The Littlest Lew

Welcome Rosie. The newest addition to our family.**


This picture shows how small she is compared to Matthew. It is a wonder that she knows how to walk because she hardly ever gets to. The kids insist on holding/snuggling/petting her every waking moment.

**A full recount of how Rosie came to our home is forthcoming. I am still too traumatized to relive it.

3-4 weeks :(

This is my left leg. I strained my achilles tendon**. No tennis for 3-4 weeks. I am sad.

**I strained it playing tennis in the championship match of a local tournament. There was no way I was going to default so I kept playing. We won. It was worth it.

Here it comes!

Baseball season! Gotta Love it!


Sometimes I wonder if baseball for me is a chicken or the egg situation. This year I can say that I truly am excited for the games to start and I really love to watch baseball.

Finished

Well...kind of finished. We are finally 99% finished with our basement remodel. Our new couch came today and the only things left to do is paint the doors and move the treadmill. It was a long long road and it is good to be done (mostly). Here are some pictures.

Before. These were taken after we started taking stuff apart but you get the idea.


Yes our TV stand is actually a book shelf turned on its side. Resourceful but sad.


We basically redid the fireplace with new built ins on both sides of the room. Did new lighting, plantation shutters, carpet and paint. We FINALLY ditched the disgusting white sectional (well not really ditched because it is in the video room for the kids) and got some new pieces and long-term borrowed some chairs from my mom.





One of my favorite things in the room is the rainbow arrangement of kids books. Matt doesn't like it but on this one I think he is wrong.

Girls Girls Girls. Righteous Ones!

For those of you that don't know I am currently serving in my church in the Young Women's organization. This is a program in our church that involves girls ages 12-18 in spiritual instruction and church based activities.

When I was asked to serve in this capacity I cried. Not because I was sad or scared, it was because I felt completely unworthy. As some of you ladies who grew up in the LDS church know, all Young Women leaders are like gold to these girls. I IDOLIZED my Young Women's leaders, Michelle and Val (to name a couple), and I didn't think I could EVER be like them. They were righteous, fun, beautiful, crazy, spiritual and much more. I loved them so so much and still do. Here I was presented the chance to be like Michelle and Val and bawling my head off. I finally got a grip and of course I accepted the invitation to serve and I have loved every minute of it.

Other callings (as these positions are referred to in our church) have been fun and then turned to drudgery as time went on. Not this one. I truly believe that the Lord has blessed me with such a great love for each of "my girls" that I am happy to do whatever I need to for them. I am not saying that I am even close to being as good of a leader as Michelle or Val but I am trying and I hope that I can make a difference in my girls' lives for good.

Here is a picture of most of us at New Beginnings this year. Who is that in the back row right under the numbers? Why it is Elaine Dalton, the current General Young Women's president (for the entire worldwide LDS church). We are soooo lucky to have her in our ward and she was kind enough to speak to us at our New Beginnings. Yeah Awesome!


Almost all of my Laurels at the time. Me, Miss S., Miss A., Miss E., Sis. Dalton, Miss M., Miss L, and Miss A. Missing are Miss O. and Miss B.

Little Brother

Just tryin' to get a better view.

Second Place!

Sports, Sports, Sports! We never stop and I love it. One of our family's latest sporting excursions was a trip to St. George last month for Katie's soccer tournament. Their team did great with a 3-1 record and they won 2nd place. Pretty good for their first outdoor play since last fall.

Matthew sure looks like a soccer player though it is the only sport he doesn't play.

Nostalgia?

My kids are growing up waaaayyyy too fast for my taste. For anyone who knows me I am not really sentimental or nostalgic about too many things. I am finding though that this is getting less and less true about my kids growing up. For the first time lately I have found myself wanting to snuggle and hug my not so little kids more. Maybe that is because they are all really too big to do that anymore. Luckily "Baby Jake" can fold his legs up and still fit on my lap and the triplets who are too big for lap snuggles have moved into standing hugs. I just need to enjoy this stage while they are still willing to hug me because that will end too.

This post was sparked by the discovery of this picture of Claire. She is 9 years old in this one and she still looks so young. I love it because it is sooooo her. Right down to the slightly messy hair.

Guilt

The last thing I need in my busy life these days is more guilt. Guilt that I play tennis instead of having a clean house. Guilt that I have an office in the basement that has been PACKED with stuff for over a year and still haven't cleaned it out so that Matt can work down there. Guilt that I didn't send out Christmas cards last year. These are just a few examples of my guilty thoughts; there are many many more mostly related to my inability to be organized and tidy.

Unfortunately this blog is a big source of guilt for me. Obviously I haven't posted for a while nor am I good at posting about big events in our family's life. Since the whole purpose of the blog is journaling I have failed. I am now going to try harder to keep up with this blog. I am not going to set a goal because I have a strong aversion to setting goals (a very long explanation for later) but I will try harder. At least to get rid of the guilt.

Jake turns 9

Happy Birthday to my baby Jake. Sadly my baby has not been a baby for along time--he has turned 9. As I have stated many times before, I am NOT a very sentimental person. I tend to live in the moment without spending too much time pining for times gone by. Anyway, I am surprised at how sentimental I am about Jake growing up. He is officially too big to fit in a ball on my lap but luckily he is not too old to want to snuggle. We are so blessed to have him in our family and I am so blessed to get to be his Mother.

10 things I love about Jake:
He has the cutest dimples
He has "chomper" teeth - very straight and big for his head at the moment
He is super smart
He loves to snuggle
His memory is like a steel trap
He LOVES his Dad (and me too but not as much as Matt)
He is incredibly athletic
He is almost always happy (except for when Matthew is picking on him or when he has to got to piano lessons)
Everyone loves him
He is my baby.

