Bring on 2012!

Our past year was filled with so many exciting accomplishments and the start of new endeavors. We cannot complain, we've been blessed beyond belief!!We already have so many exciting adventures to look forward to in 2012...weddings, family and friend visits, and the arrival of our precious Baby Lewis!!  

Gesabelle's 4th Birthday on Christmas!! 

 Speaking of Baby Lewis, I have been feeling MUCH better and finally enjoying cooking again (especially desserts). My appetite is still pretty sporadic, changing day to day, so grocery shopping is now a weekly task. I'm not craving anything outrageous however  kiwi's, lemons, and fresh cooked spinach are tasting mighty delicious these days :)  I've been able to feel little Baby Lewis now and every time it brings a smile to both our faces! I especially cannot wait for the day Nelson and I can feel these little movements on the outside together!

18 weeks! 

 We had an ultrasound a couple of weeks ago and we were absolutely amazed by all the changes that have already occurred in our little mini.  My 20 week ultrasound is quickly approaching and we are praying our little one will reveal itself just a little bit more :) Neither of us have a preference per say, just hoping that our baby is happy and healthy! It is our prayer that the new year brings you all much love and peace! 

Love, 

The Lewis's 

December...the month of giving!

 December is such a special month as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and say goodbye to yet another year! So we thought now would be the most appropriate time to share a special gift of ours. We have been wanting to share this miraculous gift for sometime, but wanted our family to be the first to know. So now that they've all been informed, Gesabelle wants to show you a picture....

Yes, Nelson and I are expecting our first child, Baby Lewis (for now) on June 4, 2012!!!!!!!

We could not be more excited about this amazing blessing from God and this new chapter in our lives!!!

We have been blessed with a four and half year relationship and six months of marital bliss, and felt that the time was right. It has always been a dream of ours to parent a child or two and God has answered yet another one of our prayers! But there is no denying that these past two months have been ROUGH, and that's an understatement. My first trimester was less than spectacular and I was starting to wonder if I would be able to make it through this pregnancy. I experienced   every   single   symptom one can in the first trimester!! And to make matters worse, I found out after my first appointment that I am anemic. So needless to say, I felt like a worthless walking zombie! But thankfully, Nelson came to the rescue (of course) in more ways than one and helped me get through a day at a time! God willing, I  made it through and I'm coasting in my 14th week of pregnancy!! I would like to especially thank those of you (you know who you are :) for keeping my spirits high and always offering encouraging words! I will be forever grateful for all that you did or say to help me get through!!! We ask that you keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we continue on this journey, and we promise to keep you updated along the way!!

Love, 

The Lewis's 

October & November updates

Can you believe there is only 25 more days left in 2011?! I know what your thinking, where has the year gone?? That's the million dollar question...Nelson and I are trying to figure out where just last two months have gone!!! A LOT has transpired and I will do my best to give you a thorough update!! This post is a recap of October and November and I'll do a separate one for the beginning of December!

First we started off the month of October back in Columbia and Bluffton, South Carolina and we were fortunate enough to visit with some friends and our family . Plane tickets were significantly cheaper in Charlotte and my parents were kind enough to provide transportation to and from the airport! We spent our first Saturday in Columbia tailgating and hoping to see a Carolina Gamecock win...unfortunately the later of the two did not occur. But nonetheless we had a blast with great friends on a beautiful Carolina Saturday!

Gamecock tailgate :)

Patrick, Nelson, and James

The Hales + Nelson

My best friend Lauren

The following day, we visited with one of the sweetest individuals I know, Grandma Smith! I love and miss her so much and can always count on a good laugh while in her presence. 

Grandma Smith :)

We spent the following couple of days shuffling from Bluffton and Estill visiting with our local friends and family. 

Nelson and Randy (Father-in-Law) playing corn-hole in the backyard

 The Shaw family :) (Kelly, Leslie with Baby Caroline, and Ella Rae) 

Our nieces Lekari(L) and Jalena(R) ( she was not happy with me, ha!) 

We got our nephew Byron out of school early so he could hang out with us :)

(Above: Aunt Deloris and Granddaddy Fennell) 

After going through these, I've realized there were many more friends we visited with that we didn't get any pictures of! I sincerely apologize but know that we love and miss you all dearly, and it will be an area we will work on in 2012!!! In the previous years when our nephew Byron played soccer or any sport for that matter, we were always able to attend most of his games. And I must admit that Nelson and I always found it as a great source of entertainment! Fortunately, he happened to have a soccer game the last Saturday we were in town and we scooted over to Hampton in time to see him in action. He has improved so much from the previous year and we were very proud of his hard work and effort!                                                                                            
                                

We wrapped up our visit with a feast provided by only the best, Grandma Smith! My Uncle George, soon to be Aunt Melissia and cousin Bayleigh from Atlanta joined us as well! They are so fun and we always enjoy their company!

Before we left for the airport

 All in all it was a great visit 'home' and we look forward to seeing everyone again this Spring!



