Mr. and Mrs. Greg Davis

Needless to say, the last three weeks have been a whirlwind of changes and many emotions. I could do several posts, but this one is dedicated to the new married couple - Greg and Lisa. They were married November 25, one day before Greg turned 30. It was a "destination-elopement" wedding in Santa Fe. It was very unique in that moms, brothers, and an extra relative on each side were invited. This made the total wedding group 11 with a fantastic photographer that fit in with the group. ( I forgot that Abby and Elly, the dogs, also made the trip.)
  It was a very memorable and special event. Here are a few of the pictures:

Many pictures were taken. Hopefully, I will get some more out there. Over 1500 pictures were taken during the wedding events, so I have many more to share. In fact the photographer said that there were more cameras at the wedding than people, which I had three on me and Di had two, counting our iphones. Everyone else there either had a camera or phone snapping pictures. (The only downer was Tara, Chad's wife, did not get to make the trip from Singapore. Tara, you were missed.)

Hawaii

Last week I got to mark another state off the bucket list - Hawaii. Rick's yearly convention was held in this great state, so I suffered in Hawaii for several days. We only visited two islands - Kona, The Big Island, and Honolulu. Rather than tell you about it, I thought I would let the pictures tell the story.

The Submarine we went down on.

Pearl Harbor

A sunset

What a Week!!!

This is one of those weeks that is amazing and emotional on several different levels. I could not decide what to write about so I decided it might be a week for a top ten post. So here goes. My top ten events for the week:

10. Last Saturday we went to my Aunt's 91st birthday party. She looks much younger than 91 years, still is at home, and has a great mind and attitude. She makes getting old look easy.

9. We got some more rain with a beautiful lightning show Saturday night.

8. Sporting events with the grandchildren was fun. Soccer games and baseball games of a 4 year old, 5 year old, and 7 year old will touch your heart.

7. Inservice on Monday with Gloom and Doom was the downer for the week. Our school is in severe financial problems, and some of us will be losing our jobs next year. This caused me to go through many different emotions in a 24 hour period, but I will say that God spoke to me very boldly in my Bible study this day. What an awesome God we serve!

6. Homecoming activities and dress up days is one of the many reasons why I still love teaching at middle school.

5. Homecoming Parade in a small town is like no other.

4. Homecoming Pep Rally in a small town is also like no other. In my 35 years of education, this was absolutely the BEST pep rally ever. Thanks to so many talented people, sponsors, and teachers.

3. Saturday night, we went to a Larry Gaitlin/Kenny Rogers concert. Kenny Rogers has been one of my favorites for 30 years. He still can sing a love song that will stir your heart. The concert was no disappointment. We had great family time with one of Rick's first cousins and Diana and Rick. The cousin is such a delight to be with.

2. The answer to fervent prayer - Rick Ferguson is gaining movement and some of his eye sight back in his eye that he lost during his brain cell implosion. I probably prayed more for this than anything I can remember in years. What an awesome God we serve. I believe I have already said this once in this post.

1. I got the phone call from Greg that I have been expecting in some form or fashion since February. A girl finally took his heart. He knew in February after knowing her for less than two weeks that she was the one. They have been jet-setting for 8 months. Each Monday I have been expecting a phone call from him that says they eloped. He prepared me from the beginning that this marriage would be an elopement. So this Monday - I did get the phone call. However, it was to tell me that they were going to elope November 25, one day before he turns 30, in Santa Fe. But the fantastic news is that I am invited. This is one proud Mother. I will write more about this romance/wedding later. But for know thanks, Lisa, for loving my son.

With tears in my eyes as I finish this post, I say again:

What an AWESOME God we serve!

Happy Anniversary, Rick

Happy FIFTH Anniversary!

Rick, hopefully sometime this month you will check my blog and find this post for you!

A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, 

trust, partnership, 

tolerance, and tenacity. 

The order varies for any given year (day).

I found this quote and thought this summarizes our relationship. Thanks for loving me (and tolerating the open closet doors and the lights left on)! As far as my favorite saying, "I love you bunches!"

Ashley + Jake = Marriage

Ashley and Jake got married this weekend at the cabin in the mountains. It meant different things to different people. For us it was the last of the road trips this summer to the cabin. We had already been several time in preparation for the wedding (building the deck). The weather was brisk on Friday - almost chilly. The weather for the outside wedding on Saturday was perfect.

