A Little Ho-Ho-Ho'ing

A Tiny Little Reindeer Appears

I think I see some reindeers....

MERRY CHRISTMAS to efurryone!

ABBY, BOO, PING, JINX AND GRACIE

'Twas The Night Before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas in the sleeping cats house,

not a feline was stirring,

not even a mouse.

Cat stockings were hung by the door with care,

in hopes Santa Paws soon would be there.

The kittens were snuggled in mama cats bed,

with brothers and sisters curled head-to-head.

And mama cat on her quilt,

and I on my mat,

had just settled into a delicious catnap

When out in the yard there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from my mat to see what was the matter.

Away to the windows, I

flew like a flash,

climbed up the curtains,

and pressed my nose to the glass.

And what in the world did my feline eyes see,

but a small golden chariot,

pulled by cats just like me!

With a fluffy old driver, so white and so furry,I

knew in a moment it must be Saint Purr-y.

More rapid than rabbits,

his kitties they came,

and he yowled and meowed, calling each cat by name.

"On, Slippers, On, Sneakers, On, Bigfoot, On, Spats!

Christmas is coming, lets go gentle cats.

"Now, White Sox, Now, Bootsie,

Lets go Gloves and Mittens!

To the back porch we fly!

Let's go cats and kittens!

So down to the catdoor, his kittens they flew,with a catnip filled chariot and Santa Paws too.

And then, in a twinkling,

I heard on the latch,the paws and clawing of Santa paws scratch.

As I sniffed for his scent and looked all around,through the cat door Santa Paws came with a bound.

His eyes how they sparkled,

his whiskers, how merry!

His cheeks were like marshmallows, his pink nose like a cherry!

His little cat mouth was drawn up like a bow,

and the fur on his paws was as white as the snow.

He meowed not a word,

but went straight to his work,

and filled all the stockings, and turned with a jerk.

Then washing his whiskers,

his ears, coat and tail,

after having a snack,

out the cat door he sailed.

He jumped in his chariot,

to his team gave a yowl,

and away they all flew,

like nine cats on the prowl.

But I heard him meow,

as he drove out of sight,"

Meowy Christmas to all,

and to all a good night."

And for more Christmas paw prints please stop by and visit:

WCB being hosted this week by: Katie & Puddy of A Byootfull LifeCoTC being hosted this week by: Missy & KC
BFCFoC being hosted this week by: Astrid & Kashim & Othello at The Catboys Realm
and Friday's Ark over at the Modulator.

Everyone have a magical, safe, and enchanting holiday!
MERRY CHRISTMAS EFURRYONE

FROM

ABBY, BOO, PING, JINX AND GRACIE

Project H.A.M.

Abby had a BIG box waiting for her to investigate yesterday.
As you can see she was very anxious to get into it!



She started rooting around and if you notice the round dots to the right, that is her reaction to what is the most delicious nip she has detected.

NOW she can get right into it. She actually put her entire face into the open bag when I held it out for her.

Look at all the wonderful things that Parker sent all of us for winning the auction she held for Project H.A.M.!

Look at all the mousies and toys on a wands, and what a great stocking and tem-ta-shuns and HAM cookies and three little piggies that Mom put up on our tree!

Ping is playing with one of the toys!

Boo bats at the ball on a pole!

Can you see the little piggies?

These are all of our cards from all of our fur friends from all over the world!

The blogosphere is such a great place.

We owe all of you our gratitude for showing us such generosity!

We love all of you!



Look at the lovely piggies on the Christmas tree!

Thank you Parker! We sent BIG BIG SMOOCHES to you and efurryone in your household.

Treasures

Sammy and Miles bestowed this wonderful award on us and we would like send a BIG thank you to them for feeling that way! We would like to send this out to Parker, Powder, Rudy, and Puff!

Attitude of Gratitude

“An Attitude of Gratitude”
Every day there is a thank you to be said. Every single day, a thank you, a new one. Every day it behooves us to stare into our open and cupped hands and picture there something we have been given for which we are grateful. Every day there is a thank you to be said.
A new one.

These words are in the Hindu text, the Rig Veda:

Sweet be the night,

sweet the dawn,

sweet the earth’s fragrance,

sweet be our Heaven!

Thank you.

Every single day, a thank you.

How nice it is to have another day of life.
Every day that begins with a thank you creates an attitude of gratitude -- creates a day of hopeful receptivity. Isn’t that the way to live?

All of us are used to Thank You’s.

Thank you for the birthday gift.

Thank you for the ride to church.

Thank you to the restaurant servor who’s just re-filled your coffee cup.

Thank you for your call.

Thank you for your thoughtfulness.

Thank you for all the hard work you did.

