P is for PIGTAILS!!!

Katie Beth's growing hair is finally long enough for pigtails! Boo, NeeNee and I could not be happier. Dad, however, thought I was going overboard. I just couldn't help it. She looked so cute. Katie Beth did leave them in all day. I think she liked them, too!

F is for Friends

On December 23, we were blessed with a visit from our good friends, the Redelspergers! Tana is my dearest friend from college and the closest thing I have to a sister. I love her dearly. We have stairstep kids! Her daughter Regan is 4.....my Bray is 3....her Ryan is 2... and Katie Beth is 1. Bray loves to play with his friend girls. We made Christmas cookies for Santa.

The kids thought the cookies tasted great. They had a lot of fun, too! I am glad Tana doesn't mind messes.

Isn't Regan too sweet! She is a little Martha Stewart in the making. Her cookies had to be just perfect. Of course Tana and I thoguth they were. Time with friends is a great gift! Thanks freind girls!!!

C is for Christmas

Merry Christmas from our family to you!

Love,

Katie Beth, Dusty, Amanda and Bray

Luke 2:10-14

D is for December

Our family just might hold the record for December birthdays! Between our extended families there are too many count. Happy Birthday....

Me...Baylor.... Ron C. .....Ron S. ...... John Grady...... Dusty..... Pa and Aunt Lou...... Logan and Paps..... Landon Cade.... and Don C.....

I'm sure I left someone out! Sorry! Here is a picture of Pa's snowman cake that Bray insisted on.

B is for Birthday!

Bray did it again! He and Daddy and NeeNee planned a surprise COWBOY party for me. It was a perfect birthday party. We spent Saturday evening at NeeNee's watching OSU and OU! Boo, Paw, Nee Nee, Spud, Reece and Molly came to help my family and I celebrate. Our favorite baker June made my awesome Pistol Pete cake. It was a perfect evening!

T is for Thankful!

Thanksgiving brought a new adventure around our house. We actually stayed home this year....no traveling! Although I missed my side of the family, especially my Grandma Peggy's dressing and pecan pie, I enjoyed the extra play time with my kids. We HAD to put our Christmas tree up on the day before Thanksgiving. Bray insisted! He got to put the star on top. It reminded me of Christmas when I was little. Putting the star on top was my Dad and I's job...until Reece claimed it! Dusty and Paw put lights up on the house. They let Bray help!!! I know, I was a little nervous that my 3 year old was on my roof. He Loved it! I think Paw enjoyed it, too! Katie Beth was in fine form at MamMa and PapPa's on Thanksgiving Day. She showed off her 2 day old walking skills. She also wresteled with Bray and Cade. KB ate everything we did...especailly dessert! She also was pretty sweet on Logan. Cole was busy running Bray to pig barn to see the big baby pigs! Thanks Cole for being so kind to Bray! Katie Beth got a little sassy at one point. She took the lid off the ice chest and snuck a cup. Then she hid behind the ice chest and began to eat the ice! I couldn't resist a picture between giggles! Boy am I in trouble! I did have so much to be Thankful for this year. It never hurts to stop and count your blessings!

p is for pictures

I finally figured out how to download pictures from my mom's camera. i don't like blogging without pictures! I am going to catch up.....

L is for Lane Monday

Lane Monday was one the bravest children I know. He was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma at the age of four. After a long hard fight, Lane went to live with Jesus this past April at the age of six. His beautiful mom Gena began the Lane Monday Foundation to assist families in Southwest Oklahoma who are facing serious medical needs and to bring them closer to God. This is why she chose our church to house Lane's foundation. I truly believe in Gena's mission and am in awe of the faithful way in wich she is using her loss to aid others. Our family is dedicated to helping her in any way we can. Thus.... I am reposting this from our church bulletin.

Lane Monday Foundation
What if Lane Monday Foundation earned a penny every time you searched the Internet? Or how about if a percentage of every purchase you made online went to support our cause? Well, now it can!
GoodSearch.com is a new Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up!
GoodShop.com is a new online shopping mall which donates up to 37 percent of each purchase to your favorite cause! Hundreds of great stores including Amazon, Target, Gap, Best Buy, ebay, Macy's and Barnes & Noble have teamed up with GoodShop and every time you place an order, you’ll be supporting your favorite cause.
Just go to www.goodsearch.com and be sure to enter Tamarack Road Church of Christ as the charity you want to support. And, be sure to spread the word!

K is for Katie Beth

My baby girl turned one today! I can't believe how fast one year goes by! She has been such a blessing to our family. The way Bray has embraced Katie Beth, loved her and accepted her is an even bigger blessing. We celebrated on Saturday with friends and family.

