Lucy @ 2 weeks!

Lucy is already 2 weeks old! We are so very thankful that God has been gracious to us in giving us this beautiful and healthy girl!

Lucy has been a very good baby. She is very alert, flashing us those pretty gray eyes. And she is very strong!

Foto Friday

In January of 2006, my parents took the whole family on a Mexican vacation. There were ten of us: my parents; my 2 sisters, Marina & Bri; my brother, Isaac; his fiance (now wife), Cathy; and my family of four. We stayed at the La Jolla de Mismaloya Resort in Puerto Vallarta. It was a beautiful resort, the weather was perfect & we all had an unforgettable time.

The view from our hotel room

Mercy looking for a place to lounge by the pool.

Isaac & Cathy

The entire family at breakfast. The food was amazing! We dined beachside for each meal.

Joshua's first time on a horse. We took an approx. 45 minute ride up through jungle to the Garden of Eden where the Predator movie was filmed.

Cathy, Marina, & Me on the way back from the Garden of Eden.

Jason and Joshua enjoying a boat ride.

We took a boat to see Los Arcos up close. Then we went to a small town only accessible by boat where we hiked up to a waterfall. On the boat ride back, we stopped at another beach only accessible by boat, called Las Animas where we had a delicious lunch.

Update On My Cousin Joshua

Joshua was released from the hospital yesterday, having not yet received any surgery and still in great pain. His insurance would no longer allow him to stay at the trauma hospital he was at as he was no longer considered a trauma. He is now waiting to be admitted to Loma Linda and to be reevaluated for his necessary surgeries to fix his face.

I praise God that He has been merciful in waking Joshua with no apparent brain damage & that doctor's feel that he will eventually make a full recovery! Please continue to pray for my cousin as he still has a long way to go until he is fully recovered. Also, as the accident was his fault and he was found to have been driving under the influence of alcohol, he is facing serious charges. He hit a couple of other cars and there were other injured parties. He has woken to this new reality that he must face the consequences to. Please continue to pray that God would use this to draw Joshua to Himself!

Prayer Request For My Cousin Joshua

Early this morning my cousin Joshua was in a car accident. He is now hospitalized and in an induced coma. His face hit the steering wheel of his truck on impact & most of his face, below his eyes, is broken. He also has severe lacerations on his head. The doctors did some preliminary tests and do not believe that there is any brain damage, but we will know for sure when he awakes. He will have to undergo several surgeries in the coming days to repair the damage.

My cousin is 21 years old. He has gone through some tough times in the past few years; the biggest being his father dying of cancer last year. Please pray for Joshua's recovery and that God would use this Providence for his good. Also pray for Joshua's mom, Yolanda and his sister, Amanda. Pray that the Lord would comfort them and use this to draw them to Himself.

Foto Friday

Random pictures of Mercy. Mercy bundled up @ June Lake, Oct. 2006

The Angels must have been losing, Sept. 2006

Mercy in piggy-tails, June 2006

Mercy making faces at her 2nd birthday party, May 2006

More face making, June 2005

In this picture she is wearing a dress that was mine when I was a toddler.

She wanted a bigger pumpkin, Oct. 2008

Keeping out of the sun, May 2007

Catherine Lucille Davis

Baby Lucy has arrived!

She was born February 22, 2009 at 8:21 pm.

She weighed 7 pounds 2 ounces, & was 20 inches long.

Getting ready to leave the hospital.

Our new family photo!

Introducing Foto Friday!

As I was looking through my Picasa pictures, I decided that I would start posting random photos of the family & our happenings. We have so many pictures, and we rarely share them. So here it is, the first Foto Friday!

A few weeks ago we went to John's Incredible Pizza Co. I asked Jason to take a picture of Mercy and me. Mercy insisted we had to be eating our pizza for the picture.

Joshua & Jason playing air hockey.

This is a poster that was up at Jason's grandmother Marge's 80th birthday brunch.

Jason takes champagne brunches very seriously.

My family threw me a Baby Shower. The children helped to open all the gifts. I sure do hope that the doctor is correct and we will be having a girl, with all the pretty pink gifts we received.

A Year With Frog and Toad

A couple of weeks ago, we went to the playhouse at the Victoria Garden's Cultural Center to see a play. The play was A Year With Frog and Toad, based on the book by Arnold Lobel. We attended the play with our home school group.Joshua waiting to go in.A shot of the home school group.

Joshua and Mercy ready for the play to begin.

We had read the book together before we went. The play was very entertaining. I highly recommend their family plays. We have attended at least four and we have never been disappointed. I like that they usually have live music, and the actors are very talented.

After the play we had lunch at Victoria Gardens. It was a very enjoyable outing.

Valentine's Sweetheart Dinner

This past Saturday, Jason & I attended a Sweetheart Dinner which was hosted by our homeschool group. The dinner was held at the McCoy Equestrian Center in Chino Hills.

The tables were beautifully decorated, and the food was delicious! We had an Italian dinner which consisted of lasagna, chicken fetuccini alfredo, penne, salad, and garlic bread. For dessert we had a choice of chocolate cake or cheesecake.

The night was set up to be a celebration of the love God has given to us in our marriages. We took pictures together (like in high school!). And we heard a talk encouraging us in our marriages by a couple, Lin and Barb Wells, who were celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary that night. The talk was a real blessing.

Overall, the night was very enjoyable. I was able to spend a romantic night with my wonderful husband, and at the same time hear about how God works in our marriage.

Rock Star Mercy

This is for you Uncle Alex!



