Life as a Lewis

The kids saw their pediatrician for annual physicals last month, and, surprisingly, Rory is the one doing all the growing these days. She grew about 5 inches and gained 20 pounds. In fact, Dr. H says she's moved from tiny (3-5th percentile which has been her norm) to just small/petite (10th percentile). Camden is 5'11" and 129 lbs so he's still a beanpole. The most significant information from this visit is Dr. H confirming that Rory's asthma is most improved from the last several years. Unfortunately, Rory came down with a seasonal cold (and a few allergies thrown in) not long after she finished her COVID-exposure quarantine so she sneezed her head off and was generally miserable for a couple of days. Because of our current COVID climate, she was unable to attend school in person while having these symptoms, which is understandable. She shed a few tears the first morning, but a hot cup of coffee perked her right up. Can't do that at school! Our lives have chan...

But as for me, God's presence is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge, so I can tell about all you do. -Psalm 73:28 1. Sunday after church we jumped in the car and made our way to East Tennessee for a quick overnight visit with Brian's parents. I was pretty desperate to get away from the house! If you're also still sheltering at home, then you understand how difficult it is to continue to stay home for months on end especially when it seems no one else is doing so. I convinced Brian to grab curbside coffee from Crema on the way out of town. The weather was beautiful; Rory got to drive Gramps's mule (so did I), and we unexpectedly had the opportunity to see friends for a bit. The trip was definitely worth the hours on the road.   2. Rory returned to school Tuesday after nearly 2 weeks of remote learning, and she was ready (although I think she secretly misses staying home all day and the extra screen time). 3. Basketball conditioning started Tuesday, and...

The most important thing to note on this fourth day of September is the weather is supposed to cool off to 57 tonight. Our highs go back up to upper 80's tomorrow, but 57 is going to feel awesome, and fall is coming. Maybe not soon enough but it's coming.  1. Rory was exposed to COVID almost 2 weeks ago so she's been home with me. She is able to do remote learning so she hasn't missed a beat regarding school. Speaking of school, Brian is also back to his bonus career as bus driver after a 5-month break. Approximately 40% of our county school population chose remote learning so his bus has 25ish students instead of 65ish students, which makes for a much easier day.    2. I have been doing a ton of reading recently and the two books I read this week were both 5 stars, and a 5 star book is a rarity for me. The first is Code Name Helene by Ariel Longhorn. It is historical fiction from WW2 and is based on the true story of a woman who helped lead the Resistance in German...

 Yes, I know I missed the entire summer. I will catch up soon, but I didn't want the start of school to slip by. Because I have an 8th grader and a junior! As usual, I just don't know where the time goes. There's this little thing called COVID-19 continuing to keep us all captive so returning to school is no small matter. Brian and I (mostly me) spent many anguished days and nights trying to decide what was the right choice for the kids. Ultimately, we decided to keep them at the same school they've always attended which is meeting in-person with masks and other safety protocols. Both Camden and Rory are thrilled to be back with their friends and I'm so glad they continue to love school. We've completed our first week and are well on our way to finishing up week number two and no snags for the kids yet. (I won't count the quarantined freshman class as a snag for my kids. Yikes!) Camden is taking difficult classes, along with dual enrollment (college classes)...

(obviously, this is old news; I just never hit publish on this post) It is increasingly difficult for everyone (adults most definitely included) to get up and moving each morning. Even Brian, who is an extreme morning person, sleeps until nearly 6 (which is unheard of for him). I begin work (from home) each morning at 8 but my standard of what constitutes getting ready for work is lower each week. We might miss a lot of things about our pre-shelter-at-home days, but I cannot be convinced that there is anything better than a slow morning. I will be working from home for the rest of May. The kids will finish schoolwork Friday and who knows how they will fill their time for the summer since every activity is canceled. I do know that they're ready for a break. I read two 5-star books last week. The kind you can't quit and whose characters stay with you for days. The first is the One in a Million Boy by Monica Woods. Sad but sweet with a redemption story. The second is ...