We are so very blessed that our moms and grandmas were able to celebrate with us. On the left is Me, Katie Beth, NeeNee and Grandma Peggy. Below is Dusty, MamMa, Boo, Katie Beth and Bray.

Don't you just LOVE Katie Beth's party dress and beads? She is truly a princess. If you don't believe me just ask her Paw....Dad...or brother! In true Tana tradition.....I pray...

K - Kidness

A - Ability

T - Tuth

I - Integrity

E - Energy

B - Beauty (both inside and out)

E - Eagerness to serve

T - Trust in a

H - Havenly Father

R is for Remembering

All journeys have their storms. Lately I have been forced to remember the longest, most severe strom of my life. The memories come daily, but lately they have been more frequent and more vivid. October first brought back an anxious, nervous feeling hemmed with tears. By the end of the day, I had realized that October first was the first day of basketball practice. (The first day to "bounce a ball!" ) Then came the Lawton Mac football game, OSU vs. Texas, and the day Dad met Jesus. Football homecoming and entering a crowded gym came soon after.
They were all clouded with sadness, yet I always found funny memories, embarassing stories and new tales told by friends to soften the time. My baby girl will be 1 on Tuesday. She is a constant reminder of God's promise of something better to come. In my mom's words..a rainbow!
This is a poem I wrote in May.

I miss your smile,
Your hello,
All the places we would go…
The gym,
The lake
The High School games,
Nothing will ever be the same.

I miss your voice
Your dialect,
The way you’d flaunt your intellect!
Stories
Poems
Funny sayings
I even miss Dylan playing!

I miss your heart,
You really cared….
The way that you were always there.
Advice
I’m proud
A hug goodnight
To live forever would be alright.

I miss your laugh
And heavy sigh.
I refuse to say good bye!
Miss you
Love you
Is what I’ll say
We’ll be together in heaven someday!

O is For OKLAHOMA STATE!

We met family in Stillwater for OSU Homecoming aka Walking Around! My Aunt Tracy and Uncle Terry opened up their home and so did Uncle Ryan. We spent Friday night "walking around" looking at the House Decs. We even were able to meet Pistol Pete!

Saturday us girls went shopping and then went to tailgate! Bray loved the Spirit Walk and Dusty loved the game! He and Reece had the best seats!

L is for Long time -no post!

Ok...so it has been a long time since my last post and so much has happened in the Davis house! October began with Happy Birthday Donuts for NeeNee. Bray still thinks she was slided becasue she didn't get a cake. We took an awesome trip to OSU, twice! Dusty and I now have Pistol Pete and Zac Attack for a son! Bulldog Homecoming and Halloween graced us on the same night. It is a good thing Bray LOVES football. We were blessed to host the O-Line every Thursday night for Spaghetti. Katie Beth started walking -kind of- somewhere along the way. We stayed very busy and tons of fun!

M is for Mama!!

Finally!!! Katie Beth has been building her vocabulary for a few months now. As a reading teacher, I should be thrilled, but I wasn't. No siree! Not until this weekend. She added Mama to her repertoire :) No, it is not just babble. When I went to pick her up from Lana's today she reached up and shouted MAMA! Oh the joys of motherhood!

P is for Party!

P is for party and that is just what the Davis family did Saturday! Our special Boo had a birthday and we had to celebrate....Ninja Turtle style! bray has been planning the party since the end of his birthday celebration in August. He was determined that Boo wanted, needed and would get a Ninja Turtle party. So, we invited guests. Ordered the cake. And....Bray delivered the pizza in his brand new Ninja Turtle costume (Raphel to be exact). "Surprise 'livery -Boo! Let's Party Dudes!" We had so much fun. Happy Birthday Boo!

G is for Grandparents

With all the excitement of our first football game Friday night, I completely forgot about Grandparents Day on Sunday. Never fear...Super Bray came to the rescue. As we were leaving church Sunday night, Bray gave Boo a present better than I could have picked out from the store. We were trying to get loaded into the car and Bray was begging to go with Boo, as usual! He asked her to take a ride with us. Then he asked her to take a ride in her car to our house. In a last ditch effort to get his way he said, " Boo, can I just stay with you until I get big as you?" I'm sure it is not the last time my kids will want to go live with grandparents. I'm just glad the first time was so funny I cuold laugh instead of cry!

F is for Football!

WAHOO! It is football season again! That means chaos around the Davis house and we love it! Bray gets so excited. He can't wait until the day he can go to practice with Dad. This year is extra special because Uncle Reece is playing. He was released today, after knee surgery. Just in time....season opens Friday night in Vernon, Tx.

