Life as a Lewis

Finally! Some great fall weather! Brian and Camden headed out to the football game Friday night in sweatshirts! I just love the crisp feel when fall arrives. I took Camden in to get his flu shot Friday and also to have his chest and ears checked because he's had a cold for weeks. Everything was clear, but the doctor did prescribe Zyrtec for him to help with these fall allergies. When he received his flu shot, he screamed bloody murder! It was slightly embarrassing (okay, really embarrassing) as he continued to scream as we walked through the hall, into the waiting room, and into the elevator. Maybe he'll toughen up one of these days! Brian and Camden had fun at the football game while I enjoyed a bit of quiet time at home! Saturday we were up bright and early and headed to the soccer field since Camden had two games. They were disasters as usual. We still have no wins; at least our team did score a couple of goals. I've got lots of layouts to post, but blogger is not lettin

My tests came back all clear yesterday! Let me just tell you - there are some crazy people in waiting rooms. Both times I've had mammograms in the last two weeks, I've spent two hours each time with some strange people! Brian left yesterday for an overnight field trip with his 4th grade class. He's called a couple of times and says it's pretty boring! The good news is that it's not alot of work, but I wish he didn't have to be gone. I went on a walk with two of my friends last night, while Camden played with their kids. He had a blast and came home filthy dirty! We ate pizza and watched Survivor together. I never sleep well when Brian is gone and last night was no exception. Not to mention Camden was up multiple times last night, all perky and bouncing around asking for a drink! We don't have much planned for today. Waiting for the cable guy to come fix our Internet connection, then headed to the pediatrician to get Camden's flu shot. Brian is planning t

Seriously. It's almost October, and our temperatures are still in the 90's with ridiculous humidity! I'm so ready for some cooler weather! Camden's school uniform changes to pants October 1, and at this rate, he's going to be hot wearing them! By the way, Camden's question of the week is, "Mommy, how do we all stay together? You know, attached together and our bones and blood not fall out." I tell ya, he's either going to be a genius or a psychopath! We get more bones and blood questions that you can imagine! Brian had his first full day at the new school yesterday. He said that it's less structured than the other class and just more to take in and learn, but that he thinks he'll like it. I hope so! He is so busy these days. I have no idea the last time he was just home for the evening. I think we're on the 3rd straight week of him being gone every single night, and he's worked almost a full day the last several Saturday's. I ke

Good morning! I'm up bright and early taking advantage of Internet access - it's been out most of the weekend so I thought I'd post this morning while I had a chance. We had a very busy weekend, but it ended on a nice, quiet note! Brian worked all day Saturday finishing up the teen room at church. He only took a quick break for Camden's soccer game at noon. Unfortunately, the kids were not quite into the game! They lost 8-0, and the other team only had 2 players! In their defense, it was 93 degrees, and sooo sticky out. I think they were just hot and sweat, and VERY unmotivated! A sweet man in our church passed away over the weekend so we went to the funeral home Sunday afternoon. Camden went to his Gram's house and stayed with her. Is it bad that Brian and I thoroughly enjoyed having a few moments to ourselves even if it was just to the funeral home and back? I think we need a date night - it's been way too long since we've had a few Camden-free moments. We

Today was Brian's last day at the private school where he was student teaching, and they had a little surprise party for him. All the kids wrote him notes and made him cards; they had cake and ice cream and they gave him a gift card to the Parent Teacher Store. He's definitely going to miss that class. He moves over to the 4th grade at the public school on Monday, and he's excited about that. This is the school where he hopes to teach permanently. I made my weekly trip to the grocery store and Wal-mart today. Also stopped by Kohl's and picked up some new tennis shoes. My ankle/foot has been killing me lately, and I'm hoping that it's just cause I've been wearing old, cheap shoes. I bought some New Balance walking shoes so maybe that will help. I pretty much took the week off from exercising because I was in so much pain, but I've got to get back on it! Camden did a really great job at soccer practice tonight. He's got a game tomorrow, and they'r

Becky is doing very well. I talked to her this morning and she sounded great. I'll just admit that if this were me, I'm pretty sure I'd be wallowing in self-pity right now. She just amazes me! Camden prayed last night that "Aunt Becky would be . . . . unworse." He had to think hard about what word to use because we told him the surgery was over, but that we still needed to pray for her. That's not really the good news I was going to share, though. It is adoption related, but there's no baby so don't get too excited. When I checked the mail Monday there was a letter from Shaohannah's Hope , which is the adoption foundation that Steven Curtis Chapman started. They're giving us a $3,000 grant! God has really blessed us as we've gone through this process. He's blessed us with wonderful family and friends and he has blessed us financially. Now all we need is a baby! Camden has been on the verge of sick all week. We even had to pull out the i

