Judah Miles Martin

Born on December 2, 2009 at 7:58 am. He weighed 7 lbs 12 oz and was 20 inches long! He is PERFECT!

Forget the rest of the story

Well, the week ended kind of crazy with Eli waking up and being completely covered in poop and my parents giving us one of the best Christmas presents ever (which I will take pictures of as soon as our house is done!) but let's not get into that now.

Today is Friday! Today is my LAST day of work until February. Today we get to wear jeans to work! Today is my girl's night/baby shower that my friend's are throwing for me! Today my friend Rachel who I never get to see comes in town! Today I'm 38 weeks pregnant! Today I get to wrap some Christmas presents (which I LOVE to do)! And today, well today rocks no matter how you look at it!

Happy Friday!!!

Where to begin...

Thursday, Nov. 5

My sister came in town that weekend because she didn't have class on Friday! (ugh! Don't you remember how awesome that was when you had those days in college??) And so Wes and I took that opportunity to have Amy and my mom babysit while we went to see Michael Jackson's This Is It movie. INCREDIBLE! Have you seen it?? I know there is controversy that swirled all about that man, but the movie has nothing to do with that. It is just him, being truly in his element, and I don't know how you could walk out of that theatre not being completely impressed by him. LOVED it!

We picked up Eli, came home, put him to bed, and by this point it's like 9:00. I decided to check my work email and I had a new email from our campus secretary! She sent an email to the entire school that read something like, "The Allen Events Center has given our school some Reba McEntire tickets to thank us for the use of their facility and for us to preview the facility before graduation. First come first serve." I was like WHAT?! Reba McEntire??? Now friends I don't know how you feel about Reba, but I love love love her and have from the time I first heard her years ago. I asked for 4 tickets and got them! YES!

Friday, Nov. 6

So Friday night Wes, Jeff, Amy, and I all met in Allen to go eat and go to her fantastic concert. We walk in and our seats were awesome! We were on the floor, in the center, and could clearly see her and all of her greatness! ha! (Thank you Mom for watching Eli again that night!)

The majority of the crowd was probably in the upper half of their life which made it such a chill and relaxed concert. Reba sang some of her new stuff and plenty of her old songs that made her. I don't think it lasted that long, but everyone there was so excited and the four of us were dying that we were actually there!

She looks exactly like she does on TV in real life. Completely cute and tiny and perfect looking skin, and her voice is flawless.

And at the end of the night, she walks off stage, hasn't played Fancy yet and so we all knew it would be her encore. Everyone is screaming and getting excited and then Reba rises up from the back of the stage in that red dress and everyone went crazy! hahaha... y'all. It was SO fun.

Saturday, Nov. 7 and Sunday, Nov. 8

Not too much happened over the weekend. Wes was busy playing guitar and I was feeling so sick with a cold or something so I laid low.

Monday, Nov. 9

Monday was a really busy day. As soon as I got home from work and got to eat lunch with Wes and Eli, I had to drive to Dallas for my doctor's appointment, you know the one where I got "checked." Nothing crazy to report. Everything was looking good. Judah's heartbeat was good, his movement seemed great, and my doctor thinks he was head down but kind of off to the side. Surprise surprise... I'm feeling more and more relaxed that I just went ahead and booked that c-section.

Then Wes had to leave as soon as I got back for the afternoon. So I took a really long nap while Eli was sleeping and then when we both got up it was time for supper! Jourdan was coming over for dinner! I wasn't feeling that great, but she is so sweet and made the drive all the way out here instead of meeting somewhere, so it turned out to be so fun, as always... We love us some Jourdan!

Wednesday, Nov. 10

What is there to say about this day really. Wes was working so I dropped Eli off at his babysitter's house (which he LOVES by the way) and off to work I went. I picked him up as usual, brought him home as usual, and fed him some lunch... as usual.

We played for awhile and then it was time to go "night night" which means climb up on our bed, get in your sleep clothes, and read books before nap time. He was acting tired, everything was normal, and after "night night" I put him in his bed and I went to lay down in mine.

My child never went to sleep! Two hours later (almost) he is still just playing around in his bed, talking, laughing, just whatever. I finally just go get him out and he thinks that is the best thing ever and is laughing just running all around the house. Please remember that I am feeling horrible still and really really wanted to take that nap that obviously was never going to happen.

All I remember is that I was laying on the couch watching him literally spin in circles laughing when he tells me that he is going to go get some chips. Great, go get 'em kid. He comes back in with a full bag of chips that we had opened the day before but never ate. He's just bouncing a long carrying the bag and I notice that he's carrying it upside down. No chips are falling. I did an excellent job of rolling up the chip bag, but I'm starting to panic so I get up as fast as I could (ha...) and right when I reach for the bag it opens and the entire bag of little tortilla chips spill ALL over my living room floor.

Some of you might be thinking (if you've made it this far... haha...) "aw man! That stinks! Well pick them up lady!" I on the other hand lost it. I'm sure it was the tiredness, the sickness, the end of pregnancy hormones, the fact that I am huge and can barely bend over to reach anything, the Wes isn't home, the Eli didn't take a nap part of me that kicked in but I started SOBBING. And I'm not talking just that constant flow of pretty tears, I'm talking hysterically crying.

I scared Eli half to death probably because he got teary eyed and started saying "sawyee sawyee" and that made me cry even more because I wasn't mad at him obviously, and so I just hugged him and had him help me pick up some of the chips and sent him playing. I, on the other hand, just sat in the floor and cried.... over spilled chips! I was a HUGE mess.

Meredith called, could tell immediately something was wrong, I started telling her and just cried the entire time. Then Wes called, same story, asked if he should come home, told him no. Then my mom called, and was on her way home and so she just decided to come over.

