We hope to meet her around the middle of June!
Trains & Early Christmas November 28, 2010
We had an early Christmas over Thanksgiving with the Broadway family in Wilmington, NC. Josiah was eating up the attention from his grandaddy, Aunt Jenn and Uncle Chris. He also quite enjoys the cat, although the cat still doesn’t quite reciprocate his affections.
We enjoyed the relief from the very cold temperatures. It was kind of fun to get to use some of the summery clothes I had in store for Josiah from our hand me downs. But he still liked wearing his hat!
Though Josiah was pretty active last Christmas, he had a whole new involvement with it this year. It was fun to have him be more aware and involved. Here he’s showing how serious he was about his gifts. He helped deliver them to each family member until he got too involved in playing with his new toys!
The kitchen pans were a hit for him. He’s been very into mimicking me in the kitchen again so I thought some pots and pans would be fun for him to feel like he was really cooking; and so I could get my pots and pans back!
The other hit for Josiah was taking him to a Christmas train exhibit in town. They had small model trains and larger ones all set up in a big room. He was in awe and so super excited. Some switch has been turned on for him just recently and he is officially obsessed with trains.
It’s been fun to see him really get in to it, and it is fun to have things like this to take him to!
Schooling Dilemma, part 2 October 15, 2010
We have been deeply pondering the topic of raising and educating our children for a number of years. One regular topic of conversation has been the idea of homeschooling our children, at least through their elementary school years. We’ve engaged in this conversation with certain friends, but in general it’s felt… unsafe… to discuss. Opinions and feelings vary widely. But, with trembling, we feel like we should start talking more openly about what we are learning — to gain insights from our friends, and to share the insights we have gained. Though what we write below may sound dogmatic, understand that it is written in a spirit of humility and friendship. Ultimately, this decision comes down to each family’s personal conviction. — Scott & Caryn
We’ve often had discussions with friends about another question in the dilemma – is it right to abandon the government (public) schools? If the “good” people leave, will they just degrade more? Is it our place to stay involved? These are also hard questions to answer and I hear many people questioning this when they look at alternatives to public school.
In Schooling Dilemma, Part 1, we took a quick look at the question of homeschooling. Now let’s dig in a bit deeper together…
First, we consider the conversations with several neighbors and friends in different parts of the country questioning whether their children are even learning in school. Even teacher friends attest that students acquire knowledge for standardized testing and waste a large chunk of their day in travel to school, administrative tasks (attendance, class changes) and dealing with misbehaving classmates. Literacy rates are falling and schools are failing. This is not to knock teachers by the way. They are not always the problem.
It seems an interesting option to teach and train at home, have children more effectively learn and efficiently use their time; and then use the extra time to engage together in the community. Choosing alternative school options does not withdraw students or parents from society at large. We can engage in extracurricular activities which do overlap with the government school realm (or local city/county leagues), at public venues such as libraries and rec centers, at playgrounds and Chick-fil-a. A book Caryn read recently even suggested that as tax paying citizens, you are able to enroll your children in certain classes/activities with the public school even if they are officially home schooled. And then of course later there are opportunities with community colleges, etc. We have many interesting options available today.
Autumn…ahhhh October 2, 2010
Loving Autumn. A long lost friend has returned into our lives, and I love it as much as I remember. There are some challenges – raking, black walnuts barraging our house and yard, and trying to get us dressed in appropriate layers for the day. I am still counting my blessings since it is our first in such a long time. There are surely worse places to experience a real autumn. It has been crisp and beautiful here. I had to cope, too, with a couple rainy days in a row. That’s new for me. I’m used to sudden changes in weather and return to hot and muggy soon after a shower has bludgeoned us (in Florida). The clouds hang low, and the moisture sets in. It may come down in rain, it may hang in the air in a mist. But there are bright blue skies on other beautiful autumn days.
We are enjoying warm cups of tea, sweaters and comforters back on the bed. Some day we’ll get our furance working and have central heat. I turned it on the other day and apparently it wasn’t quite ready to be used, as it was making a horrible hammering noise and sounded like it was going to shake itself to pieces or blow the house up. I realized later talking with Scott that there is probably a valve that was not opened. Hopefully the serviceman can help us with that this coming week!
Ah the excitement of a new home.
We just spent today out having a very fall festival kind of day at Sinkland Farms. What a beautiful spot on Route 8 in Riner! In the valley with rolling hills and higher mountains around this beautiful spot hosts a large pumpkin patch and festivities for the family to enjoy. Josiah had a lot of fun. Of course being outside is always fun for him, and having some freedom to roam. Although today he has been somewhat clingy. Scott just got back Wednesday from a 10 day trip and Josiah still doesn’t really trust him out of his sight. But he had a lot of fun.
We got to do a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch to pick our pumpkin and Josiah found a tiny one and held onto it for dear life. He also went “shopping” in the gourds, and just had fun poking around. Here are some of the pics from the day.
Reviving Ancient Methods: Apprenticeship August 19, 2010
Continuing to read Laura Brodie’s book, Love in a time of Homeschooling, I hit another trigger point for discussion.
Brodie recalls seeing a young man, Grant Colfax, as a guest of Johnny Carson. Colfax was going off to Harvard, never having completed a year of formal school. His parents would later become famous in the homeschooling world as the authors of Homeschooling for Excellence. But this was the first Brodie had heard of anything like homeschooling. Colfax had grown up on a remote homestead in Northern California. This author summed his experience: “Much of his education had been hands-on, helping his parents clear land and build a farm. He had learned biology while raising animals, geometry while constructing a house, and his discovery of Indian ruins on the family property had inspired him to study North American archaeology.”
Investigating Ancient Methods
Reading this made me recall part of another book I recently read called, Living at Nature’s Pace: Farming and the American Dream by Gene Logsdon, a friend of author Wendell Berry. Logsdon’s book is a collection of essays in response to the dying vision of farming in America, seeking a return to traditional farming methods and wondering at their success potential. (more…)
Are you a BOurgeois BOhemian June 27, 2010
I ran across a reference to the term “Bobo” or “Bourgeois Bohemian” today. I feel like I’ve seen it before, but hadn’t quite figured out what it meant. There are several statements and quotes throughout the article of different people defining the subculture; this one struck me.
Ad from Rich Hippie clothing store in TX.
It’s hard to miss them: The epitome of casual ‘geek chic’ and organised within the warranty of their Palm Pilots*, they sip labour-intensive café lattes, chat on sleek cellphones and ponder the road to enlightenment. In the US they worry about the environment as they drive their gas-guzzling sports utility vehicles to emporiums of haute design to buy a $50 titanium spatula; they think about their tech stocks as they explore specialty shops for Tibetan artefacts in Everest-worthy hiking boots. They think nothing of laying out $5 for a wheatgrass muff, much less $500 for some alternative rejuvenation at the day-spa – but don’t talk about raising their taxes.
Family Portrait January 26, 2010
Well, it’s been a while since we’ve posted anything about our family. 2009 was quite a year for us; not all positive, but not all negative either. Needless to say, we are happy to move into 2010, hopeful for what the new decade holds for this Davis family. I thought I’d at least share a family photo from the grandparents’ house at Christmas. I’m trying to convert Josiah to be a fan of moose like I am, so I found some CUTE fleece pjs for the holiday cold nights for him. Anyway, this is us.
Happy New Year and New Decade to you and yours! More updates to come soon.
Mommy Favorites January 7, 2010
As we are already approaching 11 months with our first child, I thought I would write a post about my “mommy favorites” — things that I found to be essential in helping us survive the first little one. [I may add more and add photos later!]
I start by acknowledging my situation and preferences are potentially very different from the next mommy. We are frugal and in a fairly small house, living on one income. We had a son who was colicky for 3 months, never really enjoyed tummy time until he was ready to start inching around, and is just his own baby — every baby is so different in many ways!
We had plenty of preconceived notions, fears, and exciting wonderful things we looked forward to. We had some definite and some pseudo opinions; many of those have changed drastically since we had our baby!
I’m going to include here some of my favorite things from our experience. I hope that it might help someone out there. I had several great moms send me their short list and I found it helpful. I haven’t really included toys. That’s a whole other post! (more…)
I know why people ask “So when are you going to have kids?” September 30, 2009
We are family.
It generally starts around high school. “Where are you going to go to college?” Then “Are you seeing anyone?” That question proceeds to “When are you going to get married (already!)?” If you marry, then you are always asked, “So when are you going to have kids?”
Most of us have been there. Most of us have squirmed, and thought, WHY does everyone have to ask me that? Why can’t I just focus on where I am? Why do I always have to be taking the next big step? Why are they in such a rush?
Well, when I went to college, I began to understand the desire to ask the next class that dreaded question. When I got married, I began to understand why people are always asking about when you’re going to get married. And, oh, having a child, I now understand why people ask that question!
Anyway, there are probably plenty of reasons. Some may be less noble as these. I thought this might help the collection of people out there sans kids understand why people like me may ask you this question: (more…)
My Adventures in Cloth Diapering, Part 2 August 29, 2009
This is a follow up post to Part 1.
Now we are entering a new phase. At six months and almost 18 lbs, Josiah has pretty much grown out (I think more length than anything) the Fuzzi Bunz diapers I had. It is also MUCH harder to do the prefolds on him as we had been doing because he has started to want to be up on all fours on the changing table, and I was some days having to change him upside down. That phase has passed for the most part (for now) and he’s letting me put him on his back again. But two major changes now have made me want to take the next step in diapering. (more…)
My Adventures in Cloth Diapering, Part 1 August 29, 2009
I did a very controversial thing — I chose to cloth diaper! Gasp. I know, many people think I’m crazy. And maybe I just am! Ha. It’s amazing because the first three months with an extremely colicky child, you’d think I was insane to add more difficulty to being a diapering mom. But, I have actually found the system to work for us, and keep experimenting along the way trying new things. I’ve had some room in my life to research and refine this for our family. Who knows what it will be like for any future children. But Josiah is a cloth-diapered child most of the time.
My journey began with a few people suggesting it and I thought they were crazy, and after several conversations like this on topics of childbirth and family, I realize we’re all pseudo crazy to take on this amazingly wonderful journey of parenthood. So why not give it a go?! Hey, I mean I did deliver Josiah in a bathtub! (more…)
Can I buy a vowel? July 9, 2009
So I guess as babies, we start off developmentally with a LOT of vowels, and just start to add consonants slowly to the front of them. Our little guy is so content to ahhhh ohhhhh uhhhhh all day long. It’s kind of fascinating to watch language develop in a child. I’ve seen pieces here and there, but it’s so interesting to watch it day to day. Some days he’s very vocal, and some days he’s much more quiet. I haven’t found the rhythm to that mystery. A couple of weeks ago when he started really becoming more vocal, he did it for a while and then took a break from vowels and just blew raspberries all day. He’d wake up, and it was the first thing we’d hear from his room. It was delightful.
Then, at some point, he just kind of switched back to vowels. And now it’s kind of like a singer practicing because he does this whole range of volumes with the sounds he can make. The other day, we were visiting his friend Jake, who’s a few weeks older. He and Jake weren’t quite talking to one another, but at about the same language ability. Each would rattle off some sounds, and some shrieks of glee. When Josiah made a really loud one, Jake would kind of look astonished. But later he would do the same and kind of startle Josiah. It was very amusing.
Josiah seems to like when you talk at the same time as he’s cooing and making his sounds. He hasn’t figured out the “taking turns” of conversation yet, but really likes us to talk to him, and repeat his sounds. It makes his day. It’s so thrilling to hear his shrieks of glee, even if they are a bit piercing.
4 Month Old Highlights and Happy Father’s Day June 22, 2009
Well, it was a banner weekend in many ways for Josiah. His sleep goes well, and then regresses some, but this weekend he did two nights with consistent long stretches of sleep, which was really nice; probably the best sleep we’ve been able to get so far.
He also over the weekend became much more deliberate in grabbing things. He’d grabbed hold of rings on the bouncy chair for a while now (since May when we were at my parent’s house and got this new bouncy seat), but it was almost like he was able to grasp half-heartedly. For the first time, I saw him really plan, reach out and grab hold of something, and keep grasping on.
He also has become much more rolly! He’s rolling around and can move around in a circle, but not like rolling over yet. he pulls his legs up, and moves them, kind of throwing his weight, and can manage to move like the hands on a clock kind of in a circle.
The negative is that he’s all OVER the crib. I’ll put him down, and he’ll inch around like an inch worm and end up in all kinds of positions. Definitely had to make the crib very baby proof where as before he wasn’t mobile really. He has almost laughed a couple times when I was playing with him in the mornings, but it was almost like I wasn’t sure.
Sunday he laughed as Scott had him “flying” in the air some. Which was also new that he let us do that…not so sensitive to that 
falling feeling. He loved it and we’re pretty sure a little giggle came out!
This morning, I hadn’t heard a peep from him (VERY unusual) so I went in after waiting a while, and found him happy and awake. I found something though that petrified me and I almost screamed. In the dark, he appeared with a ring of dark fluid around his head which in the dark I assumed was blood and I was frantic and almost screamed, but he was wide eyed, happy and smiling up at me. I paused, flipped on the light and realized it was poop all OVER the place. But he was okay. Gosh, that was scary. I wasn’t even upset about cleaning it up because I was so grateful he was okay!
