May 25, 2012
Conroe, Texas
Eleven years ago today I walked across the Football Field at Arp High School to receive my High School diploma. I had waited for many years to get that diploma in my hand and move on to "Bigger and Better" things. I was going to The University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK where my grandfather had gone and played football and my family had always been fans of. The Klingsick family does in fact bleed Crimson and I just couldn't wait to get there.
As I mentioned in Part 1 of this recap, I had dreams of becoming a Band Director and starting a family for myself and my husband (unknown at that time). That is what I had pictured for myself 10 years in the future. Well... let's see how it actually turned out.
August 2001
I moved to Norman, OK with my family to live in the dorms at The University of Oklahoma. I remember passing by Arp High School on our way out of town and seeing my favorite teacher and mentor standing in front of the band hall waving as we passed by. I got to OU and auditioned for the Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band and to my dismay and disbelief, I did not get into the prestigious organization that year. I was devastated and completely torn. Here I was at an amazing University that I had ALWAYS dreamed of going to and I couldn't do what I wanted to do. I had second thoughts about staying there and for a brief minute I thought about coming home and going to TJC where all my other high school friends were going. I had numerous scholarships given to me by OU and I was just going to throw them all away. I knew GOD WAS IN CONTROL and I trusted him to help me through this hard time and help me this first year of college. Wow... I am glad I came to my senses.
January 2005
The years had passed and I had made it into the Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band as well as other performing ensembles at OU. I had been on a "Fast Track" to completing my Bachelors of Music Education degree. In fact I was so anxious to get out there and teach, I had made my 5 year degree into a 4 year degree. I was a senior and working on my Student Teaching. I was working alongside one of the most amazing and influential female band directors in the state of Oklahoma, Susan Clothier. The past 3.5 years had been amazing and I was pressing hard to achieve my goal of teaching and directing band. That was really ALL I had on my mind.
I was working and teaching at Bethel Baptist Church in Norman, OK as a children's choir director. I had told Bro. Jerry, the music minister, that I needed a "bouncer" to help control some of the 4-6 grades boys that were in my choir. A few weeks later along came Chris Davis.
The Man of my Dreams
(He can always make me laugh... even now looking at this picture!)
I love you Chris Davis!
I did not know him but we seemed to click almost instantaneously! On January 27th, Chris asked me out on our 1st date and the rest, as they say, is history. In the blink of an eye, I went from "All Career... ALL THE TIME" to being love-stricken. What a difference a day makes!!!
(He can always make me laugh... even now looking at this picture!)
I love you Chris Davis!
I did not know him but we seemed to click almost instantaneously! On January 27th, Chris asked me out on our 1st date and the rest, as they say, is history. In the blink of an eye, I went from "All Career... ALL THE TIME" to being love-stricken. What a difference a day makes!!!
May 2005
BOOMER SOONER BABY! It was time for me to get that degree. I had worked SO VERY HARD the previous 4 years, especially the last 2, in order to graduate a year early and really get out there and teach. The day had come for the OU graduation and commencement ceremonies. I remember having my then boyfriend, Chris, right there beside me the whole time. I felt like I had really accomplished something and it all seemed to be coming together! I was so very happy! Later that month, I accepted my 1st teaching job in Bowlegs, OK teaching K-4 general music and 5-12 band! I felt like I had it all at this moment!
July 2005
Chris and I had been dating for about 6 months or so and we both really enjoyed spending time together. We had gone on several dates and in fact, we had met each other's parents several times. On the weekend of July 4th we made the long trek out to the "Farm" in Lubbock where Chris' parents lived. We had a great time with his parents, brother and sister. We fired off fireworks on the back part of the farm and I really got to see where he was from and his families lifestyle. Chris and I were very faithful in church and were about to commit to teaching a Sunday School class together in the fall!