Retelling this story makes me sound crazy. And I guess I was that day. But I just could not control myself! haha... Jeff said it would make for an awesome youtube video if that scene had been recorded. I would have been famous! haha...

But, the chips are cleaned up (thanks to Ebony) and I got my haircut that night with Meredith, so I was much better by the end of the night. sheesh...

...more to come about the rest of the week later...

Sick.

Still here. Not in labor. Just had a busy few days and now I feel sick! :( booo.... Going to the doctor today.

The update and Chicken Satay Wraps

Ok! Well I didn't get "checked" at yesterday's appointment, but that was fine with me! I did end up scheduling my remaining appointments though, which there are only 4 left!! So, I go back on Monday and he said that's when he'll start taking a look at things and seeing how Judah is progressing. SO exciting!

The baby shower yesterday was so much fun! All of the hostesses were so sweet to put it together for me and I was really overwhelmed with how amazing my friends are! The shower was a diaper/book shower, which is so adorable, and we came home with diapers of all different sizes and some of the cutest little books I have ever seen!

I had a lot of fun, ate one of the best cupcakes I have ever had, and loved every minute of it. Thank you so much sweet friends!!!

Judah's room still isn't completed decoration wise. In fact, I haven't done a single thing more to it! I know it doesn't really matter and he wouldn't know the difference anyway, but just getting it done before he arrives would be nice so that would be one less thing to worry about when he gets here. Sheesh.

Wes has been a trooper. He has taken on so much stuff around the house and with Eli, which is kind of hard to do considering he did so much already! He still isn't feeling 100% yet. Last week he went to the doctor and was tested for the flu. He'd already had the seasonal flu shot, and tested negative for that, but the doctor didn't rule out swine flu. So... we really don't know if he had it or not. Eli and I seem to be fine (other than a little cold Eli has had for a few days) but I feel so bad for Wes! He's done his round of Tamiflu and hopefully now it's just some sinus thing or something. Say a little prayer for him. :)

Now on to the recipe for today! Ok, so when I first read this one, I was thinking... ew. But! As long as it's chicken, Wes and I will try pretty much anything! So if you are thinking "ew" at first, you might just go ahead and give this one a shot. My friend from high school used this recipe and he said that his boyfriend loved it and they make it all the time! It takes no time at all (like 15 minutes total!) and is delish! I hope you enjoy!

Chicken Satay Wraps


prep/total time: 15 minutes

ok, this one is super easy and fast!

This is like an Indonesian appetizer that is yummy!! You can serve the chicken on skewers and dip it in the sauce or you can make it in a wrap. We ate it as a wrap and for a meal.

2 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. creamy peanut butter
2 green onions chopped
1 tsp. soy sauce (I actually put about 2-3 in mine)
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 cups sliced cooked chicken (I just put a little oil in a pan, sliced up some mostly thawed chicken breasts and cooked them in the pan with a bit of salt and pepper)
1 cup coleslaw mix (I don't really like coleslaw mix that much so I did like 1/4 cup coleslaw and the rest chopped up lettuce)
some flour tortillas (we did like some whole grain ones, but any flavor would be good I bet!)

So, in a bowl you just whisk the oil, peanut butter, onions, soy sauce, and pepper until combined. I did this before I cooked up my chicken so the flavors could sit together longer.

Then you just add the chicken and toss it around to coat.

Put some lettuce/coleslaw mix on a warm tortilla, top with chicken, roll up, and they are ready to eat!

I served this with some rice and made a salad from leftover lettuce. YUM!

Let's revisit my last 36 week appointment

So, here is what I had to say with Eli's 36 weeks appointment in 2007. Today I am going to Judah's. Please note that my child was HEAD DOWN... and I ended up with a breech baby. Y'all. My dreams are for real! More to come later today with updates and baby shower pics! I like to put things from the past in italics... like a flash back or a dream. Let's just thank Wayne's World for that.


So, I went to the doctor on Monday. My 36 week appointment was MUCH different than my regular check ups that I have been going to. Oh we started with the regular, weight, blood pressure, urine sample. But then there was a sheet on the exam table, and you know what that means...this time the exam would be much more in depth.


Eli's progress:

• Well first of all his heartbeat is loud and strong. I still LOVE hearing that! That has been my favorite part of this whole experience when I'm at the doctor's office!
• He is head DOWN! whoo hoo!! I, for some reason, had it in my head that he was breech. And even last night I had a dream that he was transverse (laying across me) and that I could feel his ear...haha...who knows. So, I'm very happy about that!
• I didn't get any possible weight or length measurements, but I'm measuring right on track so I'm assuming Eli is as well.
• I haven't started dilating yet, and he said that was normal to not be dilating at 36 weeks.
• And that I am also 50% effaced and Eli has already dropped and is in position! :)

Have gnome, will travel

Hey guys! Well we have been gone for the past several days traveling with Wes and the Jeff Johnson Band to Shawnee, OK! We wanted to get in one more family "vacation" before Judah is born.

It was a really fun and sometimes difficult trip. Wes might have possibly (or might possibly) have the swine flu. I am almost 36 weeks pregnant, which equals to uncomfortable, complaining, tired, in a significant amount of pain, over emotional me. And then we have our 22 1/2 month old who has a little cold but pretty great for the most part!

So, when you mix up a tired flu feeling dad with an all of those things me, we didn't have some of our best moments. But! I will say that Wes and I have pretty much mastered the art of seeing that the root of the thing is never the thing, and chalked most of our moments up to being tired and not feeling good. And, truly, they were only moments so most of the time we were having SO much fun! Eli and I LOVE traveling with them and getting to hang out with the band, our family.

