Zeke's 12 Years Old!

Zeke Russell is a 12 year old! 

Let's see what he was up to this last year.

We celebrated his 11th Birthday on his actual birthday which was Monday, May 22nd. Ga-Ga & Pa came to dinner. Zeke's siblings got him Pokémon cards and a BeyBlade. Michael and I got him a giant bag of suckers. 

Of course Ga-Ga & Pa brought the OJEZ box which was filled with $111!!! 

The kids youth pastor had a birthday and I had made him a cake and used those candy letters to spell out Happy Birthday. I still had some of them left, but of course I didn't have all the letters I needed. I was able to spell out 'ZMan is' and then use the candles to make an 11. 

On Saturday, June 3rd we had a joint Birthday BBQ for both Zeke and Jack. It was a gorgeous day so we mainly hung out on the deck. Zeke prefers chocolate cake and chocolate frosting. 

As an early kick off to summer we headed to the beach with the Storer's. Josiah found this cool piece of drift wood that looked like a gun and gave it to Zeke. 

Michael took the older boys and went on a Rafting Trip with our church so it was just the three of us. I decided to go to Red Robin for dinner. It's always weird doing things without all 6 of us, but the bill was smaller which was super nice! 

We officially finished school on June 16th...Zeke was moving onto 6th grade!!! Middle School here he comes. It's funny since we homeschool I don't honestly even think about their grade most of the time. They just do their work.

Cute buddies!!! 

Jack and Zeke still tend to be the ones that play together the most. We have faced some struggles recently with kids not wanting to play together or always saying no when someone asks if someone wants to play a game. Our solution to that was to cut out electronic time and kids can only read right before school and bed. This time with all the kids together under one roof will be over before we know it so it's best to cherish the time we do have by spending it together and actually doing things with each other. 

The day after school got out we headed out for our first camping trip of the summer. Camping is definitely one of Zeke most favorite things to do. This year with Michael using a bunch of his vacation days to fix the house and the fact that Michael and I will be in Maui for 10 days in September we aren't actually going on a lot of camping trips which makes Zeke sad. Not that we aren't doing fun things this summer. In early June we are going on a Rafting Trip with our church...Zeke and I will just be there to hang out...next year we will actually raft when he's old enough. We're also going camping in June with the Kuch's. The kids are all going to summer camp and we will be heading down to Oregon for a day for the Family Reunion. I did also booked a camping trip at Dash Point State Park towards the end of September. It's super close to home, but it will mean that we'll use the trailer 3 times this summer. 

He also enjoys photo bombing as well! :) 

If there is something to climb Zeke is there!!! These two pictures were taken in Eastern Washington during our camping trip at Ephrata. 

This was during our camping trip with the Kuch's out at the ocean. 

This was at Mossy Rock State Park during our camping trip at Taidnapam. 

We borrowed these small kayaks from the Kuch's and Zeke absolutely loved cruising around in one for hours. 

Hiking to Cathedral Falls....hikes used to not be Zeke's cup of tea, but he's getting better. He still gets really nervous sometimes and after a while he's just ready to start heading back to camp, but he's able to go much farther and longer than he used to. 

The last full day of camping at Taidnapam, Michael, Zeke and I walked all around the campground exploring. It was fun! 

Check out all that work he did his 5th grade year! Zeke is the only one of the kids that is fully at grade level so he only has to complete 12 PACE's in each subject. Even though he has the least amount of work to do each year and each day for that matter...Zeke still struggles with school. He is very easily distracted and he can space out many times a day. This is something that we've been dealing with since starting homeschool and I was really hopeful that he would grow out of it, but in all honesty it seems to be getting worse. Earlier this year I addressed my concerns with Michael and we've decided to move forward with getting Zeke evaluated for ADHD. We aren't sure if he has it, but we would feel terrible if we found out later he did and we could have done something about it. He actually has an eval appt with The Yellow Brick Clinic in June & July so hopefully we'll get some answers and get on a path to help him prior to next school year. 

Last summer Zeke went off to his second year of summer camp with our church. This time around he wasn't the only boy going...Daniel & Sean came as well! 

Zeke is the most creative kid....in all honesty he doesn't need much to entertain himself besides his Stuffies, some tape, cardboard and tin foil. He makes the coolest things too...like armor for his stuffed animals. Once he's made the armor he sets up these elaborate battle scenes. He's pretty rad! 

