On My Way Home

My house is located less than one block from Kensington Ave. In fact, my "backyard" is the back of buildings that line Kensington Ave. So, in order for me to get to my house, 9 times out of 10 I have to drive down Kensington Ave.

This means that almost every night as I drive home I have to pass the adult video store with the neon arrow pointing to the front door. Along the way I watch as a cars pull over to the side of the road and young women get in those cars. I'm not exaggerating. I see it all the time. I pass police patting people down and men pushing shopping carts that hold their entire lives. I see cars dropping women off on the side of the road, looking vacant and numb. Every night as I drive home.

After I turn off of Kensington, I have to circle around McPherson Square Park. Its more commonly known name is "Needle Park". As I drive around I pass kids playing football while the guy sitting on the park bench behind them falls asleep in a drunken stupor. I see dogs being walked, and needles being tossed. Trust me when I tell you that the park lives up to its name.

Once I make my way around the park, I get out of my car and walk toward my house. To get there I must pass through an empty lot full of trash. I pass guys standing on the corner waiting for their customers. Kids play in the street, shouting curse words at one another as if they learned them from Dora the Explorer.

I open my door, say good bye to my neighbors (all of whom said hello to me as I walked by) and close it again. The sounds of the street; loud music, yelling, cursing, kids crying and dogs barking, can not be avoided and often fill the rooms of my house. Still, in my home I find peace and sanctuary. I thank God for it because I am desperate for it.

This scene plays out in my life day in and day out. And that's just my trip home. My days are filled with hurting kids, hurting teens, and angry adults.

No president can change my neighborhood, only Christ can. I honestly don't know how people can survive in this place without Christ. I have Him and sometimes I'm just barely hanging on.

We've lost our minds...

We have 2 more kittens!! How did that happen?!? Well, Jen and I are suckers, that's how. We took our original 4 to the vet at the shelter to get checked out and while in the waiting room a woman came by saying that they had just gotten 2 kittens in that really needed a place to go. They were really healthy and about the same age as our kittens, and staying in the shelter wasn't good for them. We were hesitant at first, but made the fatal mistake of agreeing to at least look at the kittens. Once we saw them, we knew we couldn't say no.

So, here are our newest additions!!!

Suki


Shakira

We are still looking for owners for now 5 kittens (anyone??). Tomorrow we are taking them to Jen's home church because some people have expressed interest in them. It will be at least a month before they are big enough to be adopted, but we are actively pursuing future homes for them! The really fun part is that Jen's sister works at a photo studio and is going to take portraits of the kittens! How funny is that?!? Each cat doesn't get their own photo, but we will take some great group shots. Seriously, this is my life...

Fun Times

Today was a really fun day! I spent the morning and early afternoon babysitting the Hinson boys. We ran several errands together (I'm getting the Jetta all spiffed up) and then headed to my house for a while to introduce Ky to Gizmo and both boys to the kittens. They were SO cute with them! Of course, we had to work hard to make sure Ky didn't step on them, but in the end he was really sweet with them.


Ky really loved Gizmo, though Giz was a little less impressed with Ky (Ky isn't exactly known for his gentle touch, haha). It took me most of the day to convince Kyler that my cat's name was Gizmo, not Buddy (his cat's name). By the end of the day, he was calling him "Gicko". :)




I thought I was going to be with the boys all day but Frank and Carisa came home early. L is spending the night at my house tonight and went with me and Jen to take the kittens to the vet. They are doing well and their eyes are almost completely cleared up. They are still too young for their next round of shots, but the vet said they look great!

I wasn't too excited when I woke up at 6:30 in the morning (after going to sleep at 3:30), but it turned out to be a fun day. Tomorrow will be very busy with Jennifer's Birthday, L's birthday party and now I am going to a barbecue with T. It will be busy, but I plan on coming home and just relaxing for once after the party.

Oh, and I know I promised you something exciting, but you will have to wait a little longer...I've been too busy to get the picture I need. :)

I'm a New Mommy!!

To four baby kittens!! (The woman in the picture is my roommate Jen).


Jen and I were coming home from a very long day (which I will tell you more about later) when we heard some loud meowing coming from a box outside our front door. When we opened the box, we found 4 kittens, all crying and looking pretty sad. They all had at least one eye crusted closed; one of them had both eyes shut. We immediately put them in the car and drove to the PACCA (the animal shelter).When we arrived we were told that we had 2 options. 1) Foster the kittens until they were old enough/healthy enough to be put up for adoption or 2) Give them to the shelter and they would be put to sleep. Needless to say, we quickly became foster parents.

There was a vet technician at the shelter who looked at their eyes and cleaned all the gunk off. Thankfully, we discovered that they all had good, working eyes...they were just infected. We were given instructions for cleaning and some medicine (that we have to put on each cat's eyes 4 times a day!). In about 2 weeks, their eyes should be fine. They also got their first round of shots and will go back next week for a check up.

So, meet the babies!!


Hokie



Phoebe



Beyonce



Simba


These kittens aren't out of the woods yet. Phoebe is the only one that is eating as she should, though Beyonce has started eating. Hokie and Simba have to be force fed, and even then they don't get much. There is a very good chance that one or more of these kittens won't make it, so please be praying.

We are not going to keep these cats forever. They should be old enough for adoption in about a month, so we will give them back then (unless we find someone to adopt them on our own...anyone want a kitten?!?). I really don't think I will have a problem giving them to a good home, Gizmo is enough work for me. I don't think it will handle it well if any of them die though.

(And in case you were wondering, Gizmo has NOT met the kittens. In fact, he isn't allowed near them since they may carry diseases that he could catch. He can't come near them until they have finished all their vaccinations. He has heard them meowing, however, and has not responded well...lots of hissing. I want him to meet them at some point, though, to remind him what he was saved from. :) )