AUGUST BRINGS PROGRESS!!!

Hi Everyone!!!!! As you can see by the pictures, things are starting to move along a little. (You should be able to click on the first picture and then view them all, one by one). Last Monday, August 18th, they started framing our house. By Friday, five days later, it was totally framed, the OSB board was up, the roof was closed, and the shingles were put on!!! Wow, now if the rest will go that smoothly, we'll be in good shape. Logan and Cayden were so excited to see the progress. Now that we have a fourth bedroom upstairs, Logan thinks he will move into that one "to make things a little different." Cayden has informed us that he may want Logan's old room.

In addition to taking the house from a 1 1/2 story to a full 2 story, we added on a little room on each side of the house, changed the front room into a den, enlarged our pantry, changed the extra space we had added on two years ago in the back of the garage to an exercise room, we now have a larger "loft" area for the boys to play in upstairs, and both our upstairs bathrooms are a little larger.

In the process, we had to have a huge Pear tree cut down, because it was too close to the house now and the trunk was starting to split. We'll have to pretty much start all new with the landscaping.

Tomorrow night (Sept. 27th), we will be meeting with the builder to pick out cabinets, countertops, hardware, and to start thinking about appliances and paint colors.

Logan and Cayden are doing well in school, and we are very pleased with the teachers they got. We all miss being at the bus stop and chatting with our friends, but it's just a short distance to their school.

God has truly blessed us with all of you, and all your love and kindness is what keeps us going. God is gracious and He's with us every step of the way. Hope you're feeling His love now.

Take Care,

Love from all of us,

Jennifer, John, Logan, and Cayden

Hello Everyone!!!! Can you believe the kids are going back to school already!! Wow, the summer break has flown by.

Good News: Construction on our new house will begin this week. The builder will be pouring the new concrete on the sides of the house (we are expanding a little). John and I have had a meeting to pick out the exterior materials for the house, the faucet fixtures, the windows, the doors and door handles, and sinks. We met with the flooring specialist, and we now have carpet and tile samples in our apartment. We are pretty much decided on what we want with those. Next we'll be picking out kitchen cabinets, counter tops, and appliance style and color. We are so excited to get things rolling!!!!

Apartment life can be somewhat cramped at times, but thank goodness we've been able to enjoy summer weather and activities a lot. Speaking of activities, the pictures above are from our awesome trip to see our close friends Kristen, JP, Kai, and Jacob Snyder in Smithville, MO. We went the week of the 4th of July and had a great time. We were so glad to see them and get to spend some much needed time away from Fort Wayne. On the way to their house, we also spent a few days in St. Louis. We went to the zoo, a Mets/Cardinals game at the Busch Stadium, visited the Arch, and the kids enjoyed a go-cart/fun spot Nascar place.

Logan will be in third grade this year, and he is very happy with the teacher he got. Logan just finished his soccer program with the Parks and Recreation and will start the Mini Dons soccer at IPFW in September.

Cayden will be starting kindergarten this year. We are very happy with the teacher he got. Cayden's a little disappointed he won't be able to start off the year riding the bus. Since we are in the apartment, close by Lima Road, it's quicker and closer to drive them to school.

We pray for a good school year and that the house will come along with little or no problems!!
We hope you all are doing well and are blessed with a safe and healthy start to the school year.

Love and Peace,

Jennifer, John, Logan, and Cayden

THREE MONTHS LATER!!

Hi everyone!! It's been awhile since we've updated our blog, and we wanted to let you know what was happening.

Since our last update, Cayden and Logan have gotten an awesome, dark tan, they've gone to Vacation Bible School at The Chapel, as a family, we went on a trip to St. Louis, MO to visit the zoo there, to see the Arch, we saw a Mets/Cardinals game at Busch Stadium, went to a Nascar entertainment spot (Logan got to drive his own go cart!! He was all smiles!!), and best of all, we drove 3 hours further West to Smithville, MO to visit and stay with our good friends Kristen, JP, Kai, and Jacob Snyder!!!! It was such an awesome trip!! A much needed relaxing, low stress trip. We laughed so much----It was great!!!

