Life as a Lewis

Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession. James 1:17-18 1. Spring break seemed like a good time to make a fast trip to Cincinnati to use the tickets to the Ark Experience and Creation Museum we received for Christmas. It was a good 2 days of family togetherness that was both wonderful (spring break!) and challenging (middle schooler on board!). Spending the night together in a hotel is a rare event, and Brian went to bed early while the kids ate an insane amount of snacks and watched The Voice. They were bottomless pits! We visited 2 ice cream spots in 2 days time, went to the Cincinnati Art Museum, browsed Findlay Market, and ate pizza while people-watching. The weather was gloomy, but we never got caught in rain or needed more than a

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. -Psalm 19:14 So I didn't quite get around to posting on Friday, but I'm spending Sunday morning at home recovering from a stomach bug that seems to be sweeping its way through our church. Blogging seemed a good way to make use of recovery time. 1. My mom has been here for the last 10 days and now we have my dad too (despite being diagnosed with shingles last week - ugh!) for a couple of days. Last week mom and Liz accompanied me to chemo; we did some shopping and eating prior to my appointment. This week mom and I visited the milkshake bar at The Grilled Cheeserie for a sweet treat. Ice cream makes everything, even a chemo treatment, better. Family trip to see Beauty and the Beast, which was lovely! 2. Rory competed in a district competition last weekend (related to our church/denomination) in Bible memorization and piano. She had to memorize 8

And I am sure of this,  that he who began a good work in you  will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." Phil. 1:6 God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful. I Thess. 5:24 I burst into tears this morning. And while tears may flow a little more frequently these days, literally bursting into tears is unheard of! The verse I listed above cut right into the heart of the burdens we're all carrying these days. If you're a parent, God will be faithful to complete that good work you're doing. God will be faithful to complete the good work of your marriage. He'll be faithful to help me complete the good work of living with this cancer diagnosis and the challenges it brings. As I was finishing up these verses and a good cry, my phone beeped with my Vanderbilt appointment reminders for next week. Not. a. coincidence. My tears suggest I needed the word of encouragement more than I knew. And now I have Mandisa's lyrics whe

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Heb. 4:16 1. On Tuesday Rory went on a field trip to the state capitol building and a TN history museum. She came home with a surprising number of facts regarding bayonets and guns. Their guide did an excellent job explaining to the class because she retained so much information! Of course, because she has an older brother who has been to the same museum during his own 4th-grade year, she had to contend with all of his corrections (his recollection of the facts were slightly different than hers). Bless that child. She has the patience of Job. 2. Because recovering from chemo is not happening as quickly as I would like, I made a point to focus on rest as a form of self-care this week. Those precious moments at the end of the day when everyone is asleep and there are no demands on my time or attention (because I am the last one awake

Catching up with some leftover February photos. I posted this picture on Instagram. Here's what happened right before. Please don't judge your real life against what everyone else posts on social media because there's always a picture like this that isn't published. Do you see how old this child looks? Super Bowl party #11 - always one of my favorite nights of the year Bald Poser Baking

The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh every morning. I say to myself, "the Lord is my inheritance, therefore, I will hope in him!" Lamentations 3:22-24 1. We celebrated 9 years of Rory on Wednesday. I ran across our airport pictures and here are two of my favs. I couldn't help but be struck by how blessed our family is. Not just with the miracle of two children born to another woman in another country all of the way across the world, but with the family and friends who surround us in these moments. The kids always get to choose their favorite meal or restaurant to celebrate, and Rory has made the surprising choice of Buffalo Wild Wings so I guess we'll be eating wings over the weekend. 2. I have to say our Hello, Fresh meals were a complete success. I have some credits from some of you who ordered a box using my referral link so we'll definitely do it again. If y

Despite what everyone says, being bald does not make me brave or beautiful. It just means I have cancer and the way to counteract that cancer is to take medicine that has bad side effects. It's not like I have a choice. Here are a few things about being bald that you might not know. 1. Clothes fit differently. Okay, so clothes maybe don't fit differently, but they feel like they do because the lack of hair throws off your proportions visually. Of course, chemo tends to make me gain weight so those extra 5 pounds don't help, not to mention the puffy face that accompanies the steroids. 2. Getting ready in the morning should  take a lot less time, but now you have to choose not just your outfit but a hat or scarf to match. Hats are easier and more comfortable, but they're hot as well as casual (at least the ones that I like). I currently only have 3-4 scarves and they're a pain to tie and the knot at the back of my neck drives me crazy, but they're