(Fall)ing and Lynchburg Fun

Well, I'm ashamed at how long it's been since I've updated the blog, but I've been a little "preoccupied" I guess you could say. Three weeks ago, Jeremy picked me up from work and we decided to go the nearby rock gym and do some climbing. We've found that it's a great Friday night activity where we can have fun together and get some exercise. We climbed for a while, then took our harnesses off and started bouldering( for anyone who doesn't climb, you don't use a harness, but you just don't climb very high, then you just jump down when you finish the marked problem.) It was 10:45, the gym closed at 11, and I was determined to finish the problem I'd been working on. I told Jeremy I was gonna try it one more time.

Oooooooh how I wish I'd just decided to be done.....all the if only's. My feet were probably only 5 feet off the ground, when I missed the last hold and fell/jumped down. Unfortunately the floor was just a little uneven, and when I landed, my left ankle rolled and....CRACK....next thing I know I'm on the ground, SCREAMING because I knew that something had just broken. I've never broken a bone before, but somehow I just knew. It was like my body just told me. So Jeremy took me back to the hospital (yes, where'd I'd been all day!) I had some xrays and a cat-scan and found out that I'd shattered my left talus bone, what I've been calling my "Fankle" (not to be confused with cankle!) because its the bone that the two leg bones attach to in the foot - not really foot, not really ankle. The following tuesday I had surgery to have it set with a screw, spent basically the next two weeks with it elevated, and will be on crutches for two whole months! Ick.
A few days after my surgery, my nephew Bradyn and his mommy came to visit me, which definately brought me joy amidst my disappointment. He is so adorable and has the sweetest little personality.

I had planned on accompanying Jeremy on his business trip to Lynchburg so I could see friends and go to my friend Kristen's wedding. Fortunately, I was still able to go but it definitely was a lot of work. My sweet friend Jackie and her little girl Lydia took such good care of me while Jeremy was working. This picture gives you a good idea of what life on crutches is like:This was the only way Jackie could get me out to her car from our hotel room (Jay and Jeremy went on an overnight climbing trip to West Virginia that Friday night and I stayed with my girls.) We made quite a scene - but it worked!!!
On Saturday, we piled in a minivan with our friend Brandi and her little guy David and headed down to Charlotte for Kristen's wedding.

We had a great time and the wedding was beautiful. I just love little Lydia - she is so precious.

And her mommy is so beautiful!
This was the only picture we got of the three of us - in the bathroom at the reception - between two momies, two babies and a gimpy girl on crutches, it wasn't excatly a relaxing trip, but it was worth it. Congratulations Aaron and Kristen!!!
Such a beautiful bride and special friend!
I spent one fun evening with my friend Lindsay from nursing school. Sometimes, life just calls for Dairy Queen blizzards and some girl time. :)
One night while we were there, we had dinner with our good friends Matt and Brandi. Matt taught the Bible study where Jeremy and I met at Liberty. It was so good to see them, little Charissa, and thier new little guy David.
It was so good to see our sister Kyndal, too. We always love spending time with her.We also were able to have a little reunion with some of our teammates from our trip to Tanzania this last July. Nine of the team are now freshman at Liberty and we were so happy to see them and hang out. We love you guys!
So, I think that our blog might be a little different in the next two months. There probably won't be many posts about rock climbing, mountain biking, or even snowboarding (Im holding out hope that I'll be able to hit the slopes by January or February - we'll see). Although the first couple weeks were really hard for me, the good Lord has been so faithful to encourage me through His Word, my sweet caring husband and all the other friends and family that have shown so much care and concern. I think I'm finally to the point where I'm ready to embrace two months of sitting on the couch. I know He has a reason for all this and I'm looking forward to seeing what He has for me. I do want to say thank you to everyone who sent me cards, emails and meals. The body of Christ is such a beautiful thing!

Fall Hiking

I got to go on a wonderful fall hike with my childhood friend Melody last week. The weather here in Colorado has been absolutely beautiful the last few weeks and the leaves are turning such beautiful colors!
We feel so blessed to live in this beautiful place.


You're the best Mel-bel! I love you and miss you already. Have fun in Cali!

