We adopted two cats. Our kids' reaction was... unexpected.

Last summer, our beloved cat, Owen, passed away. We lost Owen's brother, Jack, about eight years previously.  

It was a difficult loss for our family. A couple months after Owen's passing, the kids began asking for a new cat. I wasn't ready yet, and Elysha had sworn repeatedly - to anyone who would listen - that she would never own another pet.

To my surprise, she told the kids that she would think about it.  

The kids continued to beg. They asked repeatedly. They asked individually and they double-teamed us.  

We said again and again that we weren't ready. 

Eight months later, we were ready. Elysha found an organization that rescues Egyptian maus. In Egypt there is no system in place to rescue cats, so they are simply left to the streets. Rather than adopting two kittens from a shelter here in the United States, we decided to adopt two slightly older cats who needed a home from Egypt. 

Tobi and Pluto arrived via plane to JFK last night - much later than expected. 

Tobi is named after the cat in the children's book of the same name.

Pluto is named after the cat in Edgar Allen Poe's story "The Black Cat."

The kids had been asleep for about an hour when Elysha finally walked in the door with the cats. We had been waiting all day to surprise the kids. Elysha awoke Charlie, brought him into Clara's bedroom, and then it was time for the big reveal.

It didn't go exactly as we had expected. Not at all how we expected: