Happy Birthday, Joshua!

Twenty eight years ago today, I received the precious gift of a son,

Joshua Reid Davis. 

Since the very beginning of your life, you have always been a "night owl"... making your debut into this world at 4:36 a.m.!  You've remained on that same "time schedule" to this day!  LOL

You checked in to the world at 7 lbs. 3 oz. ... a mere 51 minutes after we arrived at the hospital!  Most everyone that saw you thought that you resembled your dad when he was a baby.

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My favorite President of all time, Ronald Reagan, was President of the United States. Leg warmers, scrunch socks and designer jeans were popular fads and "It's Raining Men" was one of the most requested songs. Feathered hair and side ponytails were popular.

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We have surely been through a lot together since that morning 28 years ago....

You have taught me so much about life.  Your zeal for life is contagious and your love for the Lord and for others is refreshing. You have "never met a stranger" and everyone who meets you thinks that you are such an interesting guy.  You are well-read and knowledgeable about so many topics.

I thank God for the blessing of a son.  It has been an awesome experience to watch God work in your life, especially over the past year, and to see you mature into such an awesome young man. 

Just as I have prayed for you (and your sisters) for many years, my prayer for your life today remains the same:

That God would fill you with all the fullness of His will; with all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 

That He would teach you to walk in a manner worthy of the Christ which you profess.

That He would create within your heart a desire to please Him in everything.

That He would so work in your life that you would bear fruit in every good work.

That He would so create a desire in your heart for the things of God that you would continually be increasing in your knowledge and understanding of His ways.

That God would strengthen you with all power and might according to His glorious supernatural power, so that steadfastly and with patience that you would be able to endure all kinds of trials.

And that the Lord would let you so live a life of thanksgiving for His work of grace --that you are part of His inheritance -- translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.

It is so exciting for me, as your mother, to see God answering many of the prayers that I have prayed over your life.  God IS faithful!

God has begun a mighty work in your life and I  am confident that He will complete it!

Happy Birthday, Joshua...I love you!

Mom

"And this is the confidence that we have before Him that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked of Him."     

I John 5:14-15

Happy Birthday, Walt!

Today is my sweet husband's birthday!

I can hardly believe that this is his 34th birthday that we have celebrated together!

Walt, I hope that your special day is as special as YOU are to me! 
May God grant you the deepest desires of your heart this year.

I love you very much and look forward to celebrating the next 34 birthdays with you!

Praying God's richest blessings on you today and throughout this year!  

May this be your BEST year YET!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HONEY!

OWLS ARE MAKING A COMEBACK!

I spent the day Saturday with my 2 daughters and my granddaughter.  During the course of the day there were several things said in conversation that made me think about my grandparents that have gone on to be with the Lord - MaMa and PaPa. They were both so very special to me. I was fortunate enough to live within walking distance of them growing up and, as a result, I spent quite a lot of time with them.

No one could cook like my MaMa and I think she is definitely responsible for the love that I have for cooking.  (And the love that I have for dishes/china.) As we were eating lunch, my daughter was talking about how much she loved lima beans and it reminded me of how much PaPa loved them.  Many a night he would tell my grandmother (he called her "Baby") that he just wanted a bowl of cornbread and "pot liquor".  (For those of you that weren't born in the South, that's what us southerners call the juice that the lima beans were cooked in.) He would crumble up his cornbread in the "pot liquor" and eat it and, I must agree, it was DELISH! That was one of PaPa's favorites.

That conversation somehow led us to talk about MaMa's love for OWLS!  She collected owls and I was blessed to have received a couple of her owls from my Mother on my last trip home. I thought that I would share a couple of them with you.

This one sits on the floor in my Dining Room. I love the way he is so"weathered" looking.  He just looks so wise, doesn't he?

This one is actually a little sachet holder. It has a ribbon on it so that you could hang it, but I keep him inside my china cabinet.

 
This little guy is actually a napkin holder and he resides on my kitchen table all the time.

Over the years, I have added a couple of owls myself and would very much like to collect more. One of the ones that I have added is a Swarovski crystal owl that my husband gave me. He's a tiny little fella, but so pretty, especially when the light hits him.

By far the most special owl that I have been given is this one made out of soapstone.  My daughter and son-in-law brought him all the way from BRAZIL. They got him for me while they were there on a church mission trip. Isn't he handsome!

Faith has decided that she would also like to collect owls.  She also has a couple of MaMa's owls that my Mother gave her. She told me about a piece of owl jewelry that she was hoping to get for Christmas. She also told me that owls were making a resurgence in popularity! They've always been popular with me!

What about you?  What do you like to collect and why?  What sentimental items do you have that belonged to one of your loved ones?

Gonna Take A Sentimental Journey

I am probably one of the most sentimental people that you know. I have quite a few things that belonged to my grandparents (MaMa and PaPa) and I cherish each and every one of them. They were the sweetest grandparents that anyone could have. My PaPa was a perfect gentleman.  I never remember seeing him in anything but dress pants and a dress shirt.  He even mowed the grass in nice pants!  He also wore a hat most of the time.  My MaMa was such a godly woman.  She taught me so many things about "being a lady" and she was an amazing cook! I can remember sitting beside her on the piano bench in her living room while she played and sang "The Old Rugged Cross" or "Softly and Tenderly". MaMa and PaPa took me to Sunday School and church with them on many Sundays and some of my earliest memories of church included them.

One of the things that I remember about my grandparent's house was a little "man" that hung on the wall of her kitchen. She always referred to him as Mr. Petrie.  For as long as I can remember, he hung right by the back door next to her little breakfast nook.  Since MaMa passed away about 10 years ago, I have often thought about him and  wondered what  happened to him.

While home for my Mother's surgery last week, I asked her if she knew what ever happened to Mr. Petrie and she said that she didn't, but she would ask her sister.  She called her sister, Rosie, and ...guess what?!?!  Rosie had Mr. Petrie!  And...she said that if I would promise to take good care of him that she would let me take him to my house.

So....last Monday morning, Mr. Petrie made the trip from Manchester, GA to Columbus, GA with my aunt and uncle, Rosie and Ben,  and Rosie passed him over to me to take to my home in NC.

How cute is he?!?!??

I asked Rosie what the story was about him and she said that she bought him at a "five and dime" store years ago for her mother (my MaMa). Rosie thought that he looked like the father of a friend of hers, so they decided to call him by that man's name! MaMa hung him on the wall, stuck a flower in him and he became Mr. Petrie!  

(As you can probably guess after looking at Mr. Petrie's picture, they never told Rosie's friend or her dad about the name of the figurine.  I don't think he would have been real flattered!)

Now I know to many people they would not understand why I would be sentimental about a little figurine from the dime store, but he is very special to me.  I have so many wonderful memories of times spent at MaMa and PaPa's house. This is just one of the things that makes me recall those fond memories, Now when I look at Mr. Petrie on the wall in my breakfast nook beside my back door, I will be reminded of some wonderful times with two very special people.

What about you?  

What special item do you have that brings back memories of loved ones that have gone on to be with the Lord?  

Is there something that makes you recall "good times" every time you look at it? 

Are there any "Mr. Petries" in your life?

Thank you so much, Rosie, for sharing this special family memory with me!  I will cherish him always!