Lady Bug, Lady Bug, Fly Away Home

Does anybody have a remedy for ladybugs? I got home from church today and it's like "Revenge of the Ladybugs"!!! So far I've vacuumed up about 30 of them and more are coming in as I type. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Never Again!

What a week I had last week. Johnny left for South Dakota on Sunday, after the morning service, to go pheasant hunting with our Pastor and another guy from our church. Monday I started in on the kitchen. My sister-in-law (Dianna) came to help me and I am ever so grateful to her for that. We had to go to Lowe's to get supplies so we didn't get a very early start on things. Everything takes alot longer with one 4 year old and two 2 year olds!! Fun stuff! My brother-in-law (Joe - Johnny's brother) also helped out a great deal. Don't know that I would have been able to put up the crown moulding and chair rail by myself. Although, for those who really know me, I don't think anyone would have been surprised if I would have tried it!

Needless to say we didn't get everything done that we would have liked to, so we kept at it on Tuesday and finally got it all finished by Wednesday around noon, and I absolutely LOVE it.

Thursday, I went shopping with 2 other sisters-in-law of mine (Marlene and Hannah). We had a really good time. I left the kids with yet ANOTHER sister-in-law (Marty) and just took the day for myself!! It was wonderful. Especially after the chaos at the beginning of the week. I was definitely ready for a break.

Friday, Marlene came over and we got the light hung in my kitchen, (yes, I am now proficient in electric work! LOL) and then we just sat and watched a movie. That was also very nice. I'm not used to taking time to just sit. I'm normally very busy with SOMETHING, yet I don't always feel like I've ACCOMPLISHED anything.

Saturday was my day to catch up on laundry. And man, did I have alot of it. It was mostly the kids'. It's amazing how many clothes they DON'T have, until laundry day! I did allow myself to sit down once more to watch another movie. I figured this would be the last time for a while.

Sunday morning I got up and looked out the window to see that one of our horses was out of the fence. Oh great! Well, it ended up being easier than I thought it would be to get him back in. All I had to do was get a bucket of grain and he followed me back through the gate. After the morning service at church, Lester (Johnny's brother) and Marlene took the kids and I out to eat. They are the sweetest people you will ever meet. I don't know what we would do without them around here!! Actually I do, we more than likely wouldn't BE around here!! LOL When we got home, I discovered that the horse didn't stay put. I ended up having to mend our fence. Oh the joys of horse ownership!! Then I came in the house to find that our house had been invaded by ladybugs while we were away at church! Not fun!! They stink so bad. The rest of the day was pretty much uneventful. We went to the evening service and then Ben and Marty and their 4 kids came over to keep me company for a little while.

Today, I'm trying to get the house cleaned up before Johnny gets in, and tonight I have to watch Ben and Marty's kids while they go to supper.

Needless to say, it's been a very long, stressful week without my best friend around. I felt like my right arm was missing. I don't know that I will be so agreeable next time he wants to leave me for a week and a half! (Hence the 'Never Again' title) He's my EVERYTHING and when a person's everything is gone, what's left?

I have definitely learned to lean on my Lord more, through the trials that come with being a 'single' mom and having to deal with all the other problems that come up that would normally be taken care of by the man of the house. Praise God it's over!! Hats off to all you wives of military men!

Do You Work?

I'm not sure WHY I can't get this to space right. I hope you're still able to read it alright.

I've been reading a book in the evenings to pass the time and for refreshment and I thought I'd try to share some of it with you.

The book is titled Calm in My Chaos

"Do you work?" Panic set in. I checked through all the answers in my brain. Do I work? I composed myself and then said, "Yes, I do work. I'm a full-time mom." Why does that question still make me freak out? Do I work? I work harder than you do , sir, 24/7, 365 days a year. By no means am I complaining, And I'm certainly not trying to compare.

It's interesting, though. After answering, "Yes, I'm a full-time mom," I often see a vacant look in the eyes of the questioner. I've been thinking about this question because, obviously, I'm a stay-at-home mom. I'm writing a book for mothers of young children -- not all of whom will be stay-at-home moms. But after some time, I've finally resolved my own feelings of being "just a mom." (And if I hear me descibe myself that way one more time, I'm going to scream.) The problem is, I don't really feel like I'm just a mom -- until someone asks me if I work. I suppose I could politely correct the next person by saying, "If you're wondering if I work outside the home, no. My work is inside the home."

