Levi Laughing!

Tory can verify, I anxiously awaited the day I could make Levi Laugh. I finally cracked his stern baby exterior about 2 week ago! I have not stopped trying to make him laugh since!

Below if a video taken right before bath time!

I have watched it at least a dozen times. It is amazing how much we love this little man.

Lewis Christmas Update

          

2011 came rushing in with a January announcement that Tory was pregnant and has not stopped moving here in December as we prepare to take our 11-week-old son Levi on his first Christmas tour of Arkansas. Wow, what a year!

It is true…our lives have changed forever. Changed for the good!  We have only had our precious son for 11 weeks, but already it is hard to remember what we did before he was born.  Levi has been a great baby and an absolute joy to our lives.  The first few months have definitely not all been easy sailing though.  Levi was diagnosed with pyloric stenosis (a tummy issue) that required surgery at Children’s Hospital in Little Rock.  With a lot of prayer and some help from family, Levi did great and recovered like a champ!  He now enjoys hammering bottles down, filling up diapers, and sleeping it off wrapped in a fuzzy blanket. Ohh the life!

Tory has started a third year of clerking, but with a new judge! Tory now works for the Honorable Judge Lavenski Smith of United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Her current clerkship with Judge Smith will expire at the end of August and Tory will make her law debut into private practice as she joins the Friday Firm in Little Rock. Apart from being a law savvy lady, Tory is enjoying being a mother! Probably more than anyone anticipated!  No matter your stage of life, Tory will try to convince you that you need a baby!  It has been a joy watching her walk into this role as she has done so with such grace and a heart full of love.

Mark is still peddling pork and pork accessories for a living! His family is convinced that it is impossible to purchase a package of sausage without a free coupon.  Mark enjoys his many hobbies from cycling to ham smoking and is always willing to tell a story or a bad joke. He is also enjoying being a dad and was relieved when he could finally make Levi laugh. Mark also made a second trip into the Amazon Jungle with an evangelism team from church. Thankfully this year his leg did not almost fall off and he remained relatively healthy upon his return.

Juno is the big loser this year. It is hard adjusting to a younger brother. She still lives inside and despite many fears is actually really good with Levi! But, she definitely believes that she is not getting the attention she deserves. Juno also managed to get sprayed by a skunk this year.

In reflecting over 2011, it is obvious that God has been faithful to our family once again. He continues to provide more blessings than we deserve. It is our prayer that we would be faithful with the resources and blessings he has given us to bring glory to His name.

Merry Christmas from the Lewis Family!

Welcome Levi Elliott Lewis

Levi Elliott Lewis

Oct 3, 2011

7 lbs 8 oz.

20 inches long

Tory and I are thrilled to death about this little boy!

Love it!

Baby is coming and he is coming soon! Our life has been a complete whirlwind for the past 2 months.  Baby showers, business travel, birth classes, new jobs…you name it we have done it in the past 2 months. However, I feel like we are over the hump. The Nursery is set, his clothes are washed, our bags are packed, and now we wait.  It is a weird feeling knowing that at any moment you could be a dad. Feeling unprepared? Ohh yeah.  Not to mention, an official name has not been picked out.  We have it officially down to two.  

People have a way of wigging you out about being a parent.  If I had a dime for every time someone told me “Your life is over” I would be a millionaire.  I feel as though there is some big secret that no one tells you until you have a child and then you are magically apart of this strange pain and suffering club, sworn not to tell any young couple the truth about what lie ahead.  Who knows.  In the words of my wise granddaddy “it will seek its level”.  What I do know is I am excited. I do know my life is about to change drastically, but not in a bad way.   I do know that I will have to grow up even more!  I do know I will have to lean on the Lord for wisdom, guidance and SLEEP.  I do know I have a wonderful wife, who will be an excellent mom, to walk through this experience with.  I also know that my son will have an excellent support group in grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends.

More to come very soon!

Memphis, The Beach, and a Baby

Lewis clan continues to not slow down. I have no idea why we cannot seem to put on the brakes, but it seems for the time being that out life will continue to move at warp speed.

This past weekend we spent time in different locations. Tory headed west to the Beach in North Carolina for some rest and relaxation with some old law school girlfriends and I headed to Memphis to aid Justin Hill in a house sitting job and visit my grandparent. 

Memphis was a good trip! I enjoyed a restful morning with my granddaddy and grandmother in West Memphis, AR. They treated me to a delicious BLT with a home grown tomato from the next door neighbor and showed me around the additions to the little house. My favorite moment came when my grandfather of 80 years old made a comment about wishing he felt like walking more. My grandmother said “Well Marvin, where do you want to walk to?”. Granddaddy simply replied “well…I might want to walk down the street or walk around wal-mart.” Grandmother quickly replied with a comment suggesting he could use one of the electric motorized carts to get around in Wal-mart, to which he simply replied “I am not sure if I could bring myself to that level!”  I laughed out loud!

I love my grandparents (both sets). I love the role they have played in my life and I am thankful my son will have two sets of active grandparents in his life. 

Saturday night Justin took a group of guys to his favorite BBQ place in Memphis called the Cozy Corner. I had the wing and rib combo. I have never had BBQ that I did not like! After dinner we headed to the Mississippi River for a sunset canoe ride. It was awesome! I wish we would have gone farther. But it was a nice little ride (3-4 miles) under the bridge and around Mud Island. It was interesting watching the barges pass and being in the swift current. Fortunately, I was teamed up with Brad and he managed to snap some good shots which I know he is going to send me!

