A Martin Minute

  " Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, & God our Father, who loved us & gave us eternal comfort & good hope through grace, comfort your hearts & establish them in every good work & word." 2 Thessalonians 2:16 & 17 Merry Christmas from our family to yours! We keep busy around here - everyday! Bay is 18! She is an adult! She has decided to head to Auburn University next year & spread her beautiful wings. She has had jaw surgery, to correct some "issues," & enjoyed some very extended & quiet time at home.  She is a Senior in high school & loves her school! She loves all the fun Senior dress-up days & even had 3 costume changes in 1 day! She has so much stuff planned for next year - my head is spinning. WFM5 will be 16 in a few weeks! I realized that with him driving himself to soccer practice that I will have an extra 4 hours in my week. He works at a local ice cream shop, which is quite beneficial, & is growing up so...

 I am so THANKFUL for all my crew! I am so GRATEFUL for what they all mean to me! I am so BLESSED to be a part of their lives! (I am obviously a little bit cheesy on the holidays) This year I am thankful for . . . My much better half ~ he takes care of us all so well. I love you! My 4 kiddos ~  even with the eye-rolling.     Baylor is beautiful!     WFM5 is funny!     Whitty is sweet!     Lee-Lee is  . . . .well, he is Lee-Lee!  My family ~ as loud as we are we are truly blessed to do life together. My favorite neighbors ~ you know who you are & thank you for always helping & being a part of our family.  I love that some came over last night to cook spicy ramen, because they knew my kitchen would be open.  I love that we can walk in without knocking & that Dr. Peppers get left on my doorstep. I am thankful for Dr. Pepper! I am thankful for Chicken-Moo! PSALM 107:1 "Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, H...

Just a few little thoughts as you will soon turn 18 . . . *(started May 31, 2021) God is sovereign! God is good all the time - even when we do not understand. I will always love you ~ forever & ever! You are my favorite daughter! VOTE! Vote wisely! THINK! Think before you speak or post or tweet or text. Apologize & forgive - everyone makes mistakes. Give Grace ~ especially to those that make it hard. Big things are happening over the next few years , but don't forget the small things. Taylor Swift "the Best Day" Thomas Rhett!! Be a role model & make wise choices ~ how many times have I said this? Keep talking! Family is everything! "Okay Lewis & Clark. . . ." Chick-Fil-A ~ enough said "Never let anyone treat you like a yellow starburst. You are a pink starburst." Always walk in the front door like you live here. ~ Be a pineapple~ "In all things give thanks." READ your BIBLE! "The fact that our heart yearns for something E...

How is it time for Summer? How are we buying teacher gifts? How have I registered my baby girl for her senior year of high school? How have we had 5 days of soccer try-outs & we are only halfway through? How are we scheduling senior portraits & ordering senior jerseys? How are 2 of them taller than me with bigger feet? How do they make their own plans & inform me of what they are? How do we have 1.5 drivers at our house? How do they stay up later than me? How is all this happening so fast? HOW?

 March 13, 2020 I was volunteering at our sweet elementary school & listening to the conversations the teachers & administrators were having . . . even they thought their conversations sounded a little crazy.  Then as I spoke to more people I ended up being a part of the group discussion to not have afternoon activities, "let's just let everyone calm down & then re-evaluate on Monday." . . . . There was no Monday at the school - EVERYTHING stopped! "Maybe we will take an extended Spring Break . . . okay maybe 3 weeks . . . !"  Who knew we wouldn't go back until late August??? Who knew we would all consider wearing mask to be "normal?" Who knew we wouldn't get in the car for 8 weeks? Who knew?????  GOD DID!        He knew we would get through this year.     He knew we would struggle & hurt, but come out closer & better as we get to the other side.     He knew of riots & elections.     The o...

 Well, this was quite a year . . . a year of first (and hopefully some lasts).  A year that took us by surprise and made us ALL re-think about EVERYTHING.  A year that drove us all HOME and sitting around the table with the ones we love. My sweet babies blossomed this year.  They all learned hard things and kept on going.  They all learned the value of a game of Rummikub.  They all learned that momma was not meant to teach math - history is my jam!  They learned the value of a big family. They learned that biscuits are AWESOME! They all handled 2020 like champs!  Yes, there were hard decisions, but they were understanding. Nobody is perfect, but they got pretty close this year, of all years I am appreciative. What did we do? We got a rescue puppy - Charli Mae.  (Yes, I said no more puppies, but the vote was 5 - 1) We went to the beach on a "work trip."  Then we took off for the mountains!  Both of these amidst soccer try-outs - he m...

Well, not sure where to even begin . . . I was not planning on being at home for 6+ weeks straight.  No carpool, soccer, choir concerts.   No school, church or outside responsibilities.   No grocery stores, or any stores for that matter. No extra people in our house. No grandparent hugs or cousin time. No knowing what day it is???? How did this all happen? How did we get here? What did we do????   Well, one day my grandkids will ask me questions for a school project & ask about these crazy times, so here we go . . . . We did NOTHING!   Okay, so everyone had to do school at home, but 99.99999% of that was on the computer & the older kiddos were managing a lot of that on their own.  Lee-Lee & I were usually done with his work by 10 AM.  They participate in Google Meets/Hangouts. ZOOM calls are a new thing.  . . . . continued . . . ."ZOOM Fatigue" is a real thing . . . .  We were home for 3 months ...