As you can tell from the pictures above, our house has been torn down. It was a beautiful day, just a tad of wind, but a wonderful day to symbolize our "new start". Many neighbors, mostly from our cul de sac and surrounding streets, came to watch and support us as our house was taken down. I had planned ahead of time to try to make the morning a positive one. I bought about twenty different brightly colored balloons on brightly colored ribbon, roses for each of the families/neighbors/family that were our strength on April 14th, cookies, and water and juice boxes for everyone to join us and celebrate the new beginning John, the boys, and I were about to make. I said a little prayer , before we let the balloons float into the sky. We did have a good morning, and I think we will be able to remember it in a positive way.

Although there was a hint of sadness while remembering the memories we had in our house, we were also bathed in the warm sunshine and God's love that was present in all our neighbors and family.

This week, we will be finalizing the changes and floor plan for the new house, the builder will draw up new prints, and hopefully, we will be signing a contract very soon. We are all excited to get everything moving, so it won't be too late in the winter when we get into the house.

Before the builder can begin the frame work, he will first be cleaning and repairing the foundation where the fire damaged it.

Logan and I were over at the yard today to mow and clean up a little. Our four seasons room still stands just behind the foundation----a reminder that, with God, we can move on and stand tall in any situation.

We hope you all are doing well. God has blessed us richly with all of your friendships and love.

We will keep updates coming, so you can keep up with all the changes.

Take Care, and we hope God is blessing you now.

Lots of Love,

Jennifer, John, Logan, and Cayden

IT'S BEEN TWO MONTHS!!!!!

Hi everyone!!! Sorry I haven't been back to the blog for awhile. With the boys out of school now, I had to get used to the new schedule!!! The pool has opened here at the apartment, so we have been spending some time there. Logan and Cayden love it!!! I think we'll have two little fish by the end of summer.

GOOD NEWS!!!! John and I decided on a builder. We decided to go with Bruce Stopher out of Harlan, Indiana. He is a smaller builder, and we feel we will get excellent customer service and a more personal touch. He was referred to us by my cousin, who knows of a couple people that Bruce built for. Also, we called a reference who had their house built about a year or so ago. They gave us a hour and a half tour of their home and told us a lot of positive things about Bruce and his crew. John and I felt like it was an answered prayer, because up until now, we just haven't felt without a doubt that we had found the "right" builder for us.

We are waiting for the excavataion crew to have an open slot to come and take down our house. Hopefully, within a week or two. This will be a sad time, because it's the only house the boys know and it's John's and my first home after we got married. A lot of memories took place within those walls. But, again, God has blessed us by saving some of the pictures and home videos we had. There are so many emotions involved. We know God is and will continue to be with us during all these changes, and He will comfort us during the times that are difficult. We are so thankful for His kindness in giving us so many loving and compassionate friends and family.

Once the excavation takes place, the foundation will be assessed to make sure there is no damage, it will be cleaned, the pipes and plumbing will be looked at for problems, and then when Bruce and his guys are ready, they will begin building. At this time, we are planning on keeping the foundation/slab, and building on that the same perimeter of the house. We are planning on making some changes within, depending on measurements and space.

We are trying to look at this experience as a chance for our family to grow closer together, for us to learn to receive, to feel God's love from Him and others, and for us to go forward and serve others as God wants us to.

This year in my Bible Study Fellowship class, we studied Matthew. One of the main points that struck me was when Jesus was calling His disciples to drop everything and follow Him. They did not question, they did not worry, they did not try to grab anything they could before they followed. No, they stopped what they were doing, left their families, left their conveniences, left their life as they knew it, and followed Jesus and trusted Him for all their bodily, spiritual, and emotional needs. I want to be like that. I have a ways to go, but Jesus is worth it!!!! This experience since the fire has been kind of like that with the disciples. God is asking us to leave the life, the home, and the stuff we had to follow Him. To trust Him. To put Him as our focus, and look to Him for our needs, our comfort, and our peace. I know we may trip and stumble along this journey, but God's strong hand will be there to grab onto, to right ourselves, and continue down the road.