For the Back To School Bash we went to Red Robin with Papa & Grandma Ruth. 

Climbing isn't only reserved for the outdoors! 

Starting 6th Grade!!! 

My sweet youngest boy!!! 

Zeke is not a very snuggly kid at all. He actually gets really tickly when we hug him. Most of the time I have to hug him with my arms, but I can't let my hands touch him I have to clasp my hands together like I'm doing in the picture above or I have to hold my hands off his body so they aren't touching him. 

One of the mom's at Ella's choir asked me if we'd be interested in an electric drum set. Zeke had mentioned that he wanted to learn to play the drums so I figured why not...plus she was giving them away for free! The best part is Zeke has to use headphones so we don't have to listen to him practicing. Of course shortly after this we started the remodel of their room so the drums got moved to the garage. Then with the house flooding they got buried in the garage behind of a bunch of supplies so Zeke hasn't gotten to play them in months. Hopefully soon we'll be able to get to them set up so he can start practicing again. 

Sweet guy wanted to be a Seahawks player for Halloween. He was so excited when his costume came in the mail that he wore his helmet for the rest of the night. 

Going to the pumpkin patch / corn maze is one of our favorite fall activities. 

Zeke still seems like such a little guy, but just recently he was looking at a family picture where Owen is the same age as he is now and Zeke is actually taller than Owen was. It's just hard to compare since right now Owen and Jack are so tall. Zeke will catch up eventually! 

So proud of his white pumpkin! He actually cleaned out his own pumpkin guts this year which he says was kind of fun and disgusting all at the same time. He also carve his pumpkin all by himself! 

Check out that loot! The funny thing is...Zeke isn't a huge candy eater at all. He would much rather had salty treats than sweets. So much so when we get ice cream he usually lets it melt and then still doesn't eat it all. With the exception of the Lactose Free Vanilla Ice Cream that I like to buy for me....of course he likes to eat that! :) 

I just love these cute stair step kiddos! Zeke is like a step and a half down though! 

I have no memory of this, but one night we had a chicken fight between Zeke and Charlie. I'm guessing Charlie won since he has claws! 

During Thanksmas the boys (Jack & Zeke) got to show Caleb their new and improved room. 

Sweet handsome guy! 

Excited on Christmas Morning! 

Zeke loves all the Mission Impossible movies...even though most of the time he can't sit still long enough to watch the whole movie. :) 

Zeke is also a huge goofball as these pictures can show you! 

In January I decided to take Zeke to see an Allergist. He was so miserable and it didn't seem like anything was helping so off we went to get him tested. 

Here was his back after just a few minutes. I brought the Switch with us so we could play Mario Kart in hopes of distracting him from being uncomfortable. Of course that was really hard when he was having such a bad reaction. 

Here was his back after I got to clean it off and rubbed cream on it. It actually took 3 days for this to completely disappear and that was with him taking allergy meds and using cream. The verdict was...Skin testing positive to trees, grass, weeds, mold. Skin testing mildly positive to cat hair. Skin testing negative to dustmites, dog hair. So Zeke's regimen is now Allegra, D-Hist and Flonase when he's really bad. The Allergist also recommended getting a Hepa Air Purifier. We actually ended up getting 3 since our house is so big. Thankfully because the Dr. recommended it we were able to get them paid for through Michael's VEBA account.

Sugar Sugar and more Sugar!!! 

Ever since all the construction on the house we've been doing school in the office and the living room. Zeke's desk has been a folding table that he puts a blanket on to make it more comfortable. Well Charlie thinks it's comfortable too so sometimes Zeke loses out on some of his work space! Just recently with the floors getting finished Zeke and Owen have started working at the dining room table so Charlie doesn't get his nice soft folding table to sleep on anymore. 

The other day while Michael was finishing up the floors and Zeke was trying to figure out where he should eat his lunch. He made do with the craziness by being right in the middle of the mess! 

My sweet Zeke Russell...

One year closer to being a teenager. It's funny because half the time I honestly forget how old you are. Since the 3 older are all teenagers I just assume you are as well. Not that I'm rushing to have 4 teenagers, but I will say teenagers are way more fun than I thought they'd be so I'm not worried about having 4 in the least bit! 

You are definitely the youngest in the bunch...the baby of the family. Speaking of baby you are still struggling with baby talk. We have tried many different discipline methods to get you to stop, but they only work for a short time. I've just reverted to saying 'big' anytime I hear you talking in baby talk. That seems to be the least intrusive way to correct the behavior in the moment without making a big deal about it or embarrassing you. 