What made it even more fun is that all the band wives were there (Sarah! Jouleen!) and Mandy was there who basically runs everything behind the scenes and makes everyone's life so much easier. AND Drew Worsham , one of our very close friends was there doing his illusions for the kids. He is precious!

And then there is Afhsin and Meredith Ziafat. What's crazy is that when I was like a sophomore or junior in high school, our youth minister Michael brought in this guy named Afshin Ziafat to speak to the youth. I'd never heard a name like before (if you've been to Levelland you can see why... just small town, West Texas, just... different). Anyways, I remember him speaking about how he became a Christian. He was raised a Muslim (first time I had ever heard of that... obviously pre 9-11) and become a Christian and then of course was ousted from his family.

What's so crazy is that I remember that story completely changing so many things about how I thought about thing. It really truly gave me a more global perspective of Christ. Anyways, here I am, 10, 11 years older and Afshin (and his fantastic wife Meredith) are now friends of the band and me! It's so crazy! His story is beautiful and hard and honest and if you ever get a chance to go see him, or Jeff Johnson, or Drew Worsham then do it! You won't be disappointed!!

Now sweet Jeff is super giving and last year bought Eli his Halloween costume, that adorable little black spider. Do you remember that?

Well a month or two ago, Jeff showed me this picture of this garden gnome Halloween costume and we thought it was one of THE cutest things we had ever seen! So we go to Oklahoma, and Mandy and Jeff pull out this little garden gnome costume and I about died! So, that evening for the fall festival at the church on Halloween, we had a perfect little gnome (aka a 22 month old smooshed into a 2T costume that almost didn't fit, which actually made it cuter!) who was dancing and playing the drums and running around all night. Thank you Jeff!!!

We had a really fun time and I love that band and friends so much. They truly are part of our family.

Southwestern Skillet Burgers and Ghost Brownies

Can we all stop a minute and pray for Stellan?

Now I didn't take that picture, but that really is what they end up looking like! This is a Taste of Home recipe that Wes and I love!

Southwestern Skillet Burgers


ok. This recipe makes well over 6 servings, so I cut it in half and it feeds 3 people plenty! 

2 lbs ground beef
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 can diced tomatoes with onions and garlic
some shredded cheddar cheese

You just combine all the beef and bread crumbs and taco seasoning in a bowl and shape them into thick burger patties.

Throw them in a medium heated skillet and cook them for a few minutes on each side until they are browned, then drain any sick juices.

Add the tomatoes into the skillet with the patties that you put back in there and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover it up, and let it simmer until all the pink is gone from the patties... around 10 min or less.

Sprinkle them with plenty of cheese, cover them up again and watch until the cheese is melted.

Then serve them up! They are GOOD!!! ** now the real recipe calls for a can of bean and bacon soup also. I hate that stuff so I didn't put it in there and it was still delicious! suit yourself :) **



Ok, the Ghost Brownies come from Brittnye. Brittnye is like this cake genius that makes all of these adorable cake designs and has all of these cute ideas. Well, she normally doesn't share her secrets because I'm pretty sure she sells most of her stuff (who could blame her!) but she did spill the beans on this one!

Now this picture is of the actual ghost brownies that Brittnye made. Aren't they adorable?! They reminded me of something you would make Yomaida!

Ghost Brownies

1 box of your favorite brownie mix
1 jar of white icing
1 package of giant marshmallows
1 tube of black decorating icing

It's really easy. You just make your brownies like the box tells you to.

After they have cooled, just cut them up in little squares and put them on whatever you want to serve them on and place a giant marshmallow on each brownie.

Melt some of your icing in the microwave. I would melt in something with a spout so that when it pours, it's an actual pour and not like a spill over so you can control it.

Now watch your icing. You don't want to pour it when it's completely runny melted because it will make a big mess all over your brownie. You want to pour it when it's a little thick so it will pour over the marshmallow and stick and not run off.

The icing will thicken and cool quickly, so you might even want to have a few practice sessions with the "ghosts" before doing it on the brownie.

After you've made your ghosts it's time to add their little faces! Just put on their tiny eyes and mouths and your ghosts are complete! So fun!

In print

Some of my super adorably sweet friends from work (Leny, Liz, Julie, and Tiffany) are throwing me a cute little diapers and books baby shower next week. So far they've only had one person who was invited say, "oh. Is this a 2nd baby shower?" haha... YES! It is! :) Anyways, they delivered me my invitation and it is SO precious!

I love every word on the invitation, especially seeing my sweet baby's name in print! It was the firs time Wes and I had seen Judah Miles Martin written out on something and it made us all teary! Thank you so much girlies for having this little party for me! I cannot wait!

Completely off topic, but I really do not need to watch that Unwrapped show, even though it makes me so happy, because, I am SO hungry when I see it! sigh...

Yesterday it was raining and cold in the morning. I do realize that many people (oh gosh... what is the word??! not migrate... not travel... not transfer... ugghhh!! what is that dang word?! oh! got it!) commute to work with long tedious drives. However, that is not me. I'm from small town West Texas, I love being a part of a community, I actually do like seeing my students around town since that is how I grew up, and so I only work like 7 or 8 minutes from my job depending on which lights I hit.

Well, when it rains in Dallas it seems like people completely forget how to drive. Like one of my teacher friend's was saying yesterday morning, it's like they either drive 30 mph faster or almost stop driving all the car which causes all kinds of wrecks.

We have this light in front of our school that's a pretty big intersection for our area and when there are wrecks there, it's pretty bad. That's what happened yesterday. I don't know what happened to those poor people in the wreck, since I was so far back, but it took me 35 minutes to get to work. You know, I don't think I even have a point to this story. Y'all. This pregnancy... sorry for wasting a few moments of your life! ha! But I did include a picture! I could have sworn I had something to say about this...

