Adding to Our Family

If you've read my blog for awhile or looked at my now outdated About page, you know that M and I had 2 cats, Mimi and Sammy.

I wrote in February of 2014 about how we lost Mimi. While I was busy not blogging last year, I didn't tell you that we lost Sammy at the end of May. Her health had been declining and we knew it was time.

M and I knew that we would someday get cats again. We wanted 2 cats that could grow up together. What we didn't know was just how quickly we would want them. We took time over the summer to grieve and miss our darling girl but then realized just how empty our house seemed without cats.

We had started to think about looking for new cats to join our family when one of M's coworkers mentioned that she was fostering a couple kittens for a local animal rescue. She knew M was looking for cats and showed him pictures. She emailed them to him so that I could see them and while I thought the kittens were cute, I wasn't so sure about this.

Going to meet the kittens at M's coworker's house convinced me that maybe I did need these little furballs after all. We applied for adoption and a few weeks later, we finished up the paperwork and brought out girls home!

Introducing, Pepper and Luna! 

While I had been hoping for an orange or calico cat, we fell in love with these black and white sisters. They are full of personality and loving with each other and with us. They are also two of the most vocal cats I've ever met.

At nearly a year old, Luna has become a huge cat while Pepper has remained more average sized. And Luna isn't shy about letting Pepper know she's the bigger sister!

I'm so glad that we added these two to our family and I look forward to years together.

Mimi

Yesterday was hard.

With great sadness, we had to say goodbye to our darling girl, Mimi. It was the hardest thing I've had to do in my life.

While I'm still sad and still having a hard time processing it, I want today to be about remembering what a great cat she was.

I first got Mimi in 2004 while living in Florida. She was found as a kitten by a coworker's daughter. I often joked that she was raised by alligators and survived hurricanes.

Her very first picture. Her whiskers were already crazy!

She was a tiny little thing, but she knew what she wanted and by golly, if you didn't give it to her, you'd hear about it! She was fond of sitting on the back of the couch and tapping me on the head whenever I ate popcorn. And if you weren't looking, she'd gladly steal a piece or two from the bowl!

As she got older, she grew more aloof. She often preferred to spend her time away from others in the house. She tolerated our other cat, Sammy, but was quick to remind her who was the boss.

When she was feeling loving, she'd climb onto our laps and allow us to pet her. She had the loudest purr I've ever heard. I'm going to miss that sound.

She was fond of boxes and sitting in the window. She loved begging for human food. Ham was a particular favorite of hers. If you sat at the dining room table, you'd often get a kitty back massage from someone reminding you that she was there and she wanted whatever you were eating.

She loved Vera Bradley too!

She was a fantastic cat and companion. She will be greatly missed.

 

Sunday Social - Thankful

For this week's Sunday Social, instead of questions, we're talking about what we are thankful for in honor of Thanksgiving.

First of all, I'm thankful for my family and my husband's family. They're so supportive and loving. I'm looking forward to spending the holidays with all of them.

I'm thankful for my best friends who never fail to make me laugh. We've had a lot of great times together and I can't wait for more!

I'm thankful for my job. It may not be the full-time job I want, but it's a lot closer than my previous retail job and I actually enjoy it. I'm very thankful that I won't be working on Black Friday or the crazy hours that are coming in the next month. Sadly, my husband will be, but I'm thankful he has a full-time job that provides insurance and other benefits.

I'm thankful for my husband who puts up with my crazy and just gets me. I love being married to him and I can't wait to see what our future brings.

I'm thankful for our cats.

What are you thankful for this year?