Our Ms. Tucker Girl…

Our Ms. Tucker Girl crossed the rainbow bridge to heaven 9-1-2016…

We worried about her over the summer as she ate lots and kept loosing weight…but she was still our Tucker girl, full of life and heart. And on that early September morning we knew something was very wrong, off to the vet we went…hoping her to be ok.

Instead, we had to make a very hard decision, she was bleeding internally…options were, we could try invasive tests/exams etc…but we knew it was time to let our girl go and our vet agreed. When you love your animals…you know in your gut when its time to help them cross the rainbow bridge…even though it is hard.

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Tucker was one of those heart dogs, anointed by God to immediately land in your heart and be full of love for you…

I loved her deep brown eyes…like golden pools of light from her heart and soul!

Tucker was a camera dog as she loved to pose for you…

Cowboy son Curt, captured a sequence of photos below of Tucker, showing her personality and her heart…and her comments.

I hope you enjoy them as much as we have.

“Sun feels doggie dang good!”

“Huh..uhhh, what are you looking at cowboy?”

“I’m basking in the morning sun and ahhhh, feels so good!”

“I’ll pose for you but don’t bug me too long”

“I feel a yawn coming on”

“And a nap is in order”

“I’m almost asleep!”

“You still here?”

“Hmmmm…”

“Maybe I’ll rest my eyes for a bit”

“Or maybe I’ll keep my eye on you!”

You Will Forever Be In Our Hearts Sweet Tucker Girl…

5-23-2003 to 9-1-2016

 

God Bless Small Town America…God Bless Their Native Son!

Last weekend, we traveled to a small community to attend the funeral of a young man who died too young.

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The graveside service was packed with all ages of the community where he was born and raised…

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They came to pay their respects and to remember this bright young man, who touched their lives with his can do spirit, his fight and determination to live and his heart of gold.

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He was an intense part of their lives, as he belonged to the community and they claimed him as theirs, with open hearts of love and compassion for his family and for those of us who knew him.

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In a time when America is struggling with civility, honor and respect for their fellow-man, we stood together as a community, remembering and sharing our thoughts while we celebrated his young life.

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America whispered hope to me that somber day…there’s still places in America where people are united with honor, truth, civility and respect with Almighty God involved in their lives!

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We are one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

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I saw it first hand in the heart of a small community burying its young and I saw it in the eyes of my fellow Americans, as we struggled to understand why his young life was cut short.

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As we came together that day, no one said anything about republicans or democrats or Obama or Trump or war or retaliation. Instead we stood together, like Americans do, when we’re faced with something we do not understand.

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I pray and hope this young man’s family knows how much they’re loved and their son, grandson, brother, uncle, brother in-law, best friend and friend was very much loved…as we grieve with them.

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God Bless Small Town America…God Bless Their Native Son!

Moments Of Sometimes…

Moments of sometimes…moments of life slipping by…moments where time stands still…moments of life…(written almost four weeks ago)

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The last few days my mother in law has been fighting for her life…

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We wait and hope….pray and know that God is watching over her.

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We don’t know what tomorrow may bring…but we know that today, life is precious and Mom’s life means the world to our family…

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Mom Holton not only became my mom in-law, she became my friend. She taught me how to make spaghetti sauce and how to cook calf fries! She was a special lady with a heart of gold…she was a walking life-book to me and I loved that!

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We celebrated our 25th anniversary in Hawaii with my sister in law’s family and my in-laws. The last time Dad Holton was in Hawaii was a few days after Pearl Harbor was attacked.

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We made special memories with Dad (he is on the right) on that trip, seeing Pearl Harbor through his eyes was bittersweet, as we listened to his recollections of what he saw and what he experienced…

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Mom joined Dad Holton in heaven October 23, 2016 with a big celebration to welcome her home. God gave me an image of Dad reaching for Mom’s hand as she stepped into heaven and they began to dance to 40’s music! They loved to dance and I was told they knew how to cut a rug!

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I have learned that time is fleeting…life is in the moment and if you miss that moment…I am sorry for you.

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Time is much shorter than any of us realize whether you are young or old.

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Death knows no age limits…life is precious as every second of time and every memory is eternal…don’t miss it!

In The Golden Light Of Life…I Fall Forward Into Fall!

In the golden light of life,

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I fall forward into fall!

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Each year I go through a time of transition between the glorious long days of summer…

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Into the golden surreal days of autumn.

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Memories wash over me…as time passes on…

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We do what we ought of instead of doing what we want…

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Time passes by and people pass on at the drop of a tear…

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And as a warm fall breeze washes over me, it stirs,

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My heart with sentimental memories…tears flow easily as I ponder the whys, whats and woulds…

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Quietly my wind chimes call me back to the present…

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As I fall forward into the season of fall…with a heart full of both grief and gratitude.

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Wishing You A Beautiful Fall, Full Of Autumn Colors Wherever You May Be!

