Milestones....

We have already established that I (using Chris Farley quotation hands) "am not a good blogger", maybe I don't "blog with regularity' and perhaps I am a "slacker" or am "too busy" nevertheless here is a recent post with the recent news about what is going on in Martinville.

Kate is walking...that's right I said it...she is walking!!!! It has been so fun to watch her start walking although I will say that she is not walking exclusively, only when she wants to. She has been walking a few steps here and there for about a month and half but today she was walking around more and more. She is so happy almost all the time and when she is not she has developed a steady new routine of a full body flail usually resulting in her head on the nearest hard object followed by a nice cry. Kate is also laughing a lot, waving, and saying bye bye every time I leave. She also blows kisses to me when I leave which is so special for me as a daddy.

Jack is doing really well and is doing really well in his speech therapy with Ms. Dee. She comes by his Mother's Day Out class and works with him while he is already there for school and he is really talking well. He continues to be a walking testimony to us of God's provision and blessing as each of our children do. His sense of humor keeps us all cracking up and he still loves his brother more than life itself. Every day that he has school he asks me, "Tay Tay gonna be der? Thomas gonna be der?" He loves being in Mrs. Jennifer's class who was Cooper's teacher last year.

Cooper is a great protective big brother and loves to take care of Kate. They have a special relationship and she still lights up like a Christmas tree every time he comes around. Sometimes she will only do things when Coop is around, like tonight at dinner, she would only eat her apple sauce when Cooper gave it to her. Recently, Tamara and I had our first parent teacher conference with Cooper's preschool teacher, Mrs Lineberger, who he loves. It was a proud parent moment as we sat in little kid chairs in the classroom that Cooper spends Tuesdays and Thursdays in and heard someone else brag about how well our son is doing in class. We picked Mrs Lineberger because some of our other friends had her as a teacher last year and she always shot straight with them about their son's behavior and performance in class. Cooper is doing really well, is playing and including all the kids in the class, and he is learning a lot in preschool. He knows how to spell is name and write his name and Mrs. Linberger said he is the first one to come sit down when it is show and tell time. She said that he loves to read books in class and also loves to dig for worms on the playground. We left there feeling great about his time in preschool and great about how well he is doing in preschool.

Tamara is doing some work doing what she loves to do, picking stuff out for houses. She picks everything from bricks to fixtures. She is working hard and doing well and she seems to be loving every minute of it. We are nearing our 7th year anniversary and are looking forward to the beginning of year number 8.

To date, I don't remember a fall that has been this busy with a full work load and new ministry strategies at work, seminary classes, and trying to be the best husband and dad that I can for my family. I am excited about an upcoming opportunity that God has provided me. I will be leading a group of college students to Kenya this Christmas break. We leave December 31st and will return January 12th. We have been fund raising, praying, meeting, and getting ready for whatever the Lord wants to do in and through us during our time in Kenya. Please pray for us as we continue to raise prayer support and finances to go on this trip. We hope to see as many of you as possible over the holidays and catch up in person.

Love to all
the martins