Hunting

Happy Birthday Corban!

It is so hard to believe that God blessed us with you 7 years ago today. It seems as though it was only yesterday. You have turned into such a handsome and sweet young man. You light up my days and I love you so much!

Happy Birthday Corban!

Soccer

Thank you Lord

"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." -Psalm 100

Beauty for Ashes

"...to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor." --Isaiah 61:3

I have always loved this song. When I look around, it seems everyone is going through hard times, and this song means so much more than it ever did before. It really convicted me because I had forgotten to give my all to God (in good times and in bad times). Even though I may not have always followed His perfect plan for my life, I know that He only has good for me if I will just trust Him and give everything over to Him. I can trade in my ashes, mourning, and despair for beauty, gladness, and praise! Because my trust is in Him, I will not fear the future, and in that, bring the glory to Him. Where it belongs. Praise you Jesus!

Phenomenal Parker!

This is for my sister-in-law Amanda. I had forgotten that this picture was even on my computer. Her cat's name is Parker and everyone says that he is too fat to hunt, but Amanda swears that he is, in fact, a marvelous hunter. Well, here is the proof. Take that all you doubters!

Field Day

Okay, I know that this post is overdue by a few months, but better late than never, right? Anyway, Corban had a really good time at field day this year and we wanted to share these cool pictures with you!

Biscuits Game

We were so blessed to have been able to attend a Montgomery Biscuits baseball game. Our church purchased tickets for Faith Night and offered us four! What a blast! Neither me nor my boys had ever been to a baseball game like this and we enjoyed every minute of it.

Beach Fun

We took our first trip to the beach back in April. We had such a good time and got a little sunburned too! (okay, so I got A LOT sunburned) I have learned my lesson though, make sure you are putting on sunscreen and not tanning accelerator!

Getting Settled

We have been back in Andalusia for 3 weeks now and are starting to get settled. We finally got our Jeep on Friday and are still waiting on our household items. Hopefully they will be delivered sometime between April 7th and 14th. We'll keep our fingers crossed! The boys are really excited to be back with our family and are looking forward to greeting their new baby cousin, Maryn Kate, on Friday!! Merrill is ready to get busy again, and I am just trying to keep up with everything!
I have to admit that I get homesick for Alaska every now and then. To all my "family" in Alaska: I love you all dearly and pray for you continually. Hopefully we can see each other again soon on a visit. I promise to update the blogs more often. Corban plays his first TeeBall game on the 20th and I will be putting pictures on this blog and on his. Stay tuned!
God Bless and keep Jesus FIRST!!!!

Iditarod Race

The Iditarod Race is a race of dog mushers that goes from Anchorage to Nome. The re-start is in Willow...right down the road from our house. This is where the race actually starts. We offered a nursery for the dog musher's babies and I kept it until 2pm and then Merrill, Corban, Collin, and I all got our snowgear on and headed down. What a sight! Thousands of people on a frozen lake all cheering for the racers. There were 67 teams this year, and they go at 2 minute intervals. The race will take them anywhere from 10 to 18 or more days. It is unbelievable! We were so excited to be able to get to witness this amazing event. Below are some pictures we took while there. I have also posted the link the the offical Iditarod Headquarters website where you can learn about the race, and track the mushers.
http://www.iditarod.com/

Here is the link to the album below http://s423.photobucket.com/albums/pp313/merrilldavis/Iditarod/?action=view&current=7985edc1.pbw

Alaskan Sunbathing

I thought Merrill and the boys were sledding and building snowmen, but when I looked out the window, I found them "sunbathing"! It was so funny!

Go Ahead, We DARE You!

So, most all of you have heard of the movie "Fireproof" and the devotion that they do called "The Love Dare". Well, Merrill and I started it three days ago, and it is AMAZING! We think that it is something that every married couple should do. It doesn't take long, and you don't have to sit and read it together. You just add it to your quiet time in the morning and then do the dare for the day. It is so easy and so wonderful! The first day's dare is to say nothing negative to your spouse and to excercise patience. You can do that!

Go get the book....We dare you!!

http://www.thelovedarebook.com/

A Visit from an Owl

This owl was sitting on our back porch this morning and then on our front porch this afternoon. It was so cute we thought we would share it with you.

Volcano Watch

For all of our friends and family who have heard about Mt. Redoubt and its' possible eruption, you can check out the Alaska Volcano Observatory website for current information. http://www.avo.alaska.edu/activity/Redoubt.php

From everything that we have been told, we are far enough away that we will be safe. We may or may not have to deal with ash. It is all dependent upon the wind currents. Just to be safe, Merrill has bought some supplies like face masks and plastic to cover things up. We will try to keep you updated. Just don't worry, we will be fine!

Willow Winter Carnival

As you all know, we live in a community of about 1600 called Willow. This is the place that people come from all over the world to go salmon fishing during the summer. During the winter, however, we get to go to the Willow Winter Carnival. I thought you would all get a kick out of seeing the schedule (like the best Alaskan beard contest).
http://www.waco-ak.org/index.php/Carnival09/Schedule

Although we won't be able to go on Friday nights because of the youth group that we do (we usually have between 30-40 people that we bus in for this), we are definitely going to try to go on Saturday! Hope you enjoy seeing what we do for fun in the frozen north!

God Bless!

Happy Birthday Merrill!

Merrill, on your birthday, I just wanted to let you know how special you are. I hope that today is wonderful! You are such a blessing to me, your boys, your family, and all those who know you. God bless you on your birthday and always. I love you!!

God of This City

While listening to this song, I am struck by how true these lyrics are. He is the God of the city we are in whether it is in Alabama, Alaska, or wherever. If we put our trust in Him and allow Him to work through us, then “greater things have yet to come”. I think that the words are so powerful, and in fact, are a praise to our Father who is our all in all. There is no one like Him and He has great things planned for us. Praise God!

"God Of This City"

[Verse 1]
You're the God of this City
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You are

[Verse 2]
You're the Light in this darkness
You're the Hope to the hopeless
You're the Peace to the restless You are
There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

[Chorus]
For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater thing have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City

[Verse 1]

[Verse 2]

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

[Chorus]

For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

[Chorus]

Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here

Happy Wednesday!

It's the middle of the week and we have been having a great one! We pray that you have too. We are all busy, busy, busy. Merrill is giving finals this week, Corban and Collin have been working hard in school, and I have been up to my eyeballs in study material for my Liberty classes! I started off the week with Parent Teacher Conferences on Monday. Those all went well, and I am thankful for that. I have a really good group of kids and am excited at what all they are learning!
We are working on our newsletter and will have it out by the end of the month.
God Bless You All!

What a Trip!

We had a wonderful time in Alabama for Christmas! We thoroughly enjoyed seeing all of our family and friends. It seems as though the time went by too quickly, but we were glad that we got to spend it with all of you. When we got off the plane it was a shock to our system. We had been in the heat down south and returned to 4o below zero temperatures! Although we don't mind the cold, that was a big change for us!
Since our return, we have jumped right back in feet first! Merrill preached at a New Year's Eve celebration at a neighboring church, we all went back to school, and I began my classes at Liberty University. We are currently planning our winter events. First of all being the Valentine Banquet in February followed by an Associational Youth Rally in March. We are excited about all of the things God has planned for us!