REDBERRY

I have a blackberry phone...it is red. Katelyn sees a commercial about a blackberry and starts talking to Jon about it. He says "you know mommy has a blackberry" and she replies "no she doesn't, she has a redberry" I thought that was cute!!

Christmas Part 1

Here is Heston playing Cannon's DS. Santa had to make a last minute exchange to make this 3 year old a happy camper this Christmas. Santa had originally gotten him a Leapster Game System, but once he found his cousin's DS...there was NO getting around Santa getting him one too. Needless to say, he LOVES it.

We had a white Christmas!! It started snowing in the wee hours of Christmas morning. Jon and I had our kids at our house for Santa to come. Josh woke up first and once we saw the snow really coming down, we decided if we were to get to mom and dad's we needed to get the little ones up and start getting ready to leave. We woke up about 6:15 and by 8:15 had "had" Christmas from Santa and were heading to moms. We made it to the Ridge safe and started up when we went around the first curve we knew we wouldn't make it up. SOOOO we called mom and she said that dad (who was on his way to work) was stuck coming down and Travis was on his way to help him. So we waited on Travis (who has a 4 wheel drive) to come rescue us. He could not get dad out and dad had to call a tow truck... finally about noon we had all made it to moms house and had 5" of snow...Josh built a snow man and Jon and Josh threw snow balls at each other and Callie was in heaven...she loves the snow. We then had the kids unwrap their gifts and then us adults unwrapped ours and we got done about 4...YES 4 hours of opening gifts....it was unbelievable -- we even had gifts we waited to open til later because it was just so much. The only thing that had been accidently thrown away and later retrieved from the "bow bag" were some earrings for Katelyn from Travis and Deb. We searched and searched and in the last bag we found them. Thank Goodness. I will post more pictures and more stories in the coming days, but for now this will have to do. We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!!

Clerk & Master Christmas Party 2010

Here we are at the Party at THE CAR BARN

Here is Jeff (my old boss) and his wife Angie at the party.

Thought it might be nice to know what he looks like since I've written so much about him on this blog site.

Last week we hired a babysitter and went to my office Christmas party. It was fun. We ate and had a Chinese Christmas exchange. Jon ended up with some tools and I ended up with $10 cash and a box of chocolates. All in all it was a great night.

Kate has had pink eye and we've been treating it for the past several days and luckily no one else (Heston) has caught it. Heston has had a cough and runny nose, but seems to be fighting any kind of infection very well as he has not been running any kind of fever. Josh is fine...staying active with friends while out of school for the holidays.

Nonnie and Mi Jean made it here safely last Saturday and Travis, Deb and kids will be here Thursday. SNOW is in the forecast for Christmas day-they are saying a light dusting in the valleys and 1-3" in the mountains. So who knows...but the thought of a little snow on Christmas is nice.

I have decided to get a second opinion concerning my eye surgery, so I might be putting it off once again. I will keep you posted as it all progresses.

As Heston says "Santa is looking at you" so be good!! Until next time...

All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth...

Josh is playing basketball again this year. He is a good little player too. He is playing starting point guard and is doing AWESOME. He is leading in his stats and leading his team, which is, so far, undefeated. We'll post more as the season continues.







While it is hard to see, Katelyn has lost her 2 front top teeth. They have been out since the week before Thanksgiving and the new ones still haven't come through the gums. She got $2 from the tooth fairy.

Again, all is fine here. I have a few more presents to buy, wrap and ship!! The forecast is calling for snow on Sunday...it is cold here and they say it will remain that way through Christmas.

Since I am anxious about my upcoming eye surgery, I am getting a second opinion and may still choose not to go through with it. Just keep praying I can come to the right decision for me!

SORRY!!

Here are the kids on Thanksgiving 2010


Here they are at the Lions Club Park in Orange, TX in November 2010



Halloween 2010

Josh- Army Guy
Kate - Witch...even though I did not like the idea
Heston - Cars Lighting McQueen's Pit Crew




Halloween 2010
NOTICE THE COSTUME CHANGES
Kate: Cheerleader (TEXAS LONGHORNS CHEERLEADER)
Josh: Baseball player
Heston: same





Kate at Disney Princess on Ice

Jon at Princess on Ice, with the $10 drink

Josh at Football Superbowl

Hope these pictures make up for the lack of posts lately. Since I have taken this new job, my spare computer time is far and few between. In October Jon took Kate to Princesses on Ice. She really enjoyed it. He took her out to dinner beforehand and when he asked her where she wanted to eat, she said Taco Bell!!

Josh had a great football season and learned a lot. He even chipped a tooth...so it was rough and tough. He lost the SuperBowl, but was undefeated until then. We have since started Basketball.

Again, we remain extremely busy.

Katelyn is really taking off in reading. She is learning so much and she loves school.

Heston is a mess - he has recently moved to the 4 year old class and seems to be doing well there. He is still laid back and goes with the flow. Our biggest challenge with him is making him take a bath....needless to say, he is typical boy and HATES them.

Jon and I are doing fine. We are excited about the holidays and so are the kids. I wrapped several gifts last night and the little ones helped me by putting them under the tree. I still have more shopping to do, and hope to get it completed tonight after work.

Thanksgiving we kept simple, meaning out to eat at Ryan's (a local all you can eat restaurant) Neither me or mom wanted to spend all day in the kitchen. It was wonderful, no cooking, no cleaning...actually enjoyed my day off kinda day. We ate, watched football and got our Black Friday plan in place. Jon and I do go Black Friday shopping and we did get just about everything on our list, so all in all it was a success. It was cold and raining though, which made me think for a minute if it was worth it, I have decided it was.

Please pray for me (us) as I (we) are deciding about an eye surgery for me. It would correct my vision, but isn't the "normal" lasik procedure, so I am a little nervous. Right now it is scheduled for January 12th. I will have to miss some days at work as well, which isn't my biggest concern, but like I said this isn't the normal procedure so recovery etc takes longer. Just pray if I am not supposed to have it that I will not have a peace about it.

Thanks!! Until next time, Cheers...and have a great holiday season!

FUNERAL

Here is Josh, Kate and Heston looking at Daddy Lloyd.

The funeral went ok. It was tiring. The kids did SOOOOO great! We were so proud. Heston did not really understand what all was going on. Kate got it a little and of course Josh got it completely. Kate drew a picture of an angel for him. Mi Jean asked if she could place it in the casket (under his pillow) and Kate said sure. He was awarded the American Flag as he was a WWII veteran. He was born in Goose Creek, TX and was an electrician and mechanic. He worked for DuPont Sabine River Works for 36 years and retired in 1982. There was a picture in the program that I had never seen before. He was really muscular and had dark wavy hair. One of my fondest memories is when I was little, he ate a salad I had made from the scraps my mom had put aside...I worked so hard on my salad and was upset when no one would eat it, but DL came through and ate it for me....The other memories are more recent, He came to Fort Worth when I had Katelyn and Heston. We have pictures of him holding each of them. He also drove 6 hours with MJ to help me with Kate while I was having difficulties in my pregnancy with Heston. He was always willing to help. I am sosososo thankful that Jon and I went to Orange for a few days while we were in TX for Christmas last year, as that was the last time I saw him alive. Josh has A LOT of makeup work from missing so much school. He has also made the basketball team again this year so we are currently overlapping sports: both football and basketball, so we are staying extremely busy. Kate is doing great in school. On Oct 28th I met with her teacher and she is right on track with everything and her teacher said she is extremely smart. Heston is also fine, I talked to the director of his daycare today and she is wanting to move him up to the 4 year old class, We have decided to try it for a week and see how it goes. I will have to keep you posted. Jon and I are shopping for a new dryer- isn't there always something that needs to be replaced or repaired??? I sure feels that way! Until next time....

SAD sad day

Today Daddy Lloyd passed away. We are all a little stunned. After his stroke on September 2nd, he was coming along nicely in recovery. He was awake this morning when the nurse gave him his breakfast. We still aren't sure of a cause of death, but we have a few suspicions. Mom and dad are leaving today and taking Katelyn with them. Me, Jon and the boys will leave out first thing in the morning. We have rented cars, and mom and dad have the bigger one, so that is why they are taking Kate with them tonight.

