The Perfect Mix

These days our house is full of little bit of this, a little bit of that.

Micah, having just turned five, is now growing up before my eyes and I can't make it stop!  Every day I am utterly amazed at watching my once tiny little baby grow into a full-fledged boy!  His days are mixed with independence and yet still needing, and wanting his mommy or daddy.  This picture is sums it up perfectly!  His new skateboard he got for his birthday has made him very cool in his eyes, and he just wants to go out and ride it himself.  He is even trying tricks!  Um, can I just put padding on his entire body first!  Anyway, he wanted to picture to put on his skateboard, and oh my gosh, this is what he came up with.  A picture of his beloved doggie and it says "my best friend".  The perfect mix of big boy and mama's baby!

Caleb is still very much toddler and let's me know everyday when he throws a fit because he doesn't get what he wants!  He is having fun playing with his normal boy stuff like cars, trains, anything Toy Story, etc.  But he is now also interested in Haleigh's girl toys!  One of his favorite is the tea set.  He is not afraid to sit down with mommy and Haleigh and have a little tea party.  I love his heart!  So today I found this...His Little People pirate ship and a tea cup!  The perfect mix of little boy and little boys who's not afraid to play with his sister!

Haleigh loves to play by herself.  She is getting more and more mobile now that she is SO CLOSE to walking!  She loves to collect things in her stroller that she got for Christmas.  She will walk around the house with her stroller and the number of things in it she has collected.  Usually without a baby!  She uses it more as a shopping cart than stroller, oh well!  Anyway, this was her collection today...Her stroller with a water gun in it!  Notice the jeep behind it!  The perfect mix of baby girl and a sister to brothers!

 

Happy 5th Birthday!!

Yesterday was Micah's 5th birthday!  I cannot believe I have a five year old.  It seems like just yesterday I had one little baby and we were living in an apartment.  Now our house is consumed with toys, sippy cups, high chairs, etc, etc.  

Micah has grown into a sweet, quiet, tenderhearted little boy.  He LOVES people, especially his uncles!  He is a boys'  boy.  His favorite thing to do is play basketball or hit baseballs.  Or really any sport!  God has gifted him with a crazy ability in all sports so it will be neat to see how that will transpire in his life.  Right now we are enjoying doing preschool at home.  His loves his brother and baby sister.  He would much rather be with people than be by himself.  And although I get frustrated that he won't play by himself and doesn't seem to have or care to have much of an imagination, I love that he thrives off interaction with others his age or older!  Who knows maybe God will use him in ministry!

Here's some of my favorite pics of Micah through the years.  Notice they are all summer pics because he LOVES summertime!

6 months

18 months

2.5 yrs old

3.5 years old

4.5 years old

Happy Birthday sweet boy!  I love you!

Thoughts

What a week!  Our Christmas started last Thursday when we drove up to MD to celebrate with my family.  It was a quick visit, but fun!  My sister got the Just Dance Wii game, and well, let's just say it's fun!  Ed and my brother danced which was hilarious to watch.  And my mom, me, sister, and brother's girlfriend also did it, but my mom managed to beat us every time!  I guess a dance degree helps!

The rest of the week was spent at home and with Ed's side, with a big snowstorm mixed in there!  Today is really the first day we haven't been with any extended family, so it's nice to just be at home!  

Ed gave me some time off yesterday to reflect and start thinking through this year and some resolutions I want to make.  More on that to come!  

Tomorrow is my baby's birthday!  A milestone birthday that I'm not sure I'm ready for!  But Ed and I really plan to celebrate this milestone in a special way.  However, with a birthday on New Year's Eve, its always hard to celebrate on his birthday.  So we will head to Cracker Barrel for breakfast, and do some gifts when we get home.  Then we'll celebrate with some friends that night, and have some cake, and also celebrate the new year!  Ed and I will take him out by himself for a special night probably next week.  I'm really looking forward to that because he so thrives on individual attention.  He's definitely a quality time kind of kid!

Off to play beat him in a game of Wii - our new family toy!

Merry Christmas!

 Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Preparing my Heart for Christmas

As I spend some time reading this morning, I found God bringing some thoughts to mind that I thought had kind of  well disappeared.  And so now, the result, I'm finding myself heading into the Christmas weekend with mixed feelings.  Funny how God would want me to be half elated, half depressed on his birthday!  Anyway, my journey began a couple of months ago when I read Radical.  Insert - ugh!  I know, everyone that has read it has probably felt the same.  I guess that is a whole other post on that book.  Then yesterday, I read a post from a new blog I'm reading, and it left me, well, haunted.

You see, I don't consider myself to have lots because our lifestyle just doesn't allow for it.  Sure I would love to have a flat screen tv, cable, my own personal laptop, a bigger house so we aren't always in each other's space, but the reality is that is just not ever going to be us.  And so the Lord has been teaching me for a while how much I really have in comparison to the world.  I've never thought of myself as filthy rich, have you?  

Picture with me - Christmas morning...We will get up, get out of our super comfortable plush mattress, slip on some cozy slippers, walk downstairs, in a heated home, to our way too expensive coffee maker to get some hot coffee.  Then Ed and I will sit on our huge couches and turn on some Christmas music on our computers, and read out of our Bibles that aren't even allowed in so many countries.  We will enjoy peace and quiet while our three healthy children sleep in their individual beds.  Does it get you like it gets me?  And I haven't even started the actual opening of gifts and the feast we will enjoy.  

So after thinking through all this...do I really need anything else?  I am about to receive amazing things this weekend, things I don't need.  I am grateful for them, but I pray these things don't make me want more!  I am so desperate for the Lord to fill my heart with thankfulness and a real understanding of what I actually do need and what it extra.  Are extras bad?  Not all the time.  But honestly, I am beginning to feel like the extras are closing in on me.  

I loved this post from my friend Jen on how they taught their kids the difference between wants and needs.  A perfect lesson before this barrage of gifts they will receive this weekend!

So what do we do with this weekend?  Do we become a cynic and grunt after every gift is open?  Does it give us a new spirit as we open these things that we don't need but are just that - a gift - a blessing - something we can be tremendously grateful for because we know that more than half the world does not have it.  Honestly I don't know!  This is a new journey for me, one that will carry over into next year.  I pray this Christmas, the Lord will make me thankful and grateful for the things I take for granted and for the new things I receive.  

The Minivan Express

Monday night we took a trip on the Minivan Express (think Polar Express).  After dinner we took the kids upstairs to get ready for bed.  We got their jammies on, brushed teeth and then gathered in Haleigh's room for a bedtime story.  All was normal until Daddy, aka The Conductor, told us we were about to go on an adventure on the Minivan Express.  So we got our things ready for our adventure, and handed out tickets because after all, you do need a ticket to hop on the Minivan Express! 

The Conductor collected the kids tickets and once everyone was in their seats, he handed out popcorn and drinks!  And so we headed out on our adventure to see the tacky lights in our area!  We drove all over town, seeing only the best!  The kids absolutely loved seeing each house and Micah declared halfway through that this would be a new Martin tradition.  So maybe next year, we'll take a trip on the Minivan Express again!

Home with the Savior

Katie and I will be traveling to Roanoke today to mourn the death and celebrate the life of one of my heroes, my Grandfather. He taught me so much about what it means to be a man. Possessions meant nothing to him. People, family, and God meant everything. He gave his life to serving God and people. His church recently recognized him as a life long deacon (a word which means servant). I watched him serve his best friend, my Grandmother, for years and years as Parkinsons took her life. I can't remember a time this man complained about anything. He was born in 1924 and lived through some of the hardest times this nation has ever seen. This is a rare breed of man. A man at my church often rightly says, "they don't make them like they used to". In a culture confused about manhood, we need more men like Raymond Gilmore to show us the way. We will miss him dearly. But I know that this Christmas, he will experience Jesus face to face! I can picture him now singing his favorite hymns as my Grandmother plays the piano. Enjoy him Jesus.   -Ed

Granddaddy and Haleigh in May

He loved his grand-kids and great-grandkids