Finale - Curtain Call

Stray Cat Strut - Melanie's Tap Routine

Who Are You - Melanie's Acro and Jazz routine

Sisters Sisters - Kylie tap routine

Mini Silver - Grand Finale - May 3, 2009

Mini Silver

Melanie's first piano recital

Melanie did an excellent job at her very first piano recital today. She played three songs:

"A Song of Penny Candy"
"The Man in the Moon"
"The Party"

Watch the video to see her in action!

MVI 3127

Life. . .

Times are tough. . .as I sit here watching the snow squall around me, I think of all the things that are weighing on my mind today. My dad, so sick still. My mom taking care of him day and night. The economy in the world getting worse and worse every day while we who are self-employed worry about what it will mean for us. Travel coming up, while always fun, is an added stress with the expense of it all and concerns about glitches in the weather or other glitches as yet unforseen. . .Friends who are struggling in these tough times and gloomy moods all around. . .Somedays it's hard to snap out of the reverie, but also we can't let ourselves become consumed by it. Winter is half over. There is light at the end of the tunnel. The sun is shining in Florida. . .

This past weekend we had a very happy occasion to celebrate Melanie's 9th birthday with her friends for her first real slumber party. Her actual birthday is Feb 10 - the day we fly out to Florida. We have an incredibly busy weekend coming up so we decided to have her party a little early. We had 9 guests for an American Girl themed party. They each brought their dolls for a total of 11 girls and 11 dolls! When they arrived they set out their sleeping bags in the playroom, then were given menus for dinner. We served pasta with their choice of toppings, bread and veggies. For dessert they got to decorate their own cookies and make their own sundaes.


After dinner they made fleece sleeping bags and pillows for their American Girl Dolls, then picture frames complete with photo of them and their doll taken and printed by Tom. Then we made paper fortune tellers for them to play with.




After presents, I set up the projector in the playroom and they then watched Chrissa Takes a Stand (the new American Girl Doll movie) on the wall - just like the theater. After the movie they all brushed their teeth and off to bed!



Yeah, right. . .4 hours later (3:30) they were still awake, talking and laughing. I finally had to pull Melanie out of the playroom and put her in her own bed to get them to quite down. Finally rest!


All in all it was a great, fun and memorable night! I'm sure Melanie will remember this sleepover for years to come. I still remember all the slumber parties I ever had. . .and I remember how much fun and how little sleep I got too. It's all part of the experience. . .part of life. . .

First Place!

Kylie's Mini Silver Team took first place in their first competition together! (Don't tell anyone that there was only one mini level 1 team there!). They did well considering their uniforms didn't come in on time and they are still polishing their routine. Kylie was nervous today. She had missed a two hour practice the week she was sick and it has taken her some time to get back into the swing of things. But she did well today. She got dropped. . .if you watch the video you'll see the little girl she was standing on hop up while Kylie was still standing on her, but it wasn't a far fall. She got right back up and kept on going. It threw her off for the rest of the performance. I could tell she was having a hard time focusing. She told me after she almost cried and stopped all together, but she didn't. I was proud of her that she was able to keep going. They have another competition in March, so they have some time to get it together and fine tune things a bit. You can see Kylie in the video below in all black. She starts on the far right hand side. She's one in a full uniform becasue she has her uniform from last year. Then she runs to the far left where she is dropped (can't miss it!). Later she does a little cartwheel in front. Then she gets a little lost. . .but she hangs in there. Just wait. By the next competition she'll be smiling from ear to ear and have it down pat.

Oh, by the way. . .the rest of the Xtreme teams did Xtremely well! One of the level 2 teams took Grand Champion for their level. The lady next to me in the stands (from the host group) asked if they were going to nationals this year, because they were really impressive. Great job girls! And the new Special Needs team, The Shining Stars were awesome. They got a standing ovation. It's great to see some of the kids I have worked with in the past be a part of that team.

Mini Silver Competition

Writer's Block

My college yearbook, the 1992 Jayhawker – pink cover with the title 'A Different Experience' houses my freshman photograph on page 238. Kelli Mustard. . . .Lansing. . .journalism. . . . freshman. (You know when I looked myself up I looked under Davis first?). It was optional to have your photograph taken and I would wager less than 10% of the students took part. But I had to appear in the book. . .because I was going to be writing stories for it. Because I was a writer.

