7....

My baby boy Ethan turned 7 while we were on vacation. I can not believe how big he is getting! He is such a great kid and I am so blessed to be his mom. He makes me laugh constatly and is so much fun to be with. He does have a little stubborn streak, but don't we all. I love my little man and am so proud of the little guy that he is.

The most wonderful time.....

The Martin family needed a Vacation this year and we loved every minute of it!!! We just relaxed on the beach all week and focused on all that really matters in life-- each other!! The kids loved playing in the water and sand. There was a calm that surrounded us while we were there we called it our "zen" state of mind. We are so blessed to be able to go each year (thank you so much mom and dad!!!)!! Reality came crashing back hard as soon as we were welcomed home by nasty neighbors, but escaping was really fun while it lasted! And I am determind to keep a little of the "zen" with us no matter what comes our way! Just look at this beautiful family of mine, what more could I ask for??? Seeing a smile on their faces is all that matters, and we always see that smile at the beach!!! (hey maybe we will just move there!)

Kids College

Just a couple of pictures showing what the kids did while at kids college. Ethan loved the legos and archery class he was in, and Ashley and Taylor couldn't get enought of the crafts. The kids really enjoyed themselves, we are sure to do it again next year!!!

Fun Times with 7 kids

Jodi's girls have been spending a couple of weeks with us while Taylor goes with Ashley and Ethan to the local kids college program. We have all had a bunch of fun being together. You can tell the girls miss their mom and dad, but each day has been an adventure and we have really loved having them. Some of my favorite times are in the pictures below, haha, just kidding! They are too cute!

Those are some cute kids!!!

All I can say is that those are some way cute kids!!!

The Captain and The Kid

While at my parents house Brice and Grandpa developed a great relationship, they became daily playmates while the rest of the kids were at school. Brice knew how to push Grandpa's buttons and grandpa knew how to push back. The funniest of these is my dad has a chair that everyone knows is where he sits, if you are sitting there when he comes in the room he will nicely remind you that it is his chair, and prompt you to move. Well Brice decided that any time grandpa would come into the room he would make a beeline for the chair and not move no matter what dad would do. Finally my dad figured out that he could hold the cartoons (Dora) hostage, he would change the channel and wouldn't put it back until Brice would move. It worked the first couple of times, but Brice's will power grew stronger and he normally wouldn't move no matter what he was tempted with ( food, soda, candy, toys, ect..). The funny thing is when grandpa wasn't around he could have cared less about the chair. It became a game to him, one that he and grandpa could play together, (one that he won most of the time). Brice (The Kid) loves his papa(The Captain, and they will forever be playmates.

Of all the things

Of all the things in the world that I am thankful for my family is right at the top of the list. During our transition time of moving we were blessed to be able to stay with my parents. It was a wonderful experience! Moving all 7 of my family into my parents home had me a bit nervous, then for it to last close to 4 months had me even more nervous, but it really is a time in my life that I will cherish. I have always been close with my parents, but living with them now as an adult has truly made them some of my closest friends! Not only my friends, but Jeremy's and the kids too. It was so great to get to see them everyday and to watch them with the babies. We laughed daily with them, and so many great memories were made. As much as I miss living in the Carolina's, being close to my family and getting to see them on a regular basis, makes my heart happy.

10 years

With each passing day I love him more. I can remember the first time that we each told each other that we loved the other after maybe a month of dating. What I feel for him now is so much stronger than that it makes me laugh at what I thought was love then, although real, nothing to what my heart feels now.I am so very blessed to not only still be madly love with him after 10 years, but to honestly say that he is my best friend and that I would not trade one minute of the past 10 years for something else, each trial and each joy has brought us closer. I am so excited to see what the next 10 years brings us!

Home Sweet Home

We are finally settled into our new home. It has been a battle to get here, but we are now proud to call Florida our home once again, Yalah, Fl. to be exact. Our new house is beautiful and just what we were looking for. I being the spoiled girl that I am, now have everything I could have ever asked for in a home provided by my fabulous husband. He let me do some renovating that has turned into a nightmare of a project, but hopefully in the end run of it things will turn out great!! Things are coming together now and we are loving it more and more each day. Now if we could just figure out what to do about some of our neighbors things would be great. I will post some more pictures when I remember to put batteries in the camera and take some.(It may be a while, haha)

What a Blessing

Words can not begin to express what a blessing Will is in our lives!! Here are a few pictures from his Blessing day. He is too cute!!