Curt, Julie and Claire

2011-08-21T11:26:00.001-07:00

SUMMER TIME FUN

Oh the fun we have had! We enjoyed time off with Curt between summer school. I am sure I will miss so much but oh well. Here’s what our family has been up to…

Claire … the next Danika Patrick? We went to a fun arcade and played played played. Sorry no more pictures of this because we were so busy playing we didn’t get any. :)

Claire and her friend Braden at our awesome pool. It is a few blocks from our house so we have spent a lot of time there!

Claire and Andrew on their first carousel ride. They loved it! Curt and I got dizzy! :)

THIS IS OUR TRIP TO NEW ORLEANS! Awesome! We didn’t get to see Harry Connick Jr. but it was still a great trip. :)

It was not cold at all but Claire would not take this jacket off even though she was sweating like crazy! Andrew was a little champ. He was so good the whole trip. He is pretty much good all the time!

This is the Mississippi River! We took a steam boat up the river and back. It was so neat. We loved all the history and character there is to New Orleans.
On our way back to Houston we stopped at a plantation. It was so neat to hear the history of the place and to see a glimpse of what life was like before slavery was abolished. It made me so grateful for the positive strides we have made as humans and saddened me to think that people could behave like that and think it was ok.

Fun with friends. These are Claire’s friends Carson and Addison. We get together once a week for a study group for us moms and the kids play. It is wonderful to have such great friends. Sidney wasn’t there that day but we will have to get a picture of her because she is just too cute to leave out!!
We also got to visit UTAH this summer! It was so fun to see our family. It was fast and busy. Sadly we weren’t able to see everyone and do everything we wanted while there but it was so enjoyable. We were so blessed to be together with all of my family for the first time in a long time.

Claire LOVED her cousins, and she loved jumping on the trampoline. She was in heaven. What cute kids. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful family!
I have another camera that has more pictures on it, as soon as I find it, I will add the rest of our Utah trip and Claire’s birthday party.
When we came back from Utah we brought with us…
EMMA!! My adorable niece. She is so awesome. We had such a blast with her. Curt and I also were able to enjoy a few dates since we had such a great babysitter around. Claire and Andrew loved having her here. Claire followed her around like a shadow. It was so cute.
While Emma was here. We did lots of fun stuff. We played. We went to the pool. We shopped. We went to NASA. We watched movies. We went to the Air Force Base in San Antonio. We went to Sea World. We just had a blast with her. She is such a fun girl full of a lot of personality.
I will hopefully find that other camera soon so I can post the rest of our pictures. We also have been working on a lot of awesome projects so that will be a post all in itself.
TO BE CONTINUED…

2011-05-18T20:23:00.001-07:00

HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY TO

ANDREW

We love you so much!

2011-05-15T21:32:00.001-07:00

Making serving more fun!

Confession: I have a slight obsession with serving trays and platters.

Every tray I have is just that, a tray, so I really wanted something that was fun, unique and had some height. So I found some plates that I loved and made them into cute tiered serving plates. I am having several get together’s soon and I am so excited to use them.

This first one is more fun and colorful. I love the flower plate on top. Isn’t it so cute!!

This next one is more classic and a little more formal. I love the square plate in the middle and the bowl on the top plate. I LOVE black and white so of course I fell in love with this pattern. Can you picture strawberries and lots of fruit on this with some yummy dip on top. I sure can. PRETTY!

This last one was a cool candle stick I found and was going to do something else with it. But then I found this big blue glass charger and loved the dark sparkly blue with the black. (The plate is sparkly if you can’t tell.) I am not 100% on this so I haven’t glued it together. What do you think? Keep it or use them for something else.

The treats on this tray are Oreo cookies dipped in brownie batter and baked with white chocolate drizzle. The drizzle didn’t turn out the best because I didn’t melt the chocolate enough and I was impatient with it, oh well. Everyone at game night tonight loved them!

If you have any suggestions or ideas LEAVE A COMMENT!!! :)

2011-05-09T00:20:00.001-07:00

I never thought I would say this but,

I HAVE GONE CRAFTING WILD!

I love learning new things. There are so many people around me who do such amazing things, I couldn’t help it but to try a little myself. I love seeing what talents people have. I am so amazed at what they come up with and how it turns out. SO…..

Here are a few thing I have been working on:

This is a super fun Easter Peep Topiary. I think this is the only thing peeps are good for. :)

Shoe rack to ribbon holder!

