brotherly love

i have 3 brothers - one older and two younger - and i love them!! i am grateful for the relationship that i have with each of them. that being said, this post is about one of my younger brothers, robert.

rob came to visit us in cranbrook last weekend. we were sad that andrew wasn't able to come too as he was working. we had a really fun time with rob - skiing and just hanging out. for whatever reason, burton has a special bond with rob. burton thinks rob is the coolest ever. anything rob does, burton wants to do too. they wrestle and play together. burton likes to talk to rob on the phone just to say hi and ask him how he is doing. burton loves rob.

the night before rob came to our house, i was tucking the boys in and helping them say their bed time prayers. because rob and andrew will be turning 19 soon, we have been talking a lot in our family about them getting ready to serve missions. burton thinks this is very cool and prayed in his prayers that night, thanking Heavenly Father that rob and andrew can be missionaries. after he was finished, i made the comment that we would have to make sure we send rob and andrew lots of letters when they are on their missions. burton looked at me, puzzled, and asked why we would have to send lots. i said because they will be gone for two years and we won't be able to see them when they are gone; we will have to write them letters and send pictures and stuff like that. burton's face fell and his eyes filled with tears as he realized what it was that i was saying - that he won't be able to see rob for the two years he is on his mission. burton looked at me with his sad eyes, soundlessly crying, and said, "i thought it was only two weeks."

poor burton!

needless to say, i changed the subject by saying that we didn't need to worry about it for a while as andrew and rob don't turn 19 for several months. we haven't really talked about the 2 year absence since then but, burton has still been praying for rob and andrew, the future missionaries. what a sweet boy!

as much as we will MISS MISS MISS rob and andrew, i pray that they will choose to serve missions. i LOVE LOVE LOVE them and know that they can be such powerful tools in the hands of the Lord if they dedicate themselves to His service. i will love them always, regardless of what choices they make in life - i just hope they do choose to serve missions. they will learn and grow in ways that they otherwise might not. as a sister who loves them so very much, i want to see them grow and strengthen their testimonies of the gospel as living the gospel and serving the Lord is where true happiness lies.

i love you rob and andrew!!!

9 months

my precious paigey is 9 months old....i can hardly believe it.
now, as much as i love all of my children, this post is dedicated to my beautiful daughter. how i LOVE her! she is the sunshine in my every day, the smile in mundane things, a never ending source of happiness. paige is so adored by all of us - she is a delightful little girl who knows she is loved and loves us all back. she has an engaging personality that reaches out to all around her -paige makes everyone smile. i have a quote in paige's room, on the wall, that says:

"a daughter is a flower always in bloom."

paige is our little flower. she brightens and refreshes our home with her giggles, squeals, hugs, and kisses. we love our paigey cakes!!!

here are the latest pictures of paige - especially for you, gran!

eh o canada go!

so the olympic flame came to cranbrook last friday on its way to vancouver. and was it ever awesome!! i love, love, LOVE the olympics and it was so fun to get the kids all excited about seeing the olympic torch. i remember seeing the torch when i was a little kid - it came to red deer on its way to calgary for the 1988 winter olympics. i remember feeling excited and awed by the flame and what it represented. because seeing the olympic torch as a kid was such a memorable experience for me, i really wanted my boys to be excited about seeing the olympic torch and watching the upcoming olympics. so, we made our own torches, wore our canada clothes, and welcomed the torch to cranbrook!! i love what the olympics represents - the whole world coming together to celebrate athleticism and accomplishment. it was awesome to see the looks of amazement on jensen, burton, and evan's faces as the torch ran by - to be more excited by their excitement - as we cheer on our country and celebrate the vancouver olympics. GO CANADA!!!! click here for pictures of our olympic celebration.

2009 in Review

so, i made this picture slide show of some of my favorite pics and highlighting some of the fun things we did this year. it ended up being a lot longer than i thought! i guess 5 seconds/picture adds up quickly:) so, be warned - it is about 15 minutes long....i'm pretty much only putting this up for those who really love us and would like to watch 15 minutes of davis family fun. also, here is a link to our latest pictures - burton's birthday, Christmas, etc....enjoy!

full heart

what a wonderful Christmas holiday it has been! how i love spending this wondrous time of the year with my very favoritest people....my family:) i am especially thankful for the opportunity to attend my new niece anne's baby blessing. how touched i was to see my big brother with his first little baby - and to hear the tender love and affection he has for his daughter, anne, as he blessed her. my heart was filled with feelings of appreciation for my wonderful family. little anne is named after our grandmother, anne louise cooper. i too am named after this amazing woman - anne louise is my middle name. i love my gran!! and i appreciate her for the love and kindness she has given me throughout my life. it was so great to be with my gran, papa, mom, dad, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunt, uncle, and nieces this past week. i love them all so very much and hope i do a good job of letting them know just how much they all mean to me! i will post pictures of our Christmas holiday as soon as i get them all uploaded!

2 for 1

Christmas gives our family 2 reasons to celebrate. first, we join in the celebration of our Savior's birth - the miracle of Christ's birth, the joy and peace of the season. second, we celebrate the birth of our second son, burton. burton was born on Christmas Day 6 years ago. how we loved our little blonde haired baby! and how burton continues to be a source of joy in our home today. never a dull moment with burton. he is so lively and rambunctious. burton gets so excited about everything and gives 100% to all that he does. he amazes me with his desire to learn and the excitement he has for school. every day he comes home from school full of things to tell me about what he did and what they are learning at school. burton never gives up and approaches life with a contagious attitude of fun. we love our burty-burt....and with that, i will end this post as paigey is demanding my attention:)

oh, one more thing - yesterday at Christmas dinner, my uncle bob asked burton if he felt any older now that he is 6. burton looked at him and said, "no, not really. but my back is sore because i am getting older."

girls girls girls

my older brother steve and his wife andrea just had their first baby early this morning - a little girl. they named her anne louise after our grandma. i too am named after my grandma - my middle name is anne louise. for this reason i feel like this new baby anne is a kindred spirit:) and i am excited to tell her that we are both named after the same wonderful woman when she is older. baby anne is the third girl born in to our family in just over a year - marion's grace was born last august (so she is almost 15 months old), our paige in april, and now anne today. i can just imagine these little girls - cousins! - in 15 or so years from now. and it makes me smile:) a lot.

with the birth of anne, i have found myself thinking back 6 and 1/2 months ago to the arrival of our little paige jacqueline. oh how happy i was to hold our new baby in my arms - our first little GIRL!!! i am so grateful to have a daughter to love and to nurture. i often find myself picturing the future as i look at her sleeping face lying in my arms - the girls' nights, the chick flicks, manicures and pedicures, talking about her latest crushes (GASP!! i hope she doesn't grow up too fast!!). as a leader in our church's young women's program, i am sometimes overwhelmed when i see and hear the testimonies of the girls i associate with and think of paige being their age, as strong and firm in the gospel as they are, with her light shining as brightly. i know it will because it already does! it is difficult to put in to words the love i have for my little girl.

how special and precious is my paigey. i only hope she loves me as much as i love her!!!

i feel humbled and blessed to be the mother to such a wonderful and adorable little girl - and to 3 compassionate, sensitive, kind, caring, and thoughtful young boys who have such a desire to do what is right and to follow the example of our Savior. my heart is so full of love for my children. i pray that i can deserve them and teach them as much as they teach me!! truly there is nothing that brings me more joy than being the wife of a noble man and the mother of amazing children.

i am so blessed.