Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Ice Cream

I received this as an email, and instead of passing it along in email form, I thought I would post it.

Last week I took my children to a restaurant. My six-year-old son asked if he could say grace. As we bowed our heads he said, "God is good, god is great. Thank you for the food, and I would even thank you more if Mom gets us ice cream for dessert. And liberty and justice for all. Amen."

Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby I heard a woman remark, "That's what is wrong with this country. Kids today don't know how to pray. Asking God for ice cream! Why, I never!"

Hearing this my son burst into tears and asked me, "Did I do it wrong? Is God mad at me?"

As I held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job, and God was certainly not made at him, an elderly gentleman approached the table. He winked at my son and said, "I happen to know God thought that was a great prayer."

"Really?" my son asked.

"Cross my heart." The man replied.

Then, in a theatrical whisper, he added (indicating the woman whose remark had started the whole thing), "Too bad she never asked God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes."

Naturally, I bought my kids ice cream at the end of the meal. My son stared at his for a moment, and then did something I will remember for the rest of my life.

He picked up his sundae and without a word walked over and placed it in front of the woman. With a big smile he told her, "Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes; and my soul is good already."

Monday, December 18, 2006

snow





We got snow!! It wasn't much and it didn't last long. Sunday morning we woke up to snow all over the dirt in the yards and the car. None on the roads or sidewalks. It was cold though. The kids have been having trouble in church lately. And Gage was having trouble too, so Jared took the three little boys outside for a walk. Logan comes back in to tell me ( and the back half of the congregation) that he had fun throwing snowballs at dad. And when Austin came back in he was pretending to throw a ball, to tell me what he did outside. Tanner was really mad at me that I would let him go have fun too. I was so mean.

By the time we were done with Primary the snow was gone. Maybe next time it snows we will be able to play in it.
The golf course was covered. This is the shot from our front yard looking at the course.

Saturday, December 16, 2006

family photos

Where should we go today mom?
Whata crew!
Poor Kid. He spent most of a week in the stroller and he was still smiling.
Kathryn, is that stick going in or coming out your nose?
Cori got captured.
wow. look at R2D2, he is made all out of Legos. The boys loved this store. (and so did the rest of us.)



