Josiah is 6!!

We celebrated Josiah's 6th birthday this weekend! What a joy he is! My first born boy.. My breath of fresh air.. My smart and independent, handsome, blue eyed little man! I am so thankful for his calm and peaceful presence in the midst of our sometimes loud and chaotic days:) his eagerness to learn and to be challenged is admirable and his love for his family is precious! I pray nothing about his gentle spirit will change, but that God will use him mightily for His kingdom. We love you more than you will ever know, Jos! You will forever be our Bubba 'Siah!






We had a joint pool party for EK and Jos on Saturday. I only took video, and have no other pics besides these from my phone. His actual birthday was Monday. He woke up to find the kitchen decorated with balloons and a birthday sign:) He asked me to make chocolate chip pancakes for his bday breakfast, McDonalds for his lunch and a special date with Daddy to Cracker Barrel (to get more pancakes) for supper. Bill loved having him all to himself. They ran a few errands to spend some of his birthday money and they sent me pictures from every stop. Josiah said that this was his best birthday ever!! (I love an easy-pleaser!!! Sweet boy!)

Miley the Popstar

Miley is going to wear a cheerleading uniform in a catalog this fall.. And she is beyond thrilled:) she asked me the other day how popstars say thank you.. I told her that I think that they talk just like us. She was afraid they said, "gracias" or something, and she wanted to be prepared because she told me, "when I'm in this magazine, and my friends talk to me, I need to talk like a popstar!" Oh my! She is a mess!



She had an eventful summer. While swimming at Nana Nan's one morning, she was jumping off the edge into the shallow end. She spun around in a circle while she jumped and she didn't quite jump out far enough and busted her chin..






She was our first kid to ever have stitches and the first to be operated on by a plastic surgeon:) she was SO proud of her battle wound and took it like a champ! She had to be put completely under and got a good amount of internal and external stitches but it has healed up SO nicely! However, since her stitches were dissolvable, she couldn't swim or get wet for a while, so that put a little damper on our summer swimming days, but we still managed to have fun!



Miley patted my belly the other afternoon and said, "I see you have a baby in there!" Ummm no, kid. That is just fat. But thanks for always being there to encourage me to exercise:)

This summer, we cracked down in chores around the house. The big kids LOVED them and would beg for more and more... However, one while Miley was sitting beside me folding dish towels, she sighed and said, "I sure do feel like Cinderella!" Poor thing!

Clearly.. I have been busy..

How in the world, have I forgotten my poor little blog? It's not that my kids no longer do any cute/funny/mischievous things.. It's an everyday occurrence around these parts:) I guess I have just been relishing in the sweet moments of my little family this summer, without a care of whether or not I will remember the hilarious incidents of my day. And sadly.. I am sure that I can't remember all of them! However.. King Kong (Adalyn) has had a rather spunky day.


This morning, she was outside playing with the big 3 when she ran back into the house crying, "momma, dat bug scare me and I say AHH!" :) Ella Kate told me she saw a beetle in the mulch. She also pitched a royal fit after lunch when Miley and Josiah ate the last two gingerbread men cookies. She kept crying and begging for her "boogey man!" :) she is talking SO well and I love how she enunciates certain words/sounds. She blames every thing on "lee-wise". EVERYTHING! She also makes sure that we "yook" (look) at her in the car while she sings and dances. Adalyn LOVES Barney and loves it when Ella Kate caters to her every need. She is growing up so fast.. They all are!



They had a blast making cupcakes for July 4th. It worked my nerves a bit when they were spilling flour everywhere and crunching egg shells in the batter, but I am trying to calm down a bit and let them help. After all, that is the only way they will learn:)


This has been the rainiest summer that I can remember.... And I am not at all complaining! It has kept the temperatures cooler and our grass watered:) the kids and bill enjoyed playing in the rain some..


We also had a week at the beach with my family. 18 people in one house.. 10 kids all 6 years and younger:) it really was great! I miss it already!


Ella Kate was a big helper! She enjoyed tending to all of the babies and playing with the big girls! She also braved the big waves with poppa and the aunts:)


Josiah learned how to "surf" and LOVED riding in the waves:) He was a calm and quiet addition.. Loved feeding the deer.