Thank you all for how you have touched and blessed our lives. Have a great day!!!

Walk in Love,

Jennifer, John, Logan, and Cayden Lew

THE SIXTH WEEK!!!!

Hi everyone!! It's nice to have a three day weekend this week, isn't it? Today has been a beautiful day so far, and John, the boys, Zoey, and I have enjoyed being outside more.

I have been spending a lot of time going over the personal property list to make sure that the insurance company remembered everything we had in our house and the approximate worth of those things. I have come across (remembered) many things that had sentimental value that are gone, and it is very sad. I had a couple little tubs of things I wanted to keep of Logan and Cayden's in the attic off of our room, and that was one of the hardest hit areas---totally burned. Logan's favorite Pooh and Tigger blanket that he had since he was born, holes and all, clay handprints, and special, original pictures the kids had made at their schools are just a few things that I will miss!

John and some of our friends (Sam, Bryan, Jason, Dave, Mike) and my mom (Emily) came to the house yesterday to help take out some of the furniture items that could be cleaned up a little and donated to The Mustard Seed. We appreciate everyone's help and time, as this was very important to John and I. We hope that someone will be able to get some use out of the furniture.
I was also at the house yesterday to deweed our mulched areas. It was really starting to look unkempt. It was kind of theraputic to do something "normal" at the house, and to put my time toward making it look nicer. Next, I'd like to trim the bushes----Depending on how long it takes to get the quotes back, I just might have time to do it!

John took me out for an awesome Birthday supper at Cork n Cleaver on Wednesday night. It was really great to have some time alone. I felt all grown up again! Thanks to my friend, Krisit, for watching the boys on my birthday and on Saturday while John and I were at the house. You have been such a great help. Thanks also for the birthday presents.

Thanks to Ray and Vivian for the Vera Bradley purse and the weekly planner for my birthday. Your thoughtfulness is appreciated.

We are still waiting on quotes for rebuilding the house. We want things to keep moving, but it feels like it's just not moving fast enough, ya know what we mean? We are trying to stay focused on God and letting His plan unfold. It's tough some times, though.

Cayden has t-ball on Tuesday and Thursday this week, and Friday will be Logan's last day of school.

Hope you all are doing well. Stay safe.

Love you all,

Jennifer, John, Logan, and Cayden

ALMOST FIVE WEEKS!!

Hi everyone!! It's almost been five weeks since the fire----Some days it seems like it was just yesterday and others it seems like it was a long time ago. We are still adjusting to apartment life, but we can't complain. It has been nice and quiet here. No noisy neighbors to speak of. The pool should open in about a week. The kids will love that! Not me so much, though, because that means I have to put on a bathing suit!!! Not a fun thought. Oh well.

Right now, John and I have been meeting with builders and contractors and deciding on our next step. If costs permit, we want to start over. Tear down what is left of the house to the slab and rebuild new. We would probably have to keep the same outline of the house, but we would be able to change some things within. The estimate still is around five months to complete the rebuild---We'll get a better idea once they get started. We are praying for a quote and a builder that will be honest, of good quality, and a reasonable price.

We continue to have so much support and love from all of you!! Our neighbors on Lonesome Oak Court and Trail and Ridge Gap Run are a constant source of encouragement and strength, and we thank you all for that. Thank you to Mike Trump for mowing our grass while we are away. Even though the house doesn't look so good, it's nice to see the yard and flowers greening and growing with Spring's new life.

Thank you to all the Bunco Babes (Karen, Kathy, Lisa, Beth, Katie, Diana, Michelle, Jodi, and Heather) for all the kind cards, best wishes, and gift cards!! It was great to get together last night---Everyone needs to share their recipes!!!

