Redford Neal Davis is Here!

At 11:57 last night, April 28, Pam gave birth to Reford Neal Davis.  He was 6 pounds 6 ounces and 18 1/2 inches long.  She says he looks just like Chris did as a baby - so maybe this one will be a redhead.  Mother and baby are doing fine.  I will fly out tomorrow to spend a week with them, so my blogs will be sporadic for the next little while - while I love my Davis family.

Happy Birthday Carl!

The problem with wiping out our computer is that we had not been backing up our pictures and lost them.  I was feeling pretty smug and thinking I had fairly recent pictures of all of my family for this year.  That is what I get for thinking!  This picture was taken several years ago at Christmas.  Sadly it is the most recent picture I have of Carl.  I have learned my lesson.  Back up important pictures.  Anyway, I hope it is a happy day for you, Carl.  We are glad you are a part of our family.  You are a wonderful father, husband and son.  You are a blessing to all who know you.  We love you very much.  Have a wonderful birthday.

Easter

We had a nice Easter.  Our Church meetings were wonderful and then at the end of the meetings on a table in the Cultural Hall, a young, nine-year-old boy named Nicholas Frey had made up these little Easter treats for all of the Primary children (with the help of his mother and soon to be stepfather).  They either had a Chick or a bunny in the center of a shortcake cup covered in frosting and dipped in green coconut.  The chocolate was placed in the center and then jelly beans were nestled in to fill the hole.  He wanted all chicks but could only find so many, so he settled for the bunnies.  He and his mother are Italian and apparently where they are from in Italy, this is one of their traditions for Easter.  It was a sweet gesture from a very kind young man.  As it turned out, he almost made enough for the each ward member to have one.  


The other thing that I noticed was the Easter dress.  I will get on my soap box about Sunday best at some other time, but I was tickled to see quite a few of the children actually had Easter clothes - even if most of the adults didn't even think that way.  I guess I will never get over the idea of Easter as time to change out my wardrobe for Spring and Summer and revamping it a bit.  

Hooray for Spring!

After living in Rhode Island for eight years - come June 1 - I have come to the conclusion that Spring is the most beautiful season of the year hear in New England.  I know they tout the Autumnal colors up here but that is iffy. The Spring colors are not.  The weather may be awful and it may rain and the wind may blow you off your feet, but sitting at a window in a car or in a building - the pictures above are the sights you see everywhere you look!  I am not kidding.  Outside of our Relief Society room window is a beautiful tree that blossoms in pink, if we can open the curtains - which is possible on overcast days.  Outside of our apartment is the  bottom picture - in one bed - there many others.  The white 'umbrella tree' is from the Boston Temple as is the bed with the white border.  The forsythia are from either side of our church building but that should be the state flower of Rhode Island.  They are everywhere!  If there was a color that signified that Spring was here it would be yellow because the forsythia are in bloom!  After a cold hard winter - even if the temperatures haven't made it into the 50's for very many days - it makes you feel warmer just knowing the flowers and trees are blooming.  Summer can't be far behind.  Being a Texas girl - I can take the heat!

My Easter Finery

This picture was taken in San Antonio when I was 5 or 6.  My dress had pink flowers on it and my hat was a pale pink.  My shoes and socks were white.  I also had a pair of white gloves and was in big trouble because I either had gotten them dirty or couldn't find them for this picture.  I remember I looked as pretty as my friend Susan Otto up the street (she was a year or two older than me and I thought the world revolved around her).  I think in fact that her mother went shopping with my mom to get my hat and gloves.  They were Catholic so they had to wear hats but I just remember wanting an Easter bonnet so badly.  When I was little, everyone wore a new hat on Easter Sunday, even to our Sacrament Meeting.  But then in the 1950's, women were still wearing hats.  When they started teasing their hair into the 'Bubble' - it became impractical to wear hats and that started their demise.  The next year when I wore the Easter hat - because I was only allowed to wear it on Easter Sunday - Mom let me wear my hair down.  That was a big deal because Mom never let me wear my hair down except to dry it.  That is probably why as long as I had long hair, I rarely let it go loose - because in my early life, it was bound up somehow.  I usually had a barrette or headband at least to hold it back unless it was a special occasion.

Easter Eggs

This slide was scanned in backwards.  If you can't tell from the the milk carton reading backwards, Marianne and I know because this scene was not on the right of our kitchen in the attic but on the left.  This was in Frankfurt Germany.  We had a very long kitchen with NO counter space - which drove my mother crazy.  She used the kitchen table and had Dad make her a 'counter' to put her appliances on - then covered it all with vinyl tablecloths so she could just wipe it clean.  


For some reason, my father loved to dye eggs.  He would boil at least 4 dozen eggs, sometimes more.  We would be dying eggs forever it seemed.  I guess that is why it seemed like such a chore when our girls were growing up - and why I have no desire to do it now.  I was burned out with it at a very young age.  Then we would have to eat these eggs forever!  We had creamed boiled eggs on toast, deviled eggs and egg salad sandwiches.  About the only way I really enjoy hard boiled eggs now is eggs salad sandwiches - which is the one way that I was served the least growing up.  We had them peeled with just salt and pepper more often.  Marianne and Bob would stick with the dying much longer than I did.  They are also much more artistic than I am and enjoyed mixing and striping the eggs.  I dyed about a dozen solid eggs and was done.  Give me a chocolate marshmallow egg any day in exchange for a hard boiled egg or better yet  - Black licorice jelly beans!

Just a thought

Life has not been a bucket of laughs the last few weeks in our family.  Clyde has had some worries in the ward, our daughters have had physical and emotional upsets the last few weeks that are worrisome - in other words - when it rains it pours.  The woman that owns the place where I work out has become one of my best friends.  She too has had  some really  rough stuff in her life lately.  Her biggest worry is her husband was just diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's because of Lupus.  His Lupus has also caused him to have strokes and other problems - in other words he is on the same slippery slope my mother was on her last 10 years.  The owner knows I have been worried but not exactly why.  The other day as we visited another person I workout with, handed me this prayer.  It is called 'Prayer of a Breton' and it is: "Lord, the sea is so wide and my boat is so small!  Be with me."  For some reason as I read this, it put my life in perspective and I realized I hadn't been relying on the Lord enough.  He wants me too.  Lesson learned.