Does that make sense?

Family Time

2008-07-31T21:40:00.004-04:00

Malachi Chatting with Gee (as in Gee & Gigi

2008-07-31T21:25:00.002-04:00

VBS Geyser

2008-07-25T09:39:00.002-04:00

Too Sweet

2008-07-13T22:41:00.004-04:00

more pictures on facebook

Malachi Visits Gigi (that's me)

2008-07-13T22:29:00.003-04:00

Me on Facebook

2008-07-12T10:38:00.003-04:00

Experimenting!
I'm on facebook. Seems like it is easier to post pictures.
It's more fun than I thought! I chatted this morning with some one who I had in Jr. Worship over 10 years ago!
Now she is all grown up and looking for a Children's Ministry job.

Card Board Testimony

2008-06-25T17:47:00.000-04:00

Davis Family Adventure

2008-06-19T10:27:00.002-04:00

Aquarium - done
Today the ZOOOOOO

Last Day O' School

2008-06-19T10:25:00.002-04:00

More Malachi

2008-06-19T10:22:00.004-04:00

Malachi

2008-06-19T10:08:00.003-04:00

Summer Verse

2008-06-14T10:14:00.005-04:00

I have found that I love to sit on my front porch on summer mornings before the kids wake up. I read my Bible, consider my life and wait for my hummingbird to come visit me. Well, today was my first summer quiet time and guess who met me right on schedule! My little hummingbird friend!

I have also gotten into the habit of selecting a verse to guide me through the summer. Last year it was James 3:17. It served me well. This summer it is Philippians 1:9-11
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God

MAD SCIENCE!

2008-06-13T07:58:00.003-04:00

I haven't posted for a while. So many exciting things going on in children's ministry. I have an intern to help me with Jr Worship, we just started new curriculum for the summer, VBS preparations, and tonight...

MAD SCIENCE!

We are really excited about this event! Flashy, Fun Science experiment live on stage!
We've sent out 2500 flyers in kids backpacks just before school let out for the summer ~ hoping this will be a great bridge to VBS.

Personally, I'm really happy to get to sing with my husband tonight (the VBS band is playing.) We haven't gotten to do that for quite a while. It's what we love to do together ~ like some people like to fish, do home renovations, play cards, ski - we like to sing together... even more fun with a cool band.

I heard a neat story yesterday.
Our receptionist told me that we had some little visitors checking our our building - a dad w/ about 4 kids with him. He saw the information about Mad Science on our web site. Long story short ~ he's bringing his family tonight and to church on Sunday.

That's what it's all about ~ helping families find a church family that will help them grow their love and faith in Jesus.

Shaun ~ This is for your enjoyment

2008-06-03T23:15:00.000-04:00

Mamma

2008-06-03T09:08:00.002-04:00

Mamma passed away Sunday morning.
Velva Garland Harris ~ isn't that a great name?
My mind is reeling with memories, so I'll have to make a post later to tell you some stories about her.
I will say this... Mamma always made me feel special.

Dedicated to my mom...

2008-05-31T13:08:00.001-04:00

and all preacher's wives.
Perhaps the next one will be about PKs.

sobering thought.

2008-05-30T07:48:00.004-04:00

I must confess, my anxiety level is quite high right now.
My mind is continually racing thinking about ways to improve children's ministry at River Hills. That's not necessarily bad. But, combined with my desire to be a good wife, mom and now grandma... well you get the idea.

The most important part of my job is recruitment.
It's also the most challenging. It's kinda like trying to put hair and a beard on the face of this magnet toy... just when you get close to what you want... it gets messed up.

or
steering a huge ship with a tiny rudder.
or
pushing one of those big shopping carts with the blue double kid seat extension - seriously - it's like driving a school bus down through the grocery.

Well considering my options on creative ways to help people develop a passion for children's ministry, I had a very sobering thought. With the exception of Clark who faithfully serves each week, I am currently the OLDEST person working in children's ministry at our church. It would be my dream to have more mature volunteers to be examples for the younger people to look up to - to say, "I would like to be like _______________. They have been teaching kids their whole life." BTW - we can say that about Clark :) I know we all have role models from our childhood of tireless volunteers who made our church family special.
I'll be 45 very soon. Is that old? Feeling old today.
I hope that I can be one of those role models that people look up to and say, "I want to teach kids, just like her."

Saying Good Bye

2008-05-23T09:59:00.002-04:00

It's been a few days since our little friends got back on the road, but they are still on our minds.
Meeting the kids from the African Children's was such a great experience for my family. We will never forget them.

JOY

2008-05-20T19:54:00.002-04:00

Kids R Kids

2008-05-20T14:11:00.004-04:00

My favorite thing about being a host family for the African Children's Choir was not the fact the that Rose, Lynate and Barbara were wonderfully polite and respectful. Indeed, that was refreshing. The many, "Thank you Auntie." and "Yes, please Auntie." were delightful - especially with their accent. However, what really had the greatest impact on me was seeing with my own eyes that children really are the same no matter what country is their home.

Heading off to Hope's bus stop.

After school playing with foam letters.
The girls loved spelling their names. We didn't plan this activity - the girls found the letters in our storage bench.

After dinner (3 servings of pot roast, rice, gravy and green beans) we got out the paint pens and glitter glue. Uncle Ray had a great time as the "Creative Assistant."

Bedtime! But not not without singing Auntie Robin's favorite song Salt and Light (in honor of the many dashes of salt the girls added to their dinner) and a story about Too Many Frogs."

African Children's Choir

2008-05-19T22:13:00.004-04:00

Sunday was a great night!
We were blessed with a wonderful concert by the African Children's Choir.
After the concert we brought 3 beautiful little girls home to spend two nights with us. Rose, Barbara and Lynate were lots of fun to spend time with. I have lots more to say about them in the next post.

Squeaky

2008-05-15T23:16:00.003-04:00

video

2008-05-15T23:09:00.003-04:00

Uncle Micah & Aunt Hope

2008-05-15T23:07:00.003-04:00

The First Visit

2008-05-15T22:56:00.003-04:00

Already Laughing?

