* Ashley Dunn flew in to spend some time with Ben and the family!
* Ben, Ashley and Liv went to Roaring Springs
* We all went camping and enjoyed disconnecting from life for a bit! It rained on us - but only during the night and the tent kept up safe and dry! We decided to try Foil Dinner meals (for Breakfast, lunch and dinner) and so while that was a lot more prep/work for mom before hand, it really made mealtime in the woods much nicer!
* On the way home from camping, we stopped to cool off in the Payette River
* Family Dinner out at the Vogt Farm
* Ben had another movie night/get together on Saturday after we got home from camping
* Speaking of Ben - he's getting better on his driving. We are just having him drive to and from football practice each morning at this point but he's improving each drive :)
* Celebrated the 4th of July!
Seth Spotlight...
Well, he didn't send out a (mass) email or pictures this week, but from what I gathered from our personal emails, all is going well and he's really enjoying his companion - so that's positive!
Spiritually Speaking... (John Edition)
Lambert has always been a cat who comes and goes as he pleases. Some nights he stays home and sleeps on our beds, other nights he heads out and does who knows what. Same with day time. One thing that is a constant, however, is that he always comes home and is never gone for more than about 12 hours. We were a bit concerned when we moved to Nampa because he had spent all of his life in rural settings with lots of land to roam vs a subdivision with homes, neighborhood dogs, streets, etc. So far, though, things have gone well...
...up until the Fourth of July.
We had never even had to make allowances for our pets, being so rural. It didn't even dawn on us to secure Lambert in the house until the evening rolled around and we were headed out. He had already taken off for the day and we had no idea where he was. If he is gone during the day, he always comes home at night and so we cracked the garage door for him and headed out. After an evening of watching the Boise City fireworks, we returned home to find Nampa to be a noisy war zone with loud mortars being fired off well into the wee hours of the morning. Lambert was no where to be found and we worried that he may have fled with all of the loud explosions. We looked for him and called his name to no avail. We went to bed with some concern but had hopes that he would return that night and we would see him in the morning. Nathan was particularly worried as he is so attached to Lambs.
The next morning, I checked the garage, hoping to see our sweet boy but he was still gone. I began to be a bit more worried and headed off to work. As the day progressed, the kids were heart broken. They were so concerned and tears were shed. Nathan would go outside regularly and look for him and call his name. As the day progressed, the temperatures climbed to over 100 degrees. I joined three different lost and found pets groups on Facebook and contemplated making a post. I checked in with Shandy several times during the day only to have my hopes dashed each time.
Towards the end of the work day, I felt inspired to look up an article about pets that run away during stressful situations. I learned that cats have a tendency to hunker down and defend their territory vs dogs who just bail. The article stated that until the cat feels it is safe again, they will remain hunkered down - even if they hear you calling your name. It stated that this could take several days and that cats have been known to hide in their own houses or in their own back yards. I called Shandy and read her excepts from the article. She called back shortly after telling the kids about it and had felt prompted to have me read it to the kids to comfort them. I read it to them over the phone. Nathan, hearing this, felt prompted by the Spirit to look in the back yard again.
There was Lambert laying in the shade. The kids were happily reunited with Lambs and Shandy snapped this pic. I received a text with the pic and excited message stating that, "Lambs has been found!!!"
We all said a prayer of gratitude and cuddled the heck out of him (me, once I got home that evening). It really struck me how Heavenly Father loves us, listens to our prayers, and attends to our needs. I know that in the big scheme of things, a lost cat is not that big of a thing but he means the world to us and is such a big part of our family.
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