Sweet Paw Prints Forever On My Heart

Sweet paw prints forever on my heart is the story of my forever love, for a little green-eyed kitty girl named Minnie Mouse…she was my beautiful kitty angel girl…full of sweetness and vivid colors with defined stripes and Minnie dots with lots of white splashes here and there.

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“My Sweet Minnie Mouse, you wore a coat of Minnie colors designed by God above! We had almost 20 years together…you made such a HUGE impact on our lives…and also on others…you were My Heart Kitty, Who Truly Made My Life Better:)”

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My Dear Min-Min I miss you so much…you have been gone almost eight weeks and I look for you when I round the corner of the kitchen or

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When I go upstairs or when I sit on the sofa or…or…or…

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I’m used to seeing you laying in your favorite spots…on the back of the sofa so you could look outside and watch the birds…

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On our bed at night snuggled next to me…

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Riding shotgun with me in the office, in your very own office chair, with your heat pad under your Navajo blanket… which had good wooly nubs for you to rub and roll on your tender skin and soft coat of Minnie colors, a purrfectly good kitty scratch…

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And in the living room, how you always curled up where I sat on the sofa when I went to town for the day,

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I would come home and there you would be, waiting for me to return while keeping my seat warm, with a hint of kitty annoyance that I left you for the day…

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And you snuggling up in my horse quilt on my lap when we watched TV, rolling over on your back just like the above photo, wanting me to rub your soft white tummy as you loved for me to stroke and itch all the places you could not reach. I miss you Min-Mouse…my beautiful sweet girl…I miss you much.

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I remember when you first came to live with us you were so teeny tiny….you fit in my hand and as you grew and got a bit stronger you chased your toys under one of my antique cupboards that you could also fit under! After you chased a real mouse under there, he was too scared to come out so he died at some point and made an awful smell…I unloaded all the dishes I had stored so that Dad could roll the cupboard over to get the smelly mouse out of the house and to our surprise you had a dozen of your toys under there too….after that Dad made a wood cover to cover up the narrow place where you crawled under it…we didn’t want you to get stuck too!

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I miss you playing on your Navajo blanket that you truly loved…and doing catestetics chasing that darn red mouse!

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And I miss the sound of your sweet claws clicky click-clicking each morning on the wood floors letting me know “Here She Comes, Purring Along The Way.”

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After Christmas one year, you decided the small figurine my Mom gave to me of a small girl who fell asleep in her saddle, while riding her white pony was your play toy at night…the figurine reminded my Mom of me when I was little on my first horse, Prince who was white…however, the girl was yours and you loved to drag her off her pony by her hair every night after we went to bed…you were so funny and very determined! That girl was yours…and yes I was!

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And all the times you raced Dad to the office when you thought he was going to sit in your office chair…

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You were so cute, we always laughed as you won the chair every time…you were a very classy, sassy kitty girl, my Minnie Mouse and yes, you reigned as the Queenie of my House!

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When I first saw you, I named you Isabella or Bella as you struck me as a very regal kitty…as a nickname, I often called you Izzerbee, as you were my sweet kitty girl from the get go…

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Until Dad taught you how to mooch and he began calling you Minnie the Moocher, but I liked Minnie Mouse better and you became my Minnie. Every once in a while I would call you Izzerbee or Bella or Isabella and you would look at me like you knew exactly what I was saying…you knew who Izzerbee was. You were so smart and intuitive as you truly were the “Cat Who Knew Where It Was At!”

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You loved to play the clown to keep us laughing…you were always in the moments of my life…full of sweetness and God’s grace. Going through every part of life with me…through the illness of both my parents…first, loosing my Dad and a year later loosing my Mom…

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You played the kitty clown as you loved chasing your tail or the air on your very cool kitty scratcher…you knew it was a tough time and you played the funny kitty girl to make her humans laugh and we always did:) !

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When I went through breast cancer, you became my kitty angel nurse, attaching yourself to me like glue…WB always knew where I was in the house by seeing you in various windows…you were so loving and caring with your big heart and beautiful green eyes.

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I remember the night when we came home after being gone 10 days to Oregon Health Science University Hospital, you were beside yourself with love and worry for your Mommy…and the night before traveling back to OHSU for my post op…you insisted on laying next to me…something you never did before. I knew something was not right in the surgical site but you knew much more…it was a blood clot and when my Dr. saw me the next day, I was in emergency surgery within the hour to deal with the clot.

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And you tried to protect me from your illness during the last weeks of your life…you tried so hard and you were so very brave my sweet Minnie…you were very strong and so beautiful as you tried to live your life as normal as you could…but when I found you asleep in your litter box, I knew there was something very wrong…and there was. You did not have the strength to get out of the box, as it took all you had to get the few feet to the box from your comfy bed on the sofa…I cradled you to my heart to comfort you as I carried you…and stayed by your side 24/7 those last days to help you…bringing water and food to you. I did not know until your doctor examined you and found your heart was failing with Congestive Heart Failure.

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My Brave Sweet Kitty Girl…we knew it was time to let you step away and into God’s heaven where you would be free of suffering and pain…it was ok for you to go my Min Mouse. I could never wish for you to stay here with me knowing you were suffering.

