Crazy Christmas Times

We have been in Little Rock celebrating Christmas since last Friday, December 21st with family, family, and more family (sorry still no pics). Every other year the entire Martin crew converges on Little Rock for a good ole fashion Griswald Family Christmas. Family gatherings for us are getting more and more crazy because well let' s be honest we have 3 children 3 and under, combine that with family houses that haven't consistently had children that little for a long time and lots and lots of breakables and general children's hazards and you have yourself a recipe for hearing a lot of "don't touch that, don't fall off that, don't lick that, don't eat that, watch out for your brother, and a various array of other random statements you wouldn't hear at an asylum for the mentally disturbed. All in all we have had a wonderful Christmas vacation...err holiday and our children are mostly well and happy.

Cooper's favorite gift was probably his new cars from the movie CARS which he pushes all over the house and takes everywhere we go. Jack, as Nana (Tamara's mom) called it liked more than anything else his 2 $.98 toy horses that he carries around with him. Kate could care less as long as she stays fed and gets her sleep...which thankfully she is a champion sleeper. Some of our favorite memories so far this Christmas include Jack asking me every night if Santa is coming, telling me that Santa is out running right now, and a host of other Jackisms. Cooper keeps us laughing with most everything he does but some of my sweetest memories of him from this Christmas involve his incredible imagination and ability to remember stories. At night when we go to bed we read the bible and he has memorized word for word several stories and he holds the bible and reads it to me and Jack and pauses where I would pause and waits for Jack to fill in the blanks. Also, Cooper and Jack both sure love their baby sister and shower her with hugs and kisses. Kate is my little cutie and she is growing so much and is the sweetest little gift and good reminder that Jesus entered the world the same way we do and grew up just like we do. One difference in us and Him is that from the time he was born his purpose was clear and he pursued it with every ounce of who he was, all too often we know our purpose and yet we struggle to find true north in the midst of the sin that so easily entangles us. Our purpose is the same as that of Christ Jesus, to lay down our life for the glory of the Father. What an amazing responsibility and opportunity we have every day to live life with that in mind.

I hope and pray that your Christmas holiday has been a blessing and you are refreshed and ready to pursue this day and every day thereafter with the purpose that God intends for you. Blessings.

Stephen

Words that make you melt

First of all I fully realize that we are slacking...correction I am slacking on blogging and posting new pics of the kids. Now that we have that formality out of the way I wanted to share some updates with you as we head into Christmas. Tamara and I ran a 5k last weekend in preparation for the Little Rock half-marathon in March. We are doing well and training is going pretty well, although this week has been a bit challenging due to the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping and such.

Cooper last night almost brought tears to my eyes that if I weren't trying to be macho probably would have as I over heard him telling Tamara something very sweet out of the love in his heart for his mommy. He said, Mommy, you know what makes you so beautiful? When you give us kisses. Usually when he tells Tamara she is beautiful or pretty it is because I have coached him to do so, but not this time. This time it was a little boy who loves his mommy expressing to her the out of a pure heart. It was so precious. Then, if that little boy didn't come over to me and melt my heart even more. He said, Daddy, you know what my favorite part of the day is? When I hear the door open when you get home from work and I come running to you saying Daddy Daddy because you're the bestest Daddy in the whole wide world. To be honest it was everything I could do not to let a tear roll down my face and then he threw his arms around my neck and gave me a big hug and kiss and said I love you Daddy!!!

I am pretty sure I could have died right there and my life been complete. Think about in terms of Christmas, think about how God loves to hear us make this realization that He is the bestest Daddy in the whole wide world when we turn from our sins and run to Him throwing our arms around His neck and saying I love you Daddy. Praise Him because it never matters what we have done or how far we have strayed from Him, when we turn and repent from our way of life and run towards Him He embraces us and we feel the love of the bestest Daddy in the whole wide world.

