Life as a Lewis

Rory's declaration of the day: "I am officially a country Lewis Korean." Okay, then. I think I've mentioned before how much we love our new library. Not only is it open 7 days a week, but the book series are kept in numerical order. This is a big deal when your 9 year old reads books from a series that has 50+ books. Maybe this is typical of where you live, but we have certainly not experienced this attention to detail. Of course, there's a price to pay for such good service - the late fees are insane, and after one day past due date, all your online services are canceled. Yes, I did find this out the hard way. One other issue I have with the library is that they don't seem to get new books into circulation until a couple months after release date. I read the first two books in the Lauren Oliver trilogy and LOVED them. As in, loved them as much as The Hunger Games so that's saying something. But after finishing up book 2 with a serious cliffhang...

Boy, did we have a busy weekend! I feel as if I could start every Monday post with those words these days. Baseball season is in full swing; add in church and the extra church events we've been having, and life is full. We also had just about every kind of weather you can imagine: beautiful sunny skies, tornado warnings, chilly temps, flooding, thunderstorms, and a breeze. Thank you so much for all your kind words on this post . It was kinda like a good cry: you don't always know you need it and you don't realize how much better you'll feel when you've finally just let go. That's how that post was. Didn't know I needed to say those things out loud and I didn't realize how much better I would feel after. With a slightly clearer head, I also figured out that part of my state of discontent is related to our non-schedule these days. We've never really gotten back on track after spring break, and with the addition of baseball practice/games and extra...

April 2011 April 2012 April 2013 And what I was really taking a picture of - the holes in their pants. After this day, Rory is down to a solitary pair of uniform pants without holes so she's wearing mostly skirts (even on cool mornings) because there is no way I'm buying new uniform pants for the remaining 3 weeks of school. Camden hasn't put holes in too many of his pants this year, but they are certainly getting too short! And take notice of their arms around each other totally unprompted. They might squabble non-stop, but they sure know how to make their mama happy when she pulls out the camera. credits here

This post will be all over the place. Just a warning. :) When I first started blogging years ago, it was to keep track of our daily happenings for 2 reasons: (1) because Camden was a super cute 3 year old and I wanted to remember all his little sayings, and (2) we were in process to adopt a second child, and I was hoping I would be able to refer back to the blog and see what was happening the day that child was born. So I kept track of those two things, we got our referral, we went to Korea. I blogged ALOT during our trip to Korea, and then kept on blogging about our daily life because Rory was too cute not to share with the world. (Not to mention, I had snuck a little note to her foster mother with the blog address and I knew she was reading.) Then I blogged to help keep my sanity as a stay-at-home-mom of two and because sharing the struggles was a way of venting as well as a way to document our memories. Cancer happened, and the blog shifted into keeping everyone upd...

With the exception of running car pool Friday morning then meeting my friend for a walk, I had a complete mental health day Friday. It. was. perfect. I wrapped myself in a blanket, made a second cup of coffee, turned on the news coverage of the craziness in Boston and then I scrapped; I browsed the internet; I ordered myself some new lip gloss; and I scrapped some more. It's good to take time for yourself, and I know I'm very blessed to not only have the time to do it, but to have a husband who could care less if we had leftovers for supper, if the floors didn't get mopped, and if the counter is full of unopened mail. Friday night we attended a Third Day concert with the kids to celebrate their adoption days (# 9 for Camden and #5 for Rory), and we had the best time. Camden shares my extreme love for music, and as we sat down before the concert he said, "I don't want to leave here for a million years." Colton Dixon and Josh Wilson were also pe...

I spent yesterday with Rory and all her kindergarten friends on the final field trip of the year. It was a beautiful breezy, sunny day. We started out at the Nashville Children's Theater to see a production of Go, Dog, Go and then spent several hours at the Bicentennial State Park , which is just gorgeous. I made the not-so-bright decision to wear sandals with heels and managed to rub some serious blisters trying to keep up with a class of 6 year olds. I snapped lots of pictures with my phone (I managed to walk out the door without my big girl camera), but these two are all you need to get a feel for the day. Bus ride to field trip. Bus ride home from field trip. Okay, just one more because I'm mesmerized by her eyelashes. In other news, I requested that we not do any CA125 testing until I see Dr. W on July 2, and his nurse called me yesterday letting me know that Dr. W agreed to my proposal. This will be the longest I have gone without doctor's appoi...

