Winter is here in Seattle!

It has been an amazing week here on Cougar Mountain where it has snowed over 12 inches since Thursday! We have been spending our days sledding, decorating and baking which has everyone in the holiday mood and excited about Christmas. We are hopeful that the grocery delivery person can make it up the mountain today to bring fresh provisions since things are beginning to run low. They are forecasting more snow tomorrow night and on into Christmas so it really will be a White Christmas here in Seattle. I am off to hike the trails with the kids. The forest is amazing with all of the snow! Hopefully I will have more photos to post after our outing. Happy holidays to everyone!

Scott, Amy and the Kids

Work is underway!

After months of waiting, we have finally started work on our new house. It has been amazing to see how quickly walls came out, the second floor addition went up, and the roof went on. The visible changes have slowed a bit now that the tradesmen are in...the past week has been spent installing HVAC vents. We are now at a point where we get to make some design choices. We've opted to go with the toilet that claims to be able to flush "a box of golf balls". You never know...

In other news, our temporary house in Northbrook has been great. We've got plenty of room there (Mom and Dad came to visit recently...they may still be here...with the size of our place, it is hard to say for sure) and it is close to school. Laurie and Jack have a longer commute than they are used to, but it is fine for now. We miss you all and hope to see you soon!

Chad

Our Baby's 2

Where does the time go?

Well, there's something about our girls and their ability to encourage the sun to shine for the fun in the backyard garden parties (of the 3 garden birthday parties that we've had, we've had.. oh.. umm.. 3 really ace parties - supported lovingly by family and friends and, of course, the sun. Weather reports were looking less than favourable, but our girls' connection with nature helps to prove the weather man/woman incorrect.

We had a great time! This year, Kizzy's birthday was brought to you by those great friends to parents across the world, Fun and Messy. Specifically, Kizzy came down to unwrap - with the help from Jesame, of course - a water table from us and later that day, GP Jill and GP Donald came around to drop off a much appreciated sandbox. It's amazing just how 1) Wet kids can get despite wearing a 100% waterproof outfit and 2) how sand defies the laws of physics where half the sand content winds up in Kizzy's nappy!! Crazy and amazing... And in case anyone was wondering, the cake was handmade by Dawn - including the fab Winnie the Pooh..

I know we sent around links already to various folk, but just in case you want a second bite of the cherry, here's the link again...

Kizzy turns 2

During an event like this, thoughts will invariably take us back to the time when Kizzy came to us and gave us all a big scare: the fact that when she was born, she weighed less than a bag of sugar at 1lb 9oz and not that i was counting but, 115 days spent at the hospital in the very wonderful staff at the John Radcliffe Special Care Baby Unit.. ga! too much.. But one interesting bit of info is that she came home to us on the day she was due - so after 2 years and loads of support from everyone, this girl continues to grow, is talking more and more and is just lovely.

Love you Kizzy and we look forward to another year and more sunny weather ahead.

toodles for now one and all.. look forward to hearing from you soon.

todd

19 Years and counting!

Today marks 19 years of marriage for Amy and I. Wow! It is almost overwhelming to sit and reflect on all that has happened during that time and how much God has done in our lives since we met 20 years ago. A few interesting statistics during that time:

1) We have moved 12 times and lived in 4 states.
2) We have had 8 children, now ages 17 to 9 mos.
3) We have purchased close to 1000 packs of diapers which amounts to pretty close to $18,000.
4) I have had 16 different jobs with 6 companies.
5) We have graduated from a 850 sq ft 2 Br apt in Baltimore to a 4800 sq ft 5 br home in Issaquah.
6) There were 6 grandkids when we got married and there are now 22 grandkids across both sides of the family.
7) We have been homeschooling for 10 years.
8) I was 135 lbs wet when we got married and I am now 185 lbs on a good day.

Seems like such a short time since we were all doing our best to stay cool under the big white tent at Trenton Road while Dad led us through our vows. There is no way we could have ever guessed what God had in store for us, and how full our lives would be as He poured out blessing upon blessing over the years. I will finish with the scripture that Amy is teaching the kids this week from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

We rejoice with Todd and Dawn on this special day as well and give thanks for our entire family who have been there with us through all of the trials and triumphs. We love you all and miss everyone very much!

