Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Bangkok, Thailand - MTC on April 6th!!!!!

2010's year end was spent in Arizona. I have the most amazing husband who was willing to drive us all down to AZ and then spend most the time babysitting while I spent time with my parents. I am so grateful for him!
On December 27th, we got a call from the North Logan post office that David's mission call was there at the office (finally!) It had been sent on the 21st and been delayed with the Christmas mail. Our great friends, the Astle's, overnighted the call down to my parents home in AZ. That was a long day of waiting and a long night of trying to fall asleep at night! The next morning at around 11:45 the call came. What a moment! It was an amazing moment! We gathered the family around, including my parents, Mark, Ginger, and Grant! We called the Stott's (Grandma) and then LaLoni Estelle, who was @ BYU. Then David Hyrum opened his call! He would not even let me look at the letter as he read it. No trust!
David was called to the Bangkok, Thailand mission!!! He enters the MTC on my birthday, April 6th! What an amazing experience awaits him. Right before he opened the call he said, "I'm feeling Asia." He is so excited to be able to share his testimony with the people in Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos. Today marks 11 more weeks before he enters the MTC.
LaLoni Estelle flew down that night from Utah to be with us. We were all so happy to all be together again! The next day, David went through the Mesa, AZ. Words cannot even describe how awesome that was.

Monday, December 20, 2010

David suffered a mild stroke yesterday giving us all quite the scare. We are hoping for good news with his test coming back soon.
We were instantly surrounded by friends and loved ones. What a ward! I cannot even begin to express my gratitude for all of them.

On Sunday morning around 7:30, David said his mouth was numb. He had fruit snacks the night before and I was thinking it was maybe from something he ate. I headed off to ward choir and about an hour and a half later David came to the church looking for me. He had trouble saying things and seemed confused. His whole right side was numb now.
We went home, called around, and was told by the hospital to have an ambulance sent our way. We took off in our car to the Emergency Room (he actually let me take him which shows just how out of it he was!)
What a ride after this. EKG's, CAT scans, ultra sounds, blood tests....
Dave was finally sent home during Sacrament Meeting. I was suppose to play for the Young Woman's special musical number and lead the Primary children in their two Christmas songs. I had some amazing ladies sub for me! I did get there for the Primary part of the program nad got to here Rosey sing her solo.
As we walked out of the hospital our Bishop walked up to us. He came to get the scoop. The bishop was joking about how the story gets changed as it is spread around. Like when you are in a circle and you tell something to the person next to you and by the time it gets back to you it is completely different. He joked that by the time he got the message about Dave he heard Dave had been dead for a couple of hours.
Well, this has all been quite scary but I am so grateful for modern medicine and great help from all the doctors. Now we will be on top of all of this and hopefully keep it in check.

We are still waiting for David Hyrum's mission call. He is working at Lee's Marketplace and morning the fact that most of his friends are already gone.
LaLoni Estelle is now at BYU and working @ the MTC. We miss her very much! It feels like our family is so small now with only 8 of us at home.
Alexis is crazy busy! She did AMAZING at her encore performance last week. She never ceases to amaze me with her talent of performing.
Rosey did a beautiful job on her solo at the Christmas Sacrament Meeting Program - even though her Dad was not there do to the stroke.
Jonny is getting better at walking every day. He is our pure joy and the glue of this family!
Samuel is one tough kid! He had his tonsils and adenoids removed last Friday and is running around everywhere. He even went out and played in the snow the day after his surgery! Crazy kid.
Alvin Porter is into everything and discovering his high scream and how it makes his brothers laugh uncontrollably. He is talking a ton and getting very good at communicating! We love him!
Well, just a little about the family! Until next time!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

It has been so long! I must do better. A quick note on what is up.
LaLoni is now a junior at USU. Holy cow! She spent the summer working in Jackson, WY. I cannot even begin to describe how good it is to have her back!
David has graduated and is now working and saving for his mission which he will be leaving on next spring. He has already started saying good-bye to many friends who are leaving on their missions.
Alexis is crazy busy. She is the VP of her class and is in All-State Choir, Encore, Key Club.....
Rosey has been my right hand all summer! She is feeling very grown up going to middle school and having a top locker.
Jonathan is finding 3rd grade somewhat challenging. His little hands are having a hard time keeping up.
Sammy is loving our new back yard and is getting somewhat independent.
Porter is entering the word explosion phase. He is the center of attention and is way too much fun!
We are blessed beyond all expectations and are loving life.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Aunt Shirlene is 70 Years Young!










