Pets I've had!

So when I was pregnant with twins our German Shepherd gave birth to 8 puppies!  Here I am, about 7 months pregnant, with an armful of puppies. 

 These little guys were just adorable! 

Tired mamma!  A glimpse of what I would feel in a few short weeks after as I cared for twins!

This little one was my favorite, and I would hide him each time people came to look at the puppies! There were so many of them at first this worked well, and Phil did not notice that we were a puppy short.   I was trying to convince Phil that I needed to keep him!  It did not work! :(

O'malley as a kitten.

O'malley was right there in the middle of my scrap booking!  This was her favorite spot in the pen tent!  She would sit and watch or sleep for hours as I finished up Logan and Amber's scrap books for their graduation gift from High School.

O'malley and Shamus!  Shamus was our Golden Retriever that Bob and Cynthia Merrell (Bob and CC) gave the kids before we left for Ecuador.  Our friend Wendy brought him down to us in April of 2000.  He was the most loving and loyal dog and sadly he died right before we left Ecuador in 2010.  He was 13!  In this equation O'malley always was the boss!  Even as a teensy kitten she was in charge!   

 Below:  Shamus!  And below that my pet monkey Chi'me (which means "monkey" in Cofan).  This was a pocket marmacet that we were given in Ecuador.  It was wild and I got to tame it!  It was a great experience, loads of fun, and I learned so many life lessons from this cool little guy!  It would curl up in my pony tail and cruise everywhere around the house with me.  Favorite foods, papaya, and moths!  The bigger the better when it came to moths! 

 This is little Chi'me.  He was so tiny that he could balance on the edge of a styrofoam cup and scoop water out without tipping it over.  I wish I had a better picture.  We didn't have him for a whole year even.  He got bit on his hand by a scorpion and he was just too tiny to fight the venom from that bite.  He died in my arms as I helplessly watched his life ebb away.  There was nothing we could do.  I was heart broken that day as I have been each day one of my pets has died since I was a little girl.

So, for all the pets I have ever had, we have ever had, this is dedicated to their loving memory!  They brought lots of love and laughter into our home, and yes not a few tears when they passed away.  I am so thankful for animals!  This may strike you as trivial and insignificant, and yes, maybe not eternal, but the lessons they have taught live on.  God used each of them significantly in my journey in learning more about Him, and His love, and His ways, and about myself.  So, there you go, Calvin's "double knowledge" even through animals, God's creations and gifts to us.