Jobs Galore!

Today turned out to be a great day. Neil got a new job as a Land Man at Twin Cities today! We are so proud! He starts Monday and is really excited about this new position. I know this new job will be great for Neil. I feel like there is a lot more opportunity to grow with Twin Cities. What an QUICK answer to prayer!

I subbed today at my Alma Mater...Captain Shreve High School for one of my old teachers. It was really bizarre to see some of my old teachers. Not much has changed except for the fact that the dress code seems to be way more relaxed than when I attended. We couldn't even wear backless shoes! Also, there was no shortage of hilarious t-shirts! The political ones were my favorite. I definitely think that grades 6-12 are my thing. The young ones were just too much for me to handle. I felt like a glorified babysitter. Good thing I am getting certified in secondary!

In The Same Boat!

I'm just going to cut to the chase: Neil and I are both unemployed. Around 5 pm yesterday, Neil called me to say "we are in the same boat." I was confused by this because I already assumed we were in the same proverbial boat. I said "What?" He said he lost his job. And I said "what" about 10 times in confusion. When he called I was at DSW with his mom and sister. Bennett and I left and went home to see Neil. I was stressed when I got in the car and do you know that the perfect song for me in that moment was on the radio? Here is the chorus to "By Your Side" by 10th Ave. North:

Cause I'll be by your side wherever you fall
In the dead of night whenever you call
Please don't fight these hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

I cried a little bit and Neil assured me that everything would be fine. I know it will be OK because the Lord has gone before us. He will protect us and be our provider as He always does. For those of you who don't know, Neil lost his job back in 2007. Back then we did not have a baby and I also had a job!

Neil made a bunch of calls today to try to get something going. We are hoping and praying for a new position for him soon. We are looking at this as a positive thing. It was time for Neil to move on because he was unable to advance where he was working. We know that he will be on to bigger and better things.

With trials comes some sweet things. The baby slept the WHOLE night. We fed him this morning aroun 6 and then he slept in our bed until 9 am! Please look at my sweet boys:

Weekend Re-cap

This has been an eventful weekend. Even though we didn't go out of town-we were going non-stop.

Friday: I HAD to make myself study for my Praxis 2. I ran a bunch of errands in the morning. I went to the hospital to visit Ann and she totally helped me study. She drilled me and helped me learn all of the awesome stuff from the study guide. Here's a question for ya: What is oolong? Yea, I didn't know either. It's tea. After my 2 hour study session with Ann...I went home to do a little more studying. No dice. I just cannot study when I can see things that need to be cleaned/folded/put up. Then, I went to get the baby from daycare because I just wanted to have hime here. Having him here made it REALLY hard to study. Grand-Machine was in town for a regatta at the Shreveport Yacht Club. He took us out to dinner at Mare in Shreveport. He spent the night with us too! I think the baby kept him up with his crying. Bennett had a bad night on Friday.

Saturday: I was up bright and early at 5:45 am for my Praxis 2! I got up and met Lynsie at Strawn's so that we could be totally awake and alert for our tests. These 2 future teachers ate some fabulous greasy spoon type food and headed to our tests. We had to be there at 7:30am to start. My test proctors decided to wait for people who were late and we did not start until 8:30...and you have to stay the full 2 hours even if you finish early! I was staring at the wall for a good hour after I finished. Gosh, I hope I pass. I think I might have been studying the wrong stuff...hardly anything I studied was on the test!!! After the test, I went and met Neil and Bennett at the Yacht Club for the regatta. It was neat to see them sailing but, I will have to admit-I had no clue what was happening out there. After the regatta, we went to the Samples house for a crawfish boil and then to the Hanna's for a NFL draft party. Bennett had an action packed-day!

Sunday: We got up and went to Sunday School and church. I am really learning a lot in our Sunday School class. Derek is an awesome teacher. We are studying John. It's taken us about 6 weeks to get through the first chapter and a little bit of the second. Derek really helps me to understand what is going on because he can bring it down to my elementary level! After church, we went to Bistro Byronz with the Montgomery's. We had fun eating brunch and getting to know them. They are a really sweet family from Fort Worth. We came home and Bennett took a little nap. We just hung around the house and made dinner. The Buteaus joined us too.

All in all it was a great weekend. I love being in town and sort-of relaxing. We are getting excited that Nana and Aunt Rebecca are visiting us tomorrow!

4 months, Dinner Parties, and Babysitter!