The finished deck ready for the rehearsal dinner.

Abby posing with the wedding decorations.

A deer visiting at the deck early one morning.

The historical St. James Hotel - the reception site.

Jenna and Jared chilling.

Rick and I in the "picture".

Rick 

My first windmill picture.

The wedding was great; the bride was beautiful; and visiting with friends and family was fun. An added bonus was getting a camera lesson from the photographers, Toni Hedrick Clark and Denise Piyshack.
My wish for Jake and Ashley is that they will always be as happy as they are now. May their love grow and that they will cherish their time together forever.

Ashley + Jake = Marriage

Summer is Over

Summer is over and back to work I go. As I have said in several of the blogs this summer is that this is a stay-at-home vacation with projects. I am happy to say that most of them are finished and look great. Here are a few of the projects finished:
The outdoor kitchen.
The game room, which I now call the sitting room.  It was redone from ceiling to floor.
The home surveillance system, where we can watch the house when we are not there.
The deck at the Streetman-Harris cabin in New Mexico.
Sidewalks and drain.
Almost finished projects:
The multi-purpose building – shop, garage, and barn.
Television mounted on the patio.
Just started project: Pipe and cable fence around the house.

The Last Week of Summer Break

     Technically this is the last week of my summer break. It has been a very different summer, as I have eluded to several times. We did not do any summer vacations or a summer mission trip. We did do the traditional Fourth activities. We were at the mountain cabin Memorial Day to start the summer, and if nothing changes we will go there at the end of this week. Rick F. started the summer off with a blood clot and a brain tumor implosion with two hospital stays, and he will end the summer with another hospital visit this Thursday to get his gall bladder removed.
     Rick and I were hardly idle this summer. This summer was our summer of many projects. I will later  add pictures and the infamous list of al the projects. I am slowly getting in the groove of school by working a little here and there. I must confess, thanks to Jerry, I have a new addiction - Spider. This is a version of Solitaire. Instead of reading this summer, when I had a little free time I would be found playing this game. In fact, that is why I did not have as many posts as I usually do. If I will close now, I have just enough time for one more game.

Today in History

Today is a very special day to me. This is the day that my sister, who is also my very best friend, was born. I know without a doubt how lucky I am to have her in my life. We were raised as twins, did literally everything together, and still do. We are made fun of because we share food, candy, and donuts (when we worked together). I was very tempted to include a picture of her, but I knew that she would get even. So, Happy Birthday, Diana! Thanks for the memories.

Fourth of July, 2012

The Fourth of July holiday was just as expected - good family, friends, food, and fireworks. We got to spend time with all the kids and the many friends that stopped by to visit or purchase fireworks. The boys put on three great shows. The show in Van Alstyne will go down as the memorable one this year. Here are just a few pictures from the weekend.

And the Story goes on - Part 2

Two weeks have past and a very swift river has run under the bridge these two weeks. To begin with Diana wrote about her Rick's story (http://dfseason.blogspot.com/) on her blog. It explains where he is in his story. Prayers are still coveted, if you are reading this.
Last weekend Rick got new TV cable run through the entire house. We have cable television again. He also got the game room ceiling scraped and painted.
This Saturday I got gas to my kitchen after several trips to Johnson-Burkes for plumbing supplies. The painter showed up and got three-fourths of the ceiling taped and bed before he got sick and disappeared.

With the plumbing and cable troubles, this gave Rick the idea that this was a great time to build an outside kitchen. So we made several trips to Plano and many trips to Lowes and Home Depot this past week. This is what the kitchen looks like after the first weekend.
With all this we also have the beginning of "Fireworks Season." Greg and Kayah arrived Wednesday night   to start the season. Jerry came in after Rick's brain cell implosion. Chad will be coming in this week, and Tara will be here the weekend. Great food, fun, and family time are on the horizon.

