Life as a Lewis

Our date night turned out so fun. We were out and about for 7 hours! We shopped, laughed, had dinner at Olive Garden, a great dulce de leche frappucino at Starbucks, and just generally had a good time. We made a good dent in buying the rest of the things we need for the house. Still no mattresses, but we did pick a set out and Brian will be back to buy them and bring them home next week. We also spent about an hour at Babies-R-Us just having fun looking at all the cute baby things. Brian is so funny - he says he's in big trouble with a little girl. He's able to resist boy clothes (but not fun boy toys), but all the girly stuff is so cute! While I am certainly enjoying the peace and quiet that comes from a child-free house, I'm ready for my boy to be back! I miss his hugs and kisses and funny sayings.

Tonight was supposed to be date night, but there is absolutely no movie out that I want to see (and I love to go to the movies!). Besides, we've got a ton of house things that need to be done. I think we're going to go out to eat, and then hit Target and Wal-mart. There are so many little things we need for the house - blinds, sheets for Camden's new bed, towel hooks, rubber maids, etc. We're also mattress shopping for Camden. I'm hoping I can talk Brian into going to The Looking Glass, which is a family-run bakery/restaurant that is sooooo good! But it's slightly girly/romantic so we'll see. I talked to Becky last night, and she matter of factly talked me through her treatment options and many of the implications that breast cancer has, I was overwhelmed. I'm not sure how she and Micah are still functioning, but as my mom reminded me recently God gives us grace to deal with the unthinkable. The thought struck me this morning that as horrific as the next...

It was actually yesterday, but all the fun gifts I received just didn't quite cheer me up. Today, I can appreciate them a little more! My boss gave me some great goodies from L'Occitane that I'm very excited about as well as a box of truffles from Godiva. I also received a gift certificate for a fun sandwich place that also has great little desserts. Today the head honchos are taking us all out to eat at J. Alexanders so I'm looking forward to that. I think Camden being with my parents this week might have been all part of God's plan. Camden is probably good for some fun distraction. For example, on one of the MANY phone calls to my mom yesterday, I could hear Camden just singing away at the top of his lungs. Mom said that he got an American Idol microphone with his Happy Meal and hadn't stopped singing since. I told her to feel free to ask him to stop singing if it got to be too much! He'll keep them hopping anyway!

I've struggled all day with how to write this next sentence, and there's just no good way to say it, so I'll just let it out. We found out today my sister has breast cancer. It is very tough news to hear, and I'm full of tears, but Becky is an amazing, strong woman, and somehow after talking to her I feel better. I should have been the one to comfort her, but instead, she comforted me. She will begin chemo in May and then have surgery once the chemo is over. I have faith that everything will be all right, and while this won't be easy for her, she will make it through. I am reminded over and over that God is good to us, and while we may not understand everything that happens in our lives, He is always there to walk with us. I've scrapped this picture before of me and Becky, but came home from work early today and scrapped it again.

I hardly know what to do with my time! Brian is off at class tonight and tomorrow night. Camden is with his grandma and grandpa; my house is clean, and laundry is done! I came home, worked out, and am now headed off to watch Dancing with the Stars (does a workout count if it's followed up by popcorn and a Diet Dr. Pepper?). I'm so tired these days even though life has slowed down quite a bit. I'm a but OCD when it comes to bedtime and sleeping, and if things aren't just exactly right, I don't sleep well. And I'm still adjusting to the new house, bedroom, etc. One of these days I'll adjust! I have done some scrapping! I've got a ton of pictures to get caught up on, so I'm planning to use some of these child-free nights to do it. Here is an Easter page and a page using a picture of the 4 cousins in February.

Well, after a week of ups and downs, we finally closed on the house last night! And even that was a surprise! They told us to go ahead and come in to sign our portion of the paperwork, but they didn't expect the buyers to finish until next week. But when we arrived, what a great surprise to find that the buyers were signing at the same time. It feels so good and is such a relief to have it over and done with! Thursday was Camden's last day of school. They had a fun party for him and the kids all brought gifts for him. His teacher crocheted him a blanket, and it was very sweet. Friday I spent the morning cleaning and doing laundry getting ready for our caseworker visit. I think we're finally at the end of the our paperwork. After we closed on the house Friday afternoon, we went out to eat to celebrate. We also ordered Camden's bed and my dining room set! I am so excited for it to arrive, but it's going to be a couple of weeks. This morning we met my parents and grand...

Today is Camden's last day at his school. He started here when he was 12 months old. I can remember going to the parent's night the day before he started and thought, "I just cannot leave him yet." They had cute little tables and chairs where they ate their meals instead of high chairs; little mats on the floor for their naps instead of baby beds. But he quickly adjusted and has loved it there. He has had wonderful teachers and has made lots of good friends. Most of the boys and girls in his class have been with him for the past 3 years. He doesn't realize, of course, that he'll never see them again. We've tried to gently prepare him, but in typical 3 year old fashion, he can't really wrap his brain around that and when he says goodbye today, I'm sure it will be very casual. They're planning a big party for him today. Brian just called me and said he saw gifts and cameras in several of the kids' cubby holes. I'm much more sad than Camde...

My two favorite things from our new house is this view from my deck. We can walk to church, which saves us 2 hours in drive time on Sundays and an hour on Wednesdays. The second great thing is that Camden can play outside all he wants (and he's loving it!). At our old house, the yard was small, the road too close, and the neighborhood was kind of scary, but now he can play all he wants. And here's a layout I finished last night. These round stickers kept Camden quite busy a couple of weeks ago. He layered them onto his nose and had a fabulous time.

Okay, maybe it's not a disaster, but it certainly felt like one last night when we realized that the 20 year old dish washer in our new house isn't large enough for our dinner plates (and these are normal sized plates!). I guess I'll have to actually wash dishes for the first time in years. Poor Camden is having a really rough transition into the new house. In the back of my mind, I had prepared for the possibility that he would maybe have some difficulty moving and not being in a normal routine, but I was certainly not prepared for this very unhappy, moody child who tells us "no" over and over again, throws himself onto the floor in a fit when we tell him "no" and who even went so far as to hit me last night! Not helping matters is the fact that we have revival this week (which means church every night), the fact that we're not unpacked yet so we know where nothing is, and Brian and I are both tired and not as patient as we should be. I am just hopi...

. . . but it's not all over yet! We were supposed to close today, but there's been a slight hang-up (hopefully not a serious one) and we're now scheduled to close on Wednesday. Our move went well on Saturday until we arrived at the new house and the moving truck got stuck in the front yard! Brian and the other guys spent a good hour trying to get it unstuck, but they finally had to unload the furniture (including my huge piano!) at a crazy angle and carry everything up the front steps into the house. The first thing off was the refrigerator, which was too big to move into the kitchen. Trying to get it in the kitchen took another good 45 minutes or so. It's finally in the kitchen, but it's too large for the refrigerator space available so right now I've got a huge fridge in the middle of the kitchen floor. They're hoping to be able to mess with the counter a bit and move it into place this week. We spent Sunday at church and then at home trying to recover fro...

We. are. never. moving. again! I had forgotten how much work moving is. We've lived here almost 6 years, and have collected a ton of stuff apparently! And please tell me we're not the only people around who don't routinely (and by that I mean NEVER) clean all the baseboards behind furniture (that's been in place for almost 6 years!). I've got alot of cleaning to do! Now I can only hope someone is cleaning just as hard in the house we're moving into so I don't have to clean twice! It's a little soggy out right now, but so far it's not as bad as they were predicting, so I'm hoping the heavy rain stays away for about 6 more hours! Okay, off to shower and get ready for the big day.

It's our last day in the house! How silly is this, but everything we do, I'm thinking, "it's the last time here." I really am sad about moving. I picked out every paint color in this house, the cabinets, carpet, counters, etc. We decorated Camden's nursery and brought him home to this house. But enough of being sentimental! All of these boxes are calling my name. It's raining today and is supposed to storm all day tomorrow so we should have a very wet moving experience! I'm headed to Walmart to pick up a few things, take books back to the library and then back home to get packing. It feels like we've got alot to do, but we've also done alot of work over the last 6 weeks or so and I really think it won't be too bad. Camden is going to his Gram's house to spend the night, and she is keeping him tomorrow while we move so that will be helpful. Here are 3 layouts from this week. I expecially love this first one!

