Happy Soup Sunday!

This Sunday, I hope you find yourself full of gratitude for every promise fulfilled in His Son and for his crowning grace:

"My heart is filled with thankfulness to Him who walks beside

Who floods my weaknesses with strength and causes fears to fly;

Whose ev'ry promise is enough for ev'ry step I take;

Sustaining me with arms of love, and crowning me with grace."

-My Heart Is Filled with Thankfulness, Getty and Townend

In the Recording Studio!

 

 Guess who's hanging out in a real recording studio these days?

Yep!  Your's truly!  I know.  I can't believe it either.  Over the coming year, a dear friend in my church is putting together a wonderful church curriculum for kids, as well as a parent/child devotional that includes songs.  I could not be more excited or humbled to be a part of it!

Today was our very first day of recording, and while I am happy to report that we feel really good about what we completed, we still have a good number of sessions to go.  So I'll keep you updated along the way... you know, on all the ins and outs of being a recording artist. ;)  It should be a fun ride, and we're praying this project bears much eternal fruit in some sweet, little lives for many years to come.

I also promise that I'll keep you posted as resources become available for all you parents out there. And finally, I promise that before all our recordings are done, I will get a picture of me belting out some crazy Mariah Carey note... because then I can check that off my bucket list.

In the meantime, how great is this?

There's a sign above that reads, "Please remain seated for the entire performance."  

Never thought I would have a favorite toilet... but here it is!

Oh, and look who else likes to sing these days:

She'll be in a studio before we know it!

Happy Friday from our world to yours! 

(And yes, Bella is actually saying "Cheeeze!" for this picture.  Love it!  Love her.)

Lost in Translation & Loving It

So, Bella has started talking.  Sure, she says things like "up" and "hi" and "cheeeeese(?)", but when I say she has started talking, what I mean is that she has this language that only she knows, and she's serious about it.  This language- which is a mix between cute and crazy and just plain loud- has taken over our household.  It has taken over our dinners, our Bible study group (who gave it their best shot at talking over her last night), and yes, even nap time:

So, what do you think she's saying?

I just love how her best shot at "boo!" sounds like a mouth explosion.  Oh, and her hair... naps do such a wonderful number on that head full of hair.

I find I'm smiling and laughing more in these days of parenting.  It just keeps getting better and better.

Texas, Our Texas

I'm a Texan.  I love, love, love being from Texas.  I also love talking with people who've never been to Texas... you know, to really help them understand what it is about the place that makes people from there so proud. 

Oh, I'm sorry.  Some of you out there don't know what I'm talking about?  Well, let me explain. I'm sure those of you from Texas can bear to hear yet another explanation of what makes us so great. :)

Ask anyone, and right up there with the fact that everything is done BIG in Texas, they'll tell you it's the people that make the place so grand.  Over the Christmas break, we had the opportunity to visit a good friend's ranch for a day of fun and good eatin'.  No wait, actually, let's go ahead and call them what they are: family.  In Texas, you actually call your acquaintances your friends.  But the real friends get lumped in with family.  And when this fun family gets together, we like to call it "circling the wagons." 

This particular "circling of the wagons" over Christmas captured everything I love about where I'm from.  I'll just let the pictures tell it all:

See what's behind us?  In Texas, I love the rolling hills and the trees that grow wide and low to the ground.  Perfect for sitting under.  

(And hello, Bella's snarl face.)

And in Texas, I love watching kids do exactly what kids were meant to do.

 In Texas, I love how the men push the boys on tire swings that hang from oak trees in the backyard.

 And I love how the adults teach the youngin's how to fish off docks.

Oh, how I love the fine lookin' family men one finds in Texas!  Especially the one that belongs to me.  

Did you know that Mike is an honorary Texan?  Perhaps someday I'll blog about the crazy initiation he underwent during one of our engagement parties.

Hey, there's another fine lookin' family man!

Nothing beats family chats around the Gator.

Or even better, how about family chats while sittin' on the back porch?

And if nothing else convinces you, then the fact that these three faces were hanging out in Texas recently makes the State pretty grand to me!

 Like I said, everything is bigger in Texas... including hugs.

And finally, to close my whole "Texas is great" rant, I would like to point out that the adorable girl you see above lives in Texas.

Need I say more?

Christmas in Texas... Finally!

It's been quiet on the blog since Christmas.  We've been just a little busy.  Our ten days of traveling to three different homes came to an end on New Year's Eve, and we immediately had to move out and back in to our home for some new carpet installation.  It's actually not so bad now that we're on the back end of it.  Let's just say spring cleaning came early for us this year.

I've also been working on this here blog of mine.  I figured it needed a new face for a New Year. 

Oh, and then Bella decided to get three molars these past two days.  Sleep, where are you?

So I realize most Christmas trees have already been taken down, and most people have already broken a New Year's resolution or two, but I still have a Christmas story to tell.  So, here goes:

If you want a quick snapshot of what Christmas looked like at the Davis house, then I think this picture captures it perfectly. Christmas was full of fun and family and excitement and giving and warmth... and it whizzed by!  (By the way, that baby doll in Bella's hand was totally thrown in to the toilet today.  Nice.)

It whizzed by so fast, that we really stunk at getting good pictures of Bella and Kate.  Take these shots, for example:

A poking war gone picking.  Gross.  Sorry, Kate.

But Bella loved the gifts... er, boxes.                    And Cole's reactions were priceless.

And the boys loved being, well, boys.  

And the kids loved lovin' on their GREAT grandmothers.  Yes, that makes for four generations in one house this Christmas.

The adults loved having the kids to make things extra crazy and extra special. After the kids had opened presents on Christmas Eve, Papa read passages out of Isaiah and Luke to everyone, and then he read a special rendition of "The Night Before Christmas" just for the kids.  Well, minus Kate... she was already nestled, all snug in her bed.

And then came Christmas morning: 

The girls loved all the toys (and vitamin bottles) that had magically appeared.

And Bella loved sneaking some snacks from Papa in the pantry.  Isn't this what grandparents' homes are all about?

There are so many special moments that our cameras didn't capture, so I'll stop there and leave you with the classic Davis family pose under the mantle crowded with stockings:

What a second.  That's not the classic pose.

There.  That's much better.  

Here's to Christmas 2011!