Or--what a shame I didn't think of this sooner--"Yes, I do work. I'm in management. I specialize in training." I can't wait to try that one.

Personal Touch

Don't be discouraged if some people don't understand your God-given role. Remember, if you are a believer, you are in full-time ministry. If you are a mother, you have a more-than-full-time job. Never, ever forget those truths.

Prayer

Dear Father, please instill in me a healthy pride for my vocation as a mother. Whether I stay at home or not, mothering is my priority, and I ask that You remind me of that commitment today. And I ask that You help me to be the kind of woman who can gracefully and creatively embrace my calling as a mom. Amen.

Sweet Angels

Monday night Cheyenne crawled into bed with me, missing her daddy, and snuggled up really close. She was holding onto my arm and pretty soon I hear her say, "I love you really bad, Mommy!"


I love my kids so much. The Lord has truly blessed me with them. Even at times when I don't think I can handle the sibling rivalry anymore, I wouldn't want to be without either one of them!! They are my life!

Changes

Well, after 2 1/2 days, my kitchen is finally done!! I don't have any 'before' pictures, so I guess you'll just have to see what it looks like now and take my word for it that it looks ALOT better!!

My brother-in-law and his wife helped me with it as a surprise for Johnny. I can't wait till he sees it.

This is my favorite corner. And yes, the phone really does work!




This table was a Mother's Day gift!! I think he loves me!!! ;)

Still looking for something to fill this space. Maybe a buffet to match my table? I'll have to talk to Johnny about that one. :) Christmas and Birthday are just around the corner.;}

I love my big kitchen. God is so good!

Time Well Spent

For those of you interested in being informed please visit http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=3865048042993700360.

I just got through watching it and I found it very interesting. It is rather lengthy, but if you don't inform yourself, you'll NEVER KNOW.

Enjoy.

Birthday 'Costume' Party

The kids were invited to a birthday party for a girl that goes to our church. They had a really fun time, even though it was really cold outside. There were alot of princesses there, but I think Cheyenne was the prettiest! And of course Travis was the cutest giraffe.


Rest assured, it was JUST a Birthday party. We don't have anything to do with halloween!

AcroBATs

After playing baseball in the house last night, Johnny thought the kids needed to do some 'strength training'! LOL It ended up turning into a gymnastics class I think. The balancing 'bar' of choice is Travis' baseball bat that he got at one of the Nashville Sounds ball games we went to. It is such a blessing not to have a TV. My kids and my husband are all the entertainment I need!!

That was AWEsome!

This is just something to help me remember something cute that Travis said the other day.

We were riding in the car to go to town and had Aunt Marlene with us. Cheyenne had asked if we could go the "bump" way, so I decided we could. The "bump" way is a few miles out of our way sometimes, but the kids love the huge tummy tickler. Marlene was oblivious to what we were doing but the kids kept telling her, "hang on, Marlene!" She said, "I'm hanging on, we're going really fast aren't we!"

Well, we surprised Marlene with the "bump" and Travis said, "That was AWEsome!" I just thought it was something cute he said, that I would want to remember later.

Most mom's would write it in a baby book, but not me.... I BLOG!!! LOL

Blast 'em!

Well, there were NO guns involved, but, in Johnny's words, "we blasted 'em" with the car! He was laughing when he said that, cause he knew you two would get a kick out of it, Mom and Dad!

On our way to pick the kids up from a birthday party last night, we hit a deer. Earlier in the evening Johnny and I had been skeet shooting and target practicing with my 22. Just as it was getting dark, the fog started to settle in, so we quit and decided we better go get the kids. About a mile from our house I was thinking to myself, 'hmm, it sure is a good night for deer to be on the road hiding in this fog!' "THUMP!" And there he was! Johnny slammed on the brakes but it was too late. Poor Beau was in the very back. I'm sure it brought him to the back of the seat in front of him. He was okay though, and so were we. The deer on the other hand didn't fare so well!! He died. And of course, Johnny said, "Should we load him up and skin him out at home?" To which I replied, "Um, NO!" He was only about 50 pounds. It didn't do much damage to the car. Just knocked the fog lamp off, but we found that and I think we'll be able to fix it without too much cost. These plastic bumpers are wonderful. I also got backed into the other day and nothing happend to MY car. The other car only had a minor scuff. The Lord is so good to take such good care of us. With as much as we are on the road, we are definitely blessed to be kept so safe.

Best Buddies!!

