog.  Now, if you'd just stop attacking my feet when you're bored....

I Better Warn You

So, I'm standing in the kitchen this morning, looking our across the snow covered wasteland of our backyard, when I notice a little finch flitting between our two bird houses.  This observation prompts me to say, in my best birdie voice, "Hmm, I wonder which one is bigger?  This one looks more comfortable.  I'll have to go tell the wife."

Evan, overhearing my little bird imitation, comes into the kitchen and says, "Mom, you know anthropomorphism is the leading cause of death by animals."

So I feel the need to give you the heads-up, if you ever find me pecked to death by black-capped chickadees in my backyard, you'll know why.

Catch Me If You Can

Mumsie and I doing a little game of tag on the lake.  She usually (always) won!

Bad Dog!

Stepped into the laundry room this afternoon to discover that a certain dog...

did this....

Used bunny bedding, all over the floor = unhappy mom.

Mumford, consider this your wall of shame!  And what's the deal with eating disgusting bunny bedding anyway?!

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I Hate Goodbyes

As hard as it is, we have come to the conclusion that it is time to say goodbye to our dear, sweet Snickers.  My prayers for her to simply die in her sleep have not been affirmatively answered, and it has gotten to the point that she can't walk even on a flat surface.

We are sad...very sad, but I don't like to see her struggle so just to get around.  She seems ready to go, as well.  Not sure when it will happen, maybe tomorrow.  If you think about us, you can send up a prayer.  It would be greatly appreciated.

Follow The Yellow Brick Road

Okay, it's not a yellow brick road. I guess I should say, "Follow the carpeted path."

Since our dear sweet geriatric dog can no longer walk on wood or tile floors without doing the splits, we have created a carpeted path throughout our house.

Now she can get from one carpeted room to the other without falling down!  This is a good thing!  She can even come beg from me while I'm cooking dinner in the kitchen.  Ahh, the things we do for our puppy!

New Workout

I have a new total body workout.  It's called the Geriatric Dog Workout.

First, you need to acquire a medium-sized geriatric dog, about 60 pounds should do the trick.  You need to make sure that the dog has reached the age where it can no longer go up and down stairs by itself.  You need to live in a split-level home for this work-out to be most effective.  The more stairs the better.

Now, several times throughout the day, whenever the dog needs to "do its business," you need to carry the dog down the steps. When she is done taking care of business, carry her back up the steps.  You may also need to carry her out of the kitchen, or any other slippery-floored place, when she falls over and can't get herself up again.

There you have it, the Geriatric Dog Workout.  I find it quite effective, particularly in building the upper body.

Here is my own personal geriatric dog.  

Dogs Are Weird

Mumford spent the weekend with her favorite cousin Max.  They love each other, they really do, but sometimes you'd never guess it.

One minute they're all friendly...

 and then.....watch out, the big mouth is coming at you!

 Sometimes they just star at each other,

 and other times it's out-and-out wrestling.

 Nothing like a little bite on the cheek to say, "I love you!"

 But at the end of the day, they just want to snuggle!  Actually, Max wants to keep playing, but Mumford was trying to sleep.  Max is doing his best to coax Mumford into another wrestling match!

Surprise!

I went to make my bed this morning, and this is what I found.

Wasn't it nice of Mumford to leave Chris a little present under his pillow?