It's a Girl!

We got back from the funeral and decided this was the perfect time to add a new member to our family. Leah was in town so we had a tie breaker with us to help us decide. It is really hard to adopt a kitty because there are 100's of worthy darling cats that need homes. I did not realize how many are euthanized:( I guess it is better than being abused or ill or starving on the streets... if only people would spay and neuter! That was one thing Bob from the Price is Right was great at-- reminding everyone to spay and neuter. Of course you would have had to watch the show to receive the message from him. I only saw it a few times... OK I am wandering. Back to our new little girl. She is adorable and tiny compared to our sweet Mungo. She is 1/2 the length and 1/4 the weight. She is a chocolate point Siamese. She was taken into the shelter ready to give birth. 3 of her 4 kittens survived and have been adopted. She then nursed 2 orphan kittens. SO she was excited to have a well deserved retirement and start relaxing and being loved. Leah named her for us- Leah is good at naming. Her name is Izabella. We have been calling her Bella or Izzy. Plus I can keep my title of never having named a pet and I have had over 20. Yip- I have never named one of my cats. I did name a hamster and a fish once in elementary school. She looks like a yummy Starbucks creation of mocha, Carmel, creme latte. Bella has exquisite blue almond eyes and all her extremities look like they have been dipped into warm rich chocolate. We were able to take her right into our vet which she hated- she must take after me. She is about 2 years old and has a life expectancy of up to 20 years!!! I would not think of that had we not just lost Mungo her BIG brother. The fun part is how much she loves Aunt Sue. She runs into her room jumps up on her lap ad purrs away. Aunt Sue lets her sit on her lap for 45 minute naps. I think she felt sad to have been a little stand offish to Mungo and is making up for it with Bella. Bella loves to play on the stairs and has this deep voice. Scott got her a kitty condo and she likes to gather all her toys and carry them in her mouth and hide them in the condo. What a little lover. She likes Scott's lap too. We are very happy yo have her join our family. I like to tell Bella about her big brother Mungo in heaven because I hope one day we can all be together again. I miss Mungos pink nose and kisses. Bella is not s replacement but she sure is a sweetheart and will gets lots of love for years to come.

Scott found more photos

Scott found these other photos of our little buddy and wanted me to post them. What a sweet kitty he was. He loved Scott's lap! We are trying to figure out if our little family might be in nned of another kitty. Aunt Sue is even begging, and she claimed to like Mungo when he was alive until he got sick.

Sleep

To Sleep or not to sleep-- is not really a question. There no one that would argue that sleep is overrated. We all need sleep it is vital for normal healthy life. It is the time our bodies recharge and mend. That is after all why babies sleep so much- they are growing and rebuilding the little cells that make them-- them. Sleep evades me tonight as I lay hear listening to Kaden and Kelsie soft snores. Kelsie does not usually snore but she is not feeling well. Kaden since almost birth has had a snore, it is a cute Kaden snore. I am watching the first 3 Kinikini kids as number 4 starts the journey to earth life. What an incredible time to be in the home with a new arrival hours away. Meanwhile Scott is in a sleep lab for the second time about 45 minutes from where I am. Aunt Sue is up until 3am reading, Scott is all hooked up to wires struggling to sleep and I am wide awake. I have enjoyed great sleep over the last month. That is the up side to Mono I figure. Fatigue even my insomniac body can't resist. It has been sweet to lie down and fall asleep, like a normal person. Who would think me normal! Yet yesterday I woke up with a nasty headache. Scott said it was due to my stuffy nose from the yucky air outside. It has been stormy, but with the stormy a nice refreshing cool air as the companion. We love cool air. Scott and I do not like the heat. I read that is will be in the 90's with in a few days. from snow to 90's-- that is Utah in the spring. I got to watch Kaden play in his tee-ball game. If you can call it play. It is more like a very humorous comedic routine. Even I know that when the ball comes your way get it and that there is a certain order to running around the bases. I then played for an hour with Kenna on the playground. She was such a happy camper. I was thinking about how her life will change so much in one day. She will not be the youngest anymore. She will become an older sibling. It will be good for her in the long run but for the shock of sharing mom I think it may be a difficult transition. I finally took some headache relief meds which makes it impossible for me to sleep for about 48 hours. that is good with the kids and I can get some work done on the book. Marlene has been carrying the load (no pun intend there) while I wrap up the play and YW never ending list of Stake events and all the family health crisis we have had. I'm excited to get back in the saddle and work againand actually create some pages too. I love the recent Challenges Marlene did for the month of May. You can check them out by clicking on Weekly Challenges on the side bar. Aunt Sue has been lonely. She misses Mungo just like we do. We are looking into getting another kitty as a companion for Aunt SUe. I think we want the same breed as they make kitty dogs. It is the best of both worlds... lap dog but without having to take for walks and potty trained. I am hesitant to get another pet. The loss has been very painful. We did get Mungo's remains back. I have always been afraid to be buried. I don't like it outside, neither did Mungo. Now we will keep him (or his body that is) with us until I die and then Scott will bury him with me:) I'm not planning on kicking the bucket but when I do I now feel fine to be buried in mother earth. AUnt Sue is a sweetie, we sure love her in our home and hearts.

