Birthday Girl

Happy 11th Birthday Tess!

This girl has my brown hair, brown eyes, and neurotic/type A personality mixed with her dad's long skinny legs, flair for performing, and funky toes. Somehow she still managed to turn out awesome.

Yes, we got her a COACH purse for her 11th birthday. Andy says we are setting her future husband up for failure. I say we are ensuring a quality son-in-law.



Attitude Adjustment

The Martens girls woke up with an uppity attitude on Saturday morning. Andy was working OT at the fire station and I was thinking about treating ourselves to a movie. After doing the obligatory errands we started to discuss the plan for the day as we had several new options/opportunities to talk about. Instead of being excited (thankful) at all the great possibilities, the girls became whiney, selfish and downright ugly about what they would and wouldn't do. 

We had a "come to Jesus" moment, I did some deep breathing, and I told the girls about a change of plans. I decided to head to Watkins Mill State Park for an attitude adjustment from Mother Nature. (She's much nicer than Mother Sarah)

Picnic Lunch....we were barely there 5 minutes and we were already being nicer to each other, laughing, smiling.......

exploring a dried out creek bed

bike riding(she made it about a 1/4 of the way around the 3.55 mile path, then we ditched the bike and she walked the rest of it)

Journaling about things to be thankful for. Jane drew hers

After making it a little over halfway, some friends showed up and brought new energy to tired legs!

I also had a scavenger hunt ready for the girls. The list of items included: something red, a bathroom, 4 sticks under 4 inches long, a nut, a berry, a dead animal, a spiderweb, the letter of their first name on a sign, and they had to say "Hello or Hi or Good Afternoon" to every person/group we met on the trail.

Everyone's list was checked off by the end of the trail, and I even heard a "this was the best day ever" from the back seat.

The Day Kate Fell Out of a Tree

Kate fell 10+ feet out of a tree on Sunday evening. Andy and I were getting ready for a long awaited "date night" and were waiting for our Samantha to arrive to watch the girls. Kate discovered that the tree in the duplex yard was climb-able, even though it took a boost from Andy to get her up into the branches. I came out to watch and she was so happy and proud of herself. I went back inside and heard a scream. When I came out the door I saw Andy kneeling over Kate who was laying flat on her back on the ground. She was crying and screaming that she couldn't breathe, which made me cry because I was so thankful that she WAS breathing enough to cry and scream. We both checked her over as she is crying and in pain and I am crying out of fear and sadness and disbelief. After we got her inside we realized that her pain was from abrasions and bruises to her back and a left leg that hurt to bear weight on. The hardest part for us was listening to her brain "reset" after hitting the ground. Kate would ask us a question, we would answer, and then 2 minutes later ask the same question. She couldn't remember simple, obvious phrases that we would give her to remember later. Her emotions were waaaaay out of whack with the ups and downs of a roller coaster. It is torture to hear your child very seriously ask "Am I going to die?" just after laughing to a cartoon. We were heartbroken when Kate didn't laugh at farting jokes. Kate always laughs at farting jokes. And we tried every farting joke/noise we could think of.

THE tree.

After what seemed like forever, I finally asked Kate if there was any "treat" she wanted. At this point I would have bought her a pony, but all she asked for was some chewy sweet tarts. I left to go to the store and called my mom to release some of the pressure in my head and heart. The defining moment of this evening happened as I was recounting the accident and reporting Kate's symptoms...I realized that I/we sounded like COMPLETE IDIOTS for not taking our child to the ER sooner. Who knows that their kid has a concussion and just waits it out?

we do.

I came home from the store and asked to speak with Andy out on the porch. We went over what we knew, and what was still unknown. Andy and I are not over-reactors to situations. Typically we pride ourselves in that parenting style, that works so well for our family. On this night I simply said, I think we need to over-react. I think I want to over-react right now.

so we went to the ER.

Kate was not happy, but she was also exhausted and wanted to fall asleep.....a big NO for recent head injury people. We bribed, we comforted, we promised what we could, that this was going to be a good thing to get checked out.

We were in the ER for three hours and came back with peace of mind, which is priceless. They took xrays and Kate got VIP treatment since every one there knew her daddy...for that I am very grateful. Makes being a single parent every third day pretty worth it.

Diagnosis: No broken bones, abrasions/contusions to her back and leg, and a concussion to her cute little noggin.

If you saw her today, you wouldn't even know she had been so fragile that day. She is running, almost at full speed, and even climbed a small tree yesterday. We are so thankful that her first day of school was all about the day and not about accommodating for her injuries.

God is so good.

Beating her dad at a rock/paper/scissors while waiting for xray results

Pictures Without Much Story

Five of my favorite people. My parents are waaaay cooler grandparents than they were parents.

JcPenney is offering FREE haircuts for school kids thru August. We had a GREAT experience and highly recommend them. This was Jane's first official salon haircut. I was blown away by how good she did....acted so mature and "just like the sisters, mom!"

Tess had two "baby teeth" pulled last week. These teeth were not the cute little baby teeth you leave for the tooth fairy. These teeth were ginormous, odd shaped, way too big for the tooth fairy to carry, sized teeth. Other than having to get FIVE shots in her mouth, she did great and has had no pain or problems. Can you see the large holes left by those teeth? I really hope her adult teeth get the hint and start coming in.

