Sarah's Big Day

On Tuesday of this week, Sarah had her 5 year Well Child Exam with our pediatrician. She is measuring now at 47" tall and 51 lbs. That puts her in the 95% and 90% respectively for height and weight. Our doctor said that at the rate she is going she will easily be 5'8" or 5'9"as an adult. She had to get four immunizations...YIKES! She was such a trooper and didn't even cry. Our nurse was awesome...she had all four shots done before Sarah even had a chance to react. They gave her coupons for a free Jr. Frosty at Wendy's and a free Personal Pan Pizza at Pizza Hut. So...we used them...that day. Of course, I had also promised her a toy if she behaved herself and cooperated at the doctors office. Sarah is now the proud owner of a Barbie Beach Buggy! Needless to say, we didn't take pictures at the doctor visit but I thought I would share a really cute picture of her in a Cinderella costume. She LOVES playing dress-up!

Our First Major Snow of the Winter

Tuesday, March 4, 2008 we woke up to 8 inches of snow on the ground. School was cancelled...of course, so we enjoyed our SNOW DAY! The kids and I built their first snow man ever. We had lots of fun playing in the snow and romping around. It stayed on the ground for almost a week. Our snowman finally melted...and lost his head. Now we will be attending school on Good Friday instead of adding another day to the end of the year. Gotta love those make-up days.

Grammie's 75th Birthday

We celebrated Grammie's 75th birthday at our house with dinner and a strawberry cake. The kids brought her a bouquet of red roses (courtesy of Todd). We had a fun time. She stayed overnight with us and then joined us for church the next day. We stopped at the Missouri Veterans Cemetary after church so that she could see dad's headstone. It was had for her to see it because it makes everything so final. It's a beautiful place and we feel honored for him to be laid to rest there.

TKD Belt Testing

Jack started a Tae Kwon Do class through our local Parks and Rec board back in the fall. He has been working really hard to learn his first form. On Saturday, February 2, 2008 he went through his first belt testing. It was a very rigorous 3 hours. He wasn't tested the entire time but he did have to sit through all the different belt testings before receivng his new yellow belt and certificate. He was very proud of himself...and very sore the next day. As part of the testing, they had to do 75 "gorilla stomps" (ask him about it sometime). As part of the final phase of testing, each student had to try and break a board with a kick. Only one of the adult students actually did it but they had fun trying.

Sarah will start the class as a beginner...white belt...next week. She is excited to try her first group activity as a 5 year old.

Jack Loses First Tooth

Yes...that's right....Jack has finally lost a tooth. One of his top front teeth has been loose for months now. In fact, the permanent tooth had already come in behind it. We had an appointment scheduled to have the tooth pulled by our dentist because it was sticking out at this odd angle that made him look like a beaver.

Sarah saved the day! The two of them were wrestling on our bed one night ( a few days before the dental appointment) and she accidentally kicked him in the mouth. The tooth started bleeding and was just hanging on by a thread. Okay, long story short at this point...Todd and I had to hold Jack down and pull out the tooth so that he wouldn't lose it during the night and swallow it. He was screaming at the top of his lungs...yelling "I'm dying...I'm dying". We finally got it out, stopped the bleeding and he was fine. He was very excited to receive a dollar from the "tooth fairy" that night. He has two on the bottom that are also lose but no signs of them coming out yet.

Never a Dull Moment...Weather Wise

January was a wild weather month for us. Typically we have a fair amount of ice and snow. The second week in January we actually had mega thunderstorms and then about 13 different tornados touching down in the greater Springfield area. The warning siren is just a stones throw from our back door so it was a long night with that going off several times…the last one being at 2:00 am. Our Republic E-III campus was hit, tearing off the roof of the 5th grade wing. School was cancelled for 2 days while repairs were begun. The 5th and 6th graders were temporarily placed at Calvary Baptist Church in town for remainder of the week. Then the following week the temperatures dropped into the 30’s and we were back to seasonal norms. We even had another day of ice that cancelled schools mid-week. Our January and February vacation days are now being used as make-up days.