And the Story Goes On

Water has run under many bridges since I last posted. Randy, Rick and Di, Rick and I, plus the girls, Elly and Abby, went to the cabin in New Mexico to build a deck. The first morning Rick F. fell through the porch on an axe handle. Long story short, he ended up in the hospital with a blod clot and other complications.
We had a new roof put on the house, in which the roofers hit the gas line. We still do not have this fixed. 5/8 inch soft copper tubing is hard to find.
Our cable television has decided to stop working. It is the connectors in the attic. We have wires running through the flower bed, through the patio door, to the tv.
I have decided the game room carpet needs to be replaced. Rick decided the ceiling needed to be scraped and walls painted. Sunday we started scraping the ceiling. It looks like a bomb has exploded.
I am not complaining or worried. School is out, and I have the summer to take care of all these minor things. However, if you are reading this, Rick, my brother-in-law, can use your prayers in a mighty way. Di or I will be posting his story soon.

New Look by Accident

I was taking a break from the end-of-school year things and thought I would play with my blog background. Boy, did I ever mess up. I can't find my original layout or template. Needless to change it has been a while since I played with the backgrounds and templates. Just like other technologies, they have upgraded and changed to a different version. Now I have another tutorial to read and go through. I was just looking for something simple and creative to do tonight.... This was not it. I think I will go play a game on my iPad.

Happy Mother's Day

I guess since my quiet time Friday morning before school, I have been missing my mother. During our morning announcements at school Friday, Mrs. Murphy mentioned how the kids should tell the mother figure in their life how much they appreciate all they do for them. I think most of the kids ignored her, but tears streamed down my face, as I wished that I could have one more chance with my mom. As I get older   I see my mother in the mirror as I put on my makeup, but I know that I am not half the woman that she was. I just hope that she knew or knows the great influence she was and still is daily in my life.

She was one great Christian, southern lady, full of beauty,(inside and out) and grace. Mother was the epitome of a role model for any young woman. Diana did a great job describing our mother in this post: http://www.dfseason.blogspot.com/2010/05/my-two-marvelous-moms.html.

Bennie Henderson Scoggins, I thank God for blessing my life with you as my mother. You were the best!

Three Stooges Hay Baling

Three Stooges studying the situation while eating.

First Bale

I may get in trouble for writing this one, but last week had been one of those weeks. Rick and his "other" brothers had been trying to cut, rake, and bale the hay crop. First, Rick and Greg replaced the spikes on the rake the week before. Monday and Tuesday nights the cutter had to be tinkered with. The third night finally the hay got cut. Next was the hay baler episodes. The guys worked all day Saturday and averaged one bale of hay per hour. The boys were bruised, tired, and scratched up. The hay baler won round one. Sunday was a new day. Same story - second verse. They took Monday off, because they thought the hay might be a little too wet. Tuesday, same story - third verse. The rest of the story is history. The guys decided to buy a new baler. It is Friday afternoon, and we are waiting on the delivery of the new equipment. I made several comments through the week that the old-time farmers, including my dad, are smiling down at these guys trying to figure out how to make these piece of machineries work. Rick's comment is that they are saying, "been there, done that."

A Great Week End

Talk about random, this last Wednesday to Sunday was about as random as can be. Wednesday night Rick and I picked Chad up at the airport. I had a great Thursday with him. Then off to Dallas he went to catch up with Dave and the rest of his friends. Rick and I were off to the races; however, we had a blowout on our travel trailer on I35. Thanks to Rick and Diana they came to our rescue just in the knick of time. Only one tire shop was open at 7:30 at night. We finally got our trailer set up at the racetrack, and off to the airport Diana and I went again at midnight. Jerry came in from Cambodia. We did all the normal race activities. We had great family time with Jenna, a friend, Justin, and Jonah. The races were disappointing, we did not get to see one wreck! Saturday night at midnight we decided to pack up and come home because a storm was brewing. Sunday was the end to a great week. I had ALL my family, except Tara - the newest member in my family, in my house at one time, for a meal of course. Tara, you were missed!

Easter Week 2012

This week is always a special week to me on various levels. So this post will be as random as ever with old and new comments in NO particular order.

My wonderful, beautiful daughter-in-law had her first birthday as a Davis, in Singapore. Luckily, her dad got to go visit and make her birthday special. I am sorry that I missed getting to hug her in person. We are so blessed to have her a part of our family, AND be willing to live the adventurous life with Chad out of the country.

In this past Good Friday post, I explain why good Friday is so memorable to me.

On Wednesday of this week, Marlon, a good friend near to my age, had a "significant" heart attack while playing the drums during praise practice at church. He had to have a stint put in. This morning, he was back at church playing the drums. The entire ordeal was emotional; I am so glad that God chose to let him live.

