Equal Press Time

I needed to post a picture of Jane! Here is one from last fall, sorry it's not current, but it was just too darn cute to pass up. I've been looking through scads of saved images and realized I haven't printed pictures in a long time. Great......that's going to cost me a small fortune next Target shopping trip.

gratuitous pictures of my kids.....just one of the perks of blogging.

Addicted to Sunshine!

Turns out I am addicted to sunshine! How else can you explain why I agreed to play outside on a day it was barely in the 40s! I've decided I don't really mind the number on the thermometer as long as there is sunshine.....and my girls.....to bring me JOY!

Scooter girls!

Kate's birthday is December 27th(pics from her party to appear soon) so that means cool gifts like a new Barbie scooter don't get played with unless there is a little sacrifice.The cold weather didn't slow her down a bit, and the gloves and coat were added protection against falls!

Big girl on a little scooter......

Here's to more sunny days in Crazytown!

Can I get an Amen to that?

Sibling Rivalry

My brother leaves tomorrow morning for a business trip to
Costa Rica. The pictures below are where he will be staying.
jerk.
let me re-phrase that.....
lucky jerk.




Well, I may be a jealous sister, but I am also insanely proud of my brother and his well deserved trip to Costa Rica. John has been working for The Roasterie coffee company for 5ish years. He is the lead barista for The Roasterie Cafe in Brookside, and is in charge of all the training for the cafe. He got this job because he cares. He cares about coffee, from the bean to the cup....start to finish! He also really, really gives a crap about producing a quality product. He knows how to make cool latte art and is a nationally certified judge for barista competitions.
And he is the only Roasterie Cafe employee asked to come on this trip.
It's because they know it will be money well spent.
Please pray for his safety and that this trip brings him JOY beyond compare.
I love you my brutha!

A Big Loser

I was a big loser this week, probably the biggest. But not in a "Yes! I am the Biggest Loser!" kind of way. More like, "crap. I am such a big loo-ser!"
I fell off the health wagon this week. Not only did I fall off, but I did a few mid-air flips(which would normally be amazing, but not when you are falling off an imaginary wagon) hit my head on a rock, and scraped my knee and my nose.
It was a brutal week in the areas of weight loss and exercise......and I'm a pound heavier to prove it.
"One lousy pound?" you ask......but when your overall goal is 5 lousy pounds, gaining the 1 blessed pound you had actually lost is HUGE.
Next week I have got to do better. My body can't take this kind of imaginary abuse.

Let the Sun Shine!

"Mom, come here....quick!"
uh-oh, Jane has done something naughty. or messy. or both.
I run(who am I trying to kid.....I walked fast) into the living room to find my beautiful blonde middle child standing with the curtains pulled wide open.
"Look, mom....... THE SUN IS SHINING!!!!"

"Can we go outside to play?"

I forgot how much JOY sunshine can bring to my day.

Night at the Improv

Apparently they will let just about anyone talk to youth these days......
Last night I had the chance to be the "opening act" for the youth group at church. It was a total honor, and by the end of the night, a humbling experience.
My topic?
Suicide.
Last fall the youth director asked me if I would do a presentation and create a Bible study to address youth suicide. And last fall it seemed like a good idea.......
Talking about suicide? No problem, totally a comfortable topic for me.
Talking to young, impressionable minds, in a large forum atmosphere? "Holy" crap.
It went awesome. I am not saying I was awesome, but the night was.
The kids were engaged in the topic, they asked questions/made comments, and they had stories. Lots of personal stories.
I am SO naive.
and SO glad I didn't vomit all over myself from anxiety.

Maybe I'll Just Give Cash

The more I watch the news stories from Haiti, the more I am realizing that relief work is not for me....at least not right now. Not to say that it isn't in my heart, because it is. And anyone that knows me, knows that fighting for the under-served populations are a big part of my life.

Nope, it's not that I don't want to help, because I do. It's just that my way of helping would be..........TO ADOPT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE ORPHANED CHILDREN AND BRING THEM HOME WITH ME!!!!!

So, maybe I had better just stay home and send money.

Really?

Actual conversation had with Tess, 8 year old love of my life. Smart, funny, good kid. Normal in every way.
"Hey mom. You know the Time Magazine for Kids that we read in class?"
"Yes"
"Taylor Swift and The Armed Forces got voted People of the Year!"
"Really? That's interesting......do you know what The Armed Forces are Tess?"
"Yes, it's like, the Army and stuff...."
"That's right. So don't you think there is a bit of a difference between Taylor Swift, who sings songs about being 15 and getting kissed....and The Armed Forces, who are men and women risking their lives fighting for our freedom?"
"Well, they are both awesome, mom. That's why they both won!"
silence.
"Good point, Tess."

