In the midst of a world grappling with the uncertainties of Covid, Bob and I decided to seize the opportunity for a much-needed escape to Florida. With the cold December chill settling into our bones in Chicago, the allure of warm weather and the chance to reunite with family was very appealing.

Upon our arrival in Florida, we were met with the comforting embrace of family, albeit with a bittersweet caveat. While my mom greeted us with open arms, my dad made the difficult decision to keep his distance, driven by his concerns for everyone's safety amidst the ongoing pandemic. Though his absence cast a shadow over our visit, we respected his decision and endeavored to make the most of our time with those who were able to join us.

The journey itself was an adventure in its own right, marked by the presence of our loyal companion, Hunter, our sweet pup. Doing a road trip with him in tow added an extra layer of joy and spontaneity to our travels, as we made pit stops along the way to stretch our legs and take in the sights.

We also had the pleasure of flying our daughter, Alli, and my brother, Scotty, to Florida to join us. Their presence added an extra dimension of warmth and laughter to our family gathering, as we relished in the simple joys of being together again after a prolonged period of separation.

We rented a cozy Airbnb home, which served as the perfect home base for our Florida adventures. Nestled amidst the palm trees and bathed in the golden glow of the Florida sun, our temporary abode provided a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

One of the highlights of our trip was undoubtedly the precious moments spent with my mom. Whether we were enjoying leisurely walks, savoring home-cooked meals together, or simply basking in each other's company, those memories will forever hold a special place in our hearts.

As our time in Florida drew to a close and we prepared to return to the familiar embrace of home, we couldn't help but reflect on the significance of our journey. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, our family trip to Florida served as a poignant reminder of the enduring power of love, resilience, and the bonds that unite us, even in the face of adversity.

In the end, our trip was not just about escaping the cold or indulging in sunny escapadesit was about reaffirming the importance of family, cherishing moments of togetherness, and finding solace in the warmth of each other's presence. And for that, we are endlessly grateful.

Another year has passed and we celebrated our kid's "Gotcha Home Day". It's hard to believe it's been 11 years since we touched down at O'Hare airport and went through customs with our kiddos. Bobby was 4.5 and Alli was 3.5 at the time. They are now 15.5 and 14.5 years old. CRAZY....... absolutely pure craziness. I always wanted to adopt and when Bob and I were going through the process, it was really difficult. At the time, it seemed that everything and anything could go wrong, did go wrong. But then I began praying in DETAIL to God, and when I mean detail, I mean, names, dates, addresses of where the adoption committee was meeting next. I could not get more specific with God begging Him to be there at those meetings so we could finally bring our children home. And it wasn't long, weeks I think, that after I started praying specifically did He answer our prayers. We waited an entire year to hear the words "It's time!"

And now, our son Bobby is talking about where he wants to attend college. And, our daughter, Alli is going to be graduating 8th Grade in May. Seriously??? It just seems that life is flying by faster than I can say.... "breathe".

Every year, on February 13th, Bob takes an annual photo of our kiddos. The very first photo was taken in 2002 at Casa de Copii in Chisinau, Moldova the first time Bob met our kids. We haven't missed a year since. We bought Alli a Papusheka (doll) on our way to Moldova and it's made an appearance in every photo since then.

I don't even know how to describe how much we love our kids. They were born in our hearts. People always comment on how lucky they are because we adopted them, but the truth is, we are the lucky ones. We are so blessed to have them in our lives. I may not have given birth to our kids, but we are their parents and we love them with every ounce of our heart and soul. They have forever changed us, and we will always be thankful that God heard our prayers. We give Him the glory every single day of our lives.

It's been wonderful to see many photographers we've met in the industry go through the adoption process and be blessed the same way we have, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.

And if you would like to view our adoption video on our website, here's the link...
https://bobanddawndavis.com/about-us/#adoption-video

No laughing at my clothes or my dancing and bring tissues! Don't say I didn't warn you!

Today is a VERY SPECIAL day in our lives...! 10 very long years ago we walked through customs at O'Hare airport with our two beautiful children. Yes, we arrived home that day in complete tears after a long and difficult journey to adopt our kiddos. They are biological siblings from Chisinau, Moldova. When we were going through the process, it was one heartache after another. Every day felt like a year. And now........ every year feels like a day! It's amazing how fast time passes once you have kids! We are a family........... a forever family and we give God the glory every single day!

Well, here's the photo for everyone who knows us and those who may be reading this for the first time, the one we take every year on the same day, February 13th. It began with the first photo taken in 2002 at Casa de Copii, the orphanage they lived in for three and a half years. Every year on that same day, Bob takes the same photo of them with Papusheka (Alli's little doll). It was the first gift we ever gave her.

Adoption has been the biggest blessing in our lives. It's changed everything about us. Our kids have given us far more than we could ever provide for them. They are our children, maybe not through blood, but through the grace of God. They were born in our hearts. We love you Bobby and Alli always and forever, amen! If you're thinking about adopting, please know that you can ask us anything!

And if you would like to view our adoption video on our website, here's the link...
https://bobanddawndavis.com/about-us/#adoption-video

No laughing at my clothes or my dancing! And bring tissues... don't say I didn't warn you!

Is anyone as confused as I am that Christmas is just 2 days away? How did that happen? CRAZY I tell ya, it was just yesterday we were ringing in the new year! Wasn't it? Well, we are settling into the realization that Santa will be visiting the Davis family again very soon! It's a good thing we've all been on our very best behavior all year long.... yep, that's right, all year long. Shhhhh, that's what we told Santa!

