Born in Lexington, Kentucky, the fifth of seven children of Ruth and Charles Shaw, <a href="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Debi_Lewis1.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-230" title="Debi_Lewis" src="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Debi_Lewis1-254x300.jpg" alt="" width="203" height="240" /></a>Deborah Shaw Lewis grew up in Georgia. She attended <a title="Asbury_University" href="http://asbury.edu" target="_blank">Asbury College</a> where she met her husband <a title="Gregg_Lewis_books" href="http://gregglewisbooks.com" target="_blank">Gregg</a>. She taught preschool, wrote preschool curriculum for <a title="David_C_Cook" href="http://www.davidccook.com/" target="_blank">David C. Cook Publishing,</a> directed a daycare center, Winkie Bear Child Development Center, and taught child care courses at <a title="Triton_College_River_Grove_Illinois" href="http://www.triton.edu/cgi-bin/r.cgi/index.html" target="_blank">Triton College</a> in River Grove, Illinois.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Two fertility specialists told Debi and Gregg that they would not be able to have children. Their first child Andrew (now 32) was declared a "miracle."

[caption id="attachment_414" align="aligncenter" width="236" caption="Andrew at 3 years, Matthew at 2 years old"]<a href="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/A-M-2-yrs.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-414 " title="A &amp; M  2 yrs" src="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/A-M-2-yrs-236x300.jpg" alt="" width="236" height="300" /></a>[/caption]

Then he was followed by <a title="Matthew_blog" href="http://alethinologia.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Matthew</a> (now 30 and married to <a title="Emily_Brown_Lewis_blog" href="http://greensandjeans.com/" target="_blank">Emily</a>).

[caption id="attachment_178" align="aligncenter" width="227" caption="Our Precious Lisette, at age 3"]<a href="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Lisette-at-3.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-178 " title="Lisette at 3" src="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Lisette-at-3-227x300.jpg" alt="" width="227" height="300" /></a>[/caption]

Lisette (now 28) came along 2 1/2 years later.

[caption id="attachment_175" align="aligncenter" width="238" caption="Jonathan at 1 year and Benjamin at 4 years old"]<a href="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Jon-and-Ben-portrait-1989.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-175" title="Jon and Ben portrait 1989" src="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Jon-and-Ben-portrait-1989-238x300.jpg" alt="" width="238" height="300" /></a>[/caption]

Then Benjamin (now 27) 19 months after Lisette. And 3 1/2 years later,  Jonathan (now 23 and married to Jessica).

They are ALL miracles.  All unique gifts from God.

With Matthew only  18 months younger than Andrew (to the day) and Benjamin only 19 months younger than Lisette, the Lewis family wore out two double strollers.

[caption id="attachment_21" align="aligncenter" width="1000" caption="Lisette, Andrew, Jonathan, Jessica and Benjamin, in May 2011, when Andrew and Jonathan graduated from Asbury University"]<a href="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/cropped-family_graduation_2011.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-21" title="cropped-family_graduation_2011.jpg" src="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/cropped-family_graduation_2011.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="288" /></a>[/caption]

Debi earned her master's degree from the <a href="http://www.erikson.edu/" target="_blank">Erikson Institute</a> in Chicago. She is currently the director of <a title="PALS_at_Trinity" href="http://www.trinityumcrome.org/content/what-makes-pals-unique" target="_blank">PALS</a>, the mothers' morning out program at <a title="Trinity_United_Methodist__Church_Rome_Georgia" href="http://trinityumcrome.org/" target="_blank">Trinity United Methodist Church </a>in Rome, Georgia. She loves to speak to groups of mothers and to tell stories to young children.

[caption id="attachment_49" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Matthew, Emily, Jonathan, Benjamin, Debi, Gregg, Lisette and Andrew, Christmas 2010"]<a href="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/cropped-best-family_2.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-49" title="cropped-best-family_2.jpg" src="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/cropped-best-family_2-300x86.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="86" /></a>[/caption]