If you know anything about Lena, this was a serious thing. She l.o.v.e.s. animals. If she could, she would house every stray and lonely animal. She wants to be a vet when she 'grows up'. Her heart is so soft towards animals. And it has always been that way. So when she said what she said, I talked with Jim and we just knew she'd be getting a cat for her birthday.
A week before her big day, I started to look around for a kitten. I looked and talked with every rescue shelter I could find. Nothing. The next day, I continued my search. Still nothing. At least for a little one. There were older cats that were very sweet but Jim & I were hoping for a kitten that Lena could grow up with. After a long morning out, sitting in my desk chair, I finally came to the end of my rope. But then a thought came to me to try the PetSmart I had no luck with the day before. So I called and much to my surprise they had two kittens, 3 months of age. A bit older than what we were hoping for. But the gal I spoke with said one was super sweet. My heart skipped a beat. And in the same moment, I suppressed my excitement, not wanting to be disappointed if it didn't work out like the rest of the morning. But I called a friend and told her I'd pick her up in 5 minutes to drag her with me to see this kitten. Well, let's just say, when I picked up the kitten to hold him, he immediately started purring and I knew he was our boy. =) I then made the arrangements to adopt him and set the appointment to pick him up with Lena in tow. =) (I love surprises!)
When we arrived at the store later that day, the gal I was to meet wasn't there yet so we just putted around, looking at the huge array of animals they had: birds, lizards, mice, etc. When we came to the cat house, Helena stopped. She stared and goo-gooed at the sight of the two kittens they had there. And then...argh...one the store's employees comes up to her and asks Helena if she's ready to take home her kitten. I looked at the girl like 'thanks!' She felt so bad spoiling the surprise. So with that comment, Helena looked at me and asked, "What is she talking about, Mom?" "Mom??" "Mom???" After a looooong pause, I said, "Wellllllllll, see that all-black kitty over there (pointing)? Welllllllllll, that's your kitten." "Happy Birthday, sweetie!!!" And this is what she did...
She was so overwhelmed she had tears in her eyes. Yes, she stared to cry. It was one of the sweetest things I have ever seen.
When we walked out of the store, his name was Licorice. On the way home, Helena called her friend, Lukia and discussed names for the kitten. There were a million names thrown around but what stuck was 'Arthur'. And so Arthur is was.
God has blessed Helena with a beautiful heart for animals and with that a kitty gets to be blessed with a beautiful life with a loving family.
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