So blessed...

Lukes friend, Mia, came over to play and spend the day together! We love spending time w/Mia&her mom Adriana. They are fun, positive,silly& always a blast to hang out with! I took this photo of Luke and Mia dancing! They were so cute dancing to one of the many fun songs on Nick Jr. I wish the picture came out a little better- but i didnt have it on the motion shot! But still its precious and makes my heart all happy I get to stay home and watch my lil man dance away with one of his friends in their pj's

Handy man Justin!

Justin--my sweet, handyman, husband made this awesommmeee table for Luke! The whole top (black part) is all a chalkboard! Its so cute&perfect for Lukes new playroom! Justin and I have been trying to think of a good Christmas present for Luke...we generally make his something that fits his personality for special occasions. This time we thought it would be a great idea to make his own learning table for his play room. Since we are home together all day, I wanted Luke to have his own area to work on learning and have independent time. Justin worked the whole weekend on building him a new little room and making this table! It is perfect...everything I had in my mind i wanted it to be! For his own little touch he added a chalkboard top for Luke to draw with& it was a great idea! Luke LOVES it!!! Merry (Early) Christmas Luke ;)

18 months pics!

We spent the day at Legacy Play Village Park for Lukes 18month old special day! ;) Lukes bestest little friend, Ava, and her mom, Hilary, spent the afternoon with us running wild and free at the big play park!

18 Months!

Lucas Lee is 18 months!!!!! =)

Some things about our little boy:
- He loves animals and balls...if he sees a cow he goes "moooo"- or a dog its "wolf wolf"-& when he sees ducks he says "quackkkk"! Its really fascinating to see him smile and clap and laugh when he sees animals!
- Wheat Blueberry poptarts or donut holes w/bananas are his 2 favorite breakfast lol
- He loves playing outside! Loveeess it! He will play outside w/the pups forever & often cries if we bring him back in.
- He is all boy...for sure! he loves filling his tonka trucks up with dirt and pushing them through the back yard running over everything lol...he loves riding his lil man 4 wheeler&his black truck...he loves getting filthy and dirty outside
- Luke is putting 2-3 words together and i am so proud of how well he communicates! SO PROUD! For the past few days, he has been saying things like--"juice please"..."no isss mine"(not my favorite--really working on using "good/bad choice" instead of "no") and when he gets sleepy at night he says "bath nite nite"...which means he wants his bath&he wants to go to bed lol
- He goes to bed around 7:30 every night&wakes up at 7am on the dot every morning haha
-Luke is a pretty carefree toddler, he just kind of goes with the flow on everything. He likes to dance and run all crazy around the house. Most of my friends have girls..and i never understood the term "all boy" until i see Luke play with his girl friends lol! He is definitely a hand full and he keeps us on our toes...but in a fun&energetic way! He is really sweet&gets cuddly at night. He still likes to be rocked at night and i completely take advantage of it. I love when he snuggles up against my chest and holds my neck and falls asleep. it is the perfect time to pray and thank the Lord for his gift of love between a mom, dad&their baby. Luke will not go to sleep without Justin&I taking him to his room-both rocking&singing to him- then he sleeps and I am instantly at peace in my day. =)

**Luke,

I look forward to the next 18 months...and the next 18 years&more. You bring sunshine all the time to my day. You will never know how much dad&I love you...but we will make sure we tell you everyday anyways! I love singing to you...doing puzzles...playing outside...chasing you around the house...watching cartoons in our pj's...nosies(nose kissses)...&bathtime! But the best feeling I have ever had or will ever have is when you tell me "looovvvee mamaaaa"! I love you more Lucas Lee ;)

Tamara Update

This is the face of cancer?...She is beautiful inside&out!

This is round 3 of Tamara's chemo! She is having to go once a week right now. Every Tuesday she gears up for a full day in this chair...and has the best attitude ever about it! My mom went with her the first time, I went the second time&my mom is there this 3rd time! They have little TV's set up next to the chairs so each patient has their own. They also have a selection of movies to pick from and fun reading magazines. The nurses are so incredibly nice&loving. Last time we were there a man in the cubicle next to Tamara told her having cancer felt like a "fraternity". And as Tamara pointed out...cancer does not discriminate. There were people there from all backgrounds-all ages-all races. So Tamara sits in that seat for 7 hours and has chemo pumped into her body. But she has taken down 3 Chemo sessions!!!! She is exhausted the rest of the day&the day after. She gets a little sick and has night sweats...but she is happy&stays in good spirits constantly! She is Tamara ;)

Updates...

Just some updates...

--I am back to staying at home w/Lucas! It was a decision that I know is the right one for our family. We tried out a child care (part time) for Luke...but his personality started to change drastically. He began crying a lot- constantly was getting sick&having diaper rash- he would throw tantrums before we left every morning..it was just a lot of negativity and it was wearing on Justin and I. For a list of many reasons we felt that the care he was getting was just not good. Even though it will be a change for our family, we know we are making the right one. Luke&I have been back home together for almost 3 weeks and it has been a very positive change. Luke is back to being our happy, sweet boy! He rarely ever cries and is communicating so well! His vocabulary is expanding and improving every single day! And I am getting to spend quality potty-training time with him. I know he is only 18 months so we have started slowly. I have introduced the potty to him and will occasionally sit him on there and read to him. He has only gone potty in his little toilet 1 time...but he is learning. He usually goes and sits on it after he has gone to the bathroom in his diaper lol...but he is at least recognizing they go together! Luke also has not had one single diaper rash since we took him out of childcare. So all changes were very positive.

Another big change...is I am going back to school! Every since I graduated from Tech with my Health education degree, I have wanted to go back to school. Long term I would like to go into medical school and eventually start in pediatrics. Short term I would like to get my nursing degree and learn a lot of information while working in peds before I go into medical school! Soo...I am going to start evening classes at Wayland in Nursing. I am so excited! I feel like God is directing me. By nature, I fight off Gods will for my will...but I am learning so much about just giving everything to God and praying for His will. It has definitely relieved so much stress from my shoulders of worrying if I was making the right decision...or worrying about things I cannot control. Right now I am really focusing on taking one day at a time. The RN program will take me 2 years to complete and I start in January. I am channeling all my energy into just focusing on this first semester. College was fun to me and I love learning...but it is totally different when you are a mom and a wife also. I will be gone 4 nights a week for 2 hours and that will be an impact on Justin&Luke. Our family really does like to sit at the table&eat dinner together at night. We all do Lukes bathtime together and watch a movie together or read books before bed time. Justin will be doing this on his own and i will miss these moments. But 2 years can go by so quickly and then I will be living out my dreams and goals I have had in my life to be a doctor one day soon---very soon ;)

The Great Wolf Lodge

I took Luke to the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine this past weekend! We had a blast! My sister, Tamara heard about this place&set up reservations for us and her good friend Sarah and her little boys! I am so happy she did because it was a great 2 days! There is a huge indoor warm water park&even a fun area for toddlers! There were some big slides too! And a wave pool, lazy river and hot tub! This place was made for kids and families! There was an ice cream parlor...a place for little girls to get manicures/pedicures, a big arcade, a science room, a technology room & a kids club craft room! & at 8pm they have story time in the lobby witht he kids in their pj's! CUTE! The boys loved every second of it! My best friend Bree even got to stop by and eat dinner with us there! There was never a dull moment with 3 boys...it was adventerous, exciting&exhausting lol! I would recommend it to anyone with kids looking for a fun nights stay!