Wisteria Weekend

I'm sure we're not the only family that enjoyed the amazing weather this past weekend! Friday, Josh and I were able to spend most of the morning together shopping for Patton's birthday party decorations and eating lunch at Little Tokyo. Friday afternoon, since the weather was so nice, we took Patton on his first trip to Mason Park to swing! We all had a great time, and some of our friends were even there (The Mobley Family). On Saturday, we were ready for a day filled with tasks outside of the house. We woke up and had a family breakfast at Huddle House followed by our weekly family trip to the grocery store. Patton fell asleep on the way home from Walmart (yes, the less than 1 mile trip home), so he took a nap while Josh and I tackled the huge tangle of wisteria in the corner of our front yard. We've been wanting to get rid of it for a while, but on Saturday it was finally warm enough for all of us to be outside, including Patton and Charlie. After Patton woke from his nap, he joined us outside in his playpen (since he still has a tendency to try to eat anything he picks up). He played and laughed as we worked on pulling up the wisteria. Eventually, he took his afternoon nap, while Josh and I trimmed some hedges and just took on any project we could think of before the sun went down. It was such a great day full of accomplishments!

Sunday was a good day to be inside, since the weather was icky, so after church we stayed in for the rest of the afternoon except for Josh going to a meeting. He was elected to be on our Pastor Nominating Committee at church, and I am so proud of him! He was chosen to represent the youth and children of the church, and I know he will do a great job!

Manic Monday

Well, not too manic, today is actually a fairly calm day compared to the past 5 days in the Lewis home. Last Wednesday (oh Wednesdays!), our washer overflowed and flooded our hallway. Water was practically pouring out our back patio door. We spent most of that "fun" day sucking water out of carpets and purchasing a new washer and dryer. Thursday and Friday were spent constantly checking carpet for moisture or foul smells. Saturday...and I mean ALL of Saturday, was spent installing our new washer/dryer. Josh and his dad labored for hours...this was no easy installation. The washer and dryer are an apartment style set (one on top of the other), and they have to go in our hall closet. In order to get them in the closet, the closet door as well as the patio door had to be taken off their hinges and moved out of the way. Also, a water line had to be modified so that the washer/dryer could completely fit in the closet. Oh, and a hole had to be drilled into the side of the washer/dryer for the vent duct. Once it was in and we washed a load of clothes, we thought we were good. Wrong! As I emptied that first load of laundry after church yesterday afternoon, I discovered a huge crack in the plastic basket in the washer (the basket that holds the clothes...has lots of holes in it). Looks like we will be getting a new washer/dryer (for free) due to the defect, but we will use this one for the next month (since Josh's dad is needed for installation again).
There have been a lot of times these past few days that I have wanted to break down in tears or just kick a wall, but Josh and I have tried our best to see the good in this. God has a funny way of working...and by funny I don't mean that it is always comical. Things could have been a lot worse. Josh could have already left for work that morning, my mom could have decided not to stay with us Tuesday night, something could have shorted out and started a fire, the water could have reached the bedrooms and our furniture, or Patton and I could have found the water many hours later when we would have come home that afternoon. You see, God has blessed us in the midst of what could have been seen as something tragic and horrible. We are all safe, we are all cared for, and we are all together. God is so good!

Oh, and can I just say that my husband is amazing too! He has worked his butt off during all this, and even though we don't necessarily enjoy going through tough things like this, I do like the fact that we can always get through these things TOGETHER.

Wednesday...oh how I loathe you

Wednesdays are my horrible days. They usually start off with me being late for work, and they end with me getting home late from work. In between those 2 moments of complete running-behind-ness, my Wednesday is packed full of work, projects, phone calls, and other tasks that have been handed to me. Wednesday isn't just another work day for me...it's my looong work day. Instead of being in my office from 8:30am (ish) to 3:30pm, I might actually be at work until 7:30pm. Which will probably be what happens today. I went home for lunch (and put pork chops in the crock pot for a new recipe...I hope it turns out), and then I hurried back to work to finish up my lesson plans for the 2 (yes, 2) lessons I have to give tonight. One for the youth, and one for our lone 3rd grader. Luckily, they are covering the same subject ;)

Wednesday is long because it includes our church's Wednesday Night Supper. So, not only do I come to work as usual, but then I have to pretend like I haven't been in this same building all day when they all show up for dinner. I have to act like I am refreshed and prepared...and I'm usually neither. I'm usually running around, trying to get Patton fed or taken care of while at least 5 people approach me with some sort of concern, question, or task for me. I don't even get to eat...I don't even try to anymore. Sometimes I can at least get Patton fed, but that's not always the case.

I know for a fact that Wednesdays would not be so horrible if I didn't start out dreading them by Tuesday night, and I want to change that. I want to stop groaning because I have to take all the youth's phones away so that they will stop texting, and start being excited that I actually get to see the youth. I want to stop worrying about if my lesson will be "cool enough" for them to actually listen, and start being excited that I am able to share God's love with them. I really want to stop dreading the moment I step into the fellowship hall to be bombarded with people, and start appreciating who these people are and what they mean to me and the church. I want to try, but it gets pretty difficult.

Maybe "liking Wednesday nights" should have been put on my New Year's Resolution list.

Maybe next year.