“UPCYCLING” No this does not mean riding your bicycle up a steep incline. It is the word for taking something that you don’t us and reusing it for a neat purpose. I hated digging through my box of ribbons and having them all unravel and tangle so this makes it easy to see what I have and to keep them organized.

I have had these scraps of fabric samples sitting around for so long. I have been in love with this fabric ever since I found out I was having a girl. But at $25 a yard I ended up just having to make flowers for Claire’s hair. The pictures do not do these justice. They are so cute!

I have been making a lot of bows and sadly I just gave a bunch of them to a friend who is having a baby girl in a couple of weeks and I didn’t get picture of them. These are the only ones I got pictures of.

Last but not least my first ever wreath. I wanted something that looked like spring and that could carry through the summer. I always leave my fall wreath up through the winter because I don’t have a winter or Christmas one. So maybe I will have to see about making a winter one. This was super fun to make.

Oh and I made these rings and gave them to my new gal pals because they came and crafted with me one night. At least this time all of our talking was productive.

And because I love my babies so much I have to throw in a few pictures of them.

This is what happens when you hang out with girls all day.

Poor Andrew.

I guess he isn’t too mad at us.

Claire was going crazy. Maybe Andrew pulled her hair. He was probably getting back at her for playing dress up on him.

Oh and I made that flower in Claire’s hair.

Sweet baby boy. I love my kids so much!

2011-05-07T12:08:00.001-07:00

Andrew G Martin

OUR SWEET ANDREW was blessed by his daddy on Sunday, April 3rd. It was a beautiful day.

Andrew is growing up so fast. He is sitting up and playing with all of Claire’s toys. He is laughing at everything his sister does which is so fun! He is a sweet and smiley little guy. We just love him so much.

2011-04-17T21:21:00.001-07:00

HAVING A BLAST

We have been having so much fun! But wow we have been busy!

After picking our strawberries we had so many that we had to make strawberry jam! It turned out so delicious. I was surprised how many jars it made. So many that we had to take some to our neighbors.

Making the jam inspired me to do something I have been wanting to try for some time. My brother Gordon and my sister Alana make their own homemade yogurt so I decided to try. It turned out AMAZING! It was so fun to try and I will be making it more in the future!

I mixed the yogurt with a little of the jam and topped it with cereal! YUM!

This was my favorite way to enjoy the yogurt. Fresh fruit and granola!

PLAY PLAY PLAY! We love to play!

I am pretty sure Claire ended up with more paint on her than on the paper but we had so much fun!When daddy comes home he always goes outside to play with Claire before dinner. Claire is the most lucky girl! So am I … seriously, I mean look at that handsome studly man! First of all you have to know that I HATE baking. I have never been good at it. Also I am not very artistic so that is my disclaimer before I share these next pictures.

Those were my first two attempts at making cupcakes. It was fun. The basketballs were for my two brother-in-laws birthdays. Chris Martin and Chris Coates.

We have also had fun lately going to the driving range and hitting golf balls. Going to the beach. We also visited our cannery and got some food storage supplies and took our kids to the temple grounds and walked around. Curt and I also gave talks in church today! I am not that great at getting pictures all the time. I am sad I didn’t get any of the kids at the beach. It was Andrew’s first trip there so I was extra sad. We will have plenty of other trips there so next time I will get some!

I know I don’t have any pictures of my darling Andrew in this post but to make up for it my next post will be all about him. I will post about his blessing. Stay tuned!

2011-03-16T22:30:00.001-07:00

Strawberry picking

Claire is my little fruit lover! Her favorite is strawberries. That girl would eat a whole carton if i let her. So when we took her to pick strawberries she thought she was in heaven! She picked them and ate them so fast I started to worry she would get sick.

What a fun day! We are having a blast with Curt while he is on spring break!

Here are some more fun pictures.

Random Thoughts

2011-03-08T20:12:00.000-08:00

Today I could not help but feeling... OUT NUMBERED.

I often tell my friends with only one child that when you have a second it's not just twice as busy, crazy, hard, overwhelming, it's ten times that. It's funny how one tiny little addition can make such a huge difference.