Mother's Day dinner 2008

This is the first Mother's Day I did not feel sad about not being a mom myself. I was focused on serving others and it is way better then feeling sorry for yourself. We celebrated Mother's Day in St. George. We all enjoyed a 2 hour break from the stress and laughed lots. Scott's aunt Cheree was having open heart surgery and we wanted to lend support. Scott's mom and dad drove over from Phoenix with Carli the dog. Carli has not been the same dog since Cami passed away and can not be left alone. We took turns waiting outside the ICU with Carli. My mom is also down there so we stayed with her. She looked beautiful but I can tell she does not feel good. Then my moms brother Uncle Denny who had the recent heart attack and his sweet wife Aunt Susan who is fighting rectal cancer let us use their home on Mother's Day to make a special meal for all the family in town. I have never done a big holiday meal by myself and usually bring store bought food to family events so this was a big deal for me. I wanted everything to be extra nice as everyone was suffering so much. My mom invited her dear friend Shirley to join us who is one of the neatest people I know and her friend Jen. Scott's uncle Ash, Cheree hubby and their daughter Michele came too. How blessed we felt to have both moms in the same place with us for Mother's Day and that Aunt Susan, Michele, Shirley were with us too. Having CHeree out of ICU would have made things perfect. Aunt Susan's paper chain from Tom and Liz is getting shorter marking the treatments being over with faster-- yipee. I forgot to get photos of the people! I did get some of the meal:) I took notes and made a list of the order to prepare each item. It worked great. Scott had to come to my rescue as I left the sour cream and cheese at my moms house across town. He is a gem and never complains at my mishaps which can be frequent. I love him. Here are my notes to remember for next time...

Honey glazed ham, funeral potatoes (my own made up recipe), fresh steamed asparagus (with butter), green salad (romaine lettuce, dried cranberries, candied pecans, white balsamic vinaigrette and feta cheese), pear delight jello salad (with real whipped cream), rolls, apricot and raspberry jam, fresh strawberries with pound cake and a chocolate cake (from Shirley).

We had 11 people - 8.5 pound ham was too much, the jello was all gone, one Parisian salad was enough, the potatoes: I used 2 cans of cream of chicken healthy choice for Aunt Susan with a square of butter in pan cooked it till warm then added in a huge sour cream poured a little heavy whipped cream. Then I used 2 bags of 2 different types of potatoes square and the shredded kind then 1 pound of shredded sharp cheddar a little onion powder and a little all purpose seasoning salt free, and a little of Aunt Susan's garlic powder. I used big throw away pans and throw away plates, cups, utensils.

