D is for difficult

Today by far has been the most difficult day of the 5 for me. It is Cinco De Mayo after all. Yes, I caved to the chips and guacamole at lunch with mom. We had a great day shopping, but I was made very aware of my spending choices and love of stuff. Which in turn caused my craving for a real coke to begin. When I didn't cave to it, the chocolate monster made an appearance...... I won! Thankful for the dragon slaying powers of Crystal Light fruit punch and prayer! Maybe day six will be a breeze.....

S is for SEVEN

Ok so, my BFF Kellie suggested that we read Jen Hatmaker's "7 an experimental mutiny against excess." Not only did she want me to read this book, she asked me create my own 7's adventure and join her on her own mutiny against excess.

TIME OUT- first you need to understand Kellie. She is hands down the most compassionate person I know, a girl who truly knows who she is and what she stands for/ believes in and quite possibly the most hard headed-strong willed person I know. (And I think she prides herself in being more strong willed than my hubs, which is a feat in itself) Kel is the best hair stylist, house cleaner, and set you straight girl in the world! Kellie LOVES to run which might be her only flaw and that took me a little while to get over! !
TIME IN

Knowing I have NO self discipline, and an hot and cold relationship with my Bible study, my BFF still insisted I go on the journey! So, my inability to say no and my crazy addiction to getting excited about new things, forced me to say, "Of Course!"
7 is a fasting of sorts, stripping excess out of your life to allow room for God to fill. i have NEVER fasted before, and have a true love of stuff. We were to begin by Only eating 7 foods for an entire month.
I consider eating the most joyous time of the day. I grew up in and fortunately married into a family that plans ALL gatherings around meals... BIG, tasty meals.
With much prayer and thought and a few wrestling matches with my conscience I chose not to confine myself to 7 food. My lack of self discipline and history of giving up drove this choice. I didn't want to set myself up to fail day one. And besides this is MY journey, right? So, I chose 7 food rules to follow....
1 no fast food
2 no soda
3 no alcohol
4 no pre-packaged
5 no red meat during the week
6 Fasting one day a week.
7 NO chocolate

Yes I said no chocolate. I know, I know!
Please pray for me and my poor family who has to live this journey in which they had NO say with me. Pray for self -discipline and more of GOD and less of my spiritual and emotional and physical junk!

J is for January.  Today is January 1st, 2013.  I am attempting once again to blog.  Because it has been forever since the last time I posted anything on here, I will begin again with a review of 2012.What a year. We grew as a family and as individuals. Dusty began his first season as the head baseball coach of the Altu Bulldogs. Brayden took his first trip to watch the OKC Thurnder.  

Nene, the Kids and I ran/walked in our first 5K.  It was so much fun seeing Bray's face as he ran across the finish line.     He played third base in t-ball and his team won the championship. Katie Beth danced in her second recital and played her first year of t-ball.          

 Nene Moved home to Altus and bought a house with a swimming pool. Talk about a little piece of Heaven in this Altus heat. 

 

We spent alot of time watching baseball! Bray got his first autograph and caught his first foul ball. 

We gained a bulldog, we call Crash. I was reassigned from 6th grade reading to Extended Studies. Both kids started school in August and are wonderful little readers.  

 

 

Nene and I were assigned to teach in the same building. NOthing like having your momma home! Katie Beth participated in the local pagent. And we spent the fall watching and playing football and dress up!

 

 

 

 N is for New Year and we can't wait to see what is in store for us!

T is for Toothless

Eleven days shy of six years old, my firstborn lost his first tooth! I think Brayden might have set the World Record for having a loose tooth for the longest amount of time.  We discovered this loose tooth sometime during high school baseball season.  Yes, that is March or April.  The past week, we spent wiggling, bribing, wiggling, begging, and finally..... yesterday August 1st, he came in the kitchen looking like this.

                                                          WARNING!  THERE IS BLOOD!

