Update on the Lewis Fam!

Hey everyone, I hope that your holiday season is going great so far as we are only 3 measley days away from Christmas. We are doing magnificent and have so much to praise God for everyday. My prince (that's Anthony) just celebrated his 28th birthday on December 17th so we have been in Birthday Zone this past week. We celebrated on the 18th by going to Disneyland to enjoy their beautiful Christmas decorations and stopping by California Adventure to learn to draw a disney character in the animation department since my lovely husband is an artist. We came home for dinner and I made Anthony a new recipe I got from Healthy Decadence on Fit Tv. It was Barbecued beef sandwiches and they were SOOOO good.

We had an actual party on the 20th and went to Medieval Times with Anthony's brothers and it was a lot of fun. After dinner we came back to our house for some cake and video games. The boys had a good time together and Anthony was around his best friends, Me and his brothers and that is what I wanted for him. I got him an XBox 360 and some other little gifts and he has really enjoyed that. Having a birthday so close to Christmas can feel cramped but I absolutely try to do it up for him.

Our Christmas plans are different this year and it's an adjustment but I sincerely can't wait for it to happen. Since we are married this year we are spending our first Christmas staying at our home. We are going to have a little Christmas dinner by ourselves and open gifts and watch Christmas movies to our little childless hearts content. This is a year of freedom and couplehood for us and we want to really cherish this time. We are going the day after Christmas to have time with Anthony's family and I won't be seeing my family this holiday season. Traveling is so expensive so my family will get boxes of love from California holding their gifts. I am sad about it but also realize that every year holds new things in our lives and they are adjustments.

Well that is our updates for today and I am going to be posting some pictures later on and doing a new family member of the week! I have a little more time right now as I am on break from school and practicum and really enjoying family time. Come on over to my personal blog later on and read my newest post (I am getting ready to write) and keep us updated on your lives as well.

By the way, no baby news as of yet but we will let you know after we let our families know...when it happens! :) Keep us in your prayers for this season of our lives.

--e. lewis

Health in the Lewis Family

Anthony and I have really been thinking and working on our health lately. We are both significantly overweight and we know that. We both want healthy children and healthy bodies so we have started really supporting each other in that goal. I have a life threatening illness in diabetes and Anthony hasn't seen a doctor in years so we are not in the best position. I have now scheduled Anthony a doctor's appointment and physical and I have begun a meal plan for diabetics wanting to become pregnant. We are both on a very structured meal plan and working our butts off to do what we need to do.

We would appreciate prayers directed our way for this goal as we are both tired of being overweight and unhealthy. This is the beginning of our lives together and we want that life to be happy and healthy! Thanks for stopping in. We will update on this regularly! Hopefully next time we'll have some numbers for you. We aren't afraid to share our weight if it helps others know how serious we are about changing those numbers. If you have any advice for us, spill it! :)

Family Member of the day!

Ok, so I decided to do a string of posts kind of like my Christmas songs and movie posts but this time it will be our family members. Anthony and I have 5 siblings between the two of us and of course our parents, the siblings significant others, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc... so we thought a great part of our blog would be to let you know our family piece by piece. Today I am going to do a piece of Anthony's family since we have new photos from Thanksgiving. Our first family member to talk about is Paul Lewis, Anthony's little brother. He is the youngest Lewis boy and Anthony and he have a very close relationship. They like playing video games together on the Xbox 360 or Wii and basically do that the whole time they hang out. Paul is dating a girl who he has been with for 3 years or so named Misti and she has a daughter named Hailey who we love so much. Here are a few pictures for your viewing enjoyment!

Our First Married Thanksgiving

As you all know, I agreed to host my husband's family for Thanksgiving. Let me just tell you that it went AWESOME. The food all turned out excellent and got done at the same time and everyone had a lot of fun. Anthony and I cleaned the house to crazy wife standards and then by 7 am we started cooking. Our Menu consisted of the following

Turkey
Ham
Mashed Potatoes
Stuffing
Sweet Potatoes *candied*
Corn
Green Bean Casserole
Rolls
Deviled Eggs
Cheeseball
Cocktail Weinies with sauce
Macaroni & Cheese
Gravy
Pumpkin Pie
Strawberry Rubarb Pie
Lemon Squares
Chocolate Chip cookies

Let me just say that EVERYTHING was homemade and from scratch and it went so well. Everyone complimented our lovely home and the amazing food which felt so good. I did it, I succeeded in throwing my first family holiday and it went wonderfully. The brothers all played video games after dinner and I took some pictures to soon be on here as well as facebook and myspace. I hope you enjoy them and I am also going to add pictures of our Christmas decorations that we have up. After it was all over, everyone asked that I host Thanksgiving every year. Oh boy, what have I done?! :) Anyway, Anthony was smiling and that's all that matters to me! I hope yours was fantastic as well!

My Firsts!

I am doing this so Renee from Life with my Special Ks can be a voyeur and peek into my world. If you are reading this and haven't done it, consider yourself tagged and let me know that you did it so I can peek at your blog

1. Who was your FIRST prom date?
Did not go because I wasn't interested in wearing a dress! :)


2. Do you still talk to your FIRST love?
No, it would be far too awkward as we are both married people now.

3. What was your FIRST alcoholic drink?
You know, I don't remember. I haven't had a lot of alcohol in my lifetime to be honest, it really isn't my thing. I would guess it was something hard though that my mom gave me a taste of because I was curious and she wanted to turn me off to it! She says it was Everclear! WOW

4. What was your FIRST job?
I babysat a few times but my first job that I would consider was that I worked at Shoney's a sit down restaurant back home in Indiana.

5. What was your FIRST car?
My first car was a 1986 White Ford Taurus. Yeah, I was cool! :)

6. Who was the FIRST person to text you today?
I am not sure that anyone has yet today.

7. Who is the FIRST person you thought of this morning?
Anthony because he turned on the light before my eyes were ready!

8. Who was your FIRST grade teacher?
Mrs. Menaugh and we still keep in touch as she is one of my friend's moms.

9. Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane?
To Mexico from Indiana

10. Who was your FIRST best friend and are you still friends with them?
Shane Stroud and yes I still talk to him when I see him which isn't often because I don't go back home a lot but as in REALLY friends...I probably would not consider us REALLY friends anymore.