Thanks to your associate who ran out to get lunch for everyone.
Some of us have family customs of saying Grace before a meal.

One family I know goes around the table at dinner time so that each person may speak about one blessing they received that day, and one blessing they gave.
These are the words of a Mennonite Blessing:

Thank you for the wind and rain

and sun and pleasant weather,

thank you for this our food

and that we are together.

The physical self writes, and hugs, leans close to listen, holds hands or shakes hands, and smiles and nods toward others.

Our social world resounds with thank you’s - sincere thank you’s, heartfelt thank you’s, automatic thank you’s. And thereby we live, in polite and caring proximity, a tribute to human civility and compassion.

These are the words of Daphne Rose Kingma:

In relation to others,

gratitude is good manners;

in relation to ourselves,

it is a habit of the heart and a spiritual discipline.

There are times when we feel the great need to say thank you, and there’s no one or nothing to say it to: A lovely sunset, caught by a glance to the west, at the clearing after a storm; so touched by the beauty, you experience a sense of gratitude.

A time of stepping back to realize how grateful you may be for a particular person or persons in your life. A particularly profound moment in which you may feel the surge of gratitude for being alive - right here, right now.

These are the words of Saint Augustine:

“[People] go abroad to wonder at the height of mountains,

at the huge waves of the sea,

at the long courses of the rivers,

at the vast compass of the ocean,

at the circular motion of the stars, a

nd they pass by themselves without wondering.”

[Now, let us] acknowledge the wonder of our physical incarnation--that we are here, in these particular bodies, at this particular time, in these particular circumstances. May we never take for granted the gift of our individuality.”

At such moments, the physical self is in full attitude; you will actually feel a sensation in your heart of a vast openness, and of poignancy - that bittersweet sadness that can signal tears.

I believe that at those moments, we are filled with the sense of great love available to us and through us.

It is a breakthrough moment - from ordinary living to a momentary glimpse of the source and meaning of life.

Gratefulness is the full response of the human heart to the gratuitousness of all that is.

Truly every single thing we have has been given to us, not necessarily because we deserve it, but gratuitously, for no known reason.

And whatever source we believe is the giver -- some concept of God, or simply the breathtaking randomness of the universe -- when we give thanks, we take our place in the great wheel of life, recognizing our connection to one another and to all of creation.

Having an attitude of gratitude plugs us in to the aliveness of the world.

These are the words of Martha Graham:

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost, the world will not have it.”

Prayer is an intimate little ritual of request and thanksgiving. A negotiation with the mystery of life, perhaps, but also an expression of all that is “yes” in our daily experiences.
There is always a need to pay attention to beauty, kindness, and mystery, and there is always a need to express gratitude. Cultivating an attitude of gratitude is psychologically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually healthy, so, rituals of thanksgiving become not only useful but necessary to our complete well-being. The body seeks an attitude of gratitude, as does the mind and heart. Call it what you will - prayer, dance, song - such feelings must find human form.

Gratitude arises in us, it seems to me, when we become aware of these things: Innate Beauty, Created Beauty, Kindness and Caring, and Mystery. And, the way to become aware is in the act of Paying Attention to the details of life and living.

Created beauty is the work of our hands and mind, found in the arts and traditions, sciences and innovation.

O, Ground of Being,

Thank you for free verse and free thinking;

Thank you for tapestry and flying buttresses;

Thank you for the circle;

Thank you for theories and cures and choirs;

Thank you for tea ceremonies, and napkins.

Kindness and Caring is experienced through authentic experiences of compassion, concern, respect, and through acts of love.

O, Love,Thank you for babies and children,

and even for teenagers;

Thank you for chicken soup;

Thank you for letters to the editor and conflict management;

Thank you for the pleasure of touching;

Thank you for kisses, yes, especially for kisses.

These are the words of Mother Teresa:

We may wonder whom can I love and serve? Where is the face of God to whom I can pray? The answer is simple. That naked one. That lonely one. That unwanted one is my brother and my sister. If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.

Mystery is the hovering and encompassing unknown. Questions that lead to answers lead only to questions again. What we know is never all that we can know. What we know today is more than we knew yesterday and less than we will know tomorrow. Time is Nature’s way of keeping everything from happening all at once, so there can only be patience, curiosity, trust, and the long work of seeking.

These are the words of the Sacred Song of the Sikhs:

I bow to the One who has no color,

I bow to the One who has no beginning.

I bow to the One who is without fault,

I bow to the One who is incomprehensible.

I bow to the One who has no treasure,

I bow to the One who is indestructible.

I bow to the Bountiful.I

bow to the Unlimited.