2008-05-10T17:55:00.002-04:00

Brad & Hilary

2008-05-10T17:53:00.001-04:00

Malachi Christian Estep

2008-05-10T17:16:00.004-04:00

May 10, 2008
8 lbs. 6.oz.
turn down volume ~ the background noise is a bit chaotic.

My Handsome Men

2008-05-05T13:09:00.002-04:00

Our family got to go to a wedding Saturday night.
As you can see Hope and I were escorted by two very good looking men.

Shopping Spree

2008-05-05T12:59:00.002-04:00

What could be better than a shopping spree with your cousin?
It was a girlie afternoon last Saturday. Spending too much money at Justice for Girls with Jane and Darci - We justified our purchases by using our 20% our entire purchase and GUESS WHAT! It was Webkins Day. Every girl got a free Webkins!! Of course we had to pick on out for Micah too.
Then a late lunch at Bob Evans.
Good Time :D

Our Pet

2008-05-02T11:50:00.004-04:00

Now that the kids are getting older, they are being asked more and more often if they have a pet. I can only imagine that they get tired of telling people, "No, daddy and Micah are allergic to furry animals." Truth be told... I'm a little allergic to animals too. Hope and Micah have been asking for a fish for a long time. I finally caved. It does seem a little nicer when asked, "Do you have any pets?" to say, "Why yes! We have a fish."

His name is Goldie. To be honest, he really is quite cute. He has the funniest lips! Almost looks like he has on orange lipstick. If we are really getting honest here... the kids could really care less at this point. But, I've grown quite fond of him. I swear he gets excited when I get close to his bowl! He comes to the the side of the bowl and looks right at me. Of course, then I feed him ~ too much I'm sure. I also think I traumatized him during our photo shoot.

My question is...
What is the value of a little fish life? Surely at least $2.95.
Poor little Goldie. We only paid 15 cents for him. What a deal!

Louis Favreau Duets

2008-04-28T14:04:00.001-04:00

Perhaps you need a little laugh today :D

African Children's Choir - Lean On Me

2008-04-09T08:29:00.001-04:00

I'm very excited about this opportunity for our church and community family. One of the things I'm most excited about is that to book the concert we need be host families as well. 26 children and 8 adults will be staying 2 two nights in the homes of our River Hills family. I can't wait to get to know these children personally and hear their stories and watch them play with Hope and Micah.

Funny... doesn't this stage look very similar to River Hills? BTW - The African Children's Choir was on Ellen yesterday.

In case you were wondering...
The choir that will be coming to visit us is this year's new choir (they tour for one year) Our choir will be landing in Chicago on April 14.

More info to come later :D

African Children's Choir™

2008-04-09T08:12:00.001-04:00

I'm happy to announce that the African Children's Choir will be appearing at River Hills Christian Church on May 18, 6:00 PM

Be Prepared

2008-04-08T17:23:00.005-04:00

I don't think I can stomach any more of the New Earth. I've been watching Youtube videos from Oprah and Eckart's web classes. It's sickening and sad.

So this is what I think:
I Peter 3:15
"But in your heart set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, "

A New Earth?

2008-04-04T10:05:00.005-04:00

Photo of C.S. Lewis holding his head... imagine him shaking his head saying, "Oprah, Oprah, Oprah."

Well...
I have been trying to read the book A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle. Oprah is so taken by this author that she is teaching an internet class with him from her website. So... I thought I might read it just to educate myself incase the subject came up with friends. Truth is a lot of people respect Oprah ~ many of those people are so desperate to find a way to improve their life, they will try or believe just about anything.

I didn't get past the first sentence before I wanted to hurl.
"Earth, 114 million years ago, one morning, just after sunrise: The first flower ever to appear on the planet opens up to receive the rays of the sun. Prior to this momentous event that heralds an evolutionary transformation in the life of plants, the planet had already been covered in vegetation for millions of years. The first flower probably didn't survive for long, and flowers must have remained rare and isolated phenomena, since..." Do I need to go on?

The very next page he references Jesus. "Jesus tells us to contemplate the flowers and learn from them how to live." THEN ~ in the very next sentence he references the Buddha. Give be a break!!! This poor guy is truly confused. There are at least 20 cited Biblical references in this book.

My question for Oprah and Mr. Tolle: Is Jesus LIAR, LUNATIC, or LORD?
You cannot have a three way - (not a slam against Skyline of course)

C.S. Lewis said it best:
"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God." That is the one thing we must not say. A man who said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic--on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg--or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." CS Lewis ~ Mere Christianity

Now wouldn't it be interesting if Mere Christianity had the Oprah's Book Club sticker on it?

After Oz - Vancouver Film School (VFS)

2008-04-02T10:43:00.001-04:00

We love the Wizard of Oz at our house. I found this cute video on Vancouver Film School's site. It's a fun site to look for cute animation. But I suggest you prescreen videos before sharing them with your kids.

CCU Wassup Profs

2008-03-29T09:33:00.001-04:00

gotta love it. yikes :D

Music Lyrics

2008-03-27T06:55:00.002-04:00

I learned a new song yesterday...
Perhaps you have heard it?

Hot Blooded
Chicken and Cheese
Can't you see
The fever in me

Foreigner would be so proud!
This after the Barack Obama Baby Choir on the steps last week?
Confused?
Me too.

Does that make sense? yikes.

Glasses

2008-03-24T17:54:00.003-04:00

Here she is ~ Our beautiful girl in her new glasses!
She was so excited to pick them up, she had butterflies in her tummy.
At her doctor's appointment last week it was so fun to watch as she tried on the glasses. She tried on a couple and smiled at the sight of herself. But, when she put on the glasses that she chose... her eyes lit up like magic! There was no doubt about which pair she liked best.

Easter

2008-03-24T17:21:00.002-04:00

We made it!
This was a big weekend for us!
Saturday was our big Egg Hunt/Egg Drop at River Hills. It was so much fun! Over 5000 eggs came cascading from the upper level of our atrium to center in front of the waterfall below. What I had not anticipated was the frenzy of children rushing to the bottom of our tube. I guess the good news was that for kids... frenzy = excitement. It certainly was exciting! We are already dreaming up ideas to make it even more exciting next year. We are already cookin' up a secret idea to make it great fun for the little guys under 3 years old (thanks Jane :) It was so much fun to see families having a great time together!

