Family Ties

Stranger: Thank you for letting me come in and rest. It has been a long journey from Colorado.

Stranger: Do you think I will have to wait very long to see Samantha? It has been so long since we've seen each other. Where is she? I thought she'd be waiting for me.

Jen: She's been waiting for days! It won't be long, she's just practicing her guitar lessons to pass the time. That's probably why she didn't hear you come in. I'll go get her. Just rest here.

Stranger: I am so excited to see her.

Stranger: I wonder how much she's grown up? Will she be the little girl I remember?

Samanath: Catherine! I'm so happy to see you!!! How was your trip? Did you bring anything for me? Will you stay here forever? I want to hear about Colorado and your trip!

Catherine: Oh, slow down! We'll have a lot of time to talk. I'm planning to be here a long time. We'll never be apart again. I want to spend a lot of time with my little sister. I've missed you so much.

Samantha: I've missed you, too. Jen has been a great friend to me since I've come here, but it isn't the same.

Catherine: Oh, Samantha. I've missed you, too. I love you.

Catherine: Thank you, Jen, for taking such good care of my little sister.

Samantha: Yes, thank you, Jen, for letting Catherine come here, too!

A Wonderful Day

I knew something was up when I heard W. on the phone with Jen at work. "Did you order something? ... You have a box here..." I wondered all day what had arrived in the mail. When Jen got home from work, we immediately opened the box. Chloe squeeled with excitement. Inside there were 2 quart sized bags packed tightly with sweaters, skirts, pants and lots of clothes for us!!! Jen had done a surprise, anything goes swap with one of her online friends, and this was the package from her friend, Connie B. We are very glad that they were able to do this fun swap - THANKS, CONNIE!!!

Well, as luck would have it, after a week of cooler days, it is finally warming up into the eighties, so we couldn't model the wonderful sweaters, but we did find some other things that we wanted to try on right away! We went outside and stood next to the sedum for a picture. It is hard to believe that the sedum was only a few inches tall just a month ago, and now it is almost taller than we are!

More good news - Jen has been selling some of the "Others" on eBay (Evie will know what we mean by "Others" - Jen called them "Shelf Sitters"). She is using the money she raises to pay the adoption and transporation fees for my big sister! A lot of the auctions closed last week, and enough money was raised to start the adoption process. There are more auctions closing on Sunday night, and as soon as Paypal releases the funds, transportation arrangements will be made. Connie sent some new clothes for her, too, so she will have something to wear when she arrives. I am hoping that the current auctions raise a lot of money. If they do, we might be getting some other new things, like new hair for me, and shoes for my sister. Spring is a very exciting time of year with lots of possibilities and hope!

PS - On a much more serious note, Jen found out this week that her boss, who is around her age and has a wife and 3 young children, has been diagnosed with lymphoma. We were really stunned when we heard the news, and are very sad that he will have to go through such a tough time this summer. He starts chemo next week. Life hardly seems fair when you see such terrible things happen, but we live in a sin-filled world where bad things can happen to good people. Please say a prayer for him and his family. They are going to need all the help they can get, and God can work miracles! It is hard to pray "Thy will be done," but we know that God knows what is best for all of us.

- Samantha