Cayden is having fun in his Huntertown t-ball league. His first game is this Tuesday at 7:15pm.

Logan will start soccer through Parks and Rec. the second week of June. He will practice at the Robinson Chapel on Union Chapel/Tonkel Road.

John and I are trying to get back to exercising and getting into shape.

Zoey still loves playing with her tennis ball and enjoys running after the frisbee when we play in the grassy yard by the apartment. She's our miracle dog, and she's made her way into our bed at night. How can you deny such a cute, lovable face?

We hope you all are doing well. Have a safe, fun Spring!!

God Bless,

Jennifer, John, Logan, and Cayden

THREE WEEKS LATER

Good Morning everyone. Three weeks have passed, and we all are doing pretty well. This weekend, John and I purchased a used Toyota Rav4 to replace the mini van. John did lots of research and the Rav4 is supposed to be a safe, reliable, and fuel efficient vehicle. We are totally indebted to Kristen and JP Snyder for the use of their car while we have been going through this challenging transition. Their kindness and compassion has made life a whole lot easier!! (On a funny note, Cayden has made sure that everyone knows that we are NOT Pittsburg Steelers fans. JP's car has two Pittsburg Steelers stickers in the windows. GO COLTS!!!)

Speaking of Kristen and JP, they left for Missouri on Saturday where JP will have a job as Head Coach of the 8th grade football team. Congratulations, JP!!!! We know you will have a strong, positive impact on those boys. We will miss Kristen (and already do)---She has been a great source of strength, love, and friendship!! Even though they are miles away, we still have them in our hearts and always will. We pray their transition will be smooth, and that they will be blessed in all they do!!

Cayden only has two more days of preschool---graduation will be on Friday at Covenant United Methodist Church on Coldwater Rd. Logan's school goes until the 30th of this month.

Again, I cannot even begin to express our gratitude and appreciation to all of you!!! Your kindness and giving has surpassed anything that John and I would've ever thought possible. It has meant so much to feel your genuine concern. We have felt God's love through all of you.

A couple thanks for now:

*Thank you to Imagine Master Academy for their monetary donations and gift card. (Thanks Allyson for your help!)

*Thank you to Tonja Werling (my cousin and hair stylist) who replaced all our hair products that were lost in the fire. I needed product bad!!

*Thank you to Kelly and Ryan Dear for the gift card, the hot meal, the clothes, and toys for the boys.

*Thank you to Mike & Linda McNeal (Kelly's parents) for their thoughtful monetary donation.

*Thank you to Dawn Thoma for the shirts for Cayden and Logan.

*Thank you to Cedar Canyon school (parents, students, and staff) for all their generous donations of gift cards, monetary donations, and books. We are proud to be part of the Cedar Canyon family!

*Thank you to John's long time friends, Lester and Sue Woo, from New York for the beautiful (and very soft) monogrammed blankets for the boys---they love them!! Also for the gift cards which will be used to replenish some games and toys the boys no longer have.

*Thank you to John's friend, Randy Zimmerman, for the Walmart gift card.

*Thank you to my long time friend, Jodie Fackler, for her friendship and offers for assistance.

*Thank you to John's brother, Ray, and sister-in-law, Vivian, for the Kohl's gift card and emails of encouragement. We miss you guys and appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Next on the agenda is deciding on a contractor and getting the process going for restoring/rebuilding the house. At this time we don't know whether it will be a total rebuild or if they will gut the inside and use the existing frame work. Please pray for us to find the perfect and right contractor that will be honest and do great work. The estimate, at this time, is that we may be able to get back into the house within about 5 months. Thank goodness summer is almost here, so we can keep busy with the boys' activities and be outside.

We hope you all are doing well and are as blessed as we feel we are.

Take Care.

Jennifer, John, Logan, and Cayden

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