We had just begun to talk about "The Future" and marriage and stuff like that. We both knew that this was for real and happening. We even began to discuss rings! On Sunday, July 31st I was at our Large Group Sunday School time with my 4th Graders and in came Chris to the front to make an announcement. I figured he was going to tell the kids that he and I would be teaching together soon. Instead, he got down on one knee and proposed to me saying "Kellie, you make me so very happy and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?" I was so shocked at the whole ordeal and was shaking but of course I SAID YES! He placed the ring on my finger and it was all done. In fact I looked at the back of the small room and saw all of his singles class watching as well as the music minister and his wife who more or less set us up in the first place. By the time we got to "Big Church" and the worship service... our pictures and the announcement was all over the screens. I will NEVER forget that day!
March 2006
It was a beautiful 75 degree day in Norman, OK and I was with all of my girlfriends at the Bridal Salon about to get ready for my BIG DAY! I remember arriving with my sister and Best Friend and yelling "I'm getting Married TODAY! Woohoo!" (A line from FRIENDS... Allison will get it!) and all of them laughing! By noon, I was in my dress and ready to take pre-ceremony pictures with my bridesmaids, groomsmen and family. The day I had ALWAYS dreamed about was FINALLY here and I could not believe it! We took all the pre-wedding pictures and then went to the choir room to "wait it out". It was there that I signed Kellie Rhea Klingsick for the last time... in a few short minutes, I would become Kellie Rhea Davis. It was surreal. It was 1:55 and the time had come to go outside to go through the back door of the Sanctuary. I remember people honking, waving and yelling at me as I walked along the busy Norman, OK Lindsay Street. It was 2:00pm and the wedding party had started to enter the Sanctuary. My dad and I stood outside the Sanctuary just taking it all in. I will never forget my dad's last word to me as Kellie Klingsick, "I love you Kellie and I know Chris will take good care of you. But no matter what, you will ALWAYS be my little girl." Those words spoke to my heart and they will be with me forever.
My wedding coordinator, Barbara, opened the doors and there was Chris at the front with a huge smile on his face.
I am so glad our photographer captured this face! I will remember this ALWAYS!
The crowd stood up and watched me take those precious steps to becoming a wife. It was the most amazing feeling in the world! I got to the front and my dad gave me away and that too is something I will NEVER forget! The ceremony proceeded and in all reality I don't remember much except for the fact that there I stood living out my dreams of getting married to the MAN OF MY DREAMS! I remember looking out at all my family and friends and smiles were everywhere. That was 6 1/2 years ago and those have been the best 6 years of my life and I cannot wait for the next 6, 36, 66 years ahead of us!
After the wedding, Chris and I took our honeymoon to London, England. In all of my dreams and fairytales of my wedding and honeymoon, I never imagined London. I mean I did think of the overseas amazing honeymoon but I always told myself "Yeah, right. That is expensive! My future Beau and I wouldn't be able to afford that!" Well... yet again, God heard me and had his own plans! Chris and I went to London for 8 days and these were some of the BEST days of my life! It was amazing to see what life in Europe was like. I will never forget getting to the hotel room and looking at the 2 SEPARATE beds. They were both twin sized and separated in the room. I went down to the front desk and was like "But it is my HONEYMOON!" The nice and polite English people looked at me with a smirk on their face and said "But this is LONDON!" I will never forget that! Needlesstosay, we pushed the two twins together the rest of the week!
Chris and I in front of Tower Bridge in London!
The beautiful Westminster Abbey!
The crowd stood up and watched me take those precious steps to becoming a wife. It was the most amazing feeling in the world! I got to the front and my dad gave me away and that too is something I will NEVER forget! The ceremony proceeded and in all reality I don't remember much except for the fact that there I stood living out my dreams of getting married to the MAN OF MY DREAMS! I remember looking out at all my family and friends and smiles were everywhere. That was 6 1/2 years ago and those have been the best 6 years of my life and I cannot wait for the next 6, 36, 66 years ahead of us!
