Christmas Day

We woke up early around 6:45am and the kids were ready to see what Santa had brought.


We managed to get one picture before we got into the stockings.

You might see a theme here. She kind of likes Disney Princesses.

Jordan is trying to get into his stocking that is very full.

After our morning at home we headed out to the Simmering's for gifts and family fun!


Jordan is very interested in Auntie Marie's camera.


Gramma and Grampa Penson enjoyed being with the family too.

It actually started snowing after we arrived at my parent's house so we had a white Christmas. The kids and everyone else enjoyed this year's Christmas. It was one of the best yet!

Christmas Eve pictures

We had Christmas eve with the Lewis' at our house. It was fun to spend time together and open gifts. Say cheese Auntie Becca!

As always there was lots of running around and laughing. Sometimes it is more fun to play with people than with toys.

Madeline and Jordan loved their new fleece blankets! And of course they are some of the most blessed children and received so many nice gifts!

New Pictures & Update

The kids got to sit on Santa's lap at Madeline's preschool Christmas program. They were a little shy, but both got to tell Santa what they wanted for christmas.

We took a trip to the Pittock Mansion where they had each room decorated as a different fairy tale for Christmas. I was able to take a week of vacation before Christmas and this was one of our family outings. The kids had fun walking through, but it was often hard not to touch everything!

Baby Teeth

The past couple of days have been interesting around the Lewis house. In our 4 1/2 years of parenting so far we have been pretty lucky to not have to deal with any major emergencies with the kids. But on Wednesday this week Jordan changed that record. He somehow managed to fall on the floor face first and knock in two teeth. With me being at work when it happened, Mike was the one that dealt with most of the difficult stuff. I left work early to come home and then took him to urgent care to get checked out by a doctor. He was fine except for the teeth that were slanted inward pretty far. Thursday morning he visited the dentist and they told us that the teeth would need to come out. One was broken off of the root and the other was twisted and need to come out as well. Mike was the one who had to accompany Jordan to the appointment and help get everything taken care of. Jordan and Mike both did a great job and survived the ordeal! This type of thing generally falls under my job duties as the mom, but things at work prevented me from being able to take Jordan. I am so thankful that Jordan is ok, and he seems to be going on with life as if nothing ever happened. Kids are amazingly tough! I am just hoping that our little boy does not get in the habit of getting hurt.

Really long update

Since it has been so long since I last updated my blog I am feeling way behind on posting pictures and family news. Although we have no major, life altering new we have had a busy summer and are excited about the fall season. The kids have gotten so big and seem to have changed so much over this summer. Madeline just started preschool and is so excited about that. Jordan is talking constantly in long sentences now and that makes things very interesting since we already have a little girl who talks constantly! Here are some pictures of things we have done over the summer and I hope to keep things more up to date now.

Watermelon is so good on a hot summer day at the park!

Jordan likes to be as silly as possible and will do anything to get our attention and a laugh.

Madeline and Jordan are always willing to pose for the camera and play nice, but off the camera they have their fair share of fights these days!

Mike and the kids have made several trips to the zoo this summer. Since we have a membership it makes for an easy way to have fun.

Family Picture Day!

Well it was past time to get our family pictures done! We did not have one with Jordan in it and he is turning 2! We went today and had them done at Sears and I think they turned out great. We ordered lots of prints to make sure we can give them out to our huge family and some friends too. Now I am going to have to start hanging photos on the walls of our house. I haven't really taken the time to do that since we moved in 6 months ago. Well, it was a good to get it done and be able to share it with everyone! We are all doing great!

Birthday Party

It was one fun filled day. The kids had the whole family there to celebrate with them and a good time was had by all. No one can say that these kids are not loved! They are loved a lot and then some. It was great to have one party for both of them. I think that they enjoyed sharing the party and it made it so easy to plan. Enjoy the cute picutures!

Family Camp

For memorial weekend we went to Camp Yamhill with our church for a fun family retreat. It was great weather this year and the kids had a ton of fun. Here are some pictures from that weekend.




Madeline decided she wanted to ride on the big rope swing they have at camp. You have to get harnessed in and climb a big ladder and then hang from the rope in your harness and swing. She got up the ladder and decided that was as far as she wanted to go. But we were proud of her for being that brave!

Off to work I go

Although it has been nice being home with my kids and husband the past few weeks, it is coming to an end next week. I found a new job with another bank and start on Tuesday. It is a relief to not be looking for work anymore and I am excited to have a fresh start too. I am very optimistic and feel like this will be a better place for me and that I will be much happier. Thanks to everyone who has kept me in prayer as I searched!

New Pictures and Update

It has been way to long since I updated this blog. So here are some recent pictures of the kiddos. They are getting so big and they are both looking forward to their birthdays in June. Jordan is talking up a storm and Madeline is learning new things everyday too. They get along most of the time, until Jordan decides to tackle Madeline and there is not much she can do about it . I will definitely put more pictures up after the big birthday party. Maybe more before that but we will see how it goes.

Its me!

