I'm still here - But not for long!

Yes, I know it's been a long time since I updated this thing-you don't have to remind me! A lot has happened in the last month (when I last updated).

We went to Louisiana the day after Thanksgiving, where Juju had another birthday party and we had Christmas with Brad's mom and her family. We stayed there about a week and came home to much business-getting ready for the Christmas program at church, doing some cleaning for Grandpa Davis while he was out of town, trying to get ready for Christmas, and finally, the big Day, Christmas itself!

Here are a few highlights from Ju's month:

Receiving a Care Bears Tricycle from Aunt Beth and Uncle Trent

Eating bubbles - YUM!

Decorating a Christmas tree

Special Speaker at the church Christmas dinner (not really, but she would have done it if they had asked her!)

Playing with the Froggy that Ribbets "Jingle Bells" (He's 'bwoke' now, thank the Lord) and removing Christmas ornaments

Being a cow in the Christmas Program - and a good cow she was, too, if you consider eating hay to be good cow behaviour!

Admiring Grandma's tree with Mickey

Opening one of many Christmas presents

We have a new baby at our house - so what if she is plastic!

And the best gift of all:

A Juju-sized kitchen - and Papaw ISN'T allowed to play with it!

Now that Christmas is over, it looks like we are going to be moving! :-( Brad got a job in Lake Charles, LA, so we will be moving there sometime in January. He's already down there working, and Juliana and I are trying to hold down the fort here. We miss our Daddy! (boohoo...)

This is what my living room looked like last night!


I'm trying to sort stuff and pack it, and the pile of boxes to be filled threatens to obliterate the sun! HELP!

So anyway, if you don't hear from me for a while, don't hold it against me. I'll be back someday!

Oh, yeah, and Happy New Year!

No Room!

Luke 2:7: “And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
If I were the ancient innkeeper, I would stand on the busiest street corner and shout at the top of my lungs: “Give me a break! What was I to do? My inn was full. We were in a busy season. These two youngsters, you know, they didn’t exactly look like the kind of clientele that I should go to the wall for. And it looked to me like they had one hotel room too many already. Besides all of that, if this youngster’s baby were born, it would likely be messy and might even upset my other guests. I was a businessman and I made a sound business decision. Of course, now that I know, I stay awake at night thinking of the missed opportunity. Give me a break, though, will you? They looked like a very ordinary couple of kids about to have an ordinary baby and the stable was all I had left.”
Two thousand years later, we cannot claim the innkeeper’s ignorance. In addition to the 29 books in the New Testament, there have been more books written about Jesus Christ than about any other person in the world. We have information-loads of it. Yet a strange phenomena occurs over and over again. Jesus Christ shows up at the inn of the human heart every day and, even though we are saturated with information accompanied by evidence, we still turn him away. Often we do this with reasoning not unlike the ancient innkeeper: “If Jesus is born in my heart, it could get messy and besides it might upset my friends and neighbours.”
If you are weighing the costs, that is an accurate accounting. The birth of Jesus Christ, whether in a Bethlehem stable or the human heart, tends to divide life into before and after, into BC and AD, and yes, it can upset some friendships and alliances. However, don’t just weigh the costs without counting the benefits. You will have the benefit of being released from guilt, having your very spirit indwelt and tenderly held by God himself, and eternal life with Christ. So I ask you, fellow innkeeper, is that not worth disturbing the whole place for? Is that not worth clearing out a room for? With Phillip Brooks, let us personally pray the last verse of his well-known carol:

O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;

Cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today.

We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell;

O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!

Phillips Brooks,

~Written by Major Lorne Pritchett, Salvation Army


Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, and take some time to remember why we celebrate!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and didn't eat too much turkey! My parents and my sister with her 6 kids came for the day, so we had a busy day today!
Tomorrow we're leaving to go to Louisiana for a few days, so I've got to get everything packed and ready to go. No shopping for me! YIPPEE! :-)

Happy Birthday, Juliana!

Last night we had a birthday party for Juliana. Her birthday is actually Friday, but we went ahead and had the party a little bit early. It's hard to believe my baby is already 2!

This is her 2 years ago, about 15 minutes after she was born.


This was 1 year ago, at her first birthday party.


2 years old!
This was the only full length picture I got of her birthday dress, apparently. It had a 2 on the bow.

Playing on her new toy - a bouncy zebra

She HAD to give Elmo a ride


Now they're both going to ride the zebra


Decisions, decisions....


Two-year-olds and fire do not mix well. She almost stuck her finger in one of the candles, and I guess we scared her so bad telling her it was hot, she wouldn't even try to blow them out after that.

At least she knew what to do with the cake this year. Last year, it took three people to even get her to taste it, after which, she promptly made a mess!

