grateful april - day 14

today i am grateful for our 4-legged family members and the joy and entertainment they bring.

it all started for us (as a couple) with max - sweet max!! max was our godchild (god-dog, if you will). he was sweet and cuddly, would curl up in your lap, slept in our queen size bed with us when we would babysit. did i mention max was all of 90lbs??? we adored that dog - he was the greatest! we just found out tonight that our friends, jamie and paul, lost max last week. he will be missed dearly. (we have pictures of max but it was before this wonderful digital age so we don't actually have any on the computer).

we have been so blessed to have three 4-legged wonders in our little family so far. first came tuckett, our cat, who could care less about anything other than his food - though he does humor louis once in a while and will play a little bit. tuckett was maybe 9-12 wks old when we got him from the pound in chattanooga. we had been married for less than a year, were living in a duplex that did not allow animals (we thought a cat would be less noticeable than a dog - meaning we thought we could get away with a cat w/out the landlord noticing!). :) tuckett has been such a great cat - he cuddles on his terms (which is rarely ever), but he's just good company, a good cat.

 

(tuckett trying to stake his claim in aud's tent - didn't last long once she discovered his hiding place)

we got tuckett in may. that december we adopted sweet tate. tate was MY christmas present, but he was always a daddy's boy. tate was the sweetest thing - a cute little guy! he had the sweetest eyes, the cutest little underbite, and the longest legs! he looked like a wookie! sadly we lost tate almost 2yrs ago, just a few months before audrey was born. he was a precious part of our little family, made a big move with us all the way to st louis, everyone in our neighborhood knew tate. he was a good little man and is missed daily.

the latest addition to our family came along a month before audrey was born. what - were - we - thinking?? a puppy and a newborn?? really?? louis was all of 2lbs when we got him - that's right, TWO POUNDS. my aunt's dog had puppies, knew we had just lost tate, and offered for us to have one of the puppies if we were ready. we really prayed about it - we didn't want to replace tate and we didn't want to jump into a puppy situation w/a newborn on the way. we prayed and prayed - and ultimately felt a peace about it. we went home for aud's baby shower in july and met him for the first time - it was love at first sight. seriously, how could you not fall in love w/a little 2lb guy that acted like he was much, much larger? that began our journey w/lou - who will be turning 2yrs old next month!!! i think that is cause for a cake, what do you think???? :)

so there you have it.........a (not-so-short) story of our little family and how we have grown over the last

8 1/2yrs.

i am grateful for all of them - maximus, tuckett, tate and lou - and how much they mean to us - how much they make us smile, even just with memories - how they love us unconditionally - how much they are a part of the family.