GETTING SETTLED

Hello, everyone. Well, we are on day 5 in our apartment, and we finally have beds!!!! Yae!!! I slept like a baby last night. After a long day of waiting for the delivery guys, we received our beds (the same ones---only, brand new---that we had in the house, yesterday. I know the boys are happy to have their beds, too, because Logan had been complaining of Cayden's snoring.

We don't have much of a routine yet, but we are trying to get there. I take Logan to school in the morning and pick him up in the afternoon, Cayden to preschool M W F, we eat, bathe, and go to bed. Those are the important things that are getting done.

I think the reality of everything has started to hit us harder now. The first two weeks, we were going on adrenaline and concerned most about keeping the boys' lives as normal and stress-free as possible. Now, we are trying to settle into what will be our "home" for the next 5 or whatever months and trying to make it as much "ours" as we can. We are in the process of choosing a contractor, and there are lots of decisions ahead. John and I want to plan some "husband and wife" time every week, if we can, so we may be reaching out for help watching the boys. We all miss our home and life as it was, but we are trying to be open to what God has planned.

My friend, Kristen Snyder, suggested I read Psalm 18. I especially like verses 1-3:
I love you, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I am saved from my enemies.

We praise God for the continued support, love, and kindness you all have shown us.
Have a Great Day.

Jennifer, John, Logan, and Cayden

A Note from the Baileys...

Kristen, who has been collecting donations and arranging the meal schedule for the Lews, will be moving this weekend. After Thursday (5/1/08), please contact the following people if you would like to help:

* For donations, please contact Lora McNeal at 484-5570.

* To schedule a day to take a meal to the Lews, please call Aileen Mullett at 482-5289.

Thank you for your help!

The Latest News

Hello!

We found an apartment and we will be moving in this weekend. Please look for an e-mail from the Baileys with the address. If you are not on the e-mail list, please leave a comment here and we will get the information to you.


We appreciate everyone's help, thoughts, and prayers. In particular, we would like to thank the following people:

* Sheila Schwartz & Family for the Wal-Mart, Target, and Toys 'R Us gift cards
* Kathleen Jackson for the Applebees and Toys 'R Us gift cards
* Debbie Roberts for the JC Penney gift card
* Nadine DeSanto for the check
* Rebekah, Andy & Family for the three Wal-Mart gift cards
* Discipleship Group - Table of Elizabeth (Sue, Barb, Mary, Glenda, & Malinda) for the Wal-Mart gift card. It was great meeting with you today!

Thanks for your ongoing support. We will continue to keep you updated.
Your friends,
John, Jennifer, Logan & Cayden

Seven Days Past And Moving Forward

Here we are at Day 7. It's hard to believe a week has passed already!! Much is a blur, but my mind can't help but to think of last Monday morning. I don't let myself linger there too long, though, because we are making progress and each day we are closer to putting this all behind us. My heart swells with happiness and appreciation when I remember all our friends gathering around us with love and support. You all are invaluable to us, and we carry your strength with us every day.

Update: This weekend we tried to start looking for apartments and rental homes with little luck. Two of the apartments were closed both Saturday and Sunday and will also be closed today. We will be checking out Avalon Apartments off of Dupont Road today and following a couple leads on rental homes. (Our insurance will cover to stay at either place.)

Thank you to those who have donated gift cards for restaurants. Those come in very handy when we are out and about and need to grab something to eat. If anyone needs an idea of how to help, this would very much appreciated.

Kristen Snyder, our awesome friend, is also taking names for anyone wanting to make a meal or drop off clothes, etc. for the boys, John, and I. Her number is 483-1057.
John is probably most in need of clothes for work when he goes back.

John's sizes: 32 waist 31 length Pants (work or play)
Medium collar shirts (dress casual, polo style)
(We shop a lot at Kohl's)

Jennifer: Size small (shirts)

Logan: Doing good on clothes
Collects Webkinz, Nascars
Likes Magic SchoolHouse Books, Cam Jansen, Junie B.

Cayden: Doing good on clothes
Collects Webkinz, Nascars
Likes Cars (the movie) books, I Spy books

Everyone, just know that we are doing well. We are not in dire need of anything, and the above are only suggestions not emergency items. Really, the most important thing to us is for you continue to pray that we are given strength and clarity on the decisions we must make. That is where we need the most help.

Thank you to Karen Skinner, Kathleen Jackson (and her mom, Beverly), Pat Thurber, Kristi Nuechterlein, and my mom for help on watching the boys. Your help is appreciated and cherished.

God is with us and All is Well.

