Cami's First Day of Kindergartin


Cami has waited for this day since Kyle began Kindergartin two years ago.


I'm on my way!



Play Dough

Let's do this!

 

First day and it was fabulous!

My friend and neighbor, Lindsey, started Kindergartin today too.

Brothers will be brothers.

Alright, you know what?  I've had enough.

Are you done laughing yet?

Ha Ha!

Despite their teasing, Cami loves her brothers.  She's so excited to be going to the same school with them.  Here's to a great year filled with great friends, laughter, learning, hard work, and the beginning of many more wonderful experiences in this big wide world we live in.

Here's the roll recipe for those of you that requested it.  Just made some again today.  I think we're trying to make up for time lost cuz these are going fast!

Jenny's rolls
(Although I got this recipe from a bread machine book many years ago when we were first married, sure I'll take the credit now since I don't have that recipe anymore!)

2 Tablespoons yeast
scant 1/4 cup sugar (or not scant, if you like sugar ;)
2 cups warm water

Let sit til bubbly or foamy, about 15 min or so.  Then turn on your mixer to LOW and add:

2 teaspoons salt
4 -6 Tablespoons butter (if your hubbie comes up behind you and adds yet even more butter it's okay, it makes it even more tasty!)
1/4 cup powdered milk (optional if you have a milk allergy, which we don't but I've seen french bread recipes that are pretty much the same as mine except no milk and less butter)
2 cups bread flour plus some more for later

Mix these a couple minutes 'til combined, then gradually add more bread flour while mixing until it pulls from sides of bowl, about 2-3 cups.  Try not to add too much flour, it can make the bread tough.  Slightly sticky dough is good.  You can add a tiny bit more flour when forming the rolls. 
That's pretty much it I guess.  Just let the dough rise about an hour or so, til it's about double, then shape rolls, let them rise about 20-30 min.  Bake at 350 for about 12-15 min.  Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

 

Our hearts are filled with gratitude at this time of year as we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  We also feel TONS of love for YOU! - our family and friends, near and far, who continually fill our thoughts and bring fond memories, still touching our lives daily.  We hope our greetings find you happy and well.  Here’s a little update:

Cami (5 in January) – Does cartwheels, handstands, and pullovers in an advanced gymnastics class now; Rides her bike without training wheels 3.7 miles around a lake!  Began soccer and basketball.

Kyle (7) – 1^st Grade;  Loves to build and fix things like his Dad.  Even rescued a very sad child in school with a broken lunchbox;  Plays soccer, basketball, baseball, Legos, Geotrax, and loves gardening.  He watched the garden grow all summer, and continues his dream to be a farmer someday.  (Cami has to be with him, too, she says, so she’s going to have a house by him and farm as well.)

Lance (9) - Fastest runner in 3^rd grade!  Plays soccer, baseball, basketball, and kickball. Loves animals, especially dogs and cats, and wants to either be a vet, or work at a pet store someday.  Sets the standard by racing to get his chores done so they can just be done and he can play!  Plays with the leopard gecko that he and Kyle bought together for their birthdays.

Evan (would be 12!) – we believe that he continues to watch over us, and as his birthdays and angel days come and go, we enjoy sharing the sweetness of his memories and continue to long for that day that we will be reunited.  We are so grateful for our Heavenly Father’s plan for us – that we can all be together again someday!

Jace (13) – 8^th Grade;  Ran first 5K, sings bass in choir at school, and also made it for show choir (yay!)  Began his own business with yard care and enjoys spending his money on hobbies, like his lizards, and sports like basketball.  Favorite hobby: Eating.  Is now taller than his mom!  Loves PE but not other classes in school like English and French.

Jenny – Coached her first soccer team this year (Lance’s).  COULD NOT have done it without Assistant Coach Jace (since she’s never played before in her life- first practice he had to correct her that it was going to be a scrimmage not a skirmish), still co-coaching  Cami’s gymnastics class; Plans to do some serious crazy dancing with Jared at that graduation party in June.

Jared -- in 4^th and last year of residency, graduating in June!  Enjoyed a hunting trip to Utah in September;  Is interviewing (with Jenny! much to her delight!).  He isn’t so sure about this serious crazy dancing.