He’s just growing up so much. it’s quite amazing. So, I know there are many more steps to go, and that we can go backwards sometimes and then forward again. But it was very exciting to see these big highlights all around the same time, and to celebrate Father’s Day and his 4 month b’day! he’s also been VERY interested in Scott especially the last week, watching his every move when he’s home. He likes hearing him talk, and watching him do anything — drink, eat, shave, whatever. It’s very fun to see him take so much interest in his daddy. A very fun weekend all around for Father’s day and celebrating nearly his 4 month birthday!
Enjoying the moments June 5, 2009
So, since we’ve had Josiah out in public, people are always looking at him adoringly and saying how they LOVE that stage — 
newborn/infant. Often this comes to us after a long night, or a difficult no-sleeping day, so it’s hard for us to believe. The hours of crying and fussing and unable to console our child leaves us bedraggled and sleep-less. It’s hard to sense that someone could LONG for those days.
But, I know that’s not what they mean.
They mean the cuddling stage, the small little bundle of joy in your arms keeping you cozy and loved feeling. The gazes from your infant into your eyes with the boundless and unconditional love for you. The smiles, the giggles, and the warm naps on your shoulder. Those things are precious.
Josiah is almost 16 weeks old, and he’s in 6 month clothes, and he’s becoming much more active and fun. There have been much better days of sleep and naps, and we’re excited for progress. He loves being able to stretch his legs and stand up, or sit up right (still needs help, but he doesn’t like lying down anymore). We jokingly say he’s done being a baby and speak for him saying “that bouncy seat is for babies…I don’t need to be in that anymore.” Just the other day, as he was falling asleep in my arms on a good day, I gazed down at him and had this flash forward moment and started crying realizing that soon he’d be wanting to walk around, and would be squirming out of my arms all the time to investigate and explore.
I realize that relatively soon, this stage will be over; I really do need to enjoy it while it lasts. He’s no longer the sleepy little eating-pooping-warm-blob that he kind of was for the first few weeks. He’s becoming more independent (relatively, of course) and chatty with goos and coos. He’s still clingy enough, and still can’t handle sitting on his own all the time.So I really want to and need to embrace the moments while I have them.
It’s a little easier on good days. But when I have a “good day”, I notice that he’s happier, and generally more independent and I can put him down and get some things done. Looking back on that in this reflection, I realize those “good days” will become more frequent and we wont’ be in the cuddly stage quite so much. So I don’t plan to coddle him or anything, but just I don’t want to be looking so far ahead to the next thing that I do miss out on this stage, even if some parts of it have been and continue to be extremely difficult.
In good news, he slept almost 12 hrs last night — 7:30 pm – 7:30 am. Not perfectly, and there were times he woke up crying, sometimes to eat. He fussed and squirmed and woke himself up with his sad little gas and such. But really, it was quite a miracle and like what the books tell you they should be doing around 4 months.
So I have hope that we are making progress, and that we’ll see delightful changes. But as the first 3 months slip into memory, I’m actually starting to have some moments of missing them. It is weird. Someday I’ll probably be telling someone that I miss that stage as they hold a few week old in their arm. I guess it’s the grace of God to help us lose memory of the difficulty and cling to the joys. Not everyone will; not everyone can. But I know that God has this built in so we’ll keep having kids!
Anyway, so trying to savor the moments. I’m realizing how much attitude affects my parenting, and I am glad I have some time to be trained in patience and endurance for the long run.
Being a Mom May 24, 2009
I realized that this past week included my first “mommy” event as a mommy, not counting my baby shower. I attended a Mom’s 
time at a church nearby where several of our friends go. It is a great program and these older moms in the church body have such a wonderful heart to help encourage younger moms through this ministry. I was highly encouraged to be a part of it. Of course, Josiah was kind of uncooperative the day before, and was questionable that morning. I had packed the car, and Josiah was screaming his head off at this point. I almost didn’t go.
But my sweet friend called me to say that it was fine if I came late. I was determined then to go ahead. I got there late, and it was their last meeting of this year (they kind of go on a school calendar) and I didn’t really get a ton from the teaching exactly, slightly distracted feeding and taking care of the spit up of my little one. But, it was just encouraging to be in a room of moms. The speaker was talking about how she didn’t wake up every day wanting to do all the things before her; that some of it was responsibility and where we needed to seek after God for the endurance and patience to push through laundry, meal planning, tight budgets, crying kids, etc. And how we need each other in this.
