We're still here...

I know, I know...it's been weeks since we posted anything on here. For those of you that we've talked to recently, you already know why that is. For everyone else, here's a brief rundown. These past few weeks have been a terribly trying time for the Lewis family. We thank God that there have been no major tragedies to deal with, but we have been faced with what seems like countless "bumps in the road" that have kept us busy, weary and in debt to the medical community (both in gratitude and in finances)! We have had several trips to the ER (Abigail made her first trip the night before her 3rd birthday party), but Jack started much earlier and has already outnumbered his sister's visits! We have battled severe croup, fevers of 105 degrees, gaping facial wounds, and various other illnesses and conditions. Josh has struggled with decisions related to his career, and I have struggled with the seemingly 50-pound "basketball" that is my tummy and the intense bouts of insomnia that have accompanied it. We have prayed diligently for healing, protection, and rest, and I am thrilled to say that things seem to be taking a turn in the right direction. Today is the first day in weeks and weeks (literally!) that every member of our family is healthy and rested. What a blessing! Because I am so far behind on updating the blog, I'm going to do one big "picture-fest" of some of the happy events that have been going on recently. I hope you enjoy!

Trick-or-Treat!!

Last night we had several friends from church over for a little Halloween party. We ate pizza then headed outside (there were people EVERYWHERE!) to let the kids visit some of our neighbors for candy. Abigail didn't get it at first, but by the time we hit our third or fourth house, she was a pro at saying "Trick or Treat," thanking them for the candy, and then running towards us squealing about her new candy. She always has fun when she's with her buddies, but last night had a little extra kick to it...I think it was the sugar!! Jack wasn't quite as thrilled with the whole ordeal, though, because at his one-year checkup yesterday morning, the pediatrician told me he had a raging ear infection. Who knew?!? He's on a 10-day round of antibiotics, so he'll be back in the saddle soon.

Homecoming Weekend

This weekend was Homecoming back at good old Samford University. We never really participated in the Homecoming activities when we were in school there (nor have we done much since we graduated!), but we had several dear college friends in for the weekend, so we all converged back on SU's campus for some of the festivities. I won't bore you with all of the details, but Abigail wants everyone to know that she got to ride in a hot air balloon! We saw it across the campus, so we walked over to watch it. It turned out they were giving rides...and the whole thing was sponsored by the Business School (from which Josh and I both graduated). When we got up there, they warned us that the driver (is that what you call the hot air balloon man?) said the propane tank was really low, so we stood in line for a few minutes and prayed that the propane would hold out for our turn. When it was our turn, we weren't sure how Jack would take it all, so I stayed on the ground with him. Actually, that was my excuse to be able to stay behind and get good pictures! Josh and Abigail hopped in the basket of the balloon and enjoyed a fantastic 45-second ride in the clouds. She was ecstatic (as you can tell from the picture of her coming to see me when she got off)!! It was such a fantastic day together with family and our old buddies!

The Crouch Family Shindig

We spent the weekend with my immediate and extended family at Tims Ford State Park in TN. The "Crouch Shindig" is a tradition that we started many years ago that allows our family from across several states to get together and have a few days of hiking, laughter and just enjoying being back together again. While we were there, we realized that at our last Shindig, Jace (my cousin's oldest son) was the only "little cousin" there. At this year's get-together, though, there were SEVEN little cousins (with two on the way). Needless to say, the adults are about to be out-numbered! We are already looking forward to next year's Crouch Shindig (and the nine little ones running around). :-) The kiddos are all below: Brayden, Abigail, Hailey, Jaden, Jencyn, Jace, Jack.

The Four Stages of Grief and Loss (of the Bottle)

In case you forgot that little tidbit that you learned in your high school psychology class about the stages of loss and grief, here is Jack's pictorial reminder. In the first picture, we can see ANGER. Jack is demonstrating his discontent with receiving his milk in a sippy cup rather than his "ba-ba". In the second shot, we observe that Jack has moved from the stage of ANGER to the stage of SADNESS. He can't even look at the cup (notice it on the floor behind him), and he attempts to "cute/pathetic-factor" his way into getting the bottle back. The third picture shows a dramatic leap to a place of ACCEPTANCE. He has realized that his bottle isn't coming back, so he has resolved to give the sippy cup a try. And finally, in the last picture, we see that Jack has made the final movement to the stage of HAPPINESS and CONTENTMENT.

For those of you who are perplexed by why I have so many pictures of such a seemingly miniscule event (I only posted some of them!), let me share with you a little saying that my mother-in-law taught me: IF IT'S NOT IN THE SCRAPBOOK (or the blog), THEN IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!

A beautiful weekend

We spent part of this past week and the weekend in Marietta celebrating Josh's sister's wedding. Rebekah and Kevin were married in a gorgeous ceremony on Saturday night. Josh was a groomsman, I was a (pregnant) bridesmaid, and Abigail was a flower girl. Jack just got dressed up for the pictures!! Everything went off without a hitch, and we were so proud of how amazing the little ones were the whole time we were there. Under normal circumstances, Abigail and Jack are virtually comatose at 8:00 or so every night at their bedtime. They were out until 11:00 or later some nights due to various parties and family get-togethers, but they were fantastic!! At the reception, Abigail spent most of the night on the dance floor...literally!! After the first song, she came running up to me, and I fully expected her to want to escape from the loud music and the chaos. No, no, no...she told me her bow was falling out, she handed it to me, and she ran off saying she wanted to go dance some more. Who knew?!? Jack spent most of his time in the arms of most of Rebekah and Kevin's guests. Every once in a while, Josh or I would look around until we found him. Sometimes we knew his playmate, and sometimes we didn't. He seemed to love it, though! One of his favorite moments came when he took center-stage on the dance floor and everyone sang "Love-Jack" (adapted from "Love-Shack") to him as he was hoisted into the air. Needless to say, it was a fun night for all!

Rebekah and Kevin are enjoying some much-deserved rest in St. Lucia right now. It was so neat for us to be a part of their special day. It may take us until September 2008 to fully recover, but it was well-worth it. :-)

Jack's Big Day

As hard as it is to believe, Jack will be 1 in just a few short days (26th). Today we, and about 25 of our friends and family, helped Jack celebrate with a big DINOSAUR party. Allison has been working for weeks to put together a great party for him...and she did. Not a detail was spared. Everything was dinosaurs...from the balloons on the mailbox to the "dinosaur bones" (pretzel sticks) that the kids ate. We had "Muddy Water" (Milo's sweet tea) and "PB&Jasaurus Sandwiches." Everything was covered...we've come to expect that from Big Al. But back to Jack...he had a blast. I went to get him up from his nap a little after the party started, and you could see the curiosity in his eyes towards all of the noise downstairs. I dressed him up in his dinosaur outfit (one last detail) and downstairs we went. It was a neat moment before we went down to be able to tell him how many people are here to celebrate with him and that so many people love and care for him. He probably didn't get it, but he will some day. So thank you again to everyone who took time out of their Saturday to come and share in some laughs, stories, and dinosaur eggs (red grapes). We're so fortunate to have each of you in our lives.