Josh has basketball tryouts today and tomorrow. I have talked to the coach and he has said it is fine for Josh to miss tomorrow...he will be able to make a determination since he was on the team last year. I have paid time off, but Jon does not, so we have worked with the daycare to get next week free for Heston. As of now, we do not plan to return to Texas for our planned Christmas trip-although we are still making plans-I am not sure it is really going to hit me til I get to Orange and see everyone. It is hard to sit at work right now, knowing I have so much to do tonight when we get home. I am sure I will not be able to sleep. I am not sure how the kids will take it, Kate is the one I am most concerned with. Heston is too little to understand and Josh is old enough to process everything, but Kate, she is just at that age...where.. I dont know...how she'll react. We have decided not to tell Josh til after basketball tryouts...just want to keep him as focused as possible.

Daddy Lloyd was a gerat man, a great grandfather and we are all going to miss him dearly.

My mom has created a monster...

Just so there is no confusion on what Kate's favorite store is....it is Hobby Lobby. When you ask, this is the store that comes out of her mouth. I was hoping to avoid this store for as long as I could but last spring my mom took her here and life just hasn't been the same. Kate is VERY artistic and crafty...every time she gets a chance she asks grandsherry to take her there...she looks at everything; to pick out what she wants today and what she wants next time she gets to go. She remembers everything too. She absolutely cracks us up. So today, she got to go since she is out of school for fall break and mom is keeping the kids M, W, F this week...we thought whatever she picked out would also keep her busy for the week she is off from school. Also, thanks Nannie and PaPa Jay for Kate and Josh's bikes. They love them and we can't keep them off of them...great exercise in this lovely fall weather we have had lately.

On an additional note, Kate and I both went to the eye doctor last Saturday. Both of us have a new prescription, both of our eyes have gotten worse...but it isn't too bad.

I have been referred to a lasik surgeon to see if we can get my left eye any better, not perfect, just better. We will see what he has to say before any decision is made.

Josh has one regular season football game left, then play offs. His team is still undefeated, so he will most likely go to the superbowl. It will be well in to November before we are done. He has also brought home basketball try out permission form...which will start in a few weeks. We shall see how that goes. He also made honor roll this 9 weeks and received his AR (accelerated reader) shirt. We are proud of him.

Heston is fine...no real news with him.

Jon and I are in need of another freezer. We are looking at a used one tonight. With all my couponing it only makes sense to get things while they are on sale and stock up...My freezer just isn't big enough. We are also in need of a new printer and washer and dryer so we are shopping around and making a budget in order to get all the new things we need. That is about all the news for now....Oh and Jon took a job with Nations Glass here in Chattanooga. We are still working All Glass and Mirror, just going slower than hoped. So he is there and content for now.

NEW JOB

I am happy to report that the new job is going well. Yesterday I finally got my desk, computer, phone etc... so I can really work now. I do believe that I am going to like it just fine. There are so many perks that make it even more enjoyable. On Wednesday I survived my first courthouse evacuation...apparently due to some repair work the alarm went off. We have to wear identification tags all the time...not only to get in through the detectors but just in case there is an event where they have to identify our bodies...comforting I know.

The kids are enjoying school, Josh had his first field trip to the Battlefields yesterday and Kate had her first field trip to the Library today. They are both learning a lot. Heston is upset because he can't ride the bus with them, but he does feel like a big boy because he is in Ms. Flo's class at school. He is happy to tell you all about it and remind you all the time!! I let him walk to the bus stop with Josh and Kate in the mornings and I pick him up there and take him to school. Well this morning, we were running late (when the alarm went off, I turned it off b/c I thought it was Saturday, only to wake up at 7:15 to realize it was Friday)-- I let the kids walk to the bus stop and the bus got there before I did so Josh got Kate on the bus and brought Heston back home and missed the bus this morning, so Jon took him to school. I am so proud of Josh, he could have told Heston to walk home or stay and wait for me, but he did the right thing, he put Kate on the bus and brought Heston home (and Heston was crying at the top of his lungs) and he missed the bus. He wasn't late to school-lesson learned, Heston can't go with them in the mornings anymore, he just wants to be "big" like them.

Josh's football is going well. His team is undefeated and tomorrow they play another undefeated team...I am hopeful they will win and we will have a chance to go to the superbowl in November. He is doing well in school too so we are proud of him! He has had some minor problems with the last set of ear tubes so we go back to the ENT on 10/21 for another followup.