Becky did really well during her surgery and is doing as well as can be expected. We're very grateful for that! Come back tomorrow for a regularly scheduled blog post complete with new scrap pages. :)

Becky's surgery is today - started at 7:00 this morning and is supposed to last about 5 hours. I'm sure it's going to be a long day for all those waiting at the hospital with her. I cannot even fathom the emotional and physical pain she will probably feel over the next several weeks and months, and all we can really do for her is pray for her and love her. I'll try to quickly post an update when I hear from my family after her surgery.

My brother Matt finally made it home. Poor thing traveled for a full week before arriving, but the good news is that he's home safe and sound for the second time from Iraq. He and my parents are now on their way to Tulsa to be with Becky before her surgery Wednesday. I wish I could be there too! So a little weekend recap. Camden and I had a little date Friday morning/afternoon, which was fun. We didn't do anything spectacular - just some shopping, lunch, and a milkshake, but it doesn't take much to make 4-year olds happy! Our last stop was at Target where I let him pick out a new puzzle (his new favorite toy), and while the selection wasn't great, he was happy with it and put it together many times over the weekend! It was a 35 piece floor puzzle, and I can't believe how well he does with it. Saturday was another busy day. Camden had soccer pictures at 10:00 and then the first official, full-length game at 11:00. He had a horrible bloody nose right as the game was a

Camden's official debut as a soccer player. I apologize in advance for the really annoying mother in the background cheering for her son (no idea who that could possibly be). And I have no idea why the quality is so bad - the quality is good on our video, but when we upload it to youtube, it's no good. He's number 6 in case you can't tell. Oh, and he scored 2 goals, but Brian wasn't filming when they happened so there's no real proof! :)

Happy Grandparent's Day! Camden is having a special program at his school today, and I'd really like to be there, but they try to make it all about the grandparents, so Camden and his Gramps are going to just have to enjoy their time alone. While Camden is at school, I'm headed to the local consignment store to try to unload Camden's fall/winter clothing. The store owner was so excited to have me bring things in because she said most people just bring girl clothes. Hopefully, they will sell well! I'm holding out for a new camera lens! After Camden gets home, we're headed to town. I've got some shopping I need to do. I saw some cute fall things on sale for me that I want to check out (I'm constantly searching for work clothes) and Gymboree's got an extra 30% off entire purchase this weekend so I have to check that out as well. Even if I don't get Camden or baby girl anything new, I've got 2 baby showers coming up that I can s

Today is a good day! My brother, who has been in Iraq since July 2006 arrives back in Seattle , Washington , and my parents get to be there! He was actually scheduled to arrive Wednesday, but the military changed his schedule and it wasn’t going to be until Sunday, but the Red Cross stepped in and arranged a flight for him so that my parents hadn’t traveled to Washington for no reason and they also were able to arrange a leave for him so that he could go with my parents to see Becky before her surgery. I posted several Gymboree and Janie and Jack size 2-3t auctions on eBay if anyone is interested in cute boy stuff. Click here . I finally got around to downloading the pictures from Camden ’s first soccer game onto the computer. Here are a couple to look at – I’m going to keep trying to get some good shots, but I really need a different lens. The one I have does not have enough zoom! (hint, hint, Brian)

It almost felt like fall this morning when I left for work. At 57 degrees, it is definitely the coolest morning we've had so far. The morning deserved a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte. :) I forgot to tell a funny story from Monday night. Camden went to bed at 7:00, which is a little early for him, but not too much. About 8:00, he stumbled out of his bed, walked down the hall, right past Brian and I in the living room, through the kitchen, through the computer room and into the bathroom at the far end of our house. I caught him just as he was about to go potty in the trashcan! I shifted him around, waited for him to finish, then carried him back to bed. I'm pretty sure he never woke up at all! I hope he's not sleepwalking often! The teacher Brian is working with was sick yesterday so Brian had the whole classroom to himself! He said it was pretty fun. I helped him grade homework last night - now I feel like a real teacher's wife.