11. What was your FIRST sport played?
Softball, I played on a league from the time I was 5 on.

12. Where was your FIRST sleep over?
I think it was at Amanda's, my cousin.

13. Who was the FIRST person you talked to today?
Anthony (see question about him turning on light before I was ready..bitter much?!)

14. Whose wedding were you in the FIRST time?
I was one of my mom's junior bridesmaids when she married my step dad when I was 5.

15. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning?
Be assaulted by the bedside lamp and said "Anthony, I wasn't ready!"

16. What was the FIRST concert you ever went to?
Boyz II Men when I was 15.

17. FIRST tattoo or piercing?
I don't remember when I got my ears pierced but I know I was REALLY young and I got my first tattoo on December 28, 2004 and it is a tortoise.

18. FIRST foreign country you went to?
Mexico on a missions trip in High School to Guadalajara

19. What was your FIRST run in with the law?
Probably my first speeding ticket when I was 19.

20. When was your FIRST detention?
8th grade when I said to my teacher that he was a "dip stick." Yeah, I did not have a filter back then.

21. What was the FIRST state you lived in?
Indiana

22. Who was the FIRST person to break your heart?
Probably Andrew because he said we were unequally yoked or something. It was a weird way to break up with someone.

23. Who was your FIRST roommate?
In my actual room, Kelsey and Tori when I started at Vanguard. Before that at Indiana state I had my own room in a quad.

24. Where did you go on your FIRST limo ride?
To school, my grandpa had two limos and I went to Elementary School in a limo every day! YES, True Story!

Silver Bells

Today's Christmas Song is Silver Bells.

City sidewalks busy sidewalks .
Dressed in holiday style
In the air
There's a feeling
of Christmas
Children laughing
People passing
Meeting smile after smile
And on ev'ry street corner you'll hear

Silver bells silver bells
It's Christmas time in the city
Ring a ling hear them sing
Soon it will be Christmas day

Strings of street lights
Even stop lights
Blink a bright red and green
As the shoppers rush
home with their treasures

Hear the snow crunch
See the kids bunch
This is Santa's big scene
And above all this bustle
You'll hear
Silver bells, silver bells
It's Christmas time in the city
Ring-a-ling, hear them sing
Soon it will be Christmas day

Here is Silver Bells sung by Elvis...





Today's Christmas Movie is one of my favorites "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation"

Here is a clip



Have a lovely day!

Up on the housetop

Today's Christmas Song is "Up on the Housetop"

Up on the housetop reindeer paws
Out jumps good old Santa Claus
Down through the chimney with lots of toys
All for the little ones, Christmas joys
Ho, ho ho! Who wouldn't go? Ho, ho ho! Who wouldn't go?

Up on the housetop, click, click, click
Down through the chimney with old Saint Nick

First comes the stocking of little Nell
Oh, dear Santa fill it well
Give her a dolly that laughs and cries
One that will open and shut her eyes
Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn't go? Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn't go?

Up on the housetop, click, click, click
Down through the chimney with old Saint Nick

Next comes the stocking of little Will
Oh, just see what a glorious fill
Here is a hammer and lots of tacks
Also a ball and a whip that cracks
Ho, ho ho! Who wouldn't go? Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn't go?

Up on the housetop, click, click, click
Down through the chimney with old Saint Nick


A video to go with it...



Today's Christmas Movie of the day is The Grinch That Stole Christmas with Jim Carrey and the Original Cartoon Version. Enjoy the videos....





Have a glorious day and don't be a Grinch!

Hosting Turkey Day

So here I am in my first married year and I am challening myself quite a bit by hosting Thanksgiving Dinner for our family. We have invited Anthony's immediate family and that's all we can really house in our 1 bedroom/1 bathroom apartment. I am pretty nervous about getting everything done on time, making sure the house is uber-clean, and having everyone here to enjoy dinner. Anthony is a very big help so I know he will be right beside me helping me make it marvelous but I have to be honest that I am nervous to cook for my in-laws. I am extremely blessed in that I have two amazing brother in laws and a great mother in law. My mother in law is also re-married to Anthony's step father and he's pretty cool too. Anthony's brothers also have great partners to share their lives with so I at least like everyone coming to my house for dinner.

So far the menu is Turkey, Ham, mashed potatoes, homemade mac & cheese, deviled eggs, yams, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and lemon squares. Let me know if you have any recipes that will wow a crowd. I am nervous so rest assured the blog will be with me all the way. Look forward to some pics being posted of my big day!

--e-

For kids from 1 to 92

I hope everyone is getting in the Christmas Spirit. Today the Christmas Song of the day is ....

The Christmas Song

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire,
Jack Frost nipping on your nose,
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir,
And folks dressed up like Eskimos.

Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe,
Help to make the season bright.
Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow,
Will find it hard to sleep tonight.

They know that Santa's on his way;
He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh.
And every mother's child is going to spy,
To see if reindeer really know how to fly.

And so I'm offering this simple phrase,
To kids from one to ninety-two,
Although its been said many times, many ways,
A very Merry Christmas to you

Here is a beautiful version of it by Nat King Cole



The Christmas Movie of the day is ...

The Christmas Story

Here is the awesome trailer....



Have a marvelous day and be careful, you'll shoot your eye out!

You can plan on me...

The Christmas Song of the day is "I'll be Home For Christmas"

I'll be home for Christmas
You can count on me
Please have snow
And mistletoe
And presents 'neath the tree

Christmas eve will find me
Where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams

Christmas eve will find me
Where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams
If only in my dreams


Here is a montage of Thomas Kinkade paintings set to the beautiful song by the Carpenters "I'll be Home For Christmas"



The Christmas Movie of the day is "The Santa Claus" trilogy with Tim Allen. They are all three wonderful and certainly a part of my collection

Here is the Santa Claus 3 Trailer



Have a wonderful day!

I'm dreaming of.....

A white Christmas!!!! Yes that is today's Christmas Song and Movie of the day!

Enjoy...

The lyrics:

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten,
and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white



and my favorite scene from the movie...