Scott, Amy and the Kids

Temporary Address/Get Ready for Renovation!

Hey everybody - we've moved! Finally sold our condo so we are embarking on our nearly-year-long construction and renovation process at our new home in NW Evanston. So for the next eight months we are living in Northbrook, Illlinois, home of Chad's school, Glenbrook North High. He'll enjoy a lovely commute of about five minutes, while Jack and I are making the 30 minute trek back to Evanston daily for preschool and work.

So if you want to mail us something, send it to 14 Bridlewood Road, Northbrook IL 60062. Our landline phone has been temporarily disconnected so call our cell phones to reach us. Also we've changed our email to lcjdavidson@gmail.com.

We expect work on the new house to start by September 1 - we'll post photos soon! In the meantime, here are some cute kids:

What a wonderful visit!

I think that Mom, Dad, Dawn, Todd and the kids managed to fit in all of the important sightseeing highlights in less than a week. To put that in perspective, it has taken the kids and I more than 6 months to accomplish the same feat. It has been a fantastic visit full of field trips, time together and lots of playtime with the cousins. The weather has held out and we have had more sunny days than rainy days which has been a real blessing. Todd and Dawn are off to Chicago tomorrow to reunite with the rest of the clan, but I thought I would log in and post a few pics from the week. It was really amazing and a good time was had by all. I will be back online to post some pictures from Elsa's b'day and other recent developments. Hope everything is great with everyone!

Scott, Amy and the Kids (w/editing help from Todd)

Big Ben turns four!

As advertised I am back on the blog with some pics from Ben's 4th. It was fun to watch him all day because he was so excited about everything. We did have to work hard to convince him that he was in fact four all day and did not have to wait until after the birthday party to say he was four. The big ticket item was a red bike. We have had a change in Ben's favorite color from blue to red so getting the color of the bike right was critical. We also picked up some nerf guns for the boys and I have no doubt those will be put to good use once Todd arrives. Our visit is drawing near and we are all looking forward to having a full house for a week or so. The weather has been fantastic and we hope that will hold out through our time together. Ciao for now.

Scott, Amy and the Kids

Special Sara turns 13! (that makes 3 teenagers)

We had a wonderful day with Sara on this momentus occasion. It started off strong with her favorite breakfast of Frosted Flakes and OJ after sleeping in late. Then there was a lazy morning until it was time to get ready for lunch with Amy. After lunch we hurried off to see Prince Caspian with Ian and Elsa which was around the corner from Red Robin where we had dinner following the flick. Whew! Deep breath! Then back to the house for a beautiful cake made by Amy and presents galore! It was very nice to be able to spend a whole day celebrating our special daughter who is always ready with a helping hand for everyone else. She is growing into a beautiful young woman, and as I look at the pictures of Jesame it truly does seem like yesterday that I was holding her in my lap.

Back in 24 to post more about Ben's 4th!

Scott, Amy and the clan in Seattle

Happy Birthday Jesame

Words cannot begin to describe the level of contented fatigue I'm feeling right now. We had early Birthday girl waking which led to presents and muffin - and all before 7am...and from there, the day ran its course, we had about 30 folk in our back garden (some of them kids... well, ok, 20 of em were kiddie winks) for a wonderful day of bouncy castle, pass the parcel, a good old fashioned singalong ("The wheels on the bus go round and round..." and "if you're happy and you know stick out your tongue...and burp... and make other rude noises...), and more 80's music than you can shake a stick at.

We had a lovely day. The weather was a cool 15 degrees - sorry folk, don't know what that is in Fahrenheit - but sunny. We had lots of laughs, some tears but not too many, and many fond memories to cherish. Though we will have to find another way to make technology work as most of our memories were captured on dvd... not so many good ones of Jezzie-B in jpg format - shall have to work on this... However, we couldn't leave without dropping a few in (as you can see from above)

We'd also like to wish the lovely and talented Sara a happy birthday! hope you had a fab time with one and all and we look forward to hearing about it thanks to the ultimate Davidson Blogger in the form of... your Dad... well done Scott for keeping the blog moving.

