Tunes For My Heart

It has been my tradition, as long as I've been blogging, to share some of my favorite music on my birthday. I am so very blessed!

How He Loves Us - Jesus Culture

How Deep the Father's Love - Selah

In Christ Alone - David Arkenstone 

I Come to the Garden Alone - Joey and Rory

Where the Soul Never Dies - Oakridge Boys feat Gaithers

From the Valley - Civil Wars

New Year, New Projects

Photo not mine

Happy 2017! My goodness, where did the past year go? Time seems to drag by slowly day by day, until you reach a place of looking back at the past - and then you wonder where it all went.

New Year's resolutions are a part of our culture, and yet it is as stereotypical to break them as it is to make them. It's a standing joke in our culture that gyms are busiest during the first 2 weeks of the year! However, if I'm going to make resolutions, I want to make ones that are challenging yet attainable. They should cause personal growth without being immediately discouraging.

With that in mind, my resolutions for this year go hand in hand, feeding each other along the way. They are:

1. To be content,
2. To be thankful.

The first, contentment, is something I struggle with, especially in our current season of life. There are many goals and dreams that I have personally and that we have as a family, and it's easy for me to become so focused on those future goals that I become discontent with my situation right now. At the same time, if I don't keep the future goals within sight, it's also so easy to become discouraged and overwhelmed by the frustrations of the here and now, and forget why we're doing what we're doing now. There must be a balance, as with everything else in life. I know that, if I am not content with where I am now, then I will not be content when I am blessed with more of what I hope to gain in the future.

11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil 4:11-13 NKJV

The second goal is to be thankful, which ties together well with contentment. The more thankful I am, the easier it will be to be content; and the more content I am, the easier it will be to be thankful! I saw an excellent idea online and decided to try it, so this year I have made a Blessing Jar. It's a simple mason jar with a stack of scratch paper beside it, and throughout the year we will write down blessings and drop them into the jar. At the end of the year, we will be able to look back, remember, and give thanks for those blessings all over again!

...but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ... Ephesians 5:18b-20

Current condition of the bathroom

As we walk through the coming year, in contentment and thankfulness, there is much to look forward to! I can't wait to see what the Good Lord has planned for 2017. In the meantime, we are enjoying having a house of our own to go home too! We have also begun working on larger projects in the house - namely, the guest bathroom. In a few hours' time, we had taken everything out of the bathroom and knocked out most of the walls! It is now down to studs and base flooring, and awaiting being put back together. We got some good deals and have been planning it all out, and I'm really excited to see how it will all come together.

I'm very blessed to have a very handy hubby! Drywall, electrical work, plumbing, mechanics - you name it, he can do it or teach himself how. He enjoys working on projects and I enjoy helping him, and it's great being able to do all the work ourselves instead of paying someone to remodel our home.

We are also blessed to be living much closer to my wonderful in-laws now, and it's a joy to see them regularly these days. We had a big family get-together over New Years, which was crazy and chaotic and beautiful. Growing up as an only child, I remember hoping that my someday husband would have a large, close-knit family, and while of course no family is ever perfect, it blesses my heart to finally have an extended family and be able to spend time with them.

There is much to be thankful for, and I pray we never lose sight of the many blessings surrounding us. May the Lord bless you and keep you; may He make His face to shine upon you and give you peace.

Welcome Home

Getting ready to deliver the wreaths

Hello all! Merry (belated) Christmas and happy New Year! Hope you are having a joyful holiday season!

Life has been quite busy lately, but mostly in a good way. Our regional route has been mainly uneventful, but we did have the honor of running a load of wreaths for Wreaths Across America, all the way from northern Maine to Chattanooga, Tennessee! It was quite an adventure getting up to Maine, and we were blessed to slip in and out again in between storms. We took the load down to Georgia, spent some time at company headquarters with the corporate people, and then delivered our wreaths to the Chattanooga National Cemetery early on a Saturday morning. Unfortunately, we weren't able to stay for the ceremony of laying the wreaths, but it was still quite an honor to transport them.

Holding the keys!

Some of you know that we have been in the process of buying a house. Well, after over a year of searching, and two months' hassle over a mortgage, we finally closed on the house, took possession, and moved in - all on December 23rd! That's right, we signed closing papers in the morning, loaded up the Uhaul in the afternoon, and moved everything into the house that evening.