Have a wonderful Christmas joy filled day!

A very special giveaway

Hey everyone, I wanted to make mention of this really great giveaway on my friend Renee's blog. There is an artist who makes just gorgeous pictures and she is giving one away in this drawing. I personally entered to get one of my beautiful nephew who I can't see because he is playing up in heaven! Just

Visit her blog for a chance to win!.

I hope you all have a great day and if you win, let me know who you chose to get in your picture.

--e-

Christmas Song of the Day!

I am starting new posts up and through Christmas that have Christmas themes like Christmas music, Christmas Movies, Christmas stories, Memories, etc.... so enjoy my Christmas posts and feel free to comment and add your favorites!

Song of the day: Home for the Holidays

Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays,
Cause no matter how far away you roam,
When you pine for the sunshine of a friendly gaze,
For the holidays, you can't beat home, sweet home.

I met a man who lives in Tennessee,
He was headin' for,
Pennsylvania, and some home made pumpkin pie.
From Pennsylvania, folks are travelin'
Down to Dixie's sunny shore,
From Atlantic to Pacific,
Gee, the traffic is terrific.

Oh there's no place like home for the holidays,
Cause no matter how far away you roam,
If you want to be happy in a million ways,
For the holidays,
You can't beat home, sweet home.

Take a bus, take a train
Go and hop an aeroplane
Put the wife and kiddies in the family car
For the pleasure that you bring
When you make that doorbell ring
No trip could be too far

I met a man who lives in Tennessee,
He was headin' for,
Pennsylvania, and some home made pumpkin pie.
From Pennsylvania, folks are travelin�
Down to Dixie's sunny shore,
From Atlantic to Pacific,
Gee, the traffic is terrific.

Oh there's no place like home for the holidays,
Cause no matter how far away you roam,
If you want to be happy in a million ways,
For the holidays,
You can�t beat home, sweet home.
For the holidays,
You can�t beat home, sweet home.


Here is a video of the song in case you were humming along and want to hear it now. This is done by the Osmonds! Along with it is some of the Osmonds show to enjoy. :)



Christmas Movie of the day is none other than Miracle on 34th Street which is my favorite! Here is the theatrical Trailer from the 1947 version! I love this movie



Here are some scenes from the newer version set to Josh Groban's "Believe." I hope you enjoy it and maybe rent it and enjoy it with someone you love. I love Christmas!!!



I hope you are in the Christmas Spirit now and continue to check in for more Christmas Joy!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

It's Christmas season in the Lewis house. Anthony and I are huge Christmas fanatics so life has been very Red and Green lately for us. We start thinking about Christmas November 1st and think about it through to the New Year. Anthony and I went last week and bought our first Christmas tree together. We just got a 6.5' artificial tree and it is full looking and pretty nice. I grew up having both artificial and real trees and as clean up goes, I feel we picked the right thing. We also took a nice little trip to Pier 1 and picked up some decorations and ornaments that we liked for our tree and apartment. We also got a tree skirt and our beautiful stockings. We are having so much preparing for our first married Christmas and our first Christmas in our own place. Life is sweet!

We don't have any AMAZING plans or anything for Christmas other than enjoying each other's company and spending time with family. We are so excited and just wanted to share our passion for Christmas hoping it would make yours light up too! I will add pics at some point of our Christmas tree! You know you want to see it!!!!

Merry Christmas begins here!

Doctor's orders

I am back from good old Indiana. I have been back for quite a few days but have been eating up every moment with my husband that I could get. Indiana was a good time and everything went very well. I saw about 5-6 friends from high school that I haven't sene in years and others that I have seen but love seeing every time I go home. I got to see quite a few of my friend's children and also was able to go trick or treating with the cutest Hannah Montana (Riley) and Sharpay (Hailey) that you have ever seen. My sister's shower went off great and everything was a hit in terms of the plans that I made for it. Stay tuned to the blog for pictures of the amazing food that my caterer came up with (April Saliba) and pictures from my sister's wedding the day after. I have a new brother in law who I very much like and things are good for them as they are expecting their first child as well.

As I have previously mentioned, Anthony and I are working on the baby plans. I saw my doctor yesterday and it turns out I am doing everything right in terms of my health. I have started prenatal vitamins, working out regularly, and even eating much differently than before. We are keeping close tabs on everything and my diabetic doctor is making medication changes and helping me with a urinary tract infection so that everything will be a go. Being a diabetic, I have to watch every little thing and be super critical of what I do during this time. Anthony and are so excited to have a baby. We have been keeping a journal for our little one since we started talking about it and moving towards it so someday they will have the full story of how it all came about. (some details are excluded ha ha!)

Please keep us in prayer as we go forward in our plans and we'll keep everyone posted as soon as we know anything new. Baby Lewis...coming your way soon!

--e--

Our first time away...

Anthony and I are going to be spending the next 4 days apart while I travel to see my sister get married in Indiana. Anthony could not go with me due to us using his vacation time for our own wedding. Now, we are not a clingy couple by any means. Anthony works a lot and I am often home alone but there is something different about being apart in the same state and being states away. I guess it is always nice to know he can come and rescue me when I need rescued. He is my prince after all! I have no shame in admitting that I need him daily. Hence, I married him! :)

Anthony and I were talking last night about being apart and we were both kind of emotional about it. It is a great time in our lives and we are happy about it so being apart is kinda tough. We have only been married for almost 3 months so we still are in the honeymoon stage and we just have to keep that old saying in mind ..."Absence makes the heart grow fonder!"

I am off to pack and get my nails done so I hope everyone has a beautiful Halloween!

--E--

First day and very sore.

So as the preconception goes, here are the main rules of the game.

1. Erica must be in tip top diabetic form to conceive.
2. Erica must be properly eating and exercising.
3. Anthony must be taking care of himself as a daddy should.

So that being said, Anthony and I had our first married night at the gym. We got married for a reason, we are a great team. We got there and did a 10-15 minute warm up on the treadmill to get our bodies nice and warm. We then hit free weights and did some basic upper body exercises. I have to strengthen these arms to carry baby Lewis. We then went to the weight room and did some of the machines for our upper bodies including chest press, overhead press, and even some ab work. After we were done we did some stair mastering and headed outside for a cool walk around the building as we both hate walking in place on the treadmills for very long.