Wednesday, December 13, 2006

crazy fun-very, very long

The plan... get all my errands done, finish laundry and packing, and have a nice calm Sunday. Thursday afternoon I get a call, Kathryn has lice. oh yeah!! after 40 loads of laundry 3 nights up til 1 or later. I got everything cleaned, washed, packed and put away.
We got on the road Monday morning only an hour and a half later than we wanted. but still felt good about our timing. The vacation had started. We arrived in Anaheim. We walked from the hotel to Downtown Disney, stopping to get dinner at a nice little restaurant with no customers. Perfect for our crowd. We then figured out why no one was there. The food wasn't very good, but the waitress was great. We walked and walked and finally arrived at Downtown Disney. My favorite store was the Lego store. If you didn't know it, I love legos and so does everyone in my family. They had a full size Darth Vader that talked to you. They also had a very tall giraffe and an R2D2. It was great.
We made it back to the hotel in time to watch a movie on the Disney channel. We don't have cable so this was a real treat.
Tuesday was spent with Mom and Heather at California Adventure. The only problem, Cori had gotten a cold. She felt miserable. I took her back to the Hotel, let the two little boys nap and I vegged on the bed. Then Austin got sick- all over his blankets and pillow. Into the bath he went, and down to the lobby for quarters I went. Of course Cori was watching Austin for me. I washed his stuff, and just as I was coming back from the laundry room, the rest of the family was bringing in dinner. Poor Logan went at least half the trip without dinner. We wore him out.
Wednesday and Thursday were spent at Disneyland. Wednesday with Mom and Heather, then joined by Jazz, Kathryn, Sam, Justus and Emry. We now had the group. It was fun and crazy to keep track. We saw the most spectacular fire works show I have ever seen. Disney doesn't hold back. That was a great day. The only problem was that as we were leaving the parking garage Jazz calls from the next floor up to say that somewhere in Disneyland she had lost the key to the car. So after some crazy driving we got up the next floor and sat with them while she went back to the park to see if it was found and Kathryn started calling home. We had the kids in our car to try and stay warm. We finally got the attention of the security guard and they got someone over to get into the car so we could get car seats and belongings out. Mom ended up giving them a ride home to Oxnard, she was already planning on leaving that night anyway. So after we crammed everyone into the car we drove to the hotel, put their stuff into Moms suburban and they left. I hope they were able to get the car back the next day. Thursday was by the far the calmest day in the park. We had fun just wondering around riding the things we missed the day before. We watched a very fun Jedi training show. A must see if you go to Disneyland. At one time 3 rides we wanted to go on had shut down. Then they all started working one right after another and we were able to get on without too much of a wait. Then Logan had an accident. Poor kid, with all the junk we ate all week, his poor tummy couldn't handle it anymore. We had to go find him some new pants and underwear. And Jared braved the clean up. But Logan didn't have any socks. And he wouldn't wear mine, so he went 3 hours without socks. Poor thing. Friday was spent doing a few things in CA Adventure that Cori and I missed, then off to find souvenirs. Disneyland was crazy!! Friday is not a good day to go. I didn't even want to try and get on any rides. Jared took the kids on the Disneyland railroad while I walked a sleeping Austin to the Tomorrowland station. I think it took us a good 2 hours to find souvenirs. We then headed to San Diego. Once there we got dinner, and did some showering and lice cleaning. Oh the joys!! Saturday morning we got up, headed down to breakfast at the hotel where we met, Mom, Heather and Grandpa Mann. We then headed to Rebekah and Sean's house. We decided against going to the San Diego Wild Animal park. Our kids needed out. So we went to the park. It was great. They ran around, played, got dirty. We then got lunch and headed over to the hotel pool for some swimming. and oh was it cold. We went back to Rebekah's for dinner. It was so nice to have a home cooked meal after 6 days of every meal out somewhere. We had crepes. It was so yummy. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the store to get some last minute things for Rebekah, then dropped them off at her house. We were about 5 minutes from the hotel and Tanner throws up on the floor of the back seat of the car. So we stopped at Target, Jared ran in to get trash bags and reolve and I proceeded to clean up the mess. We did laundry and car clean up that night. Before we actually got to sleep Cori sat up and said, Dad I can't breathe very good, and I am getting hot. He checked her out. Gave her a puff of inhaler and she was able to lay back down. Then she hopped up and ran to the bathroom. another sicky. Luckily it was only one bout of sicky. Then she was fine. We finally got to bed after midnight. Sunday was a crazy day all around. But the worst was right in the middle of sacrament meeting. The boys were out of control. I had been doing pretty good all week with their noise levels and crankiness, after all we had worn them out every day for a week. But by the end of the meeting I wanted to lock them all in the car, and walk away. But I didn't. The blessing of baby Brandon was wonderful. The spirit was strong. I felt blessed to be there. Afterwards we took some pictures, and then drove around for about 20 minutes to regain some sanity. We made it back in time to help with dinner and hang out with all the family. It was nice to meet and talk with Sean's family. We stayed about an hour or so after everyone else. It was nice to just hang out. The kids had a great time. They made a huge mess. But it was fun. Sunday night was an uneventful one. We picked out our clothes for the next day and gathered our belongings. I actually felt ready to go before midnight. Yea!! The drive home was great. It wasn't too hard. The kids watched movies. We stopped only 3 times. And we listened to a book on CD. If you want a good story to listen to while driving, try The Tennis Shoes among the Nephites series. It was fun and exciting. and really hits home and brings to life the lives and trials of the Nephites, even though it is purely fiction. We are enjoying it. We made excellent time 7 hours. We made it home in one piece and found all to be well at home. i am glad we are home, I am also grateful for the time we had to take the vacation. Our excitement didn't stop with the trip.
Once home the busyness of the kids activities started again. Cori had a band concert last night. She did great. We enjoyed it. Tonight is 2 concerts for Kathryn. She is learning to play the violin and has that concert tonight, and is also participating the Bobcat Choir and has the Christmas concert tonight as well. We also are trying to catch up on the work the kids have from missing so many days of school. Last night poor Austin his head on the floor of the gym at the concert, tried falling more than once off the bleachers, and then fell face first on the floor at the church with Tanner landing on him. He hasn't been the same since. He just cries and moans. His poor little nose bled, and is swollen. And now the cleaning, laundry and Christmas season begins. I am excited to take some time to reflect on our Saviors birth. and hopefully be able to teach the kids a little more of the importance of His life. and the meaning of Christmas.
Maybe next week will be calmer....

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Christmas time

We actually got the Christmas tree up early this year. It is put together, decorated and in front of the windows, so you can see it from the street when it is lit. I love seeing Christmas trees in front windows. We had a great time, after we found the mice poison and got rid of it. Good thing there was no little mice in the box too. We must have had a visitor in the box trying to make a nest. YEW. I really dislike mice.
But we got through it. We had fun. We blarred the Christmas music, had fun dancing to it,







put up all the different kinds of decorations that the kids have made and received throughout the years.
And even examined the middle of the tree.

