The Davis Family Updates

Some of you may have heard that our world has lost 2 very special men. One today, one Wednesday.

Don Knotts passed away today. As the actors of those old shows that have become so dear to us pass away, we realize that we will never have what we had in the past. I am so glad that we have these people recorded on film so that we will not lose their influence.

But I'm saddened in a different way. While it's a shame to lose anyone we admire, our world and the Kingdom building process has lost someone very special, as well. Anthony Burger passed away suddenly on Wednesday. He was half the age of Don Knotts at only 44 years old. Don was gifted. Anthony was gifted. Don entertained millions. Anthony ministered to millions. The news has been flooded with the passing of Don, but nothing much has been said about Anthony. Sure, some areas where he was more well known have put it in the paper and maybe said a "blurb" on their news show, but nothing like the coverage of Don's passing.

I have no idea about the spiritual condition of Don's heart. Honestly, I can't tell you the condition of Anthony's heart. I CAN tell you that Anthony lived a life that exemplified a relationship with Jesus. His whole career direction was to proclaim Jesus through music. So I have a better idea that Anthony is with Jesus.

So, even though Don received much praise here on earth while he was alive and with his passing, Anthony has received the ultimate reward! Can you hear it? There's a new sound! It's a piano! And standing around the piano is Howard, Vestal, Jake, George, Glenn and many others are singing God's praises while Anthony plays!

If you listen real close, Grandma Sheets is pumping her accordian!

Picture it. Gouverneur, NY. Yesterday.

Take off your left shoe and sock.
Hold your left foot out where you can get a good look at it.
Look at your big toe knuckle.
Look at the second toe's knuckle.
Now, look at the space in between the second and third knuckles.

That, my friends, is where a needle was inserted into my foot! Yes, I was shot yesterday. On purpose. I let this lady who I had never met before shoot me in the foot!

I have been having serious pain in the ball of my foot, especially when I wear my dress shoes on Sundays. It has been getting more and more difficult to handle. So I finally went to the podiatrist. She told me it was very common. She said the nerve between those knuckles on my foot has gotten pinched. A simple shot of cortisone with lidacane and vitamin b12 and it will be all better. Do you know what lidacane does? It numbs. So because the place she shot was a nerve with a branch up the left side of toe #2 and a branch up the right side of toe #3 those toes were numb on those sides! That is so annoying! Luckily it wore off.

So far the pain has been greatly reduced. We will see if this takes care of the problem. Otherwise, I will have to go back in 2 weeks to be shot again.

All of these items came together today as we took 10 teens and 6 adults snow tubing. When we left it was snowing. We were able to secure a school bus from Harrisville Central School and had Rick, a member of our congregation and school bus driver, transport us to Dry Hill. It snowed off and on all day and at times was very heavy! Skiers would "appear" out of the blizzard! It was so cool!

The kids (excuse me, I have been corrected. They aren't kids. They are teens!) devoured 5 pizzas and 8 pitchers of soda! We thought they would be tuckered out on the ride home but the chatter kept going! Kenny was the only one who did fall asleep, though! I got a great picture of him! (Sarah, I'll send you a copy!)

We look forward to trying out other snow tubing places in the area. These guys and gals are really fun to be with! If you are ever in the area, come join us for the fun!

Check out a couple photos of the day at http://impactyouthministry.blogspot.com

Boy, what a couple days this has been! Friday we saw some serious winds! Tractor trailers blown over the roads, cars blown off icy roads, siding ripped of homes, trees and other debris on power lines, downed lines. You opened the door to a store and the wind blew stuff off the shelves! Brrrrr!

Ken and I celebrate Valentine's Day Friday with a Date Day. When we left we had power. Nathan and Cressalyn got home from school mid day (1/2 day) and there wasn't any power. We called and checked on them a couple times and finally decided to come home after dinner at Red Lobster.

We took in a "The Pink Panther" matinee and discoverd that it was a disappointment. I was looking forward to a good comedy. Instead, it was very lame. Maybe I'm getting too old for stupid humor. I didn't like "Napoleon Dynamite" either. Anyway, we walked through the mall and checked out some sales. We also decided that we will be purchasing a home gym for the basement. Last year with some of the income tax refund we joined Lifetime Fitness. This year, since we don't have a good gym close we will get stuff for the house. Then, too, we won't have a monthly membership fee, either.

So we went this morning to the Frasers and took showers. Then Roger and Ken came back here and hooked up a generator with Terry's expertise! We now have power and heat for the house. They also have run a line from the house to the church so that we have running water, too! This means we will be able to have service in the morning.

Tomorrow is the Daytona 500!!! We are so excited! Dale Jarrett better have a better season than last year's! Rumor has it that this may be Jeff Gordon's last season! Yeah!!!!!

Today is the day for showing the one you love how much you love them. Shouldn't we do this every day of the year?