The Sunday School lesson, music, video, and sermon at church this morning was a fantastic experience. I felt God's presence when we walked in His house. I know with out a doubt that we serve a risen Savior;  I am so thankful that "He Lives," and that this is truly the reason for all seasons.

Rick, if and when you read this, thanks for being in my life these last 10 years. Kids, you were all missed today. For various reasons, Greg, Chad, Jenna, nor Justin got to be with us today.

Thanks to Rick's girls for letting me be a part of their lives. We got to watch four ballgames Saturday of the older grandchildren. Today, Cade and Cali came to visit.

Whoever reads this, I hope that you had a wonderful Easter. Zach played for Deion yesterday on one of his "truth"teams. On the fans' tshirts was a quote that said something about we look good, we play good, we feel good, and all is good. I can't remember the exact saying, but the bottom line was that Life is Good! I hope you can say the same thing. Happy Easter!

The Sad Conclusion

Rick knew best. As I stated earlier, he would not let me name the calf. He had his doubts. The downhill slide began when the mother cow's udders started drying up - one per day. Each day we had less real milk and had to use the fake stuff. By Friday the mother was dried up. The calf would suck from the bottle, but she would not stand up without Rick holding her up. I kept saying that we just needed to do physical therapy on her. The story ended Saturday morning, one week after finding her in the cedar tree; a coyote got her during the night. So the story ends without a "happily ever after."

The Rest of the Story

The little calf I wrote about in the last post has had a tragic experience. She got caught in a huge cedar tree and was stuck for about 24-20 hours. She could not stand up nor could she nurse. Rick has been milking the mother cow and bottle feeding the baby. The baby calf is about as thin as she could possibly be. Time will tell. Rick says that I can not name the calf until it stands by itself.

Our Visitor on the Back Porch

We looked out the patio door to find this little visitor. She was born on Sunday before the rains came. We have watched out for her all week, so she just came to assure us that all is well.

Spring Break 2012

As this spring break comes to a close, it was another fun-filled time for me. I think that this is always one of the fastest weeks of the year, and I even started mine two days early. I will just list a few of the highlights of my week:

• A ladies' trip to Asheville, Gatlingburg, and Pigeon Forge in which we toured the Biltmore Mansion, the Great Smoky Mountains, the Blue Ridge mountain pass, and some cemeteries.
• We finished our income taxes to send on to the CPA.
• Rick and I went to the Good Guys car show.
• We planted our garden hoping the frost is over.
• I worked on a patchwork quilt.
• I read a book that Keelie gave me for Christmas about learning to be thankful for everything.
• We went to two baseball games of the grand kids and a birthday party for another.
• The Easter bunny came, and we decorated the house for Easter.
• Rick and I took my jeep out for several rides at night. There is just something rejuvenating about the wind blowing in your face going down the road.
• God blessed us with the perfect weather all week. It was amazing!

Did you notice something missing from the list? I did NO spring cleaning. Maybe that is why the week was so fun-filled.

Potato Chips

The following is one of those emails that you get forwarded from a friend then you are supposed to pass it on. I usually read them, enjoy them, and then delete them. However, this one went so well with our Bible study that I passed it on to my kids, and now I am sharing it with my blog.

Potato Chips: A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with a bag of potato chips and a six-pack of root beer and started his journey.When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park, just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he offered her some chips. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him.Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Again, she smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.As twilight approached, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave; but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman, and gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever. When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?"He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? She's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen! "Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home.Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked,"Mother, what did you do today that made you so happy?" She replied!"I ate potato chips in the park with God." Before her son could respond, she added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected."Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word,a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring,all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime! Embrace all equally!Have lunch with God.......bring chips. Send this to people who have touched your life in a special way. Let them know how important they are.

Thanks for touching my life!

Abby Rose

Abby got to wear her sweater this weekend during the cold spell.

I am in Tech Heaven

This is day three of my five days in Austin at the TCEA (tech) convention. I am just like a sponge. I cannot get enough information. It is wonderful with only one exception, it is getting harder to remember everything I am seeing and hearing. I find myself taking more notes than ever, because I am so afraid that I will not remember the good stuff when I get back home.

