Family Update!

Wow, so much has happened since the last time I updated.
Lets see, Ellie started the First grade. She loves her new teacher. I just had a parent teacher conference and found out that Ellie is reading above her grade level. She is doing great in her spelling and she is really enjoying math. She is very helpful and a hard worker. (of course, I didn't need a teacher to tell me that)

Isaac started preschool and he loves it!!! I love that he loves it so much. He goes everyday in the afternoon. He is learning so quickly. I don't know if its because he is left handed, but he is struggling picking up the writing things out...but in the month or so that he has been in school, he has come so far. When I met with his teacher, she said that he is a typical 4 year old boy and sometimes struggles to keep his hands to himself. He knows how to spell his name, and if you ask him I am sure he would sing to you in the "BINGO" tune..."I-S-A-A-C, I-S-A-A-C I-S-A-A-C and Isaac was his name-o!!"

Spencer is missing his brother and sister while they are at school, but he also really does enjoy being an only child. I rather like having an only child for a few hours a day! He does go down for a nap on most days, so its quite in the house...if you have been to my house recently...you know thats something that we don't come by very often...and its LOVELY!!

Erik is still driving truck, he gets to come home for a couple nights a week, so that is nice. I really really want my husband to be home every night, but we will take the job that we get for now! He is enjoying the work that he is doing. He loves his dog, I love that he takes the dog with him on the road! He has a traveling buddy, and we get a dog 2 nights a week, so the kids are happy, and I don't have to take care of the puppy!!! Best of both worlds!!!!

As for me, I am hanging in there, I am counting my blessings everyday. I have a great husband who is working so hard for the family. I have 3 beautiful children that keep me on my feet everyday. I have a home that keeps us warm, and food in our bellies. I am currently recovering from my second miscarriage this year. I thought the first one was hard, well, I am learning that we are never finished learning and that these things don't get easier. I am not angry, I have learned over the last year that I am can't do anything without my Lord and Savior. He has brought strength into my life when I didn't think it was possible. He has brought peace and healing when I couldn't do it on my own. And isn't that the lesson anyway? We can't do anything without Him. I had a moment when I was emotional and worried because everything and everyone in my life depends on ME being strong. But if there is one thing that I have learned this last year is that I can't do it all. I have to draw on the strength of the Lord to get me through the everyday things, not to mention the "hard" days. I have learned and am still learning everyday that the Lord has a plan, and the hard thing is, is to be ok with the plan...no matter what it is.

My daddy is a trucker!!!

Well, its official, Erik is a trucker! He FINALLY finished his training...(by the way, they say you can be done with training in 4 weeks...try like 7 or 8 weeks) It was a LONG journey, and I have a feeling we are just getting started. He got to bring his very own brand new truck home (its still Werner's property...just his to use for now) and the kids enjoyed spending every second they could inside this very very cool truck! He eats, sleeps, plays in this thing, so they make them pretty comfortable...well as comfortable as living in a truck could be!

Gardens....hhhmmmm

This is my companion these days...well not counting the 3 critters that are my children! But this guy...(his name has yet to be decided on!) is actually allowed to hang out in the garden all day, He makes me smile!

My Garden boxes are looking so good! I am so excited! We finally have sugar snap peas coming out of the ground and our green onions are started to come out of the ground as well! It is so fun to see things come to life!

Some pictures of the building of the boxes...it was actually rather easy once we got started! The hard part came later in deciding what and when to plant things!

My Pretty flowers and I do have blueberry bushes planted in the two big planters, I have no clue if they will actually produce or thrive, but this is our learning year!

Pictures of everyday life!

Okay, so I had the thought for sometime to take a few pictures of my kids adventures, just living life everyday...I will start with last night...

