A Very late post, but No pictures.

For all of you out there that enjoy reading our blog and being kept updated about the kids, let me say I am sorry! I ignored posting over the summer because I was busy with quiting Walmart, getting daycare started, having Matt go back to school, and lets not forget running around after two kids while preparing for a third!
I'm pretty sure everyone knows, I mean how can you not? Just take a look at me! we are expecting our third baby in February! Baby number 3, is going to be a baby girl named Brooke Lynn Lewis. No, not Brooklyn, which is actually what Abby and Shawn call her :) Brooke, because we liked the name, and then Lynn after Matts dad.
Abby is over the moon excited about having a sister. I guess we will see when Brooke gets here how excited Abby stays, but she claims that she will sing Brooke lullabys when she crys at night.
Shawn took a little while longer to warm up to the idea of another girl in the house. The poor guy is surrounded by women (I do daycare for two little girls)! Shawn is being a trooper and showing his true boy colors but fighting everything and insisting on being called "Super Shawner Boy!"
Matt is doing GREAT with school. Hopefully he only has one semester left and then will be post training eligable. After that it's on to look for a job! We would love to stay in the area, but have heard that Minnesota is one of the hardest places to find a job in law enforcement right now. Who knows, maybe Montana, or Texas is in our future!?
Sorry about not posting pictures, I have million cute ones, but I can't find the cord to my camera ANYWHERE.

Fargo

Our thursday afternoon efforts! The "small" river

It's hard to see, but the river was already 1/2 way up the trees!

About a week and a half ago Matt and I had the Opportunity to go to Fargo and help with the sandbagging there. For those of you that may not know, the Red River Valley area is having the worst flood in over a hundred years!

We left thursday morning and jumped right into action that afternoon. We went to a church where they were busing the volunteers to the areas where they needed help. Matt and I spent the afternoon and evening in a residential area that had a previously small river running behind the houses. The small river had turned into a BIG river and the levels kept rising. They had a sandbag wall already built but the reports of how high the river would crest kept rising so we had to keep adding sandbags to make the wall higher. It was HARD work! I didn't expect those sandbags to weigh so much! After a couple of hours of moving sandbags around we were finally done and head back to the hotel for the night. The only problem was that most of the roads around us were flooded so they shut them down. Our group of about 50 volunteers stood outside in 20 degree weather for 2 hours waiting for the buses to find a way to come back and pick us up! Some of the people who lived in the area where very grateful for our service and opened up their garages for us to stay warm and even made hot chocolate and sandwhiches!

Friday, after a good nights sleep we were ready to get back to work. Most of the roads were closed so we couldn't be bused out anymore so we headed to the Fargodome to help fill the sandbags. That was amazing! There were huge trucks bringing in the sand and just dumping it on the floor so that people could grab shovels and start filling the sandbags. Once a sandbag was filled you passed it onto the next person who tied it up, and then down the line of people who then stacked them onto pallets. There were 3 MILLION sandbags filled!!! Matt and I only stayed a couple of hours there because there were so many people we were stepping on each other. After that we headed home and it was a good thing we left when we did, the police had shut down I-94 between Fargo and Moorhead and were using it as an evacuation route only. It was fun trying to navigate our way home using back roads.

I was truly grateful for this experience. Our family has already been blessed because of it. I am also truly grateful for all of you who have reached out to Matt and I since he has been layed off. We love each and every one of you!

Tough Guy

Maybe it's the age (almost 2) or maybe it's just because he's a boy, maybe it's none of these, but instead a completly unknown reason. My cuddly little mommys boy has turned into a tough guy!

Shawn lately has been big into play fighting, wrestling, detroying things, and shooting everything. It's really funny and cute, but I miss my sweet little man!

Girls Night!

A couple of weeks ago Matt had to go on a overnight campout with the Boys Scouts. I decided that Abby and I needed a little Mommy-Abby time so we broke out the Nail polish and facial stuff! I didn't think Abby would like the face mask because of how hard it gets on your face, but being my daughter and the girly girl that she is, she was in heavan!

Family Home Evening

Dinner at Long John Silvers


River City Bowl and Arcade






the kids and daddy with their prizes: Candy



and nerf guns!








We won over a thousand tickets!









Shawns favorite games are the shooting games!



(I wonder where he gets it?!)










Daddy and Shawn











Abby shooting








We aren't very good about having Family Home Evening every week and when we do have it, it doesn't usually include a lesson. It's on my todo list of things to be better at. Going to the Arcade is one of the kids favorite things to do, so we usually just count that as FHE.

The Dentist

Abby had her first trip to the dentist! I also had an appointment, so I went first so she could see everything they were going to do. I couldn't believe how interested she was in everything. When it was her turn she jumped right up there and let them count her teeth, do the xrays, brush and do the flouride treatment. The hygenist said that it's extreemly rare for a first timer to let them do everything. Abby earned herself two prizes for being so great!

~Santa~

Every year we take the kids to see the jolly ol' man himself. In fact we usually see two or three Santas! I've been blessed in the fact that I dont have very shy children, they love going and sitting on his lap and telling what they want for Christmas, of course it helps that they usually get candy afterwards! This last year Abby was especially funny, when we went and saw our third Santa, she actually said, "I already told you what I want for christmas, dont you remember!?" She's a smart one! I have a feeling she might learn the truth waaayyy to early. I wish I could keep them small forever~

Christmas in February!

I'm FINALLY getting around to posting our christmas pictures, better late than never right?

I thought it would be fun to make gingerbread (or in this case grahm cracker) houses with the kids. I thought it would be so easy to slap a little house together and then let the kids loose to decorate. Boy was I wrong! Matt and I each made a house, Matt thought his through and made a plan, he had interior walls, windows, and even roof trusses to make sure his house was structurally sound. Mine was the complete opposite! Never in my entire life did I think making a tiny house would be so frusterating! Next year I'm going to buy the kit where the house is already put together.