Your friends,

John, Jennifer, Logan, and Cayden

It's a New Day!!

Hi everyone! There are still a few of my friends that have posted on the blog that are not aware of what happened Monday. Here's a short version: Cayden and I were going out to the mini van Monday morning around 8:50am to take him to preschool. We opened the garage door and preceded to open the side door to get him in his car seat. We both smelled a strong odor that smelled like something was burning. I got Cayden out and told him to stand outside the garage. I opened my driver side door and looked around, finding a little smoke coming from the left side of the dash. I got closer to look and saw a little flame inside the dash, somewhere in the vicinity of the parking brake release. I ran in grabbed the phone and a small cup of water, came out, and threw the water in the dash. The flame only flickered and came back. I immediately went on the driveway with Cayden to call 911. I thought they would be there in like 3 to 5 minutes and there wouldn't be much damage, but it took much longer and the fire engulfed the minivan, the garage, our attics, and a big section of our room. Cayden's ceiling caved in, as well as much of our hallway floor. It was a very difficult and traumatic day for all of us. Cayden saw a lot before a wonderful neighbor, Pat, took him to her home. Zoey was in the house for about an hour before the firemen could get to her and bring her out. Thank God for that!! She hid under a couch. (Okay, maybe that wasn't such a short version of the story.)

Now, I'd like to publicly thank God, our awesome God, for protecting all of us during the fire on Monday----even our baby girl, Zoey!!!! We are so grateful and, again, indebted to our Lord!!! We finally got done yesterday working with the Property Damage specialist on going over every single item we had in all our rooms, closets, attics, garage, drawers, etc. Wow, that was hard---A reminder of our personal things that brought back many memories. It was a long, sad process, but God and our friends helped us through it. We are also very thankful that my mom and my step-dad have provided a safe, familiar place for us to stay.

Next on our agenda is finding some temporary housing---an apartment or rental home out here close to Logan and Cayden's schools. If anyone knows of any homes for rent, we'd appreciate any help we can get.

There are so many people to thank already, and we have been wanting to tell all of you how much we appreciate everything you've done. Each one of you has been an angel to us. We see God in each one of you. We cannot thank each one of you personally, now, but know that we have thanked God for your help and support. A few thanks we would like to do now are:

***To Kristen Snyder for being so loving, giving, and thoughtful and for taking special care of Zoey. You have a special gift of service to others and without you, we would be lost.

***To Kristi and Laura for helping me go through some of the items from the house and for helping me save as much of my scrapbooking stuff (and Kristen's) as possible. Your time and noses are much appreciated.

***To Ginny Diehl and the rest of John and my Couple's Bible Study class, we want to thank you for the generous monetary gifts you gave us. We can feel your continued prayers for us, and we are blessed to have you in our group of friends.

***To Jodi and Jason, we want to extend our gratitude for opening up your hearts by letting us use your garage to put our recovered pictures and other keepsakes.

***To Rebekah, we want to thank you for being the first one on the scene and giving Jennifer emotional support when hope seemed lost.

***To all our other neighbors, too, who have been so gracious and caring: Pat and Bryan, Priscilla, David and Michelle, Ailene, Ann and Mike, Joe, Julie and Dan, Mary and Burt, Terry and Kris, and David.

***To all the kids who helped in our neighborhood who went door to door to take up a collection. We appreciate you and your selfless thoughts. God will bless you all greatly for putting others first.

***To Rick Hawks and The Chapel for their generous donation of Meijer gift cards. Also to Mary Eppl and Becca Graf from the Chapel for the clothes and toys for the boys. You made their night.

***To Jen and Sam Thammavongsa for their love and friendship, and for helping us stay close to God's Word by giving us our new Bible.

WE LOVE YOU ALL AND WILL CONTINUE ON ONE DAY AT A TIME.
God's blessings to all of you. Live today to the fullest.

Your friends,

John, Jennifer, Logan, and Cayden

Welcome to the Lew Family Blog

As many of you know, we had a house fire on April 15, 2008. We are starting this page to keep friends and family updated whenever we have news and information to share. Here is what is going on so far:

* Logan and Cayden are back in school and are doing well. We are trying to encourage their usual routine as much as possible.

* Zoey the dog has received a clean bill of health from the vet. She is currently staying with our neighbor, Kristen.

* We are staying with family and are planning to start apartment hunting soon.

Many of you have been asking about ways in which you can lend a hand. We are grateful for your support and will post information soon regarding our specific areas of need.

Please feel free to leave a comment below to let us know you stopped by!

~John, Jennifer, Logan & Cayden