1.23

January 23rd = Quite a day in the history of the Martin family

1998 - Luke, our first baby and only son, came into the world at 1:11pm to 24 year-old kids who didn't have a clue how blessed we'd be 19 years down the road. #Lukesbday19

2013 - Grace went for her first colonoscopy after losing 21 pounds and we finally got an answer to what was causing all the havoc in her little body:  Crohn's Disease.  (How thankful we are that she has had very few symptoms since the removal of her colon in November of 2014!)  #nocolonstillrollin

2017 - As we wait for LID/LOA/TA (translation: the process we are waiting for to get word we can leave for China), we celebrate our sweet girl's birthday.  We don't know how they decided on this date as her birthday, but yes...it's also her brother's.  Luke & Lottie's Chinese name also mean the same thing:  Light.  I believe this means they will have a special connection.  Thankful that our agency's liaison in China could send her a birthday party complete with cake for all her friends and that we got pictures back today - which brought tears of JOY as well as a great longing to be with her. #Lottiesbday3

Friday... Morning? Lights

This morning...on the last weekday before school actually starts, Luke had to be at school at 7am for an 8am scrimmage. You know how I feel about mornings but I'm also his biggest fan so I was there cheering him on!!
(don't worry I didn't embarrass him...much) ;) Practice jersey #15 played defensive end & wide receiver. Go Hawks!

World's BEST Burger

...declared my teenage son!  Although it's really not a burger.  It's pulled pork I made the other day in the crock pot.  I've never made this before but it was a HIT!  (even for leftovers!)  

HERE is the recipe.  (You can omit the tomato paste.  I did just because I didn't have any.)

 Luke added fresh jalapenos and shredded mexi-cheese to his!

That's one happy, greasy-haired boy having his own creation for lunch on a lazy Saturday!

NEW BLOG

Somehow the other blog was deleted and no longer exists.  Ahhh the world of technology....

Here is the new recreated blog.

Thank you!

Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh

This picture makes me laugh, because it's my son, but it reminds me so much of my husband.  He is in his element when he has an audience to entertain.  When I was in college, and I couldn't find my boyfriend, all I had to do was look for a group of people gathered around laughing, and I knew he'd be in the middle.  I have an apple here that hasn't fallen far from the tree.  :)

Top Ten Things I Love About This Kid!

10.  Named after the doctor of the Bible, he gets squeamish at the thought or mention of anything he thinks is gross, but doesn't seem to mind his own smells that can clear the room.

9. Born at 1:11pm on 1/23, he is a confident and natural born leader.  I sometimes sit in awe of his courage.

8. Maybe because he has a little sister.... girls love him!  And not that he's a ladies man (though he'd like you to think he is), he is and always has been comfortable befriending girls.  Even in preschool his best friends were older, smarter girls.  (Since I was afraid of boys until the 11th grade, this is like "Wow!" to me!)

7. He's funny without even trying and he makes me laugh....daily.  His sense of humor is a great mix of his daddy's slapstick ding-dong humor (said with all the love in my heart) and my dry sarcastic wit. (which is rare....but golden.)

6.  He thinks I'm funny.  I love it when I make him laugh.  My goal in life is to make him smile, and it has been since the day he was born. 

5. He loves to talk....and always has.  No matter what he's talking about...even if I have no idea what he's talking about (like how he defeated some video game, for instance) I listen like I'm his biggest fan....because I am.

4. He's generous and a good friend.  He spent part of his birthday money on his friend.  I'm proud.

3. He's well-rounded and smart.  He's played almost every sport....basketball right now.  He loves acting, singing, playing guitar and keyboard.  

2. He is a great big brother.  He's encouraging and kind to Grace. He is protective and loving to Moriah.

1. He loves with the full capacity of his heart....like his daddy.  I pray for his future wife often and can't wait to see him as a husband, because I can already tell that she is going to be one blessed little girl.

Thanks God for the gift you gave me on this day, 13 years ago.

Christmas Traditions #9

We love warm, sweet treats at our house on a cold night like tonight. Luke posted on his blog a recipe that he enjoys every Christmas and his special way of making it! Look out, Bobby Flay!

