It’s the end of the year as we know it….

 And I feel fine! ;) haha

We are in the final countdown of the school year with seven student days left of school, but who’s counting?! Tonight we had our end of year Awana celebration and we celebrated Maddox finishing his third book! He has one more year and one more book to get the Timothy Award! He has already diligently worked on the written portion of the fourth book so he will memorize the verses next year and be ready to achieve his goal of earning the Timothy Award. All three cousins who are in AWANA got medals for the books they finished this year! I’m so proud of all of them!  We fit it a Carolina Core game last night and were able to (finally) celebrate the boys’ honor roll for 3rd quarter report cards with their “good grade donuts” from Krispy Kreme. We might be a little behind on the celebration but we are so incredibly proud of how hard our boys are working in school. Maddox also found out this week that he made a travel soccer team for next year that he tried out for which he is quite excited about. Zander’s tryouts are this upcoming week… stay tuned…

We also had end of grade testing this past week which made for a hard week for the test takers and the testing coordinator (me). One of my friends made us matching shirts that said “Houston, We’re ready for testing” (quite appropriate with my last name and job responsibilities). Maddox’s teacher did an experiment the day before testing to make their worries disappear. Check out Maddox’s surprise face! While our boys did an awesome job on their end of grade testing, I really loved the letter that Maddox’s teacher gave to the kids on the night before testing began. I pray that they always know that their identity and worth is found in Christ and not in specific grades or scores. I am so thankful for how well rounded our boys are and for the young men they are becoming. Finally (for this post), I included a card from one of the families at our school. Since this blog is where I document our lives so the boys will have these posts to reference with their families one day, I really try to “keep it real”.  This year has held a lot of uncertainty with my job. I’ve been in public education for 21 years and it is becoming more challenging each year to stay in the teaching field. Due to decreased funding and our district’s mismanagement of funds, my position was cut for this upcoming year. My principal (who thinks I do a great deal for our school) was able to find a position within our building that I could fulfill this upcoming year while also still completing tasks within my former job title. Basically it will be more work for the same pay and I will officially be doing the job of 3.5 people (who used to be paid to do all these things). We will take it one day at a time and I’m so thankful I can finish out Maddox’s fifth grade year with him at the same school. I don’t know what the future holds as my limited plans had me retiring from this school one day. I know God has a purpose for this upcoming year and what happens next. I am trusting in his providence and provision. This sweet family’s letter below reminded me that I do make an impact daily and I pray I continue to see my purpose where God has me. 

Happy Mother’s Day 2026

One of my greatest joys and blessing is getting to be mom to these boys! They spoiled me this weekend with beautiful flowers, a card and homemade keychain. Zander had a soccer tournament about 1.5 hours away so the boys headed there on Saturday while I went to the “soft opening” of Carmen’s coffee shop. I had my first cup of coffee ever! While the boys were still occupied with soccer, I came home to mow, cook and grocery shop…. If that doesn’t say “Happy Mother’s Day” I don’t know what does … haha! We enjoyed a leisurely evening at home. Zander and I woke up early Sunday morning to finish out his soccer tournament. The rest of my boys met us for lunch with my extended family when we got back into town. I fit in an hour nap (interrupted when Maddox came to check on me because he missed me). We worked on a puzzle for a bit and then I drove Maddox to his soccer tryouts. We finished out the Mother’s Day weekend with blizzards from Dairy Queen and a dance party to T-Swift and Bruno Mars! I missed going to our church’s Mother’s Day service (a first since becoming a mom) but continue to feel incredibly blessed by God calling me to be a mom. He handpicked the boys I would call my own and I cannot help but marvel at what an awesome God we have. 

This week, Zander went to his second rock concert with Zack (Demon Hunter). They got home around 12:30 am but still made it to school and work on time the next day! Maddox enjoyed the game time at AWANA last week! I chaperoned Zander’s orchestra trip to Carowinds. It was definitely an education being around middle schoolers for the day. I came home even more grateful for the boys that we have. I rode all the roller coasters and had a blast with my oldest!

Sports and Family

These days I am loving any moment I can spend with my family. Lately, those moments have been while cheering on our boys doing the things they love. It’s been a bonus that my extended family has been able to join in on many of the activities we’ve had lately on our calendar. We had a workday today due to many school districts being under staffed to account for a statewide protest organized in support of public education and its educators. I opted to stay back at school for the day and I had three of the four Cousin Crew kids at school with me (think “take your kid to work day” and add “take your niece and nephew too”). I promised them Chick-fil-A lunch and unsupervised fun in our school gym. I was able to be productive and I think the kids had a blast! Grandpa took Zander golfing and I think it was a fun day for them too! Tonight, we got to finally celebrate Aunt Lindsey’s 40th birthday a couple weeks late. Also, with regards to family celebrations, we watched Uncle Boomer be ordained as a deacon at our church (snapping some pictures of the ladies of the family before the service). I love that my family lives so close and we can be there for the little and big moments in life.

Maddox’s teacher, Mrs. Flowers, got to see him in action playing baseball and the whole family got to check out a local soccer game for Z. Zander had his spring orchestra concert on Thursday night and he got the award for Most Improved. He begrudgingly took a selfie so I could document this recognition on this blog. I guess we are starting into the teenage years! I also snapped a picture of his volleyball team where they have team pictures lining the halls of his middle school. 

Field day took place two days this week and I was able to see my three favorite students at the sno cone station! There is a wet activity right before mine and it was colder this year compared to previous field day experiences. 

