Where the Wind Comes Sweeping Down the Plain

Good times... Good Friends

June 18-23, 2014

Norman, OK

Wednesday, June 18th

We arrived in Norman around 5:30 and went to the West Side Walmart to get some OU shirts and attire since we live down in Houston where OU stuff is not available. We were able to get several shirts for me and a shirt for each of the kids plus a hat for Chris! After we finished here to went on over to Jeff and Wendy's house where we were staying while in Norman.

Now our vacation in Norman had officially started. We came in to Jeff and Wendy's house to see their 2 kids all grown up. The last time we saw them back in March of 2013 they were 5 months and 2 years. Now these two were 20 months and nearly 4. It is amazing how much they had grown up. When we arrived our kids ran into the house almost as if it were their own and started to play with all the toys. Patrick and Caroline were kinda in shock themselves and started to get upset that all of their toys were being played with. There was about 20-30 minutes of screaming and fits but then almost like magic everyone started getting along. In fact, they all became pretty good friends once they got over the initial shock!

Thursday, June 19th 
Today we were scheduled to go to Shawnee to see all of my teaching friends from Grove. Some of my best friends from Grove had scheduled a lunch at one of the local favorites at 1 pm. We decided to leave Norman a little early so we could explore our old hometown. We started by stopping by our very first home together- Rock Creek Apartments in Norman. We only lived there for about 5 months but it was still our home! 

Our very first "home" together! Lots of memories here! 

We got to Shawnee around 10:30 am and almost immediately after we got off of I-40 we noticed that the heat gauge on our car was spiking up unexpectedly. We decided to take it to the nearest car shop to see what was wrong. Three shops later we discovered that my car had a broken front gasket and would need to be repaired before we could leave Oklahoma (I am writing a completely separate blog for this whole ordeal... A lesson in patience indeed).

Fortunately, I was able to eat lunch with 8 of my teacher friends from Grove, which was the highlight of my Oklahoma trip for sure! We were able to catch up with each other's lives and our teaching careers and some of them had even retired (they are truly the lucky ones). I sure to miss Grove and wish I would just pick up that whole school, neighborhood and teaching environment and place it down here in Houston! But I am so very grateful that despite the crazy car problems that God allowed me to not only have lunch with my friends but also have an extended fellowship session with a few of them.

After this we discovered that the car would in fact have to go to a "real" body shop and we needed to head back to Norman. We quickly left the small body shop in Shawnee and made a quick pit-stop by our old house in North Shawnee on our way out of town. That poor house and neighborhood have not changed a bit! In fact, the mailbox still had DAVIS written on it!

Our first house on Liberty Circle. 

We headed out for Norman to get our car into the Chevy dealership by 5 pm. It was here that we were given a loaner car (thankfully, because I don't know how crazy I would have been without one). Luckily we made it there by 5 pm and got all set-up with the loaner. We were told that our car should be ready by Friday afternoon or Saturday at the latest so I was not too worried.

We were able to have a great evening with Jeff and Wendy and Chris Calvert, another great friend of Chris's from back in the day that evening. This was also the 1st time we were able to swim in Jeff and Wendy's pool. Natalie just loved this and felt right at home in the water. Luke, on the other hand... Didn't like it and spent the majority of the time pushing the car around the backyard. Except for the last few minutes when Luke thought he would just put his feet in the hot tub... little did he know it was deeper than he thought. Poor Chris Calvert jumped in, phone, wallet and all, to help save him! Luke was a little panicked after that! We decided to go ahead and call it a night at that point!

Natalie learning to use the pool noodle the first night. 

Natalie and daddy having fun in the pool. 

AND all Luke wanted to do was push the car around. 

Friday, June 20th 
Despite our car being in the shop we decided to go and hang out with my college roommate Jessica. She is a teacher as well and had 2 kids that were approximately the same age as Natalie and Luke. We met up with her and her husband, Andy last summer too when they were traveling in south Texas so we wanted to keep up this yearly tradition. We went to her house in Yukon and stayed for a few hours with hopes of returning to Norman and getting our car out of the shop.

