Some photos were just found in the Davis archive (thanks to Bradley) that reveal 1) the evolution of the Chick-fil-A mascot and 2) just how long CFA has been in Brian’s life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So who is Doodles? He was the first CFA mascot — the “c” in the CFA logo. He reigned in the spotlight until 1995, when the Cows took center stage.

The photos of Doodles and Brian (cute little boy in the blue stripes) were taken circa 1989 — only three years after CFA opened their first free-standing unit. Doodles came to visit Brett and Brian’s preschool.

And now, Vera had her picture taken with the Cow! The legacy continues…

 

As we continue to explore Greensboro sights and tastes, it seems we are discovering more we want to experience!

On a rainy night, we ventured out to Maxie B’s, a bakery and dessert cafe. I came with high hopes, and, was not disappointed!

After pursuing all the cakes on display, I settled on the Mocha Buttercream and Brian on the All-American Buttercream Cake. Yum! We had our own little room to nosh and savor.

While enjoying cake and coffee, I had an epiphany - if there were parallel universes or timelines (like on Fringe), and I had another version of myself, think I’d be a professional foodie. O the joys!

There are some days that I wonder how I became a stay-at-home mom who cloth diapers and makes her own baby food. I love this life and the season we are in, but the occasional outing that involves coffee and cake is definitely needed!

Keep your tie safe.

It’s hard to believe we are over halfway through our time in Greensboro. Since Brian’s CFA unit is located in a mall, December was definitely high traffic! The slower January pace has been nice, although it’s brought some unexpected challenges.

During Brian’s Interim Manager (IM) training, we tried to continue our practice of “cross training.” It’s a term we coined to describe passing on knowledge or information that we learn on an individual basis to each other. For example, I would try to teach Brian about Salvador Minuchin and his theory on structural family therapy when I was in grad school. (Not that he’s ready to get his counseling license, but he does know a thing or two about psychology!)

Visiting Brian on the weekends during his IM training, he would attempt to recap the things he was learning. One thing that stood out to me was the concept of having a GROWTH mindset. It is similar to being a life-long learner — always having an open mindset to re-evaluate things, improve, and evolve as needed. It means everyone has something to teach you — those in authority and those you are in authority over. Having a growth mindset turns mishaps into learning experiences. It keeps us humble, self-aware, and constantly growing as individuals and in our marriage.

What’s a marriage with a growth mindset look like? We did a little brainstorming and here’s what we came up with… spouses with a growth mindset are:

- open to admit they were wrong
- willing to learn new ways to load the dishwasher or fold the laundry
- quick to forgive
- continually pursuing one another (date nights, romancing, etc…)
- continually learning about the other (who they are and who they are becoming)

And now, the picture. Can you guess what is Brian learning? Make sure you take your tie out of the safe before you lock it.  Ah-ah!

Farmer's Curb Market

We had a lovely visit from our dear friends, Elizabeth and Jess, who are about to head off to Africa for a year with Africa Revolution. Elizabeth and I have been friends since 5th grade, and its been a joy to go through  life’s milestones together (even if from afar!). Now in their second year of marriage, we’re excited to see how God is going to grow their marriage and use them to minister to needs in Africa.

The Loaf Bakery

We enjoyed a few days together of cooking, tea drinking, listening to Jess play the mandolin, laughing, and a few escapades.

One of which was the Farmer’s Curb Market, which we put on our Greensboro to-do list. Before hitting the market, we stopped at the Loaf Bakery in downtown for some pastries and coffee.

The Farmer’s Curb Market had a number of local vendors and fresh produce. What couldn’t we leave without purchasing? Some Gorilla Grains Granola – a local ma and pa venture. We had a sample and were hooked!

We’ve been thoroughly enjoying Greensboro thus far. Today the weather was in the upper 60′s and felt like a lovely fall day. We went for brunch at Panera and explored Bur-Mill Park. We all ran on a paved trail, with Brian pushing Vera.

We enjoyed Bur-Mill’s educational nature center, a pond with geese, and the playground. We learned that there is a free bike loaning program, which lets you check out bikes to ride around the park – how neat!

Other accomplishments from our to-do list include shopping at Carolina Thrift and going to a concert at the Green Bean, a coffee house in downtown. Carolina Thrift has 50% off all clothing each Monday, so I got some great deal on a few things for Vera!

we sat right in the front window

For one of our date nights, we went downtown. Dinner was at Sushi Zen, where we shared some amazing sushi, our favorites being the Hot Mama and the Aloha Roll. Over some seasonally-flavored lattes and snicker-doodle cheesecake, we watched Supatight perform at the Green Bean.

