I have big news, and I have been holding back on it for a week!

Last year, I mentioned that one of the things I wanted for Christmas was a puppy. Then I met AJ, we started dating, and he got kittens, Jazz and the Little One. So I changed my mind, and said I really wanted kittens. I had no idea that I liked cats - I have always been a “dog person.” It never occurred to me that I could be both a dog and cat person, but I truly love AJ’s cats soooo much (need to get some updated pictures, they’re so big now)! I even asked for your advice about cats just in case!

Well, the day after Thanksgiving, my whole family and AJ decided to go to lunch together, and AJ suggested a place by the humane society because he decided to get a third(!) cat. We went and ate, then AJ said “OK, I’m gonna walk to the humane society to look at another kitten for me.”

Then my mom said “actually, Lindsey, AJ is not getting a kitten, you are getting two.”

My Christmas present from my parents is two kittens!!!!!!!!!

They decided that since I have a job and therefore can’t travel as much, now might be a better time to get a pet. And since I’ve discovered cats now, they would be better for me than puppies because I am away from home for long periods of time during the day (with school and work). So, that is my present from them - two kittens and allllll the stuff that comes with them (litter boxes, toys, vet trips, food, etc.)

So, we went to the humane society, and I didn’t see any I wanted. Over the next week, AJ and I visited the humane society, two PetSmart adoption centers (with animals supplied by local shelters, NOT bad animal places), the animal control adoption center, and the Animal Adoption & Rescue Foundation (AARF).

I was looking for two kittens that were young - baby to around 6 months old. I quickly realized that most people only want one cat, so it is often hard to adopt out siblings together. So, since I was already looking for two, I decided I wanted siblings because that would be good for the cats. We looked and looked and looked. I wanted short hair, and I kinnda really wanted an orange one, but they seem to be in high demand, so they were hard to find.

At AARF, a nice woman named Rebecca told me about several of her kittens that she is fostering in her home. She brought in a pair of brothers that are black and white, and a pair of sisters that are brown tabbys. I played with both pairs and just couldn’t decided if I wanted EITHER pair. She told me a little about their history, and it turns out the brothers (4-5 months) are REALLY attached to each other, and she would love to see them go home together. So, that made me pick the boys over the girls, but I still wasn’t convinced.

So today we went to a couple of adoption fairs and the humane society again. The first two places didn’t really have anything that interested me, so we went to the adoption fair held by AARF.

It was a NIGHTMARE! That made the decision soooo much harder because there were SEVERAL pairs of siblings, and they were all so cute and so sweet!

After half an hour of cuddling all these kittens, I was down to two pairs - the black and white brothers I had seen earlier in the week and a pair of brothers that were 8 weeks old. They were so tiny and adorable and kept purring and kissing me! They were medium-haired, and one was black and the other was orange (like I’d been wanting)!

So now I had a tough choice. And I must have deliberated for another half hour, LOL! I asked the foster moms of both pairs as well as some of the other foster moms. And AJ and I discussed it a great deal. And the general consensus was that the two little bitty ones would get adopted since they were so small, but it is harder to adopt kittens that are closer to the black and white ones age. The little bitty ones were also so young that even though they kept flopping all over each other and curling up together, they would probably be just fine to be adopted separately. The black and white ones really needed to go together.

So I’m taking them!

At this point, I was worried since I didn’t have an immediate reaction to them (the “you’re supposed to be mine!” feeling). But after talking with everyone, they said that would come with time once we got to know each other. And in all honesty, this will be best for the cats, because they really should go home together.

So, here is a picture from their foster mom and a little excerpt from her email when she was first telling me about them:

“I’m attaching photos of Jacques and Philipe. They are both short haired, black and white. They are about 4-5 months old. Both are very affectionate, playful and they love each other. Jacques is the more outgoing of the two, but they are both very social. Philipe is a water baby. The other day my husband turned on the shower and left the room. When he returned and opened the curtain, Philipe was standing in the shower! Today, my husband was taking a soaking bath and Philipe was sitting on the side of the tub with his front feet in the water. He is so cute about it.”

They aren’t responding to their names yet, so I will be changing them. They’re at just the right age to be neutered, so the foster mom has an apointment for them to get neutered on Tuesday and I will pick them up and bring them home on Thursday! I have all week to get the apartment kitten-proofed and finish getting ready (I have most everything I need except for food, litter, and a couple of carriers).

So that is my big news, and I am so completely thrilled! Of course, there will be more pictures of my babies (and new names) once I get them, so be on the lookout. I am SO excited!!! Merry Christmas to me! And thank you Mama and Daddy!!!!!

Also, all advice for this first-time cat owner is appreciated !

Sidenote: While we were looking for me, AJ fell in love with another kitten. Her brother has already been promised to a family, so they are going to try to get the family to adopt her as well, but if they say they only want the brother, then little Ana is going home with AJ . . . sigh, he’ll have three cats then!

I sure hope that my entry gets counted - for some reason I thought we were supposed to post our results on December 1, and today I realized it was supposed to get posted today, but I was at work and didn’t get home until after 1AM EST . . . so I’m hoping that this goes through by the deadline of 11:59PM PST!

This post is very picture heavy, so read on at your own peril !

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For me, Christmas starts when Santa goes across the screen at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. The holidays are officially here!

TiVo, in a rare moment unreliability, decided to delete the parade before I got a chance to watch it. Grrr . . .

So I started Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. Mama and I went and bought a very real(istic fake) tree for my apartment. My first Christmas tree! I brought up all my Christmas decorations from Florida the last time I was home, so I put out all my Nutcrackers and my nativity set, and then left the tree for another day (since I wasn’t feeling well).

Last night I got the tree all set up - AJ helped me by putting it together and helping me fluff out all the limbs (he’s pretty good at it, LOL)! I then sorted through all my ornaments. There was a bag that I set aside that would be great for a little girl (but are a little too young and pink for me), and the rest I put on the tree. Drumroll please . . .

This is my lovely decorated apartment !

My first Christmas tree!

And a little close up of some ornaments:

Some of the ornaments are newer, like the little Cavalier King Charles Spaniels that look just like Ella and Olive and the little Moravian star to remind me of Winston-Salem, NC (where I attended both undergraduate school at Wake Forest University and graduate school at North Carolina School of the Arts). Others are very old, like the pink sand dollar with a Nutcracker (this was given to me when I danced in the Nutcracker for the first time) and the blue and yellow angels (these hung on my mother’s Christmas tree when she was a girl)!

As I have mentioned, I have a Nutcracker collection, so here is a look at it:

Hmm, let’s get a little closer! Here are Steinbach wisemen . . .

And Steinbach Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare!

And a few more that I have on a bookcase near the kitchen (the short one on the left was my mother’s first nutcracker from before I was born - it’s the first in my collection)!

And my nativity set - I just got this last year and LOVE it!

The only thing I’m missing is an Advent wreath for my table, but that may have to wait until next year.

So, now I’m ready for Christmas for the first time in my adult apartment. Ahhh! I’m so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!