I love you Jessica! Miss you girly! 

Luke and Evie! They have grown up so much. 

Evie, Luke, Alex and Natalie! 

We got back to Norman only to be told that they had not even looked at our car yet and it would more than likely be Saturday before they looked at it to even be able to tell what is wrong or if parts needed to be ordered. I was beyond mad at this point but there was little we could do about the whole situation. We decided a remembrance tour of Norman was in order. We started with a drive by Bethel Baptist Church where Chris and I met, he propose to me and we were married. So many memories were held in that church. 

Chris and I in front if Bethel! I love you Chris Davis and I am so glad God brought us together! 

 We then went to OU campus and walk around hoping our frustrations would ease. However, we did make a stop at Braums for a milkshake stress eating binge. This was a great time spent with my kids and I loved hearing Luke say "Boomer" the whole time. We made it to the OU Foot ball stadium and a groundskeeper opened up one of the gates to let us into the stadium and on the field level. Natalie and Luke climbed the bleachers and we posed for a few pictures too but Luke just kept saying "Boomer Foot-ball". This made my heart melt!

I love that Chris is wearing a LSU shirt! 

On the North Oval... Love this spot! 

Train them young! Boomer Sooner, saxeT sucks! 

Waiting for the groundskeeper to let us in. Luke was pointing saying "foot-ball". 

Boomer Sooner! 

Love this picture and my family! 

After our OU tour we went back to Jeff and Wendy's to spend time with them, Chris Calvert and another one of Chris's friend Phil for dinner. This was the big Pool Party that they had planned for us and it was yet another fun and eventful evening!

Natalie had so much fun with Chris Calvert! 

Saturday, June 21st 
While we eagerly waited the phone call from the dealership about our car we decided to go to the OKC zoo with Jeff and Wendy and their kids. This was so much fun because our kids LOVE zoos. We had been to the OKC zoo many times while living in Shawnee and it was fun to take pictures in the same locations as before to see the difference in growth of Natalie.

It was during our time at the zoo that we got the call that our car would not be ready until AT LEAST Monday and that a part would need to be ordered! We were devastated and frustrated to say the least but we started to discuss our options. After the zoo we met up with Phil at Jimmy's Egg, another Norman favorite. This was a great breakfast but a lot more binge eating!

That afternoon Natalie and I went to the local shopping center to try to buy us some Sunday clothes since we were not planning on being here on Sunday. We had originally planned on leaving Saturday so we did not pack anything dressy enough for Sunday church. We then decided to go and do more stress eating at Cold Stone Creamery. It was Luke's first time and he LOVED it. 

Luke loves his Cold Stone Cotton Candy ice cream! 

That evening was another great meal and time of fellowship with all of our friends and we even got to play games like in the old days. In the middle the frustration of our car we were able relax and have a good time with our friends. Despite my sadness and frustration God blessed us by being with friends and having them there for encouragement. Thank you to Jeff, Wendy, Chris Calvert and Phil for helping us have a good time and just RELAX!

Jeff, Phil, My Chris and Chris Calvert. This is the old gang!
It's funny how more things change the more they stay the same! We love and miss you guys! 

Sunday, June 22nd 
We decided to go to our old home church in Shawnee, Immanuel Baptist Church. This is where Chris and I attended the entire 5 years we lived in Shawnee and all of our friends attended there. It was great to hear Dr. Todd Fisher preach once again and oddly enough we got to sit on the exact row we sat on when thought all of our hopes were lost of conceiving a child back in 2008. In fact, it was Dr. Todd's sermon that Sunday morning in October reminded us how to pray. Shortly after this sermon we discovered we were pregnant with Natalie Grace. It was priceless to not only be back in the place of these memories but to literally sit where we prayed this prayer. God is so good!