My wonderful in-laws have been so kind and helpful - my hubby's parents helped clean the house, and they and my brother-in-law helped unload the moving truck. They have also helped with many little projects around the house. We spent Christmas day with them as well. It's wonderful having them close by now!

Pretty new mailbox!

The first few days after moving to a new place are always busy, but we have accomplished so much in the past three days. Not only have we unpacked all the essentials and much of the non-essential stuff, set up furniture, etc., but we've also made several improvements and made it more our own. We bought and installed a new front door, door casing, and front and back door knobs and locks; we changed several of the light fixtures and nearly all of the light bulbs; pulled out the dilapidated old mailbox and put a beautiful new mailbox in; completely re-coated the master bathroom shower; set up the master bedroom and furnished the guest bathroom; changed out old air and water filters, and cleaned years of dust, calcium deposits, rust, and grime out of the house. Needless to say, we're a little worn out!

I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have our own place, our very own house. And not only is it our own house, it's also our own property - six acres of property, in fact! We have big plans and dreams for that land (think garden, chickens, pigs, cows...), but there will be time for all that in the future. In the meantime, it's just so wonderful to come home to our own place, sleep in our own bed, cook in our own kitchen, dream our dreams...

I pray peace for each of you during this holiday season, and that the new year brings a fresh start and renewed life to you. Merry Christmas, happy New Year, and best of luck to you!

Catching Up

Snow accumulation in Pennsylvania

Well, it's taken us a little while to get settled into our new routine with our regional account, but we're starting to get the hang of it! I like knowing where we're going to be at any given time, it takes a lot of the uncertainty out of driving. Hubby gets a little bored with going to the same places all the time, but it is nice knowing what to expect!

In the meantime, we did attend one event in Georgia, and are planning to do another in December. We had dinner with a Georgia state senator and a state representative; we've had a little snowfall in Indiana and a snow accumulation in Pennsylvania; and we celebrated our second wedding anniversary and our third Thanksgiving together!

Anniversary date night!

Our anniversary was spent on the road, but I made my sweetheart's favorite pot roast and a delicious peanut butter chocolate cake for us to share. That weekend we had a very special date night - an hour at the shooting range and a nice dinner at a hibachi grill! It was definitely one of the best date nights we've ever had.

We were blessed to have Thanksgiving and the extended weekend off of work - a first for us! We've always had to work over holidays before, but since our new account is closed on major holidays, we were thankful to have the time off. We had a very pleasant Thanksgiving dinner with Don's parents and aunt, and spent the rest of the weekend enjoying fellowship with them. We helped set up Christmas decorations, had several good talks, and really enjoyed the time with family. It's the first time in many years for each of us that we've been able to be with family for Thanksgiving!

We're back on the road now, hoping that the weather holds off and dreading the upcoming winter weather. Stay safe out there!

Veterans Day

On November 11, 1918, the horror of WW1 officially ended. Still recovering 20 years later, our nation voted to honor WW1 veterans for their service with legislation deeming November 11 to be "Armistice Day." By 1954, however, we had seen WW2 and the Korean War, and Armistice Day was replaced with Veterans Day, a day to honor and recognize all veterans.

My husband during his service

Today is Veterans Day, 2016, and I would like to take a moment to reflect. I honor veterans of all wars as well as veterans of peacetime. I honor my grandfather, uncle, and cousins for their service in the Air Force; my father-in-law, who served in the Army during the Vietnam War; my husband, who served 9 years between the Army and Navy; and all of my brothers and sisters in arms, past and present. I honor those who were wounded in the line of duty; those who gave the ultimate sacrifice of their very lives; and all of us who raised our right hands and took an oath, willing to make that sacrifice if necessary.

WW2 veterans

Last night I had the privilege of attending a high school Veterans Day concert. The concert was very well done, but what was most meaningful to me was the time taken to honor the WW2 veterans present. Of course it is wonderful to pay tribute to their service and sacrifice, but it is absolutely essential that the young people of this generation are taught to respect and honor these veterans, and that respect and honor be modeled for them to emulate. In this day in age, when it seems that so many people feel entitled to everything, it is so important to recognize those who have fought to preserve the freedoms we so often take for granted.

Myself with our truck

This Veterans Day, when you see an older gentleman wearing a Vietnam Veteran hat, shake his hand and thank him for his service. When you see a few young guys sporting crew cuts gathered around a bar, raising a drink to a buddy who didn't come  home, show some respect. We all know someone who served - go thank that teacher or janitor or parent or relative or whoever it is. Let us all be grateful for the sacrifices made for all of us and our great nation.