It was my dream when I started college that I would complete my four years in journalism, graduate with honors and with camera and word processor in hand would get a job with National Geographic. I would someday find myself in jungles, photographing gorillas, monkeys and leopards. Then I would retreat to my campsite and write a moving and inspirational story about the animals’ lives and my observances. When I would return home I would pen a novel about my experiences – maybe a fictional account in which the woman falls in love with her guide – or maybe a memoir if I felt my own tale exciting enough to share.

So what happened? Why did that smiling, confident 18 year old journalism major turn away from that dream?

I think it started with the C. It was freshman English Literature. I wrote a paper on a novel I had read. It might have been Tess of the D’Ubervilles, Bleak House or The Scarlet Letter. I can’t remember what it was about, all I remember was it was a C. I didn’t get C’s on anything. Especially not what I was good at – writing! My high school English teachers had always told me how great my talent was. How easily writing came to me. They had boosted my confidence – I could do no wrong! And yet, here was a C?? How? I read the instructor’s remarks and found myself not understanding his point of view. I didn’t think he understood me or my voice. Or maybe I didn’t have any talent after all? Now I was pooled with such a larger, more advanced group of students and all of the sudden I went from above average to just plain ole average. The semester went on and somehow I ended up with an A in the class – mostly from my test scores, because I remember how much I struggled to write something that pleased this professor (graduate student to be exact).

Then there was the journalism class. It was intro to journalism. We were supposed to learn about the history of journalism - everything from Johannes Gutenberg’s first printing press to Marconi’s first transatlantic radio transmission. Easy enough, right? Only this professor was so enthusiastic about his trade that he wanted us to learn it all. Right now. He apparently was a journalism big shot. I was never sure what he had done, something great in broadcast journalism – but he wanted us to be as excited as he was about his profession. He held contests, games and gave prizes. He invited guest speakers and had us prepare questions for them as if it were a news conference. He had an end of semester, complicated contest for us to complete - kind of like a scavenger hunt/dungeons and dragons type event where we would finally end up with him as the prize (I don’t know, it was weird). I felt myself lost in this class. The other kids were so eager and enthusiastic. They clamored for his attention in class and many quickly became the teacher’s pets – his star pupils. I have to say I don’t think he even knew my name by the end of the semester. I got a B+ in the class. I wasn’t happy with it, especially since this was supposed to be my easy class and the only other B I got that semester was in Biology (and that WAS hard).

I mentioned that I wrote stories for the yearbook. Upon getting to campus the beginning of my freshman year, one of the first things I did was seek out the yearbook committee. I researched and found out how to become a part of that group. I had loved being the editor in chief of my high school yearbook. I enjoyed designing the layouts, taking the photographs and writing the stories as well as overseeing the rest of the staff. So it made sense for me to continue that in college. I was invited to meet one of the story editors and she asked to see some writing samples. When I found the yearbook office in the student union I was excited by all the computers and equipment. But the story editor ushered me out of the busy office and met with me on a row of couches away from the chaos. Little did I know I would never set foot in there again. The editor scrutinized my work quickly, shrugged her shoulders and gave me two assignments to write about with a deadline only a month away. The first – how do you meet people of the opposite sex? And the second, What is it like to live in the Jayhawker Towers surrounded by all the athletes? (which is where I lived). So my work began and I found myself having to approach strangers on the street to ask them questions, like “What is your favorite pick up line?” Or “What do you think of living across the hall from some of the best college basketball players in the country?” I found myself dreading the topics as well as approaching people about them. As I remember I threw together two stories that I wasn’t very happy with and I’m not sure the final version with my name in the by-line was really written much by me. I didn’t pursue writing any more stories for the yearbook after that.

One semester of college and several very startling revelations. I did not like to interview strangers, I did not like being told what to write about, I did not like having to compete against others for praise, I did not like deadlines (although I'm very good about meeting them) and I did not like criticism of my work (ok the last is a bit childish, but I was only 18, I crave feedback now - almost feel lost without it). Also, the final most startling revelation – maybe I’m not as good as I thought I was. Maybe this isn’t the right career path for me.