Miley brought home 1 million seashells.. I am not lying. She searched the beach everyday for more treasures. She even hid a hermit crab in her suitcase..


Adalyn liked building sand castles with daddy and playing with "Eddie". (Ellie) those two are best buds. She also loved riding the "car car" (golf cart) every night and feeding the deer.


This little fella ate more sand, sticks and seaweed that I would have ever thought possible. But he was AMAZING! He crawled all in the waves completely fearless and smashed sandcastles like nobody's business:) what a joy!


I love these babies!








This was the last picture of Miney moe sucking her thumb! I am so proud to say that she quit!! All by herself:) she even has a new mermaid barbie to prove it!





Fripp Family 2013

levi is ONE!

sweet wise turned a year old and I CANNOT believe it! I know that I say this every year with every baby but... time FLIES by too quickly! I cannot believe that I have been blessed with 5 children and I cannot believe that they are already 6,5,4,2 and 1!!! craziness! anywho.. back to levi. he is still beyond precious. I could eat that boy up with a spoon. he is sleeping great at night.. lays down around 7:30 and gets up between 7:30- 8:00. he naps twice a day and is crawling (still) everywhere. he will finally bare weight on his little chicken legs.. but not for long. he has no desire to stand or even attempt to walk. lazybones:) he is great in the car and he loves to dance to music. he blows kisses, does "where's levi?", waves and claps his hands on cue. he LOVES balls and he LOVES throwing them.. and his cup, and his food, and his toys. (we're working on that!) he enjoys eating raisins, mum mum crackers, any type of fruit (grapes, strawberries, cantaloupe, peaches, oranges..), fruit pouches, green peas, hot dogs, gold fish, pasta, carrots, chicken fries.. you name it! he will eat most anything.. but just not a whole lot of it. I have had some kids who will eat all day, everyday and at this point, levi is not one of them :) he loves to sing songs and splash in the tub. he has mastered climbing up the stairs and would play with the refrigerator magnets all day long. he adores Josiah and thinks that adalyn is hilarious! he loves looking out the window at the dogs, but does not want them to come close. he has 4 teeth, curly reddish/dark blondish hair and the biggest, brownest eyes that I have ever seen. his dimples melt me.. I love how content and quiet he is. he loves sucking on his fingers and has just now started to experience separation anxiety. he cries (only for a few seconds) when I drop him off in nursery now. he still has a (fake) bad cough and it thrills him when someone acknowledges it. I love this little man to the moon. happy birthday Levi Nicholas! you are fearfully and wonderfully made and I cannot believe that you belong to me! I cant wait to see what all God has in store for you! you are so precious and I am forever blessed!

Funnies..

The kids were watching a video about "Holly Hobby". Something was mentioned about breaking a brittle bone and I heard EK and Josiah have this conversation in the car.
EK: where is your brittle bone?
Josiah: I think it is in your armpit.
EK: are you sure it's not in your brittle?
Josiah: uhh.. It might be in your brittle, but maybe your brittle is in your armpit.
:)..... I never corrected them either. It was too funny!

Bill was flipping through the channels the other night and stopped on the Andy Griffith show. Ella Kate said, "I really like this show, but why are there no colors?" Bill explained to her that this was an old show and that when her Poppa was a little boy, all of the tv shows were in black and white. She had a concerned look on her face and asked, "Well... What about in his world. Was in black and white in his world or was there colors?" :)

Adalyn has cute manners now:) she asked bill the other night after she had finished eating her supper, " daddy? I skoosed??" (May I be excused?) precious. She also says, "Tay-too" "yelcome" "ess-man" (yes ma'am) "beep beep" ( excuse me, you are in my way!) "okie dokie" "whoopsie daisy". I feel like she is talking up a storm these days... It is nonstop. Sometimes in the car, I have to ask her to please quit talking for a minute:) she LOVES airplanes and HATES loud trash trucks. If we are outside and a big truck drives by, she runs to me saying, "I scared, momma!" She LOVES to tell the dogs, "no no." She is a little momma to Levi, too. She now calls him "lee-wise", and she loves bossing him around. (He pays her no attention!)

