A Farewell Tribute

Dear 1997 Acura CL 2.2,


Today we parted ways for good. You were a good car, a trust-worthy car. You never left me stranded anywhere in the 10 years I owned you. Unfortunately, I just outgrew you a few years ago, so you became Justin's to drive. Now after 3 1/2 years of being driven around by him, he has to move to Korea and we no longer need your services. You have been a part of my life longer than Justin has. I am not really sad to see you go, but I do sort of feel like an era has come to a close. So, goodbye old friend. I hope your new owner treats you well.


In loving memory... 2001-2011

A New Move, A New House

The move date is almost here. The girls and I will be flying to Texas on Saturday, February 5th. My parents will be driving my car and Sawyer back, while hauling a U-haul trailer behind the 4-runner. Justin leaves the same day as us, and his flight takes off after ours, so we have to say our goodbyes at the gate. I, of course, will probably be a blubbery mess. Nothing like a little public display of emotions.

On a happy note, we closed on a new house yesterday. I really like it. It is perfect for the girls and myself to live in...oh, and Sawyer too! We sent off the paperwork yesterday morning, so as soon as the title company receives it and funds the loan, we will get the keys to our new place. Yay! It is a 2-story newly built house in a developing neighborhood of Katy called Katy Creek Ranch. It's so pretty. So please, once we get settled, come and visit. I am going to be quite lonely, so I welcome you all with open arms. I will also post pictures once the house is put together, but I wouldn't expect that to happen any time soon. I will have a 3 year old, an 8 month old and only myself to get things straightened, so expect pictures, oh, around Christmas time maybe. =)

Merry Christmas from the Lewis'

The Lewis Family has had quite a whirlwind year this year. We have all been super busy and I am very proud of everything our family has accomplished. In March we got the home that we had known for 4 ½ years all packed up and we headed out west to Phoenix. Our Wichita Falls house sold at the end of March, and we feel very blessed to have found a buyer and not get stuck with two house payments in this economy.

Justin started the B-Course training for the F-16 at Luke AFB at the end of March and took his first ride in the jet the first week of May. During this time, I (super-duper preggo) got our new home situated and began the nesting process. Our beautiful daughter, Addison came in to the world on May 21st and we now hardly remember what things were like without her in it. In August, I flew back to Houston with the girls to celebrate my parent’s 30th anniversary with them, and then Justin came out on Labor Day for Addison’s baptism. Justin received his next assignment in the F-16 at the end of September, and we learned he will be headed to Kunsan AB, South Korea at the beginning of this coming February. It was a very emotional time for our family, accepting that we will be without our husband/father for a whole year. However, we know that it is in God’s hands, and ultimately, this is the best plan for our family right now.
To prepare for the absence of Justin, we are just trying to spend as much quality time together as possible. Over Columbus Day weekend, we took a family trip to San Diego, and we just loved it. The weather was gorgeous, there was so much to do as a family, and as a bonus, we were by the water, which is always a favorite vacation spot of mine. Justin’s mom and sister were able to come out for Thanksgiving, and we had a wonderful time spending the holidays with his family. Next up, we will head back to Houston for Christmas, and then he graduates from the B-course on January 7th.

Our girls continue to shine in our lives, and we are so blessed for what God has given us. Raegan has quite the spunky personality. She is definitely our strong-willed child, but it is so amazing how she can make us want to pull our hair out one minute, and then have us rolling in laughter the next minute with the funny things she says. She loves dancing, and singing, and everything princess related, yet she’s not afraid to get dirty either. She potty-trained this past summer, and it seriously happened over night. We also enrolled her in a Christian preschool here in the area, and she really seems to like it there. I will be sad to move her from there again. She also took swim lessons this summer, and she is such a fish. After just a few lessons, she was swimming from the steps to us, and jumping off the side.