Then the voice of my ever logical father invaded my thinking, “In order to make any money as a writer you have to be really good at it.”

Of course I wanted to have a career where I made money. I wanted to be able to buy a house, car, nice things. I didn’t want the life of a struggling writer who is just waiting for my big break.

So, instead of meeting with an advisor to put me on a career path I was happy with, I pulled out my KU course book and started flipping through. What did I want to do with my life. Flip, flip, flip. I liked children. At one time I wanted to be a teacher. Flip, flip. The requirements to get into the school of education seemed easy enough, but half the people I knew were education majors. How much money could a teacher make? Did I really want to teach the same thing year in and year out? Wouldn’t I grow bored? (Another thing I had learned, I did not like monotony).

Flip, flip, flip. Hmmm. School of Allied Health. What was that all about? Physical Therapy? No – six more years of school. Occupational Therapy? Bells and whistles went off inside my head. I had been a candy striper in high school and the most coveted place to work was the pediatric OT clinic. I got to help children improve their fine motor skills by pinching colorful clothespins and improve their gross motor skills by leading them around in a wheelbarrow walk or pushing them on a big swing. That was fun. It was working with kids and it was different day in and day out. I studied the requirements and after some research realized it was an extremely competitive program. Several hundred people applied each year and they only accepted 35 (that may not be the exact number). You had to have an extremely good GPA – above a 3.5. Mine was 3.7 so far – I should be a shoe in. My confidence started to return. This was something I could do. After more research I found that OTs are in high demand everywhere in the country (job security!) and they are paid pretty well (more than a teacher or struggling writer!). This was it. This was the logical choice.

My next semester found me in classes to complete my requirements. Human Anatomy lecture and dissection (interesting stuff – I loved it!), intro to OT, then physiology, child development, psychology, ceramics (yes, it was still required to take an art class to get into OT school – therapeutic activities). To make a long story short, I did get accepted into the program and I was recruited heavily by employers. I was actually hired for a job during my first year of OT school. They paid for my school for me to agree to work for them in return upon graduation. What could be better?

I found that I was good at several things in school - writing papers, completing documentation and the research projects. Still, in a way I was a writer. In my student internships I could write up evals quickly and efficiently, drawing praise from my supervisors and then in my job, I would actually look forward to the time when the hands on portion of the evaluation was over and I could retreat to my desk to write it up.

Now, twelve years after graduating I have to admit the passion for therapy never surfaced. I don’t dislike being an OT, it’s a job that can be rewarding at times. I have worked with children over the years, but have to admit I enjoy the geriatric population just a little bit more. I can sit through a whole therapy session and just talk to some of my elderly patients about what it was like to live through the depression as a child; how they survived through the war while their husband was away and they were home raising six kids by themselves; or what it was like to run up the beach at Normandy (although I find they really would prefer to skip over reliving those details). So in a way I do interview people and I do consider writing what they’ve shared with me, although I never have.

I have become a closet writer. Writing is in my blood and I can’t escape it. I get these stories in my head and they don’t go away until they are written down. The first story was Mrs. Kitten Cake when I was six years old, followed by Triplet Trouble (my first novel) at the age of 10. Then several years of hard work completed Golden Rain, then Cape Bounty, Crossroads, Boy Crazy, Butterly Girl, When it Rains and most recently - In the Weeds. So I guess I have written seven novels in my adult life. Wow. I hadn’t counted before now.

Have I tried to become published?? Ha! Sure I have. But without formal training and instruction, without having short stories published in literary magazines (blah!!!) and without a list of awards under my belt, who is going to show an interest in me? With the book market the way it is – book publishers going out of business, turning long time authors away - there aren’t many agents looking to take on new, undiscovered talent. Sure I’ve had some interest. Some have asked to see completed manuscripts and some have even asked for rewrites and revisions before saying no.

Some might say I’m not willing to work hard enough for it. Sure I could publish myself (I have!) and market it myself to bookstores (this is now what you have to do even if a big publishing house picks you up), but I don’t want to. I’m not a salesperson or an editor. I can’t find all my mistakes myself and I’m not willing to fork over thousands of dollars for professional editing when I would never make that back by just selling a few copies to friends and family (half of which I just give away anyway). That takes the fun out of writing it. I love to write. I love to read what I’ve written and I’m willing to share it with whoever is interested. If you don’t like it, that’s fine. All that matters is that I do like it and that I am writing something that is important and dear to me. The first time I self-published, I had a hard time letting people read my work. I was nervous about their opinions. It was like they were reading my intimate thoughts. I’ve gotten over that somewhat and am ready to share more for those who want to read.