We had a great time together and entirely encouraged each other to be stronger and go harder and longer than we would have alone. I am proud of us. Anthony is up in Fontana today visiting his little brother. Paul turned 25 today so they are having brother time. I am using the afternoon off to sit at Starbucks and study as I usually do on my time alone. I had one of their new awesome Piadinis which I love and a fruit parfait and my special drink, CHAI with sugar free vanilla and non fat milk and with that, my day is complete. Well, and the fact that Anthony bought me two new pairs of cute shoes today from Steve Madden helped out too!

Anyway, I thought I should document our first day of baby-Lewis boot camp and hopefulloy as we continue the workouts will get easier but for some reason, I doubt that! :) Have a lovely day and I hope your sabbath was peaceful.

Pre-Conception.

Anthony and I are in a very special place. We are in pre-conception. Yesterday I started with my diabetic doctor to get ready for baby Lewis. I am not pregnant so that we are clear but...we are going to be getting pregnant soon *not telling just how soon* and we are excited but also realize that with the mommy (that's me) having diabetes, there are some other steps to baby-making. My diabetic doctor is trying to nail down the perfect dose of insulin and other meds to make sure I am tightly controlled. I am working out now *yuck* in order to get strong and healthy for baby's arrival. Also, Anthony is making better health choices in order to make sure the baby has a very strong and healthy daddy! We can't believe we are at this point in our life but our urge is to hurry it and get pregnant. It is truly a discipline at this point to not just throw caution to the wind. We will keep you posted on the process but mainly it's weight loss, health, and prepardedness physically. Keep us in your prayers and I can't wait to write conception without the PRE! :)

A giveaway and blog worth checking out

Hey everyone, one of my favorite blogs is doing a giveaway in honor of a year in the blogging world. Stop in and enter her contest and moreso, read the blog, it is truly amazing how this family displays faith, hope, and humor!

The Special K Giveaway

Making, Finding, and Having Time

Anthony and I are learning a new marriage lesson lately. That lesson is about TIME. We neither one have a whole lot of extra time with our busy schedules. Two days of the week I spend the entire day down at school taking classes, one day a week I am with clients the whole morning and afternoon. The days I am off school, I am doing homework that takes a lot of my time. Anthony works 5/7 days ...sometimes 6/7 days and he works over 10 hour shifts most days. As you can imagine, we are having a hard time finding time.

This week Anthony had tuesday off and we went out to a wonderful dinner at Black Angus where we had a lovely steak dinner and noone had to do dishes or cook. It was delightful. The downside is that we don't have a lot of time together but the up side (which this pollyanna always likes to find) is that when we do have time together, we no longer waste that time by sitting on the couch watching tv, doing other things, or scheduling other tasks while we are together. Now, we treasure this time so much that we turn off cell phones, don't get on the internet and only watch tv if it's something we bond over (like CSI:Las Vegas)

So, I guess my lesson is that time is relative and it matters what you do with your time and you have to MAKE time for each other. God is continuing to teach us every day on this journey called marriage. So far, it's a great trip. We are going on 2 months married soon! :)

Have a lovely day everyone!

Mr. Clean

I am so grateful today as I am sitting at school and my house is cleaned up by my beautiful husband. I had school last night and he spent his day off cleaning our apartment. He is amazing. I have been lucky the whole two years of knowing and loving him but being his wife is something else entirely. I really admire Anthony and all that he does at our house and thought that the blog deserved to know that!

The Lewis Family Craft

Anthony and I learning to knit and don't laugh! Anthony is only learning because I have very poor fine motor skills and arts and crafts are not my strength so he learns things like this to teach me. I am academic in every way. I learn things through books, reading, classes, etc.... I have never been very artsy and for this reason I have been sad! I love seeing people create things and I always feel in awe of people who create masterpieces and make homemade gifts and just feel left out when I talk to other people who do this. For this reason, I have taken on scrapbooking, card making, ornament making, and now knitting. I have learned to do the cast on tonight and I am excited as it soon did not feel so foreign to me. I love my husband for sitting in front of Youtube learning how to knit so he can teach me. It is impressive to see a man with knitting needles and pink yarn just because his wife REALLY wants to make her own scarf! I love him! SIGH! :)

Growing while Grocery Shopping

Lately I have been really trying to adjust to the jobs that come with being a wife. Anthony works about 60 hours a week therefore I pretty much run the house in every other way. I do the cleaning, cooking, shopping, financial managment etc...and I love it. I really like it because I am a bit more organized than him and it makes me feel like I am helping him out a lot when he gets home and can just relax after a long day at work. Today I took my first shopping trip using coupons. I have used minimal coupons before but today I was thoroughly prepared to shop with coupons. I use some blogs that show deals to help me, get the sunday paper, and clip, clip, clip! This week until tomorrow K-mart has been honoring double coupons up to $2.00. I went there today and literally got $95 of products for $15. I came home and Anthony was astounded. I ended up getting several things for free and stocking our shelves with snacks, cleaning products, and health and beauty items like deodorant, lotion, toothpaste, and shampoo/conditioner. I also did our grocery shopping today and came in under budget which was amazing and I got enough food to last us about a month. I am really proud of myself and also very pleased that this actually works.

While I was out there pounding the pavement and going to a billion different stores to get the tuna for 20 cents less, I realized that there is a lesson to be learned here. Probably more than one, but I thought I would share what God is working on me about. When I decided to take on this task of trying to use coupons and work the system to get our household budget down I began with a good plan, great organization, and several hours of preparation. When I went out today, I allowed myself several hours to get the shopping done so I could adequately use the coupons and pick the products that we could use and get them free. It took about 4 hours for me to finish today.

I find it really sad that I spent the time getting ready to get a good deal on groceries but procrastinate about things that really matter in life more than the grocery budget. Now, I am not saying that the grocery budget doesn't matter because it is essential to running our house but there are FAR more important things that I ignore and do not prepare for at all. Here are a couple of examples:

My health -- I do not prepare for my medications to be out. I end up going a few days without things because I conveniently forget to call in meds or just don't pick them up. I don't plan my workouts in such a way that I won't miss them. I treat them as optional and then they become optional.

