Abby's 13th Birthday

Last year Abby's birthday was smack, dab in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic when everything was shut down and socializing was just not a viable option. I promised her that for her next birthday (this current one) that we would do our best to make up for it. She really wanted a sleep over with her friends but it just isn't the right time yet and so...we compromised. The weather was pretty good and so we had a lovely outdoor shindig with pizza, cake and ice cream, and silly string (always a hit). She got to invite all her besties over and between all that, she had a great time! It was really nice to have everyone over. 

That being said. She's thirteen!! What?!? That makes me officially the parent of two teenagers. Abby is our shorty. The doctor was even concerned for the longest time that maybe there was a genetic problem. After lots of tests and scans, it turns out that she's just short and will most likely remain so her entire life. No biggie. I'm short. My dad was the same height as me and so are all of my aunts on my dad's side. It runs in the family. So I can't really say she grew a lot in the past year, but she did grow 2" which for her, is actually pretty impressive. She is a full blown artist with a YouTube channel (started during the pandemic shutdown) and is an all around great kid. I'm blessed to have such a wonderful and beautiful young lady as my daughter and I am so grateful that I get to be the one to help her grow and become a Godly young woman. Happy Birthday to my sweet Abby!

She really wanted to buy her own succulent plant to take care of. That was her present from Grandma.

Abby, Sutton, and Gwen. Kendal couldn't make it this year.

Abby with her Ice Bear cake from We Bare Bears.

We got her drawing and art stuff and she'd been wanting to learn how to draw hands.

Pepper and Bruce

 A year ago began an adventure I'd like to say isn't still going, but alas...it is. We entered something that hasn't happened since 1918 - a pandemic. I am not going to go into crazy detail what has been going on because, frankly, I'm not going to forget this craziness anytime soon. Mostly because it's still happening. And also because it's hard to forget such a massively huge event. But perhaps the drama for another day.

As the pandemic began, the world shut down and kids went to remote schooling. It was strange and not necessarily easy. They were given devices from the school to connect to live classes with their teachers and then at the end of the school year, had to return them. It was on this day that we had a little miracle. Dare I say one of the best things to come out of the pandemic? 

As we pulled into the parking lot and drove around the side of the school, Abby shouts out, "A kitten!" to which I instantly stopped the van and looked. Lo and behold, in the grass under a tree, there was a very tiny and helpless kitten. Now, I told my  kids that the only way we were getting another kitten in our house was if one fell from the sky. I looked around and there was no mama or any sign of other kittens. It was scared and very small and I was convinced it was dropped from a predatory bird as it was literally in the middle of nowhere. So...a kitten fell from the sky.

 Enter, our new kitten...Pepper.

Right after we found her.

  

She just got her clean bill of health from the vet...who laughed when she saw me come in with her.

Now, she was pretty dirty, hungry, filled with worms and fleas, and by golly the sweetest little thing on the face of the good green Earth. Instant. Love. I knew from the second I picked her up and she curled up in the palm of my hand that she was ours. After a clean bill of health and some cleaning up, we knew she needed a friend. As if it was meant to be, a girl in our town was looking for a home for her last kitten and that is how Pepper met Bruce. 

I believe he's contemplating what to destroy first.

Now we have seven four-legged friends who we just love unconditionally (and let me tell you that Bruce needs it to be unconditional as he is a turd-bucket). Without the pandemic, we wouldn't have our sweet Pepper and stinker "brother" Bruce. They are turning one year old this month. And as I sit here, Pepper just leapt up onto one of our brand new bouncing balls (the expensive ones you sit on and bounce on) and shredded it. *sigh* I still love them.