I wrote the final two books last summer, but haven’t self-published yet. They are a little different than other novels I have written, one is a little darker; one is more fun and lively with frank, intimate discussions among friends. After writing them I kind of stopped writing for awhile. I was dried up, out of ideas and out of inspiration. My dad was sick and thinking of him consumed my thoughts. I haven’t even blogged about anything – for a long time. (He is still very sick and now in hospice). I also received some advice from author Claire Cook that went something like this. "Wait. Wait until your children are grown and you have the time to really devote and focus on your writing and trying to market it to agents. It's is really a full time job."

Reading helps bring the inspiration back. But sometimes I get stuck in lifeless novels that once I finish I am depressed (they got published???). Then I’ll read something with so many twists and turns and controversial topics (if that’s what publishers want, I’m not doing it). Next I’ll read something amazing and think, “Wow, I could never write something that great.” Today I finished a novel by Elin Hilderbrand – The Love Season. It was definitely a “wow” moment and is what got my creative juices flowing again. She writes beautifully and makes me want to be better and try harder.

Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. We’ll see what the creativity brings me. But first, I will honestly work on finalizing my latest two novels for those of you who have been waiting patiently for them. After looking back over my life as a writer, I have realized that I can never escape it. Writing is as much a part of my as my curly hair. It's who I am and what I love to do as a hobby more than anything else. Even if I never get books into bookstore, I will always have them on my shelves for my children to read someday (for the most recent, they have to be at least 35!) So in a way I am living my dream (I never would have survived in the jungle anyway. I hate bugs and dirt!). I am a writer by my own terms. And I know my career as a writer is just getting started. Twelve more years till Kylie is in college. . .then maybe. . .we'll see!

Merry Christmas from the Davis Family

Going Green

We have decided to go green this year and save on paper and ink for our Holiday Newsletter. If you still want a paper copy, you can download the printable version by clicking on the link on the side (Coming soon! Keep checking back!). Otherwise here is the blog version which has a little more detail since I'm not confined to less space!
Our Losses

We were saddened by the losses of two special family members this year. Tom's Grandmother Davis, Teresa passed away shortly after Christmas last year at the age of 95. Her funeral was touching and memorable. Here is a photo of the girls with their distant cousin, Ridley at the wake.

In October, Tom's Great-Aunt and Godmother Millicent Lynch passed away at the age of 86. She was a sweet lady who was still independent. This is a photo that Kylie took of her during the girls' last visit with her last spring.
Our Trips

We ended 2007 with a trip to New York City and then onto Carlisle, PA to visit Tom's brother Steve and his family. We had a blast in NYC visiting the American Girl Doll store for shopping and brunch, seeing the Rockettes' Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall and had many adventures aboard the subway.

We enjoyed Christmas at Steve's with many hours of playing Wii and much laid back, fun family time - sharing our traditions and learning new ones. Here's a family photo of the whole clan and then one of the cousins together.

In July we traveled to Vermont to visit friends and attend the Vermont Brew Fest. Along the way we enjoyed visiting Ben and Jerry's, the ECHO aquarium and Sherborne Farm.

August found me and the girls in Kansas for our annual trip. They love spending time with their cousin Alex. We visited the farm, the arboretum and hung out with him at his house and kiddie pool. My dad was thankfully feeling pretty well during this visit and was able to enjoy time with us.

I went back to Kansas on my own for 8 days at Thanksgiving time due to my dad's medical setbacks. This was a tough time for all of us.

Tom's Surprise

Yes, it's true, Tom is now 40! I (along with his parents' help) threw him a big surprise bash. But the biggest surprise was the fact that his buddies from college came into town (from Florida and Vermont) to celebrate with him. A good time was had by all.

He continues to try to keep up with his running as much as possible and volunteers at the races when his schedule allows. The business is still busy as usual and keeping steady. Let's keep our fingers crossed that it's not affected by the rough economy. He has created a new blog that looks spectacular! If you go to his blog at www.northernimagesstudio.com/blog/ you can click on Videos to see him in action. You'll see the whole family if you click on the BIO section.

