Our very belated Christmas Letter...

2010, Where To Begin?

To be honest, we weren’t going to do a Christmas letter this year. It seems that there is always some curveball that gets in the way, however, after reading some of your Christmas letters, we were inspired to share our crazy life with you again.

It indeed has been a wild year! Yes, we are at a new address (again!), but I’ll get to that shortly. Let’s see, Gregory turned five this year, learned to read and write and attends kindergarten. He loves it – and although it does come with more runny noses and some potty humor, his mom loves it too because some else can have a turn answering all his questions! The child really has a mind like a trap – for example, we were speaking about my aunt (his granddad’s sister) and we reminded him that he met her when we stopped to visit her on the way to New Orleans from Maryland. “Oh yeah” Gregory said and I thought he didn’t quite remember, but Pete asked, “what movie did we watch at her house?” (Who in the world would remember that? He was only 3!) “The cat one!” Gregory said…sure enough, Artistocats…it blows me away how much he remembers and he amazes us like that all the time. He is our treasure, our big helper, and our instigator of all things rascally!

Louis turned four this year, and has had quite a year. Finally diagnosed last year with Mastocytosis, we have been working hard to help fight the symptoms and the disease in order to allow him to live as much a normal life as possible. He and his mom even took a trip to Tucson, AZ for the Mastocytosis Society Conference and while there met with a renowned microbiologist/ nutritionalist. Long and short of it, we have to do a lot of monitoring of external and internal triggers to keep the symptoms at bay. We have a caring bridge site you can visit to learn all about his wonderful, tender, painful, and heroic little life: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/louisfm Also a fundraising site was launched by his uncle Paul (my sister Grace Marie’s husband) to support Louis: www.helpLouis.com

Leonardo is an amazing two year old. He can verbalize better than either of his brothers could at that age and he has such a sense of humor! It is such a blessing that he can speak so well, because we get a remarkable peek into the mind of a two year old. He is so carefree and lively! He doesn’t really seem to have any fear (not even of getting in trouble), but if we start the countdown he will usually obey (although reluctantly!). He also has an excellent memory and can keep right in step with his big brothers. He is joyful, rough, funny and lovable – delightfully surprising all he meets!

Theresa is full of life, literally! We are expecting baby #4 in late March – and yes, it is another BOY! We laugh at God’s humor and are delighted to help build up another man of God. Theresa also continues to have success in her Mary Kay business this past year, having earned her 3rd Mary Kay Career Car! She is a leader in the Mary Kay world and an inspiration to all the women she meets. She also created oil paintings, worked with Pete in marriage ministries, and continues to write on life (and has been a guest contributor to the Office of Life for The Courier, the Diocesan newspaper).

And lest we forget the pater familias! Peter completed his Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL) in Studies of Marriage and Family at the John Paul II Institute in December of last year. He continued to work from home and together we did marriage ministry for our parish. To make a long story short, in September, Peter was offered a position as the Director of the Office of Life for the Diocese of Winona, MN. After refusing in the past to even consider it, something was different in September and we both truly felt this was God’s will for us. So, Pete boldly works on the front lines, carving a fresh, new and yet, faithful outreach to engaged and married couples, pro-life ministries, teaching true human freedom in dignity and sexuality, and directing the Safe Environment program protecting children. What a remarkable blessing indeed! We are humbled by God’s constant generosity towards us.

So, here we are in Winona, MN! Ready to start a new year and embrace whatever it is God has in store for us this year! Living for God can be confusing, trying, uncomfortable, unsettling and sometimes painful, but one thing about it is that it is never boring! And more than that, despite all the difficulties in doing so, placing yourself completely in God’s hands, you are supported, you are strengthened, you are loved…

May God bless you! And we pray you had the most Blessed Christmas and that you experience an amazing, adventurous New Year!

Theresa's New Car!

