Our New Baby

This is our new baby. Her name is (tentatively) Sadie. She came to be a part of our family in an unusual way. When our Keety had been missing for three days, Keith went to the animal shelter to see if someone had taken him there. When he didn't find him there, he looked around at the baby kittys to see if there was one that "caught his eye". Well, this baby looked into his eyes with a "come hither" look and he was smitten. There was a 24 hour waiting period (they have to call your vet and make certain you're not a kitty-beater, you know). After all, our kitty must have died or gotten stolen because he never stays away from home. I made Keith promise that, if I die some day, he won't immediately go to the "people shelter" to get a new wife in such a hurry. Anyway, we passed the test and so did Sadie. She's sweeeeet!

In Memory of our Keety

We lost our Keety this week. He was the sweetest Keety in the world. He was the only cat I've ever had that loved to take a bath with me. He wouldn't actually get in but, as soon as he heard the water running, he would come to my bedroom to get ready for our routine. When I got in the tub, he would jump up on the side and step down onto my shoulder so he could drink the hot bathwater. Cat tea, we call it.

He went out to do the usual crazy night-cat things on Monday night. Tuesday morning came, but Keety didn't, which was very unusual. after 3 days of calling and talking to the neighbors, Keith went to the animal shelter to see if someone had taken him there, but nothing. Thursday evening he drug himself home, so weak. We took him to the doctor for fluids and medicine on Friday but had to put him to sleep on Saturday after the doctor exhaused all his options on how to treat him. He feels certain he had gotten bitten by an animal.

Thank you, Keety, for loving us and making our lives more fun for three years. We will miss you very much.

Look! We're in Colorado

No, wait. Maybe we're still in Arkansas. Thanks, Ruthie and Jana, for sending us some of your snow. It's beautiful.

Happy Holiday

Upon reading an article from Zig Ziglar about some ideas to build relationships with potential customers, I learned that some random holidays provide creative ideas. For instance, you could take a bucket of popcorn to an office during National Popcorn Month. I found a website that gave some REALLY creative... and real... holidays. Check it out. Find a new way to greet the people you love.
http://www.holidayinsights.com/
Today is National Beer Can Appreciation Day. And National Compliment Day. Hey, by the way. You don't look so bad today...

The Bucket List

Keith, Mom and I went to see The Bucket List yesterday. I've seen some lukewarm reviews of the movie but determined, since we're probably older than some of those critics, that maybe I would have a different opinion. Well I was right. I loved it. It really made me think..and laugh. Keith and I had a date night afterward, grilling steaks and eating by candlelight and the movie subject was brought up, just as he thought it would be. One of the things Carter (Morgan Freeman) brought up, as he and Edward (Jack Nicholson) were sitting atop a pyramid in Egypt, was how the ancients were told that they were allowed into their reward. At the door of heaven, they were asked two questions and the right answer to one of them was the determining factor. "Do you have joy in your life? Have you brought joy into the lives of others?" It really makes one think. I love my life as it is, but I told Keith that one of the things I would like to do before I die (other than the most inportant: see our kids walk with God) is to travel. We agreed we'd like to see more mountains (the Alps), see some castles, and go to Hawaii.

So tell me, not that I'm planning to die any time soon:
Have I brought joy into your life in some way?
What would you like to do before you die?