Welcome to the Circus!

Hello! Welcome to the Allen Family Circus - where we've got three rings full of action, all the time! With two sort-of-grownups, one toddler, five (plus 1) cats, and one dog, life is always an adventure.

Here at the Circus, most of our daily life revolves around the little Dweezil to the right - our wonderful, cute, exasperating, busy, cuddly and squirmy daughter, Wendy. She's 17 months old, enjoys bubble baths, swings, Fruity Cheerios, climbing, and any toy that makes noise. She dislikes sitting still, naptime, having to listen to Mommy & Daddy, and broccoli. Her recent accomplishments include breaking the Binky habit and saying the word, "Cheerios."

Also at the Circus is James, my wonderful husband and Wendy's most favoritest Daddy. (Also her only Daddy, in case you were wondering.) James is a silly, fun-loving guy, even though he's, like, way smart. He's a mechanical engineer, and enjoys math in ways I will never understand. He enjoys sweets of all kinds, having clean laundry where he can find it, seeing black and not red in our check register, and making Wendy giggle.

There are assorted felines in the Circus. This one is the Queen, the Head Cat, the Princess of them all. It's Minuet Eclair. She normally goes by Minnie. She'll be ten years old this fall. She was our first furry child.

These are the three middle cats. Also known as my "Black and Whites." From left to right they are Maestro Mistoffeles, Oreo Speedwagon, and Sonata Juliet. Sonata (aka Sonni) and Maestro are littermates, and will be 9 in a few weeks. Oreo will be eight in a few weeks.

This bundle of felinity can shed like nobody's business.

This is our youngest cat, Birdie Vivace. This picture was taken when she was about 8 weeks old, and she's three now. Back in my former life as a veterinarian (I'll get to that later) Birdie was brought to my clinic when she was six weeks old. A Good Samaritan found her in the busiest intersection in town, and she had already been hit by a car. Her right rear leg was just pulverized, and had to be amputated. Her left rear leg had severe degloving injuries (translation = no skin) from the knee down. That poor left rear leg had multiple surgeries, and was bandaged for about two months before she healed. She's the picture of health now, and doesn't know she ever had four legs. She LOVES Wendy; they cuddle and wrestle and play. She also loves licking plastic - don't know why.

This is Matilda, our "plus 1" cat. She kind of came with the house. She technically belongs to our neighbor, but our neighbor doesn't feed her and has never taken care of her. Matilda is a sweetie, and has more reproductive capacity than any cat I've ever met. She's currently gestating litter #1 for 2008, and she'll be spayed as soon as those kitten are weaned.

This is our dog, Clarabella BooBoo, aka Bella, BooBoo DogDog, and FrogDog. She may be a whopping 5 pounds, but she'd like you to think she's a Doberman. She's 6 years old, and has been a part of the Circus for 4 years.

And then there's me. I was raised as an Air Force brat, and so have lived & traveled in many different places. I went to Harding University and then to the University of Missouri for my DVM. Have you ever stuck your arm up the butt end of a cow? I have. Horse? Yep, that, too.

I practiced small animal medicine for two years before coming to the conclusion that even though we had devoted 4 years of professional schooling and tons of student loans to get my DVM, that wasn't what God had planned for my life. We decided to start a family, and I became a stay-at-home Mom to Wendy. I feel that I am now doing what God called me to do - taking care of my family and raising my daughter to know Him.

I am an avid reader, blogger, cook and baker. I enjoy crafts of all kinds. I love a clean house, but my house is rarely clean. I enjoy gardening, both flowers and vegetables. I enjoy swimming and dancing, neither of which I have a chance to do very often. I really enjoy contemporary Christian music (especially Casting Crowns) and my current favorite author is Francine Rivers.

One of the main reasons I blog is for the sense of community. I read a lot of blogs and comment frequently, and I'd love to have more readers and commenters of my own! Feel free to subscribe, or e-mail me with any questions you have!

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