Jack is talking better and better every day and I am pretty sure on the cute scale this kid is a 10+, they all are but there is something about Jack's personality right now that I am so in love with, minus the whining and the grumbling. Even when he says no he makes the cutest face, with his no ending with big puckered lips and a furrowed brow. Everything with Jack right now is 5 minyets (minutes) and he is so in love with this little bible that was Tamara's from 1979. I don't know if there is significance there or not, but I can't help but think about all the time we spent praying over him with a Psalm posted in his hospital bed that it is no wonder he loves his bible. He wants to take it everywhere and he wants Cooper (Bubba) to take his bible everywhere. Often Jack will walk around the house with his bible and then bring Cooper his bible and say to Cooper, Bubba bible...rea it (read it), then he will pick up my bible and bring it to me and say, Daddy bible...rea it. Accountability! It has been such a beautiful reminder of not only my need to be in God's word but my need to model that before my family where it is part of our life. Jack loves to read stories about Moses, Samson, Goliath, and Jesus; I only wish I could type those words like they sound coming out of his precious little mouth. What an amazing gift we have in him.

Sweet Kate just loves her mom and dad, why you ask? She sleeps like Jack did when he was little, meaning a lot. Tamara usually feeds Kate between 7 or 8pm and we don't hear from her again until 8'ish the next morning. She is so laid back and beautiful. In fact, I felt my Daddy protector kick in the other day as I heard Tamara say something Luke Davidson being her boyfriend....in my head I was thinking yeah right when she is 25. We are looking so forward to Christmas and spending our first full holiday season together with full quiver. Thank you for the blessing that you are to our family.

God Bless You All
Stephen and Family

Update Time

Today, Kate had her 2 month check-up and of course those pesky shots they have to give little babies. I stayed in the car with a sleeping Jack while Tam took Kate to see the doctor, who of course thinks Kate is amazing. However, like her brothers, especially Cooper she doesn't much care for those nurses that come in the room and pretend to be her friend and then stick her with shots in her little legs. Tam said she turned a shade of red like she had not seen before, I guess it is good to know that she has good lungs. She did well with her shots and she weighs 10lbs 14ozs and is doing very well. She has been smiling a lot lately, and it seems her two favorite people right now are of course Mommy and her big brother Cooper. She smiles almost every time he comes close to her and she hears his voice, which of course makes him light up like the Griswald Family Christmas light display. Jack is doing better this week than last when he had a fever and the yuck most of the weekend. He has been a little more clingy than normal but hey he is the middle child. We have almost decided that he for sure is going to be our artsy fartsy emo kid which we are fine with by the way. He loves to read and play both the real toy guitar as well as the air guitar and his speech is coming along very well. Cooper and Jack love each other dearly and of course they fight like brothers. Tam and I will have been married for 6 years this Saturday and we both think we would like to stick it out for several more years to come. We are having a lot of fun and love being married and raising this crazy family together. There is the update for now, we love you all and hope you have a great Thanksgiving.

Ok...so blogging is a work in progress but hey so is parenting...right?

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, a good friend of mine let me know that I need to get on the ball and get new pics of Kate up before she turns 1. So in an attempt to do so I am going to quickly let you know what is going on the crazy world of Martinville.

Kate, CUTE CUTE CUTE!!!! We sometimes just sit and look at her. She is so precious and a wonderful reminder of God's goodness to us not only in the gift of her life but in His provision in her days in utero. We went out for Halloween a couple of nights ago and of course she went as a princess...well at least for part of the night. I say for part of the night because like every girl, a night out wouldn't be complete without at least one "outfit" change. We stopped at our dear friends the Mooney's to trick or treat and they gave us a precious little zebra costume they had purchased for their little boy. Many of you have been praying for the Mooneys and for Eliot their son who had trisome 18, a genetic disorder; he went to be with the Father last Friday. It was sad, but his life was a ministry beyond what my words can explain. Matt and Ginny (Mooney) have blessed our lives so much by allowing us to share in Eliot's story and his impact will forever send ripples across circles of people who know and hear about his story. Praise God for the 99 days Eliot lived on this earth and now forever with Him in Eternity. Kate was happy to wear Eliot's zebra in fact she looked like she loved it so much she was passed out drunk sleeping....but again so cute. She is sleeping pretty well at night sometimes up to 6-8 hours for which Mom and Dad are thankful. She has already been to Florida and been to the beach, for my birthday trip from Tamara we (Tam, Kate, and I) went to Tampa to see a Buccaneers game and spend time with family...it was great.