Levi is crawling and everywhere. He has even taken a tumble down the stairs. Bless his heart.. He screamed out but when I grabbed him, he looked around silently as if thinking, 'I'm ok.' Tough boy:) he loves the fireplace utensils and he always gets his head stuck between the couch and endtable. He LOVES balls. Throwing them and crawling after them. He also loves cars and would play with Josiah all day long. He gets SO excited when bill comes home from work. He kicks his legs and shouts "da!! da!!" Until bill acknowledges him.

Miley is adorable. She has turned into this sweet little lady overnight and I LOVE it. She has amazing manners and is quick to say "yes ma'am!" She never complains about her hair or clothes.. Hallelujah!! She wants to swim all day, everyday. Even if she is by herself. She loves being outside. Today in the car, she told Ella Kate that she could see all of the way to Sissy's house. (She couldn't, really) but she made Ella Kate believe that she could because she has magic eyes because she eats carrots. And Miley loves her some carrots:) she had a stomach bug last week and would ask that we pray for her several times thoughout the day. After day 2, while sitting on the potty for the millionth time she looked at me with sad eyes and said, "why doesn't God want to listen to our prayers and make me quit pooping?" :(

Josiah just got tested for the gifted program at school. He is now doing second grade work and his teachers were eager to have him tested. He was so excited to take the 2 hour test. When.i picked him up from school, I couldn't wait to hear about how it went. He told told me he did great and it was super easy. He said he had to color in these little dots.. (I'm assuming it was the dots for standardized testing), and he used 2 pencils. (Again, I'm assuming that it was only one number 2 pencil:) )he also had to draw some shapes and he said he drew the babies:) that boy loves him some babies!

Ella Kate continues to be a big helper. Sometimes, she helps in ways that I don't "need" her to, but I am trying to encourage her servant heart:) she has blossomed so much this school year. I'm so proud of her! I am sure it is hard "competing or being compared" to brainy Josiah, but she is doing fabulous! She is friendly and thoughtful. A pleaser like her momma:)

I love my babies

Can I just say that I love my kids?? Like, I'm completely head over heels, totally smitten and overwhelmed by God's goodness when I look at their beautiful faces! Sure, they drive me to the brink of insanity. There are moments when I feel that if I hear the word "momma" one more time, I will blow a gasket! The constant tattle-telling, whining and bickering makes me crazy and the ever present poopy diaper gets old every now and then..



But when I stop and look at them... Really look at them, and see them for what they truly are.. My heart overflows! They are GIFTS!! They are God's precious babies and despite my shortcomings and failures, He chose ME to be their momma. What an honor!


However, I fail them everyday. I snap at them, lose my patience, miss golden opportunities to share and talk with them because of the "inconvenience" it may be at the moment, and yet.. They still love me!


They think I am the greatest mom that ever was. I am their best friend, their encourager, their comforter, their biggest fan, their challenger, their nurturer and everything else that I always dreamed I would be. I am totally living the dream! "I am by no means a perfect momma, but I am perfectly THEIR momma."- I think I read that somewhere.


All I ever wanted to be (besides a snow cone lady) was a momma, and I am so thankful that God chose this path for me. The love of a child is unlike anything I have ever experienced! Bill and I are so blessed!


We get a lot of snarky remarks and crazy looks when we go places. Just this week, I took all 5 kids to the grocery store and within 5 minutes, I had several people say, "bless your heart!" "You sure do have your hands full!" "Do you know what causes this?" "Are y'all catholic?" "Are y'all done?"


It used to bother me... The looks that we would get and the comments they would say, would always be right in front of our children. My kids never put two and two together... But I always prayed that they would never see themselves as the "burdens" and "inconveniences" that people thought they were.


"Children are a gift from The Lord; they are a reward from him." (Psalms 127:3 NLT)



I wish that people would see them as gifts and rewards. I wish that having a bunch of kids wasn't so shocking and dare I say it... Stupid! I was talking with a friend of mine (who has 6 kids) and she was reminding me that we all are going to invest our time, money and energy into something in this life. Why not invest in little souls that are eternal?


