Thomas

I love u because...

you are like a zen monk

you have a powerful voice

you Are strength, and courage

you say what you mean

and always mean what you say

you are wise, but not arrogant

you love the strays I bring home

you took me to Maui (and didnt leave me there)

you are a protector

you are sarcastic, witty, and charming

when you smile it is genuine and sweet

you restored my faith in humanity,

allowed me to drop my armor and trust again

you made our house a home,

I love you more and more everyday Tom.

And...

you love my teenage son,

and always have encouraging words for him

when I see you with Steveo

you are completely present and always kind.

Happy Birthday my sweet sweet husband!!

Love and more,

Steph

Me and the boy.

Dana Point Harbor. That's all it took. I feel rejuvenated and ready for the week.

Every evening this is what I see.

I am so grateful for the view I have from my living room. I will savor every moment I have here.

Gloomy Love/The desert after rain

Nigel looks adorable in his snuggie, yes?

More Wedding Photos

My zen walk

Who needs a gym when you live at the beach?

I could have walked for hours inhaling the clean ocean air. Much better for my asthma too.

Buddhist Temple in Santa Ana

I love living in Orange County. The weather is so beautiful, and there is so much more to see and do here. Steveo and I went to see a Buddhist temple today after school. He has never been to one and I wanted him to see something beautiful today. So after going to Juice it up, we headed out and saw this one. I'm so glad he appreciates these little outings. We are only here for one year, so I want to live it up as much as possible.

First 2 weeks in San Clemente

Steveo is adjusting well. He made one friend at his new school and I gave him the option to go back to the desert and he still wanted to stay. I'm extremely proud of him. The first thing I wanted to do was get his room organized. There is a lot of clutter in this house. In my father-in-laws defense, he is never home, so things pile up. So it took a week but I re-did the room so Steveo can have his own space. Here is the before and after. (I'm proud of this, hope Toms dad approves when he gets back from Afghanistan)

Action!!!

Moving to the beach

I finished enrolling Steveo in the elementary school in San Clemente. We walked around the school that overlooks the city, and we love it. Steveo is excited to start Sept 7th. I keep reminding Nick that this would be a great place to live (until next August)and a nice change of scenery. He still insists on staying down here. I love the fact that he has made friends and actually loves his high school, but even though this is a temporary move, I don't feel 100% okay with leaving him. I hope that he and Steveo will miss each other and enjoy the weekend visits together and maybe not fight as much. So now that this is the last week in the desert, I am trying to relax and be cautious about having unrealistic expectations about the move. I told Steveo we need to take this one day at a time and if he isn't okay with the change we can always go back. The door is also open for Nick to change his mind. I don't know how this will work out but I am looking forward to the change (and big trees and an ocean breeze)anyway.

Exploring Dana Point

Maybe it was pregnant, even though this squirrel did not look hungry, we gave him/her pieces of an energy bar.

Somewhere in Dana Point their is a squirrel bouncing around high on energy bars.

Our special family picture.