Foto Friday

Here is what you have all been waiting for: the first Foto Friday in a long time and the first of 2010! Yay! (Applause)
Since it has been so long I will treat you with something special - a video! (More applause & cheering)
This video was taken in October when I found Joshua out back with Lucille. She had been fussy and he was trying to soothe her. It worked.

Christmas 2009

Lucille, Mercy & Joshua
Christmas 2009

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, "The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace"
-Isaiah 9:6

Lucy at 11 months

Last Friday, Lucille was 11 months old. Boy! That was fast, only one more month until her first birthday.

She is just about ready to walk; standing on her own for long periods, taking a couple of steps before falling, and trying to stand from a sitting position. It's only a matter of time before she is toddling around the house.

She has four teeth and she knows how to use them. So be sure that your fingers don't go near her mouth! Lucy says "Mum" pretty clearly. And for some reason, she calls Mercy "Bob."

Today, we caught Lucille on the stairs up to the third step. Did I mention she is fast? Sometimes I think that she beams over to the other side of the room when I am not looking.

Jason & I are so amazed at God's mercy on us and our family. We thank God for blessing us with Lucille and pray for wisdom in raising her.

"Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

Portraits Again

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the pictures I had done in December.

Catherine Lucille - 10 Months

Lucille is 10 months old this month. She is such a blessing to our family. The other day Jason told me that I am more attached to her than I was to our other babies, and I would have to agree. I think it is because I am not taking the fact that I was blessed with another baby for granted.

Lucy is a fast crawler! She likes to try to keep up with Joshua & Mercy, getting into their toys & following them around. She pulls up on everything - tables, chairs, shelves, boxes and she has even tried climbing the stairs. She has even stood up on her own for a few seconds at a time.

Last week her first tooth broke through. She chews on everything, tables, toys, books, & feet if she can catch them.

Lucy loves books, magazines, & papers. She will sit for a long time just turning the pages of a magazine before ripping it apart. She also likes to turn the pages herself when we read her a book.

One day at my mom's house, Lucy had a long stroll in Mercy's doll stroller. She fit into it perfectly and loved to be pushed all around the house as she swung her feet back and forth!

Last week at an appointment with her pediatrician we learned that Lucy only gained 3 ounces in the last 3 months! So we are trying to fatten her up with healthy foods. And I am supplementing a little formula along with her regular nursing. She goes back in 2 weeks to see if she has grown any.

After that appointment, I felt so worried. What if something is wrong with her? Is it me? Am I a bad mother who doesn't feed her child properly? But that worry didn't last long. I refuse to worry. I will just trust in God that everything will work out. And I will be more aware of what she is eating and making sure she is eating healthy and more often.

She IS a big eater now. I have been more aggressive in getting her to eat more, and making all that she eats count. You know she really likes something because she will very loudly demand more as soon as she gets a spoonful. She prefers to feed herself. Some of her favorite foods right now are peanut butter on whole wheat bread, mac and cheese (whole wheat or asparagus noodles), avocado, Joe's Ohs, and pears. But she also likes carrots, potatoes, peas, green beans, bananas, oatmeal cereal and cheese.

Random Pictures of My Monkeys

The children decorating their small Christmas trees.

Mercy dressed up in her princess costume. She loves this dress because she says it looks like the one that Taylor Swift wears in her Love Story video.

Lucy at Disneyland.

Joshua - a self portrait

Joshua's 9th Birthday

If my computer cooperates I hope to post a few pictures and updates....we'll see.

On November 12, Joshua turned nine years old. Time sure flies! I am so thankful to God for giving me a such a happy boy. But I am also reminded that Joshua is halfway to 18! I pray that God would give Jason & me wisdom and grace to raise Joshua correctly. And that God would work in Joshua's heart and grow him into a godly man.

To celebrate his birthday we went to Disneyland. I love going when it is decorated for Christmas! Joshua was given a birthday pin so that all day long whenever a Disney castmember saw it they would wish him a happy birthday. He loved that, it made his day more special.

Joshua & Marina on a ride in California Adventure.

My mom & Mercy

Lucy's first time on the Merry-Go-Round. She loved it! I think she went on 3 times.

I promised Joshua an ice cream since it was his birthday. They ate deliciously! And they better have enjoyed it considering how much I paid.

Lucy was very well behaved, considering we spent the entire day at the park.

Never Try on a Dress You Can't Afford...

...because you will love it & nothing you can afford will fit as well or look so good. That is a rule I always follow when shopping. Be it clothes, cars, shoes -whatever! It is a very good rule for life.

Well, today I forgot the rule.

My vacuum cleaner is not working well, so my mom sent over hers so that I can do a good once over on the carpets (which is especially needed since Lucy is now crawling). Her vacuum is a Dyson. And I love it!

I thought that I would not like it because it is a bit chunky and not able to fit under certain things that I am used to vacuuming under. But everything else about it more than makes up for it.

I was able to vacuum those little corners that only an attachment fits into without crawling around the whole house. The Dyson's attachment has a long handle so I was able to just walk around and reach all those far corners. I was also able to easily vacuum the drapes. Boy, do I love this thing!

Also, it is so easy to clean the dust container. Just push this button, hold over the waste bin, & pull that lever - and ta da! All done.

So, now I have to do the only sensible thing: go online and search for all those negative reviews on why the Dyson is the worst vacuum. Then I will feel better about not being able to afford it.

Oh yeah! I forgot. Thank you Mom for letting me borrow your vacuum. No really, thank you.

More Picures from Oak Glen

The children posed in front of Willowbrook again this year.

