it makes me want to sit right down and cry (like in a good way)

We love So You Think You Can Dance. Well, last week while we watched it, I fell asleep and missed the last number. But, in my sleep I heard Little Bird. When I awoke, I asked about it and planned on watching it the next day. Well, Mike didn't know that I love that song and deleted the show. So, I was forced to go online to find it. I share it with you now. In the last week, Jessi has watched it about 30 times.

I get sort of attached/obsessed with a certain song and for a few weeks I end up wearing it out to the point where no one in my family wants to hear the song ever again. This is one such song. In the last week, I have listened to it about 30 times.

homes for kittens

The happy news is that all of the kittens have homes. The bad news (and it makes me cry) is that Mama Cat is walking around calling for her babies. She stands at the top of the stairs, just like she always has, and mews. When her babies heard her, they would eventually come to her. Now, after she calls for them and waits, she starts wandering around the house looking for them. She seems lost and it makes me sad.

(Every one asks what we are doing with Mama Cat and the answer is that Mike and I do not currently agree on the course of action to be taken. She has scratched the leather couch, so that's his issue with her. He suggested getting her fixed and taking her back to her "family"--you know the homeless cat colony. I told him that I can't do that and he then reminded me that she had at least one cat that loved her back in her old digs. He always lightens the mood.)

Now on to the happy part--the kitten's new homes...

Fluffy went first. He is now known as Bob and he went to a sweet woman Mike knows from work. We took a picture with each kitten before s/he went to her/his new home.

Another sweet woman from Mike's work adopted Racoony. She has a ten-year-old daughter who, we hear, is loving him. We took him to her at work.

(Poor Racoony is probably excited to get away from the head-smashing.)

We had five left and they were now nine-weeks-old and they started scratching the leather couches, so I posted an ad on ksl. A cute mom of three little kids wanted a girl and a boy. She ended up taking Penelope (who we think is the only girl of the bunch) and Ebony.

Kiki has LOVED Ebony from the beginning. He always picked him to hold and snuggled him at night. I prepared him as best I could. We talked a lot about helping the kittens become good pets for their new families by holding them and playing with them. Whenever we talked about them being adopted Kiki said that Ebony would not get adopted.

Well, the day came and when it was time to send him on his way, Kiki got him in a death grip and ran to the bathroom. I asked him to let go. I reminded him what our job was. I told him it was okay to be sad. I told him these people were in the living room waiting for their new kitten. Nothing worked. I finally resorted to distraction. I suggested to him that maybe we could go have some ice cream. He loosened his grip and I told him to say goodbye. I grabbed Ebony and we sent the two kittens on their way.

While this family was at our house, we got confirmation that the twins had a family, so that just left Harper. The next day we got a call from a woman who was interested. Her little boy had just had a birthday and he had been saving his money for a cat. They ended up coming that afternoon and adopted him. (Update: I got an email from this family. He is doing great and his new name is Dexter, which I think fits him perfectly.)

My dear friend Brittany has a sweet mom who said that the twins should just not be separated. I couldn't agree more. She is such a cute grandma, and is adopting them for herself, but also for her grandkids. She and her husband brought the grandkids with her to pick up the twins. They were so excited and cute with them. I took a picture of each of my kids with the twins before they went with their new family.

Bev shot this picture of me holding them while we watched Oprah: Behind the Scenes.

Like many adoptive families, we have requested updates on the little darlings. We all loved them--even Mike had a soft spot in his heart for them. Other than the Mama Cat issue and some scratched couches, this has been a great experience. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it. There is nothing like having little kittens in the house and watching them grow. It was fun watching Mama be such a good mama and take such good care of her babies. I loved watching my kids love and care for the babies. I loved meeting all of the wonderful families that adopted them. I know that these little kittens will make great pets and bless their lives, like they did ours.

Best experience ever!

And if you haven't had enough, enjoy this: (wait for the 30 second mark.)

We will end this post with this gem. (Thanks Randy and Sarah for sharing.)

out of the mouth of babes: 5

Three things Christian says:

1. The kids had a sleep-over at Aunt Mimi's. Before they left, I had the "good behavior talk," where I encouraged them to be good, be grateful and be helpers. Christian came up to me after the talk and said, "Don't worry Mom--I will be Nephi."

Mike has taught Christian that he can be like Nephi and be an example to his older brother and sister. Whenever Mike sees him behave as an example he will say something like, "Good job, Nephi." Christian eats it up.

2. Christian also loves being Grandpa Peel's namesake (his middle name is Earl, after Grandpa.) Whenever we say we are going to go visit them he says, "We're going up to my namesake's house."