Sunday, November 26, 2006

12 years

Wow. How can 12 years have gone by so quickly?? Today is our anniversary. What a wonderful thing to celebrate. I love being married. I love my husband. I know he loves me, even though he keeps teasing me by pretending to have a ball and chain on his leg.:) Whata guy. I am grateful for him. For the opportunity we have to be together through good times and bad, through happy and sad times, through craziness and peace. I am grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ that gives us the opportunity and blesses us to be together forever with our family. I am glad that it doesn't end at death. I know that there is life after our earth life. And I am happy to know that if I continue to be a faithful member of the Church and do the best that i can, that I will be able to be with Jared forever. And of course all my wonderful children. I am grateful for them, their love, their laughter and of course the challenges they give us. We are very blessed.
The weekend was good. It started with a little funny dressing moments from my boys. The picture speaks for itself.
Thursday was a great day. We watched the parade, made pie, walked the neighbors dog. Ate waffles, got dressed, and headed to our cousins. How great it was to hang out with them. There new house is beautiful, and big. The kids disappeared. and I actually had a relaxing day. We ate a lot of good food, and of course a lot of pie. I think Shawn ate the most with at least one normal size paper plate full!! The boys even enjoyed a four wheeler ride. They thought it was great.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

family

I love being married. I have a wonderful husband. I love that he takes care of us financially, spiritually, and that even after 7 pregnancies, 7 babies and years of eating, he still finds me attractive. I love that he still wants to hang out with me, date me and pamper me. He is a an awesome guy. I am very blessed.

I love being a mom. I have 7 wonderful kids. They are busy, they are very entertaining, they are loud, they are sweet, they are crazy,
they are cute, they love me, they appreciate me. They are a great blessing.

We have had so many great blessings this year. I am grateful for each one.

and they all start here....




We have a wonderful family.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Mommy moment

EXCUSE THIS HOUSE

Some houses try to hide the fact
That children shelter there.
Ours boast of it quite openly,
Ths signs are everywhere.
For smears are on the windows,
Little smudges on the door.
I should apologize, I guess
For toys strewn on the floor.
But I sat down with the children
And we played, laughed and read.
And if the doorbell doesn't shine
Their eyes will shine instead.
For when at times I am forced
To choose one job or the other,
I want to keep a tidy house
But first I'll be a mother.

Anonymous


Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
for babies grow up we've learned to our sorrow.
So, quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep,
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.


If a mother's place is in the home--
then why do I spend so much time in the car?

Saturday, November 18, 2006



Things went much better today than they have all week. I know I am dooming myself for a hard day at church tomorrow. But we really did have a great day. Tanner had his last soccer game of the season, hopefully by next season we can convince to go after the ball. He did get the Super Star award today from his coach.


Kathryn's team had an excellent game. They won 3-2, the last point being scored within the last minute of the game. Kathryn has played defender for the majority of the season. She plays this post, because she doesn't like to run. Who plays soccer and doesn't like to run. She kicked some mighty kicks this season though. She is awesome.


After the game we went to get ice cream with the team to celebrate the season and thank the coach. The team mom passed out free ice cream cone cards. What an awesome thing for me. I even got a free ice cream. Woo Hoo.
After our soccer games we came home, and while the kids were playing in the yard, our neighbors called them over and asked if they wanted to help dig up sweet potatoes. Our kids are so into gardening. They all tried to touch my nice white shirt with their extremely dirty hands, and came home with some nice looking sweet potatoes. Watch out Jared, we will be having sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner.


And all the while the baby slept.
Oh how sweet they are when they sleep.

Friday, November 17, 2006



Welcome to our space. I wanted a place that we could all go and fill you in on our goings on, show new pictures of the kids, and maybe stay connected. So with that said, let the blogging begin.



We have had some excitement in the last week. The boys decided to walk home from school alone without telling me. I drove all over looking for them. I sent the girls to run after them. I finally found them all at home. I was a wreck. But after a little chocolate, and a trip to the book store, I felt a bit better.

Something is in the air, because all the kids are a bit crazy, and acting like people in a nut house, hence the name of our blog. Its a good thing some of them are really cute, it helps me be able to keep the nutty ones. Hopefully this is a quick phase that will end very soon.

Some good news is that we have a new addition to the extended Davis Clan. Rebekah had their 3rd baby on the 8th. He is a cutie and we can't wait to meet him. For now we have pictures. So I will share one.



Brandon Mellor McHenry.
We will be coming to see you soon little Brandon.
Until then, we love you.