My Squeaky Answer to Prayer

~ My Little Squeaky Answer to Prayer ~

I LOVE answers to prayer!!!!!!
 No matter how BIG or LITTLE they may seem...

and sometimes the answer comes in a way we never thought of...

I'd like to share the trial first, then the blessing...
and if you scroll down to see the blessing first, that's cheating : ) hahaha!!! Just joking.

So, I've dealt with some pretty major loneliness over the past few years. Loneliness that many times, unfortunately, sank me into depression.

 I am a social butterfly and when we moved to Davis the trial of loneliness became very real. 
Hubby worked several jobs to keep us and our new church going. My job was taking care of an old lady but she mostly slept. Many days...all day, I would practically be alone. 

I really worked at filling my time...I tried meeting new people, calling friends to chat, doing extra projects, and taking walks with a new lady from our church.  I prayed a lot too, but the lonliness just closed in on me.  Many times this severe lonliness prompted me to prayed MORE for missionaries as I knew they dealt with loneliness too. 

During this time, I prayed and asked God earnestly for a friend, 
a pet, 
a child, 
more church people...
anything to fill the void!!!!!! 

We did look into getting me a puppy, thinking that would help, but EVERY TIME we tried the opportunity fell through.

I learned that Satan doesn't need a tragic situation to ruin our lives...many times satan uses common challenges, such as loneliness, to defeat us and make us useless for God.

I don't know why, but God allowed me to face this difficulty for a couple years before he  brought "something" to fill a bit of the void and renew my spirit!!!

A very cute "something"...

MEET ANNIE.

*She is now two years old, 
but here is the story of how I found her...

I called her my "Snuggly Squeaky Baby". She was super affectionate. She didn't meow for the first few months, she just made little squeaks : )

I found her in the middle of the road one morning as I was starting out on a run to prepare for my first 5K...didn't get my run in : )haha, but I got a kitten : )LOL. 

I Asked around the neighborhood and discovered that she was abandoned and that her mommy, daddy, and siblings had all died, so I named her Annie- after Little Orphan Annie, in the movie.

She had two different colored eyes - HOW UNIQUE!!! She was only about 4 - 5 weeks  when I brought her home. 

She was dying, eyes crusted shut, malnourished, infested with fleas, had very little blood in her body...we weren't sure if she'd make it...several times i thought she died in my hands!!!! She was soooo sickly - poor baby :(

I bottle fed her drop by drop...

I sang to her when she was shaking and scared... "Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens..."

I stayed up for hours at night with her...

I carried her for 3 days, barely putting her down (I tied a sweatshirt around my tummy and kept her tucked against me) She was very lethargic and just slept. (to this day, she loves to just be carried around - Oy! I have sure spoiled this kitty) 

I was her mommy because she never really had one...I even had to teach her to go potty - not trying to be gross, but mommy cats normally do that by licking their kittens little bottoms, so I would take a warm cloth and rub her little backside to get her to go. I also rubbed her fur with a warm cloth to mimic licking so she would learn to clean herself.

Funny - now she actually goes potty in the toilet!!!!! and becuase we made such a big deal of her going potty when she was learning as a kitty, now she bounds off the toilet and runs around all spastic and super excited EVERY time she uses the bathroom. Hahaha)

So it took her 5 months, but now she finally found her "meow" : ) She still squeaks though.

She's strong and growing and doing well...

I LOVE having her, and Neil is really good with her too. 

When Neil gets home she can't wait for him to sit down so she can hop on his legs and play with his shoes. Its one of her favorite things : ) haha She loves shoes(she takes after me - haha) 

She climbs all over him and just plays and snuggles : ) She loves her Neil...

I come home from work and play with her, instead of just coming home to a quiet house and feeling depressed.

When I'm sick, she snuggles with me. When I'm home alone, she keeps me company...

She's just a good distraction. Since I've had her I haven't really had any major moments of loneliness : )
She acts spastic and runs, and plays, and jumps, and attacks her toys...

She makes me laugh!!!!

It's funny because I have never been a cat person(grew up in a home where they were hated and my hubby doesn't like them either) 
I really did try to give Annie away at first too. I was enjoying caring for her, but wasn't expecting to keep her, but one day, through several circumstances, I heard the Holy Spirit's still small voice prompting me to keep her. Hubby was so gracious about letting me keep her. He knew I needed her too : ) 

My little Squeaky Annie was an unexpected answer to prayer. God doesn't always answer when we want or how we want, but HE DOES know what is best for us. He works in mysterious ways.

Annie is a sweet addition to our family. She is, in fact, a creation of God - a cute little critter He made for a purpose and I am thankful for her and her sweetness...

...and Annie lived Happily Ever After

with her new family

YAY!!!

.