After the wedding, Chris and I took our honeymoon to London, England. In all of my dreams and fairytales of my wedding and honeymoon, I never imagined London. I mean I did think of the overseas amazing honeymoon but I always told myself "Yeah, right. That is expensive! My future Beau and I wouldn't be able to afford that!" Well... yet again, God heard me and had his own plans! Chris and I went to London for 8 days and these were some of the BEST days of my life! It was amazing to see what life in Europe was like. I will never forget getting to the hotel room and looking at the 2 SEPARATE beds. They were both twin sized and separated in the room. I went down to the front desk and was like "But it is my HONEYMOON!" The nice and polite English people looked at me with a smirk on their face and said "But this is LONDON!" I will never forget that! Needlesstosay, we pushed the two twins together the rest of the week!
October 2006
I had just completed my 1st year of teaching at Bowlegs Public School and had moved on to teaching at a K-8 school in Shawnee, OK called Grove School. I had no idea at that time what a HUGE impact Grove and its faculty, staff, students and community would make on my life as a teacher, band director and even person. Chris and I still lived in Norman and wanted to live closer to both of our work locations so we moved to Shawnee, OK. It was on October 5, 2006 we closed on our very first home together! It was such a joy to shop for a house with the person you love just thinking of what "could be" in that house you will soon call home.
August 2007
Chris and I were so very happy in our marriage and lives together. We had been on numerous trips and vacations together as well as other activities such as attending 2 season of OU home Football Games together. We were in love! But the time had come to begin to start thinking about that "Family" we both so eagerly wanted. Little did we know, God had other plans (Lessons really) for us!
August 2008
It had been a year since we first trying trying to conceive and no luck. We had kept our hopes up and faith in God and him providing for us. Since it had been a year, we began to work alongside a fertility specialist. We heard everything from "Kellie, you are too fat to conceive" to "Chris, you need to change your wardrobe to help to situation (undergarments)". We were getting so discouraged and all seemed lost in our hopes of the "Family" we had always wanted. We had both gotten very discouraged and for the 1st time in my life, I can say I was LITERALLY DEPRESSED! In fact my family doctor had prescribed medication but it was conflicting with the other medications and treatments we were using to help conceive. Through it all, we knew GOD IS IN CONTROL!
November 2008
This truly was a "November to Remember"! We went to Las Vegas with Chris and his family for Thanksgiving that year and had a great time. Neither Chris or I had ever been to Vegas so it was an experience for both of us and I am grateful to his parents for helping us be able to enjoy this trip together and with them. The whole trip was a little mellow for me as I was awaiting yet another monthly visit from "Aunt Flo" and still not be pregnant! I had a great time but that was constantly on my mind. We had taken 3 tests before we left for Vegas and even 2 while there. Still NO PINK LINE!
We got home on Sunday afternoon and tried to rest up for the following day and week at our jobs. I know I had a very busy Christmas season of Band Concerts, Christmas Cantatas and other performances ahead of me and Chris too was very busy. I woke up on Monday morning and hung my head in disappointment that "Aunt Flo" had not shown up yet. I remember walking to the bathroom really slowly thinking "I am going to go waste yet another test only to find out it is negative". I said a little prayer asking God to be with me and help me remember GOD IS IN CONTROL. About 5 minutes later, I came yelling and screaming out of the bathroom "Chris... It's POSITIVE! WE ARE PREGNANT" Chris was still half asleep but work up real fast and just hugged me. I swear we spent the next 30 minutes or so just praying and thanking God for that PINK LINE! It was a miracle!
The remainder of the that Holiday Season was amazing as we were able to tell all of our family, friends and co-workers of our miracle and spread the good news that God was in Control. I will never forget that Holiday Season.
March 2009
We found out we were having a little GIRL! We both were thrilled and decided to name her Natalie Grace!