Homework -- I do not give myself adequate time to finish assignments to my liking. I rush myself and in turn do not feel good about my performance when I really want to learn.

Spritual disciplines -- I do not give myself enough time with the Lord. I push him to the last thing of the day and then I give him what is left of me when I am tired. I am spending time with him but it isn't quality when I treat it this way.

These things were really brought to my attention today and I feel God leading me in the direction of getting these things together! Thank you Jesus for teaching me lessons through the practical. That is, after all, how I learn!

--Erica Lewis--

Moved to tears!

Watch the video below and just thank God for the days that you have before you. These people are truly heroes in my eyes!
Cancer

Wedding Prints for virtually nothing!

Hey everyone, I had to tell you about the great deal I got today thanks to an awesome blog and my own searching....

Money Saving Mom --a few of the ideas came from this awesome blog!

I went onto York Photos, CVS.com, and Snap Fish and made new accounts with each of them. An account with these companies as well as photo storage is completely free. Well, add to that that you get free prints from each company and I was able to get our wedding prints (a total of 120 prints) for about $3.00 total! Is that amazing or what? Also, just a note, York Photos are only 8 cents a print after that so I would suggest that company for further photo needs. Also, CVS.com has amazing deals on gifts like a photo collage poster for $12.49 as do the other companies. The bonus to CVS is that you can order them online and pick them up in your local store so it sidesteps the shipping process and the possiblity of your prints getting bent in the mail. That's a huge issue to me since I ordered a really great print and it was bent completely in half when I received them from another company.

Thanks for stopping in and I hope you get some free prints out of this deal like I did!

--Erica Lewis--

An Awesome Greeting Card Giveaway

Hey everyone, I found a great new blog and there was a chance to win some really beautiful greeting cards so I entered and wanted to share the link with you so you can enter. Also, while you are there, enjoy the blog because it's worth a stay! Have a lovely day and following the link to enter to win!

Enter for Beautiful Greeting Cards

-Erica Lewis--

Instituting a bed time

Does anyone out there have a husband who is addicted to his snooze button? I do! Anthony is having such a hard time getting up in the morning and getting started. The other night, I put my proverbial foot down and instituted a bed time for both of us. I am not really bad about getting out of bed but I am horrible about getting enough sleep for my day and activities. I tend to stay up entirely too late *cough, reading blogs* and then find myself being sluggish the next day getting things done and feeling less than wonderful. We both are in need of a serious BED TIME! I have decided 10:00 is a great bedtime since it will give Anthony at least 7 hours of sleep. He gets up really early in the morning for work but seriously, he will snooze until he is in the danger zone of being late.

I can't institute much earlier than 10:00 because two days of the week I am in class until 10:00. Those are nights that I will probably get to bed around 11:00 instead. I still have to drive home from school so I will get to bed a little later than he will. I know Anthony though, he will stay up becuase he has a hard time sleeping without his wife beside him. AWWWWWW. Either way, I would appreciate any ideas anyone has for getting my husband out of bed or starting him out with some energy in the morning. Also, I need some tips to get me to go to bed even when I want to stay up and read from my favorite blogs

The Howerton Family Blog This is a blog of a friend/professor of mine and I love keeping up on her lovely family and beautiful children.

Mama Manifesto This is a blog that my above friend/professor writes for and it features several moms and great tips, recipes, humor, etc...

My Special Ks This is a blog I stumbled upon yesterday but it's now one of my favorites. It is about a family (The Garcia's) and it just moved me. I can't explain. Give yourself a whole afternoon and go and read about their journey!


Money Saving Mom This is a blog where I Find freebies, coupons, deals, etc...

Newlyweds This blog is about a young family with twins and it features deals, coupons, recipes, and pictures of their beautiful family.




and the list continues! I am addicted to the blog world! UH OH?!

--Erica Lewis

One of my new favorite blogs.

Today my classes were cancelled so I decided to spend the day doing what I enjoy, reading blogs. I found a blog that really interested me and I have read over a years worth of posts already. This family has won my heart and most especially their little girl, Kennedy! If you are interested in reading this families blog go to:

My Special Ks


Also, I wanted to just let the mom know by posting this button that I am truly praying for their little girl. I am still reading in June but intend to finish their blog and keep up from now on. What a lovely family who has amazing faith, love, and dedication to each other. I am in awe of how strong this mother is and how amazing the family is as a whole. Something to aspire to in our home! :)



Much love to the Garcia Family,

Erica Lewis

Homemade with Love.

Anthony and I have decided on our VERY limited budget that this year we are homemaking Christmas gifts and they won't be tacky either. We are using my scrapbook brillance and Anthony's artistic and creative genuis to make homemade cards. Also, we are making our own ornaments, cookies, homemade candy, and the like. We are excited for the Christmas festivities to begin in our house. Today we went over to the mecca of all craftiness, Michael's and bought some card making supplies and I am not afraid to be bold and say they are going to be amazing! You better pray that you are receiving some of them! :) Who knows, maybe we will go into business for ourselves. Well, off to try our first template!

P.S. the picture used for this post is not my creation. I found it online as an example and thought it was pretty. Since I stole it, I will site my source http://www.madejustforyoubylacy.com

I will post my own once I get one made and beyond as we create them for the holiday season. I hope you are all getting excited and prepared for your holidays as well!

--Erica Lewis

Laundry with the Lewis'

You know what I love?! I love Laundry day. Anthony and I are not privelaged enough to be able to have a washer and dryer in our apartment so we have to shlep to the good old fluff and fold when we need clean clothes. Yes, we use our jeans probably more times than the good Lord intended but we do laundry right around once every 2-3 weeks. We have a lot of clothes, for the record. So anyway, I love Laundry day because we get to go and see everyone's "Last outfit" as I call it. This is when you see people who are wearing things that don't go together AT ALL. It was like they rounded up the kids and all of the laundry and as they were getting dressed said to themselves, "Well, I guess all I have clean is this old banana costume." I just love it! More often than not, I have noticed with ladies that is colored skirts of all fabrics and cuts. With men, it is usually sleeveless shirts that look like they had them since high school and some good old basketball shorts and black socks! I just love laundry day for this reason. I thought I would just share that. Anthony and I try to find the best "Last Outfit" we can! Have fun next time you have to do the fluff and fold and maybe just go for some good old fashioned people watching.

