My Newest Addition

Ok, so those of you who know me know that I am BY NO MEANS a pet person. That being said, I have a confession to make...I now own a cat. Some of you have heard the story through my Facebook posts, but I'll repeat it just in case there's some random person following this who hasn't heard.

Last Friday night, we had a middle school event called Mad Mad Nights (the 6th, 7th, and 8th graders all get together for pizza and a fun activity). A few of my 7th graders found a kitten wandering around the school. It was soooo skinny that you could feel every one of its vertebrae. I asked to hold it and it immediately burrowed its head into the crook of my arm. I held it the entire time. When it was time to go home, none of the other teachers would take her. I told my coworker/best friend up here in MT that I would take her for now if she would come with me to pick out some cat "crap" from Walmart. I thought she would back down and offer to just take it home with her (since she already has 2 dogs and a cat)...but, she didn't. So...I have a cat.
At first I was going to name her Annie after Little Orphan Annie from the movie. That name just didn't seem to fit her, though. Annie seems like a name for a playful or spunky kitten. Mine just likes to eat and sleep--which is fine with me! So, with the help of some friends and family, I finally decided on Kali. Where did that come from, you may ask? Well, I moved from CALIfornia to KALIspell. Her full name is Kali Jo. It fits her perfectly.

She's kind of temperamental. She gets mad at me when I have to leave her in her "house" while I'm at work. She punishes me by hiding under the couch for at least 30 minutes when I let her out. Then she eventually peeks her head out and decides to forgive me. Last night, I came home for a little over an hour, but then had to head back out to a volleyball game. She freaked out when I put her back in her house! She knocked her food and water bowls over trying to claw her way out. It was soooo sad.

My friend's husband said I might as well name her Sfen--meaning Single ForEver Now. He thinks that I have sealed my single fate by getting a cat. I tried to tell him that I would happily give this cat up for a man, but he didn't seem convinced. I may not even keep her...we'll see. I have to pay more for rent every month if I keep her. I could probably get away with just keeping her inside and not saying anything to my landlady, but I just feel like that's dishonest, ya know? So, we'll see.

Hope you're all doing well! I'll try to upload several videos I've got in the works (first snow, first fishing trip, Kali, family reunion, and more). I've just been swamped at work...
Oh! I almost forgot! My very first California visitor is coming up on Thursday!! I'm so excited! My good friend Michelle is coming up until Sunday and I cannot wait to see her! And, I'm hoping to show her off to my peeps up here to prove that I actually had friends down in CA :)

Single's Toast

So I know that I created this blog to share with you my adventure of moving to Montana.  I had no intention of turning it into a personal journal, but I'm starting to change my mind.  I thought I'd maybe share something with you that has become very special to me. 

You see, over a year ago, I had a best friend named Gina.  She and I were both single and loved to go out together.  We would almost always order a glass of wine (or a girly, fruity drink in my case).  One night, we decided that we should have a specific thing to toast to every time we got together.  I volunteered to write the toast.  I took it very seriously  :).  I went to a park, sat down for about an hour, and came up with the following.  I know that it's mushy and girly, but deal with it!  Although God has answered this prayer/toast in Gina's life by bringing her an amazing man with whom to share her life, it is still a prayer for my own life that I hope to one day see answered.  Be gracious when you read this...it had been awhile since I'd accessed my poetic side :).

A Toast 

To surrendering our hearts to their ultimate Lover

To giving up our dreams to their original Author

To working faithfully on what our God has set before us

To our continued pursuit of righteousness and faith

To living this life we have been given listening to the voice of our loving Father and not that of the Enemy

To not letting our hopes for tomorrow speak louder than our divine calling for today

To building our character to that of Biblical proportions

To the sovereignty of the Creator’s hand and the perfection of His timing

To finding men like Timothy—passionate, mature in faith

and obedient to the Spirit’s leading

To men who are courageous in heart, adventurous in spirit, solid in faith

and strong in Godly character

To one day seeing the goodness of the Lord in the smiles of our children

and the embrace of our soul mate 

And, finally, to having fun and faith while we wait.

To fun and faith!