Of course, Easter Sunday is busy too. It was a full house at River Kids and from what I understand the auditorium was packed too! My favorite time of the whole morning was singing with kids! They sang their hearts out ~ I love it when they all participate, especially the older boys who are usually too cool for such things. Every song we sang told of the story of Christ death and resurrection. Sometimes music is better than any lesson. I don't like to pressure children in taking communion until they understand it. So often kids like to do it for the novelty of it or because they think it is a snack. So... I set up a little table so that parents could take communion together. It is such a beautiful sight to see families taking communion together. It's very nice for our family. It such a crazy morning it's nice to stop after everyone leaves and remember why we are there in the first place.

After church!!!!
Ponchot family dinner. Yes! Mom fixed a delicious dinner for all of us. So nice to crash after such a busy morning. Extra nice for her to do that after having such a busy morning herself. We have the best mom! Speaking of moms... My daughter-in-laws tummy is growing beautifully! Malachi is going to be a big boy.
I hope everyone had as nice of an Easter as I did! Here are the tradition Easter door and step pictures of Hope and Micah.

Busy.

2008-03-14T08:03:00.003-04:00

I guess it's been a while since posted!
This is why...

This Little Piggy

2008-03-04T05:56:00.003-05:00

Last week Micah had a pig, I mean big day. His class had poetry day. Each child was assigned a nursery rhyme and instructed to wear a costume of one the the characters in his poem. As you can see, Micah was assigned "This Little Piggy Went to the Market." If you know my shy little boy, you know that this was a big deal. He doesn't even like to dress up for his favorite holiday, Halloween! But, I found this cute hat ~ the perfect choice! The funny thing is that when you squeeze the hoof, it oinks and lights up ~ crazy red eyes!

Tomorrow is Dad's Day at school. Ray can't wait to go hang out with his little guy! He will get to see Micah's film debut. The teacher video taped the children reciting their poems in costume and will be showing it to the dads.

Snow Days!

2008-02-26T10:46:00.004-05:00

Between snow days, snow delays, President's Day and yesterdays' teacher in-service, the Davis children have been in high creative mode. Hope and Micah have been pretending up a storm! The above picture is thanks to Micah's creative mind. He led the pretend play story line (he usually is the instigator - always has a story in his head.) They were playing Chinese New Year. Hence, the dragon. But, Hope told Micah that he needed to light the firecrackers. He said laughing, "What are firecrackers?"
She answered, "You know, you light them and they go boom! It's what they do on Chinese New Year."
Micah said with great enthusiasm, "Well! We better get the crackers!" meaning saltines!

Hope has been pretty hilarious too. She has decided that she wants to make a commercial when she gets older. (A public service announcement) We should change from saying "pardon me" after we sneeze to "hundred miles an hour" because she has learned that the air that comes out of your lungs when you sneeze is moving 100 miles per hour. THEN - she said that when we "toot" we should say, "hundred stinks per hour." Of course, we've decided that the air moving from a burp is significantly slower... we have not calculated that yet. We'll let you know. For now we will continue to compliment each other as when Brad was little and say, "Good one."

I'm glad to get them back to school today :)

Dan Smith's Thriller (Momentum)

2008-02-19T12:23:00.001-05:00

This is for you Shaun - enjoy :)

Date with Big Brother

2008-02-16T10:29:00.002-05:00

This morning Hope was soooo excited! She was getting ready for a special date with her big brother. It all started on Wednesday night. Micah and I made plans with Hilary (my daughter-in-law) for breakfast the next day. The problem was that Hope would be at school. She was very upset. I suggested that she and I could go out for breakfast on Saturday. nope. She had no interest in that. So, I suggested she and daddy could go on a date. nope. THEN... Well, what about a date with Brad. WINNER. Her whole outlook changed immediately! So we called Brad as soon as we got home. I think he was as excited as she was.

Right now they are at Cracker Barrel ordering Bacon and Bacon with a side order of Bacon. OH - and hot chocolate too.
And Hilary went along too... that was just dandy with Hope.

Hope and Brad a quite a pair. They have a very special bond. Hilary is convinced that it is because their personalities are so similar. It's true. They are very much alike. Hope adores her big brother - if he's still she's on top of him. Here is a picture of the two of them from a couple of years ago.

Character Achievement

2008-02-08T11:53:00.000-05:00

We are really proud of Hope. He received a Character Achievement Award at a recent PTO meeting.

The Secret

2008-02-06T23:13:00.000-05:00

This afternoon I watched Oprah. They were discussing, yet again, the book, The Secret. Makes me crazy - I won't get into all that today. Basically today's show focused on the "Law of Attraction" = if you think positive things, positive things will happen to you. Some people actually have "vision boards." It's a bulletin board where you stick all the things you want out of life. The idea is that looking at it everyday will create a positive force of energy in your life or better yet, your higher power will bless you with those things. One lady had an amazing oven on her board - by golly she bought that exact one! (rolling eyes) One family had a vision board in their kitchen. The little girl (4-5 years old) explained it. "We put what we want on it - it helps make our dreams come true."

Of course I was pretty cynical about the whole thing. But, I have to say my ears perked up when they talked about having a love list. The idea was that if you are looking for a husband, should make a list of at least 100 qualities you want in a mate - even the color of his socks. My closest friends know that I once had a "list" - my list of 105 things I would like to be able to say about someone I would seriously date.