It's Christmas season in the Lewis Household

Anthony and I both are Christmas fanatics. We are not like the people who spend thousands on gifts and act like crazy people at the mall. No, we are the people who stay home and make crafty items, bake cookies, decorate the tree, make homemade ornaments, and remember that Jesus is everything to us and therefore we celebrate his birthday like we celebrate mine. In other words, It's Jesuspalooza time! :) Anyway, we have started our Christmas plans already and tomorrow we are going to use some of our time together to head to Michael's and pick up some items for this year's craftiness!

We are really excited to have our first ornaments together, our first Christmas tree, our first Christmas in our own home, and of course our first married Christmas cards. We both are super big on traditions and just can't wait to have some much fun. Tonight we are searching for ornament ideas (I am not going to spend $10.00 per ornament to buy them!) and looking for craft ideas that make excellent gifts. I am big into scrapbooking so I enjoy doing homemade greeting cards that are really cute and things like that. I just can't wait. Christmas has begun for the Lewis' and we are excited! You can't start too early when you are swinging Grad School at the same time!

Bring on the holiday season!!! :)

Married day!

As my days are going on and on, I can't wait until Tuesday. My wonderful husband switched his days off in order to be home with me and have Married day! We have been married for 3 weeks on Saturday and we have not had much time to just enjoy each other's company and hang out. I am looking forward to that time! I am hoping to do a lot with our day but mostly just enjoy every second and pay no attention to the rest of the world. I am so lucky to have the husband I have and I will not take one second for granted! :)

500 blessings!

So when Anthony and I decided to get married, we also decided to make a huge step and I quit working. I worked as a nanny for 4 years and made good money to do so. Anthony decided that he really wanted me to focus on grad school for my last year and that meant he would take on all of our bills by himself. We aren't loaded down with bills like some are but we have enough that it is harder than it has ever been. Last year when my nephew passed away we used a great deal of savings we had built up to fly home in emergency and be there for my family. All of that to say this...we have been broke. I have been finding VERY creative ways to make a buck stretch including clipping coupons, finding ways to make money from home including writing lesson plans for an online tutoring site, reading email for money, and recycling *which we already did anyway*.

This has been more of an adventure for me than a burden and God is teaching us a whole new lesson on dependence. I mean, it was easy to say we depended on God when we made over 4 times the rent but now the rubber meets the road. Lately we have been having to lift each and every bill up in prayer and just really trust God to bring the amount about in our lives. We have had to really change our menu plans by not eating out, cooking economical meals and being ok with not having a whole lot of excess. I am proud to say we have really been growing through this. We are also noticing that God does things so differently than we expect him to.

As you all know, we got married about 3 weeks ago and because we went to Vegas and did not have the traditional exchange of vows, we kind of lost out on all of the great wedding gifts that people get you. That was ok with us as we have a fully furnished apartment now and don't really NEED anything other than money. We were making jokes for a while that we should have registered at AMEX, Mastercard, Visa, and the US Mint. It's not far fetched. It was hard at first that noone really sent us cards and gifts but again, we feel like we have everything we need and it would be nice if someone sent a gift but we really didn't care. Our friends and family that attended the wedding actually did bring gift cards and did nice things to help us out and that was special.

Well, last night when I got home from a long night at school, I stopped at the mailbox in our complex. Inside the box was 2 cards, one for my birthday (Same day as my wedding was) and one for our wedding. The birthday card was really heartfelt and wonderful and when we opened our wedding card, out fell a $500 check! We felt like our hearts might stop. To get $500 right now out of nowhere and not have to work for it was amazing. God went above and beyond what we could ever hope for, dream of, or imagine..as He always does!

So now we have 500 little blessings and our prayer time was amazing last night with praises for most of it. We plan to put that money in the bank and begin to build back up our savings and emergency fund. We also have been feeling God leading us to tithe of of it and also off of our income. It's interesting because I used to tithe when I was single but when Anthony and I started to share money I was kind of afraid to mention tithing again. I don't know why because my husband is an amazing man of God with a moldable and wonderful heart but it was hard for me if I wasn't working. I approached the subject with Anthony a few nights ago before the $500 and we came to an agreement that even if we did not know how the money was gonna get there for bills, GOD CAME FIRST! I am excited about what God is going to give us to help others with. We are excited to start pouring out our blessings on others! We have been praying about where to direct this though as we haven't chosen a church HOME just yet. If anyone knows any good churches in the Anaheim area, ideas are welcomed.

Anyway, we are totally excited about what God is doing in our dependence, maturity, growth, and hearts! It's not really about the 500..it's about the way we are growing and the way we did not just run to spend it but truly sought God on what to do with HIS money! I love the way marriage is looking on us! God is at the center of our marriage and true happiness and peace is finally in my house! :)

I love you Lord,

Erica Lewis

My new Name!

Buy Nintendo DS Lite

A new person!

Today I went to the Social Security Office and changed my name from Erica Lea King to Erica Lea Lewis! That is exciting news and I wanted everyone to know it's official according to the United States now! Anthony and I are very excited that I am officially Mrs. Erica Lewis! Just wanted to tell everyone, I am downright giddy! :)

A give away worth mentioning

So I stumbled upon a giveway contest tonight and wanted to get some entries in order to win so I am posting this on my blog in the hopes that my three entries will maybe win. Also, I hope it helps someone out there to win since it's free money and that is always a good thing! The link for the contest is...

http://newlyweds.wordpress.com/2008/08/19/25-cvs-giftcard-giveaway/

Go ahead and stop by and try your luck! Everyone could use $25.00 at CVS right?

--Erica Lewis

Being real in marriage

Anthony and I have noticed a huge difference in our lives since we got married a couple of weeks ago. We both came from divorced families who really did not give us any focus on how to be married people. We both knew that it was a huge comittment which is why we were together for 2 years before getting engaged and did a whole year of premarital therapy. These things were crucial for us as we went into uncertainty. When we made this comittment, we knew we meant the vows we were speaking. A huge leaf was turned over the day after we became Mr. & Mrs. Lewis. We got serious about our faith.

