Mother's Day Weekend 2024!

For Mother's Day weekend our church had a fun ladies tea. Mom and I hosted a table together. I was hoping to be able to use my Old Country Rose china that Ellen gave me, but because of the house fiasco it was all boxed up and packed away. 

It's always fun to have an excuse to dress up all pretty and drink yummy tea! 

One of the ladies on the Women's Ministry Team made these giant flowers to be used as decorations to advertise the event. Then they were used as decorations on the stage. Ella and I rarely wear dresses and in fact the dress she's wearing is mine! 

It was fun to get some special celebration time with my Mom! 

After the event was over Ella and I went to Value Village to do some shopping. She was hoping that Justine would be able to come over and hang out, but we weren't sure if it was going to work since he had to do a bunch of yard work. Turns out he got up at 5am and started doing yard work just so he'd have the possibility of maybe getting to hang out with her. He's a keeper for sure! 

Thankfully all his hard work paid off and we were able to pick him up on our way home from Value Village. They really wanted to go to a different beach to search for sea glass so we went to Seahurst. I got to sit on my beach blanket and read my book so it was a win/win! 

For Mother's Day I wanted donuts for breakfast. Michael got up before me and picked them up from a new place called Jafra's...it used to be Midway Donuts. They were yummy, but I think I like Happy Donuts even better! 

Being a mom is the best, hardest and most rewarding job ever. These kids can drive me crazy, bring me to the edge of insanity, make me laugh till I cry and they fill my days with joy. I'm so proud of each of them and every year just keeps getting better and better. 

They used the Mother's Day props for photo props on Sunday at church. 

Had to get a picture with Ga-Ga & Pa! 

It was fun to see these two dressed up in matching outfits! 

Justine even got to come spend Mother's Day with us. We were headed to Mama Stortini's for lunch when we got stopped at a light I noticed we were right next to his mom and sister. So I rolled down my window and asked what they were doing for the day. They didn't have plans so they ended up joining us for lunch! 

The only way to get a table quickly with as many people as we had was to sit outside at 3 different tables. Our boys shared a table. 

Michael and I sat with Jhaycee (Justine's mom) and Micah (Justine's sister).

 

Micah and Jhaycee looked so cute in their matching rompers! 

The cute couple got a table by themselves. We kept saying this was their first real date, but they didn't agree since we were all there. 

Something I realized this year is I need to be very specific with my expectations for my days...Mother's Day & my birthday. I need to just lay it out there and tell my family what I want. That's just what I did and the day was amazing! I told them I wanted donuts for breakfast, I wanted to go to church and worship together, I wanted to go out to eat at an Italian restaurant and get a margherita pizza , I wanted to read my book while laying in my hammock, I wanted to make dinner...yes I actually really did want to make dinner for my family and then I wanted to go to the beach for a bit and finally hit up DQ for ice cream. 

After dinner we went to Dash Point State Park. The boys played frisbee and I tried too....if you follow me on FB you might have seen the video where I almost took out a pregnant lady and her kid. It's not pretty! 

Justine and Ella were over trying to find sea glass, but Dash Point is more of a sandy beach not a rocky beach so it was slim pickings! 

Zeke was over hanging out with them for a bit and climbing all sorts of tree trunks. 

Me and my guys! 

I had such a fantastic Mother's Day weekend and I truly think it was because I let them know what I want. Even though it might seem a little selfish on my part it really took the pressure off of them because they knew I would enjoy/love everything since it was exactly what I wanted! 

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!