This school year has honestly been super frustrating for you and me. You have struggled so badly with staying focused and on task and it has definitely worn on the both of us. I'm really eager to get you evaluated. I have no idea if we will get answers or a diagnosis, but at least we'll know. If you do get a diagnosis, we will have to evaluate the possible options in regards to how to deal with that diagnosis. We just want the best for you buddy. I know this has affected you as just as much as me. It's been so hard seeing you frustrated and down on yourself because of you not being able to focus. 

You are still the pickiest eater by far. It's like pulling teeth to get your to try something new. Honestly we are at a really frustrating stage with you right now. I know things will get better you will grow up a bit more each year I guess I just get a bit impatient with you. We did play a card game the other day that you thought you weren't going to like and then you ended up really enjoying it. I asked you to think about that situation and compare it to trying new food. You are always saying you don't like something before you even try it so could food end up being just like that game that you actually ended up liking because you finally gave it a shot. That definitely got you thinking so who knows...maybe now you'll be willing to try new things.

My sweet Zeke Man....I love you so much buddy. I know that God has big things in store for you. This upcoming year is going to be awesome for you. I'm claiming it! You are going to grow, thrive and do amazing things. There will still be challenges that arise and that's okay those challenges teach you and stretch you. No matter what Daddy and I will be here to help you walk through those challenges. We'll be your biggest cheer leaders along the way! But know that no matter how much we love you and cheer you on...God loves you even more than we do. He wants what's best for you and He is molding you and shaping you into the man He wants you to be for His glory. 

Happy 12th Birthday Buddy! 

25 Years!

How do you sum up 25 years of marriage? 

You start at the beginning of course! 

The night we got engaged...we were 17 years old and I couldn't imagine living a day without this man. It's crazy to say that now that we have a 17 year old ourselves, but we just knew. When I gazed into my minds eye at my future, he was there. I didn't need college, a career or an inflated bank account...I just needed him! 

We literally grew into adults together and were with each other through the big milestones such as our graduations from high school. We weren't dating when Michael graduated in 1997, but I was there. By my graduation we had already been engaged for over a month. 

May 8th 1999

Still love kissing on him! 

I only had eyes for him then and I only have eyes for him now! 

We honeymoon in Oahu for a week!  

We had one big thing planned each day and we had loads of fun...minus almost losing Michael's wallet in the Pacific Ocean and almost being pulled out to sea with the tide. 

During the beginning of our marriage we lived in an apartment in Renton. It was like playing house! It was so much fun growing up together. 

We lived in that apartment for about 2 years before moving to a townhouse. We only lived there for about 10 months before we bought our condo. 

I loved our condo....it was 2 stories with a daylight basement. We lived there for 4 years and really made it a home. This was the home that I was sure we were going to bring a baby home to. But God had other plans. 

This was a very hard time in our lives dealing with infertility and miscarrying Brayden, but instead of growing apart or getting angry at or blaming each other we clung to each other. We knew that the only way we would make it through was by the grace of God. His grace was/is sufficient for us. 

The desire of our hearts was fulfilled in the birth of Owen Michael Martin on January 15th, 2007. He is a miracle baby, an answer to countless prayers and a physical manifestation of the goodness of God. 

16 months and 10 days later God blessed us with Jackson Daniel Martin on June 5th, 2008. He's the only baby that truly shocked us. We were so sure that Owen was going to be the only miracle, but God had more blessings to give! 

For our 10th Wedding Anniversary in May 2009, we went to San Francisco. We had such fun time together while Ga-Ga & Pa took care of the 2 boys back at home.

On that trip or shortly after we got pregnant again. By this point we were actually able to plan for a baby which felt so strange after years and years of infertility. 

Our beautiful Ella Grace came into the world on February 16th, 2010. She was the sweet girly that our rambunctious boy house needed. 

Ella was born a few months after Michael had been laid off from his painting job. He still was able to work his own painting business, but for the most part he was completely present during the entire first year of her life. We knew this was a huge blessing and we had faith that God would see us through and he did! Michael received a job offer in early 2011 and a couple days later we found out we were expecting baby #4. Sadly around 13 weeks I miscarried Kyan William Martin. 