Jack, participated in the festivities as a fire fighter, all kudos to Mom who came up with the boys costumes. He is talking more and more every day and is a ball of fun mixed with a 2 year old attitude. It seems like when I am not clutched over laughing at him I am scratching my head at his attitude. He loves being a big brother, in fact if you go looking for Kate's pacifier when she gets upset often times you will find Jack's gorilla in her bouncy seat with her as he tries to share his toys.

Cooper, hmmm I don't know where to start with this boy. He cracks me up and is such a big brother. He can be heard telling Kate on occasion, "Settle down...it's ok Kater Taters" He loves to help and to be a part of whatever is going on with Kate. He went as Bob the Builder and even pulled Jack and Taylor Davidson in the wagon while we went trick or treating. He loves life except most things that involve sleep...still struggling with that one. His big thing right now is to mismatch whatever he is wearing on purpose and see where he can go with 2 different color flip-flops on or 2 different socks. He still climbs on everything like a monkey and also is so sweet and precious...you know when he is asleep. I am kidding, he is a sweet boy and is a wonderful big brother to Kate all the time and to Jack most of the time....boys will be boys.

Ok that should catch you up to speed on what is going on right now in Casa Martin. I will try to do a better job of posting and adding pics.

love to all
stephen

Katherine Grace..it's official

We are enjoying having Kate here at home and again standing in awe of God and provision over our family. The first couple of nights were a bit long...long would be a good word as little girl had her days and nights mixed up, but last night the Lord knew we were tired and she slept really well.
Kate had her first visit to the pediatrician who was pleased with her weight (7lbs 1.2 oz) and said she looks great. We go back to see the pediatrician in 2 weeks for another check-up. Tamara got her staples out yesterday and is getting along amazingly well. Cooper and Jack love having a baby sister in the house. Many times you can hear Jack walking around the house when Kate is fussing saying, she sad....she sad....she sad. I know it seems early but those boys are so great with baby Kate and love her so much.
My biggest struggle right now is finding myself loosing sight of God's great favor on our family and I don't know why other than I am a selfish me centered person. However, when I stop and thank about it even for a minute I am so amazed and blown away at the amount of love God has for me and my family. Kate is a visible reminder of that love and blessing every day and so are Cooper, Jack, and Tamara. I will post more soon, and hopefully more pictures.
Blessings,
stephen