Week 5 is over, and it was probably the easiest so far. Despite having both a vicious cough AND a stomach bug, I felt more content this week than I have since we began sheltering at home. I'm not exactly sure why that would be, but I hope it continues. It's official - the kids will not return to school this year. Rory cheered while Camden blinked back a tear and did his best not to scream. He is really struggling without the daily social interaction although he does have several areas of connection via phones, FortNite, and Zoom. I know it's not the same, and I'm reading that teenagers in general are struggling with the loss of their interaction with friends. We had a lovely Good Friday service quietly at home. The kids and I had communion while Brian led the service online. I also enjoyed Easter although we didn't dress up, cook a ham, or even take a picture. Our most exciting moment came Easter evening as we watched Little Women. Rory was crafting on the ...

(Written April 3) Well, the previous post seems like it was written in another lifetime. It is crazy how quickly things change these days. So, to update: Kids are out of school until May 4 (and I won't be surprised if they don't go back at all); Brian and I are still working at home exclusively. We don't leave the house except to grab groceries (trying to keep this to once a week and using Walmart grocery pickup when available). Camden is incredibly frustrated over missing out on school despite being very connected via phone, school, and Fortnite to his friends. Rory is spending a couple of afternoons a week chatting with friends, but seems to be enjoying the slower schedule. In fact, she kind of likes quarantine. The kids were on spring break this week, and it amazes me to see the change in their demeanor. A definite lightness of spirit without schoolwork expectations. For what it's worth, while they're distance learning Camden spends 8ish-1ish working fro...

(Written March 23, 2020 so this is completely out of date, but I wanted to get it documented and I will update soon.) Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, And keep on praying. Romans 12:12 Well, the world has gone crazy. I cannot keep up with how quickly circumstances change these days. And who could have imagined this life even 3 weeks ago? Here's our situation: I'm working from home for the forseeable future (I've been quarantined since Saturday, March 14). My Vanderbilt doctors are managing patients/prescriptions with phone calls so I didn't go to the cancer clinic 2 weeks ago and I won't go in April either. Brian's school district is out until May 4 so he's not driving a bus. Church is online only for the next several weeks (we're evaluating week to week). The kids are homeschooling for 2 weeks; spring break is next week. We don't know what to expect after spring break. Camden and Rory have HIGH expectations that ...

It's been a while. I know. Maybe we can catch up the same way we might if I met you for coffee on this sunny Saturday morning. January dragged on forever (as I have seen memed over and over) and February is doing a bit of the same. I forget how hard it is to (1) get back into a schedule after the holidays, (2) endure the never-ending gloomy weather - we've had an incredible amount of rain, and my mood suffers. Regular season basketball ended this week with only a tournament left the last weekend of February. I could not be happier; if Camden were playing I wouldn't mind so much but since he broke his finger, he cannot play or practice . . . just be present for every minute of it. Basically, our days have revolved around basketball so that Camden can hand out water and fetch balls. He jokes about being the best assistant manager, and he's certainly an encourager (I would say cheerleader, but he might not appreciate that). Speaking of Camden's finger, the...

A quick recap of our Christmas activities for memory-keeping purposes. Brian, the kids and I spent Christmas morning at home then joined Liz, my parents and grandparents for the rest of the day. We played a lot of Nertz and did a lot of snacking. Becky, William, and Xavier arrived the day after Christmas and with a house full of 3 middle schoolers and 1 high school boy, you can imagine the noise level. I'm calling Christmas 2019 the year of the Bombas (remember when I used to name Christmas every year?). Not only did I purchase Bombas socks for Brian, Camden, William, and Xavier (and myself), but Liz bought Bombas socks for the girls as her favorite item of 2019.  BTW, buying our favorite things for mom and sisters is still one of my favorite Christmas traditions. We've done this for 3 years. Gifts (both giving and receiving) is my love language so it's a perfect tradition in my opinion. This year I purchased Victoria Emerson wrap bracelets  and Korean face masks ...