“Kumbaya my Lord, kumbaya.  Kumbaya my Lord, kumbaya”.  These were the lyrics floating through the air and sticking in my brain last weekend as we camped out.  There was lots of singing because there was lots of rain (I’m pretty sure that statement is a grammar nightmare).   

As we pulled into the park, the sky was gorgeous with blue skies and thick clouds.

Just about the time we put up the tent and unpacked, the bottom fell out and it began pouring.  Brad, Aspen and I jumped in the back of the car and had somewhat of a picnic with all our campout snacks.  It was fun being stuck inside together.

It soon turned into the Aspen show as she had our undivided attention.  Here she’s saying “Arrrg, I got a bird on my elbow.”

Brad said, “do you mean you’ve got a bird on your shoulder?” but she assured him she knew what she was talking about.  On Saturday, the rain came once again and forced us to sit under the canopy around the campfire.  It was so nice.  The sun eventually came out and we all scattered like ants in various directions, mainly chasing kids around. 

Grama came up for the day which made Aspen a happy camper (hehe).

We did lots of bike riding.  Aspen is finally getting the hang of it and loves to tote around on her “blue bike that my Santa gave me”.

After dinner the second night, Brad pulled our car around close to the firepit where the adults were hanging and we piled the kids into the back for a movie.  It was so cute to look through the back glass to see the backs of five little heads.

Despite the rain, we had a blast.  And to be honest, the rain added an element of fun.  Aspen enjoyed playing in the mud and jumping in puddles and I was sure to point out that this was the only time it was allowed  

One of the ways we entertained ourselves was by naming every song we could think of with the words “fire” or “burn” in them.  We came up with quite a few!  “Burn baby burn, disco inferno”, “I want you to burn, burn for me baby”, “Just gonna stand there and watch me burn”, “We didn’t start the fire, it was always burning since the world was turning”, etc.  Can you think of any?

I have loved to swing my whole life. At the park, I would try to swing higher than the bar at the top of the swing. At school I would swing all during recess. At home growing up, I would sit on the front porch swing with my family all the time. Singing and talking and playing in the yard. You know, basic Brady Bunch entertainment.

Well, my joy of swinging gets to continue now at my own home. Last weekend I spotted this 3 person swing on sale at Kroger for $99! Here it is on the back porch.

I see many’a nights spent swinging out here. Kyle is going to get so tired of me saying “Will you come swing with me? Pllllllease!”

In other news, I finished my book “Desire” by John Eldredge. It was so good! You should read it!

Melody gave me the idea to post the top 5 people I would choose to have dinner with, given the chance. As I started thinking of all the incredible people out there, I was totally overwhelmed by the options. I could pick all people who seem really fun. People who have influenced me through music, movies, clothes, hair (Jen Aniston naturally), or childhood heroes (Kristi Yamaguchi, not even kidding). Or spiritual heroes and philanthropist. The stellar dinner guest options are endless.

This short lived internal debate led me no where near an organized or well thought out list, so I went with five random people who popped in my head in the “awesome” category that together make an interesting mix. I proudly present to you five people I would love to have dinner with.

1. Bill Johnson – Senior Pastor of Bethel Church. I dream of going to visit this church someday! Their ministry is supernatural and inspiring and stretches the “God boxes” in my heart. I think a dinner with Bill Johnson would be top notch!

2. Cynthia McFadden – I don’t know why, but I have always loved her. In case you’re going “who?”, she is an anchor on ABC Nightline news. I don’t actually watch the show, but I’m still a fan. She would be a great dinner guest because of her knowledge in current affairs and journalism.

3. Taylor Swift – she’s young, sweet, successful and her lyrics are just so darn catchy. How could I leave her out?

4. Bill Hybels – steady, faithful, visionary, wise. I can always use more of that in life! It would be such an honor to have a chance to just hear whatever stories he felt like sharing. If he would agree to my dinner party, I would pick a restaurant with very slow service.

5. (Random alert!) Shannon Miller – she was a big time hero of mine when I was little. I dreamed of being her and doing standing back tucks on a balance beam like it ain’t no thing. Olympic gymnast were the coolest, are the coolest and will always be the coolest in my book.

There you have it! Davis party of 6. I’m thinking Brio would be a great choice for me and my new friends to meet for dinner.

About six months ago, out of the clear blue sky, Aspen told me she wanted to ride a horse.  Thinking it was a random 3-year-old comment, I nodded and said “okay, honey.”  Well, it wasn’t random and she never let up.  I have no idea how she came up with the idea, but she was sure that she wanted to do it.  This posed a problem for city folk like us, so I passed the responsibility on to my mom who has friends in the country that actually own horses. 

I wish with all my heart that I had recorded her reaction when my mom told her that we were going to a farm to ride a horse.  She jumped up and down, cheering and smiling from ear to ear.  Probably similar to my reaction if you told me I was going on a shopping spree.  It was priceless.

Our first stop at the farm was to say hi to the big bunny.  Of course, she couldn’t just say hi from outside of the cage.

Then we walked through the tall grass out to a field where longhorns were lounging around.

This picture is hilarious to me because it captures each of the kids’ time at the farm perfectly.  Aspen loved all the animals, Hudson was not interested and itchy, and Kylie was distracted by the cow poop on her shoes the whole time.  

After petting a few longhorns, we walked to the barn and the kids got to feed the horses.

They were so brave, I would never get that close to a large animal.  Or any animal, for that matter.  They also got to walk a goat around while we waited for the horse to get her saddle and stuff on.  Aspen loved being in control.