It's Been A Long Time

Well, I haven't posted since last year...actually it's been over 6 months! The main reason for that is because I have started a new site on shutterfly.com where I can post pictures and such. It's been a much better format to keep my family up-to-date with Patton's milestones and moments. I plan to use this blog more this year as well...maybe as more of a personal blog for me (although Patton and Josh will definitely be a big part of it since they are a huge part of my life).

In the past 6 months, Patton was baptized, we traveled to the mountains for a vacation, Patton enjoyed his first round of holidays with tons of festivities and new traditions, and we are now looking forward to his first birthday in February.

Life has been wonderful...we are so extremely blessed. We have had such a wonderful year as a family. We love just spending the evening all three of us on the floor playing (I guess I should say all four of us, since our dog Charlie is usually right there with us). Patton is such a happy baby, and he is just such a funny kid! I laugh so hard at him everyday. His reactions to Charlie' kisses, his need to wave at the security cameras at daycare (and say "Mama" and "Dada" to them like he knows we are watching), the look of pride and excitement as he realizes that he has pushed the button to turn his toy on all by himself, his enthusiasm in telling me some long story in jibberish (he must be saying something very important), and his need to push all of his toys around like he is rearranging furniture: all of these things just make my day.

Here's to trying to keep up the blogging in 2011!

Patton Lately

Well, so much for posting regularly. It's hard enough for me to find time to take a shower in the morning (which did not happen today...oh well), let alone find time to remember to blog. It gets put on the side burner along with quite a long list of other things like mommy time, cleaning, work, and sleep. But the smile on Patton's face makes it all worthwhile.

In the past month and a half since I last posted, Patton has grown in leaps and bounds! He has had his first laugh, rolled over from belly to back, and increased his talking and muscle strength/coordination. He loves to sit in his bumbo, play on his play mat, and splash in the tub! He has outgrown so many clothes, and he is filling out nicely. He is now on formula, and we are in the process of getting him used to rice cereal before bed. Actually, I want to work on that a bit more diligently now...I've been a bit hesitant and cautious about it for some reason lately. My fear of being a bad mommy has surfaced its ugly head. During my pregnancy, I read alot about what to expect with a newborn. I felt confident about the newborn stage, but now that he is getting older, well, I didn't have time to do my research about feeding a 4 month old. The rules of feeding have changed so much over the years, so trying to keep up with what is "right" for right now is a bit difficult.

Anyway, this week we are busy preparing for Patton's baptism this coming Sunday. I am getting his gown today, and I can't wait to see it! We are having TONS of family and friends in town for the baptism, and we are cooking lunch for everyone after church...so needless to say, I have my hands extra full this week. I will post again after the baptism with pictures (hopefully within a week or two instead of a month and a half).

Patton and His Pup

When I was pregnant with Patton, our dog Charlie became fairly protective of me and followed me wherever I went. She would nap with me and would always lay her head on my belly. Well, when we brought Patton home from the hospital, I realized that I wasn't the one she had been following for the past 9 months...it was Patton. She could care less where I went once Patton was born. From that first day, Charlie has been like a second mommy to Patton. She is constantly checking on him, wanting to lay with him, and always the first to know if hid diaper is wet or dirty.

Well, this past week Charlie did the sweetest thing. Patton is starting to move and coo a lot more, and I think this has peaked Charlie's interest in him. Last week we got out his playmat for the first time, and he loves it. Charlie loves it too, and she will lie down beside him (or lick his face all over, which we are trying to stop). But anyway, one day after playing on his playmat, Patton was sleeping in his swing. Charlie checks on him during his naps fairly often, so I'm used to her putting her paws up on his swing to get a quick sniff or lick him. This time her visit was different. Charlie had found a long-lost squeaky ball of hers that morning after 3 months of it being lost. She was playing with her ball while Patton slept, and then she went over and laid the ball in his lap. Her little way of saying, "Play with me." It was so cute, and I'm sure it won't be long until those 2 do play ball together.

Our Little Alarm Clock

Well, it's only been 2 weeks since my last post. I think that's progress.

The past 2 weeks have been pretty busy. We surprised my Nana during her 70th birthday party on the 17th. She had not met Patton yet, so she was in tears when she saw us there. Josh and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary on the 18th by going to church as a family and then going home to take a family nap (after which I got sick with a stomach virus, so poor Josh spent the day caring for me and Patton). Josh's sister Katie got married on the stormy 24th, and luckily the weather passed through before the wedding and reception began. Josh and I were both in the wedding, so my mom joined us for the weekend to help out with Patton. Now we are finally looking forward to a weekend without any plans. I'm actually excited that it might rain all weekend...gives us an excuse to just stay at home and enjoy some family time.

Something that Josh and I have started to enjoy is our little alarm clock. No, not that black beeping thing on the nightstand, but our handsome little boy. My husband is a very heavy sleeper and hits the snooze button in his sleep at least 5 times in the morning, much to my dismay. But I've realized that a visit from Patton will wake him up quite efficiently. Patton is a morning person like his mama. After his 5/6am feeding, he is so happy and playful. When I get the chance, I take him in our room after his feeding and let him lie in the bed with us. He will lay there and talk and coo. It's the sweetest thing! Josh loves it too, and it definitely wakes him up. Who would've thought such a soft sound could wake my hard-sleeping husband, but Patton's ooo's and coo's do the trick! And what a wonderful way to start off the day!