Kelli's Corner

I continue to keep a busy schedule with working per diem as an OT and in Tom's office as much as I can around Kylie's half day kindergarten schedule. I also continue to be a Brownie leader and Sunday School teacher and this year started a small Daisy troop for Kylie. I stay active with my group of friends and continue to write when I have the time, but mostly enjoy reading, catching up with friends on facebook and blogging.

I had an increase in swallowing problems this year and went in for my esophagus to be stretched a few months ago. The doctor found 3 rings in my esophagus that were causing some of the issues and after a biopsy also found eosiniphilic esophagitis (an allergy in the esophagus). These two issues combined were really causing some problems. I am now on an inhaler to help keep the allergy at bay. It really seems to help.

Melanie's Corner

As always Melanie is enjoying school and all her activities. She is now in 3rd grade and her favorite subject is social studies. She is making good grades and continues to enjoy piano lessons, Brownies and has traded in gymnastics classes for a dance class. She will be in the same recital this year as Kylie. This year's show will be Alice In Wonderland. Melanie has two dances she will be a part of and has to do a cartwheel on stage. Eek!

Melanie also enjoys drama. She participated in a drama class in the spring in which she performed as the Big Bad Wolf. Over the summer, she had a blast in a two week drama camp and is lucky to have a teacher this year who happens to be the drama teacher for the upper grades. They do several Reader's Theater performances throughout the year and her teacher is was very proud of how much Melanie came out of her shell for the first performance.

The Chiari diagnosis that she received at the end of last year has been debated among several doctors. Basically she does have a herniation of her brain stem of about 3 mm. The technical definition of Chiari is 5 mm, so some doctors don't consider it an issue (it's a debated subject). Also, the MRI of her spine indicated tethered cord (which would require surgery if it was there), but on further review by doctors it is now another "grey" area. It has been frustrating getting one diagnosis by one doctor, only to have another doctor dispute it a few months later. But, nonetheless, she is doing great. She is being seen by a terrific GI doctor (locally, thank goodness) and is managing very well on her medication. She continues to have painful leg cramps once in awhile but with a little Tylenol, she is able to get past them. We are relieved surgery is not necessary, but we will continue to monitor her closely for other symptoms.

Kylie's Corner

Kylie is really enjoying kindergarten and has made several new friends. She seems so grown up, getting on that big bus every day. She was a little Tinkerbell in this year's recital and is looking forward to doing a tap routine this year. She enjoys being a Daisy Girl Scout and is getting ready to sell cookies for the first time!

She has also found a new activity she enjoys - cheerleading! She's so cute as the little flyer for her team and loves the social aspect of being with that group of girls. She continues to get speech therapy at school for articulation, but sometimes I wonder if she really needs it! She certainly has a lot to say! She is full of energy, spirit and zest as well as a stubborn streak a mile long (must get that from her dad!). Her teacher says she is extremely quiet and well behaved in school. . ..huh???

Jayhawk's Corner

Poor Jayhawk has never had a spot in our newsletter due to space restrictions. But this year I thought we should let him have a say too. He wants everyone to know that he is now 10 1/2 years old, is a little greyer and a little lumpier than he was last year. He took a 2 hour trip one day and we all got worried about him and even went out in our PJs to go look for him. When he came back he was wet and sore. . .could barely walk. . .and wasn't talking about where he had been. He still loves to swim, play fetch and go for hikes. Although now after any activity he has to take an arthritis pill if he wants to climb the stairs sometime that week.

Over the summer he went to doggie camp with Melanie and actually took 1st place in the dog show at the end of the week. We all thought that was hilarious since he is about the worst behaved dog there is. The instructors said it was because Melanie had to work a little harder to keep him in line and she did a great job.