Just Kate

Providence...Sweet providence

God is beyond good and today I know that again in my life. Today, September 15th, 2006 we were able to bring Katherine "Kate" Grace Martin home from the hospital just 2 days after she was born. This is the day we have been praying for that we would be able to walk out the doors of Willow Creek Women's Hospital with our precious little baby girl in our arms and today God has allowed us to do that.
Providence encompasses our delivery of this baby girl from the beginning of this pregnancy all the way to the time we pulled up in front of our house to welcome her into a home that is full of love for this gift from God. Providence is defined as divine guidance or care.
Providence, Tamara decided on a feeling to call the clinic on Wednesday due to the contractions she had been having and a few other symptoms that were different than days before, when she called the clinic Dr. Partridge-Hix said she would wait for us at the clinic and we could slide right in. Providence because Dr. Partridge-Hix is married to Dr. Hix that delivered our baby and had seen us throughout this pregnancy. Providential in that Dr. Hix has 4 children all of which were premature so he knows what he is doing as does Paige his wife also an OB/GYN.
When we went to visit Paige she examined Tamara and discovered that she was already dilated to a 3.5 and informed us that Robert (Dr. Hix) was on call and would be waiting for us downstairs to do a c-section "pretty quick".
More providence, Dr. Hix doesn't usually do call on Wednesdays but this Wednesday he was on call and knew every bit about this pregnancy and how we wanted to proceed not to mention was able to walk us through every step of the way.
After Kate was born she was having some issues with her blood pooling in her extremities, nothing serious but unsightly and what do you know in comes more providence. Our wonderful nursery nurse for the first day was a sweet lady named Lorraine who "just happened" to have had several years of Neonatal ICU training. Kate was experiencing some discoloration due to the fancy word that I can't remember, we called providence...oops I mean Lorraine and she came right down. Lorraine told us that if it was ok with us she would take Kate back to the nursery and put her on monitors to watch her and make sure everything was still stable, which it was. While in the nursery Lorraine taught Kate how to improve her suck/swallow reflex necessary for proper nourishment by lovingly working with her through the night.
Thursday came and we were able to have Kate in the room with us all day as we continued to pray that we would be albe to all leave together, and Kate and Tamara would be ready sooner rather than later. We had a good day on Thursday and Kate stayed in our room for all but about 1.5 hours in the early morning Friday.
Then the news came as Dr. Davis the pediatrician came by to tell us that Kate looked great and that if it was ok with Dr. Hix to be discharged today then it was ok with him too. We got excited that we had received clearance to bring this little girl home, and then Dr. Hix came by with more great news...GO HOME!!!!
We drove home thankful that exactly what we had been trusting God for had now come to pass. Cooper and Jack are so excited to be big brothers though Cooper understands more and is sooo sweet with her. We are home and excited to be here. Check back more for more pics. Providence...sweet providence. Like I told Lorraine during a special story she shared with me, it's like God really does know what is better for us than we do. Home sweet home.

She is Here

Well Praise God, she is here!!!! Katherine (not sure this is how we will spell it yet) Grace Martin was born today a few days before her scheduled delievery date of Sept 22nd but hey can't blame a girl for wanting to wear a bow like that. She was born at 5:14pm on September 13th, she weighs 7lbs 8ozs and is 20" long. She is so cute and reminds us a lot of Cooper when he was born. Mom and baby are doing well.

The nurses are going to watch Kate overnight and make sure everything continues to show wonderful health. These pics don't do her justice she is so chubby and cute and has a head full of dark hair and signs of curls.

The boys are excited and I will post more pics soon...I am home packing my bags...Donna, isn't that something you are supposed to do beforehand? Love you all, join us as we thank God for the arrival of this precious little girl.

Love you
One Proud Daddy

Bonus Time

Today was a milestone, we are now officially in uncharted territory as far as carrying a baby. In fact, as of 4:43p.m. we have now carried this child longer than Cooper or Jack, and are creeping toward September 22nd. What a day that will be!

I failed to mention in my last post that we are also now past the point where "if" we were to go into labor right now they would not need to give Tamara any steroid shots for the baby's lung development and that is a welcomed relief.

In the pending arrival of this little girl my (our) prayers remain the same, carry her to the delivery date, health, and all leave the hospital together. I am praying specifically for the health of this little girl as both our other boys put the yellow in a banana to shame with jaundice. We are so excited that in just 12 days we will meet this little girl and welcome her into a sea of people who have been praying for her and are ready to love her. Thank you again for praying for us.

More later this week
Stephen

In Awe

Today we had our 35 week visit and all is still well, no change. I never thought something not changing could be so great, but it is. Tamara is doing well and the baby is doing great, in fact she measures 36 weeks. We go back next Thursday for another visit and then from there the next time we will see Dr. Hix will be on D-day...Delivery day. We are now 2 weeks away from meeting little...oh wait she doesn't have a name yet. In fact, she has a lot of possibilities so maybe we will call her Many Martin (for the amount of names we have looked at and considered) and if you say it fast it sounds like Mini Martin although she will be huge compared to little Jack's entrance into this world at 2lbs 4ozs. Many Martin.

