My sweet husband surprised me the other day with these notebooks as a small gift :)
(I love that instead of bringing me candy or flowers to show me he loves me, my husband brings me pretty notebooks. He knows me so well :)
And as a side note – isn’t Pounce darling ;) He made himself at home the other day on one of my backdrops while I was setting up my studio equipment…
Meet Izze (formerly Issabella – we wanted to give her a fresh start by shortening her name, plus my favorite soda just happens to be Izze :)
This little one is so sweet & about half the size of our other two even though she is full grown at 3 years old… She makes up for it in attitude though! She has more energy than most kittens & loves to tease our other two (we are working on that still). It is definitely keeping us busy! (Hopefully I will be able to look back in time someday & I will have forgotten how much they dislike each other, because they are all best buddies… That is the hope!)
A couple months ago, my husband & I adopted her from Purrfect Pals. Pet adoption is really close to my heart, so I really wanted to share her story here. Before I started my career as a photographer, I actually worked as a vet assistant in an animal shelter. I saw so many heartbreaking stories lived out in real life. It was difficult work, but very rewarding. I wouldn’t trade my time working with animals for anything. (Although I absolutely love my career as a photographer & wouldn’t trade that for anything either!) We actually adopted Axel (one of our now three cats) from the shelter that I worked at & Pounce was given to us as a kitten before that.
So when I saw Izze, I just knew she was meant to be a part of our home even if that meant a few adjustments along the way. She is one of the sweetest cats I have ever met and my first meeting with her consisted of her absolutely melting into my arms (and not wanting to be set down). Unfortunately she had a hard life before finding us. She was adopted out as a kitten, then returned, then adopted again, then found wandering out all by herself far away from there… She had to learn to survive by herself & keep going, even though no one was willing to care and love for her.
(And seriously how could you not love this sweet face!)
We have had to make some adjustments – three cats in one home means less space for us & a little more space for their things, plus slowly introducing everyone (since cats do best with slow introductions). The adjustments are totally worth it though to be able to provide this sweet kitty with a home. (And hopefully with time the adjustments will become easier.)
I hope that this makes at least one person think about pet adoption & opening up your home. It is a commitment, but I promise it will bring you so much joy! We might be giving Izze (Pounce & Axel) a home, but they are giving us so much more!
This has been a busy week & the next couple weeks promise to be even busier (especially after today). I am tired, but I had to blog tonight so that I could look back and remember this day. This is my journal in so many ways & with this post I feel like it has come full circle in a lot of ways. (Which I didn’t really realize until I started writing this.)
It was actually quite a busy day today, despite both Ben & I having the day off. We started our day with a bus ride to Top Pot Doughnuts for a mini breakfast date. (Yum!) After we were done with breakfast, we decided to take a little drive up north with a particular destination in mind. We went to meet a sweet little kitty name Issabella who was available through a local cat rescue for adoption. Well all that to say we came home with that little kitty this afternoon. We have decided to call her Izze, since Issabella seems like a lot of name for her to learn. (Doesn’t Izze go darling with Axel & Pounce. I think all 3 names are so cute together :). So yes sweet Izze makes this a family of 5. Two people & three cats! We are outnumbered, but happy we can provide her with a loving, caring home. She has a ways to go before I think she is going to trust anyone (someone really made her wary of humans & animals), but as long as the journey may end up being I am so happy and excited we are on it.
And in case anyone is curious… The reason this post makes me feel like my blog has come full circle is that shortly after I started my blog we adopted a sweet kitty named Axel. He has been a part of our family for 5 years now & we cannot imagine life without him (we also have a sweet kitty Pounce who was a part of our family before I started blogging & we can’t imagine life without him either :). It really is wonderful to be able to provide a home for another adopted pet. I am so grateful that we have the space in our home & our lives for Izze. (And shame on the person who probably dumped her on the side of the road. I won’t say anything more because it just makes me upset and angry & this is a happy, beautiful day!)
No photos of Izze yet (other than a couple camera phone pictures), because she is still very, very shy. I promise to post a couple soon though! I will leave you with a photo I took while scouting a photoshoot location the other week though (since no post is complete without a photo :)
