Ring in the new Year!

I always dreamed of hitting the jackpot when I was little. I'm not a gambler, so I'm not talking Vegas here. I'm talking about in the man department. I would sit and gaze out my window and wonder what my future husband was doing. Being a bit of a musical lover, and having seen the show "The Music Man", I would sing every night to him. "Good night my someone, good night my love" etc. Okay, okay, I know it's cheesy, but it shows what a romantic I am! I don't put much value in "things" unless they have sentimental value to me.

A little over a year ago, I lost my wedding ring in Chicago. I was sick to my stomach as I tried to retrace my steps and track it down. But it was to no avail. I was so sad to have lost the ring, not because it was big and fancy or even expensive, but it was the ring with which Blake asked me to spend the rest of our lives together...and longer! I've been ring-less for over a year now and to tell you the truth, I have begun to wonder if he'd ever get me a new one! He jokingly said that one was all I'd get and I was beginning to believe him!

He really tricked me good for Christmas this year. I had no idea what he was getting me. He was throwing all kinds of curveballs and I was so confused! Finally on Christmas morning he gave me the present. Before I could open it, he gave me the picture that is posted above. He told me to read it out loud and as I did, I could barely see through the tears in my eyes! I knew right away what was in the box. (The box filled with a towel and a package of flour to throw me off!) I opened the box, and there was the most beautiful ring! The thing I love the most is that it has such beautiful symbolism. The ring has one big diamond and several smaller diamonds "flowing" away from the bigger one. It represents a lake and a river. It ties in with the poem that he wrote.

So I think I did hit the Jackpot. I am so lucky to be married to my best friend, the person I want to tell everything to, and share my life with. The man who is an amazing Father to our beautiful girls. The man who loves me much more than I deserve sometimes, and who I look up to and adore more than he'll ever know. So, to the "someone" who has become mine... True love can be whispered from heart to heart, now goodnight my someone, goodnight!

Note: I have grappled with whether or not to post this. As it is personal, and yeah, a bit cheesy! However, since I'm using this blog as my journal; personal is what you get! If it's a bit too sugary for you to swallow, just skip to another post! ;)

Happy Anniversary!!!

Hey Baby,

Henry David Thoreau said, “For every thousand people hacking at the leaves of evil, there is one hacking at the roots.”
That reminds me of you and your constant resolve to do what is right.
As an example of everything that is right and good you are one in a thousand.
As a Mother you are one in a million.
As a Wife, there is no number to compare. You are truly priceless!
I love you more than life, and I look back with immense pride at the last 13 years we have had together. As always, I look forward with great hope and love to our future together. With the strength we have built together I am sure we will breeze through whatever comes our way. Happy Anniversary.

I Love You,

Blake

P.S. To prove I actually wrote this: You’re also Stinkin HOT!!!!

Separated at birth?

Tonight we carved pumpkins for Family Night. Can you see the resemblance in the face of each girl to her pumpkin? :)

I'm supposed to list six of my odd habits or quirks as I have been "blog tagged!" (Thanks Carrie! I bet you thought, I'd never get to it!) Well here goes:
1. Thinking I have time enough to keep up on a blog
2. Changing my hair style or color a few times a year!
3. I am always trying new and healthier recipes on my family, I know that when I put a dinner in front of them, they'll be saying, "What weird grain is in this one?"
4. I am becoming a yoga junkie, I love contorting my body in lots of weird ways! I just did "pigeon" the other day!
5. Brushing my teeth for about 5 minutes! I love that squeaky clean feeling!
6. Sneaking lots of chocolate or other treats when I am supposed to be the healthy one in the family!
Okay, so Carrie, this post it especially for you! :)

Everything's Peachy!

I love fall! Everything cools off and the air seems crisp and clear. Blake and I have always tried our best to be "gardeners" but we always seem to fail at some aspect. One year we planted a garden, but it didn't grow much. The next year, we planted and it grew, but we didn't harvest! This year, we beat our record. We planted, and most of it grew and we harvested most of what grew! In addition, we even went and bought peaches and with the help of Woodlands and Andersons (friends of ours), we canned 162 quarts of peaches! This picture shows all our hard work (minus Monica's share). We learned that it is way more fun to "can" with friends! In fact, it was so much fun, we also did salsa with our tomatoes and we did grape juice. (Thanks Alison, for doing most of the work on that one!) It sure feels good to have something on our shelves! Who knows, maybe next year we'll actually pick the beans we grow...

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my Mom's birthday! I won't say how "young" she is, but she's not 61 yet and she's over 59. We have a few surprises for her today! Happy Birthday Mom! We love you!

Boo is so excited for Halloween! She is going to be Wonder Woman! She has the whole outfit, complete with arm bands and boots! She has been wearing the costume every day since she got it and I was afraid she'd wear it out before Halloween. I told her we should put it up till the big day. Yesterday, she came up to me and said, "Mom, can't I save the world just one more time. Pleeeeaasssee!" How can a mom resist letting her child save the world?

