saving big & little...

adorable little baby!
wanting to eat!

super hungry!

always wanting more!

chillin' in the grass!

playin' with kenners!

chillin' on the back of kenners neck!

saying goodbye!

fly away, little birdies!

mama mourning dove in the tree right above!

our sweet little kenners! she rescued two baby mourning doves - said they were on the ground under a tree! i immediately ushered her outside with a stern warning to take them back. she didn't listen! she kept them until dad got home, probably knowing she could tug at his heartstrings and get him to agree to keeping them!! and that's exactly what happened! she made them a home in our deep halloween candy bucket with bedding and napkins. john ended up at the pet store buying baby bird formula mix! yep, they've got such a thing! then comes the fun part - feeding! no, getting them comfortable with us and training them how to eat this formula from a syringe! john mastered it, and then kerianne did. keri got so good at it that she could feed them by herself. typically it would take two: one holding the bird and it's beak open and the other shooting the formula down it's throat! I tried this once and quickly gave up! we ended up caring for these little cuties for a week. we didn't name them, just called them "big" and "little" (self explanatory)!! they grew soooo fast! by the end of the week, they were starting the fly around. they would fly to keri as she was getting the formula ready. they would chirp like crazy! we were feeding them about three times a day, and they were always hungry!! they were up to 3-4 syringes per feeing! after a week I was pretty much done housing two wild birds in my kitchen!! so we set off for a nice little park. we found a great area right by the golf course, and kenners set them free. john ended up moving them to a better spot. they sat there for a bit like "hmm, what do we do now?" but started moving away from us - which was a good sign that they'd be fine on their own. after saying our goodbyes we looked up in the tree and there was a nest with a mama dove sitting there - watching over our little babies! to make this transition easier, we likened it to Heavenly Father, watching over us from above :) kennedi has such a tender and loving heart. she is always rescuing and protecting things! she still dreams of becoming a veterinarian. it hurts her so much to know that there are animals and pets out there in need or suffering. she wants to save them all. i love this about her so much. it's not a quality that many people possess. i am thankful for the opportunity of helping to care for "big & little"! i am especially proud of kenners. we can't wait to see how all of these experiences play out in her future.