Updates and General Mishmash

First and foremost, I need to update everyone praying for Amelia who hasn't been updated yet, she is HOME - as in with her family, not in the hospital!  Praise God, what we thought was going to be an immediate and critical hospitalization turned out to be able to be handled at home, so sweet Amelia can spend this time bonding with her family and getting used to being in a real *home* instead of in the hospital.  Future hospital stays can't be ruled out, of course, and Amelia certainly has a long road ahead of her - I mean, she spent TWELVE years in that crib... think of all the catching up she has to do - but Praise God, she is already doing better than expected!

And then a couple of updates on me.  Obviously for those of you who know what all is going on in my personal life, I can't update on everything here, it's too public, but there's not much to say on that front anyways.  Things are moving along... too slowly for me, but they're moving along.  I'll share it all once it's done.

Everything else is less encouraging and more depressing.  On Monday, I woke up to find my one year old kitten, Boo, had unexpectedly and inexplicably died overnight.  I think he was in the middle of walking... I think it was instantaneous.  So at least he didn't suffer.  At least his 17 months of life were happy, spent with a 'Mommy' who loved him so much she let him sleep on her head when he was tiny (He liked my hair for some reason).

This would be an aerial shot... That is the kitten, in my hair.

Nevertheless, it's hard to lose him so soon and so suddenly.  Through everything that's happened in the past year and a half, he's been there for me to come home to, sensed when I was upset and came to be with me, been at least one thing in my life that still brought me unbridled joy.  The day I said goodbye to my best friend, I came home to that bundle of fuzzy cuteness.  He snuggled with me as I recovered from several surgeries and a hospitalization, and later another surgery.  He made me laugh when I missed my DBKs so bad it hurt.  He was my baby.  Just a month before he came home with me, I said goodbye to my dear Buckeye, my childhood pet, who lived to be sixteen years old.

My Buckeye... this would have been less than a year before he died.

I can't help it, I love my fuzzy buddies like they're my children.  When Boo came home, he was scrawny and infested with fleas and parasites, he still shivered at night, so fleas and parasites and all, I held him every night to keep him warm while we slept... he was too little for flea treatments at first, so I gave him baths every day for a few days to drown the fleas... he was so tiny, it wasn't hard to immerse most of his body in water... and then he snuggled me and a heating pad to warm up and dry off.  I combed and picked the fleas out of his fur.   Once the medications finally had time to work and he was free of all fleas and parasites, and his feline Leukemia and HIV tests came back negative, he was given a clean bill of health and he just came alive.  But he still slept with me every night.  He still came to me when the thunder shook the house.  He was still 'Mommy's' boy.

And even last month, when our family went through some tough times, he snuggled with my mom and I through our tears.  On his last day, he had a fun game of 'make the bed with the kitty under the sheets' with my mom, had a good time being petted and playing with my mom's feet while we watched the Olympics, and then faced off with his brother like he loved to do.  Then he came downstairs and spent some quality time with 'Mommy' before bed.

My little Boo got so big!

He's my baby, then and now and forever.  I love you, little guy.  I wish you could have known how much you helped me get through this past year.  I love you and I hope you catch all the flies and spiders in Kitty Heaven, and get to roll in the clean laundry every day, and eat from an endlessly refilling bowl of your favorite Kitty Noms, and play and romp with the brother you never knew... and there are no little girls who will wall you into corners in the bathroom with towels or pet you backwards or leap around and scare you... no scary vets or car rides... just happy, healthy baby kitty chasing flies and snuggling warm things that remind him of Mommy.  I love you so much, little guy.




I diverted a little more than I intended to on that tangent, I just couldn't help it.  That little guy meant a lot to me.  But that's the update on my life for this week, so needless to say it's been a tough week.  In the coming days, I will make a mosaic stone marker for Boo like I did for Buckeye... there will be pictures... that little dude was an important part of my life and my story, and honestly my first 'adoption', we were in this together all along... he will not fade away.  He is part of me forever.  Non pet lovers, sorry I can't explain it to you, I wish I could... it just is.  Who was sleeping on my chest when I read about sweet Katie for the first time, when I watched the Serbia video, when God truly broke my heart for special needs orphans all over the world, as his is broken for them... that little kitty... right there with me in my tears.

Aside from that, and aside from the stuff I didn't mention earlier (lol), there's not much to update about us.  Finances are tight as always, but I'm trying to give just a little, sacrifice a little something to help our adoptive families, many of whom are in country now and need our support.  Their focus needs to be on bonding with their little ones, not on money!