Here is my story:
To be honest, in the past, I really have had some difficulty in romance. About 9-10 years ago I really got tired of feeling like I had an idiot magnet on my head. I seemed to be attracting a high degree of dysfunction. I didn't trust myself to make good choices. So, I wrote a list of things I would like to be able to say about someone I was seriously dating. turned out to be 105 things, "The List" Some things were very serious, lots of things were very silly. A lot of it had more to do with the qualities I hoped that someone would see and appreciate in me. I thought that just creating the list would help protect me from an unhealthy relationship. In some respects, I guess it did... I didn't date.
Instead I focused on myself a bit - discovering for myself the qualities that should be appreciated. I involved myself in ministry. I had a purpose. One thing led to another—A life-changing opportunity. I took a children's ministry job in PA. When packing for my move, I found "The List." I ripped it up and threw it away, confident that marriage and a family beyond just Brad and I was not what God wanted for my life. His plan was ministry. So, I would throw myself into ministry. Then I met Ray.
We didn't date very long before we knew that there was something very special going on. It was time to consider if we should seriously consider a future together. Some would say, "It was time to fish or cut bait." I wrote a letter to Ray telling him all the wonderful things I was learning about him - and loved. At the end of the letter I realized that I had listed nearly all the things on my list of 105 things. Even the silly ones. The closer we got - the more I realized that Ray has all the things on "The List."
I don't have "The List" any more. When I ripped it up and tossed it out - I gave my dreams to God. Only then did God bless me with a wonderful husband and darling children too! But, we do still have the letter I wrote to Ray.

So... what's the deal? Was "The List" for God or me... or the "universe" of positive energy to give me what I want?
I think it stands the same as when I wrote it. It was just one of the little things I did to get me to a healthy frame of mind.
Sometimes I do believe that you need to let go of some things (dreams, pain, guilt, fear) so you can have some free hands to do some good stuff. Let God work it out.

Baby Got Book (OFFICIAL)

2008-01-31T10:02:00.001-05:00

This will put a smile on your face.

more crying

2008-01-29T11:29:00.000-05:00

This is a totally different reason for tears. I just can't help myself. Ray and I found this site a couple years ago. It must be the sick "preacher's kid" humor in me ~ but I cry from laughing EVERY time I read it. The actual signs are kinda funny. But, it's the sarcastic comments about them that really crack me up. Check out Crummy Church Signs

tears

2008-01-29T10:17:00.000-05:00

This video surprised me. They played it at my Dad's church recently Heartland Christian Church. My mom said that it made everyone cry. To be honest, at first I thought, "This is it?" Well... let me tell you... got me too! Let me know if it gets you.

Hot Off the Press

2008-01-20T19:54:00.000-05:00

I am a mother-in-law.
Just another addition to the list of words that define me. And I happily accept this description. I love my beautiful daughter-in-law. I have no doubt that this is a marriage blessed by God. The ceremony was simply beautiful ~ mostly because Brad and Hilary are such a beautiful couple and their love evident in every aspect of the evening.

I am a mother of the prettiest flower girl in the world! And the little guy is pretty darling too!
When Brad was a little ring bearer in my brother's wedding quite a few years ago, I never dreamed that he would have a little sister as a flower girl in his own wedding. God has truly blessed me with a wonderful family.

Kisses

2008-01-18T22:27:00.000-05:00

This is a big weekend for our family. Brad and Hilary are getting married tomorrow. Hope is a flower girl. It's very funny to view a wedding rehearsal from a six year olds perspective. My dad is officiating the ceremony, so as usual he makes a little joke about saving the kiss for the real thing - they don't need to practice.

So... on the way home tonight Hope tells us that she thought it was funny that Brad and Hilary did not need to practice their kiss tonight and are saving their kiss for the wedding. She said that she didn't think Hilary needed to practice. Hilary kissed her dad and she did just fine. She's not sure about Brad - he may need some practice. She did not see him kiss anybody tonight.

Van Gogh?

2008-01-14T16:37:00.000-05:00

Micah and I got a little creative today.
I painted the stripes and he created the grass with a fork.
Really fun! Can't wait to do a set with Hope!

Toothless

2008-01-12T10:52:00.000-05:00

The Tooth Fairy has made a lot of trips to our house this week! Three!!
One of Hope's top teeth has been out for a while and she had a wiggly bottom tooth over the holidays. But, the wiggly one was not part first of the trio to go. She had something in her mouth and Micah gave it a tug! The opposite tooth was VERY wiggly. So I gave it a gentle pull and out it came. A couple of days later the other one came out. She had a little hillbilly action goin'. I was hoping that the wiggly top tooth would come out before Brad and Hilary's wedding. Success! The last of the week's trio easily slipped out last night! You have to admit, it's an perfectly adorable (balanced) grin. I love it when thing even out :)

However, Hope is still wondering why her friend sometimes gets five dollar bills from the Tooth Fairy, when the going rate is one dollar per tooth. Don't you hate it when you just don't have change? I'm sure the Tooth Fairy suffers the same way. Hope takes no comfort in the fact that when Ray and I were kids, the going rate for teeth was a quarter per tooth.

I do recall when Brad was little, the Tooth Fairy forgot about him. Can you imagine?! She slipped a fiver under the front door with an apology note suggesting that he give the tooth to his mom. Even the Tooth Fairy makes mistakes... and apparently suffer guilt too!

More Museum Pictures

2008-01-06T23:42:00.001-05:00

Hands On Museum

2008-01-06T23:07:00.000-05:00

As I have mentioned previously, we visited a very cool hand's on museum in Hendersonville, NC.
http://handsonwnc.org/
I think what was special for me was the fact that it was created by the community, for the community. It seems like quite a grassroots project! Donations were taken from the community and learning centers were sponsored by local business. The favorite area was sponsored by McDonald's. Did you know that McDonald's in the largest consumer of apples? So... they sponsored the from seed to apple pie activity. Ray's favorite activity was the bubble machine. Check out the pictures!
They had a music center, painting and play dough area, a Lego car building table with a great ramp to test the cars on, a stage, a Log cabin, grocery store with a real cash register and conveyor belt. Doctor's office, climbing trees... sooo much stuff!

It was wonderful ~ but not perfect... which made it even more wonderful because it made me think, "Well we could do that!"
All the activities were created by regular (although very creative) people - not commercially designed or built pieces. Well, except for the slide and water feature all built into "stone" very much like the slide and waterfall at River Hills.

