Happy Gotcha weekend!

Ever heard of "Gotcha Day"? It's what families celebrate after adopting. Recently, I have had several friends who get to celebrate a real gotcha day with the addition of some new babies to their families. So exciting for them after a long wait!

But Labor Day is our Gotcha Day for our precious baby Shadow.

I never was a cat person, but Matt who grew up with a cat, insisted that we get a cat after our 1st anniversary. So 6 years ago we went to Debbie Mathias farm where there were probably 20 kittens to chose from. They all were so cute. I especially remember the 2nd choice, who was all black except for a white tip on her tail, and was appropriately named Tippy. But Shadow was very social and had the loudest purr ever (which note at the time we thought was just adorable. Not always so adorable in the middle of the night!). She knew instantly how to get what she wanted!

We had our niece Kara with us that weekend. She was soooo excited! We decided we would let her name the cat. Yes, it took her ALL day to come up with the name Shadow. (Shadow was name Smokey by Debbie, but Smokey is a popular cat name on both sides of the family already)Kara was 8 then. If you know her now, you could only imagine what name Shadow would have if we let Kara pick the name today!! Here is Kara with our little bitty girl. Aren't they cute? And yes, Shadow really does like to be held like a baby. We can spoil her---She gets everything in our will too!

I could go on and on about my Shadow. She really is my shadow. Clearly I'm her favorite parent. But come dinner time, she only begs Matt. The vet recommended "behavior modification" a few years ago after some rebelling with the litter box, but now we have figured out that she is just high maintenance and needs it changed daily...along with fresh water in not just 1 but 2 bowls! And don't forget the 2 snacks before leaving for work. Oh, and brush her often to eliminate hairballs. And you'll know when she is bored when she starts chasing her tail. But bring over the kids....and she is brainwashed to know that kids are bad news in the Ervin house! She sleeps at my feet every night and loves to nap! I'm so jealous of her life!! But the next time you visit, don't say "Shadow is so fat." I don't call your kids fat! Just kidding. We know she has put on the pounds, but haven't we all and we wouldn't trade her for anything!