Our Beloved Scooter

I've been trying to put off this post because I feel like it's the end of our beloved friend. Unfortunately Scooters surgery was not a success and we had to put him down. The tumor had grown into some major arteries and he was losing too much blood.

Scooter, Scooter, Scooter.... Where to start? Before we were married Jonathan had been bored and decided to start building a cage. He worked so hard on this cage and eventually completed it within a few weeks. If any of you have seen this cage it is quite exquisite. It has a winding staircase and all! After completion Jonathan was just DYING to have a pet to put in this cage. He was thinking of a ferret. Jonathan went to the Island Pet Center and asked to look at the ferrets. The cage was open and as Jonathan reached his hand in one little guy jumped onto his arm immediately. He said "I'll take that one!"

A couple weeks after Jonathan had Scooter I came to Washington to visit for Christmas and brought Scooter a stocking full of toys and treats. His first time meeting mommy. It was quite interesting because I had never been around ferrets before and found him SO annoying. After we were married and settled in our apartment Scooter learned to escape from his cage (ferrets are EXCELLENT escape artists). I was so frustrated with him not staying in his cage I was ready to take him back to the pet store! All I can say now is, I'm glad I didn't.

Over the years we've added 3 other ferrets to our ferret clan. Miss Priss, Tweeker, and Mr. Hankey. Everytime we added a new one Scooter always was a good big brother in showing them the ropes and of coarse showing them who was boss! Miss Priss adored him and would always groom and love him. They had a deep connection.

Scooter was our smartest ferret. He knew how to beg, roll and melt your heart with that cute face. It was quite funny when we first got him. He loved his tennis balls, and he LOVED to keep them organized just the right way. We would play a game with him where we would mess up his little ball pile in the corner and see how long it would take him to put them right back into the little pile. Then we would mess it up again and he would look at us like "MOM DAD!!!!! I just made that perfect!" Then he would put them back into his little pile.

Scooter also loved powertools. Whenever Jonathan was in the middle of a project that involved tools, they would always go missing and end up under the couch. He also LOVED chocolate bars, straws and root beer. A few weeks ago our good friend Phil was over and had a drink. Scooter sneakily came up on the table, snatched it and ran away as fast as possible.

One thing that set him apart was his love for Jonathan and I. He was the only ferret who would come up to you and lay on your lap and fall asleep. He was also the only one who seemed to come and check on us to see if we were still there. We will truly miss that close bond we shared with him.

We can't express how much we love him and how saddened and heart broken we are over his passing. We would like to thank Parrish Creek for trying thier best. They sent us Scooter's paw prints. That meant the world to us.

We made Scooter a lovely casket out of a leather photo box and lined it with silk. We put some rose petals in there from our wedding day (the flower girl petals). We put in his favorite ball and squeeky toy. We also included a letter from Jonathan and I. Saying goodbye was hard. We let each ferret have a chance to go up and say thier final goodbyes. It was so touching to see Miss Priss try to groom him. She took it hard I think. They all knew there was something wrong.

After the final goodbyes we tied the box shut with yarn and wrapped the box in a shirt. We buried him in the backyard next to Jerry, Jonathan's cat who passed away a few years ago from cancer. We said a prayer and laid him to rest.

We know we will see him again. Heaven would not be Heaven with out our pets. Scooter was our son. If Scooter isn't there waiting for me, I will have a talk with Heavenly Father about that ;-).

Scooter we love you so much and we will never forget you and the joy you brought to our family!

Love, Mommy and Daddy

Prayer Requests

We are saddened today. We took our sweet Scooter to the vet and they have found a mass in his abdomen. We are asking you to pray for our little boy. He is more than a ferret to us. He is just like our son and we would do anything for him. Scooter will be going into surgery Monday morning to remove the mass and to explore to see if there are anymore growths. Please pray that the surgery is successful and that we can have our little boy for 5-8 more years. He is still considered a young ferret.

All our love,

Kimberly and Jonathan

In Loving Memory

I was deeply and saddened and shocked on Sunday after noon when I found out that one of my friends from school passed away. On Sunday morning Adrianne was in Orem getting ready to make her way back up to Murray, her home. She was headed westbound on 800 S. and when she reached State Street she ran a red light and was struck on the drivers side by a truck. Police are pretty sure she died on impact. Something that hit real close to home is that 20 minutes before her accident she was on facebook talking to her friends. Her last status update is "leaving happy valley". It was so crazy that she was in contact just minutes before her death. It's way too sad! Just a few weeks ago I had found her facebook and added her as a friend. I'm honored she excepted.

Adrianne McBride and I went to school together all the way from Elementary till we graduated at Murray High in 2003. I have many great memories of Adrianne. I remember when she skipped a grade and was in my class in elementary school. I had the privilege of being her 'stand partner' in Hillcrest Jr. High's orchestra our 9th grade year. She was concert mistress (I must admit I was jealous, but I was proud to be runner up). She was a great leader and was adored by the rest of our orchestra and our teacher, Mr. Wolfe. In high school we weren't as close but were still in orchestra together. I had to laugh at a picture I got of her on band tour going to San Diego pointing at me and saying "if you take that picture you're dead!" Band tours were so much fun in high school and I remember in Washington DC our senior year we got to share a stand one last time at our performance since a lot of the 1st violin section didn't go. I will always remember Adrianne as a bright, outgoing, funny and beautiful person. I know that she is in a better place and she will watch over us. We will see her again. Adrianne thank you for being such an influence in my life. Even though we weren't the closest friends I still cherish your memory.


The day after I found out about Adrianne's passing I found out another good friend from school, Cody Scafer had passed away in his sleep Saturday night. I was devastated again! I can't believe we ( I say we because there were many who were friends with both) lost 2 great people in 1 day! I remember Cody as being so friendly, funny and a fun person to talk to and hang out with. I went and looked in my yearbook my 9th grade year. I found where he had signed my yearbook. It said "Hey there hottie! Have a great summer! -Cody" He didn't put his last name but luckly I was smart enough to fill in last names so I could remember years later. I turned to go view his picture. Right next to his name was a big star. It said *Good friend, funny. I really didn't keep contact after high school but I remember all the great times we had.


In this sad week all I can think about is how much I take for granted. It makes me think of friends and family. What would I do if they passed away? What kind of things would I like to say to them before they go. I just wanted to let all my friends and all my family know that "I love you. Despite our differences. No matter how often we speak or see each other. I care about you and would miss you deeply if you were gone." I hope everyone is doing well and I wanted to give a big congrats to Aaron and Galima to thier new baby boy.

Love you guys!

Kimberly

This made me smile

Heavenly Father, Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the dishes & laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.

Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can't make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.

Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (who really ought to get a job!) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.

Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together.

Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give u s, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love.

Working for God on earth doesn't pay much... but His retirement plan is out of this world.

Gods Creation... Becky and Aaron helped, a little.

I love my new nephew. This is a picture of me holding his beautiful perfect little hand. I love you Taylon. From your Uncle Jon Jon.

Do we have a new genius?

When I took this photo of Dayton I couldn't help but think of that famous photo of Albert Einstein.

Smart Photo #2

Big Burban - Got's nothin on my parkin ablitlies!