So the leaves are ever so slightly starting to change on the trees. Can you see it? Wes and I are out of town again this weekend and I'm so excited because we're going to Oklahoma! Everyone keeps talking about how beautifully the trees change there so it will be so fun to show Eli and see them for myself!

I kind of was in shock at work yesterday because I was trying to finalize my syllabus for next 6 weeks and I noticed that after this week, I only have 3 weeks left before Thanksgiving and maternity leave! yikes! 3 weeks?! Obviously part of me is really excited to have a break, meet my baby, and spend some good time with our new little family, but it really does kind of bother me to leave my school kiddos for so long with someone I don't really know. They are really awesome and will be fine, but I really actually like them and will miss them!

Did you watch the Jon and Kate Plus 8 question and answer session last night? I know a lot of people are sick of them and all of that, but I have watched their show since their early specials before they were a series and still watch them! Anyways, I still think it's sad, for everyone involved. But I liked watching the episode because their earlier Q&A episodes are some of my favorites. :) So much has changed... it was just a little over a year ago that they renewed their vows in Hawaii. What I take from all of this is how important it is to invest in your marriage. I have no idea obviously what went on really with them, but it's just a great reminder to me to pay attention. It's one of those things where I don't think anyone is immune to distance creeping in to your relationships, no matter what kind of relationship it is. And for us, our marriage is top priority and we have to actively work at keeping it that way, especially when Wes travels so much. I don't know. Many times when I hear about them or see them in a magazine, I just try to say a prayer for them and then remember to say a prayer for us. I really need to be more diligent in that as well.

Love you friends!

"BUG!!" (says my screaming child)

Yesterday, well, about 10 minutes of yesterday, was terrible. Eli and I just got home from getting groceries and I was letting Ebony out and he always to go with her. So, out the back door they went. I can see Eli through the kitchen windows and he was doing his usual thing of finding random outdoor toys and playing with them. As I was putting the groceries away I heard Eli crying! I looked out the window and then I heard him screaming!

I ran out there as fast as I could and he was holding his hand screaming "BUG!" It was awful! I looked at his finger and there was a stinger on the side of his pointer. I scooped him up, ran inside, sat him on the counter and took out the stinger so I wouldn't lose it. He just kept screaming and crying "mama, MAMA!" and I just kept trying not to panic.

I washed his hands, gave him some Motrin and called Kelli (nurse) who is married to Justin (pharmacist) to see what I was supposed to do! By this point (probably 10 minutes after the sting) Eli is already running around the house, playing drums of course, and is no longer crying. He just would kind of whimper when he would hit his finger or try to use it. Kelli and Justin gave me the scoop and all was fine with Eli.

I tried to find what stung him but I couldn't. What does it look like to you? A bee? A wasp? I have never been stung by anything besides an ant before so I have no idea. Y'all it was terrible. Just seeing him in pain like that!! (shudders) It totally freaked me out. But, he is fine, thank you God, and apparently wasn't allergic to whatever hurt him.

We aren't completely done decorating Judah's nursery yet, but my mom found the most adorably precious wall art at Kirkland's on sale and thought they would be perfect for his room! I can't wait to get it all done! She also found some blackout curtains for a good price on Amazon, so hopefully we'll be able to get those too! Eli and Judah's rooms face the sun at all times it feels like! It's great to have fun bright rooms but really annoying when the light doesn't chill out!

I am continuously getting bigger and bigger. I feel full term. I walk full term. I complain full term (sorry Wes). But, I am not full term. More than the frustrations and uncomfortableness of being pregnant, I just truly long to see my new son. I can't wait to see him, smell him, hold him, kiss him, and be near him (without that whole him living inside my body thing). Five and a half more weeks...

Wes and I have really been good at trying to stay connected and intentional about spending time together as a family, which was one of our reasons for eating at home more often. Well, in August I started the good ole family calendar for the fridge where I can plan meals, write down when Wes will be gone, when I have appointments, when we have dates, just whatever. It's actually been really nice because it's seeing both of our calendars on one central location, but it has also opened our eyes to how much we plan in our lives. Each month starts off kind of empty and then more and more things come our way, we say yes to most of them, and the calendar begins to fill.

I think Wes and I both love being with our friends, seeing our family, working, stuff like that. But sometimes, we just feel like we're missing out on each other or our family of 3 time. I'm going to be better at scheduling those times for us on our calendar, and not just scheduling time for everyone else.

The Faith Flu?

I have to start off by saying that sometimes sermon series titles kind of kill me. I understand the value of them, I appreciate the visual it can give people (including me!), but sometimes I just laugh in my head at what pastors come up with. Knowing me, I would have probably been one of those people laughing at Jesus' titles of his parables when He was speaking too. (God forgive me.)

Today at church our pastor started talking about the swine flu. Obviously pretty much everyone knows someone with it, or has had it, or at least has a clue as to what it is. He listed some symptoms of the virus and then began talking about the "Faith Flu" and what you would look like if you had it. He was using Psalm 78:4b-7, and showing how our symptoms of having the faith flu would be 1. confidence in God, 2. gratitude to God, and 3. obedience to God.

He went on to explain them and said that if we don't have these symptoms, then we don't have the disease.

It really made me think a lot about myself. Not what I want to believe about myself, but about what is really me. I feel like I have become prideful and arrogant in so many ways. I go days without listening to God. I go hours without talking to God. (I was extremely moved by what Lauren had to say.) And sure, I'm "busy" and have a lot on my plate and am tired, but who doesn't? Did Jesus literally not have the entire weight of the world on His shoulders when He decided to die for us? Did He not ask God if there could be another way, listened, and continued to be obedient? And obviously I haven't faced anything near as heavy as that, but I have made decisions not only for me, but for my family, without consulting the One who loves me more than anyone else.