So, I ask him to pull......

He was SO excited!!! He used his uncles' tooth pillow and didn't sleep at all.   

The Tooth Fairy must be invisible, because he woke up with a BIG bill in his pillow.  When did the teeth become such a high priced item?

P is 4 photographs

I love pictures! When I enter some one's home, workspace, etc. I love to look at their pictures.  I think that the pictures one chooses to display can be like a window into their life. I am a sucker for grandmas' brag books, pet parents' phone pics, I just love pictures.  I am HORRIBLE at taking them!!! I chop off heads, snap when someone is moving, and I always catch the blink!  It isn't the worst quality to have.  But, it isn't great when you want a picture of your new house to send out your new address. So, I called on Kelli, more affectionately known in our home as "the other K girl."

Let me give you a little background.  I have previously said that our ball players are like our own children.  Well, Katie Beth (at 3)  had her first crush on one of those boys, Ryan James.  Kelli, so kindly decided she could share her high school sweetheart with Katie Beth.  Katie Beth informed us that Ryan must like "K girls."  Kelli just graduated from AHS and will be heading to OSU in the fall, even more reasons for us to LOVE her! She is interested in photography and has a great eye!

Ryan and his "Kgirls"

So, Kelli came by the new house with Ryan and we were all dressed up, ready for a photo shoot.  Here are the pictures she captured......

This is SO Bray right now!  If I had a quarter for every time I told him to push up his glasses....and YES that is his I am about to get myself into something good grin! I look at him and my heart swells.



Here are both of my gifts from God.  Does it get any better than this?

This is my Katie Beth.  My rainbow in this world.  You are seeing her sweet side, it is rare.  We usually have Sassy Sissy with us! 

We are jumping for JOY around here.  Kelli, we love our pictures.  I hope you know how excited I am about them.  They caught the looks, grins, and personalities of my family that mean so much to me!  I can't wait to see your work in the future and hope it includes more photos of my kids!

H is for Homerun

Last Saturday, our family took a little trip with Boo, Pa, Uncle Spud and MarMar to Dallas, Texas.  This is one of our favorite places to min-vaca.  It is a little like going home for Dusty and I.  We found all of our favorite shopping centers and restaurants.  We even got to visit our cousins Toby and Scarlet, which is always a riot in its self!  On Saturday, we stopped by the ballpark in Arlington to see our favorite baseball team play against Uncle Spud's team. 

You can see the kids were very excited to go watch the Rangers. We had to go find Bray a Hamilton 32 shirt, since Big Bad Vlad is no longer with his team! We had great seats thanks to a special childhood friend!

                                      

The atmosphere was amazing!  The game was great...back and forth all night.  We were really nervous in the bottom of the 9th that Uncle Spud's A's might win.  Then, with Katie Beth yelling, " Who are you yelling for? JOSH HAMILTON, " number 32 stepped up to the plate.  Behind by one, with a runner on, Hambone hit one out!!! We saw our first walk off homerun! WOW! Talk about atmosphere!  It was a perfect ending to a perfect mini-vaca! 

P is for Packing

The Davis' are packing up and moving out.  My mom recently remarried and moved to the big city and we decided to buy her house.  More on that soon, I promise! We are excited, so excited in fact that the kids have been begging for days to start packing their own rooms.  If you know me at all, you know I procrastinate.  I have no idea where I learned that from ;).   My kids, however, are more like their daddy in this aspect.  So after cleaning the new house all night, I figure today is the day to give in and start packing. Bray had to find the prefect box for his most prized possessions. Katie Beth just wanted any box and FAST! She was bound and determined not to let Bray get ahead of her.

YES! Those are Xbox games and Barbies! Packed and ready for travel.  Books were next, don't ask how many boxes of books we packed.  Remember, I am a teacher.  Did I say P was 4 Procrastination or Packing?  Better get off here and start PACKING! Looks like both are beating me!