August, what a month!

when I was being taught by the missionaries and was setting my baptismal date I knew I should get baptized on August the 28th and I knew it was important that I keep that date. Little did I know that the whole month of August would someday hold tremendous memories for me. I was baptized into the church on August 28th of 1971, one year later on August 28th 1972 I was married to John. On August 9th of 1991 Richard was in a drowning accident and on August the 25th of 1999 he died and then was buried on August 28th of 1999. This year on August 29th John Clawson Davis was born and I was there to help recieve him into the world. He was 8lbs 8oz (the same size as Richard) and there were similarities in his birth and Richards.
Life really is one eternal round with many types and shadows sent to us to guide us along our paths. My life has been amazing with so many rich blessings and interesting twists and turns and it is hard for me to realize that I am heading toward the sunset of my life. Time passes so incredibly fast!
My life has been rich indeed and I look forward to many more rich experiences like I had this weekend with the birth of Jack. What a priviledge it is to share in such a sacred moment as the bringing to earth of a new life.
I will post some of my pictures tomorrow but for today I just want people to know how blessed I feel.In the meantime for a wonderful blog about Richard visit Keeping Up With the Jones' and for great pictures of Jack go to The House of Davis.

He's coming home!

It's hard to believe but JJ's 2 years are almost up. I received his travel itinerary on thursday and he will be home on the first of October!
I also received 3 CD's of pictures from him and so I am posting some of them. Since there were 280 and most of them I don't know who they are or where they were taken I will leave it up to JJ to identify them when he gets home. For all of us who know JJ well this picture is very typical of him!This one I call "Happy Baptism". I'm sure we'll find out about the necklace when he gets home.
One of the cities he has been in.
In a cool Brazilian Shirt that I am fairly certain he traded one of his basketball shorts for.(We've sent him 5 pair over the years)We're glad to know that he is getting fresh fruit to eat! This is star fruit and he likes it.I'm sure there is a fun story to go along with this one! Two Elders just clowning around!
These must have been taken on "P" day. I like his jacket! Can you believe he can lift a rock so big? That's my boy!
Now a few apartment photos. It looks like someone was happy to have mac and Cheese from america.
Notice all the ties!

These are mission pictures with the mission president who just left.
And the mission. He must have been cold since he is the only one wearing a jacket!
Here are a couple of fun pictures!

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Saturday Rambling!

Today we decided to go to Shawsville Va to their Saturday Market. We missed their tomato festival two weeks ago so we decided to go learn about tomatoes this week. They had a small market but it was fun. We purchased raspberries (red and yellow), home made moon pies and free range beef that has never had grain. (papa wants to try his jerky with it). We met towns people and we even bought duck eggs and met the duck!


We next went up to Marvin and Stephanie's house to pick up some things for Emilie. They have a darling little house in the country with swings hanging from the trees and a great garden! We had a nice time visiting and enjoying the girls.
What a fun place for children!
Next, we stopped at a roadside truck and bought some more produce. We were looking for corn but he had just sold out so we bought potatoes and beans and peaches!

Then it was on to Blacksburg for "Stepping Out". They had all sorts of booths throughout downtown and we had fun looking and eating Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches.

They had a neat old movie theater too!
It only took us an hour and a half to get back home. It was a good day!!

Shannon's Commitment Ceremony

I didn't take many pictures at Shannons ceremony but John Loy did so here is a great link to see the slide show.http://www.flickr.com/photos/loyboy/sets/72157621814205273/show/

Papa's Birthday Excursion

On Saturday papa turned 64 and for his birthday he wanted to travel to West Virginia.
At 5:45 he got up and helped with the pancake breakfast for EFY which he has been doing all summer. Emilie got the keys all squared away for people coming on Monday for August term and then we left heading west.
Dad wanted to take his time and explore so we drove into Clifton Forge and Covington Virginia to look around. In Covington we were able to buy fresh fruits and vegetables at a road side stand so we loaded up on corn, peaches, tomatoes, watermelon and cantaloupe. We had brought a picnic lunch so we asked the locals where there was good picnic area. They directed us to Humpback Bridge where we had a chance to eat our lunch and enjoy the beauty. Tommy was not happy to not get to go in the water but it was a fun spot with a neat old bridge to see.

We got back on the road and headed to the Homestead which is a large famous old resort in the mountains. It was a beautiful drive and on the way back we took a detour to Lake Moomaw. Logan and Pappa got out of the car to go down to look at the lake while Emilie and I stayed in the car with Tommy, who promptly woke up. As we were getting out of the car it started to rain and by the time the guys got back to the car it was pouring.
As we traveled down the mountain we were in what could only be described as torrential rain!
By the time we got back to the main road, the rain had stopped and the roads were dry. Amazing!
We then moved on to visit the Greenbriar resort where we drove around the luxorious resort. Underneath one wing of the hotel is a bunker that was designed to hold the entire US Congress in case of an emergency. A journalist exposed it in 1992 so they had to abandon it and so it is now open for tours. Since it cost $30 a piece and none under 10 are allowed in. We decided to skip it this time!
We next went furthere on into West Virginia! Our destination was Lewisburg and we found it to be a charming little town. We got out and walked around and visited an old cemetery where Tommy could run.We walked the main street and ate in an Irish Pub where we had Bangers and Mash, Irish Stew and Corned Beef Hash. There was a wonderful Banjo/Fiddle player that we all enjoyed.
We ended the day with the ride home with a lightening show all across the sky! It was a wonderful day and a great way for Pappa to start his 65th year!

More Fun and a little sadness

On Monday Papa and I went to the Cyrus McCormick Farm. It is only about 20 miles from here and it is the place where the reaper was invented. That instrument changed how fast farmers could harvest their grains and it opened up the way for bigger, more producing farms. It was very fascinating to see not only the blacksmith shop and models of the reaper but also a working mill.
We took a lovely walk along a nature trail and saw a real "Honeybee tree". It was full of bees!
We saw beautiful berries and even a blue heron on the lake that feeds the mill.
Now the sad part. The night before we came an airplane had crashed on the property killing 4 people(the pilot was the former CEO of Checkers Restaurants). The plane fell from 32000 feet and plowed nose first into the ground. We couldn't see the site but we were there when the press had a briefing from the National Aeronautic safety board. It was interesting to watch the press and to hear the news straight from the officials.It was an interesting afternoon on a beautiful (and humid free!) day.

4th of July

On the fourth of July we went to Nellies Ford to a farmers market and bought great cheese, fresh beef and "moogurt" and found cheap gas at a place with a giant pig sign! We also visited one of our favorite places that just opened again for the season. It is called Saunders and is a family run business where they have Peaches (starting now) and then they go into all different varieties of apples. Our favorite thing is their variety of ciders!





We went to see the Wintergreen resort which is nestled in the mountains. We are thinking of renting a home there when JJ gets home and Logan's parents are here so that all can all stay together.(Any others who would like to come would be more than welcome, we will just get a bigger house!). We then went up on the Blue Ridge Parkway, bought a walking stick (Back here they have those metal things like Papa had on his cane and we decided to start collecting them here).




In the afternoon we went to Emilie and Logan's for a cookout and for fireworks. While there I took pictures of the three pregnant Belles,Emilie (due in August), Carolena (due in September) and Cammie (due in October). I then took pictures of the guys! It was fun.