I hope Aunt Shirlene doesn not mind about me telling her age. If I look as great as she does at 70 then I know would not mind. We all love her and appreciatte her love for all of us Lewis kids. My memories of Aunt Shirlene just make me smile. She sure knew how to throw a party and how to shower all with gifts. And I do mean shower. I remember at our wedding reception we had three or four piles just from the Lees. That must have taken forever to shop for and then wrap each gift. But then there was Christmas! Each child would have his own huge garbage bag of gifts or more. There were 12 of us in the Lewis family! How fun it was!
In honor of Aunt Shirlene's big birthday we would like to list a few of our favorite things about her.

#1. Aunt Shirlene gives the greatest hugs! You felt no doubt about her love for you as she would squeeze.
#2. Aunt Shirlene has a beautiful smile. Aunt Shirlene knows how to get others to smile as well. Her happy smile is infectous!
#3. I remember as I was young that I would never want my grandpa and grandma or my parents to ever hear something bad about me. The same was true for Aunt Shirlene. I would not have wanted to dissapoint her. This made me a better person. I somehow felt she knew I could be great so I tried to be.
#4. Aunt Shirlene is a very loving person. All who are around her know that she truly cares about them. She is great at spreading the love!
#5. I loved that we were both born in April. I always felt that this gave us some special connection.
#6. Aunt Shirlene had a way of making the individual feel special. I know that many of my siblings felt that she took a special interest in them but she actually did that for all of us.
#7. I love to see my children with Aunt Shirlene. It makes me remember the days when she would take me in her arms as well. My children all love her greatly.
#8. I love Aunt Shirlene's choice for her husband. Uncle Mike is full of surprises and much teasing. What a wonderful man! He always has something to make you laugh about!
#9. Aunt Shirlene has also had three incredible and amazing girls who have become close friends to me and all of our family. She has taught them how to love and give to others as well. What a great mother she has been and is.
#10. I love how much Aunt Shirlene loves her Heavenly Father, the gospel, and her family. With her, these are all one. I love how she shares her testimony through her actions to us all. She is truly an elect lady loved by her Father in Heaven.

We all love you, Aunt Shirlene! We hope you truly know how much we love you and how grateful we are for all you have done for us! Happy birthday!!! We hope you have the best one ever!!!

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Jenny Lynelle is 29!


Twenty-nine years ago, on the tenth of April, the most amazing little girl , Jenny Lynelle, was born into the Lewis family! Because of her, I am who I am. I learned to love, serve, and grow tremendously because of Jenny. I will forever be in her debt. I hope she knows or feels how much she is loved by all of us. In honor of her birthday, here is a short list of some of our favorite things about Jenny Lynelle Lewis!

#1. I love Jenny's laugh. She grins from ear to ear and makes the cutest noises. Just makes me smile whenever I think about it. Many a smile she has brought to all of us.

#2. I love how Jenny loves to look at pictures of Jesus. I remember when she was just a little girl and would just stare deep into the eyes of her Savior. She also loved to kiss the picture. She never did that to pictures of me! I knew she knew Him and remembered Him. I longed to see Him largely because of this.

#3. Jenny loves to call for "Wayne" - our dad. This is so cute. Nobody else in our family could get away with this other than my mom.

#4. I love to hear Jenny say, "okay?" She will look you in the eye and it will seem as if she is reading your mind. So sweet!

#5. I love to sing songs with Jenny. She has added her own signature to many a song. What a voice! She loves to be sung to as well and will just grin ear to ear. Makes my heart melt!