So I wasn't fast enough with my camera and settings weren't right, which means these pictures were slightly out of focus and under exposed, but I had to share them (for Grandma and Grandpa) because look at how much fun they're having. Camden was chasing her, which Addison thinks is the funniest thing ever. You should see how she lights up when she sees Camden or Rory enter the room. So this is just the back of her head, but *I* know that she is laughing her head off as Rory jumps out and surprises her. The girl likes really loud noises. Alot. Can you stand the cuteness?

If you've followed along here very long, then you know Angela Crutcher is my photography idol. I ADORE her style and images. And not just her photography, but she is such a sweet girl. Not only did she gift us with a Celebrating Adoption session after we brought Rory home from Korea (pretty much my favorite pictures ever), but when I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, she gifted us with a family session so that we would have images of me and our family before chemo. Oh, and let's not forget the commercial shoot she did with Rory . Oh, the cuteness. I took a quick walk around my house, and decorating my walls are three 8x10 prints, four 5x7 prints, two 16x20 canvases, one 11x14 print, and one 20x24 canvas. Clearly, I love the way she captures our family. Last year Angela and her family began the process to adopt domestically. As a way to fund their adoption, she has periodically had special session events. We participated in one last year (hence, the enormous 20x24 c...

Our weekend was full of all kinds of good spring-like things: baseball, sunshine, yard work (okay, that was Brian), babysitting Addison, streaming loud music throughout the house, church, etc. I might have even pulled a few weeds and found myself enjoying it. A sentence I could have never imagined writing because I pretty much avoid all things related to dirt and outside work. Camden lost his baseball game 11-5, but it was a good first game. We're having a few issues with reduced playing time for Camden because he doesn't attend the Wednesday night practices (because of church). They are extra practices (as in, in addition to the other 6-8 hours a week of practice), not regularly scheduled ones, but the coaches are definitely not happy. Not much we can do about it because we're not skipping church, but I wish he weren't being punished for it. He was SO funny Friday night because the child was so excited about the game that he just could not contain himself. And so...

I answered my phone yesterday late morning and heard Dr. W's voice on the line, which caused my heart to skip more than a few beats. He's never called before; only the nurse or assistant. He wanted me to know that my scan looked fine. Absolutely no change for good or for bad so we're going to stay in this holding pattern for 3 more months. I could hear some surprise in his voice about my results. While everyone around me rejoices, I feel my blood pressure rising and the disappointment filling my soul. I know this is good news, but the unexpected disappointment tells me that subconsciously I've still been  hoping that this cancer would just be done already. That I wouldn't have to worry about blood tests and scans and scar tissue pain. That I might finally stop aching and feeling "like an old lady" as Dr. W so delicately put it yesterday. I'd really like to be normal again. I always know when Becky responds to my texts/calls with scan results t...

Anyone have time to kill and need some new reading material? I've got you covered with these articles and blog posts. ;) Parenting: Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World  Why Healthy Children Aren't Always Happy To Parents of Small Children Can We Bring the Holidays Down a Notch? Encouragement: Sometimes I happen across Scripture or blog posts I know without any doubt that God directed me to. Isn't it amazing that the God who created the world cares enough about me and my insecurities and fears to encourage me? The Middle 10 Positive Things You Can Do When Happiness is Hard to Find A Note For Megan Stuck in the Doldrums Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 And because it's...

I've been keeping up with Project Life, just not keeping up with posting it here. So in a blatant attempt to kill time while I wait to hear from the doctor (I'm supposed to call early afternoon), I'm going to catch up on 4 weeks at once. Week 11 Week 12 Week 13 Week 14