Addison has just been the perfect addition to our family. She is such a dream baby. She is our more laid- back child. It’s amazing how different the girl’s personalities are. She is also a big mama’s girl. No matter who is holding her, she will always be searching me out in a room. She has mastered rolling over, and is sitting up now as well. It won’t be long before she will be moving and the baby-proofing will start again. It is so funny to see how the two girls interact with each other. Raegan by far, can get Addison to crack up more than anyone else. I just love hearing Addison’s sweet baby laugh. Raegan has really taken to being a big sister and she is so proud of her “baby”. They already exhibit signs of sister squabbling, such as when Addison finds a doll of Raegan’s to grab, or Raegan gets in Addison’s face and Addison grabs at her hair.
Justin and I have so much to be thankful for. We know the next journey we take will not be an easy one, but we have so much love and support from each other and all of our friends and family. We are so blessed to have each of you in our lives. Merry Christmas to all of you and have a wonderful 2011.

Love, The Lewis’
Justin, Taylor, Raegan, Addison, and Sawyer

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Luke 2:14

Happy New Year

Happy New Year. I can't believe 2010 has come to an end and 2011 has arrived. We spent New Year's Eve at home as a family, and were in bed well before midnight arrived. That has been our New Year's for the past several years, but things have changed now that we are parents. We did split a bottle of champagne, and Raegan had some sparkling cider.

2010 has been a very busy year for us and 2011 does not seem like it will be slowing down much. Here is what 2010 looked like for the Lewis'.

-Justin started and completed the IFF training course at Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls.

-In March we packed up the house and drove across 3 states to sunny Phoenix, Arizona.

-We found a new house to rent and got settled in. We closed on our Texas house at the end of March.

-At the end of May, our precious Addison was welcomed in to the world.

-May and June we had a whole slew of family come to visit and meet Addison, including my parents and sister, Justin's mom and sister, and Justin's grandfather.

-In August we traveled back to Texas for a visit and Addison's baptism.

-We took a family trip to San Diego in October, visiting Sea World and Coronado Island.

-November we celebrated Raegan's 3rd birthday with a Candyland theme, and Justin's family came out to celebrate Thanksgiving with us.

-December was Justin's squadron Christmas party, our first Christmas party hosted at our house, and a trip back to Houston for the holidays.

2011 will bring about many more new changes, namely Justin's move to Korea and our move back to Texas. We will close on a new house in January and the girls and I will move in at the beginning of February. Here are a few more things we look forward to...

-Justin turns the big 3-0 in March. We are very sad we will not be with him to celebrate. =(

-Visiting friends around the state of Texas.

-Taking bluebonnet pictures again this year.

-Addison's first birthday in May.

-The arrival of several friends babies, hopefully a few we will get to travel to and meet them.

-My 10-year reunion in August (yikes that's seems like forever ago.)

-Raegan's 4th birthday and my dad's 60th birthday in November.

-My very bestest BFFEF Maegan's wedding and all of her fabulous festivities next fall, and the big event in December.

-Getting to spend a lot more time with family.

-Taking the girls to do lots of fun activities such as the Houston Zoo, children's museum, Sea World San Antonio, and so much more.

We will make the most of our situation and continue to live our lives and Justin will go off and make us proud being a wonderful fighter pilot in Korea.

I am not a person that usually makes resolutions, but there are a few things I would like to work on this coming year...

-Work on eating better and getting my body back to a weight and shape I can be happy with after having a baby (esp. with that reunion coming up).

-Trying to not let myself get overly stressed about everything (we'll see how that one goes.)

-Being a good mom to my girls, and try and make the transition of being without daddy as easy as possible.

-Being supportive of my husband and doing what I can for him as a wife half a world apart.

-Be more giving of my time to those in need.

-Growing my relationship with God. I believe this one is so important because it can help me achieve all of the other goals that I have set for myself.

Happy New Year's to everyone and here's to hoping for a wonderful 2011.

Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas everyone. The Lewis' had a wonderful time visiting family in Houston. It was so wonderful to get to go back again this year, and we really soaked up holiday time with Justin. It was kind of sad knowing that next year he would not be with us for Christmas. We flew in to Houston on the 23rd and my dad picked us up at the airport. We headed out to Katy and hung out at the house until my mom got home from work. Then it was off to Tex-Mex food for dinner. Oh how we miss our Tex-Mex here in Arizona. We have to go get some margaritas, queso, and fajitas every time we come back to Texas. That was the last time Justin will eat Mexican food (at least good Mexican food) for a very long time.