But that is so not a tie......not even close.

Jane is 18 months old now!

When I started this blog, it was to cover my rear, in the future, when the girls asked "Why isn't my baby book filled out?"
Especially my dear, sweet, third child, Jane.
Here are some pertinents for her growth and development....both physically and socially.
In other words, here are some of my favorite things, that I'd like to never forget about you Jane, but probably will..........
-I wish I could transcribe some of the conversations we have had with you Jane. I just don't know how to spell the words! Your facial expressions, the flucuations in pitch of your voice, and you even pause and let us say something back to you. When you have needs that you want met, you either point and "say" something, or you grab our hand and lead us to what you want. If we get it right, you bounce up and down and say "yeah, yeah, yeah." If we get it wrong, you cry out in frustration and point and shout louder. We aren't deaf Jane, just stupid! geez.....
-Nicknames are Janey, Janey Bane, Jingle Jane, Stinky, Sister, and Boo
-Here is a list of your words as of today.
Dada, Mom, Teh(Tess), Kay(Kate), ball, yeah, ow(ouch), uh-oh, shoe, Dee(Dora), Hi, Pah(pacifier)Cee(favorite blanket).
-It is so much fun to come home to you. We are met at the door by you running towards us with your arms in the air(ready for a hug/to be picked up) a huge smile and a shout of Hi!
-You love to wrestle with your sisters and daddy. Your favorite "move" is to sit on dad's head.
-Your laugh is music to our ears, and hearts. Nobody can make you laugh harder than your sisters. You also have a gift for entertaining. We can tell it brings you JOY to make us laugh.
-Most parents worry about their kids on stairs. Don't get me wrong, you've fallen down them your fair share, but for the most part you have them aced. You've even started to come up them with one hand on the railing/wall, instead of on all fours like you used to. So big!
-It is such a gift now that you understand basic commands.(Sorry that sounds like you are a dog.) What I mean is you "get it." things like putting on your coat to go outside, that the milk is in the fridge, putting shoes on, taking socks off, get in the bathtub, let's eat. We can talk about doing something and you know what to do next. Does that make sense?
-You are a good movie watcher. I've never seen a kid your age that can sit still that long, when you want to. If we want you to sit still, like for a picture, forget it.
-You are our third girl that loves to accessorize with jewelry and purses.
-You are also our third girl that refuses to let me put anything in your hair.
-The "wheeze" sound that you've had since the day you were born, is still there, even though the doctor was sure it would be gone by now.
-If there is a song in the air, it is a chance to dance! You actually have good rhythm and it is such a JOY to see you dance with your sisters. Most kids your age are listening to "The Wheels on the Bus" and you are rockin' out to Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, Taylor Swift........too cool.
-You are a vegetarian. I don't know why, but I don't like it. We are a meat eating family and recently you have stopped eating most meats. Doesn't stop me from putting them in front of you though, just in case. I am reallly hoping this phase goes by quickly, because the produce section of our grocery bill is astronomical.
-There is nothing you won't try to climb. I have found you sitting in the middle of the kitchen table more times than I can remember.
-Grandpa Ken and Grandpa Loren are your favorite people.....and they know it, and love it!
-With that being said, you are the first daughter to actually prefer me to your father. Thank you.

Working out is SO MUCH WORK!

I am adding to my goals for the new year to start caring about my health and wellness....not that I didn't care before, I just didn't care enough. I have been blessed with good genetics and haven't had to work too hard to stay a smallish person. But what I have noticed, is that even though the scale may say the same numbers....the body isn't looking the same......at all.
Scales are a waste of time, in my opinion. I think they give a false sense of hope, that if my numbers say one thing, then I must be okay. See, my numbers are G-O-O-D, but I can guarantee there are people with higher numbers/weight that would NOT want my jiggly bits, or my weak back, or my knees that scream when I run. I also have a theory that when people look at each other, and when I say look I mean judge, we look/judge what we can see, not what we think their weight is. For example, when I look/judge(I hate to admit it, but I do it!) I say good grief, that person is_______. Not, good grief, that person must weigh____ pounds! See my point?
Anyway, I know there are people that are playing their little violins for me and rolling their eyes.....that's fine. I also am participating in The Biggest Loser challenge at church.....which I am getting a lot of flack for. Yes, I know I am not going to win, and I'm probably not even going to help my team out that much. The reason I am doing The Biggest Loser is for accountability. That is what my resolutions(even though I hate that word) are about this year. Not so much the big life-changing things, but making myself accountable to someone other than myself....across the board....in personal health and wellness, parenting, relationships, and even finances.
So I am hoping that being a part of this Biggest Loser team will help me think twice before I eat total junk, help me think again before snacking at 9:30pm, and make me get off my rear and go work my rear off at the gym!
whew, I'm tired just thinking about it. I think I'll go get something to eat.......