Good Luck Bulldogs! Go O-LINE! We love 52!!!

B is for Brayden

As Bray turned three and became, in his words, a "medium size boy," I found myself thinking about him growing up. I have learned so much this past year about life. There are many things I want for Brayden. (Tana I am copying!) This is my prayer for him.....

B = I pray God's Blessing are constant.

R = I pray you grow up to be Rightous.

A = I pray you are Able to accomplish your dreams.

Y = I pray you enjoy life for many Years.

D = I pray you are Devoted to God.

E = I pray you are Eager to do right.

N = I pray you Never give up!

A is for August!

The month of August is the most hetic month in our household. We began the month with football coaches meetings. Dusty and I were able to sneek in a night alone to celebrate our 5th Anniversary, almost! We found sitters (Boo and Pa) and planned a nice dinner and movie night. Dinner was great; Outback is Dusty's favorite! On our way back to Altus to the movies, Reece decided to crash our date. 11 years later and things haven't changed much.....Reece is still trying to tag along! haha Bray turned 3 on August 12, but we celebrated the Saturday before. We had a Power Ranger party. It was great fun. Prayer the night before the party were the best part. After we had finished our prayers and tucked Bray in, he asked to say a special pray. It went something like this..."Dear God, tomorrow is my party! Thanks you for my Power Ranger cake, my friends coming to my party and my presents. God tomorrow is my party. Amen" As you can imagine Dusty and I laughed as quietly as we could! Bray recieved a "very cool slide." We have all enjoyed playing on it!

We return to school in the month of August as well. Dusty and I were both sad to leave our kids, but we truly love what we do!

D is for Dada

Dusty wasn't able to make the trip to my grandparents with us yesterday. KatieBeth expressed her saddness in her Daddy's absence by syaing her second word. No, it was NOT Mama. She cheerfully called "Dada" all day long. At first, I admit, I was secretly happy he wasn't there to here it. After all I was the one who carried this pretty the girl for nine months, nourished her, got up with her most nights.......the list could go on. Mama wasn't even word #2! But by the end of our afternoon, I was really disapointed that Dusty wasn't able to share in the moment. Don't worry though, KatieBeth made up for it as soon as we got home!

S is for swimming!

S is for swimming! My little water babies love the pool. It doesn't matter how big or small... a day in the summer sun playing in the water is as good as it gets. Today, Brayden swam without floaties or a ring! He even went underwater like a big boy! My kids really enjoyed playing with cousins again at Papa Dub and MaryLynn's. Sissy and Trevyn thanks again for being so much fun! We even met some new "friends." Alison and Davin, we had a blast! Alison gave Bray a run for his money in the won't get out of the pool contest!

H is for hugaprise!

As we began another daily adventure in the Davis house this morning, Brayden once again had us in stiches! I was in my room trying to finish getting ready for the day, when in walked the little man. He said, "Mama, I have a surprise for you!" Yes, I admit I was a little nervous. You never know what he will come up with! As I watied anxiously, Bray wrapped both arms tightly around my right leg. He looked up with his infamous cheesy grin and said, "It's a Hugaprise Mommy!" I learned today that LOVE Hugaprises! I also love Brayden's ever-growing imagination!!

B is for Bubba

Bubba Bray is excited to anounce that his not-so-little sister can call out his name. Yes, Katie Beth has offically said her first word and to Bray's delight it is Bubba! She gets so excited when he is around. When he is not, she calls out "Bubba" until he appears. They have already begun wresteling; Katie Beth can pull hair with the best of them! I feel such joy watching them "play." I pray they are always close and love each aother as much as they do today!

Happy 4th of July!

Today we celebrated the American holiday with our family. We traveled to Elgin to visit my grandparents, aunt and uncle and cousins. We had a wonderful time swimming and cooking out. Trevyn, Ty and Sissy...Thanks for being so kind to Bray and playing with him all day! You are his new "best friends!"

We made it home just in time to host a family bar-b-que. The food was awesome! Thanks Dad and Uncle Spud! The desserts were yummy, too! Thanks Boo for all of your help. We enjoyed the Altus fireworks from our driveway. I have learned to really appreciate a great fireworks show in the past few years!

Try something new

Today we are going to embark on this new adventure called blogging! I enjoy reading the blogs of friends and family, and I especially love the idea of getting to share the silly, sweet and sometimes embarassing moments my children expeience. Bray will be three on his party on August 12th. Katie Beth is now 7 months old! Being home with them all day, everyday this summer is such a joy!