Kate is learning to read, she is trying so hard and really doing pretty well. I am proud of her. She is loving school and doing well. And as I already mentioned, Heston is doing well.

Jon is staying busy with a friend of ours (Kristi's husband, Kevin) He is a general contractor and thinks he can keep Jon pretty busy through Christmas. We also had an All Glass call this week so as of now, Heston will stay in daycare.

I am about to start teaching a class on couponing at church. It starts Sunday and runs the month of October. It has changed our lives. It is a wierd concept but it works. It is a little time consuming but when I can feed a family of 5 on $50.00 a week it is worth it. I can't wait to show these people the tricks of the trade!

That is it for the Davis news...until next time...CHEERS

FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE

First play of first game


End of Second game


end of 2nd game


Here he is...# 45

Well it is football time in Tennessee. If you are not from here you would not know that "It's football time in Tennessee" is a big saying around here. It is that time of year, the Davis family's favorite time of year. We all love us some football. Of course our teams are Texas teams: Cowboys, Texas Longhorns, TCU (and LSU). We are also BIG fans of the Hixson Bears, Josh's team!! This is his first year playing and I was very nervous on Saturday for his first game! He comes home from practice with some big bruises, so I was worried of what his first 2 games would hold. The jamboree was held at Finley Stadium, where the UTC Mocs play. It was a cool experience for him (and for us). Josh is # 45 and plays defense. I am relieved that he is the one doing the hitting and not the one being hit. At practice last week, he recovered a fumble-he knows the game and is showing his coach that even though this is his first year he is quite the athlete. We ran into some parents we played baseball with and they all comment on what a good athlete Josh is....

NEW JOB!!

Ok, here it goes!!

I am going to the Clerk and Master's office for Hamilton County. This is a good job with good benefits and after a meeting today with my new boss, I can say I am excited and happy about this opportunity. I will be in the Probate division (which does Estates) and I will be doing accountings (I am not a numbers person so PRAY-really it is just adding and subtracting but still) but, my new boss said he thinks my background fits this division and since Jeff is the Probate Judge then I will still be working with him to a certain degree.

I will have 12 paid personal days a year, after 6 months I will have 1 week paid vacation, then after 1 year it goes to 2 weeks vacation, 5 years goes for 3 weeks, and 10 goes to 4. I will have 11 paid holidays- I can also go in at 8:30, take an hour lunch and I will get off at 4:30 (Some know I was concerned that I would have to be there at 8 and have to pay more in child care and have a hectic morning schedule with the kids) I will also have an hour for lunch. Really, this is better hours too!

Our whole family will have health insurance for a very reasonable price a month...around $50.00 a month for all 5 of us! This is very big, as Jon has gone without health insurance since he worked at AAA Glass in Fort Worth.

I will also get more going into retirement each year and they will pay my parking ($660.00 a year) --which my employer currently pays, but if I had to take it over it would have been a huge expense.

I will also be making more so with the raise and benefits it will be very close to a $15,000.00 raise a year.

One other perk...the county is one of the first things to "shut down" for inclement weather, so if the kids' school is out due to snow etc, I will have off and it doesn't count against my vacation/personal days. SO...after 6 months I will have 17 paid days off a year, plus 11 paid holidays...and after a year it will go to 22 paid days off and 11 paid holidays! I am excited about this opportunity and thank the Lord for it! Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers during the last few weeks...ALSO, in the past 24 hours All Glass and Mirror has had 3 calls-so Praise God again!

Employment Update

Many of you have inquired into my employment status. As of now, I have a job. I can go with Jeff to be his Secretary or I can go on as a temporary employee in the Clerk and Masters office. Both positions have pros and cons, which are too lengthy to discuss on a blog. I can also choose to go on unemployment. Jeff has been pushing for me to go with the Clerk and Masters position for several reasons: 1. it pays more 2. it should be a permanent position, meaning, if he doesn't get re-elected in 4 years, I still have a job 3. it has the same type benefits as the secretary's position so no real down side in that department. The only really bad thing (in my opinion) is that I would go in as a temp which means I could possibly lose my job without much warning. I have been promised that it would not be like that, but we all know now, promises can be broken. As of right now, Jon and I are really praying this situation out...I have asked a lot of questions to the Clerk and Master and am waiting to hear back-once I do, it might be more clear what will be taking place.

Crazy turn of events...