After church we decided to go back by our house again! This time we actually got out of our car to take some pictures. In fact, Natalie took this pictures for us! She is becoming quite the photographer!

It's hard to believe this was our first home! 

It still says Davis... Hehe! 

We made one final pit-stop in Shawnee to see our Plexus up line Ambassador and get a few business tips from her. She was such a motivation to us and we left feeling we can once again conquer this personal business! Thank you Kay Hawkins for the encouragement!

When we got back to Jeff's house we had one final night at the pool. This was so much fun because at this point Natalie was able to swim by herself with floaties and Luke was FINALLY getting more accustom to the pool! We had a BLAST playing in the pool and we really appreciate the hospitality of Jeff and Wendy! Without their gracious hearts we would have been literally STUCK! Thank you all so much for your kindness!

Luke having fun IN the pool! 

Monday, June 23rd 
Our car was supposed to be ready today by the latest of 3 or 4 pm so we decided to venture out and have some fun around Norman. We started by driving past Bob Stoops house about 6 times. This place was beyond MASSIVE! I couldn't believe how big it was and how close it was to not only the road but civilization! In fact we saw someone on the balcony... I don't know, maybe it was Stoops himself! 

Bob Stoops' house... Wow it was BIG! 

Chris Calvert was nice enough to offer us some spending money to "Entertain the kids" while our car was getting finished! We decided to go to Andy Alligator's Fun Park in north Norman. It was a blast and kids just loved it! Every mommy and daddy had some fun... We rode some rides and even climbed the rock climbing wall! The kids were even able to make "build-a-bear" type stuffed animals which they named "Okie" and "Andy"! Thank you Chris Calvert, you are AWESOME! 

This is such an awesome place. If you are ever in Norman, OK go check it out! 

Natalie loved the Frog Hopper ride! 

AND the bumper cars! 

This is a priceless face and truly describes her personality. 

Chris climbing the rock wall. 

Natalie and Luke making heir keepsakes! 

Around 3:30 pm we went back to the dealership to see how it was going with our car. Of course, as soon as we get there we find out it was STILL not ready! I think I was about to just completely lose it! We decided to play at the dealership's playground and Chris and I just prayed that it would all work out! Around 4:15 they paged us to let us know our vehicle was ready! PRAISE THE LORD!

We went back to Jeff and Wendy's house to get our luggage and get on the road. We were loaded and heading back by 5 pm. We made the 7+ hour trip in a little less than 7 hours and even saw Dallas Cowboy's star Emitt Smith pass us on the interstate! Our kids did FANTASTIC in the car and we made it home around 11:45pm.

No matter the circumstances... No vacation is complete without a stop at Buc-ce's!

This vacation was not at all what we expected but somehow it was still a great vacation and it was good to see friends and family. The kindness that our friend portrayed was beyond necessary and we really appreciate them. It will surely be a family vacation to never forget!

God is good... ALL the time! 

"Aunt Sissy" is My Name

And Spoiling is My Game

JUNE 15-18, 2014

Lubbock, TX 

Sunday, June 15th

Happy Father's Day Chris! We love you! Today is Father's Day and we are getting in the car to drive 9+ hours to Lubbock, TX to see our new niece Madisyn Maelyn (and her parents of course)! We had been planning this trip for about 3 months and the time had finally come to get in the car and make it happen.

We left at about 9 o'clock and within 20 minutes we had to make a pit-stop... FOR ME! Chris and I were still drinking tons of water and despite being close to home, we went ahead and stopped. Then we pushed on to get to just south of Dallas for a Rest-Stop. This was a very well kept Rest-Stop and I was impressed with the cleanliness of it. We made a few more stops to get food and let the kids stretch their legs before we made it to Lubbock around 6:15.

Our first pit-stop just south of Dallas! The kids were doing great! 