Happy Veterans Day.

Stories From the Road

Sunlight peeking through autumn leaves

There is something that happens - a phenomenon that occurs with a predictability that rivals the daily sunrise - every time multiple people gather together who share a common occupation, hobby, or background. It happens at doctors' conventions, teachers' meetings, and office employee breakrooms. It happens at hunting lodges, retirement homes, high school reunions, and military barracks. It happens when farmers meet in feed stores, when homeless congregate around burn barrels, and when suburban housewives run into each other at the supermarket. And you better believe, it happens with truck drivers.

What is it?

Storytelling.

Let a few people gather together with something in common and the spirits of the medicine men, bards, and historians of the past rise up again. The most experienced try to top each other's tales with another more interesting or more dramatic than the last, and the least experienced listen in awe. Of course, a dash of exaggeration is often to be expected, but there is an element or morsel of truth in every story. It's a tradition old as time itself, passing on one's own experiences for the enjoyment and instruction of others.

And we have stories to tell. Believe me, we have stories.

The time we pulled a U-turn in a cemetary on a snowy evening in Virginia. The time we drove down a gravel road, between cornfields and through a river, to a solar farm in rural Texas. The time we delivered supplies at an inner-city hospital clinic in downtoon Brooklyn, NYC.

We spent Christmas on the beach in Miami, and Valentine's Day slogging through the snow in Vail Pass, Colorado. We've driven through flooding, hail, smoke, snowstorms, fog too thick to see the hood of the truck, and wind that threatened to tip us over.

Double rainbow after a storm

Oh, but the things we've seen along the way! Snowcapped mountains and craggy bluffs, the changing colors of autumn and the first new buds of spring, oceans on both sides of the country, sunrises and sunsets that take your breath away. Moose drinking from a Montana river, eagles circling in a cloudy Pennsylvania sky, antelope and buffalo grazing on Western plains.

Of course, we're regional drivers now, so our view of our wonderful nation will be restricted to a slightly smaller area. However, when you open your eyes, you find that there is beauty all around you, wherever you are.

These are the stories that we tell when standing around a parking lot or truck stop, chewing the fat with others like us. These are the stories we will tell our children someday. These are our adventures so far on the road!

Regional Drivers and a Discussion of Romance

Autumn in Pennsylvania

Well, after a year of being on a dedicated OTR (over the road) account, things have changed for the Davis team. We are now going to be dedicated regional drivers. What this means is that, instead of going coast to coast as OTR, we will now be driving within a certain mile radius of home, thus being regional. It also means that, instead of being on the road for 3-5 weeks, home for drill weekends and a few days for running errands, and back on the road, we will now be home on weekends! We may choose to work extra on some weekends, but for the most part, we will now be on the road for only 5-6 days at a time.

We are excited about the change. It came a little sooner than we had planned, but in the long run, it will be a good thing. Since we've been together, we've never had weekends off together on a regular basis, so this is a welcome opportunity to spend time together outside of the working environment.

Speaking of the working environment, it has been good for our marriage to live and work together in a tiny space 24/7, but it has also been difficult in some ways. For instance, it has taught us to communicate clearly and work together as a team; however, we sometimes have to remember to be not only coworkers but spouses and lovers as well. It can be hard to keep the romance alive when so many of the typical things (gifts, surprises, date nights, etc) are next to impossible on the road!

My favorite of several photos taken this month

I am thankful for this season of life, in which we have spent so much time together and learned so much about each other, and I pray we never forget the lessons in communication, trust, and teamwork that we've learned. And yet, since a great deal of the time is spent sleeping and nearly all the time one or both of us is working, it's like spending time in the presence of the other person but not really spending time WITH them.

One thing we have certainly learned this year, however, is to appreciate the little things. Too often we can take for granted the ordinary, everyday stuff that we do for each other - make lunch, take out the trash, sweep the floor, hold a door open - and yet, those little things are very important, especially when you live in a space the size of a closet! Just a simple thank-you, letting the other person know that these things are noticed and appreciated, is its own love language. So are back rubs. So is letting the other person speak without interrupting. These little things are, in their own way, the truly important things that make a spouse feel loved and appreciated. Sex is wonderful, but doing the dishes or letting the other person sleep in a few extra minutes are also powerful romance!

I'd love to hear your ideas or suggestions for making your significant other feel loved and keeping the romance alive. Until then, I'm off to go snuggle with my sweetheart. ❤