Ok, we have all known for months now that my boss, Jeff Atherton, ran for Judge. He won, and the plan was to take me with him to be his secretary. Well, apparently there is a "hitch in the giddy up". I CANNOT go with him as his secretary and to save time in a long drawn out story, you have the bottom line. The Clerk & Masters office (which, I realize doesn't mean anything to you) is trying desperately to create a "new position" for me so that I will have a job in 2.5 weeks. However, they are NOT optimistic in getting the "new position" approved by the county mayor. I found all this out yesterday about 3 and had an interview today with the C & M office. It went well, in fact I have another lunch interview tomorrow with several department heads. However, with that being said, they were all quick to tell me that in 14 years this Clerk and Master has been in that position, he has NEVER had a request granted by the Mayor. So I am NOT too hopeful it will all work out. We just don't know what will happen in the coming weeks so we just ask that you all pray about it with us. God can work it all out. I totally feel like I have been misled, and that the rug was taken out from under my feet, and I can't do anything about it. So come Sept 1st we'll see if I still have a job. Just trying to keep you posted...

1st day of 5th grade and Kindergarten 2010

Mom with Kids on 1st of Kindergarten


Dad with kids on first day of Kindergarten



Kids on Kate's first day of school

Kate (with Heston in the background, he felt left out)

Kate again

Kate (again, with Heston in the background)

Josh's first day of 5th Grade

Josh again

Josh again!

Ok, first you will notice that Heston has his backpack on too. He felt VERY left out of the "getting ready for school" process. There was no lunch for him to make, no backpack to fill with supplies. He cried quite a bit last night. SOOO we let him take his backpack with him in the car to daycare. He was happy to do that.

Jon and I took extra time this morning to take Katelyn into the school to help her through the process of the first day. She was a little anxious yesterday, but once I explained the plan, she was ready to go. She is such a big girl. She doned a new outfit, new shoes, and a new backpack.

Josh actually started yesterday, while Kate started today. Our schools here do a "phase in" for kindergartners. She went today and will go next Thursday, then on 8/23 she will start going all day, everyday.

My work hours are about to change which means some changes in our morning routine. I normally get up at 6 and get "me" ready. Then at 7 I wake up the kids and get them ready and we are out the door at 7:40 and I arrive at work at 8:30. When I make the transition to the courthouse, I will have to be there at 8:00 am sharp! SOOO we will ALL be getting up earlier. I will leave the house with the kids at 7:00 and drop them off at morning care (which is a school aged daycare at their school. It is $4.50 a day for both kids for the morning session and $9.00 a day for both kids for the afternoon session) So it is what we will be doing. Jon has to be at work at 7:30 so there is really no other option. GrandSherry has volunteered to come a few days a week to the house at 7:30 to take the kids to school so that will help on busier weeks. She has also offered to pick them up a few days a week and take them home for some extra "chill time". Having both parents work, full time, is just hard on little ones. So we are trying to come up with the best plan for everyone. We'll see how it all works out as we get into this new routine.

As I am typing, GrandSherry is in line picking up Kate from school. I hope to get a good report once they get home. To keep things less complicated, Josh is riding the bus home for the first 2 weeks, then when Kate starts full-time they will both start going to aftercare at school. Hope this let's you all see a little glimpse of what is going on here. Until next time, Cheers!

Vacation 2010

Me Heston and Jon


Me all wet



me and Jon

the kids at the aquarium

Kate

Josh

Kate and Josh

Jon and Heston all wet

Jon and Heston

Heston

Last week we met Jay, Jean and Steph for vacation in Gatlinburg, TN. We had a great time. We got there on Monday afternoon and left Friday morning. The kids loved it. We had great accommodations with a 3 bedroom 3 bath condo that had a view of a rushing creek and mountains. It had a swimming pool and hot tub, which we visited everyday but Wednesday.