When I came home I researched community children's museums. Turns out there are hundreds of these type of non-profit businesses throughout the country. Everything from the most modest to professionally designed and built. What they have in common was this idea - by the community, for the community. There seems to be a formula to getting these things started

I'm just thinking...
Wouldn't a children's museum be the perfect addition to downtown Loveland?

Painfully Average

2008-01-05T11:25:00.000-05:00

I have to make a confession.
I have been seeing commercial after commercial about the the new show "How to Look Good Naked." Yes, the title makes you feel a bit naughty to even think about watching it - I suppose that is the intent. And really - doesn't everybody want to look good naked? Even Adam and Eve had issues with that.

So... yesterday they had a segment on "Good Morning America" about this new show. Once again I heard that the average woman is a size 14/16. Seriously. I look in the mirror once again. "This is average?" Of course the average woman loathes her body - exactly why this new show is set to be a hit even if it's for a short while. I got sucked into the promotion and set my Tivo to record the first episode.

I watched it. It was very sweet watching the young lady go from crying in the mirror to rejoicing at her new found self-esteem. I am really not convinced that when she watched herself with a roomful of friends last night and saw herself being twirled around in the air in her underwear by the host that she retained that joy... Seems like she would be thinking, "Oh my gosh! What was I thinking!! I did that in my underwear! On national TV!!! I must have been desperate!" I'm still not convinced that a day at the spa a new wardrobe, make-up and a new hairdo can fix a lifetime of self-loathing. Oh - in the end a nude photo shoot... yeah - that'll help.

I guess we are all a little desperate in one way or the other. Why can't we see ourselves as God sees us? Last week our lesson in Jr Worship was about starting the new year viewing ourselves as God sees us. We watched a video ~ A Snoodle's Tale. In the story, the little Snoodle listens to everyone else's idea of who he is and what he should do, resulting in a lot of frustration. Eventually he finds himself in the home of his creator who tells him that he should seek his identity from the one who created him. He made him special. So... we worked with the kids to help them think about what made them special, to practice trying to see themselves as God sees them.

I have come full circle this week. I am painfully average. Which is pretty great. But also I REALLY need to work on seeing myself as God sees me. I am wonderfully special. Which is pretty great. I am "fearfully and wonderfully made." Try not to focus on the "fearfully" part. haha
Psalms 139:14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Need to work on that "know that full well" thing too.

I'm still thinking...
that a day at the spa, a new wardrobe, make-up and a new hairdo is something I would not mind trying!
I would certainly skip the nude photo shoot. Yikes!

Kids Singing

2008-01-02T00:30:00.000-05:00

One of my very favorite things to do is sing with kids. I love teaching kids new songs and love the honesty in what they enjoy. So I have to admit, one of the perks of my job is singing with kids every week. The trick is finding songs that click for them... the kind of songs that they hum while riding in the car or playing in their room. We were blessed to find two such songs for Christmas. My favorite part was seeing how quickly they learned the sign language to "Emmanuel." The sign for "Emmanuel" is the same as "God with us." It was fun to actually see physically that they mean the same thing. Here are a couple of photos from when we shared these songs with our church family at River Hills.

You should note how silly I look in the first photo...
I was trying to make them smile and loosen up before we began our first song.
I was so proud of all the kids!

Happy New Year!

2007-12-31T10:37:00.000-05:00

The Davis Family ended 2007 on a fun trip. We visited Grandma and Grandma Davis in Henderson, NC. It was a long overdue trip and we had a wonderful time.

Hope and Micah especially enjoyed their time with G & G Davis! A little relaxing in front of the TV and a little bird watching.

Grandma and Grandpa even gave them a few golf lessons!

One day Grandpa, Daddy, Micah and Mommy wanted to go to movie. But, Hope was having so much fun playing with Grandma she did not want to leave. So... Grandma and Hope stayed behind and played and played with the Disney figures. Apparently there were several weddings, an arrest and even a jail sentence. I think I even heard that they serve chili in the jail. My children have very rich imaginations. The rest of us went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks... pretty cute... right down Micah's alley.

The highlight of our trip was a really great, new, hand's on children's museum that Grandma and Grandpa found right in the heart of downtown Hendersonville. That deserves a post of it's own. More about that later.

So many changes this year ~ I can't wait to see what 2008 brings! wink wink Brad.
Happy New Year!

The Nut Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree

2007-12-24T20:19:00.001-05:00

I have no idea who this person is!
It's true ~ there is no way to deny this is my kid.
We share the same cheesy smile and power brows.
This was taken at the Ponchot Family Christmas Party.

Tonight is Christmas Eve ~ Hope and Micah are Crazy excited! They are lying in sleeping bags resting and watching TV... waiting to go to the 11:00 pm Service @ church. We've also been tracking Santa's progress on the internet. Can't WAIT!!

School's Out ~ Yikes!!

2007-12-21T17:30:00.000-05:00

Hope and Micah came home from school just a little while ago...
Treat Bags = Sugar HIgh ~ you can see it in their eyes.

Now I am ready for Christmas. Presents bought... grocery shopping done. I'm ready to get domestic and start cooking for the Ponchot Family Christmas Party tomorrow night. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the Davis house!

Hold Dat Reindeer - Crank That Remix (with Lyrics)

2007-12-17T09:39:00.001-05:00

This is the hilarious video that our Student Minister, Jaki created. I'm afraid the Hip-Hop dance line is quite disturbing... our church staff ~ yikes! LOL

Christingle

2007-12-16T22:40:00.000-05:00

A Christingle.
This is a really cool activity that we did in Jr Worship today. My favorite part was how proud Micah was of his. He carried it around for a very long time.