I want to teach my sons and show my sons the goodness that is Jesus. Steve, the pastor, said that to do that we need to be doing every day life together, we need to make time for it, and we must do it with integrity. If you don't have the swine flu, you can cough and sneeze on your family all you want, but you're not giving them the swine flu. Same thing here. If faith really isn't in me, if I'm not living a life of integrity, then my boys won't catch it from me. I think Summer has a lot of good points if you have a moment to check it out.

I just want to be authentic in every way. Even changing "fitness" to "faith" in my blog title. That's more authentically me. I would love to know more about fitness, I would love for it to be a real priority to me, but at the moment, it's not. When it is... well, then maybe I can add it back. :)

The Faith Flu. As silly as I thought that title was, I totally get it now. I hope we all catch it.

Photo Fun

Just being a little sentimental tonight (yes Wes, it is possible for me to be sentimental at times) and going through some of Eli's baby pictures. It's probably not the best idea considering I'm always teetering on an emotional train wreck but I decided to do it none the less.

I can't believe how fast he has grown! He is 22 months now. What?! How is that even possible?? But, it's true!

Things he is up to lately:

- only wanting to feed himself: Mr. Independent
- used to call my dad (who wants to be called Gramps), Josh, but now calls my dad Peach (which in 22 month old pronunciation sounds a lot like a certain b word)
- says "tane koo mommy" (thank you) to almost everything I do
- repeats every action and word that comes from Wes
- still loves Yo Gabba Gabba more than I can stand and frequently requests "Jack Back" from the episode that Jack Black was on. geez...
- has changed my dog's name (Ebony) to Taffy, which is my sister's dog's name and I refuse to call her Taffy
- will fall down on purpose and say "awyuh ok" over and over until I finally ask him if he's ok :)
- completely obsessed with the drums and plays them almost all day long. He wants to hit everything with a drumstick. We tell him "Eli, you only hit the drums with the drumsticks" and so he just points to what he just hit (your leg, the furniture, the wall, whatever) and says, "drum" uggh....
- when he finds random sippy cups around the house he calls them "ole nilk" (old milk) haha...
- loves to lay on my belly and say "hi Judah!"
- refuses to say the word "outside" and instead just says "nah" and points to the door
- can recognize E and 5 almost anywhere and will tell you over and over that he sees them
- practices jumping every day
- loves loves LOVES his "tutle" and "monkey" stuffed animals and will ask them if they want milk and tries to feed them crackers (adorable!!)
- if one person gives him a high five in a group, he makes everyone give him a high five
- has broken almost every lamp in the house playing the drums on them
- knows what "time out" is and hates being there, but did put himself in there one day for no reason at all
- and he still loves to be held and cuddled (on his own time of course) and loves Wes and I to pieces, just like we love him

I really never knew it would be this way.

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." -Elizabeth Stone

Fall Festival Friday! ...or not

Tonight we are going to the Fall Festival at Lake Pointe! Are you? I love love LOVE doing things with Wes and Eli and so we will be enjoying the free festivities this evening. :) I'll be back later to post some pictures! Happy Fall Festival Friday!

Ok- so we didn't end up going to the Fall Festival. I was SO sad because it looked like so much fun but Wes' allergies were killing him and being outside right now would not have been the smartest choice. So, Wes decides that we should go on a date! I of course am all for that but it was super last minute and I wasn't sure if my mom had plans or not. We called her up and she graciously said she would keep Eli for us.

Whoo hoo! Spontaneous date night!

We pack Eli up in his super cute new shirt from Target (I'll have to take a pic later... adorable!) and take him to meet my mom and sister at our new Chick-fil-A (yes!!) and off we go to... P.F. Chang's! I have never been there before and I was beyond excited to a) go on a date with Wes and b) eat there!

We pulled up, parked in the front row, and checked in for our reservation. We had such a great time being a couple! We did talk about our kids, our debt, our future, but all of it was good because it's just really wonderful to be able to connect with my husband.

The service was excellent, the food was great, and Wes had made us an online reservation and told them it was a day to celebrate our upcoming baby and they gave us a free dessert! Way to go P.F. Chang's! Thank you!

And, Amy and my mom had a great time with Eli (of course) and I always love getting a "good report." I don't know if I've ever had a "bad" report on Eli but, it just makes me happy to hear that other people get to share in the joy that we get by having him around!

We'll try to hit up that Fall Festival next year! I'm sure it will be just as fun!

Eli did request a "sheto" (aka: cheeto) yesterday so I put a few on the table for him. What I did not do however, was put the bag in a place that he couldn't reach. It's like I forget how big my son is getting! So, he told me he was going to go get a "sheto" and I said ok, and... well... he definitely did get one!

yikes. Poor picture quality! Sorry about that. :)

If you have some extra time this weekend and want to be challenged, moved, and blessed, please check out this blog: Kisses from Katie

I cannot get through a single post of hers without weeping and being completely humbled at what God is doing in her life and the lives of those sweet sweet children. If you don't have time for it this weekend, mark it on your page and go back to it later. Hope is written all over that place.

Love you friends!

Free from not having a plan

Debt is a topic that Wes and I could (and sometime do) talk about every single day. For the most part, we have been pretty good with our money. When we first got married and bought a house, we were shocked that we could afford a brick house! (sigh... we were so young ;) We were experiencing paying bills and keeping up with all the money as a couple for the very first time so we were really careful! We didn't think we could afford cable, so we didn't have it. We didn't think we could afford high speed internet, so we bought NetZero. Both of our cars were paid off. And I remember when I needed to buy clothes for my brand new job straight out of college that we wanted to be so careful in how much we spent. 

