Still a family of three!

Here is it, August 1, and we are still a family of three. Five if you count the dog and cat. This statement will seem very odd to people that know me, but for the most part, I have been very patient since December 14 when we thought it would be "any day". Having been through this before helps. Knowing that our child just isn't ready helps. Having a four year old to keep me busy helps. Being very busy at work helps. There have definitely been some impatient days. And until recently, they were few and far between. But it's hard to explain to a four year old why we STILL don't have a baby brother or sister. And sometimes it's hard for a 38 year old to understand, too. I know that there isn't anything that LSS, Ayudame, or anyone can do about it. Our baby just needs to kick it in gear! We started this process in June of 2008. We knew we wouldn't be ready then but figured we would be when it was time. It's time and we are ready! Murphy is definitely ready!

It's been a sick winter at the Lewis'. Murphy had colds, strep throat, ear infections, pink eye, and rotavirus. Lots of throwing up. Lots of crying. Hopefully we have done our share for the year and can get by healthy for a while.

Rob turned 40 in April. We had a surprise party with a sports theme. I even squeezed into my shorty 1980's basketball shorts. Not well, but I fit into them. It's always fun when it's your party because you know everyone there. Unfortunately for Rob, he had to take his wife home early because she drank too much trying to get past the shorty shorts.

Our house is still for sale. We haven't built yet so we are really OK with not having been kicked out yet. We closed on our land today so now we are the owners for a big piece of dirt/weeds. We hope to start digging the basement in early October and be in the new house in the spring. I really want to live in the new house but I really want the payment for the current house. I don't think the banker will let me have my cake and eat it, too.

Murphy is still really into her babies. Their names have changed often. Rob tried telling her he was going to change her name every time she changed her baby's name but she does it anyway. She took swimming lessons again this year and now can glide under water for a while. She's a little fish; a brown one at that. I'm so jealous of her beautiful tan skin. Her natural curls are growing out but her hair is usually pretty unruly. Especially when it gets humid. Totally opposite of my stick straight hair. And pasty white skin!

Murphy's exciting news for the year is that she is registered for dance! It starts later this month and will be for 45 minutes once a week. She twirls all over in her tutus and leotards. And now she is starting to dance to pop music. She thinks she loves Hannah Montana, although I don't think she knows who she really is.

I've done some travelling for work again this year. Not as much as last year. A couple of trips to Denver, one to Indianapolis, and one to San Diego. We worked for about eight months with a company from the Denver area to investigate a joint venture to produce isobutanol instead of ethanol. We put it before our membership in June and the vote passed so we will start producing isobutanol late in 2012. We look forward to it, especially since ethanol still is such a volatile industry.

I celebrated my 20 year high school reunion in June at Hecla's 125th celebration. It was so, so, so fun! Well, all except the trip to the emergency room. Murphy's finger was caught in a door on Friday night and it was crushed so we headed to Aberdeen for the rest of the night. Murphy turned four years old in the ER. Unbelievably, it wasn't broken and I'm sure we'll pay a pretty penny for two pieces of tape. Saturday night I had so much fun at the dance. It was like we were all young again! I really did have a great time and we all decided we needed to get together more often. I still look at the pictures and smile. Love you guys!

Murphy's birthday was a big celebration; a parade, dance, quite a bit of her family around... She really is getting big and grown up and while I love seeing all of the new things she can do (such as ride her new bike) I like it when she snuggles up on my lap and is still my baby girl. School went really well for her and she looks forward to it next year. She is so imaginative. She always has a wild story to tell. She's also pretty bossy. Overcoming that one is an exasperating task. So is all the talk about boyfriends. That's what we get for having babysitters that have boyfriends, I guess! :) She makes us smile so often. What a gift from God she is.

So as we wait for our baby, we pray for his or her birth parents. I'm sure their struggles are difficult. We continue to pray for Murphy's birth parents, too. We are thankful for them and the sacrifice they made so that we could be parents. Hopefully the next time you hear from us we'll have some exciting news to share!