We will be having a special wedding today. A couple, both in their 70's, are getting married! It is so awesome to see how God has worked in their lives to bring them to this day! They are behaving like teenagers! It's so cool!

We are having a reception for them. I offered to make the cake. So far, the cake is made and frosted. Now, I must decorate it. The pressure to make a birthday cake for your family is so different from making a wedding cake! Wow! It should be good, though. Nothing really fancy. I will take a picture to share with you.

We have been working on gettin gour taxes done so we can do the financial aid stuff for Kenny. My goodness, NY has a ton of forms! This is nuts! We have only lived here 3 1/2 months in 2005! Then end is near, though and we will be getting a refund! Whoo hooo!

Enjoy this day with your loved ones. Celebrate the love God gives us, too! Love is in the air!!!

Atalanta has begun to decline! She is down 15 pounds in this first week! Praise the Lord! Celebrate with us and pray that we can continue to get rid of her!

God is so good!

Uh oh. I was bad tonight. Not REALLY bad, but bad none the less. I munched...in secret...at youth meeting. It was only a few chips and salsa, but the thing is that I gave in to the desire to chew. And I hid it. For a while. Then I confessed to my hubby. Boy, he sure gets hard-nosed about not cheating!

Luckily, there aren't any Oreos in the house and there isn't a store nearby.

Well, tomorrow is another day.

Winter has finally arrived! After having some good snowfall in December, January was very mild. A dusting here and there that wouldn't last a day. That has all changed today!

It started falling and blowing yesterday. As of the 11:00 news we had 20 inches in Harrisville! I can't measure acurately outside the house because of the huge drifts. There are drifts that are nearly 3 feet! Sasha loves it but gets lost easily! She got so exctied today she forgot herself and ran in from the outside, jump right on the couch and THEN shook the snow off! Oi!

The kids are hoping school is cancelled tomorrow, but it wasn't for today when it should have been. We'll see!

Alright! Wooo hooo!!!!

They did it!

There was no doubt!

23 people attended our Game Night/Super Bowl Party! It was a great time! We had 22 at evening service, too!

And, we have snow! I hear we are supposed to get a bunch! Rock on!

Well, after successfully avoid the fried and breaded food and the Chinese restaurant Friday, I faced another challenge last night. I'm certain there will be TONS of challenges to come, but here I am at day 4 and I am being SOOOOO GOOOOODD! I made a double batch of chocolate chip cookies for the Game Night at the church tonight. While I smelled the lucious cookie dough I resisted the urge to spoon some into my mouth! I wrestled in my mind with how much I had earned that day and that one spoonful wouldn't do damage. Boy, you should have heard the war in my head! But in the end, all the dough became cookies! That's a first in this household! So many batches of dough have never made it to the oven.

Tonight is our Game Night/Super Bowl Party. There will be lots of munchies and snacks. I am planning to dash home for a "meal" so I can be "full" and have an easier time saying no to the food items calling to me.

By the way, I may be sharing only my side of the struggle, but my hubby is struggling, too. He's doing so very well! I made an apple pie, his favorite, so the kids could eat it and remove it from the house. He resisted very well, and even did so well all day Saturday that he was allowed to have one piece! It's been a long time since he has enjoyed a piece of pie so slowly!

Today, something happened that has NEVER happened in the 36 years I have been alive.

I ate at a Chinese restaurant and NOTHING fried entered my body!

I grew up eating Chinese food a lot and it's a favorite. I am so proud of my hubby and I! We did really well!

So far, so good!

(Anyone got any Oreos?)

I want to thank you for your encouraging calls and emails over the past week. It's great to hear from so many friends! I truly am blessed! My back is all better now. That is unless I do something stupid. I knew everything would work itself back to normal. It just really took a long time this time!

My beloved husband and I have embarked (once again) on the road of weight loss. This is a "huge" (no pun intended!) issue with us. Over the past 18 years of marriage together we have gained 235 lbs. That's a whole person and then some! So, we are setting out to lose a person, together. This person we have named "Atalanta" which comes from the Greek (Atalante) meaning "equal in weight", derived from (atalantos) a word related to (talanton) meaning "a scale, a balance." In Greek legend Atalanta was a fast-footed maiden who refused to marry anyone who did not beat her in a race. She was eventually defeated by Hippomenes, who dropped three golden apples during the race causing her to stop to pick them up.

Now, Ken and I are equal partners in our marriage, therefore we share this battle, equally. The scale is bothersome to us, but we need a balance in our lives. I find it very interesting that Atalanta was defeated by a "Hippo" because she stopped to pick up a "food item." I know the apples in the legend are golden, but so are Golden Delicious Apples! They are healthy food items, but the picture is that she was defeated by food.

So we have decided to share this journey to lose Atalanta with you! Soon we will post our before pictures. (They have to be developed!) We will document our progress and give you updates on Atalanta's demise.

Please encourage us, pray for us, and even partner with us as we watch Atalanta disappear!