My guest for Lifestyle with Lauren Podcast Episode #1 is Adriana Lewin. Adriana is a mom, wife, licensed professional counselor, entrepreneur, blogger, podcaster and founder and director of Family ChemoTherapy, with a passion to help others and educate parents and caregivers who are fighting and surviving pediatric cancer. Family ChemoTherapy is dedicated to raising awareness of the topics regarding mental health that pediatric cancer families endure.
I am so thankful Adriana took time out of her busy day to chat with me! We discussed all the things – motherhood, loss, healing, cancer, how she leans on God during difficult times and how He has carried her through the obstacles she has overcome. Our conversation covers heavy topics but I pray that you will leave feeling encouraged and inspired through Adriana’s story.
Adriana is a wealth of knowledge and I am so grateful to know her as a friend! I hope you enjoy my conversation with Adriana Lewin!
If you’ve been encouraged through my conversation with Adriana, share this episode with a friend. Do you love the Lifestyle with Lauren Podcast? Please leave a review and subscribe so you don’t miss any conversations!
PSA: My husband is an Arnold fan, thus I am an Arnold fan, so I had to throw that GIF in there…and the fiting title for this blog. Love ya, dear!
My sweet husband, Stephen, gifted me an Ancestry DNA kit for my birthday a few years ago.
To most, this is just a cool way to learn about your genealogy and connect the dots on the family tree. For me, it is my identity.
Prior to meeting and marrying my mom, my Dad was married a few times and had three children. My mom wanted children of her own, but my dad had a vasectomy by the time he met her…so they enlisted the help from a local hospital and a donor. From what I have gathered, the donor was a med student and worked/had his residency at the hospital where the procedure took place. At that time (early 1980’s), artificial insemination was a very hush-hush procedure.
My mom passed away in 1997 when I was 13 years old. My dad told me shortly thereafter about the procedure and I have to tell ya, at that age, it is a hard concept to process and a lot of identity issues arise. I get into all that later. 😉
Fast forward to when Stephen handed me this DNA kit. I was so excited when he gave me the kit to figure out my genealogy and to see what else I could learn. Little did I know that there would be so many other siblings that were also products of artificial insemination, and we all have the same story! It is so crazy and exciting! And to find out my origins as well…y’all…it has been so much fun!
I mean…88% British! The postal service must have lost my invitation to the Royal Wedding!
Aside from learning my ethnicity, I also got in contact with my new blood-related brothers and sister!
So far (ha – seriously though…there could be so many!), I have three brothers and one sister…all from the same donor! I am keeping their identity private until I have their permission to share (Bryan has given me permission). I have already met Bryan and love him! We first met for breakfast around Christmastime a few years ago and we have met up other times as well. He even came to my son’s birthday parade (thanks Covid!) this year. We text often and continue to learn more about each other and catching up on 35+ years that we missed. He is nine years older than me…which makes me think about how many other siblings there could possibly be!
Bryan and I meeting for the first time – December 2017
Bryan came for Troy’s birthday parade!
My sister lives in another state so we have not met face-to-face but we have been in contact and chat with each other via Instagram. It is so fun to see her pictures and learn more about her and hopefully one day we can get the opportunity to meet in person.
Brother #1 recently did his DNA testing and a couple of weeks ago his wife reached out and we’ve been chatting occasionally via text. He doesn’t live too far from myself and Bryan so we hope to all meet up with him soon!
I have reached out to Brother #3 on Facebook and email through Ancestry but I have yet to hear back from him.
My grandfather and I already have a wonderful relationship, so I know that connection. 😉 He is my mom’s father and they live in the next city. I talk with my grandparents pretty much every other day and we get together often. It is so nice to have them near and to be in our lives.
There is only that one connection I am unsure about. It is a female but I am not sure if she is a sibling or a different connection. Hope to find out soon!
I just know there has to be more siblings out there! I mean, if Bryan and I are nine years apart, there must be more. If the donor only *ONLY* gave one of his swimmers a year for 9 years – that would be 9 siblings! But what are the chances that he only did it once a year? Or even for a longer time span?!
So for now, I will continue to foster and grow the relationships with my brothers and sister and wait for new emails and connection updates from Ancestry. And I will keep y’all updated as well!
I would LOVE to hear from you! Do you have an interesting DNA/genealogy/family history story? I want to hear it! If you’re comfortable sharing, please share below or email me! I’d love to hear from you!
Whoop whoooop! It’s Wednesday, y’all! And the LAST ONE OF MAY!!! How did that happen?!?
The last Wednesday of the month, Mix and Match Mama hosts a link-up party, where everyone shares what is going on in their lives. It’s a little food, a little family, a little what we’re doing, a little what we’re watching and a little bit of everything else, all in one post.
