How Jake became a Tiger Toy

  On Saturday we went to this great place on the north side of Jacksonville called the Catty Shack Ranch.  It is a rescue and refuge for big cats – lions, tigers, leopards, cougars, etc.   It isn’t pretty like a zoo, but the animals are safe and loved there.  Some of the cats have been rescued from illegal zoos, been mistreated, or even been pets that became their natural selves and “too wild” for the people who bought them.

  The first cat was a lion that had been rejected by his mom after he was born. The owner of the ranch stepped in and raised him – bottle fed him, bathed him, and loved him. It was amazing to see this huge lion jump up and run over and start loving on his “daddy” when the guy walked into his enclosure. I swear that cat was purring.

 

The next cats were tigers.  There were so many of them! Apparently, tigers are popular exotic pets, but no one really knows how to take care of them, so they end up in places like this.

One tiger really loved Jake. He would follow the stroller wherever we pushed it, even to the point of stepping on other tigers!   I thought it was funny – until the keeper explained that the tiger thought Jake would make a great toy – he was the perfect size.  He didn’t necessarily want to eat him, just play with him.  I don’t think that’s a playdate I’ll be setting up.

Jake thought it was pretty funny.  You can tell he’s really not bothered by that cat stalking him.

 

The next cats that chose my kids were the cougars.  The keeper told Emma to meow at them. She did, and they answered! It was so neat, and they had quite a conversation. I can only imagine what they were saying.

 

There were so many cats there, it breaks my heart to think of the horrors some of these guys went through before they were rescued. At least they are well fed and loved at the ranch, and comfortable:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They even like to pose for pictures:

 

 

  They don’t have tours all the time, only on select weekends; but if you have free time on one of those weekends I hope you’ll stop by and visit these awesome kitties.  You can find more information about them and their ranch at the website: www.cattyshack.org.  Maybe we’ll see you there!

Eternally Yours

7 years ago yesterday, Jason and I were sealed for time and all eternity in the Orlando Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was a long journey for us both, but well worth it!

We met in January of 1996, at the University of Central Florida. Jason was a second semester freshman, and I was a transfer student (from Florida State) that should have been ready to graduate. I was out rush party hopping with my sorority sisters, newly broken up with my boyfriend of 3 years. We headed to a party where my Pi Phi sister Anna was hunting down a boy she had met in her art history class. The Phi Delta Thetas were unlike any other fraternity boys we had met – they were polite! They weren’t yelling and throwing things! I met a wonderful guy that night, and his name was….Rob! I actually didn’t meet Jason until a couple of nights later.

Soon Rob and I were dating, and all my free time was spent at the Phi Delt house. Jason became my “Big Brother”, and pool partner. He was such a great guy, I even set one of my sisters up with him. When Rob broke my heart (right before finals), Jason was there to pick up the pieces and help me study. Before long, we admitted what was going on was far more than friendship. I guess you could call that our “once upon a time”.

We had been dating a couple of months before he told me all about eternal families. I was so excited that he took me that night and showed me one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen – the Orlando Temple, with a spotlight on Moroni. I wasn’t even a member of the church at that point, but I knew we were going to get married in that beautiful place.

We had some ups and downs the next few years, but on April 19, 2002 we finally made it to the sealing room. I can not explain the comfort that I have knowing that no matter what happens in this life, no matter what this world can throw at us, our family will be together for eternity.

Because my family are not members, and most of Jason’s family aren’t members, we had a Ring Ceremony the next day. It gave my dad a chance to walk me down the aisle and all of our parents see us exchange rings.

It was a sunny day, and the “wedding” and reception were great, but nothing compared to the previous day at the temple.

I am looking forward to taking the kids to Orlando this summer and taking them to the temple grounds and showing them where Mommy and Daddy got married.

Oh, and just one of those really neat things that just happen – check out the program from Sacrament yesterday:

Emma thought it was us!

Date Night at the Cannery

My sweet husband hard at work

Team work!

The Happy Hairnet Bunch

Tonight Jason and I were lucky enough to leave the kids with Nina and have fun doing something we have been counseled to do. We had dinner at Chic-fil-A and then met some members of our ward at the Jacksonville Cannery. We had a really great time and were able to add a couple of more cases to our food storage.

For me, going to the cannery is a double-edged sword. I LOVE going, and I always have a great time, but I always leave scared to death knowing my family is no where near prepared. The one quote that always gets to me is by Harold B. Lee:

"If you knew what I knew, you would pile it (food storage) in the middle of the floor, throw a cloth over it and walk around it."

I really need to get with Sister Wheeler and learn how to use that pressure canner I bought on clearance last year so I can put up some meat, and then we would be in better shape. Then we need some 55 gallon drums for water, extra bottles of propane, a solar oven....oh, we have a lot to do....