Fake House



1203 Ada Street

The girls call this our fake house. We call this home. All our stuff has been unpacked (for the most part) and it's our furniture and toys and crap that has filled it up....so it is HOME. I will admit that it doesn't feel real yet, it is kind of like we are on a vacation and will go back to Bluebell Terrace eventually. I still picture everything about that house so clearly and can't believe I won't go there again. We have been pretty impressed with how comfortable we are and feel very thankful for our dear friends, Matt and Daressa, for giving us the "in" with the landlord. This place is clean, has new-ish appliances/floor/paint etc. and feels safe. God's grace has managed to find us once again.

Please come visit anytime.

Moving Days 2-4

Moving Day #2--Wednesday
Went great. I was still at work, so Andy and friends/family did all the heavy lifting and moving of boxes. That evening, as Andy was bringing the girls home from swim lessons, he almost passed out while driving. He had overworked himself in the heat that day and had the ringing ears, cold sweat, numb hands and nauseous feeling. Made my sweet girls cry. I cringe to think what could have happened had he not gotten the truck pulled over in time. God is so good. This was our first night sleeping in the duplex. The girls slept great, Andy and I did not...no specific reason, just too tense with stress, I guess.

Moving Day #3--Thursday
Signed the final paperwork at the title company. Went out to Lenexa to pick out the tile for the new house. Had KFC with my parents and then started working again. We moved almost all the boxes, plus the washer and dryer. This was Kate's final night of swim lessons, so we took a field trip to watch her show off all her new swim skills. Had BBQ and watched the Olympics until we couldn't keep our eyes open.

Moving Day #4--Friday
My SIL and BIL were gracious enough to come help us on Friday. Missy helped the girls unpack, organize and set up their room while mom and I cleaned at the house. The guys spent all morning and afternoon packing up and moving the "left over" things that seem to multiple when moving. We got the fridge moved to the duplex and finally all the left overs. The house got cleaned, eventually by all of us pitching in to help. Lordy, our house looks small and run down once you get all the furniture/decorations out!
We also got to meet the new couple that bought the house. They had called our realtor to ask if they could deliver a refridgerator to the garage. Of course we said YES...we wanted to meet them!
They are young couple that is expecting a baby girl sometime this winter and they seem to LOVE their new house as much as we do. *sigh*  We were thrilled to meet them and learned that his dad and my dad know each other through music circles. They also plan to attend our church...weird. I think Bluebell Terrace will be a great fit for them.
While we were getting ready for our final good-bye to the house (I think we were stalling the inevitable) we got to hug and cry with Shelley and Bailey, our favorite family across the street. That night we went to a movie and took the girls to Toys R Us to spend some gift cards they had been saving.

Moving Day #5--Saturday
We were officially out of the Bluebell Terrace house and needed to get our duplex into shape. My MIL and FIL came to help on Saturday. Linda helped me figure out the kitchen while Loren and Andy moved things back and forth between the duplex and storage. We also had to re-work the dryer vent to vent outside of the garage(long story) and get our fridge set up in the garage..not only for extra storage but because the duplex fridge isn't keeping things cold/frozen. We did some landscaping work in the back yard, cut down an overgrown weed/bush, and set up the patio furniture. I did the dreaded Wal-mart run and that evening we grilled out steak.

Moving Day #6--Sunday
Andy went back to work and the girls and I decided to do NO work. Went to the zoo instead.

Moving Day #1

Day #1 of moving was coordinated entirely by Andy and his dude friends. I am still undecided if it was better to be at work, or if I should have been there to supervise. Before I left the house I asked Andy if there was a "plan" to what was getting moved....his response was probably one of the smartest things I have ever heard him say--
"I am going to try and only move things that you won't be upset about later."
Good plan.
After a rough start of trying to find something for the girls to eat for breakfast (pay day isn't until Thursday) realizing there is little money in the checking account (pay day isn't until Thursday) trailers arriving, the girls trying to find their swimsuits to go on a playdate for the day, me trying to get ready for work and just let go of the control over things....
They got a lot of work done!
The living room is cleaned out of furniture, the basement and garage are about empty, the girls bedrooms are void of boxes and furniture (beds and closet clothes are all that is left) and the deck is empty.
Still a lot left to move though.

Things that went wrong-ish today
-Late in the day we realized that there is only ONE set of keys to our duplex
-Time Warner Cable shut off our TV/Internet/Phones a day early. Andy actually asked for them to be disconnected a little early (his mistake) but they totally shut them off a day earlier than we asked (their mistake). This was especially worrisome because of the OLYMPICS that are our new nightly routine. Thankfully my parents didn't mind us camping out in their basement to watch the women's gymnastics take GOLD and Michael Phelps become the most decorated Olympian of all time. If you need to contact us from now until ???, call our cell phones.
-We realized that in our excitement to change our utilities service an incorrect date was given to the providers of our electricity! SO, we are pretty sure instead of having electricity until Saturday we will be without it starting tomorrow. Change of plans! The move out-sleep-in-the-duplex-date has been moved up to Thursday night instead of Saturday now. No big deal, we will just move more things each day than originally planned. We have great friends and family coming each day, not a ton of people, but enough to help Andy lift, move, and pack.
Glad I am at work today.
Tomorrow we sign the official documents!