So without further ado…
WHAT WE’RE EATING THIS WEEK:
If you missed my ‘What We’re Eating This Week’ post, you can read it here.
WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT:
VBS
It’s that time of year when VBS is so close, the excitement starts to build, and the final preparations are being made. I am so sad that we won’t have VBS this year. With Covid-19, our church has had to cancel and reschedule a lot of events. They are doing a fantastic job in keeping all of us connected but I will miss the kids, volunteers, staff, and the joy that only VBS can bring. Last year was so much fun and both the boys loved every minute of it!
WHAT I’M LOVING:
I’m loving our boat! I know many of you already know this, but going out on the lake is such a calming, relaxing day away. When we go out, the boys enjoy jumping in and swimming, tubing, and eating…and eating…and more eating! Haha! It is just so calming to listen to nature and be surrounded by water.
WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO:
Well, not much! It feels like Groundhog Day over here…clean, cook, school, cook again, clean again, laundry, etc.
I did, however, get my hair done this past Saturday and boy did I need it! My roots were all the way back to my ponytail! So glad to have a fresh cut and color and feel back to normal.
– BEFORE –
– AFTER –
– AFTER –
If you are looking for an incredible hair stylist in the Plano, Frisco, North Dallas area, go see my girl Kortnee! She is fabulous!!
WHAT I’M DREADING:
Stephen going back to his office.
He is currently working in our guest bedroom because it is the quietest spot in the house…and it has a lock on the door! We moved the bed around and made a bit more space for him…and now he has an office window!
I am really enjoying having him work from home and I will miss him so much when he is gone all day.
WHAT I’M WORKING ON:
Writing a few different books and articles…and always folding laundry!
WHAT I’M EXCITED ABOUT:
School to finally be OVER!! Tomorrow is officially the last day of school and we are ready to close the door on this elearning adventure. We have no idea what things will look like this fall, but trust that God will lead and guide us for what may come next.
WHAT I’M WATCHING/READING:
World of Dance is finally BACK!! I LOVE this show!! It came on last night and it did not disappoint! I love watching all the new dances, locking and isolating is my favorite, but I love all types and thoroughly amazed by the talent! The ONLY thing that bothered me was the new stage – they moved from a round stage surrounded by people cheering them on, to a warehouse. The judges were lined up and it felt a lot like American Idol (which, don’t hate me…I don’t like American Idol. There. I’ve said it.). The contestants had to get at least 2 yeses to move on, or given an opportunity to come back to try again, or given a no. Then they went out into the hallway to meet with a new version of Ryan Seacrest to reflect on the performance and how they’re feeling. Even though I am disappointed with this set (hopefully it is just temporary!), I LOVE the dancers and was still smiling every minute of it!
Every Wednesday you will find us watching The Challenge. It is one of our favorites and we look forward to watching it every week. It’s kind of like Big Brother with the politicking, but then there are serious endurance, physical, and mental challenges.
In addition to The Challenge, I am watching all the girly drama shows (currently The Real Housewives of New York and Beverly Hills; waiting for Dallas, Orange County, and New Jersey to come back on.), and watching Schitt’s Creek (very funny and short episodes, which is nice for a change). We are trying to take a break from the series and watch movies at night.
Speaking of seres…I just finished Dead to Me and oh my goodness!! It was so good!! Left us watchers on a cliffhanger and I am now anxiously waiting for the next season. Have you watched it yet??
WHAT I’M LISTENING TO:
If you missed my Friday Favorites last week, I shared some of my favorite podcasts. You can read what I am listening to here.
WHAT I’M WEARING:
Did you see the necklace I am wearing in this pic from above?
Stephen got me this ADORABLE choker for Mother’s Day and it is my new favorite! It is perfect for stacking or wearing on its own. I love it!
WHAT I’M DOING THIS WEEKEND:
We are going to take family pictures Saturday and more than likely we will go on the boat Sunday.
WHAT I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH:
Swim lessons!!
Our water baby last summer at Hawaiian Falls
Clark is signed up for another round of swim lessons with our AMAZING swim instructor and I cannot wait to watch this water baby grow and learning more!
And visiting family!
We are going to Green Acres to visit our parents/grandparents and spend a few days picking blueberries, eating s’mores, driving golf carts and chuck wagons, and running off some serious quarantine energy!
WHAT ELSE IS NEW:
We are looking forward to loading up the boat and taking the whole family to Arkansas! We are still trying to figure out where we want to go, either the Ozark’s, Lake Hamilton, or Lake Ouachita. Once we know where, we will book a VRBO and enjoy a week on the lake and hitting up some nature trails! This chapel is definitely on the must-see list!
Any suggestions of where to go or what to see would be greatly appreciated!!
Well, that’s it for today!
Have a blessed rest of the week and come back on Friday to read my next Friday Favorites…it’s all about skincare!!
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