As soon as we got there I immediately went inside to take over of the "holding and spoiling" duty. In fact, I don't think I even said hello to John or gave him a hug... I just went straight to the baby! Sorry John and Leeanna (But you better get used to it). After unloading the car, Chris, the kids and John went exploring  to see what was out there. Chris and Natalie even found a horny toad.

Natalie and daddy went exploring the West Texas countryside and found a horny toad! 

Aunt Sissy is here! Wow... This was so much better than I expected! I love this little girl so much! 

Natalie's first time holding Madisyn! She absolutely loved this girl! 

Monday, June 16th

Today we went into town so John and Leeanna needed to go and weigh Madisyn at the Women's Hospital. After that they took us on a short tour of the growing Lubbock town and even took us by the beautiful campus of Texas Tech. I have been to this campus numerous times including 2 times while I was in the PRIDE of Oklahoma Marching Band. It really is a beautiful campus and I enjoyed looking at it once more.

After that we  decided to eat at Chick-fil-A and then head on over to Legacy Park, which was a HUGE and elaborate park and playground for kids. John and Chris took the kids to the playground while Leeanna, Madisyn and I went to Target to get some things we forgot to bring with us. The kids (and the boys) were worn out and hot after about an hour so we decided to head home after a short pit-stop at a Lubbock tradition of Bahama Bucks (a fancified Sno-Cone Shack).

Luke kept saying "my mommy" and was pretty jealous most of the time but he finally came around. "love baby 'Mads'" as he would say! So cute! 

We then prepared for the cookout John had been planning! This was pretty neat because I am not the camping kind and have not really experienced this type cooking. Chris's Uncle and Aunt Bill and Brenda joined us as well as Leeanna's parents! This made the evening EXTRA special. We began by cooking the hotdogs over the open fire. This seemed to take a lot longer than I would have thought but they tasted good nonetheless. Luke really enjoyed this but his was COVERED in dirt and ash from the fire by the time it was all said and done.

Natalie having fun with uncle Bill and Aunt Brenda. 

It's time to roast some weenies. 

Everyone gathered around the fire!

Daddy trying to teach Luke how to roast the weenies... Notice his is in the ash! Poor guy... We cooked one for him in the microwave! 

After we cooked the hotdogs we waited for the 20-25 mph winds to die down before we attempted to roast our marshmallows for the S'Mores. Once again, this is something I had never gotten to experience at a real campsite. This was such a cool experience but I did not care for the actual S'Mores too much. I am not a chocolate fan at all but the roasted Marshmallows were INCREDIBLE! Next time I have a campout I will just eat these! YUMMY! Natalie and Luke like the roasted Marshmallows too! Thank you John and Leeanna for such a great evening of memory making!

Time for mommy to do some roasting... Of marshmallows! Yummy! 

Playtime is over for me... Back to spoiling this baby! 

Tuesday, June 17th

Today Leeanna had to go to a teacher's meeting for her school so I was the babysitter! YAY! This lead to an all-day event of me holding the baby and taking care of her! Chris, John and the kids did a lot of playing outside and even playing on the Wii but I was more than satisfied to just hold and cuddle the baby! That evening John made some AMAZING steaks on his fancy grill and even Luke chowed down on them! In fact, I think John and Leeanna were shocked at how much steak Luke can eat. The evening concluded with watching movies and just fellowshipping with each other.

All the cousins together! Luke even gave her a kiss! So sweet! 

Wednesday, June 18th

We left Lubbock today to head to Norman, OK to see our friends Jeff and Wendy amongst many others. We left around noon after a morning FULL of baby snuggles! The drive to Norman from Lubbock was the shortest of our 3 drives and probably the least scenic but our kids did FANTASTIC!

This was just half of our Family Vacation 2014 and the best and WORST is yet to come! But nonetheless, we had a GREAT time in Lubbock and cannot wait to see Baby Madisyn again! Thanks to John and Leeanna for hosting us! AND Thank You, Lord for getting us there safe and having such a GREAT time!