During the second week of February we were hit with another ICE STORM of the same magnitude that crippled our area for weeks last year. A friend of mine that works for Springfield City Utilites told us that the amount of ice we received this year was about the same as last year. However, due to the massive amounts of tree trimming and debris clean-up done in the aftermath of last year we weren't as severely affected. We still lost three more days of school but not our power. So much for those make-up days. Now we have had 3 more days tacked on at the end of the school year. So far, Spring Break is safe!

January 2008 - Pinewood Derby

Jack is a member of the Royal Ranger-Ranger Kids group at our church, James River Assembly in Ozark, MO. Every year they have a Pinewood Derby Competition where the boys have to make their own pinewood car, enter the competition and race them. Last year we had no idea what we were doing, so our neighbor Mr. Steve, helped us out with the construction of the vehicle. This year, all the work had to be done at the church, so Todd and I took turns taking him out to the church's machine shop to complete this project. He did a lot of the work himself this year. His division was for K-2nd grades...there were 80+ cars entered. After 6 heats, Jack ended up taking 3rd place for speed! He was very proud of his trophy and ribbon...so were we.

October 2007 - Obituary for Dr. Clarence M. Lewis

Dr. Clarence Melvin "Mel" Lewis, 75, Mount Vernon, MO, formerly of Fresno, CA passed away at 8:44 am Saturday, October 20, 2007. He was born December 27, 1931, in Plattsbury, MO, to Clarence H. and Della G. (Twitty) Lewis.

"Mel was known to all as a gentle and loving husband, father, friend and physician. He loved people and enjoyed talking with them and learning about their lives. As a doctor he took time for the patient to tell him about themselves. The Lord gave him wisdom and guidance for the thousands of folks for whom he was their family doctor praying with them. They in turn loved and respected him. Because he loved the Lord and trusted Him, he now is truly home with his Lord. Our earthly loss is heaven's gain. He leaves a tremendous legacy and will be missed."

Dr. Lewis retired after 45 years as a physician in 2005. He had a practice in Fresno, CA and Mount Vernon, MO. He was a U.S. Air Force veteran serving in the Korean War and a member, deacon and Sunday school teacher at the First Baptist Church, Mount Vernon, MO.

On June 9, 2007, he and wife Nora (Stegall) celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. They were married June 9, 1957 in Pontotoc, MS. She survives him of the home.

His children, Valerie Lawrence and husband, Todd, Republic, MO, John Lewis and wife, Marcie, Fresno, CA; grandchildren, Jack and Sarah Lawrence, Brett and Brittany Lewis; two uncles and several cousins survive him.

His parents and stillborn son Samuel James Lewis preceded him in death.

Services were held Wednesday, October 24, 2007, 10:00 am at the First Baptist Church, Mount Vernon, MO. Burial was then held at 1:00 pm Wednesday at the Missouri Veterans's Cemetery, Springfield, MO.

December 2007-Jack's Birthday

Mr. Jack turned the Big 7 on December 14, 2007. He wanted a "Pirate Party" this year so that he could wear his pirate costume from Halloween again. We rented a room at our local community center because our house just wasn't big enough for a bunch of little boys. It ended up just being 4 of them due to illness and weather but they had a great time. They even included Sarah in the cannon ball war.

November 2007 - Sarah's Birthday

Miss Sarah turned 5 years old on November 26, 2007. For her party this year she wanted a "Chef Party". We had five of her little friends over...Paige, Emma, Chloe, Rachel & Nicole. Her party ware was Strawberry Shortcake Princess and we made little chef hats out of the crowns. I also put their names on chef aprons as their party favor. The girls made and ate mini-pizzas and then banana splits. The menu was all Sarah's choice. The girls had a lot of fun!

Welcome to MOLAW

Hey Everyone!
We decided to start this little blog as a way to keep in touch with our family and friends better during the year rather than at just Christmas only. Now that the kids are older we have so much more going on in our lives. I try to keep everyone current on the events of our lives but it doesn't always happen. So, for those of you with email you will get the most current and up-to-date information. We will also try to post fun photos of the kids, etc.

Thanks for being a part of our lives.

Blessings,

Todd, Val, Jack & Sarah