Sibling Love

My Mom and I were talking today about the bond shared by siblings. As many of you know, I did not grow up with any brothers or sisters (until Wendy and Isaac became part of the family) so I didn't really understand the special love between siblings. As a mother of four, I am quickly being educated in what that love looks like. Before I became a parent I was floored by how rude, sneaky and downright mean siblings could be toward each other. I vowed that no matter how many children we had, ours would not be like that to one another. Obviously, these parents did not take the time to foster a loving and respectful relationship between their children and the children were forced to act out against each other. Then God blessed us with our brood and boy did my bubble burst!!! Children come out of the womb fighting with each other. They bicker about the sound of each others voice and who got more M&M's and where to sit in the car and how long Grandma talked on the phone to each one and what size drink they got at dinner and the list goes on and on. Sometimes I think they make stuff up just to be difficult to one another. How many times in our household do we go over the Golden Rule (it is Jeff's favorite so I think each child knows it by heart, even Micah). But it rarely seems to sink in. One of my great fears for our family is that our children will grow up bickering and fighting and eventually despise one another. Many friends from large families assure me that once you don't live in the same house and share the same closet, your sister or brother becomes your best friend. I pray that our children feel that loving bond toward one another and that they grow to cherish the time they get to spend together as well as the memories they make. I pray they stick up for each other when one is threatened and make each other laugh when one is sad. I pray they enjoy each others thoughts, each others company and each one's individuality. What an amazing gift a brother or sister is, a person who grew up in the same house as you and went on the same vacations and shares a lot of the same memories as you. So while you may have fought and argued and trust me, driven your parents nuts, I know that this love is one that is unbreakable.

Snow Day Hooray!!

I will admit, if there is one thing about living in Ohio that I really miss, it is the beautiful clean white snow that comes right at the beginning of winter. Now please do not misunderstand, I do not miss the subarctic temps, the white outs, the huge piles of muddy black slush on the side of the road or the way winter seems to linger into March. But I do miss waking up in the morning when the backyard looks so bright you think dawn has come early, and how the leafless trees look cloaked in snow, and how peaceful and quiet it is when the snow is falling in big wet flakes. Such was the picture that greeted us this morning, after our 5:30 am call from the Superintendent cancelling school for the day. We let the kids sleep in (until 6:30) and then we all had a big breakfast and went out to play in the winter wonderland. The idea of playing in the snow is always so much more fun than actually doing it I believe. Jeff, who went in late this morning, took the kids outside around 8:00 am while I ran up to put on my tennis shoes. When I came back downstairs and headed outside, I was greeted by 3 little children crying to get inside where it was warm. Needless to say, they all enjoyed the hot chocolate with extra marshmallows even more than the snowy morning. After Jeff headed to work, our neighbors came out and there was renewed interest in the snow. We all bundled up once again to go out. This time I am pleased to report that our outing lasted well over 20 minutes! I think having someone to play with (especially if they are not related) was a big part of that. The rest of our day went about as expected, Micah fell asleep bundled in a blanket and Bella somehow climbed into Noah's bunkbed (notice the ladder) and passed out. As is the norm in the Carolinas, the snow had completely melted by 3:00 pm, but we all thoroughly enjoyed our Snow Day!

Imperfection is a Blessing

This week had so many up and downs I just wasn't sure how to chronicle them all, so I will hit the highlights. First off the things that bugged me and how God used them to remind me of his perfect plan for my life. Bella broke 3 DVD's this week (yep, just took them out of the case and snapped them in half)---Thank you God for reminding me that material things are temporary and how petty a few broken movies are when I can hold my whole daughter in my arms. We made 3 expensive trips to the grocery store in as many days because every one of our children is going through a growth spurt---Thank you Lord that our children are growing strong and healthy everyday. Micah woke us up (and Bella and Noah) at 1:30 and 4:30 all week---Thank you God that our children are safe in their beds (or our bed!) And thank you for the precious calm that comes early in the morning that I can spend with you. Our Storm Water runoff creek next to our house has sprouted a dam that barely allows water through, which in turn rises higher and higher next to our house---Thank you Lord for a government to oversee our city, state, nation that is there to help us out. The city manager sent someone that afternoon to look at our situation and will be back with burly men to fix it. I bought a new fabric softener that caused the kids to either break out in a rash or get a serious case of the itchies, including Jeff and now I must ditch my mega bottle of softener (purchased at Sams no less so there is enough for 180 loads!) but I must rewash 14 loads of laundry---Thank you God for a family to wash clothes for, for fresh hot water and for Sams Club! And one of my favorite things from this week was a recipe Calla wrote for me (transcribed exactly as it was written for me)

Cocholet Pie

1 1/2 of shugr

1 pees (piece I think) of flawer

2 cups of milk

2 1/2 cups of chochulet chips

4 cups of water

3 cups of creem

I cannot wait to try this one out. What a sweetheart!! I have thoroughly enjoyed this long weekend even though less than half of my list got done and there are dirty dishes in the sink, laundry to put away, and baths that didn't get taken, because even though it didn't turn out the way I thought it should, it was perfect!!

Christmas Holiday

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OK so I have to admit, part of the reason I wanted to start a blog was to keep up with the kids and all the funny and amazing things they do. I know I should be writing all of this in their baby book, but that is so last century! Instead, I figure I will just keep track of everything online and then print it all out neatly and put it in their baby books later. Ha, like my Mom would let me get away with that. At least this way when I do get around to filling them out, I can at least go back and see who did what and when. Since I have all of 9 months of Calla's baby book, 2 months of Noah's, some sticky post it notes in a box for Bella and my memory for all of Micah's firsts, I thought a blog might not be a bad idea. So, instead of going through our whole holiday happenings and our Disney trip, the Christmas concert Calla was in, our trip to Charleston and the New Year's Eve Party we hosted, I thought I would focus on just one small event...Calla's Christmas Tea. Incidently, if you are interested in pictures of the above events, here is the link to the Disney pictures http://picasaweb.google.com/audacy/DisneyThanksgiving08?authkey=f5TChFz3Vhc&feat=directlink and to Christmas and New Year's http://picasaweb.google.com/audacy/ChristmasAndNewYear?feat=directlink Calla is such a girly girl who loves frilly dresses and patent leather shoes. I thought it might be a fun idea this Christmas to host a formal Tea for all of her neighborhood friends. Calla created the most beautiful homemade glittery invitations one has ever seen. Then she walked around the neighborhood and hand delivered them to each young lady, of course is there any other way?? Next we got busy on all of the delicious treats and most importantly, the outfit she was going to wear. When the big day came, Calla's friends all enjoyed a lovely tea party were we discussed proper etiquette and drank from the fine china with our pinkies up. While this might sound idyllic, reality soon set in and they all went upstairs to sing Hannah Montana songs and dance, they are 6 year old girls after all. It was a lovely party, a fun day, a cherished memory.

Our First Blog

Well for 2009 I am embracing the technology superhighway. For Christmas Jeff got me a cell phone!!! For those of you who do not know, we were one of the last holdouts on the cell phone front, but now we are total converts. In this same technologically advanced vein, I have decided to start a blog for all of our friends and family to keep up with our ever growing and changing crew. Also, it is a way to show off our darling children and my husband's increasingly talented photography. Please enjoy the following posts and feel free to communicate back. We love you all. The Davis Crew