Dental school, oh dental school. I just have to say Curt is amazing! I am so proud of him. I am just so amazed at his dedication and his ability to do everything he is doing. He balances EVERYTHING so perfectly it could be considered a circus act. That being said, AAAHHHAHAHAH!! Some times I feel like a single parent. When he is gone all day and then has to study all night, for the fourth night in a row, I fight to keep it together by the end of the day. But somehow we always make it! (It could be due to the multiple prayers said as I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths throughout the day.)

I LOVE the noises my little Andrew makes as he sleeps. He is kind of a noisy little guy. I always feel a little embarrassed in the mothers room at church because all the other babies are quietly eating away under their pretty little nursing covers. Then there is my little Andrew slurping away and waving his arms vigorously about while I am trying to stay somewhat covered. At least it sounds yummy.

Claire is being her usual busy body self. She is such a sweet little girl and FULL of life.Sometimes we call her Destructicon and the title fits nicely. She loves being outside, and is the luckiest girl to have a fun play-set in her backyard. It's the first thing she wants to do when she wakes up. We are so happy Claire is now in nursery. We can actually pay attention in Church!

ROOM TO RUN!

We have moved into a HOUSE! I am so excited I can't stand it!! It is in the best neighborhood with parks and pools and tennis courts. We love our new ward and have made lots of wonderful new friends so fast. We have also made lots of new friends at the library and other random places.

I am not sure if you have ever felt this but, have you ever been happy to be where you are but you feel like there is a better place you could be. I felt like that for the past year. Now that we have moved I am SO HAPPY and I know we are where we are supposed to be. (at least until the end of dental school) I will hopefully get pictures of our house up soon. It has taken FOREVER to unpack! I blame that on two kids and the fact that I would way rather be outside enjoying our amazing weather or doing something fun. Unpacking is not my idea of fun.

PLAY GROUPS, PLAY DATES, MOMMY-HOOD and other things I am learning.

The other day while I was at a play group in the park I was pushing Claire in a swing and another mom was next to us pushing her little girl. We started talking the usual "get to know" talk and randomly without thinking too much about it I asked her what she likes to do. I got the most dumbfounded look in return. After tripping over her words and not really getting much of an answer I realized mommies don't ask other mommies that question. Ever since I became a mom I have never been asked that question and well I have never really asked another young mom that question. Why is that?

I think it is mostly because we don't have time! Most of the mothers I have been around since becoming a mother are all wives of husbands in dental or medical school or they themselves are getting a post graduate degree of some sort. Now all the friends I am making in our new place their husbands are in some sort of extended residency program or they are starting their career. That on top of being a mother. WHO HAS TIME!

But I became more thoughtful about that question. I myself finally have been taking some time to do the things that once made me happy. Don't get that wrong I am happy I just haven't done anything that really defines me and what I love. It is easy to forget what you like to do when you are so busy doing things for everyone else.

I have talked with a few friends since then about that question and it has been so fun opening up that world of wonder to other moms. It really has been too long.

That being said,

WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY?

For my birthday Curt took me zip lining in the Hill Country of Texas. That was the best gift he could have given me. I don't really like gifts. They make me uncomfortable and feel awkward. That made me HAPPY!

Last week in between studying and dinner Curt came outside and threw the football with me. That was the BEST and it made me SO HAPPY.

HELLO RUNNING MY OLD FRIEND... a long lost love of mine has returned. There was always something about running that made me happy. I have re-found that love now that I have some open air and space to run. I am much much happier when I get to run outside.

One day a long time ago I was hiking with my dad. Well, we started out on our bikes and, comically something happened to both of our bikes and they were unrideable so we ditched them in the tall grass on the side of the trail and continued on foot. We hiked almost all day cutting through a river that crossed paths with our trail at least twenty times. On our way back down the trail my dad looked at me with my muddy boots and a silly grin on my face and said to me, "you really do love this don't you!" It was more of a statement than a question. He could tell that I was having the time of my life. I still answered him with a "YES I LOVE THIS!"

I am learning that it is so hard to find time to do those things that I love but I am so happy when I do.

Strength in numbers.

I feel so blessed to have met so many other women who are experiencing some of the same things I am right now. I find a sense of peace in my chaos knowing that someone else is in the middle of their very own chaos. I love that I have come to accept that play dates, play groups, library trips, Relief Society, and just a good one on one conversation with another woman is what will get me through.

I know like I said RANDOM.

Listen to this playlist: curtandjuliemartin's Playlist

2011-03-08T11:13:00.001-08:00

Finally, a picture update!

