Friday, February 8, 2019

Why 2018 was Homeric*

Let me explain.
No, there is too much.
Let me sum up.
                                             - Inigo Montoya




January 3, 2018


Lillian Eleanor Davis is born.
The second daughter, third child of our first son,
Paul and his beautiful wife, Nicole.
Such an angel, ohmygoodness!
She was 7 lbs, 4 oz and 19" long.

The whole family: Paul and Nicole, Gavin, Evelyn, and Lillian



*Also:  In December, Paul (with a full heart) retires his military career as a Captain in the United
States Marine Corps, takes a private sector job, and makes a cross country move with his family from Florida (a long drive from Iowa!) to Minnesota (a hop-skip-jump at only 6 hours away for us grandparents!)

*  And, no less important: Paul receives his MBA from the University of North Carolina in the fall of 2018!



February 11, 2018


Our number four son, Dominic, marries our dear friend, Monica. 
So many blessings in this marriage already! They're so perfect for one another!
(Stay tuned about these two. More below!)


The whole kit and kaboodle, including grandchildren, grandparents, spouses
and Auntie Linda at Dominic and Monica's wedding.


February 18th, 2018



Sr. Maria Antonia (formerly Theresa Philomena) receives the black veil, 
the first step into the Congregation of Mater Dei ( headquartered
 here in Iowa and affiliated with the Congregationof Maria Regina Immaculata). 



All of Sister Maria Antonia's new sisters, her family in Religion. 

May 3, 2018


Our number three son, formerly known as Johanath Charles,
is ordained to the priesthood as a Religious Father of the CMRI. 
Here you see the moment of consecration, Bp. Mark Pivarunas presiding.


Fr. Philip Marie Davis, CMRI, at the Consecration of the Wine, his first Mass, May 4, 2018
(It was glorious!) 
* Also in the new year (much to our delight), Fr. Philip is transferred to Paul and Nicole's parish in Minnesota! It's not a long drive for us to see both our boys (and Paul's family), and it makes us happy that they're together. No telling how long it'll last, but it's golden for right now. :)


May, 2018


Child number seven, Catherine, graduates from high school and snags a boyfriend,
Louis, who happens to be Michelle's (child #5) brother in law. Everyone approves.
(And aren't they so cute?) Cathy also landed a full-time job at Hobby Lobby.
 (Can I hear a Huzzah! fellow-crafters!?)


June 2018


Number five child, Michelle, and her husband and children move to Nebraska!
Less than an hour away from the Iowa homestead!
Mommom and Dandad are very very happy about this.
Pictured here: on Dandad's lap, Daria; on Mommom's lap, Ella

August 11, 2018


Second son, Kevin, marries sweet, lovely Ina in Uberlingen, Germany. The nuptial high Mass
and bestowal of the sacrament of Holy Matrimony is officiated by Kevvy's brother,
Fr. Philip Marie, his best friend, Fr. Carlos Borja, and his good friend and pastor, Fr. Johannes Heine.
Words cannot describe the beauty of this Mass, the church, the countryside, the reception... 
Every little thing is perfect and amazing!


Love these two! Wish they lived closer! They've set up housekeeping in Germany.
(I've got tons of photos of our European trip to share at some point. Keep checking in!)


August 31, 2018


Daria and Ella get a baby sister! Claudia Cecilia is born and gets to be baptized
by her uncle, Fr. Philip. Mommom gets to play proxy Godmother and hold
baby Claudia at the big moment.  (photo montage courtesy of Michelle)
<3 12="" 20="" 7="" and="" at="" came="" div="" in="" lbs="" long.="" oz="" she="">
Michelle and Ben's littlest cherub. 
Almost five and a half months old now.
September, 2018


Anna, child number eight, turns sixteen and decides it's time
 to move on from homeschooling (seeing as everyone else is doing the same thing),
and enters Mater Dei Academy as a junior (where her brothers and Michelle
 went for high school). My loss = Sr. Gertrude's gain...

We kinda like this beautiful girl. Just a smidge.
(She's doing great!)

Also in September

Children numbers nine and ten, Gabe and William, decide they want to give the Minor 
Seminary in Rathdrum, Idaho a try this year (2018-19) instead of next. And how is a Mom 
to say "no" to that? I couldn't possibly have, and though I miss them like crazy, they're both doing great,
 pulling As and B sand becoming independent and mature young men. (sniff!) We're all very proud of them!


Gabe's taken up juggling! He's a pro now!
And William -- is just William.
Thank goodness!

 December 13, 2018


Last, but not least, this sugarplum finishes off our year of amazing
and wonderful things: Dominic and Michelle's first baby,
Margaret Mary Anne Davis: 8 lbs, 6 oz and 20" long.
Our seventh grandchild, sixth grand daughter!