August 2009
It had been nearly 2 years since we decided to start trying to have a baby and 9 long months of waiting for this little miracle to join our family. After a nearly perfect pregnancy the day had arrived and I was anxiously waiting to meet this new baby, Natalie Grace. Monday, August 3 was a very long day. This was my projected due date and I basically just sat around all day thinking "Is today the day". The next days and eventually weeks passed and still no Natalie. I was 41 weeks pregnant and had to go in to hook up to a monitor in order to check on Natalie Grace. Still after another week still no Natalie Grace. I was 42 weeks now and had to go and monitor Natalie's progress and mine every other day. I was told we would induce on August 20th which would have been 42 weeks and 3 days. This seemed like forever to be carrying a child so I was thrilled to be able to finally meet her. Little did I know, I would be sent home on the 20th WITHOUT a baby!
Monday, August 24th had arrived and Chris and I went to the hospital there in Shawnee to meet our baby girl. I was 43 weeks exactly and as my husband told the doctor "We are not leaving here without a baby!" I had had ENOUGH! I was only 4 days shy of a Guinness Book of World Records. The birth story in an of itself was an amazing experience but after nearly 26 hours of labor and still no Natalie, we had to have an emergency C-Section! On Tuesday, August 25, 2009 at 7:34am Natalie Grace entered the world with a powerful set of lungs. She weighed 9 pounds 3 ounces and was 20.5 inches long.
God's Gift to me... Natalie Grace Davis: August 25, 2009
She was beautiful. In all of my hopes and dreams throughout the years, I never imagined such a BEAUTIFUL baby! I was speechless and forever grateful to be called "Mom"!
She was beautiful. In all of my hopes and dreams throughout the years, I never imagined such a BEAUTIFUL baby! I was speechless and forever grateful to be called "Mom"!
December 2009
I had been working so hard for over 18 months to complete my Masters of Music degree from UCO in Edmond, OK. I had always wanted to get graduate degrees in Music so I could one day teach Music/ Band at the collegiate level. I worked through many summer months, Fall and Spring evenings and even weekends to make it happen but I completed the degree in July 2009, just weeks before Natalie Grace arrived, and was able to walk across stage with a perfect 4.0 (At the graduate level is hard to do) in December of 2009.
UCO Master's of Music Ceremony in Edmond, OK
August 2010
I had been working so hard for over 18 months to complete my Masters of Music degree from UCO in Edmond, OK. I had always wanted to get graduate degrees in Music so I could one day teach Music/ Band at the collegiate level. I worked through many summer months, Fall and Spring evenings and even weekends to make it happen but I completed the degree in July 2009, just weeks before Natalie Grace arrived, and was able to walk across stage with a perfect 4.0 (At the graduate level is hard to do) in December of 2009.
August 2010
Natalie Grace had just turned 1 year old and was growing like a weed. She was up and down and walking all around! It was amazing how quickly she had grown into a toddler. She was no longer a newborn or infant. It is like I could see her life flash before my eyes. She and daddy had spent the previous 10 months together at home and we could not be happier.
Miss Birthday Girl opening her 1st Birthday gifts!
Except for 10 months now, Chris had been without a job and we were struggling just to pay the bills and stay afloat. Chris had been on over 30 interviews in that long 10 months without any luck of a decent full-time job. With the cost of daycare and babysitting, it was better for Chris just to stay at home instead of go and take a minimum wage job at Wal-mart or McDonald's. It was at the end of this month that Chris and I had a heart-to-heart talk with each other and with God. We felt it was time for Chris to look at a different career.
Chris had taught with me before in various Sunday School classes at numerous churches so I knew he was good with kids. In fact, after Natalie was born I saw a side of Chris I had never seen before. He is AMAZING with kids! I love that about him! We decided late one night in August for Chris to pursue the teaching field. It was then he began to work on his Alternative Certification.
December 2010
Chris had been working on his certification full time now and was nearly complete with all the paperwork, tests and classes. I was still teaching at Grove and LOVING it. In fact it was during this month that I was awarded a very prestigious title of Teacher of the Year for Grove School. I was awarded the "Pottawatomie County Teacher of Today" award for our entire county. These were priceless awards for me and I never thought I would achieve such a career goal in my TWENTIES. I felt like I had just accomplished something HUGE and it felt great!