2011-01-15T21:06:00.000-08:00

Claire Playing with the duckies!!!

2010-09-20T18:13:00.000-07:00

On Friday night Curt took us girls on a fun date! We went to The Woodlands. It is an amazing place north of Houston. There is a beautiful waterway kind of like San Antonio's. He took us to dinner at the Marriott and we walked along the water for a really long time then we went into the Mall and walked around in there for a while! It was so fun and relaxing. It was nice to just wander around with no where to be or go and just enjoy time outside of Houston.

While we were at dinner Claire was fully entertained by the ducks and we were entertained by Claire!!!

Claire's visit to the Dentist

2010-08-19T18:00:00.000-07:00

I got a few shots of Claire waiting to see the dentist. I am sad I didn't get any of her in he dental chair. Oh well, next time!

I didn't realize I was taking video. I was just trying to get Claire to look at me for a picture. She was so fascinated with the other kids she couldn't hardly look away.

Ultrasound of our BABY BOY

2010-08-19T17:16:00.000-07:00

I finally got the ultrasound of our baby boy scanned into the computer! Here he is!! It's crazy how a strange black and white swirly picture that doesn't look much like anything can be so adorable!

IT'S A . . .

2010-06-28T15:59:00.000-07:00

BOY!!

Due November 24th

TRAVEL BUG!

2010-05-15T21:13:00.000-07:00

OUR TRIP TO D.C. FOR MARCH MADNESS

Claire playing dress up at Grandma and Grandpa Martin's! We were there for a week during March Madness!

When we were in D.C. we got to visit and spend some time with my brother and his cute family. Claire had so much fun with her cousins. It was great to see them!

CUTE CUTE GIRLS!! Claire with her Aunt Marissa and her cousin Arista!

GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN!!!

Just a random picture of our cute little munchkin after she ate!

OUR TRIP TO UTAH!

Claire and I went on a fun trip to Utah. While we were there we stayed one night at my oldest brother, Keith's, house. We got spoiled by amazing food (my brother is probably the best cook I know) and Claire was completely enthralled with all the kids to play with! While we were there, Claire disappeared for a while and when I went to look for her this is what I found! Her Oldest girl cousin, Emma, had taken her into her adorable room and was doing her hair. SO CUTE!!

Emma has the cutest girly room! My brother did all the work!

Claire with her cousins! Levi, Emma, Eliza, Caleb, and Seth. (Jonah was missing from this picture)

There's Jonah! He is on the swing to the far left! Claire loved her cousins new play set!

Claire at Grandma Geri and Grandpa Jon's! My mom made her look so adorable I had to take pictures. (Yes, I took about twenty!)

We also stayed one night at my brother Gordon's! They have a great home on a lot of land. I was so impressed with how much they do with all of that space! Alexander bit into his lip so he had to have a band-aid on it! Ouch! But he is one tough kid!

Claire love seeing all of their animals! This is one of their two black cats. They also have a new little puppy! I have great video of Claire playing with the dog. I will have to post that later!

Claire and her cousin William. This was taken at my sister, Rachel's, house. She and her family were in the process of moving while we were there. I am sad, I realized I didn't get any pictures of them.

Claire and I were two very lucky girls! We flew to Utah using my mom's buddy passes, (thank you mom) and when we were on our return flight we were upgraded to FIRST CLASS!!! Claire is quite the little frequent flyer. For being only nine months old she has probably already earned the upgrade! :)

We are so blessed to have such great families. I always say how lucky our kids are to have two sets of wonderful grandparents to be a part of their lives. Plus all the wonderful aunts and uncles and cousins! We love our families! Thank you everyone for helping us have such wonderful trips!

While we were in Utah we also got to visit Claire's great grandparents. I wish I had taken pictures of that too. We went to Curt's grandma's house and got to visit with a few of the relatives on that side of the family! It was so awesome that we got to see so many people.

I was lucky enough to get some time with my super busy and amazing friend Kami! We got her on her day off! How lucky! We had a great time talking and shopping! I sure miss her! It's great to have such a wonderful friend.

DADDY OF THE YEAR AWARD GOES TO.....

2010-04-09T23:16:00.000-07:00

I will give you three guesses but you better get it on the first one!!

