Big sigh of relief over here because I was successful with my citizenship test yesterday. It was such a long road for me to accomplish keeping my German citizenship too. I’m so so happy and it is all because of this little blog. Had I not posted about it here that my immigration Lawyer told me that the German Government would never grant me permission to keep it and a kind fellow German wrote to me and told me that it’s not true. She wrote to me several times and helped me. And now this is all behind me and I feel like a huge weight is lifted off of my shoulders.
Oh and if your name is Kathy, then you might have won the pineapple print from last week’s giveaway. Check your email inbox.
Now lets get back to the pet series and I have some kittens in store for you today with Kristen from Studio 7
Hello, I was so happy when Julia asked me to participate! First I wanted to introduce myself. I am a wife, mother of 3 and an interior designer in Salt Lake City, UT. I specialize in budget friendly interiors, and love creating spaces for people on a dime. I’ve always loved design, children and animals. So I was excited to be here sharing my story, mainly to sit down and write about this fun and unique time of my life.
 I was two months pregnant with my 3rd child when my girls begged to rescue this older kitten that was pound bound. This sweet little kitty lived in the neighborhood where my kids when to preschool. She was such a sweet and affectionate little thing and loved the kids, and just wanted love and attention. The neighbors put food out but no one wanted to keep her. I took a picture of the girls holding the cat and sent it to my husband asking if we could keep the kitty. It was October and my oldest had a cat mask on.
My husband didn’t see the real cat and said of course we can… referring to our daughter. When he realized what he had committed to he was less than pleased. We already had a cat and a dog. But, these sweet girls have him wrapped around their little fingers and well, the rest is history.
Skye is our male cat. He is a ragdoll bread. I’ve had him since 2007. General Sam Houston the 2nd (General) is our Boston terrier. We got him in 2009 when I was pregnant with our first.
We named her Bella, and the girls were so smitten. She fit into our family perfectly and I was going to take her to get her spayed when my pregnancy took a turn for the worse and I was sick… hospital IV sick, was in bed for nearly a month and I pretty much forgot about that little task. Bella got pregnant and she was due only 3 weeks before me. Who knew a teenage cat could get knocked up? Lesson learned. The timing couldn’t have been worse, but was deep down kind of excited for my girls to have this experience. I loved having Bella as my ‘womb mate’, its almost like she knew I was pregnant too. She followed me everywhere I went and just constantly loved on me.
Bella was a champ and 4 kittens were born on March 24th and it was so inspiring to watch this little cat give birth silently and effortlessly to these kittens. It got me even more excited to give birth naturally to my little man. It was incredible to see her innate instinct to love and care for her little babies.
She was so protective of them any time any one came to see them and would block them with her body. She trusted me and let me take care of them. It is such a neat thing to earn the trust of a cat. My mom has always said she likes cats because you have to earn their love. They just don’t give it freely. This has been the case with our  Bella. Even now, after her kittens have found loving homes and she is back to her normal carefree life, she still follows me around the house and meows and talks to me. She is my little buddy and I’m so glad that we rescued her.
 It was a busy time when my son was born only three weeks later!  4 kittens to take care of and a newborn!?! It all worked out and I am glad to have had such a unique and fun time for my family. So much new life, and what a beautiful thing it has been.
The girls were able to love on a kitten while I loved on my baby, and there was just a lot of love to go around. Bella is so sweet with my girls and has this protective connection with our son. If he cries she runs to me and starts meowing and makes sure I can hear him to take care of him. She has become such an important part of our family. no regrets bringing her home.
Thank you so much to Julia for letting me share my story. Be sure to stop by my blog and say hi!  www.studio7interiordesign.com
how sweet are those kittens! sounds like a great home filled with lots of love!
Those kittens are adorable as well has Kristen’s home and family! Love!!
Oh my her home is stunning! And those kittens! Melts my heart! So precious how it all worked out.
I couldn’t agree more