Doncha love it? Another new little Catholic family. <3 td="">
And there you have it.
2018 in a nutshell. Still more like a coconut shell, even when it's summarized, I guess, but this is as bare bones as I can excavate. There's so much more!Believe me, there are stories and rumors of stories and jokes and pranks and miraculous saves behind every one of the year's milestones! But this gives you an idea, at least, of why other things took precedence over blogging this past year.

Things have calmed down considerably in 2019, though. So far. I think. As you've gathered, I'm sure, I'm pretty much home alone these days. The boys are in Idaho most of the year now,  Anna is in school most of the day, and I'll only get to see Cathy and Dan when they're not at work. Which is weird. But it's all good. I'm working (or, more aptly not working) to kick the Lyme's Disease I contracted last fall (something else that happened), so I'm not up to getting a paying job at this point. I have time now (theoretically) to loll around, get healthy, and blog. And other stuff, too, I imagine. I'll let you know about that as it comes up.  I'll share some of the photos I collected on our European adventures, at some point here, too, and I  have a backlog of memes and links and random thoughts to share -- a lot of them based on this new phase of our lives right now -- and goofiness where ever I can find it, of course.  Keep checking back to see what I'm in the mood to post as the days go by!

And, do please leave comments! Bloggers live for comments! Keep in mind, if you're coming from facebook that II won't see them on my FB link, as I'm on hiatus there, but I'll see them over here. Don't be shy!

I'm determined to get this ball rolling again. This is going to be fun!


* Homeric

adjective

Ho·​mer·​ic | \ hō-ˈmer-ik \

Definition of Homeric


1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of the Greek poet Homer, his age, or his writings

2 : of epic proportions : heroic

17 comments:

  1. Being a granny and having a growing family is such a blessing.

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  2. It so totally if, Ann! The transition is practically painless from Mom to Grandmom -- especially when some of the grandkids are close by!

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    1. Make that "is"... Ugh.. On my phone right now. This accursed autocorrect...

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  3. So, very much, enjoyed "catching up" with you. Always a joy to read from and a bout a few of my favorite folks.

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    1. XOXO
      And that's only a small bit of it all! ;)

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  4. Enjoyed reading up on your year! I hope to find this again. I am not a blog reader, but if you do one I will find it. Carrie

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    1. You bet, Carrie! :) Thank you! And I'll send links to fb so posts are easy to find!

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  5. Well, it has been a very productive year for y'all... A good one, even with I small dash of sad with dad passing. But even that was a small blessing seeing as we all (minus my little clan) were able to get together again. I just wish I could have been there for all the really nice things too, but God apparently has other plans for my side of the family... Whatever those may be... Oh hey, please ask sister and Father to keep us in their prayers... We need as much help as we can get with (once again) finding a new home and land... 10th times a charm right?

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  7. Yeah, Dad's moving on was another 2018 event-- bittersweet. But in a way, it feels like we have him back more than we lost him, iykwim... And it was a chance for us to all be together! Such a it was.

    We need to figure out away to get your clan and my clan together!! Somehow, some day!

    And, I'll pass on the word to Father and Sister -- and we'll pray, too. You need new digs!

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  8. oh, my gosh, how did you set up this beautiful blog? I love all of it, especially the pic of 'little me' on the top right. :)
    You had such a full year, and I had no idea you got Lymes! That is such a tough one, and if I've learned anything from my Crohn's there is no 'one' answer, but such a myriad of 'remedies' to be cognizant of and address diligently... and breathe through the ups and downs. May God bless you and give you knowledge, wisdom, and strength!

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  9. Oh this was wonderful to read <3 So blessed to be a part of the Davis clan ;) :) Thank you for summing it all up so wonderfully. Can't wait for more - and the pictures of that Europe trip you promised :) Will be delightful to experience it through your eyes :) !! We have wondered what you thought of Italy and everywhere where we were not able to join this summer! Love <3 Ina

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  10. So glad you started blogging again! It’s so great to see all the beautiful blessings you received last year! 😊 I’m also planning on taking a longer hiatus from Facebook so I’m happy I can keep in touch with you and your family on here. 🙂

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  11. Great post, Mom! I’m glad you got this going again! - Paul

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  12. It’s about time we had an updated picture of Margaret Mary. She’s a peach as Dominic would say. I loved this post, Lisa.

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  13. I can't ever imagine topping 2018 for those kinds of big, life-changing events. Every one of us ended a year in a significantly different "place" (depending on how you define "place") than we started the year.

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  14. Glad to see this blog up and running again! Keep it up! Happy to have been able to share in some of these memories!

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