California trip

We just got back from a great trip to the San Francisco Bay area where we were able to meet a bunch of new friends and partners and have a lot of fun as well. What a beautiful place.

"...The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." Job 1:21b

"There must be thorns amid life's flowers, you know,
And you and I, wherever we may go.
Can find no bliss that is not mixed with pain.
No path without a cloud. It would be vain
For me to wish that not a single tear
Might dim the gladness that you hold so dear.
I am not wise enough to understand
All that is best for you. The Master's Hand
Must sometimes touch life's saddest chords to reach
It's sweetest music, and His child to teach
To trust His love, till the long, weeping night
Is all forgotten in the morning light.
Trust, trust Him, then, and thus shall good or ill
Your trustful soul with present blessing fill.
Each loss is truest gain if, day by day,
He fills the place of all He takes away."

-Ballarat-

Jay, Jackie and Lydia Grace!

Last week our good friends Jay and Jackie came to visit for a few days. They are some of our best friends from college and we love spending time with them and little Lydia. She is absolutely adorable and 100% girl!

We took them to our friends house for a broom-ball party. Everyone got pretty bruised up, but had a blast.

Lydia and I sat on a sled and cheered for the game. She was so cute - cheering for her DAdada!They pushed the gimp and the baby around a bit on the sled.
We love spending time with Lydia! She is such a happy little girl and always entertaining. We're so grateful for such good friends!

Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Kyndal came and we enjoyed lots of time with family, good food, and playing Settlers of Catan almost every day! On Christmas morning we indulged in the Jones family tradition by having waffles with blueberries and ice cream for breakfast. We sure wish Dave and Bonnie were here to enjoy it with us. It was so fun to be with Brady for his first Christmas and watch him open his presents - he gave each one a sweet little hug. This Christmas we are thanking God for the indescribable love He showed us in sending His Son to Earth, and all the many blessings He has poured out on us - especially our wonderful families.

Happy Birthday Jeremy!

We celebrated Jeremy's birthday with my family. My dad knows how much Jeremy love MEAT, so he cooked an amazing prime rib dinner with all the works. I made Jeremy his favorite cake for dessert - German Chocolate!
I thank God for this amazing man. Im so glad he was born! Thanks Dave and Bonnie for raising such an incredible son.

(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!