Pictures, As Promised

Perhaps someone should explain to her that swimsuits are not generally meant to be worn on the head?

Jumping on the bed-don't worry, I stopped it as soon as I took the picture! :-)

How could anyone resist this grin?

Mommy and the Giggle-bug

This child of ours is SO helpful...I put her in the tub tonight and came back a few minutes later to discover that she had decided to do her own laundry; all of her clothes that I had just taken off of her, plus a towel, were in the tub with her! Then, after she got them 'clean', she took them out and put them beside the tub. If only she had wrung them out first....................

Life, In General

I guess I should post something, but there hasn't been much going on! :-)
This past Friday, my old friend, Dana (Barfield) George came to spend the weekend with me while her husband went hunting. It was great to see her again! The last time we were together was at her wedding, 4 years ago in January, so it's definitely been a while. We've kept in touch by email and Facebook, but it's not the same as getting together and acting silly all night! :-) Poor Brad, alone in a houseful of girls!
Juliana had never met Dana, but took to her right away. She wanted Dana to do everything for her, and sat in her lap frequently. (she doesn't sit in anyone's lap for any length of time, generally) It took her a while to figure out her name...she called her YOU, friend, Davis, a cuss word (I'll let you try to figure out which one :-), and finally, Dana.
Speaking of Juliana, she has a new love...VeggieTales! A few weeks ago, she was sick, so Brad went and rented "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" for her. She fell in love immediately! Now ALL VeggieTales are 'Pirates', and she will watch them 10 times a day if I will let her! We've just about exhausted the library's supply - I don't know what we'll do then. So far, she can sing the Veggie theme song (complete with 'boom, boom, boom' of the tuba at the beginning), the Pirate song (We are the Pirates who don't do anything, we just stay home and lie around...), the Hairbrush song (OH, where is my hairbrush?), as well as a new one from "Sheerluck Holmes" called 'Gated Community' (Can I have my ball? Could you get my ball? I kicked it into the tree, and the ball bouced off , and the ball dropped in to the the gated community!) HELP! I'm being attacked by singing vegetables! :-)
I guess it could be worse. At least most of the VeggieTales are either Bible stories or else they teach christian principles. Hopefully she's learning something!
She pretty much has something to say about everything these days. She's learning new words every day, and she's not afraid to use them! She loves to jump and climb - and generally drive her mother crazy! :-0 She can smell candy from a mile away, and will find a way to reach it, no matter how high you put it. Her arms seem to be made out of rubber, and will stretch for a mile or more, and when she stands on her tippy-toes, it adds at least a foot to her height. I know, you probably think I'm exaggerating a little. Well, all I can say is, YOU come keep her for a day or two! :-)
I've been trying to teach her the proper use of 'please', 'thank you', and 'you're welcome'. Well, the other day, she asked me for something, and said thank you when I gave it to her, but before I could reply she said "I Welcome!" Another time, she wanted something and came to me and said, "please, thank you, you're welcome" all at once. I guess she thought she'd go ahead and get it all out of the way!
I'll try to post some pictures before too long. I haven't taken many lately.

No Matter Who Won:

I guess I should have posted this last week, but I forgot. Anyway, I received this in an email and found it though-provoking:

Top 10 Predictions No Matter Who Wins the Election

1. The Bible will still have all the answers.

2. Prayer will still work.

3. The Holy Spirit will still move.

4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.

5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.

6. There will still be singing of praise to God.

7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.

8. There will still be room at the Cross.

9. Jesus will still love you.

10. Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him.

AND GOD APPROVES THIS MESSAGE!

ISN'T IT GREAT TO KNOW WHO IS REALLY IN CONTROL!!

It's easy to get depressed when things don't go our way...especially when we think we know how it really needs to be! I sat up VERY late Tuesday night, listening to election results, and praying, "Lord, why?". Well, He hasn't told me why yet, and I haven't figured it out for myself yet, but this I do know: God is still on His throne, He still running this world, and He doesn't need my help! Whatever may come, He knew long before it ever happened and somehow even though we can't possibly see how He will be exhalted in it! Psalm 46:100 says, "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth."

One song that was running through my mind the other night says it better than I can:

Lord, You can explain all the wonders
And you can erase all the fear
You can dispel all the darkness, see a new day that's dawning just a fewmile from here
When I can't see a purpose or plan,
Lord, You Can!

Another verse that should thrill you (actually verses) is Isaiah 40:28-31

Hast thou not known?

hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God,

The LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary?

There is no searching of his understanding.

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength;

they shall mount up with wings as eagles;

they shall run, and not be weary;

and they shall walk, and not faint.

Imagine... I get tired trying to figure out what's happening, BUT HE DOESN'T!