Dog for sale

Sometimes I wonder if I have a Peter Pan dog. You know, the kind that never grows up. Yesterday, we had the joy of our street being resurfaced. We had to park our cars down the street and take a five minute walk to get to them if we wanted to go somewhere. The company doing the resurfacing was kind enough to leave a note on the door informing us that we better get our cars out of our garages and onto a different street if we wanted to go anywhere. They then informed us that we should stay off the street for at least 8 hours if we didn't want tar all over ourselves. So being the good girl that I am, I obeyed. (Even though it was minutes before the tar began to pour since my kids were kind enough to take the paper off the door and randomly hide it for me to find in the nick of time). So Missy our beloved Lhasa Apso needed to go "potty". I let her out and didn't think much of it. About 15 minutes later, I got a call from the neighbor telling me that she had cute little black dog paws all over her driveway and the sidewalk. Not really her decorating style. AAARRRGGG! So after a 20 walk around all the detours, I finally tracked her down and brought her home. (The dog, not the neighbor) I was pretty mad at her and made her stay in the garage for a while. So then last night before I went to bed, I noticed a present. Missy had puked all over my room and the great room. Apparently, she had eaten a carrot. What dog eats carrots? Apparently mine does.
I'm so glad the kids love her!

Is Utah considered part of the South?

A quick bedtime story...
We had our Primary Program on Sunday. Boo (Faith) had a simple part to say. "My favorite scripture story is, John baptizing Jesus" Sounds fabulous right? Well about 30 seconds before she was to walk up to the stand, she informed me that "my part is a surprise, Mom!" Now, with most children, that might not be considered a scary comment, however with Boo, it leaves too much up in the air. So, in the next moment, I heard her practicing her part, and she did say it correctly. However, she had an uncannily correct southern accent. Needless to say, I was holding my breath as she walked up to the microphone, not knowing if our little "southern belle" would break out the accent or not. Luckily, her sweet little "Utah" accent said the words, and we escaped for that day. Whew! Now we can just listen to our southern belle at home! We are still trying to find out where the accent comes from. Maybe too much country music!

School's In!

It's back to school time!
The girls were up and ready by 7:00am! I had high hopes that they would continue to wake up on their own and be all ready, but once again I am delusional. The second day of school, they were sawing logs at 7:30! Oh well, I can keep dreaming!

Okay, I really don't have time to be doing this right now, but I have promised several people that I would post something! I was thinking, how is it that a busy mom becomes so delusional that she believes she will have time every day or even every week to sit quietly and ponder her life; then get it written down and posted for all to see! The answer I came up with is bonds. No, not bondage, and it doesn't have anything to do with ballots either. It has to do with love, friendship, the ties that bind, and all that good stuff. If there is one thing I treasure, it is the relationships I have with all the people I love. I love hearing about their lives, and sharing crazy stories so I know I am not alone! And so, that is why I am going to continue to try to become a real blogger, not a pretend one. Don't give up on me, and PLEASE keep checking back! I promise that I will be better; I promise that I will be more consistent; I promise to keep your taxes lower; and I promise not to put lipstick on a pig. We all know it's still a pig, the real question is... who is the pig?

Good morning sunshine!

Have you ever woken up to the wonderful aroma of fresh made pancakes? Or maybe you stepped outside and inhaled the fresh morning air just before your morning jog. Well, that didn't happen to me today! I had my morning all planned out...down to the minute. Then Kirsten wandered nonchalantly into my room and dropped a rotten egg. Okay, so not literally, but she said, "hey Mom, you might want to go check out why Taylor's room smells like puke." So as I descended the steps, I had the wonderful aroma grow stronger and stronger. Not quite like fresh made pancakes, but more like regurgitated meatballs. It turns out that Boo woke up in the night and threw up all over her bed. She then noticed that she was in her room all alone, so she decided to go sleep with her sisters. I adore the sisterly love in our family, but some things you'd rather keep to yourself.
Needless to say, I spent the morning cleaning up those meatballs and bathing girls instead of my scheduled plan, but hey, at least I got to spend some quality time!
Oh yeah, Boo is feeling fine... probably just ate too much candy last night. In her words, "Mom, that stuff is junk!"

Kirsten....

Taylor...

Faith aka "Boo"

Halli...

These are our latest family pictures...

• Curling hair- $3-4 hours
• Matching outfifts and shoes- $100+
• Makeup for 5 girls- $who knows
• The end result- Priceless!

The Davis Divas! (Well, maybe not Blake!)

Here I go!

So I have now entered into a new world. I have been trying to figure out how to get on top my journaling, picture sharing, and general staying in touch! Join me as I embark on this new journey!