Isaac can be found 99.9% of the time sleeping in Daddy's spot on the bed. I know the argument with letting kids sleep with you, in fact I am a big believer in NOT letting the kiddos sleep with you. Honestly, we insisted on Ellie sleeping in her own bed, we would get up and move her out of the bed in the middle of the night, and you know what? she is only 5 and she no longer even asks to come into our bed, only of a very few occasions will she come in and snuggle in the morning. So, some part of me feels like I know that this little guy needs me and if his only alone time that he gets with me and Erik (when he is home) comes in the middle of the night, well then, (at least he is asleep right?) But I know that this time wont last forever, but I will say that I do put him to bed in his own bed in his own room...but I wake up to this sight every morning and kinda smile to myself!

Then there are these ones:

I don't know if I need to explain this...We walked Ellie to school this morning, like we do most mornings...(I must say that I REALLY liked our walk this morning, it was cool, it was moist outside and it was foggy...reminded me of the northwest...I loved it!!) We got back from our walk and Isaac wanted to dress up, well Spencer couldn't be left out, so he grabbed the only thing he could find...Sissy's butterfly wings! This took up much of our morning!



Well, the rain finally came this afternoon and as weird as it sounds, it was so nice, first of all rain means that its finally warm enough NOT to snow!!! (yippee) and we have been missing Washington very much so the rain was welcomed! Ellie and Isaac decided that today was the day they were going to play in the rain, unfortunately we don't have much rain gear anymore, so they got on what they could and went on a rainy day adventure:


Can anyone guess what they are doing?


Well, as gross as it is, since it has been warmer and rainy, all the worms decided to make an appearance and they were everywhere this morning. So, the kids decided to get a knife and have their own science project cutting up a worm....eeeewwww.

There you go, the adventures in the Martinson home on a monday (well on this monday at least)

Life!

I just wanted to get on here and let everyone know that we are doing well. The last post was, well sad, but we got through it and we are all doing great! I know that God has a plan for me and for my family, and we will continue on this path and try and make the best out of the obstacles that I know will continue to arise!

I will give a quick update on how we are all doing! Erik is still doing his training with Werner trucking, meaning he is gone for another couple of weeks. He was actually able to come home for 2 weeks, to help out with stuff! It was nice to have him back here and the kids love it when their Daddy is around. He is enjoying the experience as best as he can, and if anyone knows him personally, he is getting an eye-opening experience with the ways of the world. He called me the other night and was laughing because he had said that he just had his first run-in with a "lady of the night" He was sitting in his truck, waiting behind another one, they were stopping to get some dinner and such, and a lady starts walking toward him...She was dressed like "a soccer mom" (is the way Erik described her) he thought for sure she was the driver in the truck in front of him. So he kinda just waved at her, kinda like a ..."i am here and waiting for your spot..." kinda wave. Well she stopped and made a bee-line right for Erik, and luckily his trainer opened his window and said a few choice words at her and she scampered away, he then proceeded to give Erik an education on hookers. Erik was flabergasted at the fact that this poor woman was a prostitute...in his mind hookers well...they don't dress like "soccer moms." Erik reports that he is getting an education in the 'real world' maybe a little bit more than he wants, but it is better to be prepared than totally caught off guard. He is so close to being done with his training hours, and when that happens he gets to put in for local routes....we are really really praying for local routes to be open so he can be home with us everynight...I am not cut out to be a single mom.

Me...well I am just hanging in there. Some days are better than others. I am excited about a few things that are going on in my life...well besides my cute kids! A few weeks ago I started a boot-camp with my sisters, and about that same time, it happened to get warm enough to bundle the kiddos up in the morning and walk Ellie to school. I am feeling really good, I have more energy, and I absolutely feel different on the days that I don't get to work out or when we don't get to walk. I have decided that in order for me to be the best mommy that I know how to be, I have to get my walk in at least. I don't know all the science behind it, but it seems to me like I have more patience, and its a time for me to get my head straight, and kinda meditate (well, as best you can with children in tow) I have also started taking some classes from this wonderful woman in my ward...she is a fantastic woman and her specialty is brain development...I am so excited about what I am going to learn. I am also starting the CERT classes here in town, and I look forward to using my brain in other ways other than changing diapers and cleaning up spills...ALL. DAY. LONG!!