A Christingle is a symbolic object used in advent services in churches of many Christian denominations. It has its origins in the Moravian Church , with the first recorded use, in Germany, in 1747.
This is the story of the first Christingle:

One Christmas time back in 1747 at a town in Germany, Pastor John sat at home in front of his fire. He was thinking how he could explain the love of Jesus, and what Christmas really meant to the children in the church. He decided to prepare a simple symbol to help make the message of Christmas fresh and lively for them. Pastor John gave each child a lighted candle wrapped in a red ribbon, with a prayer that said “Lord Jesus, kindle a flame in these dear children‘s hearts”. This was the first ever Christingle service.
Many years later, in 1968, Christingle services were introduced to the Anglican Church in Britain by John Pensom of The Children’s Society, and the custom spread quickly; each year there are more and more Christingle services in England and Wales, although today‘s Christingles are a little different.
The Christingle consists of:

• an orange representing the world
• a red ribbon around it representing the blood of Jesus
• fruits and sweets skewered on 4 cocktail sticks which
are pushed into the orange representing the fruits of
the earth and the four seasons
• a lighted candle is pushed into the center of the orange
representing Jesus Christ, the light of the world

My Secret Mannequin

2007-12-13T08:51:00.000-05:00

I heard a funny story yesterday. My mom warned me of this... you will find out "secrets" about your children years and years after the incidents. Thankfully ~ this is a cute and funny one.

I was telling Brad about the difference between Hope and Micah when I take them to work with me. As I'm telling him this I realized that Hope reminds me of Brad so much. Anyway, he said, "I went to work with you A LOT!" It's true... he spent a lot of time at Montgomery Cyclery. The nice thing was that he could ride bicycles in the lower level. Then he made a confession...

He told me that he would stand in the window (facing Montgomery Road) and pretend to be a mannequin. When people would pass by, especially older ladies, he would move just a tiny bit or smile and freak them out! He never told me this because he was afraid that he would get in trouble. He was between kindergarten and forth grade when I worked at Montgomery Cyclery.
It was the best and worst of times ~ LOL.

Really Big Show!

2007-12-10T11:41:00.001-05:00

Last night we had the pleasure of seeing my nephews in their Christmas musical.
As always... Jacob stole the show with his humorous line delivery! He is really talented!!
Unfortunately I couldn't get a great picture of Nathan - trust me... he is cute as a button and was awesome in the angel choir.
Aunt Robin was very proud!

Pretty Girl

2007-12-10T11:38:00.000-05:00

Can't resist. I love having a little girl :)

Faith

2007-12-05T23:12:00.000-05:00

There is a little boy in our church family that is fighting a mighty huge battle... cancer.
Many times a day Mick and his family come to my mind and I pray for strength, courage and most of all a miracle. Mick's dad, Tom is quite faithful in updating the CarePage that has been set up to communicate with family and friends. His words help keep Mick in my heart and mind and my prayers fresh. His words convey a sense of optimism and peace that only God can give in such a stressful season of life. The message boards have also been very touching to read. I wish I could find the entry that was posted early in Mick's battle... Someone mentioned another child, Elizabeth Daniels who was struggling with cancer miles away and suggested reading the blog dedicated to sharing the Daniels family journey through cancer.

http://www.danielsfamilyupdate.blogspot.com/
I have been keeping up with this blog and have been amazed by the faith of this family. They truly count on God to take care of them. By reading the entries, there is no doubt that God's providential care is fully at work. So... even though I have never met them and probably never will. I pray.

So much as been said about the negative consequences of our technology. It's true. Many disturbing things abound. But, it is also true that it makes the world a smaller place. A smaller place where we can encourage each other merely by our sharing our words of faith. And so... I will continue to pray.

Big Kids!

2007-12-05T00:23:00.000-05:00

It's a big night at the Davis house! Hope and Micah have been sharing a room since Micah was born. It has been my goal all year to get Hope moved into Brad's old room. I promised her I'd get it ready by Christmas. There is still much to do, but we are clearly on the way to a very girly room. Micah on the other hand was not as excited to loose his roommate. He has been dreaming of a room dedicated to penguins. No, I have no idea where that come from. For the past week or so he has decided that he would love a Christmas room. I'm sure that I would not be able to stomach a year-round Christmas room - ANYWHERE. But, since Hope's room looks so pretty, I had to do something for him this special night. So.... when I went to the grocery tonight (we are expecting snow, need bread and milk) I though I'd get him a decoration for his room. I found a perfect addition for his giant bed. A Christmas throw pillow with a penguin on it. Micah was so happy!

So tonight, my little sweeties are sleeping in their own rooms for the very first time. Hope looks like a little princess in her Laura Ashley bedding... so warm and cozy. BTW I didn't get it a Kroger - Kohl's 85% off! seriously! Was $179.00 - Now $35.00. Micah looks so sweet and small in his queen-size bed... But! There are lots and lots of stuffed friends to join him!!

Sweet Dreams to all...
Robin

Uh Oh ~ Holidays

2007-11-26T09:41:00.000-05:00

I refuse to think about Christmas until after Thanksgiving.
Well... Thanksgiving has come and gone.
It was a relaxing, fun and of course delicious day! My mom cooked everything. I'm spoiled. Without a doubt, she makes the best pumpkin pie. My family played a game that proved we are all idiots. Great fun... then we watched "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."

Seems Thanksgiving is over ~ as soon as dinner is over.

I can feel my blood pressure rise.
So many things to plan. So many things to buy!!
We even have to buy a new Christmas tree! We "retired" our old tree this summer when we let the church borrow it for VBS. Instead of dragging it home... we dragged it to the dumpster. He lived a long and decorated life.

Date with Daddy

2007-11-21T11:15:00.000-05:00

This morning Hope was so excited about having a date with daddy. They were heading to Cracker Barrel with plans to eat a lot of bacon for breakfast. She was also calculating ways to get Daddy to go shopping and buy her something... every little girl's dream. I think every little girl could benefit with a few more "Daddy Dates." Let's face it, much of how we view men and our expectations of our relationships with them are built on that precious relationship with Daddy. I guess we never outgrow that desire for a "Daddy Date." A couple of weeks ago, my dad stopped my office just to see me... a pretty nice bright spot in my busy week.

Pilgrim Hats

2007-11-21T11:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was the Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast. The parents were asked to send fun finger foods. So we made "Pilgrim Hat" cookies. They turned out pretty cute.