And another cute picture.

After Willowbrook Apple Farm, we went over to Sno-Line to see if they had any Winesap apples to buy (they didn't). We did get some apple donuts to nibble on and they did have a few animals to pet. This llama really liked Jason, but didn't like pictures. Everytime I tried to get a picture of Lucy with the llama, it w0uld hide behind Jason and peek over his shoulder!

Oak Glen 2009

On Saturday we made our yearly trek out to Oak Glen. Before we went out I checked out the web sites and was disappointed to read that a late spring frost had wiped out most of this year's apple crop. We decided to go out and make the most of the day.

We started out at Law's Cafe for breakfast. They have a wonderful buffet that is served on the weekends through apple season. Their french toast is the best! They also offer eggs, bacon (Joshua says it is the best he ever tasted), potatoes, sausage, ham, freshly made cinammon rolls, pastries, apple butter, apple topping, fruit, home made salsa, waffles, and more I am probably forgetting. I wish I had a bigger stomach!

Next, we went to Willowbrook Farm to make cider. We always start out at the tasting table. They offer most of their products to sample. This year they offered their first batch of apple blossom honey. It was tasty!

Mercy and I found a pretty picture spot while waiting to make cider.

This was Lucy's first trip to Oak Glen. She really enjoyed being outdoors. It helped that it was a beautiful cool day.

Jason and Joshua were hanging out waiting to press cider. The owners and workers at Willowbrook are so friendly and helpful. They remembered us from past years & were happy to see our new addition.

Mercy posing for another picture.

Joshua and Jason worked hard turning the wheel for our gallon of cider. Mercy helped by throwing the apples in the grinder.

This is the cider being poured through the filter. There were a couple of bees that got into the cider while we were pressing it.

Our beautiful children!

We found this lovely pumpkin in the pumpkin patch.

First Day of School

We took some pictures on our first day of school, August 24. Mercy was very excited about her first day. She woke up early, picked out a dress, & was ready to go.

She is a funny girl as this picture shows. We started calling it Year 1 because Jason does not like the K word. It has something to do with the word being a holdover from the Prussian system & it representing the state's idea of the indoctrination of children (you gotta love him).

Joshua looks very excited to be starting school in this picture, but he is just a great big ham and loves pictures.

Lucy was just over six months for this picture. She usually sits on a big blanket right in front of this easel.

Update

Well, it has been awhile since I have posted anything. It has been asked that I begin posting again, so I will try to keep you all up to date.

Sometimes I think that the only ones who read this are my Uncle Alex and Rosanne. But I think even if it is only the two of you, you are both worth the effort!

We enjoyed a beautful Fall day today. We don't get very many of those out here in Southern California. I am pretty sure that Redwood city gets nice Fall weather, and I am sure that Des Moines has perfect Autumn days. But we don't usually enjoy such days. There were even a few drops of rain this afternoon. And tonight has brought sweater weather!

We all recently were hit with the flu. I don't know if it was the H1N1 virus, but it was pretty bad. What made it worse was that all five of us came down with it. Little Lucy was so pitiful but she was a strong, brave girl through her first sickness. Praise God that we are all feeling better (besides this terrible cough I have).

In late August, we started home schooling again. Joshua is in fourth grade and Mercy is in Kindergarten (we are calling it year 1). Lucy sits on the floor and plays or talks (she sounds like a little Wookiee). It isn't as hard I thought it would be to school and take care of a baby. God is good.

We are looking forward to some Fall activities - apple picking, decorating the house with pumpkins & leaves, Joshua's birthday, Thanksgiving, and baking. I will keep you updated.

Laughing Lucille

Lucy at times finds anything that Joshua says or does hilarious.

The Blog Slacker is Back

I know I have been remiss in my postings of late, but I am back! Let's see... what has been happening in the Davis household?

We had our house painted in May. Besides it looking cleaner, you really can't tell as the color we picked looks the same as the color we had. The swatch we went off of looked darker. Oh well, we really did like the color we had.

Joshua's little league season is over. His team made it to the playoffs & finished second in his division. Mercy continues with gymnastics & Joshua with violin. They both have recently started swimming lessons. Also, Jason is playing softball & soccer. All this makes for a very busy family.

Officially, we are done with the 2008-2009 homeschool year. I have some subjects that we plan to work on throughout the summer. We are going through How to Teach Art to Children which will teach the 7 elements of art. We are also doing unit studies in geography and astronomy. Joshua will do math review (so as not to forget). And Jason and I will continue to teach Mercy to read. In the fall we will have a fourth grader & a kindergartener. Boy time flies!

And let's not forget the tiniest member of the family, Lucy! She is four months old and growing bigger everyday. She can roll, but she'd rather not. She drinks water from a sipper cup, but she usually spits it out. And she brings such joy to our home. Speaking of which, I must go attend to her. I will post more updates and pictures later.

Mercy is 5!

Mercy is now five years old.
Jason & I let her plan a special night out. We started out with her favorite pizza at Jojo's. After, we went to the Shoppes for an outdoor viewing of the movie Wallie. It drizzled a little throughout the movie but Joshua, Mercy & Jason stuck it out while Lucy & I sat in the car. Then it was off to the bookstore where Mercy asked that she and her brother each get to pick a book. We finished the night with hot cocoa at Starbucks.

It was a long night (we didn't get home until after 10pm), but it a fun night spent witth our little blessings.

This is a picture of Mercy wearing the dress that Grandpa Steve & Grandma Sandy gave her. She was so excited that the dress came with a matching dress for her doll that she insisted on putting it on right away!