A beautiful Sunday

Today, the weather was like a windy spring day. I took my camera when we went to feed the cows today. I could tell that it was beautiful day for pictures. Here are just a few that I took while we were out. 

The Cow Dog

Butterfly, Mom, and friend

A predator

The old farmhouse.

My man!

The newest kid on the block.

Thank you, Jesus. There were many others, but these are just a few that I chose to share with you. I really hope that spring is soon.

Chad and Tara

Click here to view this photo book larger

You'll love Shutterflys award-winning photo books. Try it today.

This book is with pictures that Diana and Emily took. The book was created with Shutterfly.

Here is a link to some of the photographers pictures. I am still waiting on the disk with all the pictures.
http://iveyphotography.wordpress.com/2012/01/05/new-years-eve-wedding-at-the-joule-hotel-dallas-tara-chad/

http://www.iveystudio.com/#/weddingshome/
Click on  gallery to see some more shots! You will need to use the next page arrow to navigate to Chad and Tara's pictures.

One Year Later...Abby Rose

One year ago today Rick and I adopted our precious puppy, Abby Rose. It has been a fun year with her. Last year when we got her this is the blog that was written by the girls on their own blog:

Reasons You Will Be Glad You Adopted Us!

• Loyalty. We will give you our undying affection for very little in return. A little food, water and a scratch or two behind the ear is generally all it will take. 
• Companionship. We want to go everywhere with you! We promise we will be great traveling dogs. It won't matter whether you are going places around town or headed to NASCAR, we want to go!
• Unconditional love. We will love you no matter what. All we care about is pleasing you and getting love in return. 
• Protection. Although we are little, we will do our best to protect and alert you as needed.
• Joy. Yes, this is the biggest! You will come home every day to wagging tails and happy faces.


We will all attest that Abby and Elly were no disappointment to either family. All of these were fulfilled and more.

Willys Jeeps

      I thought I would take a break from writing about the wedding to write a post about my Christmas present from Rick. Christmas Day night after all the company had left and it was down to the boys and us, we opened our family presents. At this time I received my annual poem from Rick. I knew immediately that it was some kind of riding toy or vehicle, I just did not know what kind. I had to find the clue that ended up in the inside of one of my Christmas trees. After much searching, I did find the picture - a 1947 Willys jeep.

      Last year I got a 1947 Willys jeep in really bad shape that needs an extreme amount of work on it. Here is the post about it. ( Another Project - Happy Birthday, Daddy)  I had  made comments throughout the year about the jeep, but I knew Rick was not too excited about fixing it up. So he bought me one ready to go - almost. I was thrilled with my present.

     As Paul Harvey would say "For the rest of the story..." This is where the irony and humor comes in. The irony of this is for our Christmas contest, I suggested that Rick create a jeep out of a milk carton. He designed and painted this jeep the day after he had gone to Fort Worth to buy my jeep. He tied for second with his creation. The humor is that after he and I went back to Fort Worth to get the jeep, he confessed that this was the second jeep he had bought me in three weeks. He found one on the internet. Rick's brother went to San Antonio to pick this one up for Rick. He then found the other jeep and like it better. So right now we have THREE 1947 Willys jeeps.

The Wedding Weekend

"This is the day that the Lord hath made, and I will rejoice in it...." This was the opening remark at the wedding ceremony, but it pretty much sums up the entire wedding weekend of activities. There was a huge amount of rejoicing going on from the very beginning. It was all very special and very fairytale like from the beginning to the end. I will list a few of the highlights from the weekend:

The rehearsal dinner was at Ozona's, a favorite hangout of the kids. The food and speeches were quite entertaining. Our kids friends are so fun to be around.
The morning of the wedding, Di and I got up fairly early to go down for a muffin. In the hotel coffee shop, there sat Chad with his iPhone all alone, reading his Bible and having his quiet time. He had been up since 5 or 6 AM. He was too excited to sleep. He has not slept much all week, because he was too excited.
We attended a brunch for Tara with 32 other bridesmaids and relatives at the Zodiac Room at Neiman Marcus. The food was exquistie. I definitely gave up my low-carb diet for this occasion. The dessert platter was to die for.
Tara, Chad, the bridesmaids and groomsmen were all very beautiful/handsome. I know I am prejudice, but I do not when I have ever seen 16 cute kids in one wedding at the same time. It was magical.
The reception was pure fun. Dave, Chad's friend, sang for the special dances. Chad had written the words to the song for his and Tara's dance last week for her. He and I danced to a song he had written last year about his dad. Tara and her Dad danced to Frank Sinatra's song, "The Way you Look Tonight."
At midnight we all went to the pool at the hotel. They passed out sparklers for all to wave and sing as we welcomed in 2012.
The fraternity boys sang the "Loving Cup" song at my request.
I have slowly been seeing pictures that the professional photographers took. The photographers were the best. When the group went from the wedding to the reception, they even went outside on Main Street, Dallas, Texas and stopped the traffic to take a picture.
The entire wedding weekend was photographed with hundreds of pictures. Diana and another friend took 500 pictures. I do not know how many the professional photographers took yet.

