"The Bible Is Our Standard"

Well, we finally got this school year started. The storm moved on out of here and let us resume our normally scheduled activities. As most of you know our kids attend our old Alma Mater, HS Christian Academy. Hence the title of this post, feel free to sing as you read. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, this is a line out of the school song. Here are the rest of the words so that you can sing too.
The Bible is our standard,
The flag our colors too,
The Lord we worship and obey in all we do,

Beside the mighty ocean our school stands strong and true,
Oh HS Christian Academy we honor you.
Ethan is a very proud second grader this year. Our main concern so far this year is his classmates. So far we have learned that one is kin to John Wilkes Booth and one is really rich because she owns a chocolate fondue fountain. Please keep Mrs. Blair in your prayers.
Collin hit first grade with a bang. I'm sure poor Mrs. Brown is still reeling. I should probably start warning the teachers before he walks in their door that he is nothing like Ethan. There is not a shy bone in his body and his body never stops moving. Maybe you should pray even harder for Mrs. Brown.
The Academy started a preschool program this year for the first time. Landon is very proud to numbered among the first class of attendees. He goes three days a week from 8am to 11:30am. He really feels like he is a big boy now. His teacher is Ms. McElwain, daughter of the principal.
The pictures of Landon were taken on the first day of school. I had planned on taking some of all the boys that day, but circumstances didn't allow it. We were doing great on time, until I pulled Dylan out of his highchair so we could leave. I won't go into detail, but in the words of Mark Lowry "It weren't no just wet one". We finally got on the road when three minutes later Landon says "where's my backpack", so around we turned. Therefore the pictures of all the boys together were taken this morning.

I'm sure that not everyone is interested in all these details, but this is part of raising four boys. At least that is what the top of my blog says it's all about.
Hopefully some of you will enjoy, and I'll have a record for years to come.
The school boys with a little bedhead in tow.

Trying to look cool.

My little preschooler.

With him's Mommy.

Now, my paranoia has kicked in. Just in case anyone was offended by my comments about being happy about school starting in the last two posts, I would like to redeem myself. I love my children dearly, and there is nothing so satisfying as spending time with them. Those comments were made partially in jest and partially in truth. I think that any mother of small children understands the need for a little "alone time" every now and then. Actually, just the thought of "empty nest syndrome" is about enough to send me into a state of premature depression. I better bring this to an end, I feel the need for a few hugs and kisses. (Calm down Harold, not you this time)

New Arrival

No, I'm not pregnant, but I bet I got your attention, I'm just announcing a new arrival to "Blog World". Normally I don't make these announcements, but this was one I knew would bring great excitement to many of you out there. My old high school buddy Joy has started a blog. She is the one to my left wearing pink in this picture. She is one of those friends that even though we don't see each other for years at time, I think of often. I know that those of you who know her feel the same way. She does have an announcement of her own, so go check it out and make her feel welcome.

BTW My Mom still has the dress I am wearing in this picture. She thinks I might be able to get back in it one day. Bless her heart!


I would also like to take back what I said in my last post about being happy that school was starting. I have received my punishment. School has been cancelled the last two days due to Tropical Storm Faye. The kids only got a half day in before the storm hit. We're doing fine, thanks for asking, but there is a lot of flooding around us. Our house is on a hill, believe it or not, so we are high and dry, but the lower areas of our neighborhood are under water. I'll try to post some pictures later. Please keep the people affected by this storm in your prayers. I believe there were ten people killed in Haiti. It's hard to imagine living in a country where there are no resources to help you deal with natural disasters. The missionaries have their work cut out for them in these circumstances, but what a great opportunity to be "Jesus" to some very needy people.

I added a picture Harold's team for the Golf Tournament to the post below. If anyone is interested in seeing what an extremely handsome man looks like, he is the one in the dark pants. Excuse me, I think I am going to swoon.

Before School Starts

School starts on Monday, what a glorious thought. I know some of you home school Moms just gasped in horror. I know, I know, I shouldn't admit that I feel this way, but if you had been around my house for the past week you would understand. I'll explain a little more about that later. Sometimes the longing for just a few moments of quiet is overwhelming. Anyone else ever locked themselves in the bathroom just to get a little alone time? Now I know that arguments among siblings are universal, but I'll bet none of you have ever had to break up one like the one I had to break up on the way to church on Sun. morning. It went something like this. "The Bible says that the first shall be last, so I'm getting out of the car first because you said that you wanted to be the first one to get out of the car, so that means that you have to get out last". I've also had to straighten out misconceptions like "the Japanese were the bad guys so they were called the Redcoats". So now do you have a better understanding of my reasons for needing a few experts (elementary teachers) to help me with all these Biblical and historical issues.