2nd Lieutenant Tobin Josiah Lewis

Toby was officially commissioned into the Marines on August 22. He just returned from officer candidate school and he'll head to Basic School in March, then flight school sometime after that. Toby's dream to become a Marine was inspired by our mom's father, Grandpa Hank, who was also a fighter pilot. Granda passed away 10 years ago, and we all miss him so much. Grandma presented Toby with Grandpa Hanks sword which was such an honor and a blessing.
Our family is so proud of you, Toby!
Even baby Brady!!!!!

Seattle Family Reunion

We spent the first weekend of August in Seattle with Charissa's extended family. Aunt Sandy and Uncle Bob live in a great lake house, so we spent time swimming, canoeing, being with family and relaxing as we got over our jet lag from Tanzania. We got to go to the "SeaFair" which is a big festival on Lake Washington where they race hydroplanes. The blue angels did an airshow in the middle of the day and it was awesome. We also had our favorite clam chowder down on the water front and went to Pike Place Market which is always fun. The last night we were there, the whole family went to a Mariners game, and it was "Japanese night" so we all got free hats that said Mariners in Japanese:) But it's a good thing, because we needed rally caps in the 7th inning so the Mariners could win. I (Charissa) got to spend time with my good friend and roommate from Liberty Kristy Graham and her beautiful daughter Hannah Ruth! It was so great to see her and catch up.

July 4th at the Lakes

We spent the 4th of July with Charissa's parents and our long-time family friends Marty, Linda and Katrina Lake at thier ranch (We missed you Matt, Alyssa and Mel-Bel!). They live a the base of Mt. Evans in a beautiful valley with a great creek that we went tubing down. We played some croquet and boche and had a campfire with s'mores to end the day. It was a great way to celebrate our freedom!

Weekend Trip to Buena Vista

By the looks of our blog, you might think all we do is play outside:) We DO go to work, believe it or not, but work just doesn't make for very exciting pictures. We did some mountain biking on Kenosha Pass on our way to Buena Vista where we hooked up with some of our friends who are working at Noahs Ark Rafting. Toby and Andrew came up that night and the four of us slept out under the stars at Turtle Rock. The next day we did some rock climbing and then went and watched the international bouldering championships at the Teva Mountain games in Vail. All in 2 days!

Fun with the Fowlers

We spent a day off doing some rock climbing with our friends Jeremy and Kelly Fowler. We have been so blessed by their friendship and love spending time with them.

The "Jeremy's" are such amazing climbers - they taught us girls a lot!

Yeah Kelly!

We climbed on these great cliffs near Golden - you can see the city of Denver in the distance.

Thank God for great friends and fun in His beautiful creation!

Boys Backpacking Weekend

Jeremy's friend and roomate Kevin from boarding school in Kenya came to visit from British Columbia, and they spent Memorial Day weekend backpacking with our friends Matt Lake and Josh Temple in the Mount Evans Wilderness Area.They took all the things boy's need to have a good time: a compass,

a water filter,
flint(yes they really used flint!),
guns,
and dogs, but left their fear of heights (and their wives) at home:)
If you look on the cliff below Jeremy here, you can see the mountain goat they hung out with (but don't worry, thats not what they were shooting at!)

By the tree in this picture is a newborn Elk! We learned that baby elk have no smell until they are a few weeks old, which is why Butch has no clue it's there!

Moab

Jeremy went on a weekend trip to Moab, Utah to do some mountain biking with our friend Bun Tadlock. "Slick rock" is supposed to be one of the best trails in the world and Moab has beautiful scenery.

This is the famous "delicate arch."

Lynchburg Trip

Charissa's younger brother graduated on May 10th from Liberty, so we traveled out there with the Lewis fam to celebrate. It was a beautiful day and the ceremony was really nice. Chuck Norris gave the commencement address- he shared about how he came to know Christ and how that has changed his life.


Toby's degree is in Aviation and he's on his way to being a Marine pilot.

His diploma ceremony was in the hangar at the airport. It was cool to see the planes that he had learned to fly. Congrats Toby! We're so proud of you!!


We also got to spend some time with our sister Kyndal and all our friends that are still in Lynchburg. Our good friends Jay and Jackie Parks have a beautiful little girl named Lydia and Charissa just couldn't get enough of her. We love our life in Colorado but we really miss all the people we love in Lynchburg. It was a great trip!