Mental Ping Pong

2007-11-20T09:40:00.000-05:00

I am involved in the most ridiculous sport. Mental Ping Pong. Makes me crazy. I had a hard time getting to sleep last night due to this insipid game. Ping - I love my job. Pong. It's too hard. Ping. It's what I am meant to do. Pong. Maybe I should be doing something else. Ping. It's great for my family. Pong. It's hard on my family. Ping. I'm the best person for this job. Pong. Someone else could do it better.

Anyone can play this game! You can apply it to any aspect of your life!! Being a parent, housework, money, marriage. Believe me, I've tried them all! Other people call this game, self doubt, insecurity, etc...

Well... once I went to sleep I slept very well. But... and that's a really big butt :) This morning I awoke from a very disturbing dream. My family and I were on our way to church. Sitting in the car I realized we were 30 MINUTES LATE!! This is really bad for the Interim Director of Children's Ministries. LOL The weird thing was that Ray did not see this as any problem at all. We get to church. Apparently, all children's classes had been cancelled. No one seemed upset... quite a matter of fact. All the kids were in adult worship, which had a very low attendance. Then... my boss found me. He said, "Maybe we should pray before we chat."
Then I - thankfully - woke up.

I think too much.
Does that make sense?
Perhaps I need a new sport... maybe tennis? Don't know much about it. Don't they talk about love? LOL

A New Cousin?

2007-11-18T15:55:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was very fun! We got to meet a new family member. Pedro Ponchot. Shaun, Jane and Darci's new puppy. He is so cute - He looks like a toy. You may know that Hope and Micah have a very love/hate relationship with little animals. Mostly, if they are in the same room... forget about it! But they both fell in love with Pedro. Even Micah.

A couple of years ago, when Micah was very small we went to the playground across the street. There were lots of other little children there. All very comfortable with dogs. Well, there are two very nice german shepherds that live up the street. They are very well behaved and never walk on a leash. However, there are signs in our park that say dogs must be on a leash. When Hope and Micah saw the dogs coming to the playground with their owner they trembled with fear! Micah screamed at the top of his lungs, "Can't they read the signs?!!! They are supposed to be on a leash!" Micah wasn't quite 3 years old. There was lots of weeping and screaming. sigh.

Last year, in preschool a very nice family brought a little bunny to share with the classroom. It was at the end of the day so I was waiting in the hall to pick Micah up. I turned around and there was Mrs. Dozier with Micah in the air ready for me to take him. All she said was, "Bunny in the room." then rushed back to class. Needless to say, Micah was in tears terrified of the bunny.

So... we are very happy that Hope and Micah have made great progress! As you can see, Hope was quite found of the little guy.

Today was another fun day at church. I'm so excited! The River Kids Worship kids, will be singing in adult worship on December 23rd. I introduced one of the songs that we will be singing. They began picking it up lickety split. I am so proud of them. I think they are going to be GREAT! I can't wait to introduce them to the other song!

Budding Photographer

2007-11-18T15:46:00.000-05:00

Micah has been enjoying taking pictures with my camera. Seems like he may have a future in photography... or at least a shot at being the creative director of Davis Family Movies. You can see for yourself... the boy loves Halloween toys!

Star Wars version of Jacob and Esau

2007-11-12T12:13:00.001-05:00

This video came from a Christian Church in IL. It was perfect for River Kids Worship this week. We were talking about God forgiving Jacob. The kids are learning Bible stories by drawing simple pictures while they hear the story. Hopefully, they will be able to retell the story by drawing ~ BUT, what if kid's used their toys to tell great Bible truths... I guess it might look a little like this video. It was our first "Bring Your Parent to Church Day." The Kindergarteners and 1st graders brought their parents this week. I think the parents enjoyed this video more than the kids did. My favorite part is Chewie a.k.a Esau!

What is a promise?

2007-11-06T12:48:00.000-05:00

Here's the video we showed last week to get us thinking about what it means to keep a promise. The "Big Picture Point" was that God keeps his promises to show us He is faithful. Our story this week was about God's promise to Abrahan that he would have a child even in his old age. Interesting... his wife Sarah was twice my age! Yikes!

Spinning Plates

2007-11-05T11:43:00.000-05:00

I guess I'm not alone. Every woman in America probably feels like she is spinning plates. On a great day she may even feel like she has all the plates spinning! I have not feft like that in a very long time. Today... seems like I only have a few plates spinning. My house? Yikes! I won't even go there. In case you didn't know, I'm the interim Director of Children's Ministies at my church. I've been seeing my work there as at least eight plates that need spinning. I can even hear the silly carnival music. The problem is that I can only seem to get 3 or 4 of those plates spinning at one time. The second I leave one alone to get a fifth one going one of the others drops to the ground. I guess it's so frustrating because I believe a healthy children's ministry is incredibly important to the over-all health of a church family. I really want to see all of the plates spinning joyfully! Maybe even with a little more peaceful music too!

I really should think about my house and my home... same problem. Like every mom - the laundry plate, dinner plate, grocery plate, homework plate, paying the bills plate, quality time with my husband plate, diet plate, exercise plate, house work plate, mountain of messy toys plate, MAN! see why I didn't wanna go there? How do we decide exactly how many plates we should be spinning? How many plates we should let others help us spin?

Quite a while ago I jokingly created a list of rules for myself - I'm quick to share them with others.
Rule #1 NOT MY JOB
Rule #2 LET IT GO LOUIE
Rule #3 REMEMBER WHERE YOU ARE
Rule #4 REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE

Ray and I tease each other with the rules. When things get us going we will just say, "that's rule #1" or "remember rule #2" But seriously, I have really thought about these rules - especially when I feel overwhelmed.
NOT MY JOB. Sometimes I waste so much energy worrying about someone else's responsibility.
LET IT GO LOUIE. I can get so bogged down with past mistakes or hurts.
REMEMBER WHERE YOU ARE. I use this rule when I realize my expectations are out of wack or when I am out of my comfort zone.
Last but not least - when all else fails. REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE. I am a child of God. He loves me so much. Even when... hummmm especially when I have trouble keeping the plates spinning.
Does that make sense?
Can you hear the silly carnival music?