I don't know if you have ever just stood and in been in awe of something, but today I have found myself reflecting on a few reason why I am and should be in awe of God and His graciousness. First, I was in awe again today with the news of no change, not because I didn't think God could or would do that more just in the fact that He has. I hope that makes sense to you, I know in my heart and believe by faith that God is able to do abundantly more than I could ever even ask for but when it happens before your very eyes there is reason to stand in awe. In fact, we were leaving Dr. Hix's office today right around lunch time to go home and relieve our baby sitter (thank you Caroline) and I called one of my best friends to tell him the news of no change when it dawned on me and I shared it with him, 2 weeks from now (then 12:20 p.m.) people will be driving to the hospital on their lunch hour to see our precious little girl. Don't be mistaken there is no chance you are going to hold her...She is mine...MINE. Wait, no that isn't even right she too is a gift from God and again I stand in awe.

Second, I stand in awe because I don't think I ever even came close to realizing the love God is and has for us in giving up his only son for me until I witnessed the birth of my own children. I have never known love like that. I love my wife more than you will ever know and I love my family like crazy, but it feels different when you lay eyes on your own child. All the the other love I can remember feeling or experiencing in my life previous to having Cooper consisted of learning to love things and people through experiences and circumstances, but not with my kids, when they were born and even before but for sure when I laid my eyes on them for the first time I was instantly in love. My perspective was forever changed when I held Cooper for the first time and remember thinking about how much God loves me to send His son to die in my place that I could forever be with God. I stand in awe of our God who loves us so much He gave up His only son.

Third, I stood in awe today because I realized that the Lord has blessed me beyond what I could have ever hoped or imagined with my family and extended family, my health, my job, my house, my friends, and so much more. The crazy part about that is there is a world of blessings out there that I don't even know about yet. A world of awe, and I am grateful because I am His.

I don't ever want to stop having awe moments with God, and I never want to loose sight of the fact that God has done more for me then I can ever do for Him. My life in service, dedication, admiration, and love to Him flails in comparison to what He has already done for me, yet it is what I am called to do, give all of me to all of Him. There is much to stand in awe of for me and these are only my thoughts from today. Praise God for who He is and what He has done.

I will post more later in the week with an update on the boys because let me tell you they are something else and I love it.

Love you all
Stephen

T-Minus

We went back for our 34 week visit yesterday, did I mention 34 weeks? All is well once again at the doctor's office and more importantly no change once again. Monday we will be 8 weeks further along than we were with Jackson and rapidly approaching a September 22nd delivery date.

We asked Dr. Hix yesterday what his thoughts were on the size of this little girl right now and after giving the eye to the belly and a little measuring he thinks she is upwards of 6lbs right now. He said he thinks we will hit the 7lb mark with her before this pregnancy is over. The sound of 6lbs almost brought tears to my eyes as I was once again reminded of God's provision and hedge of protection around this baby girl's life before she is ever born. 6lbs now and 7lbs in 3 weeks is bigger than Jack was after spending 69 days in the hospital. Go ahead and pinch yourself and go back to the beginning of this paragraph and read the part about how much this little girl is going to weigh. I am never really sure why I am amazed when God provides for us when we ask...hello, He is God and that is why we trust Him to do all things according to His plan. Praise the Lord for how well this pregnancy is going even though Tam is getting(...err strike that) Tam is ready to have this little girl from a comfort standpoint, we are content to wait until the time has come. Not that I am counting but as of today it is 20 days away!!!

We have plenty of help here this weekend as the family is in town for the USC game here in Fayetteville, GO HOGS! Tamara has baby girl a modified girlie Razorback jersey ready to support her favorite team when she is born. It is a Matt Jones jersey that Jack used to wear that now has pom-pom fringe on the bottom, cute and girlie.

Please continue to pray for this precious baby and for Tamara. Thank you again for your prayers and for your calls and help. We love you all.