Christmas Traditions #1

The making of Christmas lists is always revealing of how my children have changed over the past year. Three years ago I blogged their Wish Lists. I always have them star* their top 3. Luke's list this year begins like this....

Christmas List

Luke

Keep note that all things on this list are starred.

This year's list contains 59 things. Yes, 59. Including many hats, hoodies, t-shirts, a skinny tie, Toms shoes, converse shoes, aviators, Air Jordans, giftcards from 7 different places, new bed sheets, a mini fridge for his room, tickets to a Cowboys game, Uncle Ben's rice (he eats ALL the time and loves rice!) and new cell phone and a new laptop.

Grace has more of a strategy, and only puts a few things on her list to ensure that she gets what she wants.....besides the fact that she just had her birthday, and can't think of anything else. She is into DS games, American Girl stuff, converse shoes and a coat like her Dad's. She sat on Santa's lap this weekend (Moriah would not have anything to do with him.) and asked for a new bike, Horton Hears a Who DVD and some dollhouse furniture.....to which Santa replied "Oh for the dollhouse I brought you last year." Oh my, did Grace's eyes get big! I could see her mind racing. He remembered! (It was actually 2 years ago, but Santa's pretty old, so I didn't mention that.) For more on teaching a child about the tradition of Santa.....see this post.

Luke's Descriptive Essay

Luke chose to write a great story for his English essay which counted for quite a bit and he got a 95 on it! I am such a proud writer Mom! (I can't figure out why the spacing got messed up when I copied it...so just ignore that!)

Arriving from Haiti by Luke Martin

After the devastating earthquake in Haiti in January 2010, my friends adopted two Haitian kids. The Beougher family had already adopted Luke in May, 2008. He had a sister in Haiti named Miralda and once Luke was able to speak English, he would tell his family all about her. Later that year the Beoughers decided to adopt Miralda.

While the Beoughers were in the process of adopting Luke's little sister, the 7 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, killing about 300,000 people. The Beougher family was worried about Miralda and wanted her to come as quickly as possible, so they called the adoption agency and asked if they could speed up the adoption process. Because of the terrible disaster in Haiti, the government wanted to get as many orphans out of the country as possible. Not only did the agency approve the adoption of Miralda, but then they asked, “Would you like to adopt two kids?” The Beoughers remembered Luke talking about his best friend in the orphanage named Pedro, so they went to Haiti to bring Pedro and Miralda back to America.

My family and I were very excited to meet them! We made a colorful welcome sign and brought it to our town's small airport. The anticipation and suspense was killing me; I could hardly stand it! It was very cold outside waiting for the plane, but then we all sang the doxology which made us warm inside our hearts. When Pedro and Miralda finally arrived they were a little shy at first, but then inside the airport's lobby, we gave them presents and they started to smile. My favorite part about the day was watching Pedro, the first time he'd ever eaten Cheetos. He tried one and then took another handful of them and shoved the whole thing in his mouth! We all laughed and I thought Pedro and Miralda felt like they were family. I turned to Luke and asked him, “Are you excited that Pedro and Miralda are here”? He nodded. I think everyone is so happy that Pedro and Miralda are here now and that they are a part of our church family!

Just in time for Halloween....

We are experiencing the SCARIEST time in all of life....

don don duh......*click here for the full effect*

ADOLESCENCE!!!

Yes, puberty is upon us. The teen years are coming 3 months from now. Yikes is right! We could read every book James Dobson has written, and it still would be the scariest time of life....voice changes, emotional outbreaks, facial outbreaks and scariest of all....HAIR in the WEIRDEST of places!!! ahhhhh!!!!!

These are scriptures Luke & I have been talking about lately, so I printed them and he posted them up by his desk. God's Word is always the best defense, as Jesus taught us when He himself was tempted by Satan. No need to be afraid, just use our greatest weapon....the sWord!! (Now that's the language a 12 year-old man-child can identify with!)

Pray for us as we embark upon these SCARY TIMES....waging war with the hormonal imbalances of a squeaky voiced boy...(ahh how I loved Peter Brady!) :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. ⁴The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

…for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe. Philippians 2:13-15

Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Joshua 1:7

If you love me, you will obey what I command.

Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. John 14:15 & 23

Toy Story Family History

When Luke was a toddler, his favorite movie that he wanted to watch a thousand times a day (on the now ancient VHS) was Toy Story. It came out in 1996, the year we got married.

On Christmas Eve 1999, while living in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Toy Story 2 came out and we took our almost 2 year old to his very first movie in the theater.

Right now as I type, our 2 year old Moriah, is next to me watching one of the DVDs she wants to watch a thousand times a day, Toy Story 2. This afternoon after her nap, we'll take her to her very first movie in the theater....

It's a family tradition.

CYT NARNIA

Daddy & his beautiful little flower fairy (without her wings)!!!

Luke (a Cruelie) & his buddy, Stephen (a Wolf)

Grace and her friends, Nissi & Annie

Another shot of Luke & his cruelie buddy, Luke

CYT is a lot of work for the parents, but this is why we do it.

Amazing Christian friends that become family....

CYT....developing character one stage at a time.

I believe it.

Luke's Book List 09-10

The Whipping Boy

D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths

Detectives in Togas

The Trojan War

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

The Trojan Horse

King Midas and the Magic Touch

King Arthur: The Sword and the Stone

Sir Fartsalot Hunts the Booger

Robin Hood

Stone Fox

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

The Hobbit

Sequels to The Lightning Thief:

The Sea of Monsters

The Titan's Curse

The Battle of Labyrinth

The Mighty Twelve (greek gods & goddesses)

Kingdom's Dawn - A Riveting Medieval Parallel to the Bible

Kingdom's Hope - Book 2 in the series above

King George: What Was His Problem?

Pygmalion

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Another favorite book...

Goes to the MOVIES....

Luke is SO excited!!!

Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief NEW Trailer #3

Luke

I'm a proud mama tonight. My son practices worship choruses every day on his dad's guitar and it's such a sweet sound! I know he is brave. I love that about him. Tonight, even as one of the youngest among the youth, he led them in worship, playing and singing "How Great is Our God".

I love this kid. God's got great plans for him.

Luke Goes to Camp

Luke has been at Camp Quaker Haven all week with the E. Free churches around here and we've been keeping up with him through pictures which has been so fun! I love that he gets right in and has fun, being his funny happy self! Although I did sorta think there should be one picture of him looking all sad like he missed his mama, but No, there he is all grown up and having fun! I loved the days of going to camp there. I started going after 3rd grade and never missed a summer that I can remember! Good times. There were so many pics to choose from with him in them, but here are my favorites...

Archery...

Bible quizzing...

Some sort of clapping game...

Another game I don't know the name of, and a face only a mama could love...

Mine's the cute one smiling....wonder how many hearts he broke this week?!

Not too worried that homeschooling has stunted his socialization development at this point...

With his cabin group.

The theme is "In Service to the King"

I miss him.

Luke's Book List 08-09

Choose Your Own Adventure Series

The Big Wave

The Lawn Boy

Diary of a Wimpy Kid 1,2,3

Oliver Twist

Henry Reed, Inc

Meet Thomas Alva Edison

Freedom Train (Harriet Tubman)

The Seventeenth Swap

Wally McDoogle

Wally McDoogle Sequel

Mr. Popper’s Penguins

Aladdin and Other Arabian Night Stories

Louis Braille

The Power of a Praying Kid

Dude, That's Rude! Get Some Manners!

McBroom’s Wonderful One-Acre Farm

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Last Battle

Sista says Amen!

Mission to Mars

Luke went on a great field trip on Friday after a 10 week co-op class called Mission to Mars.  He had to have the class for preparation for this mission (hours in training) and also interviewed for his particular job on the mission.  This was all great experience for a 5th grader!  The Challenger Space Center is a very well kept secret in Wellington, Kansas.  It's a museum, giving tribute to Christa McAuliffe, the teacher that died in the Challenger Space shuttle.  It's also a fun simulator of NASA's mission control room and a space shuttle mission, where the crew even saved 2 crew members from a dangerous sandstorm on Mars, while sending out a remote control robot to test the air and learn more about the storm and environment of Mars.  I was very glad Luke got this exciting experience and he had a lot of fun, too!