Last week Bennett turned 4 Months old! He is getting to be such a big sweet boy! He is really starting to get his own personality. Here is what Bennett is up to these days:

-He smiles and laughs...it is the cutest thing you have ever seen.
-He ROLLS over! We are so proud!
-He is sleeping OK. He wakes up 2-3 times a night. We are down to only feeding him once.
-He loves to be outside! He can be crying and the moment you walk outside...he stops! It's like an on/off switch for crying.

-His hands are CONSTANTLY in his mouth.
-He is the love of our lives!

With such a big milestone...comes shots! He was just laughing and looking at himself in the mirror before he got his shots.

I hate the shots worse than he does I think. Daddy was with us this time and he held his head still for the nurse. I watched the whole thing and it was worse than being right next to Bennett! I cried like a baby when my sweet boy turned bright red and screamed in pain. It is the saddest thing to hear. He was A-OK when we got home. (Notice band-aids on thighs)

We had 3 dinner parties last week. On Tuesday, we had Bunco and I hosted. I made Italian casserole and this totally fab cake! Bennett was going to BWW with Daddy but stayed with us instead. His friend Caleb came over too. Caleb was born 2 days before Bennett. We were in the same hospital at the same time and have the same OB! (Caleb had just had his 4 month shots)

We had a new supper club that my friend at Chateau Buteau started. It was a great way to get together with couples who have kids. We had some yummy Italian food. Next month, it's at Casa de Lewis...we are having Mexican!

Last, we had all of our friends over from our annual couples trip. We have been taking a couples trip to the beach every year for the past 4. This year will be 5! I can't believe it's been that long. We are not going to the beach this year because I don't want to be that far away from Bennett and another couple is pregnant! Yay! Also, this will be my first night away from Bennett. I am a little nervous but, I know he will be in "grand" hands with his grandparents!

We went to Ruston on Friday for a nice visit. We went to eat at the new 102-A Bistro. This restaurant is the talk of the town in Ruston. I hope we can go again soon. Bennett had his first babysitter on Saturday night. We went to a wedding of a girl that Neil graduated high school with. Beth (Uncle Andrew's girlfriend) babysat Bennett. She was so sweet to keep him. She said he didn't cry one time! I have to say that I was pretty proud of my little one. I only called her once while we were gone!


Here are Bennett's Stats from our 4 month appointment:

Head: 50th percentile

Length: 23.5 inches (10th percentile)

Weight: 13 lbs 13 oz (25th percentile)

Spoon Feeding!

We fed Bennett dinner tonight with a spoon! His first time eating from a spoon was not a success. I don't think he liked it at all. I think this because he spit out everything I gave him! We asked the doctor what to feed him at first and she said rice cereal and formula in a bowl. She said it would help him to get used to the spoon. He was not a fan. I think he will love it once we move on to bigger and better things. Example: applesauce and bananas! Here are a few pictures of the event!

I call this the "Mr. Burns!"
Here's a video from the first spoon feeding!




We ended up feeding him a bottle of rice cereal and formula so that he would get some nourishment!

Easter

We had a wonderful Easter! We got up and went to early church and Sunday School at FUMC. I was so proud to take our little one to church in his Easter outfit. This week I have been thinking about the sacrifice that our Father made by giving His Son for us. As I look at my precious baby boy...I see how much my Heavenly Father loves me. It is a love like no other!

After church, we drove straight to Squire Creek for Easter lunch. We were pretty late arriving but, it was OK! We were glad to see the family. We went over to Gigi and Grim's house after lunch.

We spent the day in Ruston with the Lewis's and just relaxed. The Wards were in town from Atlanta. Bennett got to meet David, Neil's cousin Catherine, and their 2 kids: Hunter and Hannah.

Bennett had 3 different Easter outfits to wear. This is the first one (Above). I was so excited when I got this...FINALLY!


This is his second "lounging around" outfit. I ordered this from the same Etsy seller that made his tie shirt and shamrock shirt. Grand-Machine put his glasses on Bennett!

Finally, his Easter PJ's. He even has little chicks on the feet! I think he was excited about his Easter Basket!

We had a wonderful Easter. So happy to spend it with our families!

A Family Filled Weekend

We had a wonderful time in Oneonta, AL visiting with my family. I will have to be honest and say that we dread the long trip but, it is always so worth it when we get there! Bennett was a perfect angel the entire 8 hour trip! He slept most of the way and the time he was awake-he was being sweet. We stayed at the Covered Bridge Inn. We will not make this mistake again. There are only 2 motels in Oneonta. Best Western next time for the Lewis Family!

My grandfather, Grump has never met his newest great-grandson. He was thrilled to meet him!
He kept telling all the nurses that Bennett looked just like him!


