Becoming an Aunt again!

I forgot to mention ... that in December this little guy {Eli} will be a big brother.  Leah & Todd are expecting #2 due to arrive Dec.20!

I'm totally thinking ... GIRL.  

Here's my reasoning ... only a daughter of Leah's would figure out that with a due date of December 20th, she can get here in the nick of time for St.Nick to arrive & cash in on more gifts.  

Yes, if it's a girl {like I think it is} ... she is her mother's daughter.

Guess we'll wait & see!  :)  Either way, I'm excited to become an aunt again!

I have someone I'd like you to meet...

Evan Michael

Born yesterday on 2-17-09.

Congrats to the proud parents, Karah & Doug.  :)

Love you all!

Where did cREaTe go?

I guess I never fully explained what happened... and it happened fairly quickly, like in a matter of days. So I'll back up a bit...

I got rid of my own dot com that I had had for FOUR YEARS! A little crazy... but I found out the rates were going up for the 1st time in 4 years. Sort of took that as a sign. I looked at when the next payment was due & decided to get my act together before then, take a giant leap of faith & just close up shop.

Move out was fairly easy... I just had to forward on some important e-mails & addresses. Then I called up my friends at Yahoo Small Business & said "goodbye". They hit a button & I was GONE. And locked out of my e-mail address. It really all happened very quickly.

So now I'm on Etsy full time. I know Etsy is some foreign land to almost all of you. So on my cREaTe blog I have done a few posts on the topic.

You can read here... [can you tell I'm totally trying to convert you all & bring you into my world?] Come on, make my day. Make me proud. My Aunt Jane did it! :)

• The reason I'm on Etsy
  
• Etsy 101
  
• Becoming an Etsy Buyer

Also, on my cREaTe blog if you go to the right hand side you can find the label "etsy" & just click to read all my posts that involve Etsy. You can see a couple of things that I've bought as an Etsy Buyer!

Anyway... just wanted to tell you all what happened, why & why it happened so fast! Okay, enough chit chat. Get to reading! :)

Lewis Family 6 month Anniversary!

Today is the 6 month anniversary of Roman becoming the son of my sister Becky & her husband Jason. I can not believe it's been 1/2 a year already. Seems like yesterday that we all had our eyes glued on the door at the airport, waiting to see our nephew, cousin & grandson stepping off the plane here in Kansas City. As soon as we laid eyes on him we all wanted to snatch him up, squeeze him, kiss him ... but we couldn't. First of all - he had no idea who we were.

The poor guy was so bewildered, exhausted & lost. I tried to make eye contact, tried to get a smile, tried to get anything... and he just was too bewildered, exhausted & lost. He just rocked back & forth on his 2 feet, searching our faces, nervous about what was happening. It made me so sad for him & like most rough patches, I just wished I could hit "fast-forward". I knew life was going to be so good for him - eventually. But I knew it was going to be tough at first.

It was so neat seeing Becky & Jason, the new parents, at the airport as "4-day experts". Although Roman was weirded out by the rest of us, he knew his parents were his safe-haven. And that made me smile & tear up all at the same time. There was already a bond, a trust & security established.

Words can't describe how much I love this kid. I will always have such admiration for this little tyke's resilience. He is the smartest, sweetest, cutest, most energetic kid. Now when he sees us, he energetically struts (and he is a strutter) toward us with a big bright smile on his face.

Roman, we're so glad you're here... and to his Mommy & Daddy, I just want to say to give yourselves a pat on the back. Parenting is sometimes a thankless job... and you've had a lot on your plate these last 6 months w/ a 22-28 month old 100% BOY who had to learn a new language & explore his entire new world. It'll be nice to look back on these past 6 months & think "well - it can't get any harder than that!" :) You survived the toughest part of the journey... the past 6 months & even before.

WE LOVE YOU LEWIS FAMILY! :) xoxoxoxoxox

COME SHOP MY TAG SALE!

Cuteness galore. Although, I'm pretty biased. :)

Sorry ... Tag Sale pages & all links have been taken down. All good things must come to an end! But you can still find me on my cREaTe site {here} & my soon-to-be Etsy page {here}.

