Month: August 2007

  • The baby is finally here!

    Some of you know that the younger pastor at my Church (Nic) and his wife (Alexi) have been waiting for the birth of their 3rd child, 1st son. They found out several months ago that he would be born with some challanges. They could see on the sonograms that at the very least he had clubbed feet and some problems with his hands.

    Nic was very good to put pictures and a daily journal on www.caringbridge.org. The baby’s name (and also the web site name) is jude elijah gibson. If you want to go on the site to see the new pics of the baby and/or read the journal, just type in his name (no spaces). There is no need to log in or anything.

    Obviously I never had a child with a handicap but I have worked with adults who grew up with these types of problems themselves. They are just like you & me, with the exception of not being able to move like we do and sometimes having some neurological problems. They love and care, hurt and cry, just like everyone else. And from some of the parents I have had the pleasure of knowing, they change our lives much more than we could ever change theirs.

    God has blessed them with this precious child and I don’t believe it will take these 2 long at all to realize how wonderful the blessing is. They are good people.  For those of you that pray, please keep them in your prayers.

  • Update

    The babies made it through the night! And woke me for a 4 am feeding!!!! I haven’t been up to feed a baby at 4 am in well over 20 years. But just like a baby, when hungry these guys get really loud.

    They still seem to be dehydrated, but I can’t get them to take the pedialyte. They love the formula. It’s so cute to watch their little paws (that look like hands) curl around the end of the syringe while sucking on that stuff like it’s the best thing they’ve ever had.

    Even cuter is the way the cat and dogs come up to watch. Rocky was even trying to bathe them…or was that tasting them? Hmmmm. I think I’d better watch out for him! I actually caught him trying to climb into the aquarium I have them living in. I had them out at the time, so the cover was off, but he still got fussed at for the effort!

    I did some more calling around and actually found a person that takes in these critters and raises them and then lets them go back into the wild. She said she’s been doing it since she was 15 and loves it. She takes in pretty much any abandoned wild critter and also teaches others how to take care of them. She was happy to take the babies and the stuff I bought to take care of them. I was happy to donate those things to her since every little bit helps when you are volunteering your time to do stuff like this.

    She said her favorite part of the whole thing was when they were able to be released back into the wild. Now I think that would be the hardest part, but I guess if you do the job right, the goal is to get them back with their own kind. Her job is just to get them ready for that. I hope God will richly bless this sweet woman for what she does!

  • Look what the cat dragged in!

    rocky 002 rocky 001

    This is my cat, Rocky. He’s our big (20 pounds!) baby.  He sleeps inside most of the day and roams outside at night. He’s about 9 now, so not as much of a hunter as he once was. He used to keep the yard clear of any moving objects (especially moles and mole crickets! good kitty!!). Every now and then we’ll see some blue jay or mockingbird feathers laying around, but since they spend so much time aggrivating him we figure they are asking for it.

    This morning when I went to let him in, I saw a small squirrel laying just outside the kitchen door, on the enclosed patio floor. I thought it was dead. Rocky sat there looking all proud, since he was bringing me a prize. I put him inside and figured I’d deal with the dead squirrel in a few minutes, as I was busy doing something else at the time. When I got back, the squirrel was moving! It wasn’t dead, or even hurt. And then I found a 2nd one! Rocky had to have brought them in, because they can barely crawl around by themselves.

    squirrels 002

    I fed them some soy milk, then called around to see where I could take them. I don’t want the cat eating them. I was directed to our county animal control, but all they would do is destroy them. (Nice way of saying they’d kill them!) So I went to the pet store and bought some formula, an aquarium, some bedding and a couple of baby bottles. Then I found a website that said DO NOT FEED THEM FORMULA if they are dehydrated, which it turns out they are. So back to the store for some pedialyte.

    They are the cutest little things! They cling to the bottle nipple like it was mama and then try to suck my fingers when they miss the nipple. They make a really loud squeaking sound, which I guess is how they call their mom, but she’s nowhere to be found. So I guess I’m going to try to keep them alive long enough to wean them.

    Since they do have all their fur and their eyes are open they have a better chance of living than if they were younger. But I’m not naming them…yet. Let’s see if they live through the night.

    Anyone want a new pet?