So for all of you that think that the end has come...maybe it has, maybe it hasn't, but don't worry about it! Psalm 37 says not to worry about evildoers - their time will come! I don't know about you, but I don't have enough energy to worry about other people's problems - I've got enough to deal with on my own, and He's got plenty of strength to take care of them and us!

And THAT, my friends, should just about make you shout!

A Little Rant On Politics

Hey, guess what? There's going to be an election in about 3 weeks! AND...I'm getting tired of hearing about it! Why? Because I'm tired of hearing one person accusing another, and the other retaliating with something worse, back and forth, until you don't know who is telling the truth and who is not. If the truth be known, I doubt any of them are telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth!
You want to know what I think? (probably not, but you're going to hear it anyway)
We don't need the government running anything else. We don't need more taxes, we don't need more healthcare, or most of the other things they've been arguing about; We need to remember that this nation was brought into existence because some people were tired of being told what they could and could not believe, and they were tired of being punished for not seeing things the way the government wanted them to. Hmmm...does this sound familiar? It seems to me that Americans are doing the very things the Pilgrims came over to get away from!
As we near Thankgiving, let's go back and remember what our nation was founded on! It's not about politics, or who is the next president of the United States (and believe me, if you care anything about our nation, there is only ONE choice, and it's NOT [the democratic candidate]), it's not about the economy and whose fault it is, it's not about the war, and if it is right or wrong; no, it's not any of those things - Our focus should be, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:2, "Jesus Christ, and him crucified." It's all about the Cross!
I was listening to a song this evening that pretty much sums it up for me:

It's Still The Cross

It's not conservative or liberal, however they're defined

It's not about interpretation, or the judgement of the mind

It's the opposite of politics, power or prestige

It's about a simple message, and whether we believe:

It's still the Cross, it's still the blood of Calvary

That cleanses sin and sets the captive free

It's still the name - the name of Jesus that has power to save the lost

It's still the Cross!

We can water down Theology, preach a word to suit our needs

We can justify sweet, subtle lies that are wrapped in noble deeds

We can alter our convictions to adapt to social whims

But we cannot change the Gospel, or the Truth contained within!

Though some may say it's 'man's religion' or 'ancient history'

The Cross of Jesus still remains the price for sin that sets us free!

It's still the Cross, it's still the blood of Calvary
That cleanses sin and sets the captive free
It's still the name - the name of Jesus that has power to save the lost
It's still the Cross!

I'm Still Alive - Really!

Hey, everybody! I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated this. Life has been a little hectic around the Davis home for the last month! (and that's an understatement!) I'll try to get you caught up...On August 30, my parents came to spend Labor Day weekend with us. We hadn't seen them in almost a year, so we were excited to see how Juliana would act with them. No worries there! She met them at the door with grins and giggles and dragged them around the rest of the time they were here. At one point, when Dad was unloading their stuff, she poked her head out the door and hollered at him "I call you POP", so he has been Pop ever since! :-)

At bedtime, she decided that she was going to sleep with them - somehow I doubt they would have gotten much sleep!

On Tuesday, September 3rd, I started working full days; Vonne was having major surgery on her neck and would be spending a few weeks in St Louis, so I had to be at there house at 6:30 a.m. and stay there all day 'til the kids all went home between 4 and 5:30(it's a home daycare). Around noon I got a call from Brad's cousin, Jessica, that their Great-Grandpa, John Finney was being taken to the hospital; he wasn't doing too good, and they weren't sure if he had had a stroke or what. I kept in touch with them all afternoon, and headed over there a soon as the last child waalked out the door. I had barely gotten on the road when Brad called and told me to get there as fast as I could; Grandpa John had been asking for me and Juliana all afternoon, and the Dr. had just come out and told them that he had gone into cardiac arrest, and he had specified that he didn't not want to be revived should that happen. It's about a 5-10 minute trip from where I work to the hospital, but when I got there, a nurse met me at the door to let me know that he was already gone. He lived 93 years in this world, and was loved dearly by his children, grandchildren, greatgrandchildren, and his one great-great: Juliana. He loved her so much, as you can see:

So, the rest of the week was spent planning the funeral, and trying to record the music for it. Grandma Polly and Papaw Henry wanted Brad and I to sing, and me to play the piano, but we were uncertain if it would be possible for me to get to the funeral on time, so we recorded everything ahead of time so we wouldn't have to worry about it. In the mean time, I'm still working 11 hours every day, so, needless to say, I think that the maximum of sleep I got any one night that week was 3 hours! Thankfully, the parents were able to work it out so that they could all pick up their kids at noon the day of the funeral that so that I could be there!
Brad's mom, sister, and brother came up from Louisiana for the funeral, so on Saturday we all went to the fair. Juliana loved the carousel - she rode it three or four times! Here she is with her beloved uncle 'Tent'.

