7 QuickTakes -Ghost Bananas, Boys Playing Mass and loving things ...

Happy Friday!

1. Well, we made it to another Friday – shhhhh! I know it’s Saturday, but you see we have this tiny dictator controlling our lives… 

So, we’ll just PRETEND it’s Friday ;-)

2. Ghost bananas and Orange Pumpkins!

Because we deserve some healthy Halloween treats!

3. Just another ordinary dinner at the Martins. 

'Cause cool is just how we roll...

4. One Day at a Time.  Be easy on yourself.  Tomorrow is another day. Some days will be such smooth sailing that you have a wee bit of relaxing time...take advantage of it! Rejoice in the now!

Because then there will be others when you are controlled by the tiny Dictator.

5. The waiting continues... Damian was such a great sport at giving blood.  The samples have been sent off, but it will take 4 -6 weeks for results to come back...

He fussed a little while giving blood, but here he is all smiles going back to the car! Can't keep a good kid down!

God is in control, God is in control, God is in control, God is in control...And when you feel overwhelmed, just think about being a Star Wars taxidermist…

:-)

6.On Friday we went on a nature hike with friends. Poor Emmanuel got so tired by the end, but I was already caring Damian in the front carrier… Gregory said, “I’ll get him, mom”  I thought, “You will??” And then…

“He’s not heavy, he’s my brother...”

#heartmelting

7. did you not get to Mass today?  Oh that's ok! We'll bring "Mass"to you! ;-) please do not be alarmed.  They are boys.  They try to be reverent, but it doesn't always work out that way. The beginning I edited to give you the “nice Mass video” and then there are the end scenes and bloopers – oh my, yes. You will enjoy it.  It is a wee bit longer than our normal videos, but it is worth it to watch til the end! :-D

I'm just happy they can see themselves not only as superheroes in their games, but priests every once in a while too!

Have a great week, y'all!

a punch to your shoulder,

the Martins

7 Quick Takes - God in the Zoo, and other such things...

Hello, hello!  Here we are again.

1. We made it another week and that deserves ... something ... maybe a smile ... how about this?

Cute, right? I knew you'd like it. :)

2. In Religion, we were learning about God and how He is everywhere. Louis was asked to list 3 places God was...

The drawing is "God at the zoo" and no, I can't explain it. ;-)

Notice also that his name is well, creative.  "You don't always have to write it exactly the same way, mom." Really?  See, I learn something everyday!

3. This will also make you smile.  It's a voice-mail someone was leaving for his boss when he witnessed a car accident ... in Texas.  #biggrin

4. In a house full of boys, sometimes love HURTS.  So, to channel some of that high energy I-need-to-fight-something-or-someone-or-I-may-explode emotion, the biggest 3 boys started Karate!
It. is. a. Godsend.  

And also QUITE entertaining.  Love our little rascals!

5. Leonardo is a good reader, but I have to keep changing things up - otherwise he just memorizes it!

:-)

6. & just because they are deliciously sweet...

7. people may wonder why we live out in the country... we are only 20 minutes from work (others living in a city have a much longer commute) and I can detox from all worries on my way home ... let me share a minute of that with you...

Don't be alarmed - it's wobbly because I was watching the road. :-)

a punch to your shoulder,

the Martins

Oh, Job, how did you do it?

Oh, Job, how did you do it?

Did you ever have a moment where someone very wise said, "well, God must have a better plan" and you said, "Well, I think God's plan is stupid!!!" And some little voice from the back of the van says, "Mom, we don't say 'stupid.'" oh, right... "Well, I think His plan is just ... (stifled grumble of words you're unable to say) ... silly!"

Ever experience something like that?  Well, that was me on Sunday.  And what was the 1st reading at Mass about, but trusting God even if we don't understand His plans.  Nice.  phoey!  This still ain't no kind of fun!