I am always the one taking the pictures and so I never have any picture of the kids with me. I promise that I do exist and here is the proof.

Three Wise Men and a baby! (and our little angel)

Here is the little Angel herself. She was so cute and took her role as one of the angels in the Christmas play very seriously. I think we have a potential actor, singer, or some kind of performer here folks. She knew every word and hand motion that she was taught and was very proud of it.

A group shot of the preschool angel choir. Notice the cute pose!

This is a smile that says "Yeah! I did a great job!"

This is what a smile looks like after hundreds of pictures have been taken of the group in an attempt to get everyone in just the right place!

Christmas Shopping Anyone?

I am so jealous of everyone who is done with all of their christmas shopping. Today I was out for only 3 hours and got the kids presents, then spent the rest of the 2 1/2 hours driving around looking at gift ideas for those harder people on my list. I know that there are some great deals to be had out there and I will venture out in the morning to try to finish. I finally gave up and went home after making several stops and not finding anything that would work. I hope the stores will restock overnight because things were definitely picked over and the selection was less than desirable.

Look back here in the next couple of days for some great pictures from the christmas program. Madeline was the cutest angel you ever saw!! The others were so cute too, but I guess I am partial to my own and can't help but be proud of her performance!

"Big" Goals

It seems like every day Madelilne is discussing with me the topic of growing "bigger". She asks me every day, several times a day, "am I growing bigger?". I say "yes, every day you grow bigger". Then she will proceed to ask me about specific things she will be able to do when she gets bigger. She will ask me, "when I grow bigger will I be able to go to the store by myself?". I usually confirm that she will be able to do those things when she gets bigger. Yesterday morning she asked me, "am I bigger mom?" to which I answered "yes, you get bigger a little more every day" and then she asked "can I drive?" to which I answered "not until you are 16 years old and right now you are only 3 years old". She then said "oh, ok". I am glad that these are such easy questions to answer, but I know that she is going to start coming up with harder questions in the near future. She seems to be thinking constantly about what she will do when she grows bigger.

Fresh Air: Breethe Deeply, Live Fully

Westside MOPS is strating September 18th at 6:30pm. I am very excited about this school year starting even though I don't have school age children. Last year I joined the Mothers of Preschoolers group (MOPS) at my church. I have had a heart for a Moms Ministry for the past few years and was a part of the Coordinating Team at our church in Oak Harbor, Wa. We were a small group so we decided to do our own program rather than be a part of the MOPS International Organization. It was less money for us to spend and we were able to customize it to reach other mothers besides just mothers of preschool age children. I have still always wanted to be a part of a MOPS group and even thought about doing my church moms group and a MOPS group at the same time but never was able to fit it into my schedule. Now that I have had the opportunity of being a part of a MOPS group I just love it!

Our theme this year is "Fresh Air" and "What Every Mom Needs" a book by Elisa Morgan and Carol Kuykendall who run the MOPS Organization. I am reading the book and have liked the little bit of it that I have read so far. I am working on taking time to sit and read a little each day. What I love about MOPS is that it is a group of women who all have something in common. They are all mothers of small children. They may come from different backgrounds, different income levels, different church affiliations, etc... But they can all relate to each other and support each other in a very special and challenging time in their life. This year's theme is going to be incredible. Talking about the basic needs of moms and taking a step back to breath fresh air. Whether you are a mom or not, this sounds great!! Life can get so hectic and stressful. It will be great to have two nights a month that are specifically for me to relax and get a breath of fresh air!

If anyone is in the Portland/Beaverton/ anywhere in driving distance, this is going to be a great group to be involved in. We are meeting in the evenings on the 1st and 3rd Monday night starting on 9/18/06. Our evening program will allow us to include working moms and single moms and others who have not been able to join in the past. We also will have more opeinings for moms to join than in the past because we were limited by childcare openings as well. Most children will stay home with other family members, but if needed we will still offer childcare with advance enrollment.

Check us out at www.westsidemops.org or go to www.mops.org to learn more about the MOPS International Organization.

Missing Friends

It has been so busy in my life that it seems I don't have time for friends. I don't even have time for myself. I definitely don't want this to be a depressing entry so I will not go down that road. I want all my friends to know that I miss you and think of you even though I have not been able to call you or email you lately. I want my blog to start being a place where we can connect more and maybe just keep up with what is going on a little better. That does not mean that I should not be calling you, so I promise to make an effort to do that more. After moving back to Oregon in November I have been even more isolated than before. There are alot of factors that play into that but I have come to the conclusion that it is not going to get any easier. Life is going to continue to be busy, as our kids grow up more we will be busier with their activities, we have jobs at home and outside the home, and life just gets busy! So here is just my way of saying that I miss you and wish I could spend more time talking to you and getting together with you.

Jennifer, you are now the friend that live closest to me. You are also my friend that I have had the longest. I am so excited that you are joining MOPS because now I will have more opportunities to see you.

Tammy, I miss you living close by and wish we could have spent more time together before you moved. I want to call you and email you more and find out how you are doing.

Cheryl, I know you are always a phone call away and you never seem to get frustrated with me when we don't talk for awhile. Thanks for all your support these past few months. I hope you can come to MOPS so we can see each other more.

Jessica, I can't believe it has almost been a year since you moved and since I have seen you. You are such an encouragement to me. You understand more than anything what we went through in leaving Oak Harbor. I want us to stay close friends and hope we get a chance to visit you soon.

I have more friends and love each of you dearly. Even though I may not have time to call or email at this busy time in my life I hope to stay in touch and find opportunities to catch up. I think of my friends often who have blessed my life and contributed to my growth as a wife and mother. Thanks, I love you all!!

Discovering Strengths

After returning to work almost 3 months ago, I have been going through some really good training classes. I am learning alot about myself and alot about my job and I am glad because it is helping me figure out what is expected of me and how I can succeed in my job. I know, it sounds pretty boring right? Today was one of the best classes because it focused on each person individually and showed us each what are strengths are and how we need to use those in life.

At Wells Fargo we are lucky to be able to go through a process to "Discover Your Strengths". That is the title of the book written by the Gallup Organization. We all did an online assesment test and then were given what our top 5 strengths were. I thought it would be fun to share mine. I was kind of skeptical at first but I can really see how these fit me and how they affect what I do. You can get the book and take the quiz too if you want to pay for it, just make sure you buy the book new because the code in the back that you need to do the assesment cannot be used more than once.

Here are my "Top 5"
1. Maximizer- Focuses on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. Seeks to transform something strong into something superb.
2. Harmony- Look for consensus. Doesn't enjoy conflict; rather, seeks areas of agreement.
3. Responsibility- Take psychological ownership of what they say they will do. Are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty.
4. Arranger- Can organize, but also has flexibility that complements this ability. Likes to figure out how all of the pieces and resources can be arranged for maximum productivity.
5. Belief- Has certain core values that are unchanging. Out of these values emerges a defined purpose for their life.

These definitions, of course, are the shortest little picture of what each of those strengths are. There is a whole book about discovering your strengths that I am thinking about reading. We went through alot of material in class today that went into more detail about what each strength is and also some things that you should do with each of your strengths. The idea is that you would focus on your strengths and leveraging those rather than focusing on your weaknesses and trying to fix them or get better in those area. You will see the most success when you focus on developing your strengths because those are the themes that are closest to your natural talents and abilities.

It was pretty cool, but I guess that is partly because I am a "maximizer" and enjoy knowing about people's strengths.

It is hot outside!

Have you noticed that people complain about the weather more than anything else? I guess part of that is because it is the easiest topic to bring up with people you don't know that you might see when you are out and about. I think it is silly though, that we are never happy, even with the weather. There is nothing we can do to control it, so we might as well learn to be satisfied with what we are given. I will acknowledge that it is very hot here today. I am getting ready to feed the kids dinner and then go to the store and get a kiddi pool to put on the patio just so we can cool down tonight. It is supposed to last for a few days so it might be nice to have a way to keep cool this week.

I really want to be able to do some fun things this summer with my kids and as a family or with friends. I guess we better come up with some ideas and options of things to do when the weather is not too hot and then another option for when it is too hot to be outside. I hate having the kiddos out in the sun too much and worrying about sun burns. It is going to be a fun, and hot, summer!

It's Birthday Month!!

For the rest of my life June will be a busy month for my family. Both of my children celebrate their birthday this month. Today my firstborn, Madeline, turns three years old. She is so excited that it is her birthday, and you can't help but get excited with her. This year she really understands that her birthday is something special and it is a big event in her life. She has been asking me every day for the past week or two if it was June 1st, her birthday. I am glad that today I can finally say YES! Today is your birthday! It is June 1st today! We are planning a birthday party for her on Saturday, so she will continue to enjoy her birthday for the next couple of days. I brought home a special balloon and a little cake for her tonight to try to make today a little bit special and help her celebrate her actually birthday. It is so fun to see her get excited. Next we will have Jordan's first birthday on June 19th. Boy has this past year gone by fast! He can't already be a year old! We will have fun celebrating his birthday as well, and it will be great to have the extended family together for both of these celebrations!! I am so blessed to have two wonderful children!

Every moment precious

One of the many things that I am learning is that every moment with my family is precious. I felt that I knew that before I started working, but now it is even more true since I have less time to spend with them. I am trying to remind myself that the dishes and vacuuming just won't get done right now after I get home from work because I only have 1 1/2 hours to see my kids before they go to bed. And usually after bedtime I don't feel like doing housework anyway. Luckily the pile of dishes in the sink is not a big one because Mike does a great job of keeping up during the day while I am gone. I am slowly adjusting to the working world again and realize how different it is from staying home. Staying at home is definitely the more physically and mentally exhausting job but also very rewarding. Please be encouraging to all stay at home mothers of preschoolers (and dads that stay home too). I now can relate to both working and stay at home moms and know that both situations have their ups and downs. I will continue to pray for wisdom and God's help in balancing work and family.