4 Generations!

We went to lunch at the Downtown Diner and noticed a store across the street called "Bennetts!" I just had to go in and see the place and of course get a picture of the baby in front. We went in and it was a small town department store. I think they have had the same things in there since they opened. BUT!... We went upstairs and found a ton of Feltman Brothers outfits for SO CHEAP! I am so proud of the sweet deals we found.

Here are my 2 steals! I also got him a little sweater to wear with his Easter outfit.

We got to see most of my Grump's brothers and sisters. The only one we missed was Uncle Don. Grump has 3 sisters and 2 brothers. They are in order of girl, boy, girl, boy and so on and so forth. It is really neat to see them all come together to see their brother and his family. They reserved the little conference room at the nursing home and brought in sandwiches and "nack nacks" as Grump called them. Aunt Charlotte brought in 2 crawfish tablecloths to cover the table and then let me take them home for our annual crawfish boil! Aunt Joyce made the most delicious tea cakes. Trust me, they melt in your mouth! She promised to e-mail the recipe. Aunt Sue brought the drinks and cups. I was so glad to see Aunt Bonnie, Red, Uncle Etzel, Phyllis, Mike and Uncle Wayne. Have I mentioned that Uncle Wayne and Grump look just alike? Well they do. It was a great afternoon.

We finished off the day with Aunt Carolyn, Uncle Steve, Uncle Mike, Cousin Carrie, and her boyfriend, Jason. We had a nice meal at Pizza Hut.

Grauntie Carolyn and Cousin Carrie

We got up on Saturday morning and headed to the nursing home to say good-bye to Grump and the rest of the family. Uncle Mike bought us our traditional Easter Peeps. We got on the road at about 10:30 am and pulled in our drive-way at 6:30 pm. Talk about a long day. I always love getting to spend time with my family. There are so few of us and it's great to be with them.

Bennett's first time out of Louisiana!

Laundry Schmaundry

Is it just me or does laundry take over your life? I feel like I am doing laundry from the minute I get home until the time I go to bed! I don't know what it is! Any ideas on squashing the huge laundry bug? I guess I just need to suck it up and get it done. Just had to vent. Thanks for listening Bloggy friends! Here are some fruits of my labor:

Crawfishin'!

We had a wonderful time at our 2nd Annual Crawfish Boil on Saturday. We had people come to the boil from all over the place. We had friends in from Dallas, Houston, Missouri, and even Bossier City! I have been praying for good weather and it was just beautiful! I am talking BEAUTIFUL! My dad got the same band from last year, Pocket Change. They are a pretty good band...I just wish they would play some country music. Neil's co-worker, Brad is a member of the Shreveport Yacht Club and he suggested that we have it out there. It turned out to be a great location and I hoping we can have it out there next year. We had some personalized cups made too. Bennett was about the cutest thing you have ever seen in his crawfish outfit. Everyone wanted to hold him the whole day. I am so glad that so many people love him. Neil, Chris, and Ryan boiled 200 pounds of crawfish! It was the perfect amount with none to spare! A bunch of my friends helped out and made dips and desserts. It was a huge help! I made this and this.

Here are the mudbugs before boiling:

Neil and some guys made the cool crawfish tables last year. They are perfect because you can just throw the shells right in the middle!

I got these adorable crawfish cookies at Cheesecakes and More! So cute and so tasty!

Our little family with the 2nd annual cup and boil pots.

I made a little game for the kids. Crawfishin! I wanted to buy a little kiddie pool but I think the boiling pot worked. The adults had fun with it too.

This is the only picture I have of people eating crawfish! I can't believe I didn't take more!

This was trying to be a Lewis family picture...Let's just call it the "extended family!"

Me and my sweet boy.

Bennett loved stirring the crawfish pot. He is going to love helping Daddy in the future!

All in all it was a wonderful day. We were so glad that our good friends from Missouri came to stay with us too. Ryan and Larkin are about to move to Oregon so it may be awhile before we see them again!

Wonderful Wednesday

On Wednesday, Bennett and I went over to Ruston for a quick visit. He has been a little fussy since Neil went out of town. I think he missed his Daddy. The 2 nights Neil was in Lafayette for his training and test...Bennett did NOT sleep. I am so thankful that Mom was here to help me. I could have never done it alone. Anyway, we got to Ruston and I dropped Bennett off at Nana's house. She babysat him while I went to my MAT meeting at Tech. We met Grand-Machine, Aunt Rebecca, and Uncle Checkers at the Route 33 Grill for dinner. I don't think Bennett liked the food much...he spit up all over Uncle Checkers. It was hilarious to see Andrew's reaction to the spit up.


PS...does anyone know how to add a slideshow to my blog? I have the pictures on Picasa and cannot seem to figure it out!