Nice Sunday

We were stopped at a 4 way stop and there was no traffic behind me, so I snapped this shot of the sunset over the cotton field.

We had a nice Sunday dinner with my in-laws. They have us over about once a month. It's a great time to catch up on what's going on with our families. On our way home we stopped by Guitar Center so Sam could check out some instruments. He likes to window shop. Abigail likes to crochet and wanted to stop in at Hobby Lobby and check out the yarn. They were closed. We headed to Blockbuster for some movies. It had been so long since I've rented movies. I did not have my card with me, but of course, they were able to find me in their system.

As we were headed down the highway we noticed our friends Jeannie and Dianna at the gas station. I turned the truck around hoping to catch them, but they were long gone. We stopped at several fast food joints thinking we could find them, but to no avail.

Oh life is so exciting! Well, it is if you pretend you are on a mission of some kind!

Tae Kwon Do

Yes, that is a photo of me in a Tae Kwon Do outfit! My TKD outfit. Thursday was my first class. There were so many reasons I decided to take classes. The first, was the Friday afternoon there were two young men walking down my long driveway. I had no idea who they were. Why were they walking down my driveway? They had run off the road and wanted to know if I could help them. I told them I could not help them, but would call a wrecker for them. The wrecker service was not going to come out because they did not know under what circumstances they had run off the road. The young men were going to have to call. I drove up the driveway and found a neighbor down the road had stopped to help. All the years I was married to Brent I was secure in knowing he was my protector. It was a false sense of protection. Driving to the grocery store or to a friend's house anything could have happened to me. Those young men came at time Brent would have been at work. But, the reality of my life is that Brent is no longer here to love and protect me and the children. Now, I must make all the decisions for us.

Secondly, every week I take Abigail to Tae Kwon Do and sit on the sidelines and watch her kick, punch and spar. I go home and do no exercise. I finally figured out that since I'm already taking Abigail three times a week I might as well take classes too. I do not have to make arrangements to go to a gym or Curves for Women and wonder how I am going to fit it all in. I'm already there! No extra gas to spend and I get my classes half price.

I filled out the required form for Tae Kwon Do. There was a question on the form, "What do you expect to get out of Tae Kwon Do?" My answer was exercise, self confidence and self defense.

Excitement, sadness and concern filled my mind as I drove to my first class. Tears came to my eyes realizing that I would not have even considered taking the class if Brent were still here. Oh, the embarrassment of it all! I had to order the largest outfit, I'm out of shape, people are going to laugh at me, will I be able to get up and down off the floor for those push ups, will my memory be adequate to remember the student oath, and what part of my body is going to hurt?????? My bluegrassin' friends can relate to my first class. Do you remember your first jam? Everybody knew what they were doing. Each instrument plays at a different time and yet it all goes together to get that sound. Each picker knows when it comes their time to take their break, the singers know how to harmonize and you are standing in the background just trying to keep time. Well, everybody in the class knew their pattern, knew the right vocal responses to the instructors, and they knew how to kick and punch. I had to jump right in and start in the middle. The instructor, Mr. Corliss a second degree black belt, wasted no time having us stretch, ouch. We even had to do some push ups. Thank goodness there was no one behind me! After awhile, Mr. Corliss, had the lower belts go in the back to work on our kicks. Thankfully, it was an adult class. The average adult age, maybe 20. There was one adult man in the class with his two young sons and nephew. Chris was his name. He took the time to help me get started on my pattern. He and his sons and nephew were white belts like me. All these past seven months of watching Abigail made me think it was not so hard to do. Trying to balance on one leg, lift the other one and kick and then reverse punch is much for this 53 year old. I am the oldest one taking classes. The runner up is five years younger than me. I expected to be very sore the next day, but to my surprise I was not. Hopefully, I will catch on pretty quick. I guess I'll have to get a poster of Chuck Norris, 8th degree black belt!

Cloudy Days Are Beautiful Too

Cold winter days are full of beauty. There is such a contrast between the gray sky and dark brown trunks of the trees. There is always a little green somewhere.

Nandina

Nandina domestica, Heavenly Bamboo

These are great plants for home gardens. The photo above is of the nandina my mother planted many years ago. They are green all year and in the winter they have shades of red and even bronze in them. Of course, there are the beautiful red clusters of berries. I use them all through the year for table settings. My grandmother, Reba, use to say you could always find something from the yard/garden to use as a table setting.

Felines

Momma, Mrs. Bigglesworth, and one of her kittens soaking up the sun.

Lisa Ray, fiddler and Kenny Cantrell, banjo of Cedar Hill.

