Life as a Lewis

Vanderbilt finally called this afternoon. I'm actually not sure the nurse was calling with my results since she asked for insurance information and then seemed surprised that I didn't already know the results of the scan and CA125, but I have results whatever the original reason she called. My CA125 is continuing to slowly rise, but the scan shows no change so I will continue with the Tamoxifen and see Dr. C in 12 weeks. The nurse told me that Dr. C had remarked on how well "Mrs. Lewis looked" which is nice to hear. I'm thinking she may not have been quite as pleased if I would have admitted to how often I'm forgetting to actually take the Tamoxifen. Shhhh. The weekend plans include: **Trying to take advantage of Blurb's flash sale and make a Disney photo book. I have something like 1,500 pictures from those 8 days so I'm trying to organize them and then cut the number down to something a little more manageable. **Camden has a baseball...

As if our Disney trip wasn't going to be fabulous enough all on its own, a friend (of a friend . . . of a friend) upgraded our family to Club Level at the resort. This meant we had lots of extra pampering, food, drinks, an entire level dedicated just to those with "club" status, etc. It. was. awesome. We also received extra Fast Passes several days, and for those of you familiar with Disney - these Fast Passes were just open, general passes. As in, we literally just walked up to the ride/attraction and walked on in. No advance scheduling needed. And as if all that wasn't enough, this friend (of a friend . . . of a friend) arranged for the head animal keeper to take us on a behind-the-scenes tour of the open savannas that are at Jambo House and Kidani Lodge at Animal Kingdom. I wasn't allowed to have my camera with me for most of it, but he took us in a van and we rode around the savanna for about 2 hours, observed the red river hogs up close (and...

We had several character meals at Disney, but with the exception of our dinner at The Royal Table (hello, Cinderella's castle!), they were mostly with big stuffed animal characters who couldn't talk. Not that they weren't fun, but my kids were just a tad old to be in awe of them. I think the general idea is that Disney has characters everywhere, and you meet and greet all the time out on the street. That was definitely not our experience - there were characters available, but there were very long lines to go along with them. On Friday morning we were surprised to run into Mary Poppins as we walked into Magic Kingdom, and she was spectacular . It was like we had the real live Mary Poppins walk off the movie screen into our world. She was beautiful, so engaged with the kids, and full of cute little Mary Poppins quips. (he did not stick around for a hug) my favorite :) We had several more character experiences later on: Cinderella's ste...

Here's the deal. I've got so many pictures to share from Disney and cousin/grandparent visits, I do not even know where to begin. Seriously, there are so many pictures that I'm about to just walk away from the computer. How about if we just start with these. I had an engagement photo shoot a couple of weeks ago (my first). Can you believe this kid was 4 when we first met him and taught him in children's church? The appointment with my oncologist, Dr. C, was this afternoon. Unfortunately, after waiting for nearly 3 hours, she stopped by the exam room to let us know there was a hold-up with both my blood work and my scan (from the previous week). She apologized many times, asked if we had questions, and told me that I made her day by saying that I had not given her or cancer a second thought since I'd walked out her door 8 weeks ago. Let me tell you, she was downright chipper at that news! She even scolded me, "you look like yo...

Pinterest and DIY bloggers are full of ideas to freshen up your kitchen, most notably - paint those cabinets! Easy peasy, right? The reality is that you spend 2 days simply prepping the area, multiple days painting. All of the contents of your kitchen are dumped into your bedroom, which makes you feel like you're living as a hoarder. There is a solid layer of dust everywhere . And no one tells you there will be enough fumes to give everyone headaches. I jokingly said last night I was pretty sure the fumes were giving me cancer. And we've had a few laughs about the fact that Brian thought it was going to be a 2-day job. Brian has been a rock star; he's on day 4 of 12-hour days. We're hoping by tonight the last coat of paint will be on the cabinets, and the clean-up can begin. The faces of the cabinets and trim won't be quite ready yet, but I'll be satisfied just to get rid of some dust and an actual working stove/refrigerator/microwave. If I would ha...

To catch up . . . The kids went to camp with Brian and their cousins while the mamas had photo shoots, ate good food and watched alot of NBA basketballs. Photo taken a few seconds after arriving home from camp Friday. Somehow they don't look quite as worn out as I thought they would. Camden's first baseball game in over a year (in which he pitched the entire game, hit a home run, and nearly broke his nose). A certain 8 year old in our house returned from her first week of camp with all 10 pair of underwear still clean, tucked safely away in the top of the suitcase. One of the boy cousins (I'll leave it a secret as to which one) got scared one night at camp and decided not to brave the trip to an actual bathroom. Let's just say a styrofoam cup pulled from Uncle Brian's suitcase was put to good use (and then promptly dropped onto the cabin floor). Took a trip down memory lane at our alma mater (all 3 Hale girls plus their spouses met and g...

I think these pictures are a pretty clear representation of how the past couple of days have gone. Jeni's, of course. Girl's night, which included our own cheese board and Game 3 of the NBA Finals. Tea Parties

The view from our room. I have never spent so much time waiting, walking, or riding on a bus. Even with the crazy crowds (seriously, more people than I've ever seen in my life), Disney was pretty awesome at moving people along. Disney can fit more people into a small space than you would ever think possible. Each time I would think "surely they're not going to add more people" they'd add twice what I thought the space could hold. Camden already has a great appreciation for food, but it was really fun to see him dive into the menus. He had sword fish, all kinds of seafood, eggs with Hollandaise sauce, etc. No chicken nuggets for this kid! And speaking of food, our favorite meal overall was at Ohana (although our anniversary date night at Artist Point was also amazing). The hot fudge sundae at Ghiradelli in Downtown Disney was easily the best dessert, and the famous Dole Whip was also very refreshing (the four of us split these desserts). The K...

. . . . it's off to camp we go While other mothers posted pictures of themselves dropping off their kids at camp, unpacking their suitcases, making their beds, etc. . . . Becky and I sent them off to camp with Daddy/Uncle Brian and headed to the movies yesterday afternoon then came home to watch the NBA finals (go, Cleveland!). No tears from these mamas (or kiddos - they were pretty happy to escape). Today Becky picked me up from work and we headed to Trader Joe's for some snack supplies, ate supper at Edleys (oh. my. stars. Amazing!) and had two scoops of Jeni's ice cream. We might be having as much fun as the kids are. It's anyone's guess how much fun Brian is having since he's the adult in charge of all these excited kids, but I know we'll hear all about it when they return Friday.

We arrived home from Disney about 10:15 Wednesday evening. I headed back to work Thursday morning while Brian and the kids prepared for a community outreach event we have scheduled for Saturday. We have family arriving Saturday and then Brian and the kids (along with the cousins) head to camp Sunday. Whew. I feel like I need to take a deep breath! We spent 8 days fully enjoying the Disney experience and each other without a care in the world. I came home with a full heart and so many memories. Brian and I both have said we're not sure we could ever go back to Disney because there's just no way a second trip could live up to this adventure. All four of us spent the week feeling spoiled beyond measure and so loved by our friends and family who made the trip happen. I'm slightly (or maybe alot) overwhelmed with the sheer number of pictures and memories and am having a very hard time deciding what to share here. For now, I'm going to simply share my two fav...