Christmas Eve was a little different this year than normal. Jordan had to work on Christmas Day, so we opened presents from her and my parents on the eve. The girls really raked in the loot from them. Our baby girls sure are spoiled. This year was so much fun with the girls, because it was our first Christmas with Addison, and Raegan was really in to the season more than ever. She was so excited about Santa. We made cookies with Mimi to put out for him. I think she was a tad bit confused, though, because she also thought Santa brought her cookies along with the toys he brought. She also understands about it being baby Jesus' birthday. I hope in the next few years she can really grasp the true meaning and story of Christmas. After we took some pictures and opened presents, we had our traditional Christmas Eve meal. It consists of the best filet steaks with Bernaise sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, bread, asparagus, wine (of course) and some decadent dessert (baked fudge this year, yummo!) This has been our Christmas Eve dinner for years, ever since the infamous KFC Christmas Eve dinner. We wouldn't change a thing about it. We have been fortunate enough to have my brother's girlfriend, Danielle join us for the past 2 years and hope this becomes a tradition as well. After dinner, it was off to bed for the girls to prepare for Santa's arrival.


(Making cookies for Santa with Mimi and Jordy).

Our Family of 4 on Christmas Eve. (And all of those presents were before Santa came.)

My sweet girls ready for Santa. How cute are they?

The whole family.

Bailey and Danielle.

Raegan is a pro at this opening presents thing.

Addison's 1st Christmas. Her first Cabbage Patch doll.

Christmas morning we woke up and saw that Santa had visited. We opened up Santa presents, scoped out the goodies in our stockings, and exchanged presents within our immediate family. Justin got me a Coach purse, yay, he's so good to me. There was a little casualty during all of the excitement. Raegan was trying to get Justin to open his stocking, and she pulled a little too hard on it, and the stocking holder fell off and hit her right under the eye. She now has a nice shiner from the experience. She cried for a couple of minutes and then shook it off to continue opening presents. After the chaos was through, we ate some breakfast and got cleaned up to head to my uncle's house for Christmas with my extended side of the family. We really enjoyed getting to see everyone and had a lovely meal. Of course, my grandfather went above and beyond on presents for the girls again, and Raegan received more games for her VTech MobiGo from my uncle. We got her the Mobigo for her birthday and she LOVES it. I LOVE it as well. It keeps her occupied forever and I can get some work done. It's also educational, another plus.

Sunday was spent in Spring with Justin's side of the family. Both of his grandparents were there (a very rare occasion) along with many aunts, uncles, and cousins. Justin's has two little girl cousins that are 4 and 5, and Raegan had so much fun playing with them. They are the only family she has that are near her age, and this is the first chance she has had to play with them. Hopefully she will get the opportunity to hang out with them more once we move back to Texas. Justin was really excited that he got to see so much of his family for Christmas. It was a sad goodbye when we left his Aunt's house, knowing that would be the last time he would see them for a very long time.

The rest of our trip was pretty much devoted to house hunting. We spent most of Monday looking at houses, and Tuesday was a long grueling day of negotiating with a builder on a new home in a new subdivision of Katy called Katy Creek Ranch. This was not my favorite part. The whole negotiation situation really makes me uneasy, so I left that part up to Justin. It took hours, and finally at the end of the day, we signed the contracts and wrote out our earnest money check. We should close on the house by January 27th. I don't enjoy the whole experience of having to go out looking for a new house and dealing with builders/home-owners, but I must say I LOVE the house. It is so perfect. I really think I'm going to be extremely sad leaving it when Justin comes home and we move on to our next assignment. At the same time, it is bittersweet knowing he will never live in the house with us. It's also a very strange feeling.

Needless to say, our whole trip was jam packed with things to do. Some were fun, some were necessary, but all in all, it was very successful. We are grateful to be home, though, and just enjoy some time to relax, and spend as a family before we start packing up the house and making our next move.