And finally…..

….she got to ride a horse!

That is the face of serious concentration.  I admit, I was a little nervous for her to be up on a horse by herself and probably told her 34 times to “hold on tight”. 

My mom did a great job guiding the horse around.  Kylie agreed to ride with Aspen, and after a little while, she rode by herself.  Hudson and I were happy to sit on the rocks and watch.

After Kylie was done, Aspen got back on and Jan (the farm owner) got the horse to trot a little bit.  Nervousness kicked in again, but I was happy for Aspen to get the full experience.  I even teared up seeing so much joy and pride in my daughter.  It was cool.

Our day at the farm was a lot of fun and I can’t thank Jan and my mom enough for making it happen. 

This past weekend Kyle went on his annual Father’s Day fishing trip with his dad and brother. The tradition began about four years ago on Father’s Day weekend. They soon decided it’s just way too hot in June so the trip gets moved up a little bit each year. The only problem, it seems like summer heat decides to move up each year as well. Next year Father’s Day fishing may be in March.

Anyway, since Kyle was out of town all weekend this girl was flying solo. I started the weekend off with a bang and went to our church’s live CD recording Friday night. It was pretty stellar. Here is a pic a friend of mine took that night.

After the concert two of my sweet nieces came home with me to celebrate Maddie’s 12th birthday! We had so much fun together singing in the car to whatever Selena Gomez song they chose, staying up late and doing double-dog-dares at the park. I had an aunt growing up that spent so much time with me and I treasure those memories with her. I want the kids in my fam to know how much they are loved by me, just like Aunt Becky showed me.

The next morning, Maddie and Abby were my dates to my friend’s baby shower. She is having a little boy and her style is very very preppy classic so I had fun finding just the right outfits to fit her little Truett!

After shopping with Maddie and Abby that afternoon, I had to return them to their parents and head over to help paint at my friends new house! If you don’t have any friends you should get some before you move into a new house because what goes around, comes around. Buchanan’s helped paint my house, we helped with theirs, Bosses helped at Buchanan’s and now Davis’, Buchanan’s and Ingram’s helped at the Bosses. See how that back scratching train is a thing of beauty?

Flying solo wasn’t so bad this weekend, until I was hanging with all these awesome couples and it made me miss my goofy better half.

Thankfully, fishing trips can only last through Sunday so my bass man returned to me after a few shorts days!

I started off with this picture for, ya know, good karma.  Just kidding, I don’t believe in that stuff.  I just wanted to switch things up a bit.  Have you heard of a Food Park?  It’s like a trailer park but instead of single-wides with foil in the windows, it has food trucks lined up.  My friend suggested we go, and you know how I love trying out new places to eat.

The food trucks around town rotate, so there’s always something different there.  We had a nice variety to choose from- Mexican food, burgers, BBQ……hmmm….I can’t remember what else. 

Brad and I got food from different trucks so we could try out two trucks instead of just one.  Both were delicious.

Check out the gal behind Brad scarfing down her burger.  Hehe   Oh, and Brad, 1994 called and they want their necklace back.  Don’t worry folks, he knows how I feel about it.

After eating and hanging out at the food park, we went to Sweet Sammie’s for ice cream.  It was a night of good eatin’ for sure.  The cherry on top was a beautiful rainbow that we saw on the drive back home.  How cool is that?!

Awesome friends + a new, fun place to eat = winner, winner, chicken dinner.  But no chicken for me, I had a vegetarian dish.  Yes, I’ve taken the plunge as well.  Anywhoo, if you try out the food park, let me know what you think. 

There is a young woman who is living a very radical and inspiring life on the other side of the world. She is in her early 20′s, single, lives in Uganda and cares for 13 foster children. Her name is Katie Davis. She has my name! Any time I hear people talk about her, it’s hard not to feel like a big old failure.

I want her story to inspire me not beat me up. If there isn’t a famous super awesome person who is saving the world and has your name, let me tell you about it. It feels like someone way better than you is doing what you were supposed to do. I struggle with placing judgments against myself that my life doesn’t measure up to the real Katie Davis. Oh the sin of comparison how I loath you.

Katie vs. Katy is a lie. It isn’t about doing enough. My responsibility is to be who God tells me to be, do what He tells me to do. It’s hard not to put Katie on a pedestal. The super Christian pedestal. I have to remind myself that where God put this Katy, is where He wants me. Not Uganda. For now, my role to play in orphan care is to invest financially. Not move across the globe and ditch my life here.

Do you ever feel like your part to play is just not measuring up to what others are doing? Do you become your worst enemy by judging yourself?

Lately, God has been revealing to me the power of judgments. I can’t judge Katie Davis “better” than me, that would be false humility. I can’t judge others as “worse” than me. I can’t even be the judge of God’s plan for me. (that’s a toughy!) Can anyone relate to this?

I don’t have some great conclusion. I’m still working it out. But here are a few random things I wanted to mention.

If you are looking for a great orphan care ministry to support, here is one that Kyle and I invest in: http://joshuahouselifecenters.org/index.php

A friend of mine is raising money to host 3 boys from the Ukraine this summer. If you want to help, email me and I will give you her information.

Lastly, our pastor is in the middle of a series that is life changing. It is about the power of your words. It would be great if every human alive listened to this series, but consider yourself warned. Once your eyes are opened to the renegade mouth you may have, you will be changing!  http://gatewaypeople.com/

Thanks for letting me brain and heart dump on you! I hope you have a very happy weekend.