On Monday Jay and Jean kept the kids while Jon, Steph and I went to eat a good dinner at a Mexican food place on the "strip". We came back and got Josh and walked down to the strip to check out what all was there and what we should do the next day. There are just tons of little shops along the way. We had fun looking around. On Tuesday, me, Jon, Steph and the kids walked the strip to Ripley's Aquarium. The kids LOVED it, and we adults had fun too. The kids did A LOT of walking and did not complain once about being hot or tired. They were real troopers. On Wednesday we went into Pigeon Forge and did some shopping and went to Dolly Partins Dixie Stampede dinner and show. The kids loved that too. In fact, Kate and Heston both woke up Thursday morning asking if we could do again. Josh loved Gatlinburg in general and told us and I quote "When I get older, I am going to bring my family to Gatlinburg.:" It was sweet to hear. On Thursday, Steph took Josh and Kate to play mini golf while Jay, Jean, Jon, me and Heston drove up the mountain to see the views and explore. While there we saw just amazing views all around us. Jon and I walked with Heston up the last 1/2 mile of the mountain to be at the "tallest point in Tennessee"-needless to say it was a hike up a big hill...once we got there we did see more amazing views and once we started back down, came the rain. Jon, Heston and I got soaked. Heston had a change of clothes in his diaper bag but Jon and I got to stay wet one the way back to the condo. We then went to eat a late lunch/early dinner. When we all met back up the kids wanted to go swimming, so Steph and I took them.

Thursday was also a BIG day for me and my boss, Jeff. As you know he was running in the election for Hamilton County Chancellor (judge) and he WON! He will take office immediately. It looks like September 1st will be the "big day". I will be going with him and will become a county employee. This is considered a "promotion" but I will miss the people I work with here at Burnette, Dobson and Pinchak. They have made it easy to come to work each day.

On an additional note, Jon has had several calls for All Glass and Mirror and completed his first job on Saturday. We are hoping the business takes off so he has some flexibility we need for our family. Above are pictures from the trip.

Update on Josh

We went to his ENT dr. yesterday and while the fluid and his hearing was better than last time, he still thinks we should put in another set of tubes. So surgery is scheduled for 8/20/10. It is about a 5 minute procedure with no IV's or needles required. They give him some thing to put him to sleep that requires nothing painful. He can resume normal activities immediately. It is not a real big deal, but he will miss school that day.

We are getting along fine here. It is HOT and the kids ask daily about going swimming, which I will take them this weekend...even if it means not getting things on my to-do list accomplished.

We have officially opened All Glass and Mirror, our advertising is out and business licenses have been purchased, we are just waiting on customers to call...so in preparation and anticipation we have bought a truck...new to us but not new...we will be selling the old blue truck (which has a ton of things wrong with it) we got a good deal and are hoping for a successful business!

that's about it for now...until next time...Cheers!

Summer...going by too quickly!

Well, here we are, in the last 3 weeks of our summer vacation. On August 2nd we leave for a 4 night 5 day vacation to Gatlinburg, TN. We were booked to go to Gulf Shores, AL, but with the oil spill we canceled and decided to go to Gatlinburg. We have done some internet research and have come up with fun things to do with the kids. Our cabin also has a pool, which the kids will enjoy and it will be easy entertainment for them, not to mention cheap!! Josh has stayed busy playing with friends and right now he is busy working on back to school reading projects. Kate is all too ready for Kindergarten....I think she is mostly ready to be done with nap time in daycare...that is a long time to lay still and quiet when you just can't sleep. I do feel sorry for her but most days she does end up falling asleep. I have been shopping for school supplies and am almost finished...it is a never ending process, one store will have it, one store will be out so you really have to go to about 3 places before you're finished with a long and pricey list. Mom will be keeping Kate from like August 9th - the 24th when she really starts school. Kindergarten students do a phase in, so she will go 2 days during that time period. Hamilton County offers school aged child care in which Kate and Josh will go to the cafeteria after school and play, do homework, etc until Jon or I can pick them up after work. It is about 45.00 a week for both, so it won't be "breaking the bank" to send them both. I am just not comfortable enough to send just Kate so I am making Josh go too. Josh really doesn't mind though...they have fun things to do. So we have the rest of this week, next week and the week of vacation til the week school starts. Summer has gone by quickly and we will soon be back to the grind of making school lunches, doing homework, Wed. night church activities etc. Josh is also interested in playing Football, so we will be signing him up for that for the fall (August - November) and he has shown interest in trying out again for basketball...so we are officially in year round sports with him. Kate has really enjoyed swim lessons and has really learned a lot. She has one more lesson left (prepaid anyways) and I do plan on taking the kids swimming as much as possible til the end of September. I took them Sunday and they swam in the rain and had the best time. I will be taking Josh to another Dr.'s apt with his ENT Dr on Thursday. He will tell us rather or not he needs a new set of tubes...I say yes b/c the child can't hear!! So I hope to schedule that surgery after we have done most of our swimming (since he won't be able to swim for a while) I will keep you posted on that front. As you know, Jeff, my boss is running for Chancellor and early voting is underway and election day is August 5th. We are praying he wins! I will be making the move with him to Court...so I will be a Judge's secretary and a county employee. What does that mean? More holidays, more vacation, better benefits, and at least the same amount of pay, if not more...so it would be a good move for me (us) too. So keep praying!! Until next time...Cheers!