#6. Jenny has a way of attracting the little ones. I love how they try to play with her and she sometimes is not sure what she thinks about it. She can get a little protective of her toys. She is so funny.

#7. Jenny loves to shut doors. I wish she could teach my kids this trick. She also likes to turn off lights. What's funny, is when you want to come in, but she wants the door shut :)

#8. Jenny loves her parents. As we have all moved on, it has been so sweet to see how much she loves being with them. Mom and Jenny look like best friends hanging out when they watch a movie together on the couch.

#9. Jenny loves to mimmick sounds. So you better watch out what sounds you make. This can be very funny during Sacrament meeting when she hears someone with the hiccups or someone belch.

#10. I love the way that Jenny makes people feel when they are around her. I love to watch her nieces and nephews make her laugh and have fun with her. You can tell that they feel something special as they do this. There is definetely a very special feeling around Jenny!

Jenny, we love you and are so grateful you came to our family. Because of you we know our Heavenly Father and Savior more. We love them more because of you. Thanks for your love sacrifices, and great teachings!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Tsunami Sam





We have now renamed our Samuel Benjamin, Tsunami Sam. He has now passed LaLoni Estelle on the unbelievable scale. She is a distant 2nd - sorry LaLoni. Here is just a quick list of just a few of his adventures these last couple of weeks.
-Poured gasoline around the garage - our work-out room, actually.
-Flushed chunky lego man down the toilet - 4+hours to get it unstuck, and yes, we had to take the toilet off the floor. This job stunk! haha!
-Magic marker on the wall, luckily it was behind the drapes. :)
-Bubble gum in carpet.
-Lotion on walls and fan.
-Fingerpainted in the ashes - even ate some.
-Streaked outside in the snow wearing only his diaper and socks. - (I was feeding the baby.)
-Dumbed a whole box of cereal on the pool table and then sprayed it down with his bottle.
-Collected dirt from the plants and displaced it in several places.
-Dumped a gallon of milk on his bedroom carpet trying to fill his bottle. Thank goodness for the wet vac!
-Colored over the faces on his dad's prophet's book.

I think I will stop here. I am sure you get the picture! He is one smart kid, just very curious. He is very adorable as well. He can pour on the charm.
Sammy has been such a great older brother. He is very protective of his brothers Porter and Jonny. He amazes us daily with what he brings to life. He will be turning 3 next month! How time flies. We all love watching him grow and love how he keeps us laughing.
We love you, Sammy!

Monday, March 30, 2009

David Hyrum is 17!






David Hyrum Stott just had his 17th birthday on March 30th (the same day as his Grandpa Stott and his Great Grandpa Barraclough!) Time has flown! How awesome it has been to have him in our home. As parents, we are so grateful for such a loving, caring, and hilarious son. He has brought so much laughter and joy to this family and his friends with his sharp wit. We love you David Hyrum! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Kim, David's Aunt, has a great blog and for birthdays she lists 10 reasons why she loves the birthday person. I will copy her idea (thanks Kim.)


#1. When someone is sad or needing something, you are so sensitive, talking to them, listening to them, or try to make them smile or laugh with your goofy faces and voices.


#2. You love to help by making dinner. As a mom, this is so helpful. I love it!


#3. I love how you share your testimony both at church and everywhere else. You are a light!


#4. I love how you bring friends home. You have always liked being home, thankfully. I love how you share your friends with us!


#5. I love how you have a special and unique relationship with each of your brothers and sisters. They all know how special they are to you and that you truly love them.


#6. I love your enthusiasm for BYU! So does Grandpa and GrandmaLewis, and Chris :)


#7. You love Conference. Do you know how cool that is?


#8. I love your nose!


#9. I love how tender you are with babies. It is like you can communicate with them. I also love how I have to constantly tell you to not wake them up!


#10. I love how you love to learn and are so interested in history, politics, science, math, sports, etc. You are so fun to talk to!

We all love you, David! Happy Birthday!