Most everyone has already seen Theresa's Car through e-mail, but I wanted to post the pictures here. In case you're unaware, Theresa earned this brand new 2009 Saturn Vue with her hard work as a Mary Kay Director. It's an amazing accomplishment! Way to go Theresa!


Oh and I added more pictures to Cute Louis' album... he turns two in just two weeks! He is just becoming such a cutie... don't get me wrong, he's always been cute, but he's only recently shown us his cute and unique personality.

Busy July

July was a busy month for us. We celebrated the 4th of July with friends and also re-celebrated Gregory's birthday as well as my own (Pete).



We also attended John and Kristen's wedding in Pittsburgh. Yeah John and Kristen!! It was a great time:



Here's a cute video of Louis dancing... it's a little misshaped because the camera was turned, but it's still cute.



Now look at the video again and notice the boy behind Louis. That's his cousin Daniel Roy. Here's how he gets his groove on:



And then after that, we flew down to New Orleans where Gregory and Louis got to hang out with Nanna and Grandad and all the cousins while Mom and Dad flew to Dallas for the Annual Mary Kay Seminar:

"I think it's going to be a Louis"

That is a direct quote from Gregory after being asked whether he's going to have a baby sister, or a baby brother. We found out that he's right, it's a boy! Below are some images of the 20 week old baby boy. Please pray that he continually grow strong and healthy.

Oh, by the way, Theresa did earn the car!!!



Gregory and Louis got an additional piece of furniture to go with their new BBQ. Daddy built them a picnic table which is just the right size for them.

Celebration Time!

Excitement is in the air at the Martin household. Theresa and I celebrate 7 wonderful years together today, Gregory turns 3 on Friday, someone else turns 31 the following week and John Slattery is getting married to Kristen next month! The new baby is growing strong and healthy (we'll do the 20 week ultrasound soon). And Theresa's business continues to grow strong. She's going to earn her first new car soon! (See the Saturn Vue below) We're all looking forward to that and we constantly are amazed by the good work she has done!



Louis has become the little entertainer. Check out these next two videos to see a glimpse at how our household has changed now that Louis has discovered "his own voice."

--WARNING-- this first video contains children screaming. We would advise that you turn the volume down (or off) and if there are small children watching who may have a tendency to copy what they see, you may not want them to watch.





--FURTHER WARNING-- the following video was too funny for Gregory to handle on a full stomach and hence was cut short because his father had to clean up the mess. Again, if there are small children watching, we would advise that they not watch this while eating or drinking.



So, while Louis is busy entertaining in his own way, Gregory has been learning all sorts of new songs that both he and Louis love to sing. Here's Gregory singing "Three little monkeys." Much thanks goes to our wonderful babysitter who has taught the boys many of these songs!



Theresa loves the way Gregory says "Doctor". Since you're probably going to play the video again now, Gregory worked really hard at learning how to make the telephone... the sheep in the middle of the song comes from Louis who's playing with a farm ... and don't you just love how Gregory finishes his songs?


Finally, a special thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for visiting... we always love to see you!

He is Risen!

Happy Easter everybody! We have so much to be grateful for! Theresa is doing very well in her business and I (Pete) am finally getting started on my thesis! I have a wonderful director who is willing to help me throughout the summer to complete it in time so that I can finish with everything in December. Here are some cute videos of the boys who never cease to make us proud.


This first video is an example of how Louis adores Gregory.


This next video is part of the Martin morning routine. If laughter is the best medicine, then we're pretty healthy here.


Have we mentioned recently how adorable Louis is?


A great imagination and an expanding vocabulary go well together:


Easter Pictures

Happy All Saints Eve!

We took the boys out "Trick-or-Treating" for just a little bit this year. We went to Pete's workplace and showed off their costumes (see pictures). We then went to visit Pete's school and after that stopped by some of the neighbors'.




Louis has officially decided that walking is the way to get around. He still gets pushed down, but that no longer stops him from getting back up and waddling around.