Actually we have had a fun filled summer. I thought that I better post a few pictures of some of the activities before school starts and all the new blog worthy events outshine the ones of the past.

If you remember, one of things we were so excited about with our house was being able to host some of the missionaries that Harold flies for. We have actually been privileged to have several of these in our home. One of these was Dr. McGowen, a true hero. He became a surgeon, but only practiced in the states for a very short time before he went to Africa for many years. He now runs a hospital in Haiti. I am personally very excited about the possibility of going down to Haiti this fall and doing some "hands on" medical volunteering. The boys fell in love with him, and he was so gracious to spend time with them.

Every summer my good friend Sonja makes the journey down from "The Hilltop" to sunny, south Fl. It has become an annual tradition to play at least one game of Balderdash while she is here. Mr. and Mrs. V always play with us since it is actually Mr. V whose answers make the tears roll down our cheeks and our sides ache for the week to come. So imagine our disappointment when he sent this strange little Irish man in his place. Actually he did play a pretty mean game despite the issues he was having with his rather dry red hair. I think that some conditioner would do him a world of good.

The annual Hobe Sound Bible College Alumni Department Golf Tournament kept my dear husband hopping for a few weeks. It went very well and they were able to meet their budget as well as give some to the school. Once again Harold's team made records, out of thirteen teams they came in ,drum roll please, 12Th Place. We are so proud of how his game is improving and hope that he is able to beat his high score next year. I have no pictures yet, but I promise to post some as soon as I can. (As you can see I finally got some)

The night before the tournament Harold and I went shopping for supplies. I was so excited to see that BJ's still had the raft the boys had been wanting for the pool. Imagining the hours of fun they would have on it, I bought it. The next morning after a great deal of trouble getting it blown up, the boys hopped on for "hours of fun". I went back in the house, but please note was watching out the door, when Collin tried to climb on, but instead slipped off the back and hit his head on the side of the pool. After much screaming (mostly by Ethan), I managed to get him out of the pool. Be glad that I didn't take a picture, because what greeted my eyes was not pleasant. I called Harold, who was on the last hole, to inform him that we were headed for the hospital. He ended up having six staples put in. Of course he had to embarrass me by telling the doctor, "and my Mom wasn't even watching me". Just a little side note for those of you who are concerned, this all happened the day after he went to the altar at VBS. I was beginning to worry that the annual altar trip wasn't going to happen, but on the last night they all three hit it hard. What a relief.

A few weekends ago our church had a little "Kids Retreat". About six families went out to the church land and camped for the weekend. It was a great time of four wheeler riding and gun shooting. If you have little boys then you know the excitement those two things can bring. I'll try not to bore you with too many pictures, most of mine seem to be of Daddies taking their offspring on fourwheeler rides. Oh well, some of you might enjoy seeing that. Thanks to Glen and Tamara for the fourwheelers and Don B. for the guns.

When we first got there the grass was in need of a mower, so Harold and Dylan jumped on and went to work. I'm thinking of investing in a riding mower myself.

We were very thankful to have a nurse along to bandage the many mosquito bites inflicted on us. I think that this patient just enjoyed the attention.

I hope they got this thing figured out.

Run for your life.

Merrill with his girls.

Anthony with Courtney and Zachary.

The lines at Disney had nothing on these lines.

Who said I only have four boys?

"Matchmaker, Matchmaker, make me a match, find me a find, catch me a catch" Since Harold and I have an agreement with Bart and Julie for our boys to marry their girls, I've started a collection of pictures to be shown at the receptions.

Yesterday Emily and I took our kids to Playmobile. My boys have been begging all summer to go, so I finally broke down and took them. For those of you who don't know what it is, it is a indoor play area divided into different stations of Playmobile characters. My boys love the section with the castles and knights. The thing that amused me was that without planning it we dressed not only our kids in the same colors, but dressed almost alike ourselves even down to the same flipflops. I'm sure we looked quite "cultish". I wonder what would have happened if we had started yelling at each other, "He's mine, I had him first". Sorry, I couldn't resist.

