A Christmas Wish

Some of you are aware of our gifts we gave Drew's parents for Christmas, others of you are not. Well, unfortunately we were scrambling too much to settle Emma down to get any REALLY good pictures of the pigs, but below is what we did get. And yes, I did say pigs.

Let me just give you a little background. Drew's mom said a while back that she has always wanted a pig for Christmas, but no one has ever gotten her one. So, my lovely husband takes it upon himself to fulfill her Christmas wish. Now, I want to get something straight. I have nothing against pigs, nor did I not want his mom to have a pig (or two for that matter). But I was hesitant to be the ones actually INVOLVED in the pig-getting.

I knew Drew wanted to get a pig for his mom, and I was aware he was looking on craigslist nearly every night. He even talked about it, but I think I tuned him out until a few weeks before Christmas when I heard him talking to his dad on the phone. He was telling him we might just go get the pig and keep it HERE for a couple days, and then drive down with it on Christmas. Ummmm.................no. He said we could keep it in the basement with some straw and promised he would take care of the poop picking up, etc.

This is my husband. He has the VERY best of intentions, very optimistic, and such a sweet man. But he has these outlandish ideas sometimes, and I think this one just might top them all. Well, I gently let this sweet-hearted man know that as sweet as his intentions were, this was simply a BAD idea. We comprimised by going to a farm a few days before Christmas to get the pigs (now the plan was to get 2 pigs) and take them to his parents the same day. Oh, ya... with our daughter.

I was thinking, "this won't be so bad. Emma will get to see some pigs, and she might actually like it." Wrong. She immediately started to cry as we entered the cramped pig quarters. But I wonder if it was not the sound of the 15 or so pigs, but that HORRENDOUS odor that made her cry. 15 pigs in a small, heated space? Possibly the worst odor I have ever had to smell.

As the pigs were lifted by their hind legs and given to Drew to put in the dog crate, Emma became worried again. But it wasn't until I started to buckle her in to her carseat and the pigs started moving around and snorting and squeeling directly behind Emma that the real fun began. Emma and I waited in the car with the pigs while Drew chatted with the farmer. The stench was so bad that I had the window open and a blanket over Emma for the hour drive. We ended up stopping at a gas station to get an air freshener to hang above the pigs. We made it, but I won't ever do THAT again.
Here are the pics that we DID get of that day....