If a friend of mine buys an expensive car or a brand new boat, I'm not going to tell them they are crazy. So then, if we decide to have more kids, why do people feel the need to tell us that we are crazy??


We are doing our best to live the life that Christ has called us to live. And if he calls us to have 5 kids and adopt 5 more, then we will GLADLY take on the responsibility!
We'll just need a bigger car:)


I read an article the other day and LOVED it. Here is a snippet: "I'm not having kids to re-populate the earth, I’m having kids because I love them. Yes, I will have a few more years of diapers and crying babies at night, but the rewards are many! Children are our hope and future, not our burden."



However, I think we have also shocked some people with their obedience. I think children nowadays are considered unruly and wild. (And some are!!) Kids, in general, have a bad reputation and why on earth would you want a bunch of wild Indians??


Our kids are human, just like us. They are sinful and in need of a savior!! I, by no means, am trying to come across like I have it all together... Because I DON'T! I am so blessed to have a rock solid husband who encourages me to stay consistent with discipline. He is so amazing. He is strong when I am not and he is ready when I am tired. He loves The Lord, he loves me and he loves our children.. What a man:)


I have spent many days crying on the bathroom floor asking God when I would see the fruits of our love and discipline. I expected my efforts to provide me overnight with little army children who never raised their voices or talked out of turn. They would sit quietly with their hands neatly folded in their lap and only speak when spoken to. They would look for opportunities to share their favorite toys and willingly GIVE the last purple Popsicle to their sibling. Manners would continually flow out of their mouths, their rooms would stay spotless, their chores would magically be done without huffing or puffing and they would never, EVER ask for a reward for doing the "right" things. They could look out each other's car windows in peace, breathe each other's "air" and sing songs in perfect harmony. They would always encourage each other, never talk back and never, EVER say potty words.


But it was then that I felt God reminding me that they are CHILDREN! They have energy! They need to run and jump and get loud at times. They have bad days and short fuses... Just like me. They struggle with controlling their tongues.. Just like me. They have a hard time sharing.. Just like me. My morning breath is just as stinky as theirs and sometimes I want to throw myself on the floor kicking and screaming when things don't go my way - hence the "crying bathroom scene" I was currently in.


Discipline your children while there is hope. Otherwise you will ruin their lives. (Proverbs 19:18 NLT)



I have totally been "that mom" who has left a buggy full of groceries in the grocery store aisle to go and discipline a screaming Davis child out in the car. I have had not one, but TWO children have huge meltdowns at a local park at the same time. I have had to pull the car over on the side of the road to ask for the forgiveness of my children through my tears for my sinful behavior many, MANY times. And I am sure that they will fail me again and I will fail them again, just like I fail God. But I am so thankful that "The Lord can always be trusted to show mercy each morning." (Lamentations 3:23 CEVUS06)


We go out to eat at a restaurant about once.. Maybe twice a month. It has become almost a consistent thing where someone will come up to us and say something like, "When we saw you walk in with all your children, we were nervous. But we became pleasantly surprised to see how well behaved they were!" Now, this isn't always the case. My kids have totally acted a fool before at a restaurant. But, if I dwell on the negative then I will miss the opportunity to encourage them with the positive.


Recently, I had a friend post this on my Facebook wall..
"By chance were you in Target today with your hubby and kids? Long story short, a friend of mine was talking about a family she saw in there with 5 kids and talked about how incredibly good the kids were being and she just kept bragging and bragging. I asked her how old the kids were and then she told me what the mom looked like and I immediately thought of your family. When I described y'all she said it sounded like it was probably you! She could not believe how well behaved your children were and went on and on about them! I knew you'd want to know if it was you!!!" And wouldn't you know, we WERE at target that night! :) I read this to the kids, and they just beamed with pride! The Davis family is a work in progress, for sure! But I wouldn't want it any other way:) "Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father who created all the lights in the heavens. He is always the same and never makes dark shadows by changing." (James 1:17 CEVUS06)


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