I'd really like to post a lot more at the moment, but my eyelids are desperately working their way south and i've still got to brush my teeth... aw heck, maybe i'll just gargle a bit of toothpaste and have done... i'm tired... but i'm not going anywhere until i give you a link to the definitive 'girls in the bells' photo collection. These photos are lovely... kinda wish that i take as good a shot someday... Well, be good, be happy and we will be seeing one and all very soon.

love, Todd, Dawn, Kizzy and Birthday Girl.

Link to the piccies: Girls in the Bells

Amazing Abby is now eleven years old!

We are just winding down from a birthday dinner at Cucina Cucina followed by double fudge chocolate birthday cake. Whooa am I stuffed! It was a fun evening of singing rap and bluegrass, opening presents and figuring out how to set the time correctly on Abby's new watch. I think setting digital watches is harder than setting up computers, but somehow I muddled through. Abby also got a Zune (digital music player) and various other games, toys and puppets from the family. I expect we have a ways to go until bedtime given the giant sugar high brought on by the cake so I am going to sign off and lend a hand with the Benster. We are so looking forward to our visit with family in June, and hope everything is going well with the rest of the clan.

Happy Mother's Day to Mom, Aunt Sharon, Dawn, Laurie and Grandma Davidson!

Scott, Amy and the Kids (Ian, Elsa, Sara, Abby, Anna, Hope, Ben, and Catherine)

Happy Hope is Seven Years Old!

Yes, spring is in the air here in Seattle and along with it comes the beginning of birthday season in our home. We had a wonderful time celebrating together, playing hot potato and over indulging in ice cream cake. It is hard to believe that our little Hope (pronounced ho-PE) is now seven. Even though time seems to be passing by at an alarming rate it is still comforting to know that Hope will always be the one with the crazy, infectious giggle and a smile for anyone who needs one. It is time for me to join the crowd and prepare for a rousing game of Cariboo!

Love,

Scott, Amy and the Kids

Happy Easter Everyone!

It has been a busy Easter morning here in Seattle. The kids were up early and ready for the festivities to begin. There was a little confusion when the Easter baskets were not out in plain sight, and we had a exciting hunt to find them all as we followed the trail of Easter basket grass that the Easter bunny left behind. Even Fritz got into the action. Colorful eggs, lots of chocolate, and more to come later with the egg hunt and other things planned for the day. We miss everyone and are looking forward to our upcoming time together. I am off to join the running and jumping as we all shout "He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!"

Happy Easter!

Scott, Amy and the Kids

A few new pics of Baby Catherine and Hope

Just wanted to pile on and post a few new pics of Catherine and Hope. Things are going well here in the Pacific Northwest, and we will need to post more about our adventures in the coming weeks. As you can see Hope is now without front teeth, but she was pleased that the normally tardy tooth fairy was a bit more punctual this time. Catherine has changed so much over the past month, and is working on a really great laugh.

Scott, Amy and the Kids

Time and again...

That is the theme for this year's Glenbrook Variety Show. All of the acts are based on the idea that "everything old is new again". After getting hooked on the reality series "You're the One That I Want" where contestants vie for a chance at starring in the Broadway revival of Grease, I decided that our Men of GBN (dads and a few alums) should do "Greased Lightening" in the show. Most of us don't have the infrastructure to support hair grease, but we can still shake a leg when we need to. We've had a great time singing and dancing for a crowd of (literally) 1,000+ every night. Very exciting.

We've had lots of looks and even a little interest in our condo, but no offers yet. Fingers are crossed as we hope to not have 2 mortgages for very much longer. The plans for the new place continue to move along, and it is exciting to see what things will eventually look like. With all of the snow that we've had recently, I even had to go and buy a snow shovel to keep the sidewalks clear. I'm sure the novelty of that will wear off soon, but I have to say that I enjoyed it anyway.

We're looking forward to a brief visit from Mom and Dad in the next few weeks. Dad has a few opera tix and so they've booked our guest bedroom for a few nights. We're also excited about a visit from Brad Carlin in the next week or so. We don't get to see you all often enough. Glad to have the blog to help us all stay in touch.

Chad

The skiing is great!

Hi everyone,
The weather has been cold and the snow is lovely. We've been skiing everyday for the past five days. We wish you were here to go out on the x-c trails with us.

I enjoyed my job, but I'm REALLY enjoying having time to PLAY.

We're beginning to consider taking our house off the market. Its not a good time to sell up here in rural Michigan.
Take care. Lots of love from the upnorth Davidsons