I took this video this morning. Mercy is wearing what she calls a rock star outfit while singing and playing her "electric" guitar. The guitar was a Christmas gift from her Aunt Cathy and Uncle Isaac. I can't wait until they have children and I can buy loud obnoxious toys for them. But really, Mercy loves her guitar and often plays it and makes us lovely songs to go along.

Preparing For Baby

As we are counting down the days until we bring a newborn into our home for the third time, I have been re-reading some of my trusted baby books.

For pregnancy and delivery I have two favorite books. The first is What to Expect When You’re Expecting, it has been called a must-have book for parents to be, and I have found it very helpful through all of my pregnancies. The second book is The Whole Pregnancy Handbook, which is a guide that combines both conventional and alternative medicine. I just found this book during this pregnancy, and I have been very thankful for the advice on how to have a healthy pregnancy and delivery. The only thing that I don't like is that the spiritual or mind/body advice & testimonials in the the book are in no way Christian, but overall I recommend the book.

I have also re-read On Becoming Baby Wise by Gary Ezzo, & Robert Bucknam. When Joshua was about 8 months old & still not sleeping through the night, a friend recommended Baby Wise to us. I read the book and immediately started using the techiniques in the book. That night Joshua slept through the night, it was hard at first, but it worked. With Mercy we started scheduling her from the beginning and she was sleeping for 7-8 hrs. through the night at about 8 weeks. Again, I don't agree with everything in the book, but it has worked for us. Also note that Gary Ezzo has some controversial teachings (parent-directed feeding) and many people disagree with his work and organization (Growing Kid's International).

I also have taken out my dog-eared and falling apart copy of The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby From Birth to Age Two by William & Martha Sears. I have used this book with both Joshua & Mercy. Again, Dr. Sears is a follower of attachment parenting (which can be considered the opposite of Gary Ezzo's methods) and I am not an adherent to that style of child rearing. I like to think that by using both Baby Wise and the Baby Book I get a good mix, and it has really worked for our family.

Disneyland Trip

Last week, the children & I took a two-day trip to the Disneyland Resort with a stay at the Disneyland Hotel. We went with my sister Marina. We spent all the first day at Disneyland. It was a beautiful, clear day and the park was not too crowded.

After the park closed we went back to our hotel room. The children were so excited! The hotel has a lot of cute little Disney touches which made our stay special for the children. In the evenings, the hotel has a TV channel with a Disney Princess telling bedtime stories. Mercy loved that!The headboards and bedspreads had scenes from Disneyland.

The TV armiore had a map of Disneyland, the walls had a Tinkerbell fairy dust pattern that was glow-in-the-dark.

The bathroom had Disney character wallpaper, the lights were held up with Mickey hands, & the toiletry bottle caps were Mickey shaped.

The next morning we went to the Grand Californian's Storyteller Cafe for the Chip & Dale Character Breakfast. The food was yummy and the service was excellent.

After breakfast, we headed over to California Adventure. We got on a few rides, toured the tortilla and bread factories, and visited the Hollywood area. The children rode & enjoyed the new Toy Story ride for the first time.

I did not ride most of the rides on our trip. I did do a lot of walking, especially the first day. I actually overdid myself on the trip and was not feeling well when we arrived home after the second day and also the next day. But overall our spur of the moment trip went well. I know the children will remember it for a long time.

Grammy Betty

Tomorrow our family will be heading out to Victorville to attend the memorial service for Jason’s grandmother. Betty passed away suddenly on December 12th after a short hospital stay.

Betty was a beautiful, 81 year-old woman who stayed active through volunteer work and club memberships. She was a voracious reader who passed that love along in her volunteer work teaching literacy. She got around Victorville in her hip, green, Ford Mustang; going to chat group meetings and visiting friends.

Betty was a joy to converse with. I enjoyed chats at family gatherings, she always had a smile and would intersperse Yiddish words or sayings into the conversation.

I will never forget one of the first times I met her when Jason and I were still dating. We were eating dinner, and my meal came with a large piece of broccoli. I don’t eat broccoli. She kept raving about my broccoli. “What a beautiful piece of broccoli!” “Look at that piece of broccoli!” “I hope you are going to eat that broccoli.” Needless to say I choked down that broccoli! Jason and I still joke about that every time broccoli is served.

Betty had 5 children, six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Her loving spirit is missed by the many lives she touched.

Betty at her 80th Birthday Party, 2007

Eddie and Betty Simon, circa 1967

Portrait Sitting

Before Christmas, I took the children to JC Penney's to have their pictures taken. The last time I took them in for a professional portrait sitting was probably at least two years ago! I wanted to give the grandparents a framed portrait of their grandchildren as a Christmas present, which went over very well.

Here are some of my favorite poses.

Merry Christmas!

We pray you have a joyous Christmas!

"For he that is mighty hath done to me great
things: and holy is his name.

And his mercy is on them that fear him from
generation to generation."

-Luke 1:49-50

Thanksgiving Cooking

This past Thanksgiving, we spent with Jason's mother's family. It was nice in that we didn't have to travel far, they live just 5 minutes away. We enjoyed a nice quiet dinner.

The children, my sister Marina, and I had made pumpkin pies, cranberry sauce, and cranberry-apple pie with a crumb topping. Everything was delicious! I also made Yams with Ginger and Scallions. I made these last year as well and they were a big hit. The recipe is from last year's Thanksgiving issue of Saveur Magazine. It is a simple yam recipe, with all fresh ingredients. The mix of flavors is amazing!