We all love being "Aunt Sissy", "Uncle Chris" and cousins!
We love you Madi! 

God is good... ALL the time! 

Happy 2nd Birthday Luke

Terrible Twos
June 12 & 14, 2014

Thursday, June 12th 

Today is Luke's 2nd birthday and we celebrated it by spending time outside and opening gifts before his party on June 14 with all the family. It's hard to believe that 2 years ago this little boy came into the world and blessed us so much. It has been a FABULOUS 2 YEARS and I thank God EVERYDAY for my little boy!

We started the day off with a trip to the doctor's office! Poor little guy had to get his 2 year old Well Check. This was an interesting visit because we learned that Luke was no longer considered short and FAT. He weighed in a 27 pounds and 36.5 inches tall. He was in the 96th percentile for his height and 44 percentile for his weight. These percentages were reversed at previous check-ups so we were shocked that he had grown this much. During this visit he also had to get his 2 year old shots so this kinda put a damper on his morning... BUT he was back to his normal playful self by lunch time.

Luke getting ready for his check-up 

We went over to Gigi Jackie's house for a little bit and then came home and made dinner. We opened some small gifts from Mommy and Daddy as well as had some cupcakes. At Luke's first birthday he didn't really like the cupcake but this time he scarfed it down!

Luke with his new blanket from Coach Schneider 

Luke eating his birthday cupcake. 

Saturday, June 14th 

The real celebration began on Saturday when Gigi Shirley and Poppy, Gigi Jackie and Grandpa, Auntie Allie as well as Grandma Pat and Mike came to help celebrate Luke's birthday. It was a baseball themed party and most everyone wore baseball attire including Luke. He has been a huge BASEBALL kick recently so I thought this seemed fitting.

All decked out for the party! 

The baseball theme decorations.  

We had a great BBQ with hamburgers, hot dogs, fruit and an amazing Baseball Cookie Cake for Luke. After lunch we let Luke open the rest of his gifts. He got some amazing gifts from everyone but his favorite was probably the dump truck mommy got him or the golf set Natalie got him. Luckily, Poppy and Uncle Mike were here to help him learn how to swing the golf clubs. He also loved the Flap Book that Gigi Jackie got him and he LOVES his CARS swing that Gigi Shirley and Poppy got him!

The baseball birthday cake. Everyone LOVED it. 

Getting ready to sing Happy Birthday! I love his face! 

Luke opening gifts. 

He loves his CARS swing! 

After opening gifts we put Luke down for a nap and then I spent some time talking with Grandma Pat and my mom while Natalie read her FROZEN book from Gigi Jackie. After some fellowship time we played the Wii and challenged each other to things like bowling and golf. We are a very competitive family and had lots of fun trying to beat each other.

Grandma Pat and I enjoying time together after the party. 

I love you Grandma Pat. 

Auntie Allie and Luke after the party! 

After Luke woke up we decided to go to dinner before Gigi Shirley, Poppy, Grandma Pat and Uncle Mike had to head back to East Texas. We chose our favorite restaurant, Chuy's. Everyone ate lots and even Grandma Pat liked it. Luke was so happy on his birthday that he was able to get 2 Push-pops after dinner. Then we took some great family photos before they left. This was special because anytime we get to see Grandma Pat we take several pictures since she lives so far away and we hardly get to see her. This was VERY special!

This was a VERY special few days and we are so lucky to have been able to celebrate Luke with not only my parents AND Chris's parents but also Grandma Pat and Uncle Mike. Thank You, Lord for these blessings! Cannot wait to see what happens between now and Luke's 3rd Birthday! I love you, Luke Davis!

God is Good... ALL the time!

My Graduate

Natalie's Pre-K Graduation 

May 15, 2014 

West Conroe Baptist Church, Conroe, TX 

In the midst of the end of my own school year with STAAR testing going on, concerts and programs and staff meetings galore I blinked and my little angel was done with Pre-K and ready to graduate. This year had flown by so fast and it had not dawned on me that Natalie Grace was DONE with Preschool. The past 3 years had come and gone and my little girl has grown up so much.