I know, I know, we should have been serious about our faith before but something in us knew that in our world that we live in, there is no chance for a marriage that isn't centered in Christ. We both had relationships with Jesus before we got married and occasionally invited him into our dating relationship but to be honest, He really wasn't as huge of a part as we should have allowed Him to be. Something dramatically changed when we said those vows. Our life with God has never been better and I personally can attest that God is changing me in ways I never thought were possible. I have been through a lot of therapy in my chosen career and I still think that these last two weeks, I have changed a lot more for the better. God's hands of healing, blessing, and renewal are so powerful.

All that to say, I found out that I am quite domestic. I have fought with all of my might against being the "average wife" and I found out..I am not average, I am really good at this. I thought I would never be a very good wife because I didn't have an example but it turns out, to be a good wife, you just need to love your husband with all of your heart and love your God with everything you have. I know that God is doing this for me and I praise Him for it! I decided that when I find something cool that could be of help to another person being a wife, student, housekeeper, grocery shopper or whatever their role in life is, I am going to add it to our Lewis Family blog in order to spread the word.

Thanks for stopping in today and here are a few sites I use for grocery shopping and meal planning:

http://www.grocerydeals.com/ -- grocery deals in your area
http://www.supercook.com/ -- recipes that match the ingredients in your house
http://www.guidepostsmag.com/ -- Guideposts magazine which always has money saving tips, Godly wisdom, and inspiring stories
http://www.angelfoodministry.com/ -- where we get our food because 2 weeks for 30 bucks can not be beat! This is all over the country and you don't have to be poor to qualify. We make plenty and we still use it because the cost of food is so high.

--Erica Lewis--

The Lewis Family has a new look!

If you are avid readers of our blog (and I hope you are), you may have noticed that we have a new look. I have been wanting to switch over to a non-cookie cutter template for my blog for a long time but I really haven't had the time being that I worked full time and went to school full time. Now, I have some time open so my blogs are going to get more attention. I wanted to let you all know that there is a really cool blog background site that I used for this blog as well as my own personal blog at http://www.ericaland.blogspot.com and it is an amazing site with simple backgrounds that don't take over your blog or make it difficult to read. You can find these backgrounds for your own blog at http://www.simplychicblogs.blogspot.com/

New post to come...

Erica Lewis

Pictures from our wedding!

Here are a few from the ceremony. I am having trouble uploading right now so more later!

Many adventures to talk about

Ok, so most of you probably already know but Anthony and I got married on August 9th in Las Vegas and we meant to. We had it planned for about 2 months and it was a beautiful ceremony and brought so much joy to our lives. We are so excited to be married (11 days today) and have really made some huge growth steps in our lives in working together to keep Christ first. I will add a few pics on the next post for those of you who do not frequent myspace or facebook.

In other news, I start back to school a week from today and I am already praying for time managment and procrastination issues. Graduate School has been one of the hardest experiences of my life and it's not due to the actual work, it's due to my lack of time managment and my tendency to procrastinate. I really don't like these traits in my myself and they are things I want to work on in my discipline so Anthony and I are praying diligently that this year will be different. It might help that I don't have to work!

We had our first houseguest this past couple of weeks. My little sister came in from Indiana for my birthdy and the wedding and we loved having her here. She is the ideal houseguest. She helps clean up, is respectful, and tons of fun. I miss her already although she only left two days ago. Anthony and she get along so well that it's beautiful to see.

Anthony is going through some training for his job this week so it's been surprisingly uneventful and not stressful. We are pretty concerned about our new budget with me not working but we are trying to take it one step at a time and learn new skills in saving money. So far, we aren't so bad at it. We just have to depend on God so much right now.

Well, I guess that's all for now but I will post some pictures next of the wedding in Vegas! Thanks for stopping in.

--Erica Lewis--

May the Force be with you

Ok, just a note. I have finally been coerced. I have spent much of my child and adult life trying to avoid the Star Wars movies. I had a male cousin who was very enthusiastic about them and had all of the figurines and I was pretty embarassed to even know him. My little sister and best friend really loves them and has been wanting me to watch them. My beautiful fiance also likes them and thought I should give them a shot. Well, I have done it. I watched Star Wars: The Phantom Menace last night and I have to say I LOVED IT! I am going to get the next one as soon as Netflix sends it. I might be converted.

A day of goodbyes

Anthony and I spent his day off today with Chris (the little boy I nanny for). I shouldn't call him a little boy since he is now 15 years old and not very little. Tomorrow will be my last actual day working with him. I will have about 4.5 hours with him tomorrow and then I will be done with my job there. I lived with him for over 3.5 years so my heart is a little tender today. I picked him up this morning at 11:30 or so and he had a card for me from he and Richard (his father). It was precious and was very heartfelt from the both of them. We decided to spend our last day together at my apartment with Anthony having a barbecue and going swimming.

We got back to my place and Anthony fired up the grill and we had burgers, hot dogs, and mac and cheese and watched Bad Boys. We then got our suits on and headed to my apartment complex pool and jacuzzi. We spent about an hour chillin in the pool and jacuzzi and I layed on the lounge chair for 20 minutes or so enjoying the warm summer day. We then headed to our complex gym for a few minutes and then back to my apartment for some rest for Erica and the boys went to shoot hoops at the complex court.

I watched my recorded episode of Good Morning America and read some in my book about spiritual disciplines while they enjoyed the Male bonding! :) They came back and played a few games of chess and we ate some leftovers from lunch and took Chris back home. It is really hard to think that I won't see every day of his life anymore. It is hard to imagine that his grades and behavior are no longer my business but it is a new place for Anthony and I to start.

Anthony and I get married in 9 days and it is amazing to me to think about how things are changing right now. My little sister will be here in just a few days (August 4th) and we are going to have plenty of good times. Anthony and I are looking forward to our life together and kind of getting excited/anxious about the things that are changing for us and the new challenges that we are presented with.