On to November....Nelson's parents were kind enough to spend some quality time and the Thanksgiving holiday with us here in Austin! They made the 19 hour trek out West via automobile so that Gesabelle's best friend Redmond could keep her company! ( The sacrifices we make for our pets...insane!) We had been priming her the previous weeks before his grand arrival and needless to say she was ecstatic to see him! It was the first time since we've been here that she didn't sleep in the bed all day, finally they were reunited.

Randy and JoEllen spoiled us rotten during their visit by preparing or providing basically all of our meals. And boy did we feast!!! Now I know exactly what Nelson means when he says everything tastes better when someone else cooks it! This was my first Thanksgiving that I was responsible for preparing the meal, although JoEllen deserves most the credit since she did most of the work anyways :) But we had lots to be thankful for especially the leftovers we ate on for days!

While they were here we tried our best to show them a little bit of Austin here and there. But we left a lot more to the imagination hoping they'll come back and see us sooner, ha! We did manage one day to venture out to what's considered 'Hill Country' (30 minutes west) and visited the Flat Creek Estate Winery in Marble Falls, TX. The grapes that managed to survive this summer's extreme heat wave had already been harvested but we did enjoy a tasting session. Of course Randy bought us two bottles as souvenirs and I cannot wait to enjoy them...although it will be awhile!  

JoEllen wanted to see a Texas Longhorn up close and personal so Nelson took us to the perfect spot! Of course we went on the coldest and windiest day they were here, but nonetheless she can now at least say she saw a real longhorn!!!

We were so thankful for their visit and always enjoy their company! We look forward to their next visit when it will be a little warmer and we'll be able to get outside and venture a little bit more!

Love,
 The Lewis's

Finally Fall...

Wow, September has flown by! It's been quite an exciting month for many of reasons. My parents came to visit during the Labor Day holiday while my sister Clari and my niece Vanessa were down. Vanessa is on a competitive club soccer team and her team played in a tournament here in Austin! It was such a pleasure being able to spend time with family especially now that we live out here! Both Mom and Dad bought us a few housewarming gifts that we so thankful for and will get lots of use out of them! Nelson and I did our best to show our parents a little part of Austin while they were here. Sadly enough, a week for a vacation is never enough...but  I think we gave them a good sneak preview! All in all it was a great visit and I cannot wait for their return in December!

We are also thankful for mother natures relief from the heat finally! The Bastrop, TX fires were terrible and it is refreshing to see how much the community has rallied around to help support those in need. The high for today is 91, may not sound very cool but that's already a twelve degree drop for us from yesterday!!!

Nelson and I having been loving some college football these days because our Carolina Gamecocks are on a roll! And we are especially looking forward to watching them tomorrow from Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia! We hope and pray that life is treating you all well and hope to see many of you in the coming days!!! 

Love,

 The Lewis's

Summertime...when livin's easy

Summer seems to have flown by and we couldn't be happier!!! We've endured a rough heat wave basically since late May, and we are starting to see some relief in the near future. But we haven't completely let the tortourous heat ruin the remainder of our summer adventures and have been trying to make the best of it! We recently (July 30) celebrated my 26th birthday over a delicious seafood dinner and drinks at Pappadeaux. If you have never been, it is a must, excellent food and service!!!

 I've been managing to keep myself busy while Nelson is at work by dog sitting. Our next door neighbors bought a 7 week old chocolate lab named Jack who has become Gesabelle's new bestfriend. It took a little bit of time for her to get used to the munchkin, but now she can't get enough of him!

Nelson's bestfriend James Hale visited us this past week! He is working for a company in Huntsville, AL that has some worked contracted out in Corpus Christi, and he was nice enough to make a short drive up to Austin!! We tried our best to show him various attractions and what all Austin offers its residents. We enjoyed an amazing fine dining dinner at Austin Land and Cattle Company where I think I ate the best pair of pork chops in my life!!! We mananged to venture down to the infamous Sixth Street for some after dinner drinks and entertainment....you cannot visit Austin and not take a stroll or two down Sixth Street! I found cheap       tickets for a Trevor Hall concert at Stubb's BBQ downtown that we all thoroughly enjoyed! It is a really neat intimate venue and Trevor Hall put on an awesome show! If you find him playing somewhere near you, you have to go see him!!!Nelson and James spent almost an entire day venturing around the U. Texas campus, Loop 360 bridge, Round Rock bat bridge (there is twice as many as there was two months ago), and in the west downtown area. James even managed to find a couple of cool spots that Nelson and I didn't even know exist...go figure! It was much too short of a visit but we are looking forward to his next trip to Corpus Christi in a month or two so we can go there! 

We are anxiously looking forward to Labor Day weekend for many of reasons....

1. My mom is visiting for an entire week!!!

2. My sister and niece will be here for 4 days for her soccer tournament!!!

3. And of course, Carolina football kicksoff!!!

38 more days until we get to see all our family, friends, and enjoy some Carolina football at Williams-Brice Stadium!!!