PAYING ATTENTION is the key to the mystery, the beauty, and the love we experience in life. PAYING ATTENTION is therefore the key to gratefulness.
Without seeing the lively and precious details of innate beauty, created beauty, kindness and caring, and Mystery, we will never be surprised by the rich and elegant gift of sentient Being -- and Thanksgiving will be lost.

These are the words of Molly Fumia:

To be joyful in the universe is a brave and reckless act.

The courage for joy springs not from the certainty of human experience, but the surprise.

Our astonishment at being loved, our bold willingness to love in return--these wonders promise the possibility of joyfulness, no matter how often and how harshly love seems to be lost.

Therefore, despite the world’s sorrows, we give thanks for our loves, for our joys and for the continued courage to be happily surprised.

I wish for you a grateful heart, and many chosen occasions for praise and blessing, so that Thanksgiving will live within you all the days of your life.

Benediction written in 1513, by Fra Giovanni

There is nothing I can give youwhich you do not have;

But there is much, very much,

thatwhile I cannot give it,

you can take.
No heaven can come to us unless our heartsfind rest in today.

Take heaven!

No peace lies in the future which is not hiddenin this present instant.

Take peace!
The gloom of the world is but a shadow.

Behind it, yet within reach, is joy.

There is a radiance and glory in the darkness,

could we but see,and to see,

we have only to look.

I beseech you to look.
-Amen and Shalom

Wishin and A Hopin

Ho Ho Ho Under The Mistletoe

Abby waits for Sammy under the mistletoe.

Abby: Momma tried to hold the camera and take my picture under the mistletoe, but she gave up when she couldn't get it to work right. Then she put the mistletoe down beside me and I posed on top of our beautiful christmas cards.

Look at all of cards from our furfriends...we love them one and all. We have a much nicer close up of all the cards and I'm gonna have Momma put it up in a post all by itself, because the cards are so beautiful with all the chrismousey kitties. Fank you all for the chrismousey card exchange this year!

Mancat Monday plus a BIG Thank YOU!

Mr Mancat himself.

Boo got the BIGGEST surprise in the mail. It was addressed just to her. It was from Capt'n Jack!!
Boo was all aquiver.

She was so excited. Look at all the wonderful treats and prezzies!

wow what wonderful bright and shiny things!!! And look at silver treasure box!


LOOK what was in the silver treasure box. Pearls and diamonds!

I can't believe my whiskers!!!

I started playing immediately with all the prezzies. I love mousies...

And this is a particularly fun mousie.

OOOoooo look at all of these great things, I don't know which one to chose next.

Well maybe this one.

Captain Jack I don't know how to express my utter joy, but I would love to slip on this beautiful necklace for you on our New Year's Eve date....

Everyday Adventures

Pretty Miss Boo.
This is meal time. They are jockeying for position.

Boo: Move away slowly and no one will get hurt.

Abby: YOU move!

Boo: NOOOOO!!!!

Abby: I mean it now Boo.

Boo: Well I mean it too Abby!

Boo: Mommmmmm Abby is looking at me!

****

Luckily this is how it ended, just like it began. Abby being aggressive staring Boo down trying to bully her. It succeeds most of the time, because Boo is not aggressive in the least. She is such a sweet gentle lady. Abby just knows what she wants and she's not afraid to say it.

****

It's time for the weekly round up, please take a moment to check out the following this weekend:

1. WCB is being hosted by Samantha and Tigger of Life From A Cat's Perspective.

2. BFCFoC is being hosted by Megan and Braum Kitty at Bad Kitty Cats

3. CoTC is being hosted by Mind of Mog

and lastly Friday's Ark is over at the Modulator.

Everyone enjoy their weekend!

Thankful Thursday

We are all thankful for our little Gracie.

Soft as cashmere

Sweet as an angel

Our little baby

is kind hearted

and swell

(but she's a devil in disguise)

See those lazer eyes reflected on the floor?

Boo's Secret

Boo: Daddy is helping me enjoy my Secret Paws package from Gemini, Georgia and Chey!
Oo OO OOOOO salmon!! I got lots of salmon. Salmon is my favorite food in the whole wide world!

A buttmousie! I can't wait to play with him....give it to me Daddy.

NOW!

Momma is throwing the mousie to me... I am watching it very intently. I love to play chase.

I GOT IT!

I am really enjoying Mr.Mousie.

And another buttmousie.

And a third one to. I LOVE IT. Thank you Gemini, Georgia and Chey. I could not have asked for a better Secret Paw package. I will enjoy all of my goodies and I did give Ping the one mousie Gemini picked out for him after I picked him up off the floor where he gasped and fainted after seeing those pictures of her she included for him. THANK YOU!!!