Re-united

Last Friday (6/25) Josh went to a place called Sir Gooney's (it is kinda like a Putt Putt Golf and Games) with a friend. While the original plan was for them to go to a Lookouts baseball game, the plan got changed due to possible bad weather. SO...when he left with the friend, thinking he was going to a baseball game, Jon and I decided to let him wear his All Stars baseball hat. (generally a BIG NO NO) This is the HAT that you can't get into the All Stars games, State, and World Series, without having on your head. Well, as noted above, the plan changed and while Josh was in the batting cages he took his hat off and forgot it...yep, the simple little hat that lets him play baseball every week. Well of course Jon and I were so mad when we found out and last Saturday Jon went to place an Order for his new hat. In the meantime, I prayed that somehow, someway we would get the hat back, thinking it was close to impossible, but also hoping for a small miracle and a lesson that GOD can do anything, big or little, if we have faith and ask. Well on Wednesday, Jon got a call from a friend that was on Josh's regular rec baseball team asking if Josh had lost his All Star hat. Jon replied "yes!" and our friend, Dennis said he knew who had it...and gave us his #. Yesterday, Jon met this guy, named Brandon, to get the hat. Brandon lives in Ringgold, GA and was at Sir Gonney's on Friday, saw the Hixson Hat, knew that Dennis' son played Hixson All Stars and thought it might be his or at least that he might know whose it was...well Dennis was asking around and found out it was indeed Josh's...It is a small miracle, a hat, lost in a very popular spot, picked up by someone who lives in another state, who knew someone who played in the Hixson league, who wasn't missing a hat, who found who lost the hat, who gave it back to the rightful owner, all in time for the next game...(the hat we ordered wont be here til next week so he probably wouldn't be able to play in this weeks set of games) but would have it for State...

Sleepy boy

Heston fell asleep in the car on the way home from swimming


Again...



Heston chillin...thought it was funny he had to go get his foot rest from the bathroom

Not a great pic, but this is Kate at swim lessons

Kate coloring after swimming

Jon and I putting out signs for Jeff...

We have had a nice week off from baseball. But we are starting up again tonight. Josh has a super bad sun burn and hope he can make it through practice tonight. Jon is out of town this week, but baseball practice and games are close to the house so I can manage...Kate has really learned a lot from her swim lessons...She can now swim under water from one side to the other side of the swimming pool...(on the shortest side)...She has shown a lot of improvement in the last 2 weeks. Her swimming instructor told me she was so smart (without saying in front of Kate) in a way that made me get the impression that she was way above her average student...so of course, that made me proud. Heston is fine, he's still making his way into our bed during the night but other than that, I have no complaints about the child. Josh has been busy playing ball and playing with friends, he took a long nap on Saturday afternoon. Summer seems to be going by quickly, we are anxiously awaiting Kate's start to school, if only for the savings we will have with NO DAYCARE!! Jon and I have been making a list of things we need/want once we don't have her daycare bill...sad but true...

Fun in the Sun

On Saturday Heston had a birthday party at a Park in Collegedale, TN
It is called Imagination Station-It has 2 train cars parked in the park with a bridge connecting them. It is really cool-Here he is running with his friend Tyson - Heston is in the blue shirt and Tyson is in the red shirt.


Josh had a game too, not far from the party so he went to the party too.



Heston taking a peak at the cake, the best part of a party for him.




Here he is in front of the train cars...

