On Monday, I went to the car to go get the kids from the bus. When I started it, there was a horrible sound and I had to shut it off. I was heart sick as I knew, from the sound, there had been a cat in the engine. I got out and couldn't find the cat (I knew from a head count, that it was Jesse's cat, Gracie, that was missing-we have six-one for each of the kids and two older cats). No body, no blood, just a fan belt that was ripped to shreds.
I called around and found someone who could pick the kids up and bring them to the top of our road. I planned to walk the mile up and back to get them home safely, but Chad was available to get them from the top down. So, when they got home, they went looking for their cats, as they usually do. Thank goodness! Jesse found Gracie. She had been hiding under the porch.
She managed not only to escape with her life, but the fan didn't even break the skin. It just shaved a line across her back. Jesse brought her to me wondering why all her fur was falling out! I was just so glad that she was alive, I didn't care that her fur was falling out. Here are some pictures of one of the luckiest cats around. I call her lucky because just about a month and a half ago, Eva's cat, Tigrera, was in the engine of Chad's truck and had half of her tail cut off! It could have been so much worse.
It is cute, the kids pray almost every day that their cats will be safe. It seems almost silly sometimes, but I know that Heavenly Father watches out for the little pets of his children at times. I know how devastated Jesse would have been had his cat been killed in that incident. We do all we can to keep them away from the cars, but that seems to have been a favorite hang out for them. I think we can safely say that none of our cats will spend their time in the engines of the cars now!! Too bad it took a few accidents for them to learn.
I'm so glad the kids have these pets. They love them so much!
So Chad went about fixing the fan belt that night only to get it on and find it was the wrong size. He returned to town and procured the correct size, put it on and in the process of tightening the tension adjuster, broke that! So, it was another day without the car. He got the part and had the car fixed by time to get the kids on Tuesday afternoon. So, working on the car is a scary thought for me. See how easily someone who knows more than I do can break a very expensive part($50)?
On to other topics....
My visiting teachers and I were visiting today about the lesson on nurturing the rising generation and they mentioned that my children all seem to know who they are and are not concerned about what others think. Here is an example:
This morning, Eva came and said she wanted to dress like a cowgirl today. I helped her find a shirt in Saul's closet that was cowgirl-ish and she donned her boots and completed the outfit with a bandana tied about her neck. I thought she was just adorable and I know she doesn't care what other kids think so it was a great outfit.