Halloween

2007-11-02T09:13:00.000-04:00

Halloween was a lot of fun at our house. Nobody loves Halloween more than Micah. His favorite toy is a little witch he named Witchie-Poo. He loves everything about it ~ the toys, the scary stories, TV shows, the candy, the decorations (but not the REALLY SCARY ones... he has not been in Krogers in a month!) But, he is VERY afraid of the scary costumes - especially the older kids. For the past 3 years he has planned to be a ghost. The first year we cut the appropriate holes in a piece of polar fleece... but at the last minute he changed his mind and wore his spiderman outfit from the year before. Last year he as very excited to be a ghost again. But, he was very sick and rested on the couch the whole evening. THIS year again he was very excited to be a ghost. He even took his "outift" to school. Bit, when it was time for trick or treat... the doorbell rang... our first little beggar. Where was Micah? Behind the chair. Poor little guy.

So... he decided to stay home with daddy. Daddy sat on the porch and passed out candy and glow bracelets. Micah watched from the window. Once and while daddy would come in the house to check on Micah. Micah would say, "Okay daddy, I'm fine. You can go back outside again." He really did not want that doorbell to ring again!

The trick or treating champ is Hope. What a cutie! She wore the fox tail and ears I made for a program I did for the library. She wore it all day to school and told me that she was so proud. She would hug her tail and tell her friends that her mommy made her tail! We were out trick or treating for over a hour and a half. We found a school friend and she walked together... so much giggling. I think they were speaking their own language... very high and squeaky. I didn't understand a word. They didn't stop talking all evening... I'm not sure they even took a breath. The sweetest thing about my little girl though? The whole time she was collecting candy it never occured to her that it was all her candy. It was ALWAYS for her and Micah. She could not wait to get home and show him what she had collected. Not a selfish bone in her little body. Reminded me so much of "The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown." Hope was so much like Lucy collecting candy for her brother Linus, who was waiting for the Great Pumplin. Of course, Hope never called her brother stupid like Lucy did.
I'm quite proud of my little girl and her sweet little heart.

Noah's Ark

2007-10-28T20:20:00.000-04:00

This YouTube video clip is from Disney's Fantasia 2000. We used it for today's lesson on Noah's Ark...

Buffy and Muffy go to the Mall

2007-10-18T19:18:00.001-04:00

This is the video Ray and I made for Jr Worship. It is a great example of the over-use of the word LOVE.

Latte Art

2007-10-11T09:44:00.001-04:00

I LOVE COFFEE

The Evening News and a Worship Service

2007-10-10T08:57:00.000-04:00

What does the evening news and a worship service have in common?
I just watched an interview with Howard Kurtz regarding his new book, Reality Show. His book talks about the influence on the network evening news on society and whether or not it will continue to remain relevant in the next generation. The funny thing to me was how much it sounded like the discussions we have pertaining to our worship services. How do we balance the important issues, keeping people interested and yes, entertained? One of the things I found most interesting about their discussion was the fact that network news needs to consider content - are there too many stories about menopause and retirement? Reminded he of our talks about whether we should keep hymns in our services or are we too seeker sensitive. Does that make sense? I think too much.

Birthday Bash

2007-09-25T10:17:00.000-04:00

Last night was our yearly Birthday Bash for my dad. Tradition calls for the whole clan to get together and Mom makes her famous apple dumplins. They are awesome and labor intensive - so it's a very special treat - once a year! One trick to eating this wonderful food is making sure that you have enough ice cream to evenly distibute a little with each bite. If you do not budget your ice cream properly you may come up short - which is unfortunate - but frankly, the dumplins are delicious with or without the ice cream.

This year was extra special because my little sister and her family were in town! So we were all together!! As you can see Dad has quite a cute bunch of grandkids. Here they all are minus Brad, who had to run off to his new young adult small group (Bible Study)

The big one

2007-09-19T14:03:00.000-04:00

So you have "met" Ray, Hope and Micah. Now it is time to meet Brad. I'm currently twice his age - but he'll always be my baby. I could not be more proud of him. Poor thing, he has certainly inherited many things from me. Most notably, power brows, dimples and my giggle - don't get him started. The best thing about him is his love for the Lord and passion for people. I hope in some small way he got a little bit of that from me. Although I think Uncle Danny has had a powerful influence on that.

It's funny, this year we both became staff members of churches... he beat me though, his picture is already on Loveland's website - http://lovedtolove.com - note the power brows :) Our churches are opposite sides of the Little Miami River, yet both are Loveland addresses. Lots of fun!

The pretty girl with him is his girlfriend, Hilary. She has power brows too :)

Trolls

2007-09-18T14:04:00.000-04:00

Well, you've seen a picture of Ray and Hope together - Now here's the little guy. Yesterday as usual I took him to the bus stop for his ride to kindergarten. It was such a beautiful day I decided to go a little early and sit in the sunshine. To help ease the wait, I began telling Micah a story about a troll that lived under the street where the drainage grate is. He was very lonely as he watched the children get on the bus everyday. So his parents suggested he dress up like a human child and ride the bus to school. This story went on until the bus came.

My little man marched across the street to the bus. He seemed to linger a bit with the bus driver. She popped her head out and said, "Nice story Mom!" then she rolled the bus up the street a bit, popped her head out again and said, "Good luck with the trolls!" Wow! in just a few seconds she got all that from Micah... my shy little guy! Silly me - I worried he might not quite be ready for kindergarten.

Bad Habit

2007-09-14T10:21:00.000-04:00

I should explain the whole, "Does that make sense?" thing. My sweet husband has pointed out to me that I OFTEN say, "Does that make sense?" after I explain something or tell a story. The funny thing is, to him it sounds like I'm saying, "You idiot, do you understand me?" But, the truth is I'm usually feeling pretty insecure and don't feel like I'm explaining myself very well. So in my head it sounds like, "I'm such an idiot. Do you understand me?"
Guess I better work on that.

It's a start

2007-09-14T07:53:00.000-04:00

Well, now I've done it. I've been enjoying other people's blog for some time now. It's my turn.
I wonder if anyone is interested in what I have to say and as always...
I'll wonder, "Does that make sense?"