Have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!       With Love,   The Martins

Lance's Birthday

Laughing at the singing card.  It sings Happy Birthday to you and after you "blow" the candles out, you hear a crowd cheering.  It was a hit today and every night for Lance's bedtime lullaby.

 What a blast!!  Lance had another pool party.  I love those.  Not a whole lot of planning involved.  Laura Goddard made the cupcakes, and we bought the pinata, so it was a pretty easy party, besides my regular anxieties that never seem to fail.  I learned not to buy pinatas because they break after about 3 hits ;)  Still fun.  Now we're making Kyle's pinata for his party and I'm reminding myself that this is really the best way ;)  Just love this little man and am so grateful for his birth 9 years ago.



The bullfrog Kyle caught for Lance on his birthday at Castlewood

 What I love about Lance:

1. His smile. It is just CHARMING!!! And handsome, of course ;) Watch out in a few years, young ladies!
2. His energy. I want it. He is my get-it-doner. If I want something done, rather than doing it myself, I know I can just ask him to do it. Ha ha! I'm trying not to abuse this fact ;)
3. His curiousity. He loves catching frogs, crawfish, and other creepy-crawlies of the swamp, or at Castlewood ;)
4. His dedication to his work. He works hard in school and does a good job getting the grades he wants.
5. He LOVES reading!!!  I just love this.
6. Jace loves playing catch with him with the football.
7. Cami loves when he lets him come in his room.
8. Kyle loves catching frogs with him. He actually gave him a bullfrog he caught from Castlewood on Lance's birthday. (On his shoulder in photo)
9. Jared loves his energy and smile too. Actually I think he said it first and I just copied him.  AND those are my favorite things about him too! ;) 

Lance's favorites:

1. Ramen Noodles
2. Pizza
3. Orange
4. Capture the Flag
5. Kickball
6. Kicking the Football
7. Legos
8. Pumpkin icecream in the cone
9. Fast music
10. Tom and Jerry movies
11. Watching movies
12. Jumping on the trampoline
13. Pool time in the summer
14. Catching animals and put them in super small cages (Jace added the last part)
15. Phase 10
16. Dogs
17. Fun games on the computer at school

It bugs me when...

1. I have to keep saying things over and over again
2. When I get pulled away from fun things I'm doing to do chores

What he wants to remember about his birthday:  "That it was really fun having the party at the pool cuz I love to swim!!!"

Happy Birthday Lance!!!  Just love ya!

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

3 Flips for you with all my love~!  (I just found out today that I could do that still!)  Thank you for putting me through all those years of gymnastics!

Also, here are a few more notes from all of us.

What I love about Grampa Gilland:

Kyle:  I like that we got to go to his house.  I played the with marble track.

Cami: He's been nice to me.  I liked playing with the marble track, too.

Lance:  Grampa Gilland has been a good Grampa.  He's been nice to me.  He's been a good example to me and my family.  I liked playing with Zoe.  I liked playing with the marble track, too.  I remember going to the hotel with them and I got SOOOOOO stuffed.   And I ate a whole bunch of food!  It was fun going to the hotel with them.

Jace:  What I love most about Grampa Gilland is eating his food and cooking with him. It tastes really good.

Jenny:  What I love most about Dad is the amount of love that he has for me.  What a great feeling!  I'm so grateful to have a father that cares so much for me. 

Jared:  What I love most about Jim is the love he shows for my family, and the efforts he puts forth to help us be healthy.

April Fool's!

OOOOOH Yum!  Cupcakes for Dinner!  Anyone that comes into my kitchen on April Fool's is one brave cookie... or cupcake!  Hehe.   I found this great recipe here and it was actually pretty yummy!  I thought.  The kids (except Jace) ended up really disappointed.  Ha!  I think I had the most fun with this than anyone ;)

So I was pretty proud of myself for being so sneaky and putting on a movie for the kids to keep them occupied when they got home.  While I was spooning meatloaf into cupcakes and shaping it.
  It was hard not to smile really big when unsuspecting Jace came to me about something he was excited about as I walked with him a little more away from the kitchen.
  I had told them all what day it was this morning before they left for school (fair, right?), but I guess they completely forgot.   The photos are pretty much before they tasted it.  I couldn't get the video to upload their reaction.  Oh well, it's kinda sad anyway.  They got the real thing for dessert though, so I'm not all mean!  I think they'll appreciate it more when they look back on it as a pleasant memory.

