All My (Our) Children

It seems like everyone I know is having a baby or just had a baby. Well, maybe not everyone, but I do have quite a few friends in one of these situations. So, I have been getting "the question" a lot lately. "When are you gonna start having little ones?" I kindly reply, "I have 10!" I get a lot of funny looks, especially from people who don't know me. I don't know if David gets the same questions and looks. I then explain the 5 horses, 3 dogs, and 2 cats. We have always been of the mindset that whether it happens or not, its totally in God's hands. We love our freedom and maybe that's selfish of us, but we also don't think that we should have a kid just because everyone else is or because we are getting into our thirties and don't have a lot of time left or because that's what married people do or because if we don't start trying now we might not be able to or because then we wouldn't have to worry about who will take care of us when we get old and the list goes on. None of those are good enough reasons FOR US to have a baby. Babies aren't for keeping up with the Joneses or getting a tax deduction. The decision to have children should not be taken lightly. You should really, really want to have a child before you try for one and first and foremost, I believe, you should seek God's will on that one. It is a LIFETIME commitment. Once you are in it...there is no turning back. Now, don't get me wrong....if you find out you are expecting a little surprise and you are ok with that, great!...more power to you! If I was in that situation and hadn't thought about all the aspects and ramifications...I would probably freak out a little. But I feel the need to over-think a lot of things, so that would just make me feel unprepared and overwhelmed. Also, I don't hate kids. I love kids. I love my niece and nephews and even have a few "adopted" nieces and nephews thanks to some dear friends.

So, with all that said, I wanted to introduce all our kids. Well, the rest of them anyway. The only one I don't have pictures of is our old cat Angelo.

You already know Ranger, Bailey and Scout from the other blog. If you haven't met them, check out Saddlestrings and Other Horse Things. Meet the rest of the family:

Blackjack

Blackjack and Festus

Festus is our old guy...he is in his early 30's and is now retired.

All the pups

Kenai

The youngest of the dogs, he is still very much puppy...silly boy.

Molly

Logan

And last but DEFINITELY not least, Ewan (as in Ewan McGregor)

Ewan is the best, friendliest cat I have ever had. He is so playful and will let you do almost anything to him without putting up much of a fight. He also gets along with the dogs very well and has the biggest personality....he doesn't know he's a cat.