YES! This is Curt studying for a final while entertaining and feeding Claire. I have never seen a daddy quite like Curt. He is ALWAYS there to play with Claire and get her whatever she needs. When he is home he changes more diapers than I do and fights me when I try and take a turn. I have never seen a more protective daddy! Curt is always watching and checking to make sure his little girl is ok. He plays with her nonstop! Its so cute to watch her study him and touch his rough face when he has stubble.

Claire lights up instantly when she see's her daddy and she can hardly control her excitement. Daddies and daughters have a special bond. I cherish the one I have with my daddy, and it is so very touching to see the one my daughter has with hers. It's especially amazing to see it from the eyes of a mother and watching the man that I love create that bond. I am so blessed.

Spring time fun!!

2010-04-09T22:58:00.000-07:00

We have had so much fun in this wonderful weather! Claire loves the beach! Actually she loves anything outdoors! The cute little ballerina swimsuit is from Claire's cousin Arista. Thank you Arista we love you!

My Most Special Julie

2010-02-22T10:09:00.000-08:00

I know that Julie posted all the pictures of our wonderful Valentines day and that I got a lot of complaints that it was too much and I made other men look bad. I just had to tell my wife how much she meant to me and how much I cared about her. I wish I could have done more and even more than that is to do this more often for her because she deserves it. She is the most incredible woman in this world. She does everything for me. I am so spoiled by her. She makes me feel so happy and makes everything worth while. I wanted to tell everyone how much I loved the dinner (pics below). It was the most incredible and thoughtful dinner I have ever eaten. It was the most gourmet romantic dinner I can remember. Claire helped us out by going to bed early and we had candles everywhere with a red (maroon) tablecloth and the most incredible spread ever. Everything was my favorite that Julie made and I did not want to stop eating because it tasted so good and it took me a long time to stop. It was a very special night and I look forward to having many more of these with my amazing and special Julie Ann. I love you sweetie.

BE MINE...

2010-02-18T19:35:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful Valentine's weekend!! Saturday I went to a friends baby shower and when I returned home this is what I found...

Each rose had something that Curt loves about me under it. He also wrote "I love you" In a bunch of different languages on slips of paper and put them all over the house. I am still finding them!! The love letter he wrote me was all translated into Romanian!!

Then... DRUM ROLL... he made the fruit bouquet!! Yes he cut pineapple into heart shapes and used Styrofoam balls and toothpicks to put it all together! AMAZING!! I loved it!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunday I made a very special dinner for Curter!!

Cheese,white chocolate, milk chocolate, and caramel fondue.
Delicious artisan bread, lots of fruit, and my very first attempt at making cheesecake (Curt's favorite)!
I also made a few skewers of Chipotle lime chicken and bourbon cubed steak. Leftovers have lasted days!! But it was amazing!!

********************************************************

Tuesday Claire had her doctors appointment. It was supposed to be her six month check up but I dropped the ball so instead it was a seven month appointment!! She is teething, had shots, and we took away her pacifier all at the same time but this totally made her day! When we got home from the doctor's office Claire had a bunch of mail waiting for her! She got such fun valentines from her Grandma and Grandpa's and cousins. Claire is such a lucky girl to have such a great and loving family! Thank you to everyone who sent such cute gifts!! She love them all and I even let her lick the suckers for a little bit!! We love you and miss you all!!

We LOVE love around our house and there is lots of it!!

SO FAR....

2010-02-18T06:55:00.000-08:00

I hate to speak too soon but, that was easy! We have not given Claire a pacifier for a few days now and well the first night was tough for about ten minutes, and after that we have had no problems!! Curt and I have it too easy!! We love our little girl!!

FORCED

2010-02-16T19:09:00.000-08:00

Claire is getting so close to her first tooth coming in! It is just barely under the skin. We are so excited to see her with her first tooth! The past couple of days she has been hurting from it coming through so of course she chews on everything which is normal and we expected it but, twice now, we have put her down for a nap and within a few minutes we hear her crying a really scared cry. Curt ran into her room to find her pacifier wedged in her mouth. THE WHOLE THING!! So we decided it is time to take it away, totally. So no more pacifier for Claire. It took her a while to fall asleep last night and it was hard for us to listen to her cry but I am happy to have an excuse to get her off of it. She only uses it when she naps or goes to sleep so hopefully it won't be to tough. It was scary enough to be committed to it. Good luck to us!!

GET CONNECTED!