ATTENTION: Mood Change

This week has been one of the rockiest I have experienced for awhile. My Mom has been in the hospital since Mon. We had to take her to the Emergency Room with very disconcerting symptoms. You can email me if you want more details. She is doing much better now, but did give me a scare. Sometimes the pressure of trying to juggle all my roles (wife, Mommy, daughter, nurse, friend) becomes overwhelming. I can tend to have an "I am woman" attitude without even realizing it, but this week I have been reminded of just how weak I am in my own strength. I have been forced to to admit my weaknesses and rely on the strength of my Father. It's such a peaceful place to be. The song "He's the Peace of My Heart" has been running through my mind. I am so thankful for the "Peace" that I have.

BTW Number 2 in sepia won.

How The Grinch Stole The Spaghetti

I Just Can't Decide

One of my projects for the summer was to do a "Tom Sawyer" portrait of the boys. I did one when I only had three and have been wanting to redo it with all four boys. My plan is to have it put on canvas. So I finally got with it and took the pictures. The problem is that now I can't decide which one to use. I keep going to the website to have it done, but then can't decide what I want to do. I've always been bad a making decisions. My poor husband gets very upset with me anytime we go out to eat because I can never make up my mind. So now I am coming to blog world for help. Please give me your opinion on which picture I should use and if I should do black and white or sepia. Most of these are in color, but I did one black and white and one sepia. I'll number them to make the process easier.

One

Two (sepia)

Three

Four (black&white)

Five

Six

Just for the fun, here are the individual shots.

Ethan

Collin

Landon

Dylan

Orlando 2008

WARNING:

This is a picture blog. Those of you who were looking forward to reading will have to wait. My mind is still too tired to think right now, so I will only post pictures for your eyes to enjoy. We did have a good time, but three days of Disney will send even little boys into overload. Now for your viewing pleasure we present "The Martins On Vacation".

Ready to get going.

Very excited about "It's A Small World".

The whole family getting ready to ride the Carousel.

Ethan was so excited about this ride.

"What's in your wallet?"

Beauty and the Beasts

Fish Food

Disney brings out the "kid" in Harold.

A relative?

On Safari

Our new pet

Would you please take me home to my own bed?

"Summertime Blues"

The torrential downpours that plague those of us who choose to call Florida our year round home have begun. For those of you who are wondering what I'm talking about, I'll fill you in. Every afternoon during the summer here in FL we have rain. Not just a little shower, but a thunderstorm that rattles the windows and the nerves of this poor mother. I personally enjoy stormy weather, it makes me want to take a nap. This is made impossible though since I usually have four other people sitting on me "til the storm passes over". The rain also leads to severe depression or ADHD in little boys. The rain started earlier than normal today, leading to complete despondency. As I walked into my living room this morning this is the sight that greeted me. Isn't this pitiful?


Actually, truth be told we are having a good summer. Without having planned any major activities for the beginning of it we have managed to stay on the go. The boys are enrolled in the summer reading program at the public library, so we are trying to dedicate a portion of every day to school work. They actually seem to enjoy it most to the time.

On the 23rd of June we celebrated Collin's 7Th birthday. He invited some friends over to swim, the problem was the afternoon rains that I already mentioned. The friends arrived at the same time as the rain. They only got to swim for about five minutes before I had to haul everyone back in the house. They spent the rest of the afternoon playing together in the house, but I don't think anyone was to distraught over not being able to swim. The parents all came back and we grilled out for supper. Hopefully a good time was had by all in spite of the change of plans. Collin was as happy as he could be, so I guess that's all that matters.




Oops, I just got my timeline out of order. Before the birthday was of course Father's Day. I have truly been blessed with some great Father's in life. I'm so glad that my boys have some "real men" to look up to. They adore both of their Grandpas and are adored in return. Harold's Dad was in KY and mine wasn't feeling well that day, so we only have pictures of Harold. The boys and I sent him fishing the night before so that we could make a surprise for him. If you have never baked with four boys you should do it just for the experience. We decided to make a cake that we found on the Family Fun website. It really was a cute idea, for someone with more talent. I outlined a perfect tie, but when I put the icing on it ran into a rather strange shaped tie. I'm glad that it's the thought that counts. Here's Harold very proudly holding his cake. He's got to be the sweetest most handsome Dad a wife or a boy could ask for.