First item of the day - a funny story about Camden. I asked him at supper tonight what he wanted to be for Halloween (and I should probably mention here that he is 4 and until this moment has never cared at all about Halloween). He says, "a butterfly!" So I try to nicely tell him that usually butterflies are girls, and he heartily disagreed. He explained that on Little Einsteins the caterpillar was a boy and turned into a butterfly. So! We might have a butterfly around here for Halloween. :) My doctor's office called today and the radiologist who looked at my mammogram wants me to come in for an additional mammogram and an ultrasound. It sounds like it's probably just due to my age and they are just double-checking because of our family history, but it's enough to make me a little nervous. And, here I thought I was home free after my negative test results yesterday. The excitement just never ends around here, does it! Two layouts from the weekend - the first uses

My test came back negative! I still can't quite believe it, but we are all so happy to have that weight lifted away. I do have to come in every 6 months for an exam, a mammogram every year, and a breast MRI every couple of years, which obviously isn't the norm for a 31 year-old, but I am happy to do any and all of it!! Now to our weekend! Camden and I spent the evening together Friday night because Brian had a funeral to attend. I asked him what he wanted to do, and he said, "let's take a walk!" So we did! He was so funny jogging beside me, pointing out all the "fun" smooshed things we found on the road. Ruby came along with us because "she needs some exercise" as Camden put it. (Ruby has disappeared again, by the way). Camden woke up bright and early and bouncing off the walls ready for his first two soccer games Saturday morning. The weather wasn't too hot, and we had jut a little bit of rain, but not enough that he couldn't play. He

It's a big day for me, but not really "big" in necessarily a good way. I'm having my first mammogram today, and I also go to the doctor find out the results of my cancer gene mutation test. I will admit to feeling pretty shaky and scared. I thought I was doing pretty well. I've heard lots of sermons in recent days about worry and God being in control, etc., and I've been trying to focus on those truths, but when I saw the doctor's number on my phone, my stomach sank, my hands started shaking, and the tears came. Silly, I know. There's just as good of a chance that it's good news as there is that it's bad news. But I'm still scared. I'll post either tonight or tomorrow about our weekend, Camden's first soccer games, and my test results.

Well, I managed to drag myself out of bed this morning and meet my friend at 6:30 to walk! Not my favorite way to start a Friday, but I'm sure I'm gonna feel good about myself later on, right? Brian is on his first field trip today. I wonder if he'll be a little frazzled when he gets home after keeping track of 36 kids all day! Here are a couple more pictures from this past weekend's little park adventure.

So! We have very good news in the Hale/Lewis/Derby/Lemons family. My youngest sister, Elizabeth, tested negative for the cancer gene! As my dad said, one down, one more to go. I'm really hoping to hear from the doctor about my results this week, but it's already Thursday so we'll just wait and see. This has been a busy week! Brian is feeling the pressure of being a teacher and preparing lessons while keeping up with family and church obligations. We actually skipped soccer practice Tuesday night just because it was too much (and it was an extra practice anyway). Camden has practice tonight and then his first two games are on Saturday. I can't wait to see how he plays! We had word from our adoption agency this week that we should be getting very close to a referral (as in maybe the next 3-4 weeks) so I am excited about that. Actually, I am doing my best not to think about it so that I don't go insane wondering if the next phone call will be "t

So, today is a total fluff blog post - completely about scrapping. Just in case you were looking for some new supplies, I've got you covered. But, first, a few pieces of scrapping news from me. First, the wonderful Traci Murphy has asked me to be on her full-time CT. I have loved her dropshadows and those circle metallic stitches for months now, not to mention the rest of her designs so I was very excited to hear from her. Second, the wonderful Emily and Angela Powers asked me to be on the guest team for September and since I think I own just about everything they've ever designed, it was definitely a no-brainer to say yes to them! And last but not least, Anne deJong also asked me to be a guest for September. Anne is a fairly new designer, but she was so many fun paper accents, and I always love her color choices. So, I'm going to be a very busy girl this month. Stitched Grids Tiny Crayon Alpha First Day Jitters Basically Pink Believing in You And now for a

Settle in, this might be long! :) So, Friday I went to the doctor trying to get a sleeping aid. I should tell you that I go to a small doctor's office in a small town because I've been trying to avoid heading back into Nashville if I'm sick. It's just easier to drive 10 minutes instead of 45. I've never been all that thrilled with the service there - it's usually a good 60-90 wait, they just hand out a ton of drugs, and I've been misdiagnosed many times. Now that I'm typing this out, I'm just not sure why I've stayed with them this long! So, anyway, they've got a new doctor in the practice, and he was available so I went to see him. Once again, 90 minute wait. He walks in, plops/slouches down in the chair and immediately starts telling me I've got restless leg syndrome which is linked to hyperactivity and ADHD, lists off all the drugs he could give me, etc. Now this is without ever even asking me a question! Then he proceeds to tell me th