Ellie is enjoying kindergarten, her teacher reports that she is testing above the level she should be for reading at this point!!! She loves to walk to school....(when she isnt falling into the gutter cuz her head is in the clouds somewhere) She is trying very hard to have patience with her younger brothers (aren't we all??) and sometimes she needs some coaching on how to speak to them. She has been a big help while Daddy is gone and she is getting very good with doing all her chores. Her favorite chore is making her bed...and she is gosh darn good at it!! She is also getting better at putting her toys away (she knows that if she doesn't, then her brothers like to play with her barbies and well...that doesn't usually end up very well...body parts strewn all over the house and such) Ellie is usually found at the kitchen table trying very hard to color and write stories!!! This is what I woke up to this morning:

I sure love this girl

Isaac...well this little guy is really really trying my patience. I wish I had more to report on him, besides I do love him, and he drives me NUTS!! He is so fiercly independent that it gets him into A LOT of trouble. He wants to do things like an adult, but the poor guy is stuck in this 3 year old body, and doesn't realize that he just cant do certain things....like try and open the hot oven door, or make himself pancakes. He is having a hard time with understanding that he needs to talk to me when he is hungry, and that just helping himself to the fridge and eating whatever he finds is not ok. (does anyone have any good ideas on how to lock the fridge??) I broke out the bungee cord today to wrap around the door handle (its a side-by-side)...no joke 2 seconds later he had figured out how to undo it and he had helped himself to a yogurt. BOUNDARIES...this is a hard concept for him. Any ideas would be helpful in helping him understand that I am the boss, and that obedience would be very helpful in helping him get to 4 years old :) I have cried my share of tears over complete frustration with this one...and he is only 3 years old. He is very sweet, and while in the midst of his innocent trouble making, he still says the cutest things. He still climbs into bed with me everynight, and he is sneaky about it, I don't know he is there until I wake up in the morning and see him there. He loves music, and his favorite song right now...is that country one ..."stuck like glue" or something, he knows the lyrics and sings right along....very sweet! He has a sweet sense of humor, but you have to be watching him and listening closely for it! What he needs is a good friend to play with, and I am sad that he doesn't have that where we are. He has cousins, but all the ones close to his age are girls, and they just don't get him...he is a boy and totally NOT into princesses or pink. He likes his trucks and his "super fast racing car" he prefers his red one, but of course...it goes so fast, he lost it somewhere in this house...so the blue one does fine for now. He remembers everything....except for the one thing I just told him....(is this a guy thing or what???) He amazes me everyday, and frustrates me, and angers me, and makes me laugh....its a constant ride with this one!!! Thankyou, Heavenly Father, for this one, he keeps me on my toes for sure!

Spencer...he is learning more and more words everyday. He is the prankster and absolutely has his Lola wrapped around his finger....(Lola is my mom, who we are currently living with) He knows how to get you to smile, but he is also coming into his terrible two's and that is evident with the onset of temper tantrums...ggggrrrrr...... (can we just skip the next 2 years and then pick up where we left off?) Spencer is always found with 2 cars in his hands, one in each hand. He does not want to be treated any differently than his older siblings. He will always be found tagging along, like he is one of the big kids. He LOVES to be outside, so it has be a LONG winter having to be inside cuz its so cold outside. He loves to take baths...and he thinks a game when its time to get dressed, he runs and hides, he could play this game for hours. I love that I am getting to really focus on his cuteness now, before he goes into the really trying years ahead! I have been pregnant by this time with the other two, so I feel like I havent really got to enjoy this time in the other two kids life....my brain was in other places...like being so sick and pregnant!

Well there you have it, thats our little (well long...) update, until next time!!!

A much needed poem

I was given this poem today by my midwife, it is beautiful and one that I would have never thought would be applicable to me, not in a million years...

