Whew! What a Week!

Hello to all of you! (I know some of you have wondered what has happened to us since our last blog!! Sorry about that!) We did leave Northbrook on Monday morning on the 3rd. We arrived in Kentucky and got to visit lots of family! Of course, Mom fixed her yummy "company" meal for us! MMMMMMM! We got to spend lots of time with Luke and John David! (Always a highlight!!)

We left early enough on Tuesday so that we could hit Jackson, Tennessee before Chick-fil-A stopped serving breakfast! But, to our dismay, Chick-fil-A was closed for remodeling!! So, we went to Starbuck's instead. Crazily, at Starbuck's we ran into Johnna's (my youngest sister) college roommates: Ashley and Valerie! Jonathan recognized them first! We had a fun little conversation. I have to admit, the providential meeting was better than a chicken biscuit!

We got to Mississippi and within minutes, Aunt Ju Ju was playing Polly Pockets with Lizzie and Anna! We grabbed all of our stuff from the storage unit and moved into our upstairs bedroom at the Smiths' house! (And yes--Keri did repaint her nursery a nice neutral color! She felt guilty putting Jonathan in a pink room!)

On Wednesday evening, we got the call that Johnna was in labor! So, since we were already packed......we jumped in the car and drove to the hospital in Huntsville, Alabama! (For those of you that don't know....my sister Johnna married Jonathan's brother, Aaron. They were, at this point, one week overdue!)

As we were leaving, Lizzie was quite alarmed that we were already leaving so soon! But I assured her we would be back to play more dress-up and Polly Pockets later in the week!

On our 3-hour trip to Huntsville, we had a flat tire (my first flat tire with Jonathan)! God was so sweet to us---It happened just before we reached a gas station, right before dark, and right between rain storms! We arrived at the hospital around 10 p.m.

Catherine Ashley Davis was born at 10:20 p.m. on July 5th! She was 7 pounds 8 ounces (not totally sure) and the perfect length (again, not sure!). She has Johnna's lips (so that's just like my lips!) and she has Aaron's nose (possibly like Jonny's?) She was just tiny and BEAUTIFUL!!!! We fell in love with her instantly! Jonny made the comment, "So this is what a Davis-Green baby looks like.....I wonder if this will ever be us...." That was the only heart-wrenching moment for me....Other wise it was pure bliss! We are so very excited about our new niece! This makes us Uncle Jonny and Aunt JuJu for the 9th time! Can you believe it? We can't!!

We had great visits with Jonny's parents (Gilbert and Jane); Matthew (Jonny's oldest brother) and his wife Melanie and their three children (Will, Alex(andra), and Sophie); and Andrew (Aaron's twin) and his girlfriend, Katie. We also had great visits with my mom (Joyce) and my sister Jennifer, her husband Al, and their two precious children Luke, and John David; and my sister Joann and her husband Scott and their precious child, Austin. We all did a great job of sharing Catherine Ashley! We even let Johnna and Aaron hold her some!

We got our tire fixed (actually two tires!), and we left early Friday morning so we could get back to Memphis to close on our land! We bought our two acres without a hitch----It is mind-blowing how fast we spent $30,000! Afterwards, I wanted to go and grab a blanket and sit on our land, but Jonny was not too in to that......(!) So, we just drove by it really slowly! :)

On Friday, Keri and Andrew headed with their family to Florida! They are spending the week at a camp called RYM--and you have NEVER seen so much stuff packed into a van in your life! It was quite comical to watch Andrew stuff every nook and cranny of that van! Alone for the weekend, Jonny and I did our own thing. Jonny studied and studied. I painted window sills and cabinets (this will make Keri happy!). On Sunday, we visited South Woods Baptist Church on Germantown Road in Memphis. We had a great visit, and we were VERY impressed with the theology and the pastor. We met a couple who knew both Johnna and Daniel (Jonny's brother) from Union! We will be visiting several churches in the Memphis area.....HOWEVER.....we are pretty certain we will be joining St. Patrick's Church in Collierville. We have visited this church MANY times with Keri and Andrew.......and it will be EXTREMELY hard to beat. (And yes, St. Patrick is a Presbyterian church. We can discuss all of that later...... :))

After church, Jonny decided we should go and eat at Corky's BBQ on Poplar! MMMMMM! Great decision! Pulled Pork BBQ and rolls will now be our new replacement for the Chicago Deep Dish Pizza! (However, it cannot ever really replace it!!!)

Tonight I am typing this at St. Columba Retreat Center in Bartlett, Tennessee....just outside of Memphis. Jonathan and I are at a GREAT conference to train us in the Classical Christian model of education! Several Westminster teachers are here, and the leader this week is James Daniels. He is the Upper School Administrator at Westminster (so he is Jonny's boss). FYI--James and his wife, Larissa, have bought Keri's parents' house! They will be our neighbors on South Slayden Road in Mississippi! (We are starting a Westminster compound!!)

Well, I must close. This entry has become way too long! Thanks for reading all the way to the end! Love to you all!

Love in Christ,

Julie (and Jonathan)