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.

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!!!

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!

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!

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!

David Charles Birthday (He is 42!)

Where do I begin with the one person who I have share the last 20 years with. What an amazing ride it has been. I could never describe in words how wonderful it has been but I do want to try. I met David 20 years ago and knew immediately that he was everything that I had dreamed of . He has made me happy beyond any of my dreams and I love him so much for sticking with me. Here are just a few of the reasons why we all love him so much.

#1. David is an amazing father. He loves his children beyond description. He is an instant playground for the kids when he lies down on the ground. I have millions of memories sketched into my mind of him and the children playing, reading, doing homework, going on walks, crying, working out, cooking, laughing, watching movies/games, teasing each other and much more. What a great Dad he is. I love how he takes an interest in what each child is interested in. I love how he gently places his hands on sick or worried heads and gives them sweet blessings. I love how he holds the newborns in his huge hands and becomes just wrapped around their tiny fingers- putty. I could go on and on.

#2. David is so witty. He is constantly making us all break out laughing. I can honestly say I cannot remember a day that he has not made me laugh since we met. Sometimes, this might drive his kids crazy because he is so quick with his comebacks. I love it, even if I am the one on the other end of his humor.

#3. I love how he listens to me and everyone. He is an incredible listener and IS really listening. He will let me spout off on what might be bothering me or what happened during my day or anything I want to say. He is incredible this way with the kids as well. He listens to and is there for them no matter what time of day or night it is.

#4. I love how David will laugh when something bad has happened. Let me explain. When ever any of the kids would do something they were not suppose to do, like break something or get into something, he will start laughing under his breath. Maybe it is not the best thing to do if you are trying to teach your kids not to do it any more, but it does take all of the stress out of the situation. I love this. He has stopped me from loosing it so many times, because all of the anger or frustration just leaves when he smiles or laughs.

#5. I love how David acts innocent when guilty. He will say,"What?" Like when the ball was thrown in the house causing something to fall. His kids have definitely got this trait as well. Love it!

#5. I love how David writes things down on whatever is lying around and then can never find it later. He will even say, "why did I do that?"

#6. This leads into how I love his self-deprecating humor. He is an extremely smart, handsome, talented, and amazing man in a billion ways, but he finds ways to make fun of himself. I think it puts others at ease. He is so hilarious!

#7. I love how David sings. I know, not many of you have heard. I remember a time when we were traveling in the car once and we were listening to a Billy Joel cassette tape. We were both singing out loud, really getting into it. It was so fun! I was so amazed at hids range and tone. He has the most gorgeous voice. Unfortunately, those are on eof those lights he hides under a bushel.

#8. I love how David can't sit still when some good music comes on. He will either start moving his head or begin using the person nearest to him as a percussion instrument. The kids got this from him as well. They love to turn on one of his favorite songs and just watch him immediately shift into his zone or happy place. He has definitely shared his taste of music with his kidswhich they all love!

#9. I love how David loves reading and learning. He hates just doing nothing. He loves to learn! He loves to use his brain. Some of our kids got this from him as well - jk - actually, they are all like him this way.

#10. I love to hear him teach, whether with the kids or at church or any where else. He is one great teacher!!!! He has a way of understanding who he is teaching and what he needs to do to help them get into the subject. He makes the subject understandable and exciting. I am so grateful for all that he has taught me these last 20 years.

David, I love you, and am so grateful for you! What an amazing best friend you have been. Hope you know how grateful we all are for you and we hope you had a very happy birthday!

Rosey is Ten!

Rosey (Adriana Rose) turned ten on March 5th - our pretty little Adriana! She is our only one born out of the state of Utah. She came on a snowy day in Cleveland, OH! What memories. Her brother, David, cried when he found out he was getting a little sister rather than a little brother, that he had been praying for. Soon though, he was wrapped around her little finger, as we all were. Rosey has added so much to this family. She is truly an amazing daughter. Thank you, Rosey, for all you do for us! Here is a list of some of our favorite things about Rosey!

#1. I love how Rosey is an amazing learner. She loves to read, study, do homework, as well as teach Jonny how to do his homework. This is so helpful!

#2 I love to hear Rosey sing! Did you know that she can sing the high notes like Mariah Carey? But I love to hear her sing the hymns and church songs the most. She has such a beautiful sweet sound!

#3. I love how she loves helping around the home. She will finish a task and then come up and say, "What next Mom." Or better yet, she will just go the 2nd mile and surprise me with doing something she wasn't asked to do.

#4. Rosey is a natural with the younger ones. She will be an incredible mother someday. She loves to read to her brothers and keep them busy and happy!

#5. As Kim said in her blog, Rosey has the most wonderful smile. It can brighten anyone's day and has millions of times for me! Her smile is truly sincere. She is such a happy person and loves to help others feel happy as well.

#7. I love her homemade cards. She puts her entire heart into it. She will spend however long it takes to make sure it is just right.
#8. Rosey has a very strong testimony and loves her Heavenly Father and Savior very much. She helps those around her know of His love as well. She brings a great Spirit into our home. She also offers the most beautiful prayers!
#9. I love how she acts around her older brother and sisters. She has a very mature side and loves to try to fit in. She will talk to them about what they like and such. It is so sweet! They do love her very much as well.
#10. I love Rosey's hugs and kisses. She will always make sure she hugs you before going anywhere, including each night before bed. They make you melt and feel so loved.

Rosey, thank you for all that you add to our family. We have learned so much from you! We love you! Hope you had a very happy birthday!