It was also nice to look around the room and see a great collection of moms. Some had several children, some were just pregnant with their first. Some moms were older with young children; some younger with older children, some older with older children! Some with 7 kids, one married off already. And several of us with our first. It’s nice to feel “normal” and see so many others trying to find sanity and community amidst busyness.
Born Into Brothels May 4, 2009
The children of the brothel
This movie has been on my netflix queue for about a year. I’ve wanted to watch it since I heard of it, but somehow it never felt like a good time to watch.
But really, when would be a “good” time to watch a documentary about children born into brothels in the slums of Calcutta, India? So I finally watched it this evening. And sobbed my way through it.
An American photographer in India became interested in the plight of women and children in the red light district of Calcutta and decided to live among them. The brothels are full of children, and she began handing out cameras and teaching the children to take photographs. The documentary is the story of these children, their pictures, and their lives in the brothels.
It’s quite jarring at first, peering into the hard lives of the children. It’s shocking to see the conditions in which they live, the awkwardness of these little ones in the midst of the sex trade. And yet it is somehow fitting to see the results of prostitution through their eyes. After all, sex is kind of about children.
Isn’t it?
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.”
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. (Genesis 1:27-28;2:24)
I felt the truth of this passage as I came to know the children through the camera’s lens. I came to know them, not as the outcasts of society, not as the children of prostitutes, not as a failure of contraception, but as human beings, created in God’s own image. Children whose lives are precious in His sight. I came to love and care for them.
By the way, the Sonagachi district alone is estimated to have around 10,000 sex workers and who knows how many children (whether they are working or not).
This movie is strong medicine, a view of lust from the other side. For some reason, God’s most precious gifts are those we abuse the most and use to destroy one another.
I mean sex. But I also mean the children.
May God have mercy on us, and may His just reign soon come on earth as it is in heaven.
Update and a photo or two… April 23, 2009
Not much writing recently. I’ve been trying to catch up on other life things, and our schedule is still very erratic! I wanted to share a couple photos for those of you who haven’t seen Josiah in person in a while. We just had our 2 month appointment yesterday. Saturday is officially 2 months since his birth! He got his first two shots…I guess I should have taken a picture of baby’s first bandaid. But I didn’t think of it until after i’d tossed it. I’m just not sentimental enough!! Ha.
He weighed in 75 percentile at 12 lbs, 4 oz and he’s 24 inches long!
Anyway, a photo from Easter Sunday. Scott and I did NOT plan our outfits; it just happened — really. And a cute sleeping photo.
More pics of the newest Davis April 10, 2009
Everyone wants more pictures, so here are some…
I made letters for his room and after we put them up, he seemed to like them! My friend Leslie gave me the idea. I’m really happy with them. It did take two engineers to hang them correctly!
And then here are some fun giggles and smiles:
Easter Reflections: Losing a child April 9, 2009
bye bye pebble baby
Today I read an article by my friend Brenna Kate, telling about losing her unborn child earlier this year. I wept, holding my son in my lap as I read her story, Bye Bye, Pebble Baby
In response, I wrote to her thanking her for taking the bold step of publicly sharing about her miscarriage and writing so personally of what it was like. I don’t think everyone has to share so publicly, but I appreciate that all the women who have lost can hear other women share their experiences.
As an outsider who has not lost, but who has known several women who have lost children to either miscarriage or abortion, I see that many of these mothers stay in a silent doom alone in their grief. Our culture wrestles with whether the fetus is even a living being with a soul, and we adopt a gnostic philosophy of detachment between soul and body. But I believe deep down we ALL KNOW (whether we believe in God or not) that the creator created this life and the death of an unborn child is a terrible tragedy, someone so helpless, who never had the chance to make choices or “do good” or choose evil. How do we reconcile that?! (more…)
Realization April 9, 2009
Josiah with Scott at church
At 3.5 weeks of Josiah’s life, we took him to church. It was one of my first outings with him and with Scott to something more “routine” and where we’d get to share him with our friends, church family.
As we walked in the door, and people kindly oohed and ahhed and said how cute our little man was, they would talk with us, and then they would go on and talk to others. The service started, and things — life — went on. I had this profound revelation not everyone was directly impacted by the life and needs of this small child. While they expressed great interest and care about how we were doing and want to know him and be involved in his life, it did not shake their world as it had mine.
This was a good revelation for me. One to help me remember that the world was much bigger. For a time that I’m somewhat consumed (rightly so as a new mother) with a small child who wakes, cries, eats, poops and sleeps again (with more crying in between all these activities!); the rest of the world is out there. And when we can, we’ll engage in it!
It was good for me to realize this truth.