Jake (his name fits him perfectly)

Birthday cake for breakfast in bed

Birthday gifts in bed

Christmas 2010

Christmas this year came fast and left fast. It was a busy season filled with get togethers and family parties. This year we were happy to host Anne and Brian in from Virginia. It is probably their last Christmas in the states for a while because they are headed to Conakry, Guinea next August.

Here are some pictures from our Christmas Eve program at Grandma and Grandpa Clawson's and a few from Christmas morning. For some reason I wasn't feeling it to take a lot so the pickin's are slim.

Thomas, Katie, Abby, and Claire

Brian doing a reading.

The family listening to the program about the birth of Christ. I love Anne and Brian looking lovingly in each other's eyes. They are not technically newlyweds but still act like it. Cutest!

Katie and Claire are in orchestra and band this year at school and have new talents to share.

Grandpa Brad and Ry reading us a story.

Claire. She is sure growing up! (stop it please!)

Claire opening a certificate to get her ears pierced!

Katie
Jake showing off his Michael Jackson glove. He got the Michael Jackson experience for the wii. Both of my boys love to dance! (shhh it's a secret though)

Matthew with a few gifts on. Fuzzy hat, fake ray ban glasses, and striped socks. Classy!


We are truly blessed by all that we have both temporally and spiritually! Most of all we are grateful for our wonderful family and friends that bless our lives daily.

Fall Sports

To me it seems like in the blink of an eye it was over. Our Fall sports season. Boy was it a busy one - just the way we like it around the Lewis household. We started out at the end of the Summer with a very small break (2 weeks) between baseball and football and between soccer and soccer. Matt promised that he wouldn't coach football this year -- he did. I promised that I wouldn't get all stressed out when I had to attend 3 soccer games in one day -- I did. With the exception of those broken promises, our fall sports season turned out to be a great one.

Kate played her first season on an Impact competition team this Fall. She had been training all Summer with her team but started playing games in the Fall. While the team improved leaps and bounds over the season they had a hard time actually winning games. That didn't seem to faze Katie much though, she just loves to be with her team. She has had a nice 4 week break but now starts up Winter futsal this week.

Jake is playing in the Joga Soccer Academy. He decided a long time ago that he wanted to stay with soccer this Fall and not play tackle football. I though he would change his mind when his friends started to play but he didn't and boy am I glad for that decision. He loved it! Jake is a great little soccer player and I love to watch him. Of all my kids he has the best sense for the ball. He is incredibly fast, can win almost every ball and is a key player on his team. It was a good season for Joga U9 -- I think they ended up tied for 1st place. Pretty good for a start up team. Jake had a 1 week break and has already started winter futsal training and starts basketball next week.

Claire decided at the last minute (or maybe I should say caved to her father's pressure) to play soccer this fall. She had a rocky start because she was put on a team where she only knew one other player (that was even a lucky break). After a few weeks she warmed up to the team and ended up making a bunch of new friends. Claire is a tough defender and one of the best out there. Her soccer academy training from last year really paid off. To Claire's great delight, she has a 4 month break before starting soccer in the Spring.

Now for our champions Matt and Matthew. Matthew's football team just won the championship game yesterday. It was a fantastic season for the team and for Matthew. He is really getting the game now. He is agressive and skilled and got to play a lot of fun positions on both sides of the ball. In the beginning I was a little upset that Matt ended up coaching football this year but in the end it turned out to be a great decision. I think he really enjoyed the team and spending time with Matthew. Matt and Matthew now have less than one week before basketball starts.

Here are some pictures from the season. (Regrettably, I didn't take any of Claire - it seems like when I took my camera something happened and I had to leave the game - Sorry Claire)

Kate Battling for the Ball

Kate

Big Smiles

Jake - Intense!

Going for the score.

I love the tongue sticking out.

Matthew with the sweep.

One of his touchdown passes.

The Champs.

Halloween

Halloween is definitely not my most favorite holiday during the year. Probably because of the amount of work it is for me (the mom) to get everyone ready. This year though was a little bit better. The girls mostly got their costumes all by themselves and I just had to find the boys' stuff. Maybe every year Halloween will be a little easier for me thus regaining it's former popularity in my life.

The Halloween season was of course prolonged with trunk or treat at the church; then the school parade, and finally the actual trick or treating. This year the triplets went with friends (no parents) and survived. Jake went with a friend and his big sister so I enjoyed the evening trying to read in between passing out candy. It was a good night.

Matthew arranging his trick or treating group.


Jake the sumo. Easiest costume of all time!

Claire the Sassy Cat.

Katie the 8o's Barbie

Nachoooooo!

Birthday Bouncin'

Tonight our family celebrated my Dad's birthday. He turns 65 this year and my Mom thought it would be fun to surprise him with a party at Bouncin' Off the Walls (a local warehouse filled with lots of bouncy things). Well we knew that all of the grandkids would have a good time but who knew that even the adults would too. We had such a great time and I think my Dad especially did. Both Grandma and Grandpa were spotted zooming down the giant bouncy slide. Here are some fun pics from the party.

The birthday boy with Abby and Claire
Cuties - Claire, Caroline, and Thomas
Little Ry Ry
Davey didn't like bouncing but he liked the basketball.
The Hippie duo - Andrew and Natalie.
We did so much fun stuff...we played air hockey
We slid
...and slid
and slid some more.
Andrew and Tony were silly,
Grandpa blew out his candles
Caroline did too (they get to share a birthday!)
and opened presents.
Here are Grandma and Grandpa with almost all the grandkids (Matthew was missing)
Here is almost everyone. (Matthew and Brian were missing)
Happy Birthday Dad. You are a good Dad, and Grandpa and we love you very much!