Thursday, November 19, 2009

~~LOCKS OF LOVE~~

Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.

Most of the children helped by Locks of Love have lost their hair due to a medical condition called alopecia areata, which has no known cause or cure. The prostheses they provide help to restore their self-esteem and their confidence, enabling them to face the world and their peers.

It's been on my mind and heart to donate my hair for a while now. So, on Tuesday I went for it! I don't have a "before" picture but here are the "after" pictures. I was able to donate 11 inches of my hair! It will grow back, right!? :)







Tour De California

Here are some pictures from our 6 weeks in California. We had a family emergency so we hopped in the car and started the 15 hour drive to Arroyo Grande, Ca. We mostly stayed at Dusty's dad's house. His house served as the grand central station for any family that was visiting. Any night at the house we could count on a minimum of 10 people up to 16 people staying the night, taking showers and preparing meals together.
I was taking pictures of Kaianah in the kitchen sink (much easier at waist level and bathing 1 child instead of 8) and just as I'm about to snap a picture she decides to dump an entire cup of water on the floor. You'll see why in the next picture. :)
"Here you go Adia!" Adia and Kaianah are cousins and they are 8 weeks apart in age.

This is the face when you say "Bath time is over".

Adia and her stroller.
My sister in law (Ruth) and I stopped at a few garage sales one day in an effort to pick up a few CHEAP toys for the kids. She found this stroller for a $1 and it brought hours of fun for the kids, also hours of fighting over the 1 stroller. To bad we didn't find 8 strollers that day! Oh well!!
Kaianah still isn't to sure she likes swinging. I think she really just wanted to try to do what Adia was doing.

Awww, Cousins at the pier! Here is Jaden and Noah.

Jaden & Cora share a big brother/sister hug.

Uncle Jed took 6 kids on an outing together. He's a brave man. :)

Lil Cora

Here's my sister in law, Ruth, being silly. We have to find joys in cooking for 12 on a nightly basis. Do you see the 2 coffee pots on the counter? Much needed! :)


Here's some pictures from Avila Barn in Avila Beach, Ca.
Pictured is Noah, Kaianah, Josiah, Austin, Alanah and Cousin Nate.
Avila Barn had a straw bale maze for the kids to go through. Here is Jaden and part of Josiah going through the maze.

Avila Barn has animals for the kids to see. Here is Alanah & Kaianah checkin' out the animals.

Little Adia in the maze.

Here is Dusty, Grandma Ruth & Uncle Doug. These people represent lots of travel time getting to Arroyo Grande, Ca.
Dusty from Idaho, Uncle Doug from New York & Grandma Ruth from Buellton, Ca.

Sword fight gone bad with Uncle Joe. It's pretty clear who won this fight! :)

Da Boyz!

ALL the cousins together!
10 kids total.
9 of them are 6 and under.
Trent, Nate, Alanah, Josiah, Adia, Noah, Jaden, Austin, Cora & Kaianah
The reason we are all in California together. This is Dusty's dad.

He's in a coma. Since this time he has made a full recovery. Thank you Lord!

Brothers!
Uncle Joe & Aunt Mel-Mel at there' house.
We named there back yard Potter Park and spent a lot of time there.

Uncle Luke and Alanah at Potter Park

Potter Park has great cell reception, just ask Kaianah!

Noah, Austin & Uncle Joe
More pics to come soon...

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

~~OUR OWN BEEF~~

So, many of you know that we've been raising "Burger" the family steer for over a year. Finally the day came to butcher him. He'll finally be giving something back to us! Here are some pictures from processing Burger to get him ready for the butcher.
So, honey next time a little warning would be nice, maybe a 1,2,3 or something!? Luckily it didn't freak all the kids out. :)
Kaianah isn't to sure about all this.

Once he was shot he dropped immediately. Dusty made a large incision from breast bone to anus. Dave and Dusty continued to gut the steer.

Like always, the kids are a part of it all. Homeschooling day covered life to death and dissection! Very educational day all in all.

Dave is working on getting out all the intestines.


Now they are skinning.

Burger needed to be hoisted up to be skinned.

After he was skinned Dusty and Dave cut him in half and wrapped him up for transportation to the butcher.
Burger will hang and age with the butcher for the next 2 weeks.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Slaughtering "Burger"

We will have the slaughtering pictures up tonight! Our steer "Burger" will finally be giving something back to us. :) Organic, grass fed, hormone free, vaccination free steer will be providing us with tons of meat.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

New song I like...

I love this song by David Crowder Band...it's playing as you read this. :)

He is jealous for me, 
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree, 
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy. 
When all of a sudden, 
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory, 
And I realise just how beautiful You are, 
And how great Your affections are for me. 

And oh, how He loves us so, 
Oh how He loves us, 
How He loves us all 

Yeah, He loves us, 
Oh! how He loves us, 
Oh! how He loves us, 
Oh! how He loves. 

We are His portion and He is our prize, 
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes, 
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking. 
And Heaven meets earth like an unforseen kiss, 
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest, 
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets, 
When I think about, the way…

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

~~MIKE DAVIS D.C~~ AKA PAPA D~~

Reason for my blogging absence. Dusty's dad has been in the hospital in California for the last 3 1/2 weeks. He got pneumonia which turned in ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome.) He was put into a coma to give his body a fighting chance at recovery. The doctors expected him to be in a coma for 2 days or so, that unexpectedly turned into 2 weeks. 2 weeks on life support, in the ICU in critical condition. We got to see God's blessing when he finally came out of the coma and was able to sustain breathing on his own. 
Mike is now in physical therapy, still impatient at the hospital. He lost about 60% of his muscle while he was in the coma. He is working hard to rebuild the lost muscle. He is currently walking with a walker, still needs assistance using a fork to eat. Everyday he gets stronger. We are hopeful he will be released next week and will start outpatient physical therapy. 
As you can imagine the medical bills are piling. 
We have set up an account in which donations can be made to assist in his medical care. If you would like to donate please contact or walk into any Rabobank. (800) 942-6222  The account is set up under Michael Davis. 

On behalf of the family we would like to say a huge THANK YOU to all the friends and family for the prayers, cards, meals, love, support and donations. You all have been a blessing, you've made a difficult time a little easier. THANK YOU!!
~The Davis Family

Sunday, September 27, 2009

The Masked Underoo Man

OH MY GOSH! I couldn't stop laughing...
The kids and I are outside playing when from around the corner of the house Noah and Josiah come running up to me. This is what they looked like:
Yes, that's underware on Noah's head! He made that all by himself. He said he wanted a new fighter mask. He wanted to look like the toy in his hand.
I did have to ask..."Noah, did you get that from the dirty clothes pile in the laundry room?" He said, "No, I got it from my drawers in my room." Phew.
I laughed for a while on this one...

Princess dirty face was havin' fun crusin' in her hot ride!

Awww, so cute.
Hold on Alanah, don't move! Mommy needs her camera, ok?!

The Cob chateau with higher walls and more windows.