lymphin' around

line by line, page by page, our story is written.

i have to say that tonight was one of the most beautiful chapters yet.

i don't feel like using capital letters right now. with a God as big and mighty as ours, i just feel itty bitty.

we are sitting here in our "walk with a lymph" t-shirts and pirate eye patches absolutely speechless. 72 people turned out tonight to cheer chris on as he crosses the kudzu finish line.
72 precious people sacrificed their time to spend a friday night in athens totin' around light up balloons.

72 people (and countless others) poured out their love and support, their hope and encouragement. 72 people (and countless others) reminded chris that he is not alone and that he can (and will) finish the good fight. and so tonight we raise 72 humble thank-yous. 72 grateful praises.

we are able to be strong because HE is strong, not because WE ourselves are strong. we are able to persevere because of people just like you. and we thank you from the very bottom of our itty bitty hearts.


"Be strong and courageous, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you may go". Joshua 1:9

Toes and Peas and BaBy BrOOkS!

Just a little post about toes, peas, and my new precious bestie BaBy BrOOkS!

I found my feet a few weeks back. I caught them once or twice in my car seat at Chick-fil-a as I listened to Mommy order her sweet tea. She would look back and giggle at me trying to reach them. Well this week I finally figured it out!

Got 'em!

Now about these things you non-diaper-wearing-grown ups call peas. YUCKYUCKITYYUCK. What on earth were Mommy and Nana thinkin' giving me this nasty icky green smashed up paste? Someone please call DFACS. I need real food. STAT.

The best part of my week? My new best buddy made his grand arrival on Monday at 12:50. Baby Brooks Lee Becks. 7 lbs, 10 ounces, 21 inches long. The sweetest little pumpkin in all the world!! His mommy and daddy are going to be the best parents in all the world (they already spoil me rotten!!) Such a tiny little blessing, such a great big gift.

Isn't he just the most adorable thing you ever did see!? I can't wait to show him all of my tricks. We're going to get into so much trouble together. Our Daddy's are going to take us to Papa Jacks as soon as we both get some teeth. Mmm! (Ok, so maybe you can cancel that call to DFACS for now. I'll keep you updated as this whole "food" business unfolds).

We are just so happy for you Heidi and Ryan! Holding that tiny little blessing is just the best thing in the whole wide world!

Oh, and one last tid bit. Goodbye 4 months. Holy cow, you're lookin' at a big 5 MONTH OLD NOW!

7/8

Hey y'all! Just stopping by to tell you 1) I love hugs, 2) I love oatmeal, 3) I'm going to be a hamburger for Halloween, and 4) my Daddy successfully finished Juice Round 7 of 8.

He's pretty much my hero. I try to stay quiet so Daddy can rest, but sometimes I just can't help but shriek and laugh. When I shriek and laugh too much, I start to pootin'. That makes Daddy shriek and laugh too. Then Mommy starts to laughin' and we all just lay on the bed and act silly.

I'm pretty much the best thing since Chick-fil-a sauce.

Life on the Farm

We spent Saturdee down on the farm. It was the most fabulous day ever.

Going down to my parents' place almost always means: 1) a jaunt at the outlets on the way down 2) time spent rocking on the front porch 3) time spent sippin sweet tea 4) catfish 5) time spent swingin' and 6) all things pasture/tractor related. Strange things sometimes happen down on the farm. My favorite story is of the night when the neighbor lady and my mom chased goats in their pajamas. Life's just like that down there.

Simple and sweet. Wholesome and good.

My parents got Coopie his very own rockin' horse.
It was a total hit. After he corralled his little horse, they announced their next surprise. A John Deere tractor. Just for Coop. Gracious day alive. He was just beside himself!

Move it sister. I've got fields to plow.

All that playing wiped Coop out so there was nothing left to do but head to the porch. A nanosecond in the swing and Coop was O-U-T.

Woulda slept longer but the birdies woke him up.

A guess all of the excitement over the horsie and John Deere inspired Coop to learn how to sit up. Things to do Mama. Gotta get moving here.

A day spent on the farm almost always means 1) the need for a good bath (splish splash) 2) full tummies 3) full hearts and 4) long, sleepy drives home. Night night y'all!

Yum Yum

Hold the paternity tests. Hold the DNA trials. It's officially official. Cooper is, without a doubt, our son. This kid LOVES to eat.

Other than being t-ed off that his first meal was not Chick-fil-a as once promised, Coopie's debut into the eating world was an absolute success!

He is mighty concerned about this rice cereal business though.

Is this the best you've got Mama??

Can I have some more please?

Want some Daddy?

Has anyone seen my glass of sweet tea?

First Meal: Wednesday September 2, 2010

What I Ate: Gerber Rice Cereal

Where My Super Cute Bib Came From: Sweet Friend Natalie

What I Thought: Mama better hook me up with something yummy soon. This rice cereal is for the birds.

Be Sweet

It's been 15 days since I posted last.

I thought about saying it's because we packed our bags and flew off to Australia (we are CRUSHED that we are missing your big day Aussie and Bex!). I thought about saying it's because we were laying poolside drinking little umbrella drinks in Tahiti. I thought about saying it's because we won the lottery and were deciding how to spend the windfall. Seaside villa? Mountain cottage?

Really, it's just been a tough couple of weeks. I have wanted to blog several times but I stare at the screen and think to myself "if you don't have anything nice to say"... So instead, I spend my online hyperspace time ordering monogrammed necklaces and googling Veggie Tales videos.

As Abby's mama would say "Be sweet". Best advice ever. Ever, ever.

So here I am, ready to "be sweet".

We are done with Juice Number 6! Woooot! Only 2 more and boy howdy are we counting down the days! As we say here in the Davis house, if this were football, we'd be in the 4th quarter. (Followed by hands raised with 4 fingers and fist pumping).

I won't lie. It's gotten progressively more challenging. Just being real, y'all.

Chris is down for a longer period of time and well, it is just tough. It's tough to see him hurting and sick. It's tough to reassure him that he's almost done. It's tough to plan dinner without making him want to hurl. It's tough to remember to get all of his prescriptions filled without having to scurry around in the middle of the night. It's tough to look around the house at all of our sweet family pictures and then remember that he no longer has his full head of hair. It's tough to keep up with laundry when you just want to spend every minute loving on your family. It's tough to go to work and hold a child's hand instead of to the Cancer Answer and hold your husband's hand.

What's NOT tough is: how incredibly loved and supported we feel, how 5 minutes of Chris feeling good makes up for a week of him feeling crummy, how hearing Coopie poot in the middle of the night over the monitor brings about fits of uncontrollable laughter, how 6 ounces of Yogli Mogli makes it all better, how coming home to a sparkling clean house allows me to spend 10x more precious minutes with my boys, how a homemade baked Ziti meal warms our hearts and tummies, how watching Grandada sneak blue icing to your baby makes you smile (and secretly wonder if he will have uncontrollable bouts of diarrhea later), how Grammies and Nanas drop everything and come running to help at a moments notice, how sweet the sound of baby laughter is first thing in the morning, and how watching my two loves take a nap together is just a precious as seeing the vastness of the ocean or the majesty of a mountain top.

(They might both ring my neck for posting this one, but I just couldn't resist. Blackmail? I think so.)

We are loved. We are strong. We are rooted in faith. And we are going to be done with this journey in just a few months! Anyone want to celebrate with us??? Seriously! Tahiti? Australia? Japan? Greece? Alaskan Cuise? Dollywood? Gatlinburg?

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid, for the LORD your God is with you. -Deuteronomy 31:6

4 Months!

Cooper Wyatt, you are 4 months old today {ok, truth be told, you were 4 months old on Sunday but this week has been so silly busy I'm just now getting around to this.}

You are up to SO much these days!

You blow raspberries, pray with your feet, laugh out loud when Daddy tickles your tummy, sing yourself to sleep at night, tee tee in the bathtub and on Mommy, flip from your tummy to your back and almost from your back to your tummy, play with your wobbly bits in the bath until one of us catches you, take your Binky in and out of your mouth all by your lil ol' self, randomly raise one leg and point your toes, and shrug your shoulders when you are acting silly.

All of a sudden you just LOVE to play!

Our favorite time is that spent on the floor playing with Puppy, shaking your linkadoos, playing peek-a-boo with your pop up toy, reading {and eating} books, and watching Mr. Turtle light up and sing.

You are such a sweet sweet baby!

The nitty gritty: You sleep through the night {9pm til 6am}, drink 5-6 oz. every 3-3.5 hours, wear size 2 diapers and 3-6 month clothes, take about 3 naps per day, and sleep in footie pajamas (no more Swaddle Monster...boo hoo).

You weigh 15 pounds, 5 ounces and are 25 inches long. Dr. Cooper says your little noggin is looking much much better (yay for tummy time!).

Best of all, you got the green light to start working on solid foods today!! And by "solid foods" I mean rice cereal. Go big boy, go!

We are just crazy about you Coopie!

You have the ability to light up a room without even knowing it. My favorite thing to do is to watch you brighten even a stranger's day. Today we got squished in the elevator at Macy's with a group of blue haired little ladies and their nursing home caregiver. As I was admiring the number of wrinkles one elevator could hold, you were busy smiling and cooing at all of the little old ladies. You absolutely MADE their day. I could just see it in their eyes.

We have no doubt that God has big plans for you Baby Blue. We love you to the moon and back!