Just Those Few Weeks by Susan Erling

For those few weeks-
I had you to myself.
And that seems too short a time
to be changed so profoundly.

In those few weeks-
I came to know you...
and to love you.
You came to trust me with your life.
Oh, what a life I had planned for you!

Just those few weeks-
When I lost you.
I lost a lifetime of hopes,
plans, dreams, and aspirations...
A slice of my future simply vanished overnight.

Just those few weeks-
And no "normal" person would cry all night
over a tiny, unfinished baby, o
or get depressed and withdraw day after endless day.
No one would, so why am I?

You were those few weeks my little one
you darted in and out of my life too quickly.
But it seems that's all the time you needed
to make my life so much richer
and give me a small glimpse of eternity.



Well, if you hadn't figured it out by now, I am currently...according to what the midwife said..."in a middle of a miscarriage..."
I don't really know what I am feeling right now, a lot of grief. I feel like this has all been a bad dream, I feel like I am just waiting for my to wake up and this will all be the worst nightmare all pregnant women fear. I am feeling like maybe I shouldn't even post this on my blog, because I haven't even made an official announcement that I was pregnant. I feel silly being so sad, crying over something that hardly was even there... I am not angry, I am not wondering why, I am just sad over a life that wont be. I am sad that my husband isn't here, so I can hold him and he hold me through this process...this was his baby too. I know that I am loved, I know that my Heavenly Father has a plan for me and for this family...

Updates!

Sorry no pictures this time, but I thought I would finally give an update as to what is going on with the Martinsons! Erik starts his new job on Wednesday. He actually leaves tomorrow night and takes a bus down to Pheonix, AZ...he will be gone for 2 weeks, home for a day or two and then gone for another 2 weeks.
Here is the story of how we came to decide on trucking.... Erik was able to get into the training program at Deseret Industries and through them they give him the opportunity to get a technical degree or certificate or some kind to help get a "real" job. Well, after much thought and prayer he opted to get his Commerical Drivers License...it was the best option with the best possibility for a job after training. Let me just tell you, I wasn't so keen on long-haul trucking where he would be gone for 2 weeks and home for a day and then gone again... only seeing my husband for 2 days of the months just wasn't what I had invisioned....and I really really don't want to be a single mom most of the time. But it was where my husband felt like he could do the best and get into a solid job.
So he gets his CDL, he applies for long haul trucking companies because there are no local positions available here, and what ever ones he did look at required a couple years of over the road trucking. He gets hired on with Werner Trucking, but they assured him that they do have local routes where he could be home everynight...or at least a couple nights a week. BUT he has to go through the 4 weeks of over-the-road training. I honestly don't know why this is the "path" that has opened up for us, it certainly wasn't what we had expected...but when the Lord gives you hand, you certainly don't slap it away and tell him it's not good enough or not what I wanted. So here we are, getting ready for him to be gone, and really really praying that a local route opens up as soon as possible. We are hopeful that the right opportunties will continue to open up for us....POSSIBLY even jobs back up in Washington (please please please we are asking for your prayers that the right position will open up for us, so we can be where the Lord wants us) (is it bad to say that I hope the Lord doesn't want us in Orem, UT??)
That is the latest news with us....for now. I promise to update more often then I have been doing.
I also wanted to say how much I miss my friends and family up there in Ferndale WA, I know that most of you don't even read this blog, but I have been feeling more and more sad about leaving and missing all of you so much. I remember 4 years ago, when we moved up there....lets just say my attitude sucked about moving up to tim-buk-too...It was one of those I know thats where the Lord wanted and needed us to be, but I certainly did NOT want to be there. Let me tell you, I felt so much love and acceptance from all of you. The friendships that were formed up there are life-time friendships. I miss you guys terribly. I miss the ward terribly....its true what they say....The gospel is more true in the Ferndale First Ward!!! I miss you guys and love you so much!