Jared was a good sport about it, even though today was his first day back to working days, and his sleep clock is way off.  He was too exhausted to eat.... kinda spoiled my fun, but way to go, cheesin' for the photo anyway!

Cami's 4th Birthday Princess Party

Beautiful Princesses

Happy Birthday, Dear Cami!  My friend, Laura, is a professional cake decorator.  She did awesome!  And it's all made from scratch.  Yum!

Just Chillin' (After the party, Kylie went home and while told her mom that her favorite part of the party was when they went in her room and "just chilled".)

Love this one of Cami's good friend, Saydee, looking at her.  Cami loves these girls.

Turning on their glowing tiaras

Winner of the poison apple game!  Look at that wedding dress.

Pin the slipper on Cinderella



Jace's attempt

Ballroom Dancing

Kyle's smile for the ladies

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!

Kylie explaining to Cami about her gift she picked out for her.



Cami and Kylie in her "party hair".  Her hair is naturally spiral curly beautiful, and her mom, who is a professional hair stylist, straightens it for special occasions, like this ;)

Please be done taking this picture, mom!  We're checking out my presents!

Funny Ilse

It ain't easy bein' a princess.

Why Do We Fast?

Lance is beginning to fast now that he is baptized, and he was doing great for the first few hours, excited to fast for those in Hurricane Sandy.  But as the lunch hour neared he began having a tough time.  (He  has tons of energy and loves to eat.  His need for replenishing his body with fuel is probably much greater than average.).  We looked up these scriptures that I found on Little LDS Ideas, and now he's not thinking about the hunger as much, he's actually still reading scriptures on my phone.  After each scripture, I asked him again why we fast, and the answer's right there.  Perfect.  Here they are:

Why We Fast:

Doctrine and Covenants 88:76—To obey God’s commandment.

Luke 2:37—To serve God.

Alma 45:1—To worship God and show gratitude to him.

Mosiah 27:22–23—To receive special blessings, such as healing.

Alma 5:46—To gain a testimony.

Alma 17:3—To gain the spirit of prophecy and revelation and the ability to teach.

Alma 6:6—For the conversion of people who are not yet members of the Church.

Isaiah 58:6–7—To feed the hungry and clothe the naked.

Joel 2:12—To draw closer to God.

 

Also another great story  that the writer used by Joseph B Wirthlin and his wagon as a little boy right here:

5. I am using Joseph B. Wirthlin's red wagon story from "The Law of the Fast". I'm going to bring a red wagon to fill. I will tape quotes about prayer and fasting (when we fast, the examples of the sons of Mosiah and Nephites, why we fast, etc.) onto cans and boxes of food and a blanket. The children will pick one item at a time, discuss the quote, then place the item in the wagon to fill it by the end. Here is the wagon story: How well I remember my father, the bishop of our ward, filling my small red wagon with food and clothing and then directing me—as a deacon in the Church—to pull the wagon behind me and visit the homes of the needy in our ward. I remember visiting one family in particular: a sickly mother, an unemployed and discouraged father, and five children with pallid faces, all disheartened and hungry. I remember the gratitude that beamed in their faces when I walked up to their door with my wagon nearly spilling over with needed supplies. I remember how the children smiled. I remember how the mother wept. And I remember how the father stood, head bowed, unable to speak. Brothers and sisters, in a sense, you too can bring to a needy family a wagon brimming with hope. How? By paying a generous fast offering. -JOSEPH B. WIRTHLIN (Idea shared by EmmaLee Hammond / ga06282012)

Here's another story from another 8 year old boy in the Friend Magazine.  I'll use this next time he's having hunger pangs:

Prayer and Fasting Work

Andrew Schurman, age 8
LaSalle Ward
Montreal Quebec Mount Royale Stake

Andrew Schurman, “Prayer and Fasting Work,” Friend, Apr. 2000, 48
Before I was baptized, I decided to invite my friend Thomas to church. He said OK, and we went to sacrament meeting and then to Primary. When everything was done, we went home.