Tomorrow is also my last day at my current site for clients and I will be moving to two different sites to take new clients. It is an exciting time but also a trying time as my body feels very stressed and I am seeing a lot of digestive and female issues resulting from it. I could use some prayer honestly as the new things get more routine!

Can't wait to be Mrs. Lewis,

--e--

I like all A's..here is another way to use them!

So I was reading one of my new favorite blogs (Mama Manifesto) and I am not a mom yet but I am VERY close (12 days) to being a wife so there are things on there I can seriously use. So, I decided to add this on to my page as a reminder to me of what Anthony and I need to do each day in our marriage. I am excited to tell him about this tonight and begin our life together. Thanks Mama Manifesto for being a really awesome blog!

Here is the link for those who are interested:

http://www.mamamanifesto.blogspot.com/

You can just as easily read their post but basically this an exercise that was recommended by a book by Tirabassi.... I am going to try it!

The Daily 4 A's:
1. Affirmation
-I appreciated today when you...
-Thank you for...
2. Affection
-a hug, kiss, a touch...
3. Apology
-I felt ___________ when you...
-Is there anyway I irritated, frustrated or hurt you today?
-I'm sorry for having made you feel ________________...
-Will you forgive me?
4. Amen
-Ask your partner if there is anything special you can pray for them.

The great unknown

Anthony and I are getting ready to go into the great unknown. We are getting married in 13 days and I am quitting my job on August 1st. There are so many new things around the bend and so many new experiences to have. I am worried and anxious but excited and thrilled at the same time. We are looking to become fianancial gurus who know exactly what to do with our income cut! Yeah right?!

I have begun to find ways to cut our budget such as in food, entertainment, and taking on things like recycling for money and rolling our coins for dates. We are doing everything necessary to become responsible young married people but for me, it feels like jumping off a building and I am terribly afraid of heights.

I know that if you wait for the "right money situation" to get married or have kids you will never do either but man, I am nervous! Today I need to get all of our paperwork filed, work on our august financial calendar, and do a few last week projects for my job. I am excited about what's coming but I sure wish I could see what God sees right now for our future. Don't we all wish that though?!

Orange County Fair in photos!

Say Cheese

Anthony and I spent our Thursday evening date attending the Orange County Fair with the Theme "Say Cheese." Anthony and I were excited because we thought the whole fair was going to be about cheese so there would be a million cheese eating opportunities. We were wrong. It had a lot of cheese art and things but it was more about the whole photo situation. We had a great time and ate some yummy and unhealthy food and took a few photos. Enjoy!

My beautiful engagment ring

This is my gorgeous ring. One of the pics is from the Kay Web site so it's a bit easier to see. The camera isn't the best thing to capture a diamond. Enjoy!

Our big day

So it happened last night, Anthony asked me to marry him. Even though it wasn't this crazy ornate arranged plan...it was special. Anthony asked me in our house while a song that I really love was playing and we were just enjoying couple time. My ring is gorgeous and I love it. I have been staring at it all day and smiling because his love for me is such a gift from God. Now, I know that this post will make you all ask the big question. "When is the wedding?" I think that the best part about my answer is, 24 days from now. Anthony and I have been talking about just getting married and planning a ceremony to renew our vows after graduate school. We are READY to be married but the wedding planning is not something that I really have time for nor really want to do right now. We are getting married on my 28th birthday in Las Vegas surrounded by only family and VERY close friends. It is going to be a precious day for both of us.

I can hardly wait to be Mrs. Erica Lewis. Thanks for all of the congratulations messages today, it was really special for us. I will post a few pictures of my ring after this post so that everyone gets a gander. I love it, it's so me! He is a great fit too! I love God for giving me such a precious gem...and by that I mean my fiance and soon to be husband, not the diamond.

I love you Anthony!

--e--

A cute little movie

Anthony and I went on a date last night to see the awesome new Disney movie Wall-E. It was precious and gives you a lot to think about. I love going out with Anthony because we have so much fun and he shows me so much attention and affection. I am a lucky girl and the movie was good too! :)

Regression

I just wanted to wear pigtails. So I did!

Anniversary Pictures

This is me at the Melting Pot with a great glass of wine and a huge smile!

Here is Anthony being serious about his skewer fork.

My handsome prince on our big day!

The happy couple in the Melting Pot.

Again, just another angle.

Our awesome cheese fondue

Our beautiful assortment of meats we cooked.

The two year celebration details.

I wanted to get on here and talk about our 2 year anniversary today because it was so special. We really kind of celebrated for two days since Anthony got both the 25th and 26th off work for it. We decided that we both wanted to eat dinner at the Melting Pot to celebrate. We had never been there and it was something we both had heard a lot about and it sounded right up our alley. We also got each other gifts and exchanged some early and some at the dinner. I got Anthony a Dolce and Gabanna Diamond Watch, I made him a digital scrapbook of our last 2 years and got it bound, and then bought a ton of little gifts and themed them in a romantic way to give to him on Wednesday.

Anthony's gifts to me were spectacular. First, he got me a bottle of coach perfume which I really wanted. The bottle is so cute and the perfume smells like heaven. I have been wearing J'dore by Christian Dior for about 2 years so it was time for a new smell. Then, he got me a coach keychain which is a pink leather "E" to hook to my coach purse. It is adorable. At dinner, I was surprised the greatest because Anthony got all dressed up in a suit and tie for me and it was the exact colors and style I want him to wear for our wedding. It was such a precious gesture. I will be posting pictures as my next post. After that, we had the marvelous dinner and Anthony gave me a gift card to Lane Bryant *my favorite clothing store*, a gift card for DSW *LARGE shoe store near our house*, 2 tickets to see Love Guru, and 2 tickets to see Wal-E *the new disney film* We are going to see Wal-E tonight after we both work. The Love Guru will be another day this weekend.

It was such a great anniversary and we were able to really express to each other where we were in the relationship and how happy we were to be there. It was probably one of my favorite days of the last 2 years although they have all been filled with a lot of happiness.

Happy Anniversary to US! :)

Beauty, defined by Erica.

Knowing where God wants you to be, and being there.







Beautiful wildlife in Dana Point.








Remembering those we love who have passed is beautiful.








A beautiful FULL tank of gas.








A beautiful flower








The grill of a beautiful 300.