Michigan, Detroit Mission!!!

We are very excited for Christian's mission call!!  He will be leaving on September 26th.  That gives us just 7 1/2 weeks to get ready!  Most of the physical prep can be done in a few days, but the emotional takes years.

Michigan is known for automobiles, music, the Great Lakes, Kelloggs, and a whole lot more that I didn't realize. Now that Christian has been called to serve a mission in the Michigan Detroit Mission, I have started learning more about that state, particularly the Detroit area. I thought I would start with what kinds of foods are popular there. I found out that they eat pretty much the same that we do. The company that makes Jiffy baking mixes is there and Kellogs cereals started there. They say the cornbread mix is one of the best there is. I will try it out. We have used the pizza crust mix when we have gone camping:)
We are so excited to have another missionary serving the Lord, preaching His gospel. 

Q

SA WAD DEE (Hello, in Thai word)

Our family gets the opportunity to host a foreign exchange student for the coming school year!  We are very excited about having a new member of the family.


Her name is Nichapat Dusadeekongmongkol, or "Q".  She is a 16 year old from Bangkok, Thailand.  She likes music and sports, especially volleyball.  Q likes to sing and would like to be in the Children's Choir with Rebekah.  She and Rebekah share the same birthday, July 14th.  They have gotten to be friends through email and facebook.  She is a very happy and sociable girl.  I think she will be able to make a lot of friends and get along great with everyone.  One thing the I am looking forward to is that she likes to cook!  I would love to learn how to make some Thai food and teach her a few American dishes as well.
 
We will welcome Q "home" on August 17th.

Updated Family News

I can't believe that I didn't even post about our two new grandchildren!
Mercedes Ruth Davis was born October 27, 2011-- while I was in Disneyland with the band! She is adorable and looks a lot like her daddy.  She has a fun personality and is growing and learning so much.  You can read more about her on their blog, Doin' That Davis Thing.
William Clinton Davis VI was born January 15, 2012.  He came  on a Sunday evening and we all got to go and see him at the hospital.  He is such a cute little guy.  His smile lights up the room.  Of course he is now being tutored in Star Trek facts and has watched all the movies.  (maybe not, but I doubt he will make it to two years old without seeing all of them.) 
Jack is getting so big!  He is a great teaser, too.  (Daddy's boy)  We sure love our grandchildren!

It is fun to get the whole family together and have these little ones to liven things up.

Images of Spring in our Yard

The first Daffodils were a promise that Spring was on the way.....

...Then the snow came..

But now..... it really is SPRING!!!









(the dandelions are not in our yard, but they are pretty)

Spring Break

Because of a last minute decision, we spent Spring break in California going to Disneyland and Universal Studios. Alene and Mike had been planning to go for a long time and invited us to go too. Bill and I didn't think we would be able to afford the trip with the whole family, and we couldn't go without them (even if we did want to spend time with Jack). But we made no other plans and I didn't want to spend Spring break working while everyone else sat around at home, so we went to California.

Dallas and Jack had a lot of fun together.

One of the lines that we waited in was for the Autopia.

On Wednesday we went to Universal Studios....




and made some new friends!..............


Christian-- practicing his missionary handshake.

On Thursday we were back in Disneyland and spent part of the day with Alene, Mike and Jack. We walked a lot! First in D-land and then in California Adventure, then back to D-land. Scott was tired and wanted to sit more often. It wasn't until we were back at the hotel getting ready for bed that we found out Scott had huge blisters on the bottom of his feet! He never complained, he just kept going. (although he was glad to sit out with me and eat cotton candy while everyone else went on the Tower of Terror).

So on Friday Scott got a wheelchair to ride in. Yep, we used the handicapped entrance for the rides. ;)

Fun times!!

Davis Grandkids 2012

We are loving being grandparents!

Another scrapbooking design by Smilebox

Today has been a hard day for our family. Our dog, Lizzie, who has been with us for almost 14 years had to be put down. For the last monthe, she's been very sick and just this past week lost all use of her right back leg because of arthritis in her back. On carpet, she could hop around, but our floor upstairs was too slippery for her and she could not walk on it at all. She became

emaciated because she couldn't get to her food, so we had to put a little bit of it right in front of her so she could eat. She had no way of telling us when she had to go to the bathroom--if she even knew--so, she just went where she was and had to lay in it until someone came and cleaned it up.

Well, enough of the sad part, lets think about happy memories of Lizzie. She was the best dog anyone could have asked for. She never thought to bite anyone, she avoided little kids who

wanted to pet her the wrong way instead of barking or biting. She didn't ever bark when someone came to the door or called on the phone.

Here is a list of memories we have of her:

"I remember when her and dad would fight over a rope downstairs. She was very pla

yful back when she had the energy. Although, I never remember her chasing a stick very much because she's too smart for that--she didn't see the point in you throwing a stick and her running to get it and bringing it back to you just so you could throw it again. She did chase the rope, though... :)"

--Rebekah

"I remember when Lizzie would come down to my house and I would tell her to go home and she would just stand there and give me weird looks until Rebekah or Ben would come down to my house and get her. She was a very good dog from what I knew of her. She was the only spotted dog I knew. She was a good dog."

--Heidi Peterson

"Ours was a love/hate relationship."

--Mom

"The memory that I have of Lizzie is that she was happy."

--Ben

We all miss our dog and know that we will one day see her again.

(Left) Lizzie's favorite place to lay because the water ran through the pipes there and it was warm.

Merry Christmas, Lizzie!

We loved our dog!