And what was this morning prayer's reading (from the divine office - there is a FANTASTIC app btw for the divine office - it has audio! beautiful hymns and prayers read out loud to you - LOVE it. I got the iPhone at first just for that app! Thanks to my dad's recommendation of the app - hi, dad, if you're reading this!)... anyway, the reading?  Here it is:

READING Job 1:21; 2:10b

Naked I came forth from my mother's womb,

and naked I shall go back again.

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;

blessed be the name of the Lord!

We accept good things from God;

and should we not accept evil?"

I want to be like "NO, WE SHOULD NOT!"  But then I had a 2nd take.  I thought of God's plan in our life.  There are so many instances, but here are a few.

- Peter took his junior year in college abroad in Belgium and when he came back to UST, they only accepted half the credits and so he wasn't able to graduate on time.  He was aggravated and disappointed, but then saw the Rome program and decided if he had to spend another semester in college, he might as well spend it in Rome.  I was also on that Rome program.  We fell in love in the eternal city - that semester.  It never would have happened without the disappointment of the university not accepting his credits.

Here are Peter and I in December 1999, during the semester in Rome when we first started dating.  Don't we look cute? (And young! sheesh! I'm getting old...)

- When Peter and I got engaged, I had chosen to leave a christian community I was involved in to work more directly within the Catholic Church,but I had no idea what that meant.  My prayer time normally a source of consolation became a desert - dry, barren and lonely.  For months, I just went through the motions, so full of doubt, so full of feelings of confusion.  But then, the following March, we were at our holy hour together and at the same moment I realized we needed to go back to Rome to study I was flooded with consolation.  It was so intense (especially compared to the 10 month desert I had been enduring) that there was no doubting it was God's will.  Had I not gone through the desert, it would not have been that clear and something as crazy as moving across the ocean would probably have been doubted and rethought.  But it was crystal clear and we followed through, God opening every door along the way.

Pete and I in Siena, Italy during during the month we house sat for my cousins in Florence. (Hi, Alsups, if you're reading this!)

Because we DID follow that moment of inspiration/ consolation, we had the very great BLESSING of having our marriage blessed by Pope John Paul II!  God is so good! (And how fun to get to where your wedding gown again!)

- Fast forward to when we moved back to Minnesota three years ago.  After 7 years of living in other places, we had finally gotten back to my hometown of New Orleans.  When we began debating the offer to move north, I was so frustrated.  We finally finally! got back to my home and now we are going to leave it again? Why, God, why?!  Yet, I knew it was God calling, so we moved.  Little did we know that not only having a job in the exact field we wanted, but moving north was the key to healing our Louis.  Louis suffers with an extremely rare condition, which had been mis-diagnosed up til that point.  He was still having nighttime vomiting 3-4 nights a week from 2 am - 9 am, constant hives, stunted growth, and the medications the doctors in New Orleans gave him did not seem to be helping much.  When we moved north, we switched his care to Mayo Clinic and they finally diagnosed him correctly.  He got the correct medication (a daily injection) and can actually begin to live a life of thriving instead of just surviving.  If we hadn't followed God's prompting to move north due to my desire to stay close to my family, Louis would still be dealing with extreme daily suffering.

Louis holding his baby brother Damian.

- And finally, our home.  We were ready to place offers on three other houses and each time someone beat us to it.  It was frustrating and disheartening.  Finally, we found this place and within two weeks, we had bought it!  As we look back, all of the other properties paled in comparison to this one and this was the least expensive.  Despite our lack of foresight, God did know what He was doing!

Our beautiful country home!

So, I come back to present day.  Okay, okay, I get it.  Your ways, Lord, are not our ways.  And I don't understand the "why" and I'm not that great at accepting it, but give me the grace to accept it Lord, so that we may also cry out with great faith another verse from the Book of Job:

“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,

And at the last He will take His stand on the earth." (Job 19:25)

It's the Little Things ...

It's the Little Things...

