Translation

We are having fun with Macedonian! Well, Mike is, and we just ask him how to say things. We downloaded a font, so that it's easier to write things that look cool - like the banner on the top of the page. It means "The Wandering Davidsons", but is directly translated as "Wanderings (or Travels, Journeys) the Family Davidson". Fun, fun, fun!!!

Good News!

My dad is getting married! We are very excited that my dad has found Arlene to spend his life with. He makes her laugh, and she makes him happy. Could they be any more cute?

Time Out for Women

A couple weekends ago, I went to Pittsburgh with my friend Melissa, and we attended Time Out for Women. It was SO incredible!!! We had so much fun, and I want to share just a couple of things I learned there. The theme this year was Infinite Hope, and all the speakers presented their messages in so many different ways. Hilary Weeks performed throughout the day - she has such a beautiful voice! Everything she sang was so powerful.
Me with Hilary Weeks

DeAnne Flynn spoke of patterns in our lives. Our children follow the pattern we set for them. Heavenly Father has given us a pattern for our life, and we need to choose to follow it. She said, "Obedience in non-transferable". I love that! We need to establish patterns in our lives and stick to them, because shortcuts rarely pay off.
S. Michael Wilcox told us that hope is something we have to look for or create. When we have a problem, we need to look behind us to rely on what we have already been able to overcome; we need to look forward to see what we need to do while relying on the Lord; and we need to look beside us to realize that we are not alone in our struggles - that Christ is there to give us hope.
Mary Ellen Edmunds was SO hilarious!!! She talked about resilience - bouncing back. She sang the song "High Hopes" to us! She shared with us one of the old commercials the Church put out with the message, "When everything says you can't, believe in the part of you that can". Hope is an anchor to the soul, and she really made me think about my resilience. Do I let things get and keep me down, and if so, how can I increase my resilience? What can I do to increase my hope? I have "High Hopes" that as I ponder and pray about this, I will be able to find the answer that is right for me.
Me with Mary Ellen Edmunds

Kris Belcher is such an inspiration!!! She said, "The worst thing about being blind is not being able to see". As she was still recovering from the surgery that took her eyesight completely, it was around Christmas and she couldn't see the lights. So, everytime it brought her down, she thought "LIGHT" in her mind.
Love - Jesus Christ is a God of Love.
Intelligence - He created all, and can comprehend all.
Grace - We don't have to handle everything on our own; that's why we have a Savior.
Hope - Hope comes from our Heavenly Father.
Truth - He cannot lie. We can depend on Jesus Christ - He will not let us down.
She let us know that even when things are bad, there's still reason to rejoice and laugh and live and struggle, because there is hope in our Savior.
Of course, there's a lot more, and I am very happy that I was able to go. I'm going to challenge each of you as they challenged us - make a list of all the things you hope for, then make a second list of things you hope in.

Me, me, me, me, me!

I realized that while I intended this blog to be about our family, I've only really posted about me - how selfish!!! Things are going really well for the children right now, besides allergies. The pollen count is unusually high right now, and we're all suffering from it. As much as I love Mike, I don't like the allergies that he passed on. We should own stock in Zyrtec, Sudafed, Benadryl, etc... Hopefully things will settle down soon.
Aubree is thoroughly enjoying school, and has made friends quickly. She is involved in band, and quickly caught up in the classes she was placed in. She joined a team with a bunch of her friends to participate in Relay for Life to support the American Cancer Society. She is walking in memory of my mom, who lost her fight with cancer last June. Aubree was very close to her Grammie, and we are very excited that she will be able to honor her memory this way. (If you would like to sponsor Aubree, leave a comment, and I'll send the link.)
Chris is loving Cub Scouts, and is well on his way to earning his Wolf. He has lots of friends at school, and also in the building. He still loves to read, and just finished the first Percy Jackson book. He is now in the second one, and loving the story. Chris and Aubs did a golf clinic over Spring Break, and Chris is really enjoying the game.
Nick is still in preschool 3 days a week, and loves it! He has also made friends at school and church, and is excited to go on a hike this weekend with a friend! We like to go to the library once a week, but don't get outside as much as we did when we lived in a house. Nick is getting too good at the Wii. It's gotten to the point where Chris and Aubree don't like playing certain games with him.
All of the kids are quite computer savvy. We just signed Chris up with his own e-mail account, and Aubree is upset that she can't get a Facebook account until she's 13. We are all excited about our move in August, but I'm starting to wonder what I will do with all 3 kids in school all day long. The kids (along with the parents) are also SUPER excited to get to see cousins this summer!!! We get to show off this wonderful area and all the amazing sites that we have access to. It's going to be family non-stop for 3 weeks! That seems a little crazy, but those of you that know us, KNOW we're more than a little crazy!

THE LAW!!!

Did you know that it is illegal to talk on your cell phone while driving in DC? Well, apparently it is. The official law is "driving without a hands-free device" and the fine is $100. How did I gain this amazing knowledge? Why, first-hand! I was driving in DC for the very first time over Spring Break to meet some friends at Rock Creek Park. As I was SLOWLY and finally passing the zoo (and talking on the phone, because I wanted to get an idea how much longer it would take for me to get there), an officer jumped in front of my car, then banged on it. I had no idea why, because I had a green light. As I drove slowly on, I could see him gesturing to someone, and sure enough, a car pulls out with lights on, so I pull over. Imagine my surprise to learn that it was against the law! The officer that pulled me over was very nice, but the guy that jumped in front of me was SO offended by what I did, he walked the entire block to where I was pulled over to tell me. We did some research, and I bought a hands-free device and sent in my receipt with an explanation. Hopefully they will dismiss it since it's a first offense. Let this be a lesson to all of you!