Life as a Lewis

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadow. -James 1:17 In true Tennessee fashion, we started our snow days with warm weather, took a dramatic turn into single digits and two rounds of snow. Brian and the kids ended up with snow days from Friday, January 12 - Friday, January 19. (Brian actually had to go back to school Friday because our county requires teachers to work on some snow days.) The temperature went from a high of 15 to a high of 62 in about 2 days flat. Snow days give permission to both adults and kids to rest and relax. Last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were just absolutely lovely. This week slightly less lovely because I was working from home, still had doctor's appointments and chemo . . . with everyone home together. So, here's how we filled our days. Lots and lots of travel documentaries. I can't take my kids around the world, but that...

1. Well, it may have been 69 degrees yesterday, but today it's 24 degrees with snow and ice. Our very first Snow Day in 2018! Possibly our one and only because this is Tennessee. If I remember correctly, we had absolutely no snow days last year. With 4 teachers in the family, snow days are very, very important to our sanity. By the way, the 4 teachers are Brian, my sister Liz (who teaches PE and coaches basketball at the kid's school), my sister Becky (who teaches high school French and Bible in OK), and my dad (who subs at the kid's school but was a middle school math teacher at one point in his life). It's a snow day, no plans, and we have all the ingredients for Chex mix. Life is good. 2. So we all went to see The Greatest Showman last weekend, and I never imagined jumping on this bandwagon, but it is SO. GOOD. I mean, I think it was the movie that was so good, but the reclining seat theater probably contributed to the amazing-ness. Nevertheless, I've had ...

Why not dress up in a fancy dress, borrow mom's red summer sandals, throw on some blue eyeshadow and pink lips, and sing the Hamilton soundtrack at the top of your lungs? It's still Christmas break after all.

The first Five on Friday of 2018! 1. Brian and I headed back to work/school on Tuesday. Guess who slept through the alarm until 6:40, which is exactly 10 minutes before I needed to leave and about 20 minutes before Brian should have headed out. Brian and I both woke up panicked, which was certainly not the most peaceful way to start the year. Funny - Rory, who always sets her alarm to tell us goodbye on the mornings when we leave but they stay, set her alarm for 6:00 and actually came downstairs and realized our door was closed and didn't want to interrupt us. She came back down at 6:15 but still didn't knock on the door. At that point, she gave up and just went back to bed for good. 2. Speaking of Rory, guess who tried to sneak out of the house with make-up on her face. Because she has not learned the art of subtle or sneaky, it was bright blue eyeshadow which I spotted immediately. I am no dummy. 3. Wednesday, which I was dreading more than I can say, actually turne...

"But the angel reassured them, "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior-yes, the Messiah, the Lord-has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!" Christmas 2017 highlighted changes in our family (both immediate and extended) - those changes run the gamut between difficult, just not the Lord's plan, and blessings. Our family was missing two members this year and we felt their absence keenly. Brian, the kids, and I drove to East TN before Christmas for a very quick trip and celebrated with Brian's parents, grandpa and aunt in their new home where they now live together. Christmas Eve was our annual appetizer night at our house. Mom and dad came early Christmas morning to watch Becky and the boys along with our family open presents, followed by Christmas dinner at their house with both sets of my grandparents. My feet had a chemo reaction and blistered up the week befor...

My 2017 goal for reading was 60 books, and I clocked in at 55. I'm not going to beat myself up about that because it was just a random goal! Here's a breakdown with stats and favorites. 10 Non-Fiction and my favorite was The Tech-Wise Family . This book is less about rules and more about the importance of family and how family rituals and togetherness are influenced by technology. Two that felt important to read and understand:   Hillbilly Elegy and Born a Crime . 45 Fiction. It's hard to choose a favorite, but I would say The Language of Flowers took me by surprise, and I really, really enjoyed Sing, Unburied, Sing , Behold the Dreamers , and Mosquitoland .   12 written by people of color. This was a focus in 2017 for both me and the kids. I actually thought this number would be higher, but it only shows that being intentional is important.  A few books that stood out to me even though they didn't make the favorites list are Silence...

We started a new tradition this year called Our Favorite Things. This was so fun! Here were our favorite things (think Oprah, but cheaper): Mom - hot cinnamon spice  tea Becky - a gratitude journal and Sharpie pens Liz - Underarmour socks and caramel M&M's Mine - Mrs. Meyers dishsoap and an Ulta facemask They are not too big to grab a picture in front of the tree on Christmas morning. Basically the only pictures I took with the big girl camera. Christmas morning: Dad reading from Luke 2 before presents. You know, Christmas morning. The day I was running a 101 fever and felt sick as a dog.