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My beautiful kitty girl full of heart…my forever kitty girl…and my forever heart.

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Now you are safe…and you are well and in God’s kitty heaven playing and eating catnip greens with Nylablue and lots of kitty angel’s just like you:)

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I love you Minnie Mouse and I will forever hold you close in my heart until I see you again…

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We will have a happy reunion with lots of purrs, tummy rubs, head butts, more kitty purrs, chin rubs, ear scratches, eye rubs and more belly rubs with lots of snuggles!

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“God Bless You Minnie, God Bless You And Keep You, May God’s Face Always Shine On You. You Are Precious In His Sight And You Are Precious In Mine. I Love You Minnie Mouse…You Are the Queenie Of My Heart and My House Forever:)”

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“Rest In Peace Sweet Angel Kitty Girl”

May 14, 1995 – November 24, 2014

I’ll Love You Forever, I’ll Like You For Always…

I’ll Love You Forever, I’ll Like You For Always, My Baby You’ll Always Be, Oh My Minnie Mouse…My Sweet Forever Kitty Girl!

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It has been a very tough few weeks here…I’m sorry to be so long in writing new blog posts…I hope I have not lost any of you that usually read the blog…I have lots of new photos and lots to tell you in future blogs…however, for the last several days, words escape me and tears come easily…you’ll see why.

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I have very SAD news, our Minnie Mouse crossed the Rainbow Bridge, slipping peacefully into Heaven, last Monday, November 24th…a week ago tomorrow. I was so not ready to loose her. The last week of her life her health began to slowly fail, and by the end of the weekend, I knew something was not right as her back paws were swollen. Minnie’s vet examined her Monday and found that Minnie was in Congestive Heart Failure or CHF…it was such a shock as Minnie had always been so healthy and we did not see it coming at all.

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I have cried buckets since Monday…my words are yet stuck…it has been a wordless week for me. Even so I am trying to write memories of Minnie and also her memorial as with almost 20 years together, I have many good stories to share with you about the pure love of a very special kitty, my beautiful Minnie, who will forever be the kitty of my heart!

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My good friend, Sherri-Ellen also lost her beautiful kitty girl Nylablue (photo above) on November 22, a week ago yesterday…it has been a mighty rough week for us both as Minnie and Nylablue became best friends during this last year. When Sherri-Ellen learned that Minnie had crossed the Rainbow Bridge, she did a memorial blog about Minnie, despite her own grief, it was so very sweet of her and much appreciated. I have heard from many fellow bloggers the last few days that left their condolences for Minnie and I…and I thank you, your caring words have hugged my heart…I am not alone in my heartbroken grief. I will answer each of you very soon…

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I urge anyone reading this to hop over to Sherri-Ellen’s blog and leave her your condolences/thoughts on loosing Nylablue, (Nylablue had beautiful blue eyes and was so pretty) it has been very hard for Sherri-Ellen…loosing our precious kitty girls hurts deeply as they are part of our family and become a huge part of our hearts/lives, we miss them dearly. Sherri-Ellen’s link below will take you to her blog, you can read her memorial to Minnie Mouse and also hear more about her sweet kitty girl Nylablue.

http://nylabluesmum.wordpress.com/2014/11/27/minnie-mouse-has-joined-nylablue/

Sherri-Ellen is an amazing kitty Mom with tons of love and she loved Nylablue so much!

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Last Friday as I was writing to Sherri-Ellen to thank her for Minnie’s memorial and the many comments I had received…we had a very short rain shower and when I looked out I saw a double rainbow!!! A double rainbow as one for Minnie and one for Nylablue. I tried to capture the two rainbows but the second one did not show very well…you can see it faintly behind the prominent rainbow to the left of the photo…I felt like Minnie and Nylablue were letting us know they crossed the Rainbow Bridge together as best friends and they were happy…it was a beautiful sight to see! To the naked eye, both rainbows were vivid and quite bright…the second rainbow seemed to shadow the first rainbow.

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The above photo was taken last summer of Minnie in our yard, (she loved exploring the yard as she lived inside our house)…she was 19.6 years old this month and would have turned 20 years old, on Mother’s Day, May 10th, 2015.

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Minnie came to live with us in 1995…the owner could not find a home for her and asked if I would take her and of course I said yes! She was maybe 5 weeks old…and I became her “Forever Mommy.”

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When I saw her precious little green eyes peeking out of the hay…and then her little striped head popped out and baby Minnie greeted me with the sweetest mews-mews…our eyes met and I knew she was my special girl…my forever kitty girl.

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Tears are running again…I miss Minnie so much!

God Bless You Minnie Mouse!

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“I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always, as long as I’m living, Your Mommy I’ll be!” “That means eternity my Sweet Minnie Girl.”

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When God says I’m done here, I’ll see you in Heaven…Summerland…Across The Rainbow Bridge, My Baby Kitty Girl!

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“I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always, as long as I’m living, Your Mommy I’ll be!”

HRCG is over and out for now…

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