I choose not to subject you to pictures of our next summer project. Collin has been in need of some dental work for awhile, but we had to negotiate with the insurance company for awhile. Monday was the first of several appointments we have to get his teeth taken care of. It is a bit upsetting when the Pediatric Dentist tells you that he has had to consult with two Orthodontists on your child's case. He said, "there's just not room in his mouth for all his teeth". Hopefully he won't end up with any outside of his mouth. Anyway, on Mon. they pulled the first of two of four and made a mold for spacers. He was so brave, but at the end when they were trying for the third time so fit a mold into his mouth that was too big, he broke down. Nothing can break a Mommy's heart more than to see silent tears flowing down the cheeks of her child. The dentist almost lost an arm. He did fine (Collin) until a few hours later, I was on my way to take him to my parent's house so I could go to work. The voice from the backseat says "Mom, what's this?" I turn around to see that he had pulled the stitches out. I guess it felt funny so he decided to see what it was. We go back in two weeks, so keep us in your prayers.

The afternoon storms caused another disaster in our household. Harold planted a beautiful palm tree outside the boys window. We were so excited to see a little mother bird building her nest in it. Last week after a particularly windy storm I looked out the window to see a little blue egg lodged in one of the lower branches. I decided to have a time of learning. So we call the Wildlife Refuge who told us that we should try to put it back in the nest. I tried to be careful, I really did, but the egg was lodged in too tightly and it cracked. Luckily I took a picture before, so you my dear readers can have the opportunity to view the "unfairness of nature".

The rain has also had a strange effect on the people who work at Goodwill. We have been wanting a computer that the boys can use for awhile, so when Harold's Mom got a new one and offered us her old one, we gladly accepted. The problem was that we did not have a desk to put it on. So yesterday the boys and I hopped in Harold's van (no air conditioner) and headed out on a thrift shop expedition. After several stops we ended up at Goodwill, even though I had drug my poor friend Sonja through there on Sat. night, it just so happened that the perfect piece of furniture had arrived in the meantime. I went to the counter and paid for it not realizing that a thunderhead had developed while I was making up my mind. We ran to the car in the rain, so the receipt got quite wet. I drove around back and handed it to the little man who is back there to load and unload. "I can't even read this" he said to me. So I very kindly described the piece to him, and off he went to get it. Now I didn't time him, but it seemed that he was gone an exorbitant amount of time. He showed back up at my van window and said "You're gonna have to get out and help me". This was something I expected to do, so I hopped out ready to use my muscles. He moaned and groaned while I did most of the lifting. When we were done he turned to me and said "Next time you need come when the weather is better". I wanted to say that next time I'd bring my Doppler Radar, but you'll be glad to know that I bit my tongue. Anyway the computer is now set up and the boys are having fun. The "desk" was actually a kitchen piece, but after the wine rack was taken out it fit perfectly in their room.

Sensitive types beware, I'm fixing to go on a little tirade. The little lady that I work for watches CNN 24/7, so I am constantly bombarded with the idiocy of the media. What has me upset now though is a commercial. Some of you have probably seen it, it starts out, "this is my first son".

Basically it shows a very proud first time mom tell how wonderful her little toddler is. It ends with, "so John McCain when you said we'd stay in Iraq for a hundred years, were you counting on Alex? Cause if you were, you can't have him". Being the mother of four boys I know well the fear of losing one. I shamefully admit to having watched "Saving Private Ryan" many years ago. The scene at the beginning where they tell the Mom that she only has one son left still huants me. Maybe it's because it's almost Independence Day and I'm feeling extra patriotic, but something rises up in me and me and says "how selfish can you get". Do we really take our freedom so for granted? What if all the mother's throughout history would have had the same attitude as the one in the commercial. I guarantee that we wouldn't be enjoying the liberties that we do today. It scares me to think of all the mothers that are training their little boys with the same attitude. My number one desire is for my boys to have a real relationship with Jesus Christ, to be soldiers in his army. After that's taken care of I know that they are safe whatever they do. So if in a few years my sons choose to serve their country, don't be surprised to see me shed some tears of fear and dread, but also know that my heart is swelling with pride.

Next week are taking a little family vacation. Someone donated MFI a timeshare for the staff to take advantage of, so we are heading to Orlando for a few days. I'm sure that I will have plenty of pictures to post upon my return. Yes, we are doing the "Disney thing". We have been wanting to go since we moved back ,five years ago, just never seemed to be able to make it happen. FYI to all of you who live in FL, they're having great FL resident discounts this summer. Most of the time we travel we are on deputation or going to Haiti, so we are looking forward to some quality time together.
The week after that is VBS. It is a time I always look forward to since my boys hit the altar every night. Harold and I really appreciate this annual onset of conviction. Seriously, I am thankful that their hearts are tender and pray that they will stay that way.

In the words of General McArthur, "I'll be back". (Yes, Tara that was just to annoy you)