On Saturday night, January 12, 2008 my friend Roseann and I drove to Jonesboro, AR for the 25th Annual United Cerebral Palsy Bluegrass Benefit Show presented by The Northeast Arkansas Bluegrass Association. The entertainment lineup was wonderful. Living Grace from Central Arkansas, Crowley's Ridge Cloggers, UCP Superstar: Briana Hackworth, Cedar Hill from Missouri, and the Keisler Brothers from Northeast Arkansas. The benefit raised over $3600.00.

Memories Bring Sadness and Joy

This photo of Brent and Samuel was taken in February 1994. Samuel liked to be involved in everything Brent was doing.

Brent. I think about him everyday. I watch a movie and remember the first time we saw it together. Commercials bring back memories of our making fun of them, as well as the food I prepare. He could pick the best midnight snacks. I catch myself speaking of him in the present tense. Do I say "my" children or "our" children? He "liked" not he "likes" or some such phrase comes to mind. For several months after his death all I could see were imagines of him his hospital room. Now, my mind goes to happy and pleasant thoughts of him. Sadness washes over me and makes me feel so alone. Alone? Oh, I'm not alone. My children are always near and there are friends to call. Thankfully, I am an optimistic person and the sadness does not stay for long.

Last Sunday the kids and I went to a Sorghum Hill band practice. Tim, the banjo player was ill and they asked Samuel to come and play banjo. It was a great afternoon. Phil, lead singer and guitar player, had written three songs inspired by Brent. He sang them for me. Oh, I cried and it felt so good to cry. The songs are beautiful. The bands latest CD has been dedicated to Brent. One dollar for each CD sold will be donated to the Leukemia Society. They loved Brent so much and miss him.

Katherine Irene Shirley Davis

The paragraph below was written by our friend J. T. Coleman. He was with us during the delivery of our third child, Katie. J. T. expresses in his own words, what my heart was feeling. I'm so glad that he took the time to write these words at the moment Katie was being born. It was written on the back of an envelope. (Helen)


As I sit here I contemplate all the things I'm witnessing. It's 2:05 am. Helen is in her later stages of labor. Brent & Grace are by her side. The baby has just been delivered & as the information had revealed our worst fears are confirmed she is stillborn. Nine months of waiting, worry, wondering are over. The hopes of a father & mother are gone, washed away with the death of their beautiful little girl. But even at this time the grace, mercy & strength of the Lord are evident. There is an understanding that this is only a physical death and that there will be a reunion in the heavens. I don't pretend to understand to understand why. I only know that we belong to God and I believe that his grace will carry this family through this tragedy. Even now I hear Brent and Helen saying God has a purpose in this even though it's not clear to us. Father, thank you for your comfort and mercy that will be needed in the days to come and thank you for caring for Katie and protecting her and keeping her until that special day her family is reunited with her. Thank you for caring for us, your children.

J. T. Coleman
Dec 28, 1996

Brent, Happy 50th Birthday

Brent Lee Davis, December 21, 1957 - May 05, 2007.

Christmas 2000

Autumn Leaves Falling

This video of my front yard was taken on November 14, 2007. The voice in the background is my friend JT. He and his workers were at the house doing some work. The fall colors were so beautiful this year. They seemed to linger for weeks.

Abigail Receives Her Green Belt

Friday, November 16, 2007 Abigail and her Tae Kwon Do instructors Mr. and Mrs Wiggins. Abigail had tested this night for her green belt. She enjoys her classes and is getting use to sparring. She should be a black belt in about 24 months.

Saying Goodbye To Barbara

Today I went to visit my friend, Barbara Bolding Timbs. She is on the far right of the photo in the skirt. She is in the hospital dying of cancer. I walked into the room and went to her bedside. She had a small smile for me. I told her I had come to tell her goodbye. She raised her arm to give me a hug. I leaned down and kissed her forehead, as she whispered goodbye and I love you. I ask her to tell Brent hello. I also told her I would ask her to tell him I miss him. But, Brent would be singing with the angels the praises of Jesus and he knows no sorrow and has no tears.

I certainly wish that David, her husband, and her children, Sharon, Beth, Lydia, Micah and Becca did not have to experience her dying. I do know that God will take care of them. He will give them mercy, peace and grace.

How do you say goodbye? You just say it. There is comfort for you, your friend and their family when you do.

We all like to attend weddings and visit when a baby is born. Those are joyous occasions. Let us not forget our friends and family when it is their time to die. As a Christian, dying is also a joyous occasion. It is our homecoming to our Lord Jesus Christ. Our hope is heaven.