The night concluded with a late-night movie at the Friendly Center. We fit as much as we could into our night while Mom Haegele spent the night and watched Vera for us! (Thank you!!!)

getting ready to send my hair in to Locks of Love

Ten inches…

That’s about how much of my hair is gone! (yikes!) I decided to go a little drastic this time I got my hair cut. It still feels a little strange to look in the mirror, but I’m enjoying the new style. (Thanks, Francesca!) I went for an angled bob, inspired by my sister, Lauren’s, haircut.

Locks of Love accepts donations of 10 inches or more and provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss. This was my second time donating hair, and I hope to do it again in the future.

I’m also over halfway through the Insanity workout – it’s the perfect workout routine to do while Vera naps. I started after Thanksgiving and am enjoying the added enjoy and a boost to getting the baby weight off! (And yes, it’s truly ‘insane’!)

the new 'do'

In early December, we docked in our newest location: Greensboro, NC. It will be our home until the end of February. Nestled in the piedmont of North Carolina, we are enjoying the temperate weather and being 1.5 hours from my parents in Raleigh. It will also be nice to have a duration longer than 1 month!

Just like Huntsville, we’ve made a list of several activities we want to complete during our stay here. Here’s the top 10 in random order:

our local library

1. Visit Maxie’s B’s Bakery and Dessert Cafe. (as seen in Southern Living Magazine)

2. Run at Bur-Mill Park. (I hear they have paved trails, which will be perfect for the jogging stroller!)

3. Go to the Kathleen Clay Edwards library branch (see photo!) – it’s less a mile from us!

4. Get some fresh produce at the Farmer’s Curb Market.

5. Visit Emily R. at Liberty University – only 1.5 hours away!

6. Take a ski trip.

7. Shop at Carolina Thrift. One of Brian’s team members recommends it.

8. Hang out with Laura and her husband, Adam. Laura and I have known each other since high school!

9. Eat breakfast at Herbie’s Place, a 24-hour diner.

10. Go to a concert at the Green Bean, a coffee house in downtown.

Been to Greensboro before? Have any things we should add to our list? Let us know!

Brian and Bethany bowling the CFA's Christmas party

For Christmas, I received a $25 gift card from Amazon from Bethany’s grandma. Wanting to get the most bang for my buck, I ordered some slightly used books. Here are the books I ordered:

I ordered these books on Christmas Day and had not yet received them when we left to visit my family in Atlanta on Dec 27. Due to some crazy wind, there were all sorts of delays and ground stops going on in the aviation world. For a while it looked like we weren’t going to be able to fly out that evening at all, but thankfully things changed and we boarded a very small and only half full plane.

We were sitting very close to the front of the plane, and I happened to overhear the three passengers (one man in his thirties and a couple in their sixties) talking. The younger man was talking about how he had spent some time with Dr. Henry Cloud (author of Boundaries and Integrity). For some reason, that’s what made things connect in my mind and I realized that this may in fact be Jeremie Kubicek. Jeremie is the CEO and founder of an organization called GiANT Impact which works in leadership development  and culture change. I first learned about Jeremie and GiANT working with IMPACT 360 when the students went to take a tour of their headquarters and hear Jeremie speak about leadership. It happened to be my day off, so I didn’t go, but Bethany did. GiANT also is the lead organization in helping Chick-fil-A plan and execute their Leadercast Event. Jeremie also happens to be very close friends with my small group leader in Marietta, Brandon Hutchins. While I had never met Jeremie, I feel like I should have. The funny thing is, I had ordered his book only two days before and it was coming in the mail!

I was nervous to introduce myself, so once the plane landed I double-checked his twitter status (I was already following him):

There was no question after that. Once the seatbelt light went off, I rushed up and introduced myself. I didn’t want to bother him too badly since he had been having a pretty wretched day, but I had to shake his hand. He was kind and had actually been talking to Brandon in the airport.

So that was pretty crazy by itself…but wait, there’s more!

I went to visit my friend Phil the day our flight went back to Atlanta. Phil and I have both read the Ender’s Game series by Orson Scott Card. Phil actually gave me the last book in the series (Children on the Mind) as a gift for my birthday last year and I finally finished reading it this past month. After finishing the book, I read his comments at the end and he mentions being at a used book store in Greensboro, NC. I then remembered that, yes, he is actually from Greensboro and still lives here. In fact, I discovered he has a small publishing company only five minutes from our apartment. I was joking with Phil that maybe I would get a chance to meet Orson at some point.