3. My kids love talking about the people they are named after. It has, at times, taken on a competitive tone. They all have first and middle names that are family names. Andrew Michael will talk about being named after Dad's little brother Joey, whose middle name is Andrew, and Dad. Beverly Gwen will then attempt to top him, being named after our grandmothers. Then Jessi pipes up, saying that she has two middle names (Hannah--my mom's aunt, and Patience--her birthmother.) Then Christian will say that he is named after Dad's best pal, Grandpa Peel and finish it off by reminding us all that he is also named after Jesus Christ. Everyone is sort of quiet after that--you can't really beat that one.

Memorial Day Weekend

My mom called last week and invited us on a last-minute Memorial Day trip. It was a bit of a rush to get everything ready to go. The biggest worry was, of course, the kittens. Thank goodness our sweet niece Katie agreed to come care for the little darlings. I had a list of things I needed to do before we left--school stuff, church stuff. I got most of it done, and left the rest undone and headed down to Moab.

We camped in tents, which the kids loved. I prefer using the trailer, but Mike brought a blow-up mattress and plenty of pillows to make us comfy. The last night was rough with some bad wind. In the morning Jessi said that she woke up and the tent was on her. I tossed and turned and ended up sitting in the truck for an hour. Mike, with his ear plugs in, had a great night's sleep.

We hiked to Double Arch.

The kids love Sand Dune Arch. The three oldest hiked to the top of the arch with Mike. That is Bev up there.

That is Christian.

Mom with Baby Henry and Erika.

When the kids start getting buried in the sand and doing sand angels, I just go to my happy place and remember that the sand will eventually come out of their clothes and bodily crevices. Jessi's hair is the most complicated for sand removal.

Poor Andrew ended up with a chipped tooth diving in the swimming pool. We're going to see the dentist tomorrow.

We did a few hikes. At the end of the Delicate Arch hike we got pelted with sand from the wind. The wind sort of put a damper on the hiking (and camping in tents) so we cut the trip short by a day. But the time we were there was sure fun.

Our kids love hiking. They do so well.

All the hiking wore out little Max.

I like the arches, but my favorite formation is Sheep Rock.

1. A family that likes traveling together.

2. Kids that enjoy hiking and enjoy being in the great outdoors.

3. A comfortable bed to come home to.

scout campout

Friday Andrew and Mike headed to the 11 year-old campout. At first Mike was not going to be able to go, but in the end, made arrangements and went. Andrew was thrilled. Mike did some planning and stopped at the store for a few things. Me? Well, I did what seemed was a full day of cooking and shopping for the less-than-24 hour event.

I made them shepherd's pie for their tin foil dinners. I baked some cookies. I got him all packed with hand sanitizer and wet wipes. I sent a first aid kit and extra blanket. The list I made was long and the bag of stuff he took was heavy.

I just want them to have what they need to be warm and have fun.

On their way out the door I asked Mike if he had a water bottle. He said that he took care of it--I saw his "water" in the back of the truck as he was loading up. He has a problem.

The rest of us watched a movie in my bed with a few kittens and I let the three kids sleep with me.

The campers returned home dirty and happy and exhausted with a bag full of stuff--most of which wasn't used.

out of the mouth of babes: 4

Prayers at our house are interesting. We encourage the kids to not say the same things every time. (Although in every prayer he says, Christian asks that there be "no arguing or complaining.") We encourage them to say what they think and feel. That makes things interesting.

Last night I made mini hamburgers and mashed potatoes--Andrew was pretty excited that it was not my weekly vegetarian chili. It was his turn to pray. He ended his prayer with:

"...and thank you for this luscious dinner Mom made."

And then a discussion ensued about the meaning of luscious and if it should be used to describe the hamburgers. I got on dictionary.com. Mike pulled out his iPhone. In the end it was decided that, indeed the burgers were luscious.

Holy Cats!

(Taking a picture of seven kittens at once is not easy.)

They are now five weeks old. They were born on April 6th--a significant day to Latter-day Saints. (It is the day the Church was organized and according to modern revelation, is the day that Jesus Christ was born.) So, I told the kids all about April 6th.

Christian then stated, "We have holy cats."

I cannot begin to describe how much fun it has been to watch them grow and develop. They now wrestle with each other, run and jump and are eating a little cat food. We are beginning to see their little personalities develop.

I googled "how to tell kitten gender" and after a long time checking kitten crotches, I gave up. It's a complicated task.

We have given them a few toys, but their favorite toys seem to be each other and poor Mama Cat. That Mama Cat is my little hero. She is so tolerant and sweet. She puts up with their antics and is protective and patient.

I took some pictures of the little darlings. Here are their 5-week portraits.

The kids didn't name the first two, so I decided to use some of my favorite girl names I didn't get to use on human children. I don't know if they are girls, but until we know, this one is Harper. S/he has developed a bit of white under the chin.

Penelope.

Racoony.

The twins are named Cuddles and Snuggles. We can't tell them apart.

Fluffy.

Another one of Fluffy.

Blacky who I renamed Ebony (if she's a girl.)

We are still looking for some loving homes for the darlings. They need to stay with Mama (and with us) for a few more weeks. I know parting with them will not be easy.