We had a wonderful surprise from a family member yesterday - a sizable donation to our adoption fund, and it's almost the exact amount we need for our next payment next week. God is very good to us, and we're so grateful for our family who loves us. Camden is seriously cracking us up these days! Last night, during commercial breaks from Dancing with the Stars, we danced. He asked me, "mommy, are we doing the mango?" I think he was referring to the tango that we saw a couple of weeks ago! He says the funniest things! So, it's settled that we're moving on Saturday. I'm looking forward to having this over with! I'll be sad to leave our house, but glad to not be in transition any longer. I have a little confession to make. I managed a little retail therapy to help me along as we wait for this adoption to finally get moving! I bought a cute little Asian lovey doll that we will send to her in Korea after we receive our referral, and I also bought a couple o...

We had wonderful news this morning! We've been working on paperwork for switching Camden's daycare since we're moving next week. The Christian school that he will be attending next year when he starts kindergarten has a great 3 year old and K-4 program, but there were no openings so we were going to put him on the K-4 waiting list, enroll him in our 2nd choice preschool and hope for the best. When Brian went to register this morning to get on the waiting list, they told him that Camden has a spot for K-4 and if we can hold off until May 29, he'll have a spot in the preschool. We're so excited about that! I was really dreading having him switch schools twice, and I'm so happy that he won't have to switch now, for K-4 or for kindergarten! Here are a few Camden funnies for you. He's picked up the phrase, "Oh, Lord" (said with a big southern drawl). He says he learned it from Mater. We try to hide our giggles as we tell him it would be better to ...

Here is our Easter in one quick page of pictures! We had an egg hunt at church on Saturday. The temperature was 35! So it was a very quick egg hunt to say the least. Sunday wasn't quite as cold so I made Camden take off his coat for a few quick pictures, but I didn't get much! We had another small family egg hunt after lunch, and he had fun looking for the eggs. Other than that, it was a weekend filled with packing up boxes and more fun house stuff. Look for Easter layouts soon!

The temperature is 48 and falling if you can believe it! We've been in the mid to upper 80's for the last 3-4 weeks. I'm weird, I know, but I'm kinda enjoying the cooler weather. I like the briskness in the air. The only downside is that this cold weather is going to seriously put a wrench in Camden wearing the cute outfit I bought him for the egg hunt on Saturday! Would it be child abuse to put him in shorts in 40 degree weather so I can get those cute pictures? Just kidding! Because of the Good Friday service on Friday, we're not having church tonight. Is it wrong to be very excited about going home on Wednesday and having Camden and Brian home for a quiet night? I can't wait! We've haven't seen Brian at all this week since he hasn't made it home before 10 p.m. I seem to be incapable of completing a layout during the week recently and since I've already posted all my weekend layouts, I have nothing to show you today.

I forgot to mention the new toy Brian bought. Ever since he first saw the Dance Dance Revolution PS2 game, he's been dying to have it (for some reason!). Well, he finally bought it last week. His big idea is that it will be a fun workout thing we can do together. And, I'll admit, it's pretty fun! In fact, I've done it 3 nights in a row. It's not dancing by any means! It's a big mat with arrows on it that is connected to the PS2 and on the screen you follow the arrows with your feet, and it's to the beat of the songs of your choice. Yes, I'm sure we look like idiots! Today was a crazy busy day at work. So busy, in fact, that the day just flew by. I came home exhausted! And I promise - this messy house makes me more tired just looking at it! I did 3 loads of laundry tonight and got them taken care of, moved all the rubber maids of things we packed up over the weekend into the spare bedroom, but I can't do much about all the other boxes. They're ful...

So our house officially looks like we're moving! It's a disaster area, but we've gotten quite a bit packed. The clutter is seriously bothering me, though! I think we need to consolidate the boxes into one room rather than scattered throughout the house. The weekend passed by quickly! We were pretty busy, but it somehow feels like we didn't accomplish much (except make a big mess of our house in boxes!). Brian and Camden worked in the yard on Saturday. Camden was so funny - he thought he was such a big boy helping out. I rented Happy Feet for him to watch last night, but it was so disappointing. It was pretty boring and not wha I expected at all! So I did get some scrapping done this weekend. Here are three layouts. I actually have two more to post maybe tomorrow.