We were loading up on the plane ride home and I saw a man walk by and I just knew–it was him. But no, what were the chances in that and how could it be true? The more I looked I became convinced that it was him. He was sitting behind us on the plane, so after exiting I waited for him. I kept waiting, thinking I must have missed him…he wasn’t that far behind us on the plane after all. Finally, three people exited the plane at the very end. Then I said to Bethany, “No, I don’t think it’s him.” After all, he was wearing sneakers and listening to headphones.

Bethany took Vera into the restroom to change her, and the man’s daughter and wife stepped into the restroom as well. The man sat on a bench to wait, still listening to his headphones. I sat down on a bench across the way, observing slightly. Just wondering. Would I be missing my chance to meet him if it really was him? What could it hurt to ask? But no, there’s no way it’s actually him. I mean, come on. What are the chances?

Over the intercom: “Card, party of three, please come by the baggage services desk. Card, party of three.”

I guess that’s my cue.

His wife Christine and his daughter Zina came back from the restroom and talked to him for a moment. They were starting to get up to leave, and I finally walked up and asked,

“Hi. Are you Orson?”

“Yes?”

I shook his hand. “Hi, I’m Brian Davis. I’m a really big fan of yours.”

He smiled. His wife looked very lovingly at him.

“I saw you on the plane, and I thought could that be Orson?“

“I guess I look tired enough to be a writer,” he said with a laugh.

“I just finished reading Children of the Mind this month, actually,” I said.

“You’re the seventh person to ever finish reading that book,” he said, only a slight laugh this time.

“Well, I enjoyed it,” I said. “Thank you for all you do.”

“Do you live in Greensboro?” he asked me.

“I don’t. I’m here on part time business with Chick-fil-A. They move me around on temporary assignments with different stores.”

“That’s fantastic. It’s nice you get to live here for a little while,” he said.

They’re walking away at this point.

“Take care,” he says.

Bethany finally comes out of the restroom. I tell her about the conversation and we are following them as we head to the baggage claim. They are waiting at the desk and we are waiting for our bags. Eventually they move to leave, but Bethany stops him and insists that we get a picture together.

My mind is reeling from all this. What are chances that I would order these books and meet the authors on the planes? What is happening here? Is this entirely coincidental or is it providential?

For those of you who may not know, one of my side hobbies is fiction writing. I have written two novels and I have two more that I am working on just getting started. I know this for certain–I am going to keep writing in 2012. I may never become and Orson Scott Card or a Jeremie Kubicek, but I am Brian Andrew Davis and that’s all I have to be. As Bethany and I reflected on it, we realized that at the end of the day there is no cookie-cutter way to become an author or to be published. There’s also no promise of fame or grandeur. The only reason to write is because you can’t not write.

As Tim Elmore said recently in a blog post, I must do a better job this year of scheduling my priorities rather than prioritizing my schedule. Here’s to a 2012 full of:

1. Jesus
2. Bethany
3. Vera
4. Chick-fil-A
5. Writing
6. Staying Healthy
7. The Outdoors

At the end of November, we concluded our time in Huntsville, AL, and moved on to Greensboro, NC. We posted a “to-do” list while we were in AL – here’s some highlights of what we accomplished.

1.  Visit Unclaimed Baggage in Scottsboro

Ever wonder what happened that jacket you lost in the airport or that luggage that disappeared? Well, chances are it ended up in Scottsboro, AL. Unclaimed Baggage has the rights to any items lost in the airports or the planes. The place was packed out with anything and everything you can imagine. Angela (another IM’s wife), Vera, and I took a day to check this place out. I came back with a few new clothing items and accessories.

2. Hike the 1 mile trail from our apartment complex up the mountain

Check! We did this several times and enjoyed the clean air and mountain view.

3. Eat at one of the many authentic German restaurants in the area

Vera found the perfect moment to dive into our German Chocolate Cake frosting – while Brian was taking my picture (see below)! I bet she’s gonna be a chocolate lover like her momma.

We ate at Schnitzel Ranch, which is owned and operated by a family from Germany. Each table had a little flag to raise when you wanted your waitress to come to your table. And, the food was great!

 

A little video we put together of Vera’s first six months of life. Set to Matthew West’s song “Safe and Sound”.