Last weekend we had our annual AWANA Grand Prix at church. Zander helped set up the event all weekend long with one of his best friends, Jackson. I love what a hard worker he is! He also created two cars all by himself to enter into the open division. On the day before the event (one hour before the weigh in), Maddox’s car had a malfunction and broke. (Zack had been helping him with his car for weeks.) Long story short, Zander gave Maddox one of his cars to race. It was the sweetest brother moment! Both boys came home with some new hardware due to Zander’s creativity and engineering.  Maddox had third place in speed and design. Zander took home third place in design. The Houston boys kept the streak alive of having podium performances since we started into this derby car competition years ago!;)

Beau continues to live his best life as a Houston! He is starting to cuddle more and loves spending time with Zander after school while he finishes his homework and waits for his other favorite humans to arrive home from work and school. 

Happy 13th Birthday Zander!

 Zander,

You are officially a teenager! I am so proud of the young man you are becoming! We have the best conversations on the way to soccer practice and I love the long car rides to your games that are out of town.  I love to hear how you think.  I love to hear you talk about school, what you are learning and what happens with your friends.  You continue to get all A's in 7th grade and were inducted into the Honor Society this year due to your academic, behavioral and leadership skills.  I love how passionate you are about learning new sports (taking every opportunity to practice volleyball, soccer and golf).  I love how you read your bible before bed in the evenings, taking notes on what you have read and challenging yourself to read through the bible.  You help with setting up and tearing down all the games during youth group on Wednesdays.  You are already looking for additional leadership opportunities at church (through the AV team).  I love your optimism about anything you do.  Your smile is contagious and your positive energy along with your encouragement helps me be a better mom.  Your smile might change this upcoming year as we will start the process of braces to straighten your teeth.... stay tuned...

We celebrated #13 BIG!  We went on your first ever cruise in March and were able to celebrate this milestone birthday after dinner one night with cake and singing.  You chose to have Jackson, Nathaniel, Austin and Max join us at Top Golf last Friday for some night time golfing!  We went to Jersey Mike's after church to celebrate with family.  You had cookie cakes at both celebrations (You and I both love cookie cakes)!  On your actual birthday, we went to Olive Garden (your pick) with Grammy and Grandpa to enjoy some delicious Italian and one more evening of desserts!  Going into this upcoming year, you will finish out middle school, already planning for high school by taking two classes for high school credit (Math 1 and Spanish).  I love how you plan ahead.  I love that you are collecting baseball cards and are organizing these cards into a system that works for you.  I will always be grateful that you were the one God picked to make me a mommy.  It has been one of my greatest joys to watch you grow this past year.

I love you,

Mom

Milestones and Ballfields

 

We got to celebrate Grammy’s 70th birthday on her actual birthday which was a small miracle considering the busy schedules all of our kids (and adults) have this time of year! Aunt Glenda came from Florida making the evening even more special. Grammy wanted time with her family for her birthday and I thought we were able to truly enjoy the time together. We are still waiting to celebrate my sister’s 40th birthday which will take place in a few weeks, on our next free night! Haha 

I got to chaperone Maddox’s field trip to Raleigh and had two of his best buds in our group! They were such a great group of boys to explore the science museum with! I think they had a blast. We were able to check out the Capitol Building and Legislative Building as well. Representative Zenger gave us a tour of the House floor to make our visit even more special. Maddox was worn out on the drive home but rallied for a baseball game as soon as we got back to town. Enzo, our two year old neighbor who loves Maddox, came to see him play. Most of our days have been spent on a baseball, softball or soccer field these days and I cherish every minute of seeing my favorite kids doing what they love!

Worn out after a long week!

Happy Easter from the Houstons

We have the best weekend celebrating our risen Savior! We are so thankful for Jesus paying the ultimate price and giving us the promise of salvation and eternity with Him. Happy Easter from the Houstons!

On Good Friday, we ate lunch at Chick-fil-A and enjoyed very large ice cream cones! Saturday, we went to the theaters to watch the new Super Mario Galaxy movie. Back to school on Easter Monday (a snow make up day) and back to the Monday selfies with the cousin crew!

This week, baseball starts back for Maddox! This means that we don’t have a free night until June…. I guess we will rest some this summer! Haha! Zander had a soccer scrimmage the same night as Maddox’s first baseball game. The Kennedys and Bakewells were at the ball field since Eli had a game and Emmy had practice at the same complex. It is rare to have three of the four cousins at the same place playing sports on a weeknight so we enjoyed being in the same location for once!

 

Annual Half Marathon

On Saturday, I ran my annual half marathon with my favorite running partner! Linds had a PR and I took 1st place in my age group (with a 1:51:08 chip time)! It was a cold, windy morning but that didn’t deter our faithful fans from showing up to cheer us on! 13.1 done for another year ;) Linds and I somehow found a way to run most weekends together with a crazy basketball schedule this winter and with late nights for both of us the night before, we were very excited about the outcome of our race results! Carmen surprised us at the start and finish line which was a special treat to have family and friends cheering us on! (At the start of the race, the “feels like” temperatures was 23 degrees due to the wind). The wind was rarely in our favor on the hills but the course was mostly greenway and neighborhoods which I enjoyed!

After the half marathon, we headed to the ball field to cheer on the Kennedy kids for their opening day games, kicking off the spring season of softball and baseball. After a full day outside, we went over to Grammy and Grandpa’s house for pizza and Easter egg coloring fun! The busy day wore us all out, as evident by Maddox falling asleep on the couch last night. This week I got to lead a field trip to City Hall and Chick-fil-A with our Student Council. My favorite girl went with us as her class’s representative. We had a March Madness themed curriculum night on Thursday and Maddox was a big help with the clean up and took home some of the prizes for completing his punch card. Friday night was spent about 1.5 hours away cheering on Z underneath the Friday night lights at a soccer stadium. They didn’t bring home the win but we got to enjoy beautiful weather and a pretty sunset before the rain came in for our drive home.