Tory headed out on her 2^nd vacation of the year to the beaches of North Carolina! I am not bitter. She managed to catch a little sunburn in between resting and relaxing.  We have spent most of the week putting aloe and coco butter on her back and legs.  I specifically told her not to get her belly burned because I did not want my little man getting cooked any faster.

We have officially started the nesting phase of pregnancy and it is wearing me out. I have been all over Little Rock getting whatever I am told to get. Unfortunately, I have not been the best sport. I had to get talked to about my attitude.  It is better now!

It is hard to believe how fast this time is flying. He will be here in 2 months! I have trouble wrapping my head around that I will meet my son in 2 months! Thankfully we still have several baby classes before we get him! Tory is praying I pass. Me too.

We have our big shower this weekend too! Special thanks to Dianne, Margret, Casey, Sarah, Mom, and Olivia for putting this on for Tory. We are both appreciative for all the work and hosting.

Still no name.  I think we are close…but still no name.

Jungle, 4th, and Baby Update

I wanted to update the blog when I had time to upload jungle pictures and give you a brief narrative about my trip. Well, I am still not their yet.

God did some amazing things in our 11 days. We were able to spread the good news of Jesus Christ and his salvation to several villages during our stay.

In one particular village, we began preaching when this man came walking through the group gathered to listen and everyone moved quickly to get out of his way.

He appeared to be in a trance like state and you could see the fear in everyone’s eyes. I was quickly told he was the local “shaman” or witch doctor. He headed out of sight and I thought no more of it.

Concluding the sermon, we began to visit several houses of those gathered and began praying for them and their families. During this process we sat to talk with a woman who requested we come to her house and she expressed her desire to follow Christ.  We walked her through what that meant and what was required for her do that. (This culture believes there are spirits in everything and adding another person to worship is not a big deal to them, but when you explain to them they have to let the others go, you run into some issues.) Amazingly, she agreed to turn from sacrificing and worshiping the other spirits and follow Christ!  Not wanting to coach her in her profession of faith we asked her to pray to God what she felt she needed to ask Him.  What came out of her mouth was the most sweet profession of faith I have ever heard. I could not have scripted it any better. I was in tears listening to this woman pray to her new found hope.

Upon returning to the boats to head home we noticed several things had changed. There was a table set up with beer and food on it, white marking on the ground, a white flag raised and new leaves hanging over the entrance to the village.

We were informed from a local villager that the Shaman had put a protective “hex” on the village to keep us and our God out! The good news was…No Hex can keep my God out!

My friend took this picture of me standing on what they called the “demon cross”. You can see the items described above behind me in the picture.

I love this picture! God wants to use us for His glory and to accomplish His task! And NOTHING can stop us!

I have plenty more stories to tell!

I appreciate your prayers over the trip.

Tory and I spent the 4^th of July relaxing in the Ouachita Mts. At the Law cabin. We literally ate, slept, and planned the next meal! It was wonderful.  People keep telling us that we need to be soaking this time up before little runt get here, so I am glad to know we are taking advantage of it.

I also got my hams smoked over the weekend. Dad literally did all the work. But he did a great job! They look a delicious golden brown.  Upon arrival at the cabin we did notice some damage that the smokehouse had incurred. Upon investigation we found claw marks and bear hair in the smokehouse. Not a good sign! As bummed as I would be to lose 260 lbs of cured country ham, losing them to a wild bear would be a pretty good story.

Baby Lewis is growing like a weed and kicking like a mule. We are the 27 week mark! That means only 13 weeks to go! We are completely registered and even have our birthing class this Saturday.  All day birthing class! I am really excited about it (insert sarcastic tone).  The next major task to tackle is naming the little boy.  We have it narrowed down to 4 names, but we have yet to officially select one.  We are currently on a naming hold. Although Tory continues to call him by the name she prefers. We also call him Jickey John as a family inside joke.  Tory continues to have a wonderful pregnancy. She is running 3-4 times a week averaging 3 miles! She looks funny running with the big belly!

Boy Ohh Boy!

I’m having a little boy! How exciting! What man doesn’t dream of having a little boy? I find myself day dreaming what we will do together, traditions we will have, projects we will work on, going to his games, etc… it is overwhelming! It was amazing sitting in that room and waiting on the nurse to tell us it was a boy. I think it was more exciting than finding out we were pregnant. It is no longer an “it” or a baby, it is a boy in there!

Now Tory and I have entered into the battle for names! Fortunately, Tory and I have about 5 that we agree on and would be completely happy with. Therefore, our problem is narrowing it down to our favorite one!  We do know that his last name will be Lewis; meaning he will be the first Lewis of his generation!  Carrying on the Lewis name is a very cool thing.  I am excited to pass it on.  It has served me well for the past 27 years and I hope it will do the same for my son.

My Little Man!

On other baby fronts, we are behind. We have not registered for anything. We don’t have child care lined up. We don’t have a clue about the nursery. No worries, Tor will put a task list together and we will probably complete it in a 2 day period. She is fierce like that!

Last weekend we had graduation fun in NWA for Tory’s cousin Ashley and Caleb. It was great hanging with that part of the family! After a 2 hour ceremony and a plate full of AQ chicken I was ready for a nap. Ashley and Caleb both have great scholarships and are headed to two great colleges! Congrats to both of them!

Ashley and Tory

Proud Parents

Caleb and Ashley

Happy Mother and Son

Congrats for 2011

I totally talked Ashley into standing next to the AQ Chicken!

Memorial Day weekend was also a great time! Spent at the cabin with Family! Juno ran so much she could barely walk when we got home. It was the perfect mix of fun, work, and relaxation. If I could manage a 3 day weekend every week, life would be pretty sweet.

The barn my Grandfather built

Big Landon!

Juno loves swimming!

Have a great week!