Andrew Paul Martens

It's time for a post about the boy in the house. I don't know why he isn't a topic more often.....I am sorry about that. He really is a pretty great guy.

Andy is still working for Kearney Fire Protection district as a paramedic/firefighter. He is enjoying having senority on his shift, and occasionally gets to "work up" and be in charge of his shift if his captain is gone. The thought of him being in charge makes me giggle, because I don't think of either of us as being old enough or mature enough to be in charge of anyone! The department has EMT classes each spring and fall which Andy enjoys teaching. I love that he is confident enough in his knowledge and skills to teach students how to take care of others. One of the things that first attracted me to Andy was his patient care skills...especially with the little old ladies. Lordy, they just eat him up. He is really good at making the patient feel at ease, and I think they can sense that he genuinely cares about them. It never ceases to amaze me how he can save lives, but can't remember to pull the clothes out of the dryer before they get all wrinkled.

2011 is the target year for Andy to finally get his license to become a golf instructor. This has been a dream of his since I've known him, and I am so excited for this to become a reality. Andy loves to play golf and loves to teach others how to play.....so why not figure out a way to make money while doing both! Still to be determined is which golf school location he will attend, but the plan is to take a week, travel to a warm and touristy destination and sit by the pool while he learns/plays golf. He already has one student lined up for this spring....he's hoping to be paid in free rounds of golf.

A major life change happened this July when Andy became the primary caregiver during the day when I started working full-time. With some sadness, he resigned his position with Quik Trip and now comes home from the fire station every third day to laundry, dirty bathrooms, and driving little girls to school and extra cirricular activities. Secretly, I think he thought it was going to be a cake walk...and is learning that being home is not all it's cracked up to be. While he will be the first to admit that we don't have all the kinks worked out, I will be the first to admit that it is going better than expected. We had some rough times at first, but have gotten into a groove that is starting to make sense. I am so grateful and thankful that we are on the same team.

Here is a paragraph of things Andy likes(keeping the same pattern from Kate's post yesterday): KU basketball, Royals baseball, playing Fantasy Football, golfing, playing basketball, coaching Tess's basketball team, coaching Kate's softball team, wrestling with the girls, playing the Wii, listening to music, singing to the music, completing my honey-do lists, playing with his girls, and taking me out on a date night every once in a great while.

I love my man and am pretty proud of this life we have created for ourselves. It's not perfect, but we love each other, love having time together and can appreciate the need for time apart. I think God knew he would be the perfect dad to girls, and the perfect partner for this control freak wife. He was the perfect choice for the City Manager job of my Crazytown life.

I can't wait to see what 2011 has in store for us.
Love, THE Mayor