Each year of marriage (it's almost been 5 1/2 now) we have added new things. We ended up getting cable with internet in a package. We even have a DVR now! :) We ended up buying a new car because before Eli was born I just refused to put my newborn in that car. Which now seems so ridiculous to me, but I really am so thankful that we were able to get a "new" car. We've bought new things for the house. We've painted rooms. I went to Europe! (with plenty of help from my parents, thanks mom and dad!) I started and completed my Masters, which we paid off as I was taking it. We've had a baby, with a c-section, and paid for that. 

We look back on all the times God has provided endless amounts of support, both financially and emotionally, and it brings us to our knees. But for all the times that we have paid off things we bought or paid for them in cash, we still have the weight of debt looming over us.

Now I loved my college experience. I loved being at Hardin-Simmons and getting my degree from there. However, that school was dang expensive! And we still have to pay off those loans, which people to refer to as "good debt" all the time, but good debt and bad debt feel the same to us. 

We have a credit card that we have had to use since I have been only working half time. Wes is an incredible money manager and it's a 0% interest card, but it's still debt. Romans 13:8 says, "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law." 

We have debt that is outstanding. We have to, and want to, pay it off. 

So, Wes and I have developed a plan that is radical (to us) and will change a lot of things about where we work, where some of our time is spent, and refocuses us on the charge that we are given as Christians to do. Luke 16:13 says, "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." And although the context of that is different than where we our in our lives, we have felt that we have been a slave to money due to our debt. We have thought so many times, "ugh, if we didn't have this debt we could do this, give that, go here, help with that" and those are things we would not be saying, if we did not have debt.

Well my friends. We are changing that. It can't change right now, and we've prayed over that, cried over that, and mulled over that time and time again... even last night. But, it will change soon and we'll be going over our plan when we've finished it. 

For now, I'm ordering this book that I'm a little scared to read! But I need all the encouragement I can get, and I hear that reading this will do the trick :)

Those of you who have debt, how are you dealing with your debt? (you obviously don't have to answer that by the way) Does it take a toll on you? Can you even imagine the freedom you would have without it?

Did anyone try the orange citrus chicken yet? It was delicious!

Orange Citrus Chicken greatness

For several reasons, Wes and I have been diligently working on not eating out and cooking at home. I was kind of scared about this at first, but then I found this Taste of Home cookbook at WalMart called Simple and Delicious and fell in love with cooking! Now, I'm not that "come up with my own recipe" type cook yet. But, I can read! So I can follow pretty much any recipe that I come across! 

I've learned several things throughout our 3ish months of cooking at home (for the most part). 

1. No matter how many different ways I cook or flavor pork chops, I just don't like them. I've tried over and over!

2. The back part of my oven cooks things way faster than the front part of my oven. 

3. There is a difference between the cheap cookie sheets and the more expensive cookie sheets.

4. Wes doesn't trust any meat in leftovers except for chicken. ???

5. Making your own salad is ten times better than buying the salad in a bag.

6. If you share your recipes, people will share with you. (hint hint...)

7. I'm not good at trying to cut a recipe in half to feed just the two of us. I seem to cut some parts of the recipe in half but not others. who knows...

8. Fresh garlic and pre-minced garlic in a jar cook at much different rates... I keep burning the pre-minced kind.

9. Sometimes nothing is better than a really good baked potato.

10. And cooking crescent rolls to go along with the meal makes anything taste good.

So I'm always looking for new recipes, well, really always wanting people to recommend recipes that they have really enjoyed. So please feel free to pass some along! I have a whole little folder on my gmail account for them (amandam dot blog at gmail dot com). 

One of my all time favorite recipes is from my sweet friend Rachel. It's an orange citrus chicken recipe that she has come up with by combining some of her favorite orange chicken recipes. You will LOVE it! So, I'm cooking this tonight if all goes as planned. My mouth is watering already...

Ingredients: 

- 3-5 chicken breasts (however many you need to feed your family)

- olive oil

- 1 tbs butter

- 1 tbs minced garlic 

- 3 cups of orange juice

- 3/4 cup of brown sugar

- 1 tbs of balsamic vinegar

- ginger spice

Do you have those ingredients? Ok, here's what to do next, from the chef herself...

1. Cut 4-5 chicken breasts (1/2 frozen they are easier to cut) at a diaganal angle so they cuts are very thin (kind of like pei wei chicken would be) and about one inch wide apeice. 

2. Heat a little olive oil in a skillet and add in one tablespoon of butter ( I use the heart smart kind). 

3. Add in garlic (you can use fresh, but i keep a jar of minced garlic in my fridge and I probably addded one tablespoon of minced garlic and sauteed it in the butter)

4. Then saute the chicken until it is all yummy and golden brown around the edges. THen take out the chicken and put on a plate to the side. (It took me about 8-9 minutes to get the chicken nice and "dry" and sauteed)

5. Add in about 3 cups of orange juice into the same skillet you have been using. Then add about 3/4 of a cup of brown sugar to the mix (never said this was all light weight or anything ...ha!). 

6. Add about a tablespoon of balsalmic vinegar, and a GOOD sprinkle of ginger spice ( you can again use fresh, but our ghetto athens walmart doesn't carry it)

7. Bring to a boil. Add the chicken you have already cooked into the mixture and let it boil at a low pace until the sauce becomes thicker and more like a marinade. I let mine boil prob about 8-10 minutes. You will know when it has begun caramalizing and looking good.

