Fun Photos for Friends and Family

Leah was given a Sees candy bar for Christmas. The giver asked us to make sure that she at least sampled the candy bar. Leah's expression was priceless. She hummed and rocked back and forth. Definitely my daughter, a chocolate lover.


Leah is so silly and keeps us all laughing. She likes to climb into this small swing and relax. She uses her foot on the bar to push herself back and forth.


Leah's first trip to the Oakland temple for Joe Patten's wedding.


Life with Leah is BUBBLICOUS....


Doug tries out his new Christmas present as he gets projects done around the house.

Okay-so the photo is sideways. Because I am too lazy to open it in another program, you will have to tip your head so that your ear touches your shoulder, or turn your viewing device sideways. It will be worth it!!!



For Leah's birthday cake, I made the Hungry Caterpillar from Eric Carle's book.

Stephanie's Dream Come True

Stephanie has always been a dog lover for as long as I can remember. She loves to play dogs with her friends, watch dog movies, read dog books, wear dog shirts, and even act like a dog. We have an entire laundry basket full of stuffed dogs. All kinds of dogs-big ones, little ones, momma ones, ones that walk and bark, others that wag their tails, and even a dog bank that flaps its ears when you add money to it. We have large floor rug dogs and dog ornaments. Try as we might, we could not fulfil her one desire, a real dog to call her own, until this week.

We knew a family that was tranferred to Illinois and would not be able to take their family dog, Molly. They were hoping to find someone to love their dog. Doug and I have never been dog fans, especially of indoor dogs, but after much praying, we decided to give Molly a chance to be a part of our family.

We surprised Stephanie with Molly, a seven year old Cocker Spaniel on Sunday. Stephanie was bouncing off the walls and squealing with delight to know that all of her dreams had finally come true. A dog of her own.

We are on day 2 with Molly and things are going really well. She is a very calm dog that likes to be right by your side. She is well behaved and comes when she is called. She loves walks and is gentle around Leah. She has taken a liking to everyone in the family, but seems to prefer me. ???? So even as I type this, she is laying on the floor next to my bed. I must say that the Lord definitely softened my heart and has enriched Stephanie's life more than words can say.

Stephanie's Primary Talk

STEPHANIE WAS ASKED TO GIVE A TALK ON AGENCY. I WANTED TO HELP HER, BUT SHE INSISTED ON WRITING IT HERSELF. THIS WAS THE TALK THAT SHE WROTE. IT IS AWESOME. I THINK THAT I WILL HAVE HER WRITE MY NEXT TALK, TOO.


Agency is the gift to choose for ourselves Today I am going to talk about agency. Agency is the wonderful gift we have always in all situations; the gift to choose. Satin thought his plan would be so much better because everyone would get to come back to heaven, but heavenly Father certainly didn’t want that because he wanted to test us all. But Satin just kept fighting to be our savior and that’s... why he was cast out. Jesus is now savior instead of Satin, who is now considered the devil. We all have agency to choose right from wrong, but Heavenly Father lets Satin tempt us. We must all make sure to choose the right choices, and if we make a mistake we must try and make it right again, repent to Heavenly Father, and show that you are sorry to the person who you did it to. Satin tries to tempt us so we can be sad and miserable like him. He wants to get revenge on us for following God’s plan. One time that I had to choose was one day, a while ago, I was watching a movie. I saw that my mom’s candy bin was out on the bed. “Mmm. Look at those orange Nerds! Those look really yummy.” I thought. I knew those would be great treats to eat during this movie, but I also knew that I didn’t ask. I chose not to eat them. My mom was lucky! But I have also had times that I haven’t chosen the right. Once I heard my mother tell me to clean my room. So I went into my room, shut the door and started to read. My mom came in and asked, “Did you pick up anything?” I said that I didn’t hear her. That wasn’t a god choice at all. But I repented. I am very grateful for agency and I am sure you are too, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Stephanie's Dog Note

Dear Mom and Dad,
I love you so much and I have wanted a dog for a REALLY long time. I think this is just the perfect opportunity to look into that chance, and I hope we really get Molly. If you object, that is just fine with me. Anyway, it’s your own choice. I love you guys very much, and if we really do get Molly, I will always try my best to do these things:
1. Buy her food
2. Brush her
3. ...Water her
4. Scoop her poop
5. Exercise her (Includes walking her)
6. Remember to feed her
7. Put her to bed
8. Wash her
9. Play with her
10. Calm her down on Fourth of July
11. Vacuum the house more to get the hair off
12. Help dog-proof the house
13. Clean up the house more

This is what I’ll be responsible for. I love you very, very much and if you get her, I will be super thankful. Molly would be dreams come true. Thank you. I promise to try and do all the things above, Signed, Stephanie Rene DavisSee MoreLikeUnlike · · Friday at 1:58pm

New Photos

Amanda's 16th Birthday picture!
Doug surprised me and took the kids to get these pictures taken for Christmas. So cute!

Thanks, Doug.
Another fun shot! Now we can update the photos on our walls.
As a tradition, I have had all of the kids pictures taken in a bathtub on their first birthdays and then hang them in the guest bathroom. Now Leah has her special picture to add to the collection.

Leah's first birthday picture! Leah was not happy about having her picture taken. The photographer made the mistake of touching her, and after that, she was not a happy camper. Notice the pretzel in her hand as a bribe to stay put. This was seriously the only photo that turned out. Oh well! It shows her true personality.

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

What a difference a year makes! This year has gone by so quickly and there have been many times that I have wanted to sit down and update my blog. But between teaching the kids, a new baby, and just plain life, I have not made it a reality. So many of our family and friends are on Facebook where they are able to see all of the updated photos and stories from our world. I wasn't sure that the blog was necessary, until Stephanie started a blog for Leah as one of her GATE projects. She is documenting Leah's first year from her own perspective. I love reading what she writes and the pictures that she chooses to include. When she is finished with this project, she will 'slurp' it into a 'blurb book'. Her blog is mylittleleahbean.blogspot.com if you want to check out her blog. I can thank Stephanie for my renewed attempt at keeping my blog updated and also my mom who refuses to sign up for Facebook but still wants to see pictures of the kids and read of our adventures.

My friend, Katie, took some fun pictures of our family over the holidays. Thanks, Katie. I forgot how hard it is to take pictures with a baby. Long afternoon, but fun results.