I thought that next time I needed to invite every member of Thomas’s family to come to church. On the next fast Sunday, I decided to fast for Thomas and his family. In the morning when I got up, I prayed to Heavenly Father that all of Thomas’s family would agree to come to church. I didn’t eat breakfast or lunch. I took the sacrament but had nothing else to eat or drink. During the day, I prayed about four times for Thomas and his family.

That night we went to the chapel to hear the Christmas Devotional broadcast from Salt Lake City, but the satellite dish wouldn’t work, so we sang Christmas hymns and bore testimonies instead. I got up and bore my testimony for the very first time, and I asked everyone to pray for my friend and his family. A couple of Sundays later, he and his family did come to church, and his mom is now taking the missionary discussions. I think prayer and fasting work.

Going to church can help you learn about Heavenly Father and all that He has given you. If you are a child like me, you can enjoy fun activities while you are learning. Jesus is our Savior, and if you don’t believe me, read the scriptures. I feel good because I can share this with other people, just like the Savior did. They need your help and mine.

 

Learn to Live!

Just notes from President Uchtdorf's talk in General Conference 2 weeks ago but I must have missed and got to read today...

Doesn’t it seem foolish to spoil sweet and joyful experiences because we are constantly anticipating the moment when they will end?
Do we listen to beautiful music waiting for the final note to fade before we allow ourselves to truly enjoy it? No. We listen and connect to the variations of melody, rhythm, and harmony throughout the composition.
Do we say our prayers with only the “amen” or the end in mind? Of course not. We pray to be close to our Heavenly Father, to receive His Spirit and feel His love.
We shouldn’t wait to be happy until we reach some future point, only to discover that happiness was already available—all the time! Life is not meant to be appreciated only in retrospect. “This is the day which the Lord hath made … ,” the Psalmist wrote. “Rejoice and be glad in it.”

My dear brothers and sisters, dear friends, we must begin to walk that eternal path today; we cannot take for granted one single day. I pray that we will not wait until we are ready to die before we truly learn to live.

Uchtdorf, 2012 Oct Conference

My Laborer in the Vineyard

This morning I read the conference talk by Jeffrey R. Holland, given last April, Laborers in the Vineyard.  Later, with Lance, I retold the parable about the householder that hired laborers for the harvest. I told him that his family wouldn't have any food for dinner if he didn't get a job.  I put Lance in the first group of people hired at 6am.  Then I told him about the others that were hired at 9am, then noon.  Then 3pm, then the "11th hour" at about 5pm, who only worked for one hour.  He listened without any opinions.  So when the day was over, Lance got to go and receive a whole $10 to feed his family, as did the rest of those in his group.  And I told him the next people came to get their wages, that had worked 3 less hours than him.  He didn't blink when I told him that they were paid the same $10.  I asked him what did he think the people that came at noon got paid.  He answered, "$10"?  I asked him if he'd heard this story before and he hadn't.  So next question was what did those that only worked 3 hours get paid.  He said, "$10", pleased with himself that he knew the answer.  And finally, those that only worked one hour, of course, got $10.
But, Lance, you worked the WHOLE DAY!  They only worked ONE HOUR. 
"It's fair."  He said.  "They should get the same amount that I got".  End of story.  No more lessons to be learned.  I wish I had learned it so easily as my eight year old.
Looking forward to his baptism next month....

Also here's part of my journal entry I wrote last night:
(... want to note that Lance is a super mover when it comes to cleaning.  I wish I cleaned like that.  Our whole house would benefit.  He went the extra mile when I asked him to put the toys by the door to take to the donation place, he went out and opened the back of the van and loaded it!  He also took the garbage upstairs and dumped it.  Did a lot of the sweeping downstairs.  Man, I love that little man.  I remember thinking his temper was the most difficult thing I had to deal with as a parent.  Now I’m grateful that’s all I have to worry about with him, almost J

Lance with one of his Mod Podge projects this summer, a pinewood derby car from his Boys' Life magazine