succeeding my deliciously satisfying lunch of turkey, cream and strawberries... i, like most days, retreated to my blanket for a mid afternoon nap. what, to my delight, did i happen upon? a pairing of literary delights! these vividly illustrated lovelies boast adorable stories and poems for the kitten in us all. of course mommy had to assist me in the turning of the pages...thumblessness is a real grievance. but, i did manage to type the following excerpt from The Black Cat Book to share with you:

Going To Market

When Mr. Cat and Mrs. Cat a marketing-do-go,

The little kittens find it fun to go with them also,

And if the kits are very good, their parents do not fail

To buy them at the sweet-stuff stall a

sugar-mouse's tail.

though i took much delight in the hardcover surprises, it was a nap i came here for. thus, a nap i must take. might i borrow the use of your thumbs to move these books? i tend to require the entire blanket for my pre and post nap stretch:)

p.s. mommy purchased both books at laughingelephant.com. be certain to take a peek at the website; one can lay their fingers on delightful vintage postcards, notebooks, books, etc.

thought i'd share a picture of one corner of the room we have set up for our future child/ren. since they will be from foster care, we don't know age, gender or ever quantity...but we did specify that since we are young still ourselves it may be best to keep the quantity under 3 and the ages under 5 for right now.

there is a little chair across the room where i used to sit every morning. now i sit there and blog:)

with the snapping sounds of the coffeepot as the morning brew tarries, comes the tautological tasks of the daily housewife. i should know, i live every day alongside one. throughout the daylight hours she seems to pace a few identical paths, and as far as i can tell, does it cheerfully. at times i join in, succeeding all the while. but alas, one does tire of redundancy. so...you might not blame me when a trifle of hysterical obstacles in our path appear by my paw.

In the kitchen i attempt to bring an element of surprise by soaring down on mommy from atop the cabinets in flying-squirrel style. sometimes i use the pointy of my nose to tip over my water bowel, just before mommy steps her bare foot down in the biting chill of the wet. when i notice her approaching in the hall, I'll dramatically heave my body to the floor. one can almost catch me giggling as the housewife and her basket of fresh-air scented garments trip-trip-trip and finally rain down. of course I've used the classic trick of placing my seemingly structureless gut on any and every piece of paper mommy is attempting to read from. I've consumed entire lunches from the unattended table, gleefully run my claws through gingerly wrapped christmas presents, and have managed to vomit on every square inch of carpet in the house.

try as i might to bring a morsel of hilarity to our day, mommy never appears to fully appreciate my efforts. obviously my technique is lacking, because i'm convinced she would participate in my glee if she saw my act as fresh. back to the drawing board i suppose. that's one notable peculiarity about mommy...her loving desire to continuously challenge me :)

introducing cat lily- the feline love of my life hailing from small town illinois. she is prudent beyond her 2 years, despite her birthday being april one. with a public attitude that can only label her as griper, grouser, growler, grumbler, or plain old grump... she and i share a secret society love affair consisting of delightful snuggles, kisses and fond glances. Though lily would never admit to this, she is one syrupy morsel. This blog is in fact dedicated to lil, but will not entirely consist of picture after picture of a sleeping cat (i promise).

the fact is, i have replaced the void in my life with my cat. this is a self-diagnosis, of course, but an easy one to make. let me introduce myself. i am emily, wife to tim. we are in our mid 20's and have been married for just under 3 years. tim is simple and caring. he loves sports and hates cats. he prefers ground beef with ranch dressing and a salt shaker any day of the week. he sparkles with any mention of the 90's, from bulls sweatpants to the fresh prince. yes, i'm rolling my eyes. we are oposites in almost every interest, except for the fact that we care enough about each other to cultivate affection for the loves of our counter. tim can now be caught sneaking late night conversations with lily concerning urgent matters such as the whereabouts of pink mousey; and yes, one might now happen upon a covertly hidden jock jams CD in my car.

our families are cartoon characters in themselves, destined for the smearable pastel pages of the sunday funnies. among them, a four-and-a-half foot mother-in-law boasting a southern accent she has somehow maintained after leaving her hometown more than 20 years ago. an even shorter grandmother, lovingly referred to as gigi by her 6 children and their armies of offspring, who will insist till the day she dies that her roots are irish and that my curly hair looks a-mess. a mom that doubtlessly loves me more than anyone else ever could, but somehow manages to be the source of a lion's share of frustrations.

right, back to the void. you see, tim and i are the owners of a very quiet room. it is painted green and is lovingly piled with stuffed bears, masking-taped dr. suess tales and overpriced totes. it's walls are covered with scraps of vintage dick and jane fabric framed by colorful wood. a red rope used to string crisp white paper snowflakes is tacked over a tiny vacent bed. this room doesnt represent our loss. no, it represents our what-is-to-come. we are adopting one or two children from the foster care system, since getting pregnant would have been difficult for us. deciding against fertility treatment, we launched project adoption and have been living it ever since. 6 1/2 months have passed and we are activly waiting. because our children will come to us from foster care, we daily taste the emotions associated with our situation. not only the anxiety of the unknown, but the sickening thoughts that at this moment our children could very well be holed up in a place where they feel no love, receive no care, and dont yet know that they are our everything. because of such sensations i must engulf myself with the unconditional love of god, tim, or families and of course...my cat lil!

this blog will be testiments of the happy things, events and progressions of our adoption, and the world according to the Great Distraction :)