My Mungo and Grandma Woolums

I told Aunt Susan "Mungo is dead. Grandma Woolums is dead. Aunt Susan (you) are in the middle of Chemo and radiation, Uncle Denny had a heart attack, I have mono, Scott is still undiagnosed and ill, Anthony is not sleeping, Salina can't explain the extreme fatigue she has, Mom has MS, Teri will start bleeding at any moment, Kristin doing chemo, Amy doing chemo. I feel our family is a little bit cursed" She scolded me and pointed out that we are a very blessed family. That God is aware of us and that we will make it through this. OK I should be the one to comfort her-- her mother just died, she could face death, her hubby might also and her daughter... yet the rock in my life is comforting me. Scott has been crying non stop all day and I am Jekyll and Hyde swinging back and forth from indifference and unbearable grief. I'm even bit off Ben's head last night at church- because he teased me. This week has been emotional. When you perform it can be a roller coaster as the audience adds in a new dynamic and you pass the point of fixing things and learn to go with the flow of live theater. SO add in real drama and it pushes this little Missy to the brink of heartache. Luckily for me I have amazing friends who have a love for the Gospel, me and animals. Grandma's death they were not even going to tell me about until the play closed. Afraid after all the tears over Mungo I would not be able to pull myself together for the play and let down the stake. Scott slipped up and I felt awful that I might not have been able to express sorrow about Grandma because I'm not grown up enough to handle everything going on right now. She was so sweet. I loved the birthday cakes she made and that she was always kind and attentive to me. She loved Scott too. She has been lost without Grandpa since his death and her health has been very poor, so at 87 it was a mercy to take her home to God. The funeral is on Sat since Aunt Susan can't travel due to the treatment schedule until then. Mungo has not been himself for about 2 months. Looking back, we see this as it happened. It snuck up on us until this past week. If you didn't get to ever meet Mungo- he was special. He was more of a lap dog than a cat. Never stand offish always loving, talkative, friendly and curious. You know what he was to me? My boy. My dream of having something to love and mother in the form of soft fury love. I have been flooded with memories over the last 72 hours. 1. When Kaden fell off the slide and had a cast and had to drag himself along on the floor somehow Mungo could sense he needed to hold and love him and allowed it. Mungo was not to excited about children because they move fast and can be unpredictable-- but with Kaden he was really sweet. During one of Kadens sleepovers with us Kaden woke up with Mungo wrapped around his head. Kaden whispered to wake up me "Missy, Missy -- look at my fury hat" Kaden had a huge grin as his eyes rolled back and forth taking in the site of all 17 pounds of Mungo loving wrapped around his whole head. Mungo was giving Kaden kisses and purring. 2. When our niece Lauren was visiting he jumped right into her lap and slept with her. I think she was old enough to not look like a small child anymore and she is very good with animals. Lauren was not feeling wel and Mungo had this great love for others who were suffering. 3. The last time Kelsie slept over he really loved her too, she was not thrilled about all his fur- but he loved her. 4. He always greeted me at the door. He would come down the stairs like a bunny and then start talking like crazy and heading me towards his treats. HE LOVED HIS TREATS. I have felt GUILT every time I took a drink this week as my sweet boy could not even drink a lick of water. He was parched and had also quit eating. 5. He stayed right with me all the time. When I worked late right in my lap at the computer. 6. He loved stretching in the sun and always had his little paws crossed. 7. He loved to fetch and chase a lazer beam Scott would play with. 8. He LOVED Scott so much. 8. How he was so frightened of plastic bags and thunder. 9. How he would mope around when we got out the suitcases he hated us to leave him he did not like to be alone. 10. This soft little snore he had while sleeping. 11. How he fit perfrct into the nooks of my lap and arm. 12. How he helped me through Anthony moving. 13. He loved dark pants and greeeted anyone wearing black by rubing hair all over them- it made me laugh. 14. How stuborn he was he culd dead weight like no other animal I had ever seen If he didn't want to do something he did not do it.
I knew we needed to have him saved from pain when AUnt SUe was allowing him to sit on her lap last night. She loves Mungo but never once allowed him on her lap until she felt such pity last night for his skinny little face she was overcome with compassion. She told me I had to let him go. The vet said today that cats hide their pain because in the wild if they show signs of it they are hunted by other animals and they want to please and comfort us. SO I wonder how long he had been suffering? I can't handle this and yet I have no choice I hate death- the separation- but I am grateful for the relief from pain for the one suffering.
