Life as a Lewis

This is Rory's favorite song right now. I'm kind of a fan as well. Actually, the whole album is pretty fabulous and has been on repeat at our house.

Stella and Dot , the jewelry company, is donating all proceeds from their Tribute bracelet to Ovarian Cancer Research this weekend. My sister, Becky , is hosting a trunk show. If you'd like to contribute to Ovarian Cancer research plus get a great bracelet, now's your chance. To shop, click here . If you have trouble with the link for some reason, you can search for a hostess name (my sister Becky Derby is the hostess). Only sales from this weekend will benefit ovarian cancer research, but you can shop using this link until August 9.

When Addison was visiting last week, I opened the door, plopped her right down in front of it so I could take advantage of the light, laid on the floor in front of her and started shooting. Our house doesn't have great natural light so taking advantage of an open door in the morning is about the only way to get decent indoor photos (notice the pretty lights in her eyes?). 35mm lens, f2.0, 1/250SS, 800 ISO Seriously. Could she be any cuter? Maybe only if you add one cute Korean boy in there with her. And then top it off with a Korean girl. We're headed to Illinois this morning (well, all day really since it's a solid 9 hour drive). Rory could probably visit another week, but Camden is homesick. ;) Becky and her boys are going to be there so lots of cousin time is going to happen. My mom, Becky, and I are attending a Beth Moore conference over the weekend and plan to spend every spare moment not otherwise taken up by taking pictures or eati...

I've become a little obsessed with headbands for my short hair, but I kept thinking that they were too young for me. I mean, my 5 year old wears them so why should I? Anyway, when I found out my hair was possibly going to fall out, I decided that it was now or never. I've bought 3 (and worn all 3) so far, and I want more although it might be overkill to wear them every day. ;) If you know of any Etsy shops that sell adult-appropriate headbands, link me up. Natty Bratty is my favorite so far. Hello, ginormous head. And I may not have had TV, Internet, or cable for 4 days, but my computer still worked so I did some scrapping. I don't often re-use kits or templates, but you can see in this group that I used the same template twice and the same kit twice. They seemed to fit, and the pages are using pictures from different years so it's not like they'll be in a book side by side. Valorie Wibbens: The Little Things Valorie Wibbens: The Little Thi...

Ready to get caught up to speed? Here we go. Tuesday, July 17 - Celebrated Camden's birthday by taking him to the free summer movie at Opry Mills theater Spy Kids All the Time in the World (absolutely the dumbest movie ever, but he's a big spy fan and ADORED it), lunch at Chuy's, then we let him shop at The Lego Store. Pretty much a 9 year old's dream. ;) Michael, Liz, Addison, my parents, Brian's parents and our family had supper, presents, and ice cream cake for his birthday. How did my sweet boy make it to 9 years old already? Next year he'll be in double digits! I also started pain meds for that stupid gall bladder pain. No fun. Wednesday, July 18 - Liz had surgery; Mom and Addison spent the day with us. I continued to feel worse. Thursday, July 19 - My scalp started tingling. Not a good sign. Ironically enough, I had a hair appointment that I decided to keep. Just in case it doesn't let loose. Chemo was canceled because I was too sick w...

I don't know what I expected after pouring my heart out in all its ugliness and despair earlier this week. I'm not sure I had any expectation at all. I mostly thought that (a) it would be ignored because there's nothing really to say to a big complainer or (b) alot of cliches or platitudes would be thrown my way.  As I'm sure you can imagine, after dealing with cancer for over a year, I've pretty much heard it all. What I didn't expect, however, was the overwhelming support (I received almost as many personal emails as I did comments) and appreciation for my honesty. Thank you for not making me feel like a complainer or a melodramatic drama queen. I am always so worried that I will just be a big Debbie Downer and have placed alot of pressure on myself in these past few months to always have a positive spin on things. Isn't that what a Christian woman should do? I don't think that I've been dishonest with you in the past because the truth is,...

In the past 48 hours I've received 9 emails asking how I'm doing. I've been debating writing this post for more than 48 hours, and I may regret it later, but I'm tired of pretending that I'm fine so I'll just answer you all here. While I don't feel well physically, emotionally I feel completely battered. I knew this was going to be hard, but I clearly underestimated how hard it would be to face the reality that chemo is now my way of life. That I'm never going to get to quit. That there is no hope of a cure. That I am probably not going to see my children grow up or grow old with my husband. That physically, this is as good as it gets. I know I should look at chemo as a gift. It's supposed to kill cancer. But chemo hasn't proven to kill my cancer; it just makes me sick. I'm tired of being an "inspiration." Tired of choosing joy, choosing gratitude. Tired of not knowing where we'll live or work. Tired of waiting on God...

. . . how lightheaded the IV steroids make me . . . how those steroids make me feel on edge for days, so snappy with my family . . . how ADHD I am in the days following chemo, switching back and forth between activities, unable to sit long enough to finish a chapter in my book or watch a TV show from start to finish . . . how the nurses cheerfully chat us up about anything and everything other than cancer and how I can't decide if I hate them or love them for that . . . how hard it is to pull it all together and go out and face the public . . . how I lose complete track of the calendar (I was shocked to see that Sunday is Camden's birthday!) . . . how much of a true introvert I am . . . how looking my best on chemo days is completely out of proportion to how I feel about my looks on other days . . . how Brian and I have this strange tug of war about how he wants me to never move from the sofa while I have a strong desire to help out during bursts ...

And a bunch of miscellaneous pics that did not make it to P365 and aren't going to be scrapped.

In an effort to finish up the never-ending vacation posts, here are just a few of the pictures and stories I haven't gotten to yet. Life has got to move on because if I wait until there's time to edit, it'll never happen. First thing the kids did when we arrived at Hotel Texas (as Rory calls it). Dinner at Twisted Root Burger (a Diners, Dive-ins and Drives spot) on Thursday. I can't even tell you what a big deal these days at the pool were for Camden. He has been TERRIFIED of water his entire life, but for some reason it all clicked for him. He was doing flips, jumping into the deep end, swimming from side to side, going underwater, doing handstands, etc. Brian was so busy with Clearview stuff that he only made it in the pool once in the 5 days we were there. Rory and I were late to the event Saturday because she slept for 3.5 hours in the hotel room. Girl was tired! I cannot stress enough how hot it was. Her face says it all. ;) ...