2010-02-11T08:16:00.000-08:00

Please check out our family blog and our many wonderful links! Also leave your blog address so we can see how you are doing too. I have had a lot of people post comments to my blog but we are blocked from their blog... we would like to see you too!! So if you have a locked blog please e-mail us an invite at curtandjuliemartin@gmail.com.

Have a great day and stay tuned for posts, pictures and a whole lot of Martin LOVE!!

Yeah update time

2010-02-10T10:11:00.001-08:00

CLICK ON THE UPDATE TO MAKE BIGGER!!!

CORN MILL AND TOOTHPASTE

2010-01-13T10:28:00.000-08:00

The other day I was brushing my teeth and a little toothpaste rolled down onto my chin and I guess I had a little blemish there or something because it stung a little bit. Instantly my mind threw me back to Romania. Then I started to remember all the crazy things I and my companions would try to do to keep up with ourselves. One of them was we would dot our faces with toothpaste before bedtime. Someone once heard that toothpaste clears up pimples so we had no other choice than to test the theory. It worked and it was awesome for the time because we didn't have Proactive or Clean n' Clear on hand!

I think I had some dry skin on my face one time, probably because we were outside all the time as missionaries. So there was a member who told me this sweet little beauty trick. When you wash your face take a little Corn Mill in your hands with some water and gently scrub your face with it. The best homemade exfoliate I have ever tried!

Claire And Cousin Arista Christmas Eve

2010-01-11T16:41:00.000-08:00

Trip to D.C

2010-01-02T21:08:00.000-08:00

New pictures of Claire

2009-11-16T11:08:00.000-08:00

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This is Claire with her friends! Weston, Claire, Sevy, Teik

ZOO BOO, HALLOWEEN, AND TRUNK OR TREAT

2009-11-07T13:33:00.001-08:00

We had such a fun week! Claire's Grandpa Chad and Grandma Sue came to visit and we took a trip to the Houston Zoo for Zoo Boo! It is so much fun! They have candy and games for children. I love seeing all of the costumes and how excited the kids were to be at the Zoo! We dressed her up as a pumpkin and everyone loved our little punkin' When we put her in the pumpkin patch it was like she was a celebrity! Everyone wanted to take a picture of her! She just wanted to eat her hand!

Then on Halloween we went to the Trunk or Treat at the church. It was so fun to see everyone in our ward. Our scouts were especially excited to see us! Claire was a raptor. We also called her a slobbersaurus!

My Amazing and Beautiful Wife Julie

2009-10-31T07:33:00.000-07:00

There are so many reasons why my wife is perfect and that there is no one else like her. She is everything to me. She is my happiness and makes me feel like I am the only person that exists in this whole world. She is my best friend and my confidant. I love her more than anything in this world because she truly is my soul mate and I know that we are supposed to be together. Julie has taken me to heights I never knew existed and I know that she has felt those with me. Julie is truly the most special woman in the world. She is the best mom I have ever seen and is the glue for our family. She holds us together and whenever times are hard, she is there to help put us back together. She takes on the responsibility and privilege of taking care of Claire with ease and smiles. She is so thankful to be a mother and loves every minute of it. Julie takes care of me the same way. I don't know where she finds the time or strength to take care of two people at the same time, but she does it everyday. Julie is AMAZING and I love her more and more everyday. Anything she puts her mind to she can achieve whatever that is. She loves life and wants to experience everything it has to offer. Lately we have been talking about our life, both past and future. We both are so excited about the direction our lives our heading and do not care about where we may be or what we may be doing, as long as we get to be together. I know that when we are together we can do anything in this world. I am so thankful for my family and for making me the proudest husband. I want everyone to know that Julie has it all. She has developed all of her many talents to become the woman she is today. She is the light of my life and means everything to me and more. I love you forever my sweet Julie Ann.

Preslie Quinn Martin

2009-10-30T08:21:00.000-07:00

Last week we celebrated our sweet nieces Angelversary. Preslie Quinn Martin was born into heaven October 22, 2008. It was the saddest day we had ever experienced when we found out she returned to heaven. Through the sadness, with much faith and many prayers, so many lives have been touched. Preslie is so perfect she didn't even need to stay here on earth. She has helped us all try harder to be able to see her again some day.

To celebrate her many people all over released pink balloons into the air and also did an act of service to honor her. We loved taking the time remembering her and how she touches our lives every day. We love you Preslie!

Here are some pictures of the balloon release.

