A long time ago.....

A long time ago I was a little girl at Rosecrest Elelmentary. I had made a new friend and decided to go to her house after school. Of course it didn't even cross my mind to tell my mom, I was just so excited to have this new friend. As we were walking to her house it started raining really hard. We got to the house, but the door was locked and we were stuck outside for a long time. I started to feel really uneasy and realized that my mom was probably really worried. Eventually this girl's mom came home and I was finally able to call home and tell my mom where I was. I remember the car ride home and my mom being pretty upset (obviously), but what always stuck out the most to me was when I walked into the house I saw my sister, Morgan, sitting at the kitchen table bawling her eyes out. I remember wondering if she had gotten in trouble or if she was sick and for years I always thought about that and for some reason couldn't seem to forget it. I'm not sure when I pieced it all together and finally realized that the reason she was crying was because of me....because she loved me so much and was worried and scared that something had happened to me. Even though she was so young, her love for me was just like a mother's love and was well beyond her years.This is how my entire life has been with my Morgie. She has ALWAYS been there for me and has always taken such good care of me. 

There are some people out there who just stick out and are special. Who leave such an incredible impression on everyone they meet and if they were standing in a room full of a hundred people your eye would be drawn to them. This is definitely the case with my sister. Strangers open up to her and everyone around her wants be her friend. I can't go anywhere without someone asking me how she is doing. Even at my ten year high school reunion, over half the people I talked to mentioned her or asked about her and how she is doing. This is partly why I wanted to write this post. 

Morgan has a super power that is a gift, but also a curse.....(she is going to hate me for writing this! Gah!).....she has the ability to fake it--come rain or come shine she can fake it! It used to drive me crazy (probably because I was jealous-since I obviously wear all my emotions on my sleeve), but no matter what she is going thru she will have a big smile on her face and say that she is great and that everything is fine. She does NOT like attention to be on her. I have never known anyone personally who has been thru more stress, heartache, trauma, sickness, trials, hardships, and fear then her. No one. So for the many of you that want to know "how is she really?" I want to share a bit of her story with you :)

After I had Jane I got really sick and my incision from my C-section got infected. For a while though they couldn't find/treat the infection and so for three months I thought I was crazy because they couldn't figure out what was wrong. Three months I went thru this......three months. Sounds like a long time to be sick doesn't it? Well, now try to picture having horrifying symptoms--numb limbs, migraines, blacking out, constant vertigo, nauseau, episodes where your heart beats three times as fast as it should that last anywhere from a minute to hours at a time, MS symptoms, panic attacks, feeling like you can't breath and passing out-- for TEN YEARS and for every doctor that you go to tell you you look fine and healthy......TEN YEARS! That's just a tiny glimpse of what has been going on (I'll leave out all the emotional trauma of having a newborn baby flatline, having that same son diagnosed with cancer at just three years old, or watching her other son fall out of a window over twenty feet high). 

Thankfully last November she FINALLY received answers and many prayers were also answered. After receiving a blessing from Aaron she felt like she should go see an endodontist. At this point she had been to almost every kind of doctor out there, but she did not ignore this feeling and went right away. What they found was horrifying and straight out of a sci-fi movie. Basically she had a cyst the size of a silver dollar that had been brewing and growing for over ten years in the root of one of her front teeth. They figured the tooth had died from an injury she sustained over ten years ago while performing in a show at Hale because there was no decay whatsoever. (She was standing on a guy's shoulders and was dropped and fell face first into the ground) 

This cyst had eaten away all of her bone and had attached itself like a spiders web to all existing tissue. They had to physically cut this thing out to remove it and it left a gaping hole in her face. The endodontist said he had never seen or heard of anything like this. Now I worked at a dentist office for a while and I saw lots of infections/infected teeth. Some were so bad that we had to send patients to the hospital to get IV antibiotics and that was an infection that had been around for a year or so. I can't even fathom what would have happened to her if she hadn't felt inspired to go see that endodontist. I honestly can't go there. Her cardiologist didn't think her heart would have survived another month the way it was overworking. She told me that every night she went to sleep she was honestly scared she wouldn't wake up :( No one should live in fear like that. Words can't express how grateful I am for priesthood blessings and for Aaron for being worthy to give her one :) 

At this time she was seeing a heart doctor and had all these monitors on her 24/7 and once she got the cyst removed everything started to go away and almost immediately she felt better! They had never seen anything like it! It was nothing short of a miracle!!! Words can't describe how painful and agonizing it was talking to her day after day... hearing how much she was suffering and how scared and in pain she was. By far the darkest time of my life. Suddenly I was the young girl crying at the kitchen table....completely sick with worry and totally helpless. I'm sure most of you reading this are thinking, "I had no idea! She always seemed so happy to me!" I can't believe how brave and strong my sister is. What an incredible example she is to me and my family. Even when I come to her with stupid and petty problems, she has complete empathy and listens and gives me such wonderful advice. Aside from my mom, I've never known anyone as intune with the spirit and so full of light and love. 

Now she is an amazing writer and is moving forward with life and trying to catch up on all that she missed/couldn't be a part of these past ten years. I wish I could put into words how sweet and loving her heart is. I don't want to even begin to imagine what kind of person I would be without her. She keeps me centered and hopeful. My mom and her sister, Audrey, are so close and talk every day and we have always looked up to them SO much in every way. I'm soooooo grateful that we are just as close and can be just like them :) 

Love you Morgs!!!

The awesome, the awkward, and the awful......

We'll today is a big day....huge actually....it's my mom's birthday!!!!!! Woot woot! Happy birthday mama! Her motto for this year is 61 and having fun! Those of you who know my mom know how cheerful, fun, and happy she always is.........and wonderful, wise, silly, loving, warm, hilarious, adventurous, spiritual, intellectual, and incredible..... I could go on and on and on and on and on and on ;) There is nothing she loves more then her children (specifically one of her daughters) so I thought a blog post (specifically a blog post from me) was definitely in order for today :) HA!!!

There have been a few things that have happened that I thought I should mention so here you go..... Let's start with the awesome, then the awkward, and then the awful shall we???

The Awesome-- My best friend, Sam, that I grew up dancing with came and visited Salt Lake a few weeks ago and it was so incredible spending time with her. We haven't seen each other in over three years, but the second I saw her it was like we were twelve again and boy did we giggle like a bunch of twelve year olds ;) 

It really was so fun catching up and hearing all about her life dancing as a professional dancer in Portland. The funniest thing we realized is that her boyfriend (who she met in Portland) used to work at Backbeats--a drum shop here in salt lake--and he sold kevin all of his drum kits and tons of his gear. What a small world!!! I told her that drummers are definitely keepers ;) hehe!

The Awkward-- I went to my 10 year high school reunion and man it was......something.....I'm not even sure what it was exactly, but I felt pretty awkward. Maybe it was because all my close friends weren't there or because I had poor Kevin with me who hates big groups of people AND being social OR that everyone was asking what you've been up to when secretly they all knew everyone's lives because of fb OR maybe it was the fact that I was in a room full of people who I used to spend every single day with and had crushes on or even dated.......ya......probably a little bit of everything ;) I don't know, I hear that the 20 year reunion isn't as clicky and is more fun, but it will probably take a lot to get me to go--and even more to get Kevin to go! ;) ha!!!

The Awful-- Kevin had a really exciting opportunity to go New York City (his first time ever!) this week and I was even ok to be left at home with the kiddos because I was just so excited for him to see such a magical place :) Unfortunately it wasn't very magical for him or for me....... As I mentioned before he doesn't like big crowds and he does NOT like anything dirty. Not sure why I thought he would think it was magical.....lol. He was supposed to come home around midnight Monday night, but one of his flights got cancelled so he had to spend the night in Chicago and take a flight the next day. It wouldn't have been a big deal but something horrifyingly traumatic happened earlier that day so I was pretty upset. I hope I have enough courage to share it with you now......ok here it goes..... I. Saw. A. Mouse. In. Our. HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!! It was running all around in our big kitchen room by the fireplace and I completely lost all control. Like seriously. I was standing on the counter screaming while Jane was just sitting there looking pretty confused. Thank heavens Sam was in his room or he would've been terrified! Some awesome friends came and set out some sticky traps and so I pretty much avoided being inside until we went to bed that night. I didn't sleep a wink the entire night for fear I would hear it suddenly scream. Eeeeew yuck I have the chills just talking about it! Kevin made it home eventually and there was no sign of the mouse so I thought all was fine and dandy until last night........ I was sitting and chatting with some friends when suddenly I saw the little demon run across the floor and went right under our stove. Kevin checked all our traps and the little monster had eaten all the peanut butter off of them and then eventually ripped himself free because there were pieces of fur still stuck on there. I am sick. This guy is good. Too good. He knows what he's doing and we don't stand a chance! We already caught two mice in our garage a month ago so I'm scared that there are hundreds of them living in our house mocking us!!! I have never been so jumpy in my life. While we were outside a leaf fell off our tree and I about ripped that thing to shreds. I don't know how much longer I can live like this!!! 

Well for the meantime lets try to get my mind off of things.....here are some random fun pics for you to enjoy :) 

The Jon Burgoyne band back together again!

Kevin feeling bored......

A delicious and successful attempt at cooking with our fresh zucchini!

I bought cute pillows for our bench! Sadly I didn't know that there are "outdoor pillows" and apparently these are just the "regular" kind.....Oh well! Still cute ;)

Sam visiting temple square :)

Being naughty with daddy and getting bubbles and a huge "doughnut"..... Hehe!

Kevin at the apple store in New York City!

While Kevin was gone Jane took over as keeper of the knives..... :)

While Kevin was gone I grew a mustache.... I think it looks pretty good....obviously ;)

Times Square!!!!!! Yes that is iron man, Mario, and woody in the background! Lol!

Me being nostalgic ;) Can you find little Kevbev in there?!? Hehe!

All the grand kids together at Papa Steve's summer camp this summer!!!!! So fun :)

Happy Birthday Mom! Hope this brought some amusement to your life on this very special day! Love you!!! :)

Girls Camp!!!

A few months ago I was called as Camp Director for our ward and man what a wild ride it has been! Ever since I got the call it has constantly been on my mind and for those of you who know me, it's all I've been talking about ;) so sorry about that! It has been so busy.........meetings, brainstorming, shopping, ordering, planning, praying, meetings, certification, scheduling, crying, meetings, calling, emailing, visiting, buying, meetings, equipment hunting, crafting, learning guitar, tent finding, practicing, preparing, crying, meetings, meetings, and more meetings! Haha! Needless to say it has been very emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually exhausting...BUT the benefits and blessings that came along with this calling completely surpassed any stress or headaches involved and I would absolutely do it again in a heartbeat :)

I was SO happy to finally get up there and for camp to begin. Saying goodnight to Sam and Jane the night before I left was soooo sad because I knew it was the last time I would see them for four days! I was a wreck! Try and picture me, if you will, singing my lullaby to Jane hysterically sobbing.....not a pretty sight! If only I had known then what an amazing week I was about to experience.....it might of helped a bit ;)

Our stake theme was True Treasure Island and each ward was assigned a ship. We were Battleship. By far the coolest ship in the entire stake!!! (I mean others were sportsmanship and friendship........ya..........LOL!) Our colors were black and gold so try to picture us strutting around wherever we went decked out from head to toe.....we were so cool!!! Dang!!!! But seriously.......we really were ;) hehe! Each day we had a theme and it all tied into the stages of battle. So day one was: Create your battle plan--be prepared. Day two: You are in the midst of battle--arm yourself. Day three: Reflect, revise, and remember. And day four: You've won the battle--now go and win the war. It all ended up coming together so perfectly! It really was amazing. We had the perfect mix of spiritual vs fun and silly activities. Three girls were our YCL's (youth camp leaders) and they completely blew me away. They ran the whole thing and their thoughts and testimonies left me speechless.......and you'd think tearless, but they just kept coming!!! So powerful. I really was either giggling and laughing my face off or bawling my eyes out. Too funny! I grew and learned so much from them and all the other girls. Absolutely ah-mazing.

Just so I will never forget, here are some of the fun things we did and highlights of the trip!

Crafts: decorated sunglasses, bags with our logo, made lipgloss, decorated and personalized our own pocket sized book of Mormons, bandanas, friendship bracelets, fabric bracelets, magnets, painted nails, and tablecloth doodles.

Activities: dance party, roll calls (that we did horribly at!!!), faith walk, swimming in the lake, canoeing, shooting the potatoe gun, balance beam competition, solo time, the cup game song, welcoming our fourth year hikers, doing our nice pranks on all the other wards, snipe hunting, singing camp songs, our lip sync dance, testimony meeting, devotional by sister Cook, and bedtime stories.

