Happy Birthday, Sassy Cat!

I've decided that I will entertain you this week with details of our trip home from last week. We don't make it back to South Louisiana very often so there is lots to tell....I think. Well, maybe I'll get two or three posts off of it.

I will start off with the most memorable and downright humorous event.
But first, some background....

When I was a little girl, up until the time I got married and moved out of Mom's house, I was extremely close to a doll named Holly. Holly was my best friend in the sense that she knew everything about me and I knew that she would never judge me or betray me; She was always there for me when times got crazy and I needed some security. Snuggling with her when I was tired, sick or mad etc. always made me feel better. Call me crazy, but I took some of my bridal portraits with her in the background; it was my way of including her in one of the most important events of my life. She also made an appearance at the hospital when Gabe was born. Today, she sits safely on top of my Mom's bed so that she doesn't feel totally abandoned. Although I've grown up, she has a huge part of my heart.

This past year, while Phillip was in Iraq, his babysitter Ms. Jo bought a stuffed tiger for Gabe while they were out shopping one night. Her name is Sassy, after Jo's lovable old mutt Sassafras. It took only a short time for me to realize that Sassy became Gabe's "Holly", perhaps because his little world was just not right while Daddy was away. Sassy goes EVERYWHERE with us and was even the subject of Gabe's first pre-school fight. (another little boy called her a doll at naptime and Gabe was NOT having that!) To this family, it's another "Calvin and Hobbes" type situation. Sassy is a mischevious, but loving little tiger and she even helps me wake Gabe up for school in the morning. I use her as a tool to help build Gabe's imagination, and boy.....has it worked!

It started a few days before Thanksgiving. The announcement was made that Thanksgiving would be Sassy's birthday. She would be three years old (not really, but that's what Gabe says it is....so be it). Of course, at first, we didn't take him too seriously. But on Thanksgiving night, after we had all eaten our fill of good food for the day and were lounging about in our PJ's at Phil's parent's house, the party was organized. There was already a cake on the kitchen cabinet; not a whole one, but it worked. We were told that candles needed to be rounded up. "Okay, so I guess this is really going to happen", I thought to myself. Before we knew it, we were all in the kitchen singing Happy Birthday and laughing our hiney's off! Everyone had to take pictures with the birthday cat. Gabe went to bed pleased with the outcome of the party and we went to bed scratching our heads at what just happened.

Oh, to be a kid again....It was a good night!