Claire Roll's Over

2009-10-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

Up in the night, and so happy to be

2009-10-07T23:34:00.000-07:00

I was up in the night with my sweet little Claire and I started to think of my friend Haylee who is pregnant with a baby boy. I when to her facebook page to see how she is doing and I saw that she has a blog. I was so excited to find this out so I opened it and started to read, this is what I found.

This is a link to a website of a sweet little girl who has cancer. http://www.tayliebug.com/Index.html

Haylee was writing about how someone was generous enough to donate $2 to this little girl and her family for every person who wrote about her and linked it in their blog! Also another generous person is donating a Prada bag to someone who blogs this. Go to her website to see what its about: http://adashofseason.blogspot.com/

This is not about a great Prada bag. (but who wouldn't love that bag!!) As I sat here holding my sweet little baby girl my heart broke. Today in the mail I got a letter and a single pink balloon from my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. On the 22nd of October we will commemorate the one year anniversary of our sweet angel niece, Preslie, who was born into heaven. My heart aches for them. I just held my baby girl tighter and touched her little face and my heart sank for all the losses people face in life. We love Preslie and there is not a day that goes by that we don't think of her. She touches our lives and our hearts in so many ways.

I just had to write about this little girl and hope there is enough money raised for her so her little body can fight this cancer and she get all the help she needs. Please do the same.

BY REQUEST. . .

2009-10-07T20:22:00.000-07:00

. . .and because she is just to cute I can't help myself!!

She always falls asleep in her jumper/bouncer! She loves it and just goes crazy in it but I think it wears her right out!

These I took today and tried my hand at editing and playing with colors!!

I think they turned out pretty cute!!

She is so sweet!!!

This is Claire's friend, Weston, who is two months older than her! On Monday we went to the library together to baby story time! It was so much fun! They are so cute!!!

CLAIRE'S HANDSOME COUSINS!!!

2009-10-05T22:00:00.000-07:00

Claire has four boy cousins who were born with in a year of her. She was the last born of the line-up. It is so fun! They will all be in the same grade when they start school. So the day of Claire's blessing we lined them up and took some adorable pictures! They are all so CUTE!!!

From left to right: Matthew, William, Claire, Jonathan, and Caleb.

You should have seen the crew behind the cameras clapping, cooing and entertaining trying to get the babies to stay in one place and to smile! Claire is so lucky to have so many older boy cousins to protect her. I guess I feel so lucky to have four older brothers who were always there to help me not be such a premadonna and to protect me. I love my older brothers and adore each one of them. I have always said every girl deserves older brothers. In Claire's case she gets boy cousins. She is one lucky girl!!!

A few more pictures!!

2009-09-28T20:05:00.000-07:00

Claire's blessing!

2009-09-27T20:29:00.000-07:00

We blessed Claire in Utah while we were there for Marissa's wedding. It was a wonderful end to a VERY VERY busy week. Claire and I flew into Utah on September 5th and as soon as we got there it was go go go! My dad left his car in a parking lot for us to pick up when we landed, so after I made my way with baby, bags and so much stuff we got in the car and drove to Kamas where I met my sister-in-law at some of her Dad's famous and amazing pizza. We got in the car again and drove to the upper Uintas's to a place called Lake Lyman. I had a family reunion there with my family where we stayed at a girls camp. It has a large lodge where everyone hangs out and a bunch of littler cabins with a bunch of bunks in them. Everyone was so nice to Claire and I. They set up our bed with an air mattress and a big warm sleeping bag. They took our huge bags up there. (we had to pack for camping, wedding, blessing and who knew what else so yes they were big and NOT full of shoes, like usual!) It was nice and cold for us warm weather girls up there so luckily we got to cuddle all night long in our sleeping bag! The first night our air mattress deflated :( so we didn't get much sleep. That combined with the hour I got the night before we left made for very tired girls!! There were fun activities and good stories around the campfire as usual! My Grandpa and Grandma told stories about their lives, it is something all of their kids and grand kids cherish.

Finally Monday came and we got back in the car and drove to Smithfield to my parents house where we were able to catch up on some much needed sleep and spend time with my Mom and Dad! Claire and I got to go play with her cousin Jonathan and with my amazing sister went to her night class! (what an ambitious woman! She is amazing!)

We were only in Cache Valley two fast days then it was down to Salt Lake to Pick up Curt from the Airport! Claire and I first went to Curt's grandma's house because everyone was anxