Oh Brother!

I was so excited for Trayson, 7 years ago, when I found out that our third child was going to be a boy! I pictured my two handsome little guys tossing a football around in the backyard, driving monster trucks all over the house, getting in trouble for treating bedtime like a constant sleepover ...

...I guess I had COMPLETELY forgotten what it was like to have a younger brother. I saw this gentle reminder (in paper airplane form!) flying around my house this week, and it's all coming back to me!My only consolation is that their relationship really is so similar to the one I use to have with my brother, so I get to assume that someday he will love and appreciate him as much as I love mine now!

It's finally hit the fan!

We've been flirting with disaster ever since we moved out into the country and acquired many of the trappings that came along with our remote address. The serenity of our little sage-brush farm was very deceptive. First, we acquired the mice that the farmers scared out of their fields across the street. Next, we were overrun with "whistle pigs". Then, we acquired cats to rid our yard of the mice and the whistle pigs.

We did try to be really responsible and keep those cats from multiplying -- honest, we did! We took them to the vet and had them fixed, but outdoor cats in these parts don't survive long and set after set of recently neutered cats disappeared from our yard never to hunt mice again (or so we assume!) Apparently, visits to the vet are the kiss of death at our household and we got really sick of paying for services that seemed completely unnecessary in our dangerous little patch of weeds. I've been actually wondering if it's cruel of us to even adopt more cats since we seem to have such a difficult time rasing them to adulthood, but we decided to give it one more shot.

We got three cats -- the cute little black and white cat did not quite make it, but his beautiful sisters did, and of course, the inevitable happenned ....

...we discovered four tiny baby kittens in the garage on Monday night. The kids are ecstatic! My cats are ecstatic. Me, not so much! Yes, they are adorable. Yes, it's fun to witness our two cats, who until recently were very skittish and reclusive, nestled into a tiny box with four kittens, all of them purring their hearts out in pure contentment. Yes, they bring out the nurturing, protective side of my children. Yes, I want to get rid of them as soon as they're old enough!I'm posting these pictures in the hopes that there's someone out there who is tired of emptying mouse traps and just cannot resist how snuggly these tiny balls of fur are. Just in case you need another look to win you over ...

Oh, and the best part? Cat #2 is looking like she's about to pop!

Family

"Be who you are and say what you feel,

because those who mind don't matter,

and those who matter don't mind." Dr Seuss

I don't know if it's because it's been such a long time since I've been home for a visit, or because I've had too much time on my hands lately, but I've been thinking a lot about what makes my family special (In EVERY sense of the word!)

We got talking about how different families react in similar situations. Some families spend lots of time dancing around the elephant in the room, pretending everything is just fabulous no matter how uncomfortable it gets. Some have huge fights, some have big family counsels and talk a problem to death.

My family just lets it all hang out. We criticize, correct, call each other names, and tease each other to the point of tears. Whenever I begin the long journey to Utah, I find myself looking forward to all the shopping, games and delicious treats that we'll enjoy together. I can't wait to see our kids play together and form bonds. I like having my kids surrounded by all those people who love them as much as I do, and possibly like them even more. It's what gets me through all the packing and that awful drive, but I came to realize on this last visit that the very best part is that I always come home feeling a little bit more "me".