I don't have any pictures of my family this week, because we lost the cord to upload pictures from our camera. This bird will have to do.I want to start this note out with a story about my friend Shalauna. She is the wife of Brady, and is the mother of twins Cate and Cal. For Cate and Cal's birthday one year, Brady came home with a rabbit in a cage. I remember thinking it was a cute rabbit, but was glad that MY husband would never surprise me like that. Well, Brady, Dave just gave you a run for your money!
Let me back up and tell about my weekend. Deseret Book did a Time Out For Women in Indianapolis on Saturday. Benjamin and I drove over on Friday night and stayed with the Pugsleys. Saturday, Benjamin played with his old friend Riley, while Becky and I went to the conference. It was a great day. I loved seeing old friends again! Just seeing familiar faces made me feel so good! I was on the verge of happy tears all day. The speakers were good, too. After the conference, Benjamin and I packed up and headed back to Ohio. We had a great drive listening to "Double Fudge," a somewhat newer Judy Blume book (at least I assume it is newer, because I haven't read it, and she references Harry Potter). We arrived home, and Joshua came running out yelling "Yea! Mommy! Yea! Mommy!" which pretty much fills my heart with joy and is the best reason to be a mother. I walked into the house feeling good, and saw a bird on my kitchen counter. This was somewhat surprising, especially when I found a cage and another bird. (There were roses, too, but that hardly makes up for anything.)
I wondered which neighbor had asked us to watch their birds already. But, no. My husband has spent the day on Craig's List and found a pair of lovebirds to bring home as our new pets. He said he wanted to SURPRISE me! Now let me state for anyone who doesn't know this about me. I am not much into pets. Animals are fine, but not really in my house. Where I sleep, and make food, and try to stay clean. I'm just not a pet person. I have 3 children. Doesn't that count? David knows this about me. I'm not sure what he was thinking. The thing is that he's not a sneaky man. That just isn't his nature. He must have honestly believed that I was just too lazy to get a pet of my own, and that I would be happy to see one, just waiting for me to take care of, on my kitchen counter. Unfortunately, he was wrong.
Now let me tell you about these birds. One of them, Bonnie, looks like the picture. She is very pretty. The other one is even prettier, with bright green and orange feathers. His name is Clyde. Now for the clincher. Clyde has a nervous disorder. Apparently he needs an avian psychiatrist. When he is stressed, which is all the time, he plucks out his beautiful green feathers on his back and chest. Have you ever seen a plucked chicken? That's what he looks like around his neck. He has a beautiful head and tail, with a mutant middle. It's really disgusting to look at. And yet, one has to feel sorry for the bird. I don't know how long lovebirds last. These 2 are 8 years old. If anyone knows, feel free to respond. What kind of sentence am I in for? Of course, the kids love them! They hop around the house and land on our heads and slit paper into nesting material, and poop on the floor/counter/whatever. Dave thinks I just have to get used to having animals around the house. I'm not sure that will ever happen.
So, we have pet birds. As my mom pointed out, at least he didn't bring home a goat!
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