OH OUR HOUSE IS SO QUITE!!! It feels so empty- Scott can't stand to be here. I can't write anymore now. Ben just brought over food I don't know if it is because I was so mean to him- Scott gave me a love note after the play saying I can still do plays, that he loved watching me on stage... was that because he was worried about me too? Matt and Hillary sent gospel stuff about animals:)
Missy, Matt and I were really wondering what information there was about pets in the afterlife. I found this article. It doesn't say a whole lot, but I think it gives some references that would be useful to find out more. I know that there's nothing that I can to to fix things, but I hope the answer to the question: "Do animals have spirites and are they resurrected?" gives you at least some comfort. It was also comforting to me that many of the answers came from prophets. If there's anything we can do to help, let us know. Love, Hilary Joy
Where do animals fit in the eternal plan of things?
Gerald E. Jones, “I Have a Question,” Ensign, Mar. 1977, 61–62
Gerald E. Jones, director, Institute of Religion, Berkeley, California “Nature helps us to see and understand God. To all His creations we owe an allegiance of service and a profound admiration.” Thus the General Superintendency of the Deseret Sunday School Union, President Joseph F. Smith, President of the Church, and Elders David O. McKay and Stephen L Richards, members of the Council of the Twelve, editorialized in the April 1918 Juvenile Instructor. Recognizing that the “love of nature is akin to the love of God” they reminded the members of the Church that “men learn more easily in sympathetic relationships of all life than they do in the seclusion of human interest.” (P. 183.) Many families recognize the importance of pets and the resultant loving and sharing among their children. Caring for pets can also develop a sense of responsibility.
Devotion of animals to families can be inspiring as well as practical. A recent news item related the bravery of a dog in saving the life of a small girl by breaking the window of a burning automobile and pulling her to safety.
A number of questions have been asked concerning the place of animals in the gospel plan:
Do animals have spirits and are they resurrected? Yes. The Prophet Joseph Smith received information concerning the eternal status of animals. Answers to questions he posed are in the Doctrine and Covenants, section 77. He also spoke about the resurrection of animals in a sermon but did not expand on the subject. (History of the Church, 5:343.)
To what degree of glory do animals go? The scriptures speak only of animals being in the celestial kingdom. Whether they go to other kingdoms is a matter of conjecture. Elder Joseph Fielding Smith on one occasion said the distribution of animals into all three degrees of glory is “very probable,” (Improvement Era, Jan. 1958, pp. 16–17.) To my knowledge, no other prophet has published an opinion on the subject.
Are animals judged and resurrected according to their obedience to laws? According to Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, animals do not have a conscience. They cannot sin and they cannot repent, for they have not the knowledge of right and wrong. (Man: His Origin and Destiny, Deseret Book Co., 1954, pp. 204–5.)
Can animals be with their owners in the hereafter? There is no revealed word on this subject. Reason would tell us that a rancher or farmer may not want all of the cattle he has owned during his life. On the other hand, emotional ties may be honored and family pets may well be restored to their owners in the resurrection. Elder Orson F. Whitney wrote that Joseph Smith expected to have his favorite horse in eternity. (Improvement Era, Aug. 1927, p. 855.)
Just what is the relationship between men and animals? Men are children of God. Animals are for the benefit of man. This does not mean, however, that man is not to have a concern for this part of his stewardship. The prophets in all ages have indicated that man will be accountable for his treatment of animals and that justice and mercy should be exercised concerning them. Alma encourages us to pray over our flocks. (Alma 34:20, 25.) There are numerous examples in Church history of animals being administered to by the anointing of oil and their resultant healing. In the best-known incident, Mary Fielding Smith’s oxen were spared to bring her pioneer family, including a future President of the Church, Joseph F. Smith, to Utah. (Preston Nibley, Presidents of the Church, Deseret Book Co., 1959, pp. 234–35.)
Though the prophets have spoken frequently about man’s responsibility to show proper treatment to animals in this world, very little detail is known about the states of animals in the eternities. Greater emphasis is rightly placed upon man’s need to live the gospel and be worthy to return to his Heavenly Father where he will then learn the answers to such questions. Quoting again from the editorial cited at the beginning of this article: “Men cannot worship the Creator and look with careless indifference upon his creations. The love of all life helps man to the enjoyment of a better life. It exalts the spiritual nature of those in need of divine favor.” (Juvenile Instructor, Apr. 1918, p. 182.)