Karah & Doug say "I do".

Yesterday we had the honor of witnessing Karah & Doug exchange their vows & become Mr. & Mrs. Pope at last. It was beautiful. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. And you can see what I gave to them as their wedding gift on my cREaTe blog {click here}.

Happy 1 Year!

Today is the 1 year anniversary of our house & our move back to Kansas City! It's pretty unbelievable all that we've been able to experience in just 1 year.

Here are some of the highlights:

• Spending time with the our parents / the grandparents
• Spending time with our siblings / the aunts & uncles
  
• Spending time with our nieces & nephews / the cousins
  
• Being here for Roman's Homecoming
• Spending time with Gigi & getting to say goodbye to her
  
• Going to our nephews & nieces Birthdays!
• Being with family for all of the holidays
• Holding a Adoption Benefit Yard Sale for Becky & Jason (which raised $2000)
• Being able to throw an Adoption Shower for Becky
  
• Being able to host an Engagement Party for my best friend Karah & her fiance Doug
• Getting to see our KC friends a lot more
• Kyle starting with SWA
• Kyle getting sworn in to the MO Air National Guard
• Getting to watch every Mizzou game
• The kids' 1st snow, 1st sled rides, etc.
  

I'm sure there are many more that just aren't coming to mind at the moment...but you get the idea. It's been crazy, it's been stressful, it's been fun & it's been worth it. We moved HOME for our love of family, friends, Missouri & the 4 seasons. We're looking forward to spending what may be the rest of our lives HERE.

C * O * N * G * R * A * T * S

A great, big, huge CONGRATS is in order for one of my very best friends in the whole wide world. Karah & I have been best friends since approximately 5th grade when we were the only 2 still awake at an overnight Birthday Party. We kept each other ROLLING with laughter by setting G.I.Joe figures on people while they slept in their sleeping bags among other random things in the basement that we found to keep busy & laughing. We remained best friends even when her family moved 300 miles away in 7th grade. We were "pen pals" with letters & cards, before graduating to e-mail when the internet made its way to both of our households. My first summer job I saved my money to fly to Chicago to see her and we visited each other at least once a year from there on out. We remained best friends all through college & even after I got married, moved even further away & had 3 kids. We've always known about every detail of each other's lives... right down to purchases at the store that day & what got returned, what we ate for dinner, & what we were going to be doing the next day (all via multiple e-mails throughout the day). After 17 years of living in separate cities we both wound up in Kansas City. Karah & I have been through pretty much EVERYTHING together. The good, the bad, the ugly... and the FABULOUS. The SECOND I heard about Doug, I loved him for her. They seriously have the most amazing "how we met" story EVER. If you haven't heard it, the short version is that separately they took a sight-seeting bus ride tour of Kansas City (by themselves) & they were easily the only 2 younger than 50 that were on that bus. {Seriously, who does that? But I'm so glad you 2 did!} :) ha That & everything that followed after it were just signs that these 2 were put in each other's lives on purpose. When you've known someone for 22+ years, you can tell when it's the real deal... and I couldn't be happier for you 2. CONGRATS to the soon-to-be Mister & Misses. :)

Here we go!

It's been approximately a year & a 1/2 since posting on my last "family website". Holy moley, huh? Not only has my family come a long way since then, but apparently so has the internet. (Doesn't my old site just look ancient?)

In an effort to cut down on my long-winded e-mails, I've set up this blog. Oh not so fast, I'm sure you'll still be getting my e-mails! But when you need a Twenter Family Fix you can come here & get all caught up with us.

Oh & if you're wondering if we ever had that baby we posted about in late October 2006, YES. Her name is Libby ("Elizabeth Morgan") & she's a gorgeous little red head with blue eyes. I can say she's gorgeous because she doesn't look much like me... she looks like a cross between her daddy & her Aunt "Reebs" (my sister).

I absolutely love all 3 of my kids with their 3 distinctly different personalities, looks & capabilities. I get warm fuzzies, laugh, & roll my eyes DAILY. Life with them is the perfect mix of blessings & shenanigans, which I also realize DAILY. (But don't count on me to write DAILY!)