Morgan Niels-Jeske
“The Valentine Baby”
January 1, 2008 – February 5, 2010
Adopted into our family February 14, 2008

She no longer has the burden of an old body, but I’m going to miss her so much. Here’s an excerpt from the journal entry I wrote about her on Valentine’s Day of 2008. The best Valentine’s Day ever.

In my hands was a tiny, beautiful baby girl rat. Seriously, all I did was stare at her for the longest time. I couldn’t formulate any thoughts and I hardly dared hope that she was mine, so I kept asking stupid questions like “Where’d she come from?” and “What is she doing here?” I know I kind of made Ash nervous that I didn’t like her, but I was just in shock. And then when it finally started to dawn on me that this little girl was mine, I began to tear up and almost started crying. She’s so beautiful. She’s mostly white with a dark gray hood with a white line like a scar down her face to her nose and a dark gray spot on her back. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.

We love you, Morgan.

First of all. This. THIS. Oh my god.

This is the ultimate Christmas present. I tweeted about it a couple of times a few months ago when I was looking for a cheap drawing table I could possibly get myself for Christmas. This was anything but cheap, but it was my dream table, and it was love at first sight and I kept opening the Futura Craft Station Amazon page up and reading Ash the specs out loud; “It’s 38″ by 24″ – it’s big!” “It’s got a pretty glass top!” “OH MY GOD YOU CAN MAKE IT A LIGHTTABLE!” I couldn’t get it out of my head. I showed it to my co-worker at work who found that they carried it at an art store in town (though when we went to check it out later, they were only selling it online), and while I knew there was no way in hell that I’d be able to afford it, I knew it was THE ONE.

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Someone forgot to give Cold Miser the memo: TEXAS DOESN’T HAVE SNOW. Let me break it down for you.

This is where I live. It’s this nice little state in the SOUTH called TEXAS.

This? This is what is NOT supposed to happen.

Could someone please make this stop? Like now. I’d like to be able to drive home without being hit by a Texan driver that has never seen snow or ice in his life. People here are already pre-panicking and it hasn’t even stuck on the ground.

In conclusion. This is Texas. Snow does not belong here. Please make it stop.

KThnx.

Tonight, I experienced the most amazing, most awe-inspiring, most beautiful journey I have ever had. Tonight, I walked with REAL, LIFE-SIZED DINOSAURS and spent it all with my most wonderful girlfriend who made it possible. I cannot begin to describe to you the fullfillment of one of my longest-held dreams. If you ever get a chance, go see Walking with Dinosaurs. It is the best experience, hands-down that I have EVER had in my entire life. It is something I will never ever forget.

I’m going to try and post some videos I took later tonight, but for now, have a picture (from the website – my pictures are all dark since they were taken with my camera):

You will be astounded and humbled by these beautiful giants that have come to life. I felt like I was living in James Gurney’s Dinotopia. My favorite part? The moment the Brachiosaurus walked out. My mouth dropped open, my heart felt like it was too big for my chest, and tears welled in my eyes. A 40 foot dinosaur stood above my head and blinked at me. Tonight, I had a dream come true.