well, hello!

5 months later.....

mason completed his first part of kinder and turned 6, has started reading and getting really good at addition and subtraction. he played another season of soccer and has just recently begun in basketballl, which he loves. he is such a kind, attentive, protective big brother, it is AmAzInG! he likes to build things with legos, mostly ships, role play star wars games, run around outside and play his gameboy (which is a total pain in the ass and i highly recommend not allowing your child to have a gaming device until he/she is older)

stephen has settled into being quite the 3 year old, meaning he is stubborn stubborn stubborn and smart smart smart. he has gotten to be such a big boy. he has been potty trained for months now, except for at night. he also is out of the crib. he goes to mothers day out at our church two days a week and loves it (even though he says he doesn't) when he is home with nicky and i he is a good little helper and buddy. he is starting gymnastics next week which i think will be fun and will help him with his balance and coordination. the most frustrating thing about him is that he likes to wake up around 5:30, yes... A.M.!! and although mike generally gets up with him its killing. me. the cutest thing about him, or one of them, is that he hates kisses. he always wipes them off. always.

nicholas will be turning 1 in two days. i cannot believe it. he started walking a few weeks ago and is really getting good at it :) he LOVES to eat and one of his favorite words is "more" which means more food right now mommy. we are still breastfeeding as well. he has gone back to waking me a good one to two times a night. i have not had consistent good nights of sleep in over three years, and i am over it :) when i stop nursing we will have to sleep train i'm afraid. he says mama, dada, ball, more, he also says what we have deciphered as brother. he waves, claps, plays peek-a-boo, stands up on his own. he is so freaking cute with his whispy hair and gapped tooth full face smiles :) he is easygoing, but definitely has some opinions aboout things. he too has started at the church school on tuesdays and thursdays, which he loves! he is in the same room as when we go to church so he was comfortable from the beginning and they said it has been like he has been there all year.


mike has been at his new counseling job at HRC for 6 months and applied and been accepted to the MSW program at Our Lady of the Lake University. he starts in September, it is an 18 months advanced standing program. i am so proud. Freedom House has been rocking and rolling, our census has been down the last couple of months but we made it to our second anniversary of being open in december. we celebrated our EIGHTH wedding anniversary this month. after eight years i love my husband, he is my best friend and i couldn't ask for a better partner in this world. at the end of the day the little things that make me want to ring his neck are just that...little things. i feel so free to be who i am, whoever that is, free to follow my heart, persue my dreams, do what i need to do to take care of myself even if that makes things more burdensome for him. i love you babe, even more than i did when we decided to start this life.

I am starting at the University of Houston Clear Lake next week and for the first time in almost 10 years will be setting foot in a classroom. I am a little nervous about finding the balance with school/work/family/myself but am sure that it will happen. Freedon House for Women opened up in June, after almost five months i thought we would have to shut down but we have built up some residents and things are going well. i feel very blessed to be a part of whats happening over there. a year ago today i was almost a week overdue with nicky and could not wait to get that baby out. time goes so fast. a part of me is sad that the days of me having little babies is coming to an end but really i look forward to the next chapters in our lives.

we had our first holiday season as a family of five, and it was awesome, from halloween to christmas! mike and i often lay in bed and talk about how incredibly wonderful our three boys are. i do not have the words to express my gratitude to the creator of all of this. although i have many moments of almost unendurable frustration and hopelesness, my children and husband challenge me so much and force me to continue to grow and seek love.

pics

after mikes graduation we went to galveston for a mini-vacay. the boys got to do some fishing and we hit up moody gardens. it was a good time, except for mike getting sick and us coming home early...

here are my monkeys after getting their summer buzz cuts. it has been so nice to not brush hair the last 3 months (not that i did that a whole lot any way...)

cousin mariam

my sister becky and my gloriously-wonderful-ab-fab niece came for a visit this summer. it was so awesome getting to see both of them. oh bertie...how much i love you and how grateful i am that you are my sistah and friend (move back here already). her daughter is super sweet....laid back and smart. she really went with the flow and had fun with her crazy-wild boy cousins. we went to the zoo, did some naked-booty swimming (the children that is) and just hund out.

i do realize that i don't have any pictures with mason here.....

summertime....

i have a love/hate relationship with summer. things i love: lazy mornings and staying in pj's until 10:00, having the boys with me all day, no schedule, the spray park, the pool. things i don't love so much: the heat, no school, me straining to entertain my children on a daily basis (the day pretty much starts out with "what are we doing today mommy?"), the boys fighting...a lot!

as summer comes to an end i feel.....sad. mason starts kindergarden monday. and although he was in daycare his first 3 years and then in preschool for the last 2, i am nervous about this. he is like me, he doesn't like change. he is sensitive and actually pretty shy. i know he will be ok, but i am already worrying about what it's going to be like. what if kids are mean to him? what if he's mean to other kids? what if his teacher is a nasty old hag? what if he has trouble? i just can't believe we are already here. so this is where it starts, the letting go (i know he's 5....maybe i'm being a tad dramatic?) and trusting that my babies will be taken care of even when i'm not around.

stephen is a complete ham-hock. he is definitley 2 years old....but so much different than what mason was like. he gets mad and has "tantrums" but nothing like it was with mason. i wonder often how much of that is their nature and how much is my perspective and attitude. he just doesn't take things as seriously. he is doing good in his big boy undies and has finally started trying to go number two in the potty! woo-hoo!

nicholas....nicky...nick-nick....is AwEsOmE! what a cool little man. he is super layed back and fun. he loves to watch his brothers run around and is definitely ready to get in on the action. he will be 7 months old tomorrow. he has started crawling, working on sitting up by himself, and has started eating pureed food. he is also experimenting with consanants, so far m's and b's. he is super sweet and snuggly. how has my baby gotten so big already?

oh the places you'll go

it has been a really busy few weeks around here. many exciting things have happened and are happening.
one being TADA.... mike graduated from college last weekend with his BSW! i am so proud, he has worked so hard and it is quite an achievement. the balance of school, work, and family is no small feat...but he has pulled it off and is finished....(at least until he applies for, and starts, the MSW program at Baylor next summer!)
another fantastically exciting/stressful thing is that we are opening our second sober living house on the 1st of June. freedom house for women...you can see our website if you are interested in what both houses are like: www.houstonfreedomhouse.com.
since it is a womans house i will be running it, which i am a little nervous about because, well thats just how i am, but also i'm anxious about finding my balance. i am taking 2 summer classes online, 2 in the fall and then should be able to transfer to UH in the spring. (not to mention my three little moneys!)
i am so grateful for all of the wonderful things that god has planned for us....and i think we're just getting started!

some april pics

nic coo-ing

this was taken yesterday. nicholas is almost 7 weeks old.