Let us Pray

This was the prayer we said in unison today in church. I love, love, love it and wanted to share. Even if you aren't a "practicing" Christian, but know and love a God that blesses us each day with his mercy and grace, you will hopefully feel something from these words.

Holy God, we gather before you today full of hope,

full of desire, full of promise.

Help us to truly honor and value the precious gift of life.

May we seize each opportunity to serve you,

invest ourselves in building faithful relationships,

and boldly live with passion and purpose.

For the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

The sermon series we started this month is "One Month to Live: 30 Days to a Regret Free Life" which is not a new topic, but I am choosing to hear it with fresh ears, and an open heart.

We were given wrist bands to wear that say "ifonlyifonlyifonlyifonlyifonly" to remind us to live in the moment and avoid the "if only" regrets. I don't enjoy thinking about the "30 days to live" part of this challenge, but if it helps remind me each day is a gift, then I'll just start my 30 days over and over and over after each 29th day.

Crazytown is a great place to live,

Sarah

2010--The Year to Volunteer!

This year the Martens 5 have decided to make a focused effort to volunteer/give back some where, in some way, each month. I know this isn't a new idea, but for our family to actually seek out the opportunities, instead of waiting for them to fall into our lap, will be a change.
Today the girls and I went to World Vision and began the process to sponsor a child. First I had to clarify what we were doing......that we weren't actually adopting a child, and what it meant to be a sponsor. We typed in the specifics and quickly realized we needed a girl(duh) and that it would be helpful for correspondence, if the child was old enough to write, and had similar interests as Tess and Kate. We looked at several different girls.....I WISH WE COULD HAVE SPONSORED ONE HUNDRED INSTEAD OF JUST ONE....when we found her!
Raissa, age 8, is from the country of Congo(middle of Africa). Her chores are to run errands for her family, which consists of her mother and brother. Her favorite subject is reading (Bingo!) and favorite play item is dolls. The girls thought it was extra cool that her birthday is tomorrow!
Happy Birthday Raissa!
We anxiously await the arrival of our sponsorship packet, as the girls are already excited to start writing letters with stickers and pictures in them.
This is the kind of JOY I want to be a part of....we are going to learn about where Raissa lives, what her struggles are, and how we can help her by sponsorship and with prayers. More importantly, I want the girls to realize that they can be a JOY and bring JOY just by doing the smallest of things. I love that my girls are healthy, happy, intelligent(I think, anyway) kids....but what means more to me is that my girls are good humans.
I hope to have posts all year about the JOY the Martens family is giving and receiving!

I love the Midwest

I love this weather. I really, really do. This kind of snowfall reminds me of when I was a kid living in Northwest Missouri (aka The Black Hole of weather). Today I was driving home from Wal-mart (aka The Black Hole of money) and was reminded why I love this time of year. The aqua blue sky, bare brown trees, and the sunshine making the snow sparkle on the hillsides that were polka dotted with herds of black cows. Can you picture it?
With that being said, I really, really miss my yard looking like this........and the warm sun, and the color green.

Another winter funny to share about my youngest. Once again, she is drowning in her own snot. Today I caught her making a snot bubble with her nose. When I saw her she was watching it down the bridge of her nose, slowly breathing in and out to make it get bigger and then smaller.

And she's only 18months old......I am so proud.

Good Grief...

If you logged on to this blog approximately 5 minutes ago, you wouldn't have recognized the page! For some reason, I got a wild hair up my you-know-what and decided to try changing my blog page. I read other blogs, and mine is so blah in comparison. No fancy graphics to match the seasons, no cute pictures of whatnots to decorate it........mine looks so blah, blah, blah!
So, I went to a free website that has hundreds of different templates.
I feel like I looked at hundreds of different templates.
Did you notice which one I chose?
The same blah template I've always had.
But, in a different color! Surprise!!
Happy 2010 everyone.
It's a New Year, but the same blah me that you know and (hopefully) love!
Sarah

*disclaimer* I do love looking at other cutesy blog pages.