8. I heated up two bags of uncle ben's instant rice and served the orange chicken over a bed of rice.

9. For a side, I did fresh snapped green beans (boiled in water with a little garlic salt until tender).

You will not be disappointed! (I hope!) It is super yummy and doesn't take that long. 

Now... feel free to post, comment, or email me some deliciously great recipes of your own! and... maybe skip the ones that involve pork :)

Lend me your ears

First of all I want to start by congratulating Jen and Coby on their new beautiful baby boy, Crew! Her first born, Camren, just turned one year old a bit ago and now they have a new baby! So exciting! You need to read her post about finding out she was pregnant again, too great! Congratulations friends! We love you!

So Eli had this rash type thing on his leg. mmm, more like his upper thighs and little butt cheeks. Anyway, I noticed it yesterday after lunch when Wes and I were getting him up from his nap. It completely freaked me out... again. He has had this once before when Mere and I were playing in the park with him. I thought it was poison ivy but he makes no reaction to it. He doesn't even know it's there! I took him to the doctor at one of those clinics since it was a Saturday (and by the time we got there it was completely gone and I probably looked crazy) and he said it was probably a food allergy. 

Well circumstances were totally different than the last time he had the rash, but it looked exactly the same! He basically eats the same type stuff every day, so I still have no idea what caused it! I gave him some Zyrtec and it was gone pretty much right away when the medicine kicked in. But seriously, what the heck is happening? Friends! Tell me! :) (the pictures are kind of hard to see, but it is there!)

Now, three of my sweet friends offered to throw me a second baby shower. I've heard all kinds of things from that you shouldn't do that, it's tacky, it's rude, blah blah blah. But! I didn't ask them to throw a shower for me! They just offered! So, maybe it's just a way of the past not to have a second shower? What about you moms with more than one kid? Did you have more than one shower?? Well, I am completely excited about it! We really don't need any of the big stuff, so I don't feel bad about the showers because it's all the little fun stuff that people like to buy anyway that I registered for. Plus, who doesn't like to get together and have a little party? A big thank you to Liz, Leny, and Jourdan! I can't wait! 

OH! And my department head at work mentioned that she thinks there should be another wedding shower for married couples at like 10 years or something! I mean, hello! Stuff breaks! Stuff goes out of style! And well, getting new stuff is fun! Let's all start that tradition. Who's up first? :)

Nothing but the truth

Well, hello dear friends! I have missed you SO much! And I mean that! I have no good excuse for my absence. I just didn't feel up to writing and so I didn't. But I have been reading so much great stuff lately that I feel inspired to start up again and to read all about your sweet lives. 

I needed a fresh start, hence the new name. I also needed some structure because being 33 weeks pregnant now (yikes!) I feel completely disorganized and crazy for the lack of a better term, and need some focus. So, I'm going to try and get myself back in the game with using each day of the week as a different topic.

Monday: Family

Tuesday: Friends

Wednesday: Food

Thursday: Free

Friday: Friday! (whatever that means)

Saturday: Fun

Sunday: Fitness

All of those things are important to me and I really want to talk about them! :)

So, here's to Monday and Family!

Ok, so I'm having a BOY! And... not only am I having a boy, I'm having him in about 6  1/2 weeks! We went ahead and scheduled a c-section for December 2, which is about 39 1/2 weeks. So, if I go into labor before then, so be it :) We'll just make sure and immediately check to see if this little guy is head down or not so we don't have to go through all of that like we did with Eli. 

We are naming him Judah Miles Martin! We don't have any special meanings to our kids' names except that we love love love their names and well, that's about it! But, they are special to us! There have been several people, family members included, who don't like the name Judah. It doesn't hurt my feelings at all. They got to name their kids, we get to name ours! Fair enough? :)

We (as in Wes) have been working on Judah's room. We have a couple more decorations to go up and then I'll post some pictures.!

Eli is busy being Eli! He's 22 months now and seems pretty excited about this Judah person, although there is definitely no real connections being made yet that Judah is an actual person! haha... I cannot wait to see him as a big brother! Eli is very much into anything that has to do with drums. It's kind of an obsession, and I am in no way exaggerating. He is so big now and seems to never stop growing and never stop learning! He fascinates us all the time! I can't wait to post some pictures of him!

I haven't cut his hair yet... (sorry Mom) and still haven't decided when that would happen. My mom says I said something about cutting his hair around his 2nd birthday. But... I think she may have dreamt that ;) We will see. (I know, I know... pictures would help so much)

Wes is doing great! He's just working on building up his in home studio, traveling with the band, and seriously being the most incredible husband and dad ever. I feel so helpless most of the time now because I am HUGE and uncomfortable and have become a complainer! ew! So, he has taken over so much of every day life that I really feel so lost when he's gone! 

I am still teaching 1/2 days at the high school and I love it! My kids are incredible and I learn from them all the time! I will definitely miss them during maternity leave.

Obviously I could go on and on since it's been so long since I've written but I'll pace myself so you will keep returning instead of having to read a book each time! Love you friends!

It's hot out here!

Any chance of some sun vitamins are only being soaked in early in the morning for me and Eli. It is SO HOT! As soon as we go outside, Eli starts going "hot! hot!" 

Do you see that little hippo pool in the background? Well, my mom and dad got him that because he loves water, in fact, he says "water" all the time! But... he hates it. He does like filling it up with water though! So not all is lost.

This has been such a great week. Last weekend if you remember I was so sad and tired of everyone being gone, but I haven't felt that at all this week! God definitely hears our cries! And the guys come home early next week and then we get to find out if our sweet little one is a boy or girl! 

This little baby is a mover. Just like Eli was! 

