Doggie Heaven!

The last week of May, our friend Britta, asked us to puppy sit her little girl, Paisley. The kids LOVEd having a whole week with a puppy! They did awesome caring for her. 

We visited our other puppy friend, Penny. She and Paisley didn't quite hit it off. 

The kids love to go to the pet store by us and visit the puppies. 

We love to visit this little white fluffy Eskimo puppy. 

I have a feeling we will someday get a dog. 

Happy Easter 2015

 Every year, Mark writes up clues and the kids do a little 

Scavenger hunt to find their basket. 

It's a fun tradition! 

 Our very own Easter Bunny:) 

First year making a coconut cake that we shared with all our neighbors. It was delicious! I couldn't find unsweetened coconut so I bought 2 coconuts and freshly grated and toasted it- AMAZING! Took tons of time but the end result was out of this world! 

Daisy: Our new little Bunny

We have a new addition to our family- little Daisy. 

 She is a 6 week old bunny and has quickly become very loved in our home.

There's something about getting a bunny as a baby that helps it become so docile and trained to be around the kids. We have two other female bunnies but we got them as adults and they just don't take to the kids like Cotton did (we got Cotton as a baby as well.) 

We are hoping Daisy stays with us a very long time:) 

Goodbye to a sweet Pet

 Our sweet little pet, Cottontail died on Sunday night. We had been noticing that he wasn't eating as well and loosing weight. Mark and I had talked about taking him to the vet after we got back camping but it was too late. Mark was at work Sunday night, getting ready for the start of school, when I discovered that Cotton was dead. As soon as I told the kids all four of them burst into tears. It was the most heart wrenching thing. I, of course, started crying and called Mark right away. Mark was SO busy but he dropped everything and came right home and spent the next 2 hours digging a hole, helping us bury him and praying at his little funeral and just loving on the kids. The kids made a gravestone and picked flowers to put on his grave. They seem to be doing better as the days have passed (and school was a welcome distraction) but Arianna is still very sad and cries when she talks about him. 

I hate that they had to witness the sting of death at such a tender age but what a wonderful life lesson to pray with them and talk them through the Gospel in their pain- that Jesus came to conquer death and someday will restore this broken world to Himself! 

We will miss you, Cotton! You were a part of our family and you will be missed! 

the day we got him- July 2011

We're growing!

 We have had a bunny for a pet going on a year and a half. Cottontail has been the perfect pet! He is easy to take care off and the kids LOVE him! They hold him every day and play with him and take care of him. It's great. He roams around the yard (not fenced in) and never has escaped. He's basically trained.

When we first got Cottontail, I made a cage for him. It didn't have a good roof so I would cover him with a tarp in the winter or on rainy days. We have been looking for some time for a hutch for him but with no luck. They were too expensive or were gone too quickly on Craigslist. I came across this hutch just recently and it was FREE but you had to take the 3 bunnies that came with it. I couldn't pass it up. The lady also gave me a ton of food, the food containers, water bottles, hay... perfect!

The 3 bunnies are females and Cotton is a male so I knew we had a problem because even though I like rabbits, I don't want a rabbit infestation. So, I decided to get rid of one of the females so cotton could stay on the bottom by himself and the other two on top. I told the kids under no circumstances are they to let all the bunnies play together in the yard:) I love that this hutch has a little inclosed section so they can hunker down in the winter:)

Cottontail- tan one

Olive- black one

Cocoa- the spotted one

This is Marshmallow( my neighbor actually wanted her for her daughter Skylar. 

The kids were so excited that they can see her anytime they want next door! Thankful I got rid of her right away so the kids didn't become too attached)