We are so happy to have my mom and dad visiting from Florida. They are missed so much throughout the year. My mom comes in a couple of times a year to take care of our kids while Bob and I travel for our business, which we are so grateful to have her help. We don't get to spend a lot of time together when she comes in because she needs to get home to my Dad. So, it's always incredibly special to have them with us at the holidays. My brother, Scotty, will be in town from Ohio and he is always a joy to have around. Our kids love him so much because he's like a big kid himself. My step-mom will be visiting from Arizona too, so it's going to be really fun to see her. And of course, we'll be visiting Bob's side of the family as well, who are also very special to us. Blessed we are......... indeed!

For breakfast this year we're going to have some yummy Williams-Sonoma chocolate croissants that were sent to us from the beautiful Benton family! Thank you Roxie, Curt, Bevan and April...!!! We love you all so much. And a big thank you goes to Jen Hester and Kenny Kim for taking really wonderful family photos for us! xoxoxo!!!

I can't wait to spend the holiday with our family! I wish that we spent more quality time with our extended family during the year but I will take what I can get. Bob and I get so busy and I reluctantly admit that we don't take the time to stop and relax with friends and family as much as we'd like. It's one thing that I want to really work on in the new year.

This year we sent out 300 cards and it was really hard to narrow it down. We have an extraordinary amount of people that we really wanted to say thank you to and wish them a happy holiday. Every year our business continues to grow and we are grateful to God for blessing our lives with amazing clients, vendors, and friends (personally and throughout the photography industry).

We wish each and everyone of you peace in your heart as you spend the holiday with your loved ones. We pray for the families who are struggling in any way or without their their loved ones this holiday. May your heart be lifted in praise this Christmas for the wonderful gift of Jesus and the joy He brings to our lives. Have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year.

May 2012 bring us all much happiness, good health, and prosperity!

Much love...

~ Bob, Dawn, Bobby and Alli, The Davis Family!

It's been a whirlwind year so far and it's only March! I don't even know where to begin to say how incredibly grateful we are to have the love and support from our family, friends and photographers around the world. There are days I sit in my closet, I know weird but it's where I get the most quiet time, and pray to God for forgiveness because maybe I haven't used my words with Grace or that I got upset because I had to get up again and let the dog in and his paws were slathered in mud. I'm am not perfect, I have so many flaws.

But mostly, I'm thankful to God for all the blessings He has brought our way. We are truly fortunate to have found our God given talents and even more so that we can share them with others. I am forever indebted to Him. I praise Him like no other.

Our faith is by far most important to us. And our family, well, they are so incredibly special to us. Sometimes, I know I'm hardest on my family. So, I feel so blessed that they love me so much. I love them too. My mom is the most incredible woman I know. She is strong and stubborn, I'm much like her. We are both so blessed to have incredibly patient husbands. My dad, my hero, passed away in 1996. I know he knew I was in good hands with Bob. He also knew that my mom's husband, my stepdad, was the next best thing to a real dad to me. I am in good hands indeed.

I wanted to share some long over due photos from our Dude Ranch trip we took last Labor Day with my parents. My mom turned 75 that weekend and she was riding horses. Amen!!!

YOU CAN SEE A TON MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS TRIP ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE HERE.

Wishing everyone a beautiful weekend...!

xoxoxo

~ Dawn

Ps: Thanks to Pixel 2 Canvas, I sent my Mom and Dad a huge canvas for Christmas!

Many of you know that our children are adopted. They are biological siblings from Chisinau, Moldova. We've been a forever family for 9 years now. It's hard to believe it's gone by so fast.

Every year we take a photo of Bobby and Alli on the same day February 13. The first one was taken in 2002 at Casa de Copii, the orphanage they lived in. Every year on that same day, Bob takes the same photo of them with Papusheka (Alli's little doll). It was the first gift we ever gave her.

We have our adoption video on our website if you're interested...
https://bobanddawndavis.com/about-us/#adoption-video

No laughing at my clothes or my dancing! And bring tissues... don't say I didn't warn you!

Wishing you all a wonderfully happy 4th of July! Be safe. God bless!

~ Bob, Dawn, Bobby + Alli

Our trip to Switzerland started off pretty rough due to a pretty bad car accident within our first 6 hours of being there. Miraculously, none of us were seriously hurt. Bumps and bruises and a little whiplash, nothing to complain about. God was really watching over us big time. Someone said to me... "It's hard to believe you think God was watching over you when this accident happened. Don't you think if He was really watching over you this accident wouldn't have happened at all." It was a legitimate comment but I don't think that at all.

It continues to break my heart hearing about Haiti and the people who are hurting, dying, or buried alive. Our family doesn't watch TV, or much of it, so we're not always on top of the news. I get most of my news through feeds like CNN or Twitter. I know... crazy. Bob worked in the newspaper industry for a long time and when he left, we didn't want to hear all the sad news anymore. This doesn't mean that we turn our heads to sad news, we just don't want to be consumed by it daily. When something is hit so hard like Haiti, we want to know, we want to help. We chose to give to DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS for this cause. I have to be completely honest and say the reason why we chose them is because I had heard that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie gave a million dollars to them. I hope that is true, and my heart tells me it is. As many people speak negatively about them, I happen to love the things they have done is this world. I aspire to give as much as they have. They have provided a forever family to multiple children, we have for two. Needless to say, Doctors Without Borders is an amazing organization and I hope that the donation we provided, as miniscule as it may seem in this horrific devastation, helps a little bit.

If you can give one dollar or one million dollars, please do. Our brothers and sisters in Haiti need our help.

God bless us all...

~ Dawn