Health in the family

My dad is currently struggling with his cancer diagnosis. If you remember from last year's newsletter, he was diagnosed with stage 4 bile duct cancer after gall bladder surgery in October of 2007. He underwent chemo from January to October of this year and was going along fine until his tumor markers and symptoms suddenly increased. At that time he had to go for surgery again to remove a bowel obstruction. After surgery he suffered from many complications including sepsis that was difficult to treat. He spent 21 days in the ICU and that is when I made the trip out there. Just last week he was discharged to a rehab facility where he is very anxious to go home, but continues to have some medical issues keeping him from getting the therapy he needs. He has yet to see the oncologist again to see if she will continue with the chemo once he has recovered. It's a long tough road, but he is a fighter! Keep him in your prayers!!!!

Mom has done well after her Chiari decompression surgery last year and hasn't had any further major complications.

Tom's father continues to do well in remission from his cancer, but struggles with his own swallowing problems from the radiation he received in his throat. He has had his throat stretched several times to be able to swallow anything more than soup. It was great to spend Easter with him when he was able to eat a real ham dinner for the first time in a long time.


Tom's step-dad, Dean underwent a knee replacement in November and he has recovered very well from it.

Hope this finds everyone healthy, happy and prosperous this Christmas season! Here's some photos from our fall photo session - compliments of Northern Images Photography!

Love, Kelli, Tom, Melanie, Kylie and Jayhawk!

Halloween, Plimouth Plantation and health updates

The girls had a great time on Halloween collecting more candy than they could ever eat. (Seriously, I think I found old candy from last Halloween at the back of my cupboard - Ew). Melanie posed as a veterinarian (her future career choice), wearing scrubs made by Beach Grammy, my old OT lab coat and Janet's old stethoscope. Kylie was a little kitty with a broken paw Dr. Mel was taking care of. They came up with the idea completely on their own.


This week, I accompanied Melanie's 3rd grade on a field trip to the Mayflower II and Plimouth Plantation. It was a beautiful fall day and we all had a good time. We've been a couple of times before, so most of the information we had learned in the past, but it was good to have a refresher. Melanie enjoyed listening to the Wampanoag woman tell stories inside the long house the best out of the whole trip (picture of the woman below holding the tomahawk).

Sitting on one of the beds aboard the Mayflower. Looks like comfy sleeping for 67 days

Listening to one of the "sailors"

Captain Jones' quarters

The bow of the Mayflower II

Melanie and some friends inside a Wetu (Wampanoag summer home)

Above: All the girls inside a mishoon - a hollowed out canoe (had to ask Melanie how to spell it) Below: Watching a member of the Wampanoag nation making a mishoon

Hearing about real tomahawks

An overview of Plimouth Plantation from the fort. That is Plymouth Bay out beyond the village


The girls sitting on a cannon inside the fort

Melanie had a bout of walking pneumonia that has seemed to go away after a dose of antibiotics. She felt fine, slept fine, ate fine, normal energy level, but just had a nasty cough. She ended the antibiotics yesterday, but I heard her cough this morning. Hope it was just the dry air.

My dad has had a setback with his cancer fight. They found some nodules on the outside of his lungs and now has to have more intense chemo (although the area in his abdomen looked better). The good thing about this round of chemo is he can take it orally, so no more weekly trips to KC for awhile. But it has way more side effects than he had before and now feels awful. He has the chemo one week on, one week off and just finished the first week. I hope this week off he is able to regain some of his strength and energy and get out of the house a little. He has a follow up appointment with his oncologist this week.

Mom has been doing ok, but unfortunately has a weak, hoarse voice. She has been to her doctor and an ENT and has had repeat MRIs. One of the MRIs shows an increase in the syrinx size and she has a neurosurgeon appointment this week to follow up on that. I wonder if the syrinx could be causing the hoarseness (pressing on a nerve), but the ENT seemed to think it was just reflux and she needed to rest her voice.

That's it for now. It's been a busy fall and we finally have a day without birthday parties or other social events to go to for the first time in several weeks. Time to start Christmas/birthday shopping!

In Memory of Aunt Millicent

Tom's Aunt and Godmother Rose Millicent Lynch passed away last Friday at her home in Marshfield at the age of 86. She was a great lady, so kind and considerate of others and still living on her own right up until her last few weeks of life. She will be greatly missed by all. Melanie's middle name is Rose and she will always remember Aunt Millicent as being whom she was named after. Millicent had six children, all who will be gathered together tonight and tomorrow for her memorial services in Marshfield. Here are some photos taken of her last visit with the girls this past spring when Janet was in town.