Here he is playing with Tyson

Kate is in Texas this week with mom and dad. I miss her so much but I am having so much fun hanging with my boys. Jon and I took them to this Birthday party, then off to Josh's game, which ended up having a 2 hour rain delay so we killed time at a mall nearby. Heston found 2 shirts at JC Penney's "that he could not live without" and we had a store credit so we let him get them...one is Alvin and the Chipmunks and the other is Diego...I finally got him to take them off last night (at 11:30pm) after we got in from Josh's game. Yep, that is right, he wore them literally from Saturday evening through late Monday night...even slept in them. It was 96 here yesterday and I kept asking him if he wanted me to take one of them off so he'd be cooler...he refused. He was so good at the games-Jon and I were both so impressed. On Saturday night Josh spent the night with a friend from the team..Bruce...so Jon and I used part of a gift card to Chili's and had dinner there. Together with only 1 kid...it was GREAT! Josh has done so good in this week's baseball games...His coach told him last night that some of his plays should be aired on ESPN...I was one proud mamma last night. He has a double header tonight so I will not be going. Last night was an awesome game and so glad I got to go (even though we are all tired today) I am trying to take advantage of these things while Kate is gone, because I keep the little ones at home during these long, hot ball games...but that means, obviously, I dont get to see Josh play all that often. Life is well with the Davis'. We are looking forward to our vacation to Gatlinburg the first week in August (we were supposed to be going to Orange Beach, AL but we canceled since the oil spill) and am trying to figure out vacation and budget if Josh's team makes it to the world series in Mississippi...IN JULY...can we say HOT?

Exciting News

Last night Heston spent the night at mom and dad's house. So last night Kate requested that she and Josh be able to "camp out" in the living room. Josh was at a friend's house when we caved and told her it would be fine to sleep out on the couches. Josh walked in the door and before anyone could even acknowledge him, Kate declares that she has "some exciting news" for Josh...he wasn't as happy as she was, but he was a good sport and slept out on the couches too. They went to bed with the only show they can agree on...Billy the Exterminator...

Tomorrow Kate will leave with mom and dad for a visit with Mi Jean, Daddy Lloyd and Nonnie...I think Uncle Billy will be there too. She is super excited, I think because she knows she will be spoiled out of her mind...like ice cream after every meal...She is a super traveler...so I know she wont be a problem. Heston on the other hand, can barely go one night without MOMMA...he called crying last night b/c he wanted me. When Kate was 2 she traveled to Texas with mom and dad and did great...for days she was gone, Heston can't even do that at 3. He is a sweet and affectionate kid.

Josh is doing great in baseball, he did confess to me this morning that All Stars is not as fun as he thought it would be. Dont know if we'll do All Stars in the future or not. He is good at baseball and do want him to develop his talent, so we'll see.

There really is no other news...baseball, work, kids, birthday parties...that about covers what we're up to. No "real" plans for Father's Day this weekend. Josh will have baseball games...

SUMMER IS HERE

Kate just before leaving for her 1st Swim Lesson


Heston and Kate swimming



Josh batting....

Josh batting again

Josh after he HIT A GREAT homerun

Heston and Kate with his baseball coach

Heston and Kate...notice his baseball trophy...

He was happy to get it!

Well it is about 99 degrees here today...with high humidity and a heat index of 105

IT IS SUMMER. I took the little ones swimming on both Saturday and Sunday because there is nothing else to do in this heat. I did take them to the park on Saturday morning and they were HOT...but we had time to kill in between morning events so...they enjoyed themselves for the 45 minutes we were at the park. Heston and Kate both use swim rings and can get around quite well using them...they love going to the "deep end" and of course I swim out there with them and it wears them out, so they go to bed on TIME!! Heston is NOT fearful at all of the water, you really have to keep your eye on him, I have even let him go under to scare him a little but it didn't work...Kate is very obedient and patient while I watch and play with Heston...she loves jumping in from the side - I do feel sorry for her because she swims in her glasses, but so far she hasn't complained at all.

Josh and Jon were at the ball fields all weekend...all day...it was HOT and they are both a little sunburned. Josh is really do well, himself in baseball...however, his team is having difficulty getting a lot of wins...they have done better this past weekend than all the others combined...he is enjoying himself though.

Jon is still working in town but we may have to make a decision soon about whether he will work for Hubbuch out of town or quit all together...and work for himself. Our advertising is coming out in July so we hope and pray that business will pick up and he can stay in town and be more flexible for the kids...