I was waiting to get some of the professional pictures before I put this post out there; however, they will just have to come later.

My Speech at the Rehearsal Dinner.

I am exhausted today after being on the go for two weeks straight. So I am not going to compose my wedding blog tonight. The couch is calling pretty loudly at the moment. So I will give a link to Tara's pre-wedding photos and give a link to Keelie's blog about the wedding. For my post I copied my speech that I had the priviledge of giving at the rehearsal dinner.

http://www.iveystudio.com/tara11/
http://wearelosingitblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/adventure-of-lifetime.html

The Speech

I am not known for being short on words. So tonight is NO different. I get a few extra moments because I get to speak on behalf of Chad’s father and myself.

First I want to thank all of you for being here tonight to celebrate with us in this marriage.

I decided for my speech to go back a few years and give a top ten speech –

We will call it Marilyn’s Top Ten Random Thoughts.

10. When you describe Chad there are four letters that comes to mind at some point of his description.  ADHD.  It did not take but a few weeks after his birth to realize that Chad had a different temperament. He was in constant motion from the very beginning. In fact, we nicknamed him “the worm” from the very beginning. Little did we know at this point that he was going to be ADHD.  This was the cause of many of his “beatings”. I did not leave home without my paint stirrer. which was what I called a BMP – behavior modification paddle. However, the other side of the story is that it never hurt me as much as it did him. He usually was so funny, when I was punishing him, I would end up laughing at him. This temperament is what has made Chad and defines who he is today.

9. Through out his life when I had something important to tell him, I would grab him by his arms and say – Look at me….  Tara, I highly recommend this technique if you really need his attention. I assure you he can appear to be looking and listening, but he will not hear a word.

8. The boys accused me many times through the years that I would never like a girl they chose. They had the attitude that I would never think a girl was good enough for the boys. Well they are wrong. I liked you, Tara, when you were in high school and I still do. I knew that it would take a very special person to get Chad to commit to for life. HE found that person in you, Tara.

7. I started praying many years ago that the boys would find the perfect spouses for them. I know that God answered this prayer for Chad. Tara, you are gift from God.

6. Chad wrote a song about his Dad. In it he asks would his dad be proud of him, is this the right direction, is he good enough son,  and are there things that he would say to him to be a better man. Chad, Carl would be very proud of you.

5. As with all family names, there is a stigma that goes with the name. I assure you that the Davis name is no different. I have heard comments such as Davis time, which usually means ‘Fashionable Late”. The Davis way – usually means on the spur of the moment or flying by the seat of our pants. Whatever it means to each of you, we are extremely proud to be sharing the Davis name with you, Tara. We welcome you to our family.

4. After Chad told me about the engagement and I got over the shock of Singapore, I immediately “googled” my new title, mother-in-law just to see what to expect. The common thread was that the parent passes the child to their new spouse, with the parent’s blessings. As hard as this will be, I feel good about passing him on to you.

My words of advice to you two:

3. Enjoy your lives together. Work at making your marriage fun. Life goes way too quickly. I promise you someday you will wake up and question where did the years go. Which leads to the next point – take many pictures throughout life with a good camera. This will help you to know where the years went.

2. Make sure God is always part of your life. You need Him on your side. Have a heart for God.

1. Finally - I'd like to propose a toast to Chad and Tara. May today be the beginning of a wonderful new and long-lasting chapter of your lives, and may you always love, honor and cherish each other, just as you do today.

I love you both!


(With God's help, I did get through this without a tear while giving it.)