The last week of school she got her "report card" from her Pre-K day-school which stated she knew all of her CAPITAL and lower-case letters, the sounds they can make, numbers and was reading sight-words at above grade level. Her teachers said that she was ready for Kindergarten and would do really well. They also said she was a social butterfly and every one's friend. This made me so happy to have the "Best of both worlds" type of a child. Thank You, Lord for this beautiful blessing!

We celebrated Natalie's graduation with Gigi Shirley and Poppy (my parents), Gigi Jackie and Grandpa (Chris's parents) and Chris, Luke and I. This particular day was a HUGE day at my school as it was the day of the School-Wide Talent Show of which I was the committee chair... BUT I had to be a mom this day! I had leave work early just to get all the dinner and treats for Natalie's graduation party and Chris skipped his after-school tutorials to celebrate our graduate.

Natalie's cookie cake 

Everyone arrived around 3pm and the party began. We had a spread of deli wraps and fruit as well as a lovely Cookie Cake just for Natalie. She opened some gifts including a "Build-a-Bear" graduation outfit for her favorite bear "Rainbow Claire". This was so cute and she was able to take the bear to her graduation ceremony and show her friends.

Natalie and "Rainbow Claire" the graduate bear! 

Natalie and her friend, Aubrey with "Rainbow Claire" the graduate bear! 

We got to the church about 1 hour before the show began. This was a combined End-of-Year Spring Concert for all the children as well as the graduation ceremony for both Pre-K and Kindergarten. This was special because my parents and Gigi Jackie and Grandpa also got to see and hear Luke sing while they were here to celebrate Natalie.

Luke's Toddler class sang 2 songs including "Jesus Loves Me" and "Mama Shark". Being the mom that I am I left my seat in the audience to go up to the front to get a better view of Luke. He was very shy at first and didn't sing very much. Then he saw me at the front and started to show his true colors. He began to jump around and spin while trying to sing. Then during the "Mama Shark" song he really started to sing and do the motions. This made me so proud to see my "little guy" come out of his shell and be a BIG BOY! I am so proud of you Luke!

Luke singing... he is such a stinker! He was so shy until he saw MOMMY! Hehe! 

Then it was Natalie's turn to sing. She was already in her white graduation attire and did a fantastic job. She had been practicing her songs for a while and you could really tell. This was her best school or church performance to date! I could not have been more proud of her!

Natalie singing "Fruits of the Spirit" 

I am so proud of my Nattie Grace

After her songs were over they dismissed some of the audience and then began the graduation ceremonies. Once again, I was down in front getting a better view and pictures. Tears began to fall from my eyes as the school director called her name out "Natalie Davis who wants to be a skater when she grows up". She stopped and got her certificate and then posed almost perfectly for a picture. 

Natalie getting her Pre-K certificate 

Congratulations to the GRADUATE! 

After the ceremony we went to the reception and let the kids have cake and punch. Natalie got to see her teachers and friends one more time and then we went home. It was a wonderful day of celebrating our graduate. Thanks to Gigi Shirley and Poppy as well as Gigi Jackie and Grandpa for helping us celebrate! 

Natalie and her teachers Mrs. Becky and Mrs. Celeste 

Thank you to both sets of grand-parents for coming and helping celebrate Miss Natalie. 

The proud family! 

In just a few short months our graduate will be attending KINDERGARTEN. If you thought there were tears flowing today, just wait til August! In fact, the very 1st day of school is Natalie's 5th birthday! Where has the time gone?

Thank You, Lord for giving me Natalie Grace and for allowing ME to be her mommy! I am beyond blessed and I cannot believe how much she has grown up! I love you, Natalie Grace! 

God is good... ALL the time!