Whenever Daddy's home, you can pretty much bet Travis will be with him wherever he may go. Johnny had asked me to go out and throw some clay pigeons for him this morning, but it was so windy that I didn't want to be out, so he found someone else to help him!!

I thought this was TOO cute!!

Mark 16:16

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;"

Here are a few pictures that I took yesterday from Cheyenne's baptism.

She was so excited and a little bit nervous.

The water was really cold, but she was a trooper. It took her breath away for sure when she went under, and it took her a minute to recooperate!

When it was all said and done, she was smiling her usual, happy smile!

Mark 10:14

"...Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God."

We have some VERY exciting news to share with ALL today!!

Last night when we were tucking Cheyenne into bed, she had some questions about sin and hell. We answered her questions and did our best to tell her how she can be sure that she is going to heaven. At first she wasn't sure if she knew what "being saved" meant, but she understood the rest...that we are all sinners and that Jesus died to wash away our sins. After some prayer asking the Lord to make things clear to her, and a little more explanation, she was ready to pray on her own! She said, "I want to pray now momma!" So she prayed, "Dear Jesus, please come into my heart and save me. Forgive my sins and help me to get to heaven when I die, please come into my heart and save me!" When she was done praying, of course I had tears running down my cheeks and Johnny's eyes were very moist! Cheyenne, on the other hand, was SOOOO excited!! She had a smile that nearly split her face!! She couldn't stop laughing and jumping up and down. Then she said, "I'm SAVED NOW!" And a few seconds later, "Can I call Grammie?!" This was 11:00p.m. our time, but I figured my parents wouldn't mind being awakened with THIS news!! And they didn't. My dad also "had drips", as he says!! Cheyenne also got a big kick out of that. "He said, 'I'm not crying. I just have drips.' " She wanted to call everyone last night, but we told her she better wait till this morning when everyone was awake. We DID try to call Auntie Sherri last night too, but no one answered.

Needless to say, she had a hard time settling down to go to sleep, but she finally did and this morning when she got up she said, "Do you remember that I'm SAVED momma?!!!" (BIG smiles, still) She also brought the phone to me right away wanting to make some more phone calls. I'm glad she is so excited about it, and I pray that that excitement will last!!

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!! Come praise the Lord with us!!

We are so thankful for our wonderful blessing in Cheyenne and that she now has peace in Him.

James 5:16

"Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed."

I come humbly to ask for any and all prayers that I can get. After a quick evaluation of my personality traits, I have come to the conclusion that at times I have very little patience. I have actually known this for a very long time, but I am now confessing it to any and all who read this and needing your prayers and advice.

This comes after a day of school and then piano practice afterwards. School went well, but when it comes to piano practice, I find it hard to understand why it doesn't go so smoothly. Poor Cheyenne. I think I am expecting too much of her right off. She does really good, but when I try to help her, it just frustrates both of us. I don't want to discourage her, so I covet your prayers. I have often been told, "don't pray for patience!", because the Bible says, 'Tribulation worketh patience', and '...the trying of your faith worketh patience'. I don't pray for my patience to be TRIED or WORKED, but INCREASED!

Most days go really well, but at times I find myself falling far short of what I need to be. Any advice and ALL prayers are welcomed.

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary, Baby!!! It's been a wonderful 6 years! I'd do it all over again.

Another Successful Tennessee Hunt!

Just thought I'd post some pictures of Johnny's hunt. He went yesterday

morning (after making sure I was going to be alright:)), and walked behind our house a little ways to see if he could find any deer. Bow season has opened and he is ALWAYS anxious to be out!

Now, I know neither one of these critters looks like a deer, but you have to understand that the deer out here aren't much bigger than this!!! LOL I have often wondered why he bothers, but he really enjoys it, so off he goes. He did actually see one deer, but it was too far off for the bow. He always has to shoot SOMETHING. Just ask my parents. They often tease him about saying "just blast 'em". He makes life interesting for us here.

The kids thought it was really neat. And, of course, the biggest baby in our family had to check it out too. His name is Beau.

After Johnny skinned the raccoon, and left it laying there in the grass, Cheyenne went over to it and said, "That makes me hungry! Are we going to eat it? Look at all that meat on there!" She is definately a brave soul. I don't try anything new but she is willing to eat whatever her daddy tells her is alright. Johnny said, "Did you talk Mommy into cooking it for us?" Of course the answer was NO!!! I don't get too excited about that kind of thing. Cheyenne and Johnny will sit and eat squirrel all day long, but I'm not very adventurous and I think Travis is more like me in that area. Johnny stretched the skin out on a board and Cheyenne is excited to get her "coon skin cap". We'll see!!!!

