Twig

The day Jason brought the kitten home, I walked into the house, oblivious to the surprise that awaited me.  The looks on the kids' faces belied their innocence and with their unrestrained grins, they told me they had a surprise for me.

"Look in the box!" they exclaimed, pointing to a large, rubbermaid bin sitting on the fireplace.  I hesitated, suspicious of what the excitement was about.  I had seen these looks before (see earlier post).  I recognized the mischievous faces they were giving me.

"No thanks,"  I replied.  I wasn't going to look at something freaky in the box--whatever it was.  With their continued urging to look in the box, I said, "No way!  There's a spider in there or something!"

Karina laughed and said, "No, Mom!  It's not a creepy, crawly thing!"

That's when Dallin pulled out the furry, fuzzy kitten that melted my heart.  She was tiny, blue-eyed, and adorable.  I was instantly in love and surprised at my own favorable reaction.  I've always been a cat person and had many cats and kittens growing up, but I've put off having any sort of pet (aside from a fish or two) at this stage in life.  It seems with five kids, I've got my hands full enough.  But, I guess I'll have to make room for one more.

We debated for a few days what to name her and finally decided (begrudgingly, to some) on Twig.  Karina, who voted for "Whiskers," came to me the other day and suggested we each just call her whatever we wanted, conveniently giving herself permission to continue with her name choice.  Whatever we call her, she's officially the newest member of our family and she's already snuggled her way into our hearts.