Stephen

Little Blessings

While our kids are in Little Rock this week giving my wife some much needed rest time while on bedrest we have been getting the house ready little by little. What a blessing it is to have amazing in-laws and family to help. Last night Tamara and I went out to one of our favorite restaurants, the Market Place, where we ran into one of our favorite college girls who at this time will remain nameless although you know who you are. Anyway to make a long story short after we finished our meal we were sitting around talking just the two of us which was weird because we weren't telling anyone to stop eating paper or get your hands out of the ketchup, our college friends left wishing us a nice evening. Our waiter came by about 5 minutes later asked if we wanted anythign else and then informed us that our "friends" had picked up our check. Tamara and I were so blown away at this gesture and blessing that we just sat there stunned for a while. What an amazing thing to just have a free dinner as a blessing from a sweet college student with a huge heart. Thank you thank you for blessing us last night. I pray that we too will take advantage of an opportunity to bless someone else unexpectedly.
We go back to the doctor on Friday when we will be 34 weeks and only 3 weeks away from meeting this little girl, Sept 22nd and the countdown is on. Just to offer a little perspective on this pregnancy, Jackson had already been in the hospical for 51 of his 69 days at this point. Praise God and thank you for your prayers for this precious gift we are about to have. I told Tamara and the Lord that if he wanted me to go through the experience of Jack again with the NICE stay I could and would do because I knew he would give me the faith and strength to do so but if I was going to be trusting God and asking boldly regarding this pregnancy I have been praying that we wouldn't have to do the extended stay again. In fact the more time that goes by the more I can see the real possibility that I am probably going to get to walk out of the hospital a couple of days after she is born with my baby girl in one arm and holding my wife's hand with the other...What a great day that will be.
I will report more on Friday.

Stephen

"What we have here is failure to communicate"

Today we went to the doctor for our weekly check on baby #3 and I am pleased to report that everything is sailing along smoothly. Everyday we wake up and Tamara is still carrying this baby girl I praise our great God in Heaven. Every Friday before we enter into the Park Hill Clinic for Women for our weekly visit with Dr. Hix my prayers are the same; "Father I pray that there is no change again today in this pregnancy but more than that I pray that I will have faith to trust you with whatever the doctor tells us. Thank you that you are in control and I am not, help me to trust You and increase my faith." When I hear those words from Dr. Hix, no change I again praise God.
Today we are in the first day of the 34th week and Monday we will be 7 weeks further along in this pregnancy than we were when we delivered Jackson, and again I praise God. At the end of our visit today, Dr. Hix wanted us to visit with the lady who schedules all the c-sections. All along we have been told that we would deliever this little girl, known by Cooper her oldest brother as Kutty (we have no idea where he got this name, but pronounced Cut-t), on the 1st day of the 37th week which calendars out to be September 15th...or so we thought. To make a long story short, we had had a misunderstanding about when the 1st day of week 37 actually is counted and now we are scheduled for a c-section on September 22nd. We have to be at the hospital at 7:15am and surgery is scheduled for 8:45am. This was a bit of a set back for Tamara today as she was worried about my birthday and Kutty's (not her real name...not sure of that yet) being on back to back days. I don't know what greater gift I could be given than the precious life of a little girl and to be reminded of God's graciousness to us every year as we share back to back birthdays. However, for those of you who know Tamara very well, this was NOT what she had in her mind.
Kutty's room is mostly done now and it is so cute. Tamara and our wonderful friend Katherine Sasser (known by our kids as Aunt Katherine because we are pretty much family) put a lot of the finishing touches on her room last night and today. It is so pink and cute that Tamara had to just walk back in there today and report that it was indeed still cute. Katherine has been amazing to bring their (Timm & Katherine) two children to our house this week to help Tamara with our kids while she is on bedrest. Katherine and Tamara are so much a like and compliment each other very well with similar taste in decorating and views on life. It is no wonder that Annie (Timm and K's oldest) and Cooper (our oldest) play so well together and love each other. All that to say Katherine has been a life saver and a blessing to be here in our home this week helping to prepare the way for baby # 3...you know, Kutty.
We are beyond excited about the arrival of baby # 3 and as of right now we are 28 days away from holding that precious little girl in our arms and meeting this gift from God with all the love we have to give. Excitement would be an understatement. I will post more as there is more to post. Thank you for your prayers and for your help in praying this little girl into this world.

love
Stephen & the rest of the Martins (Tamara, Cooper, Jackson, and little Kutty)