Why my daughter thinks I’m evil

On Monday night, our Family Home Evening was on the body as temple. We talked about how our bodies are temples where our spirits dwell, and how we should never ingest harmful things, wear revealing clothes, or mar our skin by getting body piercings or tattoos. It was a fun lesson, finishing in a maze that had us making choices at forks, and choosing the right got us to the temple. Emma really took the lesson to heart.

Ever since Monday, she has decided that tattoos are equivalent to the mark of the beast. She informed me yesterday that there was something worse than Barbie (who is considered a trashy hooch in our house). Tattoo Barbie. There really is such a thing and I think it is pretty ridiculous, but Emma was close to storming the Wal-mart and start burning them. There have been other comments, but that was the highlight.

Tonight as we were driving home, Emma gasped and let out an “oh-no, Mom!” I thought Jake had unbuckled his seat belt (again) or something had spilled. Nope. We had passed a tattoo parlor. “But what if someone goes in?!” I tried to explain to her that as members of the church, these were only our beliefs and everyone had a right to choose what they wanted to do to their bodies, and this did not make them evil. She said that only evil people had tattoos. In my exasperation, I finally told her that mommy had a tattoo – does this make Mommy evil? My sweet, precious daughter’s reply?

“well….yes.”

I guess next week we need to talk about converts...and tolerance.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

  That post title might seem odd to some of you, but as members of the LDS church, we believe that April 6th is not only the day the Lord’s true church was restored on Earth, but also the day Jesus was born.  It being Monday, I told the kids we were going to bake cupcakes for Jesus' birthday and then have Family Home Evening.  Emma was super excited, so off to the kitchen we went. 

Even Grady helped out!  While the cupcakes were baking, we had a lesson from the fantastic FHE packet Sheila Wheeler emailed us.  Then we frosted the cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus.  Emma looked up at the ceiling the whole time. Her sweet spirit never fails to amaze me….she never once asked about Christmas and His birth.  I guess we taught her well in December!  It may seem to some people that baking cupcakes and singing is a little off kilter, but I don’t think Emma will forget this birthday party.

Why does Heavenly Father gives us "useless" organs?

I have often wondered in my life why our bodies contain organs that we can so easily live without. I know that each organ has some purpose, but sometimes it seems like that purpose is just to get so infected that a surgeon has to remove it. I had my tonsils out when I was 19. I was in pain for weeks afterwards, and instead of getting Tonsillitis three times a year, I got Strep Throat. This time last year my poor little Jakers had his tonsils, adenoids, and part of his uvula removed. He still gets sinus infections. I have a few friends who live happily every day without their appendix(es), and when I worked on 5 Wolfson, I knew quite a few kiddos who didn't have spleens. (And I know Jason won't even want me to go near the subject of wisdom teeth.)
Last Thursday I had to have my adenoids removed. I thought it would be a simple surgery and I would recover quickly. (After the tonsil pain of 1993, I don't know why I thought this) Now you have the answer for why I am ranting. Drugs. Pain killers to be exact. If I want to swallow, I take them. Otherwise, I mumble and sometimes drool. (sorry, but its true.) I am just really thankful that this week is Spring Break and I am not responsible for getting children ready for the bus and for school. I am truly thankful that Jason's business trip is only overnight and not for two or three days. I am also really thankful for PBS kids that keep my little ones occupied while I lay in the couch and eat popsicles.

The Amazing Jake

  Despite his extra chromosome, Jake is a very smart little boy.  He is constantly doing things that just make me shake my head and smile.   I think I am going to have to rewrite the book on what Down syndrome kids can and can’t do….

  Jakers is a couch potato.  Other than chasing bubbles and loving on his brother and sister, his favorite thing is watching TV.  Mom Disclaimer: they are only allowed to watch Disney movies, Playhouse Disney (no Hannah Montana!) , a couple of shows on Nick Jr. and PBS kids.  Of course, Emma also loves to watch Jeopardy! and Mythbusters…

  Anyway, as part of our morning routine, Jake watches TV while I get him dressed.  If he doesn’t cooperate, I turn the TV off.  (I actually have to power down the DVR because he knows how to turn the TV on.)  This morning he had gotten up before I did and was watching Jungle Book in Emma’s room.  I moved him to the living room and powered off their DVD player, VCR, and TV.  I sat down with Jake and told him it was time to get dressed.  He told me no, so I grabbed the remote to turn off the DVR.  My smart little man simply got up, went to Emma’s room and powered up the TV and VCR and resumed watching the Jungle Book! I am amazed at his problem solving, as well as his electronic ability. What a kid!   As you can see from the pictures, even after getting dressed, he was too busy watching TV to smile for Mommy. My little ham had to get in the picture, though!