Goodbye Ralphie

Thursday we said goodbye to a friend. Samantha got Ralphie for her 10th birthday, the magical age when a child in the Houseful of Blessings may get a pet. She was so excited. She faithfully took care of her friend, and made sure he got carrot or other veggie treats every single day, and even took him for walks in the stroller---in public!
That little spot on the grass below is Ralphie enjoying an afternoon outside while the girls draw.Samantha even made him a birthday hat for his second birthday.So it really was a sad day. Wednesday he just didn't seem himself. He was more of a blob than usual and then towards evening he just seemed to get worse. When I got back from taking the kids to Awanas, it was obvious he was suffering and so I just asked God to please let him die while Samantha was at Awanas so she wouldn't have to see him suffer, and God graciously granted my request. So Ralph put him in a box and we broke the news to Samantha when she got home. There were many tears....

So Thursday morning, we buried Samantha's faithful friend.He really was a sweet little rodent.

I was so glad that the H family was scheduled to come over for lunch. I knew it would do Samantha good to have good friends to take her mind off of things. And it worked. We had a wonderful time as we always do and the day flew by as it always does. It wasn't until after they were gone that Samantha remembered to be sad again....
But life goes on.....