And on that note, another adoption world update - I posted before that gratefully, the $9,000 that was needed for the Jobes family to commit to their sweet baby girl (who they will call Aggie) was raised in time - but the Jobes still lack just under about $1800 to be fully funded.  Adoption from the region they're in is mainly expensive due to the amount of time you have to spend in country - in total they will be there at least six weeks, two or so of which have already elapsed.  In that time, they need to pay for lodging, food, transportation, and then there are expenses for the return trip to USA - plane tickets, immigration, etc.  They have been eating on a Ramen Noodle budget for a while now and *I* happen to think a wonderful family, from our own Central Ohio, whose babes we may have the opportunity to meet and hug and kiss, deserves to eat a little better than Ramen Noodles while they wait to bring home TWO children who otherwise would not have had a family.  So please, the need is still there, donate to the Jobes FSP at Reece's Rainbow.  For them to be fully funded, that number needs to read about $30,700 if I calculated correctly, for them to be fully funded.  Please keep in mind that that amount is their total adoption expenses, NOT money that is still available to them now.  Much of it is already tied up in agency fees and living expenses, etc.  They are living on the same bare bones budget the rest of us are, only they are doing it in a foreign country so they can give two more orphans with Down Syndrome a home.  How can we not GIVE to someone doing something so huge for society's most vulnerable citizens?

Just look at this preciousness.  That is the Jobes' 8 year old son Morgan, in the playpen, on the floor, playing with all the precious babes at the orphanage.

Being held by her Mama... Aggie will be the SECOND child the Jobes are bringing home!

The thing most people don't understand is, outside agency fees, families have a lot of expenses in country.  They have to get from where they are meeting their second new child, back to court for their new son Cohen, which is going to require transportation, which is going to cost money... like next week.  They don't just 'need money for stuff'... they need money for real, concrete expenses that are imperative to being able to bring their babes home.  Sometimes I think we look at families that have gotten this far and we think, oh, they don't have far to go, they'll be fine - and we don't give... but if everybody thinks that way and no one gives... they won't be fine.  Those travel expenses, 'cab' fees, rent, etc, MUST be paid so they can go to court to formally adopt their babes!  It may not seem as concrete to us, because we're not there doling out the money for every other thing (even to use the toilets!) but it's concrete to them, and after they've moved mountains and crossed the ocean to bring these babes home, they should not have to worry about MONEY at a time like this!  I donated $12.66 (I had an uneven paypal balance, and I have OCD, it had to be evened out!) and I'm lucky to get one meal a day right now.  I donated, fully aware that I was giving up a meal to do it.  What can you give up?  What can you spare for a family that is changing the world, one child at a time?

The Jobes' FSP at Reece's Rainbow is RIGHT HERE.  PLEASE.  Nothing is too big or too small.  They need just under $1800 more, and the sooner, the better.  Those travel expenses are coming daily.  I am not above begging.  I love these people, and they need us.  Give ANYTHING... I promise you, your gift, no matter how small or how large, is blessing more people than you could ever imagine.  And gosh darn it people, aren't those little cheeks just so kissable?  I want to snuggle that baby!  Get on it, people, I WILL snuggle that little girl!





Other than all that, not much is going on.  There are a number of really cool auctions and giveaways going on for various adopting families... if you're looking for something cute or useful... everything from hair bows to antlers to iPads to magic bunny candy dishes to Kindles and Keurigs, to baby carriers, blankets, gorgeous hand-made hats, to cosmetics, to anything on Amazon you can purchase through the links of Amazon associate families... if you are looking to buy ANYTHING, there is a way to help an adoptive family in the process, with no extra cost to you.  Please, just ask, and I will be sure to direct you to the appropriate place/people!  With the week I've had, I'm pouring myself into helping these kids... so many families making miracles happen... miracles like sweet Amelia... miracles like Katie, who is doing so very well now after almost 9 months home...

This miracle can be a reality for so many more children... but it's up to us to support the families who step out in faith to bring them home, to help make that miracle possible.

It's been such a bad week.  I need to see some good things happen.  The bright spot is seeing these precious angels meeting their families, coming home, growing, thriving... every prayer, every donation, every kind word... blesses not only the families, but those of us rooting for them.  Every time I see a child's grant grow, my heart sings.  Bless them... bless me... be a part of these beautiful miracles.  I promise you, it's one decision you won't regret.




So that's my update.  As promised, a general mishmash of random, sometimes only semi-related rambling.  What can I say?  It's late, I'm tired and stressed... Mishmash is what you get.  ;)  If you made it this far, thanks for listening, and God Bless!


Edited to add... I still have many more precious pics from Florida that I intend to share when the time is right... but rest assured I will get caught up on that.  That was one week of perfect for A and I.  I want it to be remembered and celebrated, regardless of our current circumstances... so look for that, to come.