Today Eli was watching his favorite show, Yo Gabba Gabba, and there was this guy on there that was beat boxing. Eli picks up his little microphone and starts trying to do it! I was freaking out! I loved it! Maybe I have a professional drummer/beat boxer on my hands! I hope so!

Eli and I have been having so much fun lately. Yesterday, well the early morning hours we were fighting, but then he got super cuddly and really funny. Sometimes when I sit on the couch, he'll sit on the floor underneath me and I'll grab his head and kind of pull it back on the couch and kiss him. Well yesterday he was sitting on the couch, and I was sitting underneath him and he pulled my head back and kissed me! hahaha... I was laughing so hard! So, of course he kept doing it... anything for a laugh that kid!

Anyways, it's been a great week. My mom came home from Europe last night and dad comes home from Boston tomorrow. Hope your week has been great too!

Summer Lovin

Meredith and I went to visit one of our besties, Rachel, and her beautiful baby girl, Ellie! We laughed a lot, ate some really good food (thanks Rach!!) and watched the kids be kids! Here are some highlights!

18 month check up

Today was Dr. visit day! I loved this one though because no shots were involved. It did kind of freak me out though because his next visit is his 2 year. We went ahead and scheduled it and I remember thinking, "oh my gosh... by his 2 year we will have another baby!" AAGGHHH!! (sigh) Surely we can do that, right?! :)

He remains on the growth plan he has from the beginning! He's 29 pounds and 34 inches tall! A big boy!! 

I love going to those appointments because I always feel some sense of accomplishment because he always can do all the things on those checklists. He's a healthy happy baby... well... not a baby (waaahhh!!) but toddler. Gosh. He is incredible. 

This stage is really fun though because he knows how to make me laugh. He's totally picked up on all the things that I think are funny so he spends plenty of time trying to entertain me! haha.. I love it!

In other news... have I mentioned that my dad is in Boston? My mom and sister are in Spain with my brother, and will be returning to London tomorrow. Wes is gone. And I am here... Now I, like most people I think, am definitely not meant to spend that much time alone. Eli definitely fills the time, but part of my love language is to have quality time socially. Going days and days without someone hugging me or rubbing my back or anything like that basically sucks the life out of me. I start feeling sad and depressed like. I not only want and crave some serious friend/family time, I truly need it. That's the worst thing about this point of the summer. People are busy, people are gone... it's just hard. 

I had a slight emotional breakdown this weekend. :) I'm just not one of those people who enjoys this much time without hanging out for a substantial amount of time. After this week is over we'll get to have a family vacation which I am just aching for. Three days of nothing but people!!! I cannot wait. 

Tonight Meredith is coming over to stay (thank you Jesus!!) and tomorrow we're taking a day trip to Athens to visit Rachel and Ellie! (Eli's betrothed) Other things are happening this week so I've pretty much filled up my week. And I get to do it all with Eli, which I also love because he is so great and makes things so much fun!

Grease 2 is on. I must go watch!

Spitting out apple

Eli's newest clear word is "apple". He talks all the time with tons of words I may or may not understand. But this morning apple was crystal clear! So, he wants to "eat" the apple, and I say that loosely because what he really wants to do is chew it up, spit it out, and get another piece. Gross. 

I have evidence of his wonderful word and the spitting of the apple in this video. Enjoy! :)

Eli is back to his awesome schedule now... paci included. He takes a great nap, sleeps from 7:00 pm to almost 8:00 am and it's great. I will definitely wait to deal with that until Wes gets home for good.

In baby #2 news, I'm feeling that sweet baby move several times a day and I LOVE it! Such an incredible feeling... 

Ahhhh the paci...

***new update***  It's nap time. It's been an hour and he wouldn't sleep. So... I caved. I'm too weak! Plus Wes justified my actions by saying to wait until he is home so we can do this together and not put it all on me. I love my husband. :)

***update*** So Eli woke up at 4:47 crying "mama!" I let him cry for about 3 minutes and decided to go in there. I knew that he probably woke up, couldn't find his paci, and wasn't sure how to go back to sleep. 

I tell him to lay back down, he does, and I stand by him for about 15 minutes. He is definitely not asleep. He's rolling around, kicking his legs, clapping... haha... things like that. 

Long story short, I leave, he cries for 10 minutes, go back in, sit for about 5, he's still playing around. I put him in my bed for 10 more minutes, he turns it into a jungle gym, I put him back in bed with a blanket and a teddy bear (5:58 am), and he goes back to sleep until 7:47. (sigh...) I guess that's not too bad for the official night 1 without the paci, right??

Here is the an old picture of Eli when we would let him have his paci at any moment.

For the past several months he could only have his paci at nap time and at bedtime. Which was completely fine because he really didn't want it the other times anyway.

So this past Sunday when we went with Wes to camp I had made a list of everything I needed to take. (I love making lists!!) So after I made my all inclusive list a little son of mine got ahold of it... I tried to keep my eyes on it but it disappeared. (Eli's newest word is "trash" so many things that we need end up in the trash now...). And on that list was the paci, so without the list I totally forgot it!

Now, obviously we were prepared for Eli's sleeping to be a little crazy since he wasn't in his own bed, but eventually he did go to sleep... without the paci. Perfect!

We are home and I decided that we'll just keep on going without the paci. As soon as I laid him in bed for his nap, his hand went straight to his side and he started feeling around for his paci. It wasn't there. I told him "goodnight" and left the room. I did have to go back in since he started screaming and crying. I just told him to lay down, rubbed his back, and asleep he went. Tonight was the basically the same story. So...

Let it be known... the paci is gone! I'm going to stick to it (ahem... you too Wes :) 18 months is plenty of paci time, right?