Love,

The Lewis's

Visitors!

July is turning out to be quite an eventful month! We've been fortunate to have some family and friends join us in Austin for a couple of days here and there. My sister Clari and her family from Ft. Worth, Texas were kind enough to celebrate the Fourth of July with us! Nelson and I did our best to keep our niece (Vanessa) and nephew (Ivan) as entertained as possible. Needless to say it's still as hot as ever here, so we all thoroughly enjoyed a day at a water park less than five minutes from our house (the perks of living in a big city)! Ivan has quite the interest in cooking and was my little personal chef assistant for the weekend...I could use him around more often! He helped me prepare all our meals and bake my very first cake (from scratch). It seems like just yesterday they were both itty bitty babies and I was still in middle school/ high school...man how time fly's! We are looking forward to their return for Labor Day weekend as well! Vanessa is an amazing soccer player (one of the top in the state of Texas, no exaggeration) and her club team is playing in a tournament here that weekend! This will be Nelson's very first time seeing her play and he is eager to see what all the hype is about! 

We finally got to video chat with my parents over the Fourth of July weekend as well, and got to see our other nephew (Byron) and niece (Lekari)! Byron and Lekari spent the weekend with Gma and Pops in Columbia and it was soo cool getting to see them face to face....makes us feel like we're really not that far away after all :)

Nelson won four tickets on the radio to a Round Rock Express Baseball game a week ago! We had our friends Ryan and Annetta, also newlyweds join us for an evening at the ballpark. It was so convenient to watch some really good baseball since the stadium is only 10 minutes from our house! And the best part, it was free :)    

  

  

 Danielle, a good friend of mine from nursing school and her husband Eric, were kind enough to stop by Austin on their way to Denver. They are relocating to Parker, Colorado (a suburb of Denver) and we couldn't be happier for them both! Their parents along with their twin boys (who are so adorable) were waiting for them in Colorado while they took a cross-country vacation to their final destination. Their next stop was Santa Fe, New Mexico, which is such a neat city with lots of Native American history and architecture and then finally to Denver! We were so grateful to have been able to spend an afternoon with them in Austin. As with anyone that comes here, you cannot leave until you have seen the infamous bats!

There are two bridges that these bats reside under, one 10 minutes from our house and the other is downtown.  We all ventured down to the Congress Avenue Bridge at sunset to witness them embark on their nightly journey. It is estimated that there are between 750,000-1.5 million female bats living in the bridge's crevices at any given time during the season (March-October)! And thankfully for the locals, these bats help keep our insect count rather low as they consume on average between 10,000-30,000 pounds of insects while they visit (hence, why we have little to no mosquitoes)! Now we can say we have seen both bat bridges and each is an experience in itself! We also took Danielle and Eric to a personal favorite restaurant of ours, Carmelo's for a delicious late night dinner. After a walk down 6th street and short drive home, we were all ready for a good night's rest! We cannot wait to visit them in Denver, especially since Nelson has never been to Colorado! Missing you all dearly...

Love,

The Lewis's

Au revoir June

Well we are finally wrapping up our first (full) month here in Texas and needless to say we have been busy living and loving life here in Austin! We've been enjoying a summer blues concert series at Zilker Park and even took Gesabelle along this past week. There are thousands of people that flock to this concert on Wednesdays (a similar resemblance of the Great Migration) and to our surprise, she was extremely well behaved! In fact, we managed to set up camp next to another chocolate lab and Gesabelle enjoyed his company during the concert! Despite the unbearable midday temperatures we have been experiencing lately, it cools down significantly in the evenings, making an afternoon in the park with great music and friends priceless!

"Keep Austin Weird" is the city slogan and a personal favorite of ours too! Austin is full of progressive mind set people that embrace individualism and promote diversity, a reason why it was just recognized as the 2nd best city to raise a family!

This past weekend marked the 9th annual Keep Austin Weird 5K and Festival. Although we did not partake in the 3 mile run this year, we did venture out to enjoy all the other festivities. The music was fantastic (of course) and we couldn't have asked for better weather. I forgot how enjoyable it can be sitting outside in the summer without mosquitoes eating you alive...oh the Midwest, how I have missed you!! May you have a blissful and safe week!    

--The Lewis's

P.S. We let Gesabelle join us at the dinner table...

she has such great etiquette :)

Piece by Piece

So we are slowly but surely piecing together our home here in Austin! It has been exciting making our first couple of purchases as a married couple, and has come to realize that compromising is the key! I knew the weather was very similar to Okatie, SC but I didn't imagine it would be any warmer. It is HOT here...just HOT! For the past couple of days it has been in the triple digits and it doesn't look like it will be cooling down anytime soon. Luckily there are plenty of pools, fresh springs, and rivers to go for a nice cool down! We have taken on a new project...

We haven't exactly figured out the final look we want for the table, but it will be something different and unique!

Love,

The Lewis's