Telephonitis

Have you ever been on the phone and still tried to get some housework done? Well, that was my problem the other day. I was on the phone with an old friend and decided it would be the perfect opportunity to do some ironing. Now when you think about it, most people probably wouldn't have chosen THAT particular chore to do while on the phone, cause everybody knows you need BOTH hands to iron. Of course, that didn't stop me. I just propped my phone on my left shoulder and ironed away........ for about one and a half hours!! I felt my neck getting stiff, but just occasionally rested to straighten it. After the phone conversation was over I felt somewhat stiff, but thought maybe if I could get my wonderful husband :) to rub it for me, it would be all better. It didn't progress into anything too terrible until I had to sleep the next night without a pillow, due to inadequate furnishings at a "cabin" we went to. Boy did I pay for it this morning, FIVE days later!!!! I woke up when Johnny set the alarm to get up to go hunting and COULDN'T MOVE!!! Every way I tried to turn, hurt like the dickens!! I was literally STUCK in one position. Talk about panic!! Johnny did his best to make me comfortable and once I got propped up on some pillows (4 to be exact) I was able to rest some more.

Now as I'm sitting here typing, I can feel a warm sensation in my right arm, and my neck still hurts. Johnny thinks I should go to the chiropractor, but I'm a little 'trepidatious'! LOL I think if I just wait it out...... like I've been doing for the past 5 days :P, it will get better! MAYBE! Prayerfully!!

The moral of the story? Use the crazy speaker phone!!!! LOL

Starting Back To School .......Again

Cheyenne is probably the most eager little learner I have ever known. I started some schooling with her last year. Keep in mind she was just 3 last year. I bought some books from Wal-Mart ( I don't shop there since they joined the NGLCC, but that's a different blog altogether), and got her started writing her letters and learning the different sounds each makes. She went through that in no time at all and caught on very well. The Leap Frog toys and DVDs have helped out alot in the letter sounds, and now we have started K5. She loves it! This morning is our 6th day of school. We had started the day after Labor Day, thinking that all of the vacationing should be over. Needless to say we only got 4 days of school in and then got some company that we really enjoyed having!! My parents drove out and stayed with us for a week and a half. We had a BLAST. Thanks for coming to see us!!! After they left, we ended up having to help Johnny do some deliveries, so we couldn't start back that week. Now this week we're hitting it full force. She has started piano lessons also and REALLY likes her teacher. Alot of people have asked me why I don't just teach her, but I got assurance the other day that I made the right decision to have someone else do it, when I tried helping her with her practice. She didn't enjoy it at all and I had a hard time not being too expectant of her. It works out really well this way!! We both get a break.


I think Travis might be a different story, but he's only two, so we'll have to see. He doesn't seem to have much interest. Cheyenne was saying her ABCs before she was two and she just seemed farther ahead at his age. Travis knows his ABCs, he just isn't as eager to say them. He is definately ALL boy. He LOVES going anywhere with Johnny. One day after being with Johnny at work all day, he came in the door, strutting, and said, "Hi, Mom." As if, "Yeah, I turned 14 today and now you're just MOM and not Momma!" It was pretty cute. They sure keep us busy and very well entertained. Which brings me to last night's hilarity.

Travis had a handkerchief and was asking Cheyenne what it was. She said, "That's a hankercheef. Cause Hanker means Nose!" Johnny and I laughed and laughed. Hanker, Honker?!? what's the difference?! LOL You might have to know our little girl to see the humor in that, but we thought it was funny.

Well Here Goes

Not sure how I'm going to do with this, but here goes.

I enter the blogging world with a bit of trepidation!! That's my new word!! LOL Although I hope I don't have to use it often as it implies fear and fear is a lack of faith in God. Nevertheless, it IS a fun word to say.

After reading some other blogs from friends I haven't seen or heard from in FOREVER I decided that I would give it a whirl! I will try to give everyone a glimpse into the Martin Family life as I have been blessed to be a part of life in many different parts of the world through the many blogs I've been reading.

This is just a trial post. I will be more informative and interesting the next time around. Feel free to comment, but only if you're going to tell me how wonderful I'm doing!! LOL Just kidding. I can take some criticism, as long as it's not too terribly harsh!