Moments I'll never forget: putting on those gold pants--Ok so we did a lip sync and had a huge dance prepared and in the middle of the dance I ripped off my black pants and revealed these hot gold pants.....best. Moment. Ever. Haha!!!! Oh I'm dying! Ok continuing on--ziplining into the lake, getting attacked by a porcupine, having a girl walk in on me in the bathroom, everyone thinking I was a girl and not a leader, having all my girls cheer my name when I was down in front being recognized as camp director, trying to survive and kill the bat that got into our tent, going around and sharing our favorite scriptures/thoughts, getting dragged like a doll during our snipe hunt....the girls were so scared!!!!, playing the guitar during our camp songs (I've always wanted to learn how to play so I took this opportunity to learn how and I accomplished that goal. Woot woot!), trying to sleep thru all the snoring! Haha! Sneaking into my car at two thirty in the morning to try and escape said snoring.....HA!!!, reading the book of Moroni during solo time, hearing each of the girls testimonies, pulling a prank on the girls that we left a cooler at home that had our dinner in it and the bishop showing up at that intense moment with cafe rio, getting to know our funny priesthood brethren better.... Indiana Jones!, calling home to check on Kevin and the kids and hanging up and the girls asking "Are you ok?" and then shamelessly bursting out into tears, having all the girls in our tent the last night till three in the morning, hearing weird things with my earplugs in.....haha!, making moose noises, waking up the girls in the morning with our awful and ugly instruments, walking up and down to the bathroom, being totally schooled by everyone else's cheers and skits, being late to EVERYTHING, and feeling the spirit so strongly and feeling sooooo close to my Heavenly Father and loving Savior :) 

Pretty awesome huh?!? Best. Week. Ever.

Here are some fun pics that were taken during camp!!!

Oh yeeeeaaaahhhh ;)

We're so bad it's cool!

The young women's presidency and me :) love these ladies!

We're cute and crazy!!!

Pretty sweet selfie!!!

We look so awesome! Is it just me?!? 

The girls decorated my tiny thin braids with flowers to make me look like someone on frozen (never seen it) and to probably make me look more beautiful ;) lol!

This is Emma. She is the spitting image of my BFF Sam when we were her age. Not only does she look like her, but her personality, mannerisms, laugh, even her handwriting is exactly the same as Sam!!!!! Insane! I just stared at her the entire time.....she probably thinks I'm so creepy! Haha ;)

I sent Kevin this pic of me in my tent having an awesomely fun time :)

GO BATTLESHIP!!!!!!!!!! Aren't my gold pants pretty sweet?!? ;) oh and I know my back leg is horribly bent....don't judge me (Morgie)..... HA!!!

As you can see (and read) you can probably tell that this really was such a special and memorable experience. I'm SO grateful that I got to spend time with these incredible girls and get twenty new best friends :) 

B. A. T. T. L. E. S. H. I. P.  We will fight for truth and light with all our might ya we're so tight! We're battle....what? Battle....what? Battle....what? BATTLESHIP!!!!!!!!!

May!

Looking back at my last post I seem really whiney and pessimistic.... May did have some downs and was definitely cursed at times, BUT there were so many awesome moments that I don't want to forget about so here are some of those happy memories that I thankfully caught with my camera :) Enjoy!

I love that I took a pic of this...... I found her playing with my necklace, some hair gel, and a tampon....what a girly girl!

She may be girly, but she is still a Davis ;)

May 9th was Jane's birthday! What a fast year it has been :)

Jane taking an awkward selfie on her birthday ;)

Happy birthday Janie boo!!! I remember Sam's first birthday and how he cried and hated all the attention on him. Jane was completely the opposite. She LOVED all attention and knew it was her special day. She could not stop smiling :)

We had our first date since having Jane and it was delicious!

Here are the cookies I made for our first aid certification night for camp....it's getting closer!

Morgie and I went to see Ballet West's innovations.....such a fun night! We were so giggly seeing all the dancers that were on breaking pointe. After the show I got a little too excited and jumped in front Rex and Allison's car and started blowing them kisses and dancing around....pretty sure I'm twelve...it seriously was the best night ever. Love my Morgie time!

Sam did not get potty trained his month :( He still makes me change him on the changing table....LOL!!!

We planted our first garden!

Sam went to his first big kid birthday party and had a blast! At one point he told me to leave him alone.... I guess I was embarrassing him in front of the other kids :( Ha!

I got me some new shades and I LOVE them!

I think Jane might be a doctor one day :)

Jane made lots of messes.......

And Sam cleaned them all up......

Sam and Jane love to sneak into the freezer and eat all the ice :)

Sam got a new haircut, new shoes, and a new hat!

Took this pic late one night when I went in to check on Jane....what a sweet girl :)

 I felt like I was having a good hair day one night so we took a pic to document the monumental occasion.....

Then I started posing.......

And then it got awkward......can't you see the anguish in my eyes?!? Haha!

Excited for summer!

Lots of playing outside! 

I love that her favorite thing to eat is cereal....just like me! Yay!!!

Sam before he got his haircut.....clearly you can see he really needed it ;)

Mmmmmm mmmmm :)

My little strawberry :)

She already has her daddy wrapped around her fingers...he bought her a new car :)

Happy May and here's to a happy June!!!