Nehemiah's last day as an 11 month old

Nehemiah's new "trick"... he's a puppy!

I love how he squenches up his nose!


Look at those little toofers!
And those long eyelashes!

And his whiney face... it's cute now but it won't be so cute in a year! Ha ha ha

Look at his top gums... those teeth are about ready to PoP through!

Voila! My sweet Nehemiah. He's ONE today.
Birthday pics coming soon.

Nehemiah's Birthday Gifts

My sweet, scrumptuous, adorable baby will be ONE tomorrow.

Here's a sneak peak of his birthday gifts.
I was going to title this "My Family Loves Me" but Tony suggested this title instead, so we could have his name on the front.

This is all sewn, made of fabric and has lots of texture too!

A closeup of the shapes that fit in the shape pocket.

This is an "I Spy" bag. It's filled with over 40 tiny things that you have to find. It's really a little advanced for Nehemiah but I wanted to make it so I did :)

The back has a vinyl pocket and laminated tag with a photo of all the things in the bag.

Caleb's Woodworking ~ Spatulas *for sale*

Aren't they pretty?!
Caleb makes these by hand using Red Oak.

They are sanded very smooth and finished with food grade mineral oil.
$10 each
Just email me if you want one or fifteen or whatever -- LOL
dana@tonyanddanalewis.com
Thanks!

Home Tour Continued ~ Our Living Room

A while back I started doing a 'Home Tour'....

During our 'spring cleaning' this week I worked on a way to display the children's artwork and photography and I wanted to share those pics with you. I also realized I never posted a 'After' picture of the Home Reserve Furniture so here goes...

The bookshelves are along the back wall of the living room.
Standing in the doorway from the back porch this is to your right.

and from the same point, this is to your left.

The huge, useless, monstrosity of a fireplace that I wish would just disappear overnight! I could sure use that square footage!

I just finished the top photo collage. It needs to be rehung higher but I just used a nail that was already there. I wanted to have photographs of the children's grandparents where they could see them often.

On the cabinet, L to R: Aunt Louise, my maternal grandfather's parents on their wedding day, Matt with Jenn and Landon, and a photo from our wedding with our parents (before the divorces).

In the frame, clockwise:

My mom with her red-haired grands, Elijah and Molly, Tony's grandmother, Grandma Alma and Grandpa Lonnie (Nissley), me and my dad, Tony's dad, Tony's mom and step dad and in the center Aunt Louise and Uncle Max.

Over the short end of the sectional.

I wanted to display the children's artwork and photography.

I really like how this turned out!

Here's a closer shot.

I have such talented children!
The view from the dining area.

The view from the hallway.

I hope you enjoyed your tour! Please stop by sometime, kick off your shoes and snuggle up on the sectional... MaryVance will bring you your favorite drink and we can visit!

Joey-isms, part one

Joey had his head in my lap and he was upside down to my face.
He said "I am upside down!"
Then he turned right side up and said "I am upside up now!"

Hahahaha!

Matt & Jennifer's Reaffirmation Ceremony

Nehemiah's ten month pictures...

He is such a delightful baby!.....
Aww... you can see his two little toofers in this picture!

Such sweet, sweet smiles! :-)

....

I love this face!

Trying to escape!

The boy with his ball...

He was reaching for a cat in this picture,

:-D

**Post and Photography by Molly**

Home Sweet Home

We had a fabulous time in KY! The Creation Museum is wonderful!!! We had a great time with friends, old and new. Praise God for His glorious creations!! Pics coming soon!

Luke's New Look

Reading glasses! Luke had been having headaches so we took him to the eye doc. The eye doc said that he has a lot of eye strain (from all the reading -- Imagine that!) and that reading glasses will help with that!

Isn't he cute?!

Baby Girl Pillowcase Dresses

Some ladies over on HearthKeepers asked if I could scale down the pattern for their little girls. Here we have four baby girl sizes. I'm still measuring and trying to determine sizes but I think they are Newborn, 3 mo, 6 mo, 9-12 mo.
When I get them properly sized I will make the patterns available. Yep.

I want to share something with y'all!

Bring Them Home

This is the store for a lovely young lady, my 'adopted niece' Lauren. Her family is adopting a family of five from Ethiopia. She is wanting to do her part to contribute to the air fare needed to bring them home. She takes beautiful photography and created graphic art with text, etc... Here is one example:

"Before I formed you in the womb I new you" was the inspiration for this original graphically designed piece of art. Sepia tone print inset with a warm cocoa brown mat and 16x13 Walnut frame."
Lauren has taken our family photographs for the past several years. Her mother is my dearest friend in MO. Many of you remember our Luke's drowning accident last summer... this young lady, Lauren, is the one of the sisters who administered CPR to Luke. Please go look at her site! Her work is lovely and her cause is a wonderful one...

I'd like to share two more of my favorites and then I'll stop gushing...




"This beautiful and tender sketch expresses the precious relationship between father and child. Showcased in a charcoal black mat encased in beautiful black frame (15x12")."Text reads: "A father reaches for a hand, but touches a heart."
"Text reads: "One of the GREATEST things in the world is to learn to see Beauty in the Commonplace"Black 12x12" frame with cream mat."
A note from Lauren: Not all are called to adopt, however, we are all called to minister to orphans in their distress. Anyone can love and minister to orphan children by helping other families adopt. Our family is adopting a sibling group of 5 orphaned children from Africa. The children were once a part of a loving Christian family, but death and disease took their toll leaving the children without parents and without hope. What if the roles were reversed? What if it were us in the desperate situation pleading for a Christian family to take our children and give them a life and teach them about Jesus? What if everyone turned their heads because of there were so many children, or it took so much money....Heaven forbid. The cost of international adoption is huge, and the goal of raising children from a vastly difference culture a lofty one. Later this year, my parents will be traveling to Africa to bring our 5 children home. 100% of the proceeds from my art sales will go toward their airfare. I am excited to do my part to "minister to orphans in their distress." With that goal in mind...I present my photographic art!
A note from Dana: I have a favor to ask of you all, my blogging friends. Please share this story with everyone you know, blog about it, share any way you can. As Lauren said "Not everyone is called to adopt" but we are all called to minister to orphans. Sharing the word about Lauren's store is one very easy way we can all be involved in Bringing Them Home!
Please, go look at her store now and share the link with everyone!!
Bring Them Home on etsy. Thank you all!