and Noira makes three!

Here she is!

Well, you knew we'd get her, didn't you? I called on Thursday and no one had claimed her... so a quick drive to the Humane Society, $85 later, and she's OURS!

Zeke and I both agreed it was a LOT of money, but Zeke also said, "I can be easily swayed." Well, that's a YES in my book! I know it's silly. It's just a cat. But I am so thankful that Zeke got this new job in October so we could afford to adopt Noira. She is really sweet. It is SO worth every penny to see my children enjoying her; to see Gabe hold her and talk to her like she's a little baby. Thanks, honey, for giving in!

There was a sign at the Humane Society: "Cats are like potato chips, you can never have just one!" When I was a little girl, I had a "School Memories" scrapbook. Each page was for each school year. There were different sections of the page to fill in different things about you such as: friends, teacher's name, interests, favorite school subject, etc. There was also a section labeled: "When I grow up I want to be _________." When I was 10 years old, I wrote in the blank: "a person with 100 cats." Well, I won't get 100 or even 10, but I really enjoy having them in our home.

I'm quite surprised at how well Caspian and Pippin are handling the new addition. She's been growling at them tonight when they get too close, but that's about it. They just look at her and then at me like, "What's her problem?!"

Staring contest:

Pippin was showing off after we brought Noira home.
He was vying for some serious attention:

Caspian was bored with the whole ordeal and promptly went to sleep on top of Kaia's coat:

P.S. The Humane Society named her "Simone." So we decided that would be her middle name. "Noira Simone" sounds very French, doesn't it?

P.P.S. Just for the record, Caspian's middle name is Blue (also from the Humane Society). And Pippin's middle name is Zucchini (from Kaia).

Doctrine and Covenants 59:18 "Yea all things which come of the earth are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart." Well, I think Heavenly Father created cats to gladden our hearts.

"All these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good..."

Doctrine and Covenants 122:7-9 "And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?...therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever."

Well, I'm still here, barely. Now, I'm not saying my life is that hard... times have been much harder for sure... but what a weekend!

So Zeke got home Wednesday afternoon...

Gabe watched the kids for us while we went to Zeke's work party... first party with the new company... it will take some time to adjust. I didn't know anyone and all the employees talked about work the whole time. They served us a yummy dinner, but it tasted way too salty to me. I didn't even like the chocolate raspberry cheesecake! Yeah, I think I was starting to get sick that night... I just felt off.

Here's a rundown of our Christmas via Facebook (bear with me... my head feels like it weighs 30 pounds at least):

Dec. 23rd: well, thanks "SC", for a Merry Christmas :) and here we are... Kaia AND Zoe are both sick now... C'est la vie...

Dec. 24th: Dear friends and neighbors... please know that we love you and thank you for all the goodies and gifts... this year we will give you a gift of NOT giving you our germs... this morning we are ALL sick (except for Zeke). You don't want this bug, I promise.

Dec. 24th: looks like the Tooth Fairy will have to hitch a ride with Santa tonight...

Dec. 25th: Merry Christmas everyone! I am so thankful for my family and for our Savior Jesus Christ and for Ibuprofen.:)

Dec. 25th: okay, so we all have colds... but Zoe is coughing up blood... any ideas what could be going on? I'm thinking bronchitis? do I need to take her right in? or can it wait until Monday?

Dec. 25th: thanks everyone, Zeke and Zoe are home. Dr. said her lungs are clear for now. He said her throat is very raw and inflamed; could be causing the bleeding. He gave her a steroid to help with the inflammation. We have to take her back to the Dr. on Monday to make sure there's no infection/pneumonia. Dr. said Zoe probably just has a nasty virus. Well, it could be worse, right? :)

Dec. 26th: I think I'm done... last night, Beck got THE worst nose bleed I've ever seen... he was even bleeding out of his tear ducts... that was before he threw up all the blood the ran down his throat...okay, so if you want to start the bidding for the movie rights.... we just need a title... I'm sure it will be a big money maker....

Yesterday, Zeke's Mom stopped by to say HI.
Oh, Patty, thank you for coming!! and thank you for the great presents!

It finally felt like Christmas! I sure hope she doesn't get sick. Gabe is the only one with a fever still. We're getting better, but it's going to take awhile. And by some amazing miracle, Zeke hasn't got sick...yet. I think Zoe was the sickest so far. Poor girl. I'll put up more pictures later...

Beck and Kaia are lovin' the Zhu Zhu pets...

Beck got a Hot Wheels garage...

I am so thankful for prayer. I know I've prayed a lot before, but this weekend is definitely in the top 10. Beck's nosebleed just about did me in. It was one of THE scariest things I've ever been through. Poor Beck! I'm thankful for Priesthood blessings and just for time. It's nice to see Kaia getting better; it gives me hope for the rest of us. I'm thankful that Zeke was here to help me, sorry honey! One of these days we won't be sick during the holidays...

Zeke and I really enjoyed watching Pippin watch TV with us last night... yeah, it doesn't take much to entertain us.