The next week, we had planned to go on vacation in the Smoky Mountains, so Monday evening we headed out.

There was a kiddie play area in Dollywood that Juliana enjoyed; here she's playing in the water - notice the shirt? "Crabby but Cute"

Vacation is tiring...

Bringing home a baby bumblebee. She rode this ride two or three times!


We got to tour Dolly Parton's Bus. This was her bedroom.

A Daddy and His Puddytat

We found Roo!

Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

This is what we saw when we looked off our back porch at the place we stayed

We went to the Knoxville Zoo in the way home. Juju loved the animals!

This guy wasn't feeling very friendly; he had his backside up against the glass and wouldn't move.

The next week, Patti Mahan was getting married, and I was supposed to be making three little girl dressesfor the wedding, as well as playing the piano for it. (Still working 11 hours a day... I was leaving at 6 a.m. and sometimes not getting home until 7 p.m. by the time I did stuff that had to be done in town)

The wedding was on Friday, September 19 at 6:00. I finished the dresses and sent them on their way at 1:00! Got off work shortly after 4, and them had to go buy shoes for the wedding, copy all the music and organize it to start playing between 5:30 and 5:45...I think it ended up being about 5:50 when I started but I made it (Thank God!). The wedding was beautiful. Congratulations, Toya and Patti!

Here is a picture of Andrea Truitt and Alyssa Jones in the dresses I made.

For more pictures from the wedding visit Jennifer Truitt's page

By this time, I'm ready for some rest!

The next week, about the middle of the week, Vonne (my "boss") came home, so for the last couple days that week, I didn't have to go in to work until 8:30 (Wahoo!!). Friday afternoon, after I got off work, we headed for Alabama to visit our friends, David and Brittany Fogleman. We been plaing on going to see them for a long time, but somehow it never working out, so this time we decided we were going no matter what. I didn't get any pictures, but Juliana had a great time with the boys. She still talks about them! The other day she said she wanted to kiss Carson...yikes! They're growing up earlier and earlier these days!

David and Brittany, thank you for having us! We had a wonderful time! Hopefully we'll being seeing you again very soon! :-)

This was taken Sunday morning at their church.

From Brad & Gillian Davis

That pretty much fills you in on our life for the past month. The last week I haven't had to work nearly as many hours, so I'm doing better!

Oh...I forgot to mention... Somewhere in all of that, Brad quit his job selling mobile homes and went back to construction!

Maybe life will settle down soon, but I doubt it!

So, how have you all been? :-)

Let Them Eat Cake!

For those that asked for the recipe for my cake, here it is!

Lemon Bundt Cake

1 box yellow cake mix
1 can of sprite, or 7up (I use anywhere from 1 c. to the whole can - depends on my mood, but just mix it in til it looks like a nice consistency for cake batter :-)
1 1/2 t. grated lemon peel

Mix together, pour into a greased and floured bundt pan and bake according to directions on box-I baked mine about 40 minutes on 350.

Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
juice from 1 med lemon
1 1/2 t. grated lemon peel
1 1/2 T. sour cream (you could use margarine, or just omit all together)

Stir together with just enough of the lemon juice to make it pourable. Drizzle over the cake while it is still warm.


For variations, you can use any kind of cake mix with the soda of your choice-try white cake with strawberry or orange soda, or I've seen chocolate with coke. Experiment! If you know me at all, you probably know that everything I cook is an experiment.... So far, I have yet to make anything that no one would eat! :-)

See Elmo!

Last night we took Juliana to see Sesame Street Live. She's been begging to see Elmo for weeks, so Grandma (MoMo) Davis bought tickets for herself, JuJu and I to go. I'd told her all day that we were going to see Elmo, but she didn't really understand. When we got there, she saw all the stuffed toys they wree selling and started hollering, "See Elmo!". I guess she thought that that was what we had come to see!
When the show started, Big Bird and some of the others came out first-she calls Big Bird 'quackquack'! When Elmo came on the stage, her eyes got huge, and she looked at me and said with wonder, "It's Elmo!" For the next half hour, her eyes were glued to the stage! When they went off for intermission, she was very perturbed that Elmo had left. Whne they finally came back on, she settled down with the popcorn bucket between her legs, and enjoyed the show!
We had kind of wondered if she was really old enough to care about it, and if it would be worth the money that we had to pay for the tickets...it was worth it! When the show finally ended, she almost seemed in a daze, but we got about halfway home, and she started giggling! She was in the back seat in her carseat, laughing her head off! Needless to say, Grandma and I laughed the rest of the way home, too!

Here she is with Elmo:

Clapping!

Eating popcorn