Answered Prayer

I had Malcolm for 11 years. God blessed me so richly by bringing Malc into my life. When I went to the shelter at the Humane Society in Albuquerque, NM there were a lot of cats there that day. I asked the volunteer to take the near emaciated black and white kitty out of his cage just so I could pet him a second. As soon as she put him back in his cage he cried so loud that we laughed because we couldn't even hear each other speak over his meowing. I still remember her saying, "Well it looks like he made his choice."

Then when I was making the donation to get him, the girl at the front desk told me he had been sent to three different shelters and they were planning on putting him down in the next few days if he didn't get adopted. God was working through both of us.

Malcolm was such a loving, beautiful little spirit. Last night I was praying to God for a sign just to know that he was OK and had made it to heaven. This morning I woke up and fervently prayed that same prayer.

Then we all went downstairs to have breakfast. Afterward Joe told me to go take a shower, that maybe it would help me to feel better. I have to preface this all by saying that Malc loved to drink water from the shower, I guess he just liked it very fresh. Sometimes I would pour cold tap water from the sink onto the shower floor so he could have a drink in there.

Well I got out of the shower, wrapped up in a towel and Charlie pushed the bathroom door open and came in. He pointed to the shower door so excitedly and said "Cat, cat!" We opened the shower door to him and asked where the cat was and he eagerly pointed to this one spot on the shower floor. And then he did what he always used to do when he saw Malcolm. He leaned his head in to give the 'cat' a hug and kiss. He did it not once, but twice. And then pointed again and again saying, "Cat, cat, cat!" Then my son came over to me and, completely unprompted, gave me a soft gentle hug and leaned his head on me.

I literally felt God's presence in that moment.

Charlie hasn't started the whole 'pretend play' stage yet and he's never tried to hug or kiss thin air. I hadn't mentioned Malcolm to Charlie since Joe and I had taken him to the vet yesterday afternoon. I have to believe in my heart that Charlie, as a complete innocent, saw our sweet Malcolm. That Malcolm came to visit us and let me know that yesterday wasn't the end, it was a new beginning.

My skeptical, analytical engineer husband saw the whole thing and is completely convinced that it was a miracle. It gives me comfort, but oh do I miss him with everything in me. Tonight I'm trying to focus on how richly God blessed me today by sending me such a clear and moving message. Malcolm is in heaven and one day we will be together again.

Malcolm

My sweet kitty, whom I toted all over the country in my twenties, is dying. Rather than allow him to suffer Joe and I are going to take him to the vet this week to have him put to sleep. He has had cancer off and on over the years. He fought it many times over with three surgeries.

He is the sweetest most gentle cat I have known. He allowed Charlie to give him hugs and kisses, feed him treats and just hang around. When I was working and we had just gotten married Malc would greet me at the door every night. He played with my nieces and let them dress him up when we had sleepovers. He was a talker always meowing and telling us about his day. He was never aloof, he always wanted to be close to our family, so would always be in the same room we were. At night he loved to sleep beside me. He loved birds and grass just like any other kitty, and whenever I was sad or sick he would stay right beside me until I felt better.

I'm not sure how I'm going to find the strength to let go and take him to the vet. Only God can help me with that I guess.

I have to believe that we will see each other again. Though I know the bible doesn't come out and say animals go to heaven, I just have to believe that my compassionate and loving God would not allow anything less.

Bathroom Progress Report

What we initially thought would be completed by Christmas is a long way from being done! Here's what Charlie's bathroom looks like right now:

And here are some shots of the master:
A view of the shower with half wall

Soaker air-jet tub with heated backrest woohoo!
(she's not there permanently, but will be soon)

View from door way

On the docket this short holiday week are some plumbing and insulating.
Next week sheetrock and taping and then maybe tile after that?
The space is going to be tight with two sinks and vanities and medicine cabinets and a skinny linen closet tossed in there beside the tub, but we need to make the most of the square feet we have. Oh, and I am getting my wish (re: All I want for Christmas is a working toilet) just in time for my Mom to visit for Christmas!

Winter Wonderland

'sledding' in the back yard

my serious boy

hmm what's this white stuff?

wonder how it tastes :o)

the end :o)

On this day last year...

I miss that little guy....I wish time could slow down!

Cookie Party

Tonight, I'm having a cookie for the first time and I've already made one big flub.

It's the shortbread cookies I painstakingly made...

I used the wrong chocolate to dip them in. I thought a dark chocolate would work well, but it doesn't! The cookie tastes ok if you eat one side at a time LOL. Guess we will add this to the book of life lesson's learned. Try a sample of what your making before you dip 4 dozen cookies in chocolate!

At least my double chocolate chips came out great.

And I am serving a host of yummy treats from Trader Joes and Costco, from baked brie to carmelized onion tartlets. Hopefully those will make up for the pretty but crappy tasting cookies ha ha!

The bean gets a makeover...

Aunt Deedee spiked his hair yesterday!

Bathroom Update

We have a few walls up so you can't see through from my room to the other bedrooms anymore, yippee! Will have to post some pics of that very soon.

We've decided to do two different types of wainscoting in the bathrooms, because we are nuts for millwork. In the bean's b'room we're going with traditional beadboard with a little fancier trimwork at the baseboard and cap. Something similar to this:

And the master is going to have recessed paneling (again with fancier base and cap molding):

closest i could come to for a bathroom shot:
The lighting for over the medicine cainets arrive for the master today and I love it. Here's a shot of the style (but in polished nickel)
And here's that beautiful finish:
Finally here are the cabinet knobs for the white cabinetry in the master:
I really hope all these pieces will come together and make pretty bathrooms. Making all the design decisions feels a bit daunting.

The miner

I'm Dreaming of a White...Kitchen

Just like the one I used to know (sorta)...

(Excuse the monstrous images) Not sure when this dream will come true, but a girl can dream! Seeing as though we still don't even have walls or floors in our double bathroom reno there is no way possible this project will by done by Christmas like we had hoped. Oh well, so goes the way with renovating.

I have a much more laid back approach to to these projects than I ever had with our old house and it has made the whole process so much better and minimally stressful. I was joking with our plumber the other day that "All I want for Christmas is a toilet!" and he laughed and said "Well I can tell you you're not getting it," LOL. Sounds harsh when I type it, but it was a funny moment and he has also been very forthcoming with our timeline.

Tomorrow I will post more about the bathrooms and the wainscoting we are installing (two different types), by I thought I would close this post with a Christmas shot of the bean:

The dancing machine: Charlie bean

Some comic relief for your Thursday :o)