Helen

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones. Psalm 116:15

Wild Cherries

One summer Brent asked me if I would like to make some wild cherry jelly. Why would he ask me that you ask? He knew I liked canning. He also knew I enjoyed giving homemade jellies at Christmas time. With no hesitation I said yes. He offered to pick them and to help me pit them. Brent trekked off to the back of the property with a one gallon ice cream bucket. About an hour later he returned with a full gallon of pea sized wild cherries. I had a big smile of my face. It was so sweet of him to think of the idea and to me, it was romantic. He always did say I was a low maintenance wife! Living off the land, making do, and not spending much money on food or entertainment appeals to me. We stood in the kitchen and washed the cherries and pitted them. We talked about his adventure. Some of those cherries were high in the trees and hard to get, he walked in bramble, and all that picking only gave us a gallon. We talked about how good that wild cherry jelly would taste. We stood side by side and talked about other things as well. I made the jelly and came out with one case of 12 jars either 6 or 8 ounce jars. I gave a few to friends and we ate the rest. When I pulled out that last jar of wild cherry jelly I remembered what a pleasant time we had. Today I still remember what a wonderful day that was.

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Proverbs 16:24

Mowing The Lawn

Mowing the lawn is a pleasant experience for me. The last time I cut grass was sometime during the summer of 2005. We were living at our home on Rankin Branch at the time. We moved in with my father in March 2006. Brent and Sam mowed the lawn. I was to busy taking care of Daddy. Sam has mowed this year. The lawn needed some tender loving care. It was great. When I'm on that riding mower my mind has time to think.

Growing up my father used a push mower to cut the grass. When my brother was old enough he mowed the lawn. I moved away from home having never cut the grass at my parents home. The memories of my childhood came flooding back to me. We had a swing. A metal pipe frame with two swings and a bar to hang from. There were three spots over the years where we burned our trash. I can remember playing on the large propane tank pretending it was a horse. The two maple trees in the front yard were planted when I was 11 years old. I do have a photograph, taken of me sitting front of that maple tree as a young girl. I'll try to find it, scan it and insert it in this post. The old oak tree where we had a tree house still stands. We've had family reunions in the front yard, sunbathed, and played under the gutters when it rained.

When I was 13 I ask my mother if I could have the house when she and Daddy died. She and Daddy remembered my request. My mother passed February 27, 1993. Daddy continued to live in the house. My sister and I decided that Daddy either needed someone to live with him or needed to live in a nursing home. On March 13, 2006 Grace found Daddy laying across the kitchen table. He could not sit down or stand up. Grace called 911. He had not broken any bones, but he was really sore. His dementia was very noticeable. Between the dementia and the soreness of his ribs he had to have someone stay with him. Grace and I took turns staying with him. Daddy had several more falls. The time had come to make the decision of our lives. Brent told me he would support whatever decision I made. Taking care of Daddy at home was what I wanted. Brent, the kids and I moved in with Daddy on March 23, 2006. In hindsight I can see how God was moving in our lives. We sold our home and were now living in a home that was paid for. For 8 months I took care of Daddy until he passed away on November 10, 2006.

My care giving shifted from Daddy to Brent. During all this time my body was going through menopause. The first day of my last period was May 03, 2006. May 03, 2007 I had not had a period in one year. Menopause! It was also the day we found out Brent's leukemia had come back. God's timing is perfect. My husband died, but God was taking care of me and the children. We had a home that was paid for, I was through menopause and Brent had insurance, a pension and social security to take care of us. Brent was always thankful for his job which provided great benefits. With a hospital bill of around $360,000.00 my payment in the end was $808.00.

Thank you for Lord for my husband Brent. Thank you Brent for your love and support. Thank you for your hard work through the years. Thank you for telling me to drive the lawn mower slowly through tall grass at the highest setting so I wouldn't burn the motor or the belt. Thank you for telling me I need to check the oil in the mower. Thank you that I know where to go if I need work done on the mower. Thank you for helping me to understand why I need to save the paperwork on the mower. Thank you Brent for cutting Betty Ingram's yard. She loved you so much. You came at a time when she and Maurice needed you. Maurice couldn't take care of the yard anymore after his stroke. They trusted you. After Maurice died you continued to cut her grass. You would stay afterwards and talk with her and let her cry on your shoulder. She still misses Maurice. When she needed help with things around the house you would help her. Thank you for being an example to the children on the importance of helping widows. Thank you Lord that Brent and I talked about these things. Thank you that I was able to tell him how important he was to Betty.

Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.
Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,
storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.

1 Timothy 6:17-19