Theresa earned this piano from Mary Kay (hence it's pink)... the boys both love it.

Happy Birthday Louis!!

Louis' Birthday present... both Gregory and Louis enjoy the new "house".



Louis celebrated his birthday with a little cake and a lot of cuteness!



This is just an adorable video of our two motorcyclists... Louis' even dressed for the occasion!

Walking, talking, happy Louis!!

Maybe this is not a good sign, but one of Louis' first feats was to say "No".


OK, so this is not a shot of his first steps, but close. He doesn't care for walking much, but I suppose if a bigger guy (i.e. Gregory) was there to push us down all the time, we may stick to crawling too!

If you look behind Louis you will see his crib "boxed" up. This was the only way to keep Gregory from crawling into the crib. He found all sorts of ways of getting in, so now Louis sleeps in his little castle. The cardboard doubles as a great surface to put stickers on and to color on.



Here's a cute shot of Louis saying "Mama".


Finally, here's a shot of our happy little guy praising life...

Gregory the Great

Gregory is definitely two... he gets into all sorts of mischief:


But, he's so cute, it's hard to stay upset with him for long. Here's a minute-long video of an unscheduled and unplugged concert that Gregory put on for us in the living room. Enjoy!

Louis!

Many of you want to see more of Louis. This post is dedicated to the cute little guy (who's not so little...) Here he is "winking" at the camera. He only does it twice in this video, but he can bring tears to the eyes of those behind us in Church with his cuteness!


We still have to get a video of him walking, but here he is showing us how big he is:

Congratulations Theresa!!

This is Theresa's Professional photo as a New Independent Sales Director.

Many of you know that Theresa became an Independent Sales Director this summer. This is the culmination of much hard work and dedication on her part and a little baby-sitting and patience on mine. We celebrated her Directorship this weekend both with other Mary Kay Directors and Consultants and with our friends here in the DC Area. We had a wonderful day for a BBQ and many of the parishioners from our Church came to congratulate Theresa and to enjoy our back yard. The many children who joined us were a joy for Gregory as he was able to show them around his stomping ground. It was a good time had by all.

Gregory's Song

Gregory has a song that he wrote for his uncle John and Kristen:

Summer Vacation with the Slatterys

Sorry that it has been two months since we have updated this. We took two trips to Texas this summer. One to San Antonio where we vacationed with the Slatterys and another when we went to Dallas for the Mary Kay Seminar. Both trips were very enjoyable. We've added two videos of our time in San Antonio. More on the Mary Kay Seminar next time!

God Bless,

Pete & Theresa



"He wants to Rock!"

Our Sweet Boys

It's been awhile since we've put anything on here... the boys have grown up so much! For your enjoyment, we have a video of sweet little Louis smiling and an impressive display of our child prodigy (who turns two at the end of June) counting to 10... Ok, so he has a little help...

Bath Time!

Bath time for the boys! This post is one of three recent ones. We also updated Our Photos Page with a folder of more recent photos.

Free Ride

Here's a cute video (in three parts) of Gregory giving Louis a ride... this video is a little over one minute, but we felt that we had to include the wardrobe malfunction.



Make sure you visit Our Photos Page, or you might miss out on more cool pictures of this rock star:

Our new home!

The following is a series of videos of our new house! Enjoy!

First, Theresa walks you through the entrance and the living room:


Then you can see the bathroom and our unique bedroom:


Gregory's room:


The lovely kitchen and dining room...


The play room/ laundry room... Gregory enjoys going "down"; he'll love it even more when his little brother can join him!


Theresa's work space includes a nice little bathroom for her clients:


We are very excited that Theresa gets her own work space. She has done so much to make this place look good!


OK, this might be Pete's favorite room, even though he hides his enthusiasm.


Finally, the sunroom. This would have looked better in the day time, but we just wanted to get these videos uploaded so that you could see our new home, so you'll have to use your imagination.

Louis laughing

Gregory in the snow