The Lord faithfully saw us through the pain. This was when I took a proactive stance with getting my depression under control. It was definitely a trying time and I'm so glad the 3 kids were so young. I was not a nice person at times. I had a lot of anger and it was tough, but thankfully I got medication and went to therapy and have been doing well now for years. 

On May 22nd, 2012, our family was complete with the addition of Zeke Russell Martin! He is our end of the alphabet baby and we were/are so thrilled to have him. 

We had 4 kids in 5 years and as you can imagine it was managed chaos!

In 2017, we said goodbye to Michael's mom after years of her suffering with Alzheimer's. While we were sad to lose her we know that we will see her again and that her body had been made whole! The day after she died was Jack's 9th birthday and even though we were mourning we still put on smiling faces and celebrated our boy as I'm sure Grandma Martin would have wanted it that way. 

Sept 2017 - Sept 2018 we were a two income family when I went to work as the Administration Assistant at our church. I saved most of my paychecks so we splurged and used it to buy our pop-up tent trailer. So many family memories have come from this one purchase!!

 

Michael was hired to be the General Manager at his work in March 2018....he had only worked at the District for 7 years! God is so faithful! Shortly after that we came to the decision that I should go back to being a stay at home mom. It was the best decision ever! While I loved my job it was just too much with 4 kids that needed me at home. I'm so blessed that Michael can provide for us so this is even an option. It's truly my dream job!

In 2019, Michael and I got to go back to Hawaii to celebrate 20 years! 

This time we went to Maui and what a differences getting to go at 38 verses 18! 

2020 was such a year....we went from having 4 kids in school to homeschooling 4 kids! That has probably been the biggest life change for me aside from us having kids in the first place. We're on year 4 year now and I wouldn't have it any other way. Michael has been such an encouragement to me during this time. It hasn't always been easy...in fact there's been a lot of stress involved, but having him stand beside me and support me makes all the difference. 

One afternoon we happened to be in the area near the school/church Michael and I met at. They just happened to be having services so we were able to sneak inside and get a picture of us on the staircase that I first remember running into Michael. I can envision it perfectly! I was walking upstairs and he was walking downstairs. He had jeans on with a backwards baseball hat and I said, "Hi". I was talking to my best friend at the time who would later become my maid of honor at our wedding and I remember telling her...."He's cute!" 

In 2021, we took the kids on a huge road trip across the county. We went to 9 different states, 7 National Monuments/Parks and drove over 4K miles. It was a blast!!! 

In Sept 2022, we headed back to Maui and it seems that we've started an every other year tradition now since we will be heading back there in Sept of this year to celebrate 25 years. Maui is a special place for Michael and I. We love it there....it's truly heaven on earth! 

The day before our 23rd Wedding Anniversary, I got to walk down the aisle in my wedding dress at my church's Women's Tea! It was so much fun! I was amazed that I still fit into it after having 4 kids! What a joy to get to relive those memories. 

It's hard to believe that we have 3 teenagers now....it still feels like we should be the teenagers...although our bodies would beg to differ! 

These kids keep me young and drive me crazy all at the same time, but as Michael would say you can't be driven anywhere you haven't left babe! :P 

It's been so fun getting to go with Michael to his water conferences. It's our little time to recharge with no kids. So far we've been to 8 conferences together and they've all been a blast! I truly love hearing about Michael's work and I try to know the ins and outs as best I can. I love getting to talk with other people in the industry and actually know what they're talking about. 

Michael and I took a marriage class at church last year and it was so fun getting to focus on our marriage in a more thought out way. It can be so easy to let kids, work, school and whatever else pull you in a million directions that your marriage can take a backseat. The class was so great for us and I honestly think it was God's leading that we said yes to that class. He knew all the stresses we would have with the house come the new year so we needed to rejuvenate our marriage so we could better communicate through the chaos 2024 was going to be! 

  

This whole post has just been about life. Messy, unpredictable, joy-filled and faith-driven life! We have weathered many storms, been in deep, deep valleys and stood atop mountains with the sun shining on our faces and we've done it together...as one! 

My love as I reminisced about these last 25 years....all the joy and hardship was worth it. To be here standing next to you for another year is truly a gift from the Lord. You told me when we were dating that if I gave you a chance you would make me the Queen of your Heart and even though that's super cheesy...I love it by the way...you have kept your word. Thank you for building this life with me babe. You are such and incredible man, husband, father, worker and friend. In fact you're my best friend and I love you with all my heart and soul! 

Happy 25th Sweet Man!