Grove School "Teacher of the Year" 2010-2011!
"Pottawatomie County Masonic Teacher of Today 2011"
May 2011
Chris and Natalie had been in Houston on and off for about 3 months looking for Chris a teaching job in the Houston metro area. His parents now lived in Conroe and we had hoped to be able to move and be closer to them and my parents as well. This was a very hard 3 week stretch as I had not seen Chris or Natalie for over 20 days and it was the end of the school year at Grove. This was the first time in my career at Grove that Chris had missed a concert of mine. I knew it was all for the better though.
On Friday, May 27th, on my last day at school at Grove, I got a phone call shortly before 10am stating that Chris had gotten a job offer!! It had been 20 long months of waiting to try to find that perfect job for Chris and it had all come together! It was an amazing feeling and i could not believe it was actually happening and we would be moving to Houston soon. We started telling people "Houston, we have a problem... THE DAVIS Family is coming to town!" There was only a few hours left for me to tell all of my kids at Grove goodbye and that I would not be back in the Fall. It was a day full of mixed emotions, I was excited to be able to start a new life in Houston but sad to see my wonderful kids and job go and have to say good-bye. But none-the-less, I knew God was in control and was excited to see the next chapter of our lives.
June 2011
After countless interviews int the Houston metro area, I still did not have a job teaching music or band. I had decided that I was more marketable in the elementary field so I had stopped putting in applications for band jobs and focused more on elementary jobs. I went to interview at an elementary school in Spring ISD called Booker Elementary. The interview went like all the other ones I had been on in the last month and I didn't expect a phone call. About 3 hours after the interview concluded, I got a job offer from Booker Elementary. It truly was a GOD THING! It may not be the ideal job for me (I want to be teaching BAND) but it works for us none-the-less!
October 2011
Umm.... this was a little unexpected but Chris and I saw another PINK LINE. Since the last time around it took us 15+ months and neither of us were getting any younger, we decided to start trying to grow our family from 3 to 4. After just 2 months of trying, we got a PINK LINE! We were a little shocked at first since it happened so quickly (All of us were... in fact, some people were so shocked they didn't even say anything after we told them!) but after a few days we saw the big picture and yet again we looked to GOD! We knew that God was in CONTROL!
January 2012
After 17 weeks of waiting to see if Natalie was going to have a baby sister or baby brother, we saw the ultrasound technician point to the important part which depicted a BABY BROTHER! David Luke Davis will be joining our family in June 2012! I feel I can now die a happy woman. I will soon have 1 of each! That too was part of my plan 10+ years ago when I painted a picture of my life!
ITS A BOY!!!
May 2012
After another 10 long months of waiting, Chris and I have finally sold our 1st house in Shawnee. We have been living with my in-laws since then and will continue to live with them until after Baby Luke comes and we are able to find new house that we will call home! This will be the house we raise our children in and the house we hope to graduate our children in!
With a little over 2 weeks to go until Baby Luke arrives (at the latest), Chris and I are wrapping up our first year of teaching in Texas and beginning to look into our future. With the sell of the house and Baby Luke joining our family soon, we are truly beginning the next chapter in our lives together. I feel as if we have been in a 10 month "holding pattern" since moving down here in June of 2011 and I cannot wait for this new chapter to begin. In everything, Chris and I have learned to trust God and remember HE IS IN CONTROL!
Looking back at the 11 years since graduating High School, I have had an amazing journey and I have basically achieved EVERYTHING I had on my "10 Year Bucket List". I am VERY grateful to God for providing me with these people, things and events in my lifetime that have led me to this day! I think the picture I painted on May 25, 2001 is remarkably similar to the picture of my life right now. I AM BLESSED and I OWE IT ALL TO GOD! Without Him none of this would have happened or be possible! Thank you Lord, for Your continued blessings!
This is a true reminder...
GOD IS GOOD... ALL THE TIME!
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