As we play the waiting game to find out more about baby Damian's health, we're just taking one day at a time, one minute at a time.  We talk it through when we need to (mostly it's the mama that needs to!) and then just put our trust back in God. 

And just when you feel overwhelmed and think you cannot handle it, it's the little things that make all the difference...  We (finally!) put up our holy water fonts.  Then Leonardo informed me that he was going to bless himself all day long.  (I guess it can't hurt!)  And Louis tells me last night (after blessing himself), 

"mom, remember how we had quiet time last year and talked to Jesus and read the Bible and stuff?"
"Yes."
"We should do that again. I'm going to do that tomorrow."
"Okay, honey, that's a great idea!"
"Yep, things change."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, just putting the holy water up, it's a change."
"Yes, it's a good change, right?"
"I guess it's a good change, but I was going to say it's a God-change."

#heartmelts

Thank you, Jesus, for the little things!

7 Quick Takes - Lego Movies, Brotherly Advice, Two-Yr Old Kingdom and more!

1. This is our first Martin 7 Quick Takes Friday!  We think that's pretty cool! We'll see if you agree - ;-)

just a moment with boys and a snake

2. Two Year Old Kingdom.  We say it's the "Terrible Twos" because they don't listen, go potty everywhere, throw temper tantrums, throw toys, scream "NO!" at you unceasingly, and create more destruction than the average hurricane. But I realized recently it's not true, well, not entirely.  It's true from our point of view, but from his?  Life is his kingdom!  He has no sense of correction nor restriction nor responsibilities.  He laughs constantly and bosses everyone around.  He is completely free to do whatever he pleases (in his mind) and rejoices in life. Life is fantastic when you're the 2 year old king...

3. Legos are a boy's best friend...that and mommy's camera and sweet editing skills.
In case you missed it, here is Gregory's Hobbit Lego movie again:

4. And what goes better with Legos and boys than ... COMPETITION!  For the VERY FIRST TIME, here is Louis' Star Wars Lego movie. And remember, he had to set up every scene, every frame-one photo at a time. It took him a loooooong time, but he did a GREAT job too! Check it out:

Yes, I know. Almost every scene ends with someone in pieces.What can I say?  He's all boy! :-)

5. Sweet school surprises.  Leonardo entered Kindergarten this year - and much to my surprise, he gets it.  All of it.  He's whizzing through math, counting? baby stuff. coins? done. figuring out change after buying something? owns it. reading a clock? oh man, can you challenge me, mom? Okay, reading? done and done. Colors, numbers, left-right, religion, science?  What else can I do, mom?!  I'm exhausted trying to fill his desire to work, he burns through every task so quickly!  And especially after pulling my hair out trying to get someone else to do their work ... this is a GREAT problem to have!  Give some cheer for the K grader!

6. Damian is 3 months old!  Can it be possible?  My sweet, precious, cuddly, chub-a-licious angel is 3 months old?!! Apparently so. :-)

Helping daddy with laundry. :-)

7.  Brotherly advice.  This was one of the highlights of my week.  Advice from Louis (loo-ee) the 6 year old to the 3 month old. I heard it and had to catch it on camera, but tried to hide it, so I didn't quite get it all and you will need to turn it up a little because it's quiet, but here you go.  Soak in the sweet, amazing, gentleness of brotherly love...

Have a good weekend!

a punch to your shoulder,

the Martins

Gregory's Lego Movie

This truly is a FAMILY blog! :-)

Here's a post from Gregory, 8 years old!

His first movie...and just to give you an idea of all the effort put into this - every frame he set up and took a photo, then moved slightly and took another photo, then again, then again. This movie is made of hundreds(!) of individual photos!

ENJOY!

precious right? um ... I mean 'totally awesome'!  Yeah, AWESOME. ;-)

Great job, Gregory!

Damian Joseph Martin!

Well, he almost 3 months old now - so it's about time we post some photos :-)

I hope to usethis blog a little more often ... for better or worse!  Life with 5 boys is something else!