Life as a Lewis

Since I never seem to finish up a blog post for Five on Friday, let's give Saturday morning a shot! Week #2 of summer 2019 is complete, and after a crazy May, couple of months, year, our schedule has come to a screeching halt. For comparison, I only filled the car up with gas once this week while my norm throughout the rest of the year is 2-3 times. The kids are reading, sleeping, and consuming TV. No doubt our schedule will pick up again, but for now, the kids are professional couch potatoes and I'm trying not to feel guilty about all the downtime. Why do I feel bad about a slow schedule? Busyness is such a way of life that it somehow feels wrong to have white space in our calendar. It's not, by the way. A slow season is restorative if we let it be. Brian is in Uganda for 2 weeks, which feels all kind of strange. After 22 years of marriage, it just doesn't feel right without him. Because our church is made up primarily of military families, I cannot c...

1. It's official: I have a 7th grader and a sophomore. Where in the world does the time go? I might be tempted to feel sentimental about this, but the reality of teenagers and their eyerolls keep me grounded. Last day of school was Tuesday morning, and we hardly know what to do with all the time. Well, the kids have a lot of extra time. The adults not so much although I am remembering how much time I save every day just simply by not having the responsibility of driving them to/from school. They saved Christmas Golly G gift cards for the last day of school. 2. Speaking of driving - we're the proud owners of a nearly new Nissan Altima. Buying 2 cars in less than 6 months is  not recommended, but Carmax made it easy. 3. As an ordained minister, Brian occasionally officiates weddings but usually just as part of the job. This week, however, he officiated the wedding of a couple very dear to him. Because I've been sick, I was unable to attend but even the kids agre...

If this isn't a true representation of the Lewis family these days, I don't know what is. 1. There may have been tears and sadness, but Papa Bob's funeral was also full of hope and laughter. Because we're scattered from Tennessee to North Carolina to West Virginia to Utah, family reunions are few and far between but we made the most of the hours available. The cousins (Camden was the oldest and the only boy present) had an old-fashioned sleepover complete with late night talking and giggling, a snake hunt, and a lot of snacking. Camden and Kelsey 2. Because they're exempt from exams, Camden and Rory are finished with 6th and 9th grade as of 11:30 Tuesday morning. The school year was our busiest yet - Honors classes for Camden combined with cross country (Rory), basketball (Camden), and soccer (both kids) made for a full schedule. Camden is the only Lewis not ready for a break. It is no secret that 6th grade was Camden's toughest ...

2019 is proving to be a difficult year. Brian's Papa Bob passed away this week, which means we've lost 3 grandparents in the last 10-12 weeks. Add in lesser challenges like totaling my car, an overbooked schedule along with heavier issues like rising cancer markers, heart procedures for my dad, friends and family going through incredibly tough circumstances, and it would be easy to feel overwhelmed. And we do feel overwhelmed, very overwhelmed. But we're also hanging in there, trying to communicate well, and choosing to find things for which to be grateful. I read this passage of Scripture this week and instantly burst into tears. Lamentations 3:19-33 (Message) I'll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness, the taste of ashes, the poison I've swallowed. I remember it all - oh, how well I remember - the feeling of hitting the bottom. But there's one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope. God's loyal love coul...