NINE

Today, our first born, turned 9. It's kind of a big deal. One, it is the last birthday in the single digits. Two, he has reached the half-way point to being considered an adult. Three, this means his early childhood years are coming to a close. Wow, makes it sound sad, doesn't it?

As cliche as it is, I am not sure where the time went. As I told my niece (some else could have said it, too, I don't know) when she had her son, "The days and nights seem to last forever, but the years fly by." It has and it does and it will.

While, I know the innocence of childhood will soon begin to fade away; there will be new, amazing, and exciting adventures waiting. There will be mission trips, youth programs, and in the not so far future, a driver's license. We've given you roots, now you'll get to try your wings.

Nine Things We Love About You:

1. Your love for Jesus, family, and friends.

2. Your sense of humor.

3. Your ability to do cool math tricks.

4. Your talent for quoting movie lines.

5. Your kindness and empathy.

6. Your cravings for spaghetti, Mexican, and "Sumway."

7. Your thoughtfulness in giving mommy flowers and Daddy anything Cowboys.

8. Your smile when your sneaky.

9. Your love and enjoyment of life.

AND ONE TO GROW ON-

10. The way you look when you know we're proud of you.

Happy Birthday, Calen! Love, Mom and Dad

Tap, Tap, Tap

I'm not sure where it came from, but several weeks ago Jax started talking about his "tap dancing" shoes. They're really just regular ol' black dress shoes, but he was quite proud of them. Riley, (surprise, surprise) got in on the tapping with her "sparkly" shoes.

After listening to tap talks and watching tap dancing performances day after day, I hit the website for our local dance studio. I called Ms. Amy, and she gives lessons to kids age 3 and up. Well, sign them up I did!

The very first thing they did was get to try on pairs of tap shoes to see if any fit. We found two pair that fit them very well, and off they went. Tap, tap, slip. It takes some practice to not only dance, but walk in them. Then they were off to the dance floor for some real lessons.

All-in-all it was a success. They were more interested in making noise than actually "dancing," but their little faces glowed the entire session. I'm sure as the novelty of the tap shoes wear off, they will pay more attention to the actual technique.

A Little of This and That

Whew, what a week. We spent Monday afternoon and Tuesday in Pigeon Forge with friends who also have two boys. There was time spent at the aquarium, eating pizza and ice cream, swimming, going to Wonderworks and a magic show. Riley thoroughly enjoyed the magic show and proclaimed "that was so so cool" and she is "going to be a Tinkerbell" (the magician assistant) when she grows up.

On Wednesday, Calen found out he got a huge part in the spring play at church. It isn't the role he auditioned for, but it is bigger none the less. He is playing the role of the Carpenter- Jesus! He was upset at first, but after talking with him and assuring him that this was because they knew he could do a larger part, not because he wasn't good enough for the other role, he is now very excited.

Jax has been very adorable. He had a scoop of vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. After taking a couple bites, he put his head in his hand and said, "I don't like the taste of the purple sprinkles." Who knew they had a flavor? He also spent several minutes curled up in my lap while we talked about fruits and vegetables that he liked. It was such a sweet time as he doesn't cuddle unless he is really sick. He also had a very big boy moment. Yesterday, he came upstairs and asked, "I won't get a spanking if I tell you truth will I?" I told him no. He then confessed that he had hit his sister because she had pulled the tags off his pillow. Since he was honest and turned himself in without Riley having to tell on him, he was punished by spending three minutes on the stairs in time-out. Then he had to go apologize to Riley.

We found out on Thursday that an elderly lady a few houses down the road from us went missing the morning before. Sweet Riley, when she heard, went to the window and pulled the blinds open facing the road so she could watch and "see if the lady walked up the road." Calen, the old soul, was very concerned about her well-being, even asking if she could have walked to the other property we own and if we should go there to search for her. Thankfully, she was found this afternoon, asleep in a pine thicket behind our neighborhood.

Calen has been playing on an indoor soccer team for the past several weeks. A few weeks ago the boys went up against two traveling soccer teams and won. A coach from our town's traveling soccer team made a comment that he would love to have that entire team play for their in their traveling league. We didn't think much of it since it was a passing comment and you have to try out to make the team and we know several good players that haven't made the cut in the past. Well, it has been mentioned again, as tonight, another parent asked Danny if we would let Calen play. Decisions, decisions. We have said repeatedly, that at least two Lewis' have to be on the same team before we would do a traveling team. It is lot of money and time, and we don't feel it is fair to the family as a whole. That being said, I foresee some serious discussions in our future.

How Time Flies-Fall/Winter '10

Enjoying fall in the Smokies.

This will be under par...

Aiming for a hole in one...

The boys should just play like me. Hit the ball. Go pick it up and drop it into the hole...

What a fine looking team of superheroes...

Nananananananana Batman

Holy candy, Batman!

Let no one say that Batgirl is not the best dressed girl in the world.

Riley's 2nd Birthday Topsy-Turvy Cupcake Cake

Birthday girl showing off her special outfit.

Riley showing off the Arabesque

Winter Fun at Dollywood

Master Chef in the kitchen.

Helping Daddy fix the leaky shower.

Peek-a-boo

Saturday Fun

This past weekend, Calen participated in his first

wrestling tournament. This was a developmental

tournament, so he would be placed not only by

weight but by experience. He did well,considering he had only six practices prior. His record was 2-3, with one of those losses coming at the last possible second to his teammate. His last loss, came at the hands of a boy who was in no way, shape, or form a beginner with "under 2 years experience." Unfortunately, that happens sometimes, and this was a teaching moment for Calen. No he didn't lose because he tried his hardest and didn't give up. We had to explain to him what his coach meant when he told him, "I'm proud of you. You have determination, and I can work with that all day long!"

After the tournament we grabbed some lunch, and since we were in Knox Vegas... Bruster's Ice Cream! This was Riley's first time, and she barely made it under the 40" mark for the free baby cone. Gideon was more than happy to polish off what she didn't finish though.

I spy a little chocolate on that face.

Letting the wind blow through my hair is way more fun than eating ice cream cones.

I was visiting Mamaw and Papaw, but Mommy put my handsome mug on here anyway.

Please, oh please, tell me that ice cream is its own food group!

Fruit Salad Yummy-Yummy

The kids decided they were hungry while I was busy with the baby. Instead of waiting for me to become free, they took lunch into their own hands. Calen pulled out a kid's cookbook that I bought him years ago. Jax and Riley would scour the fridge and pantry for needed items, occasionally coming to ask me if I had this or that. Thankfully, I was finished before they were so I could get some shots of all three of them at the counter making their own lunch.I

think they did a fantastic job!

Jax and Riley squeezing fresh orange juice

Calen, carefully, stirring the bowl of fruit.

A Parenting First

After almost 9 years of parenting, we experienced a "first." Monday afternoon, just minutes after leaving the older three downstairs while I put Gideon down for a nap, I hear Jax crying in the stairwell. While it took some coaxing to find out the whole story from the boys, I found out that Calen and Jax jumped off the pool table (thus the reluctance to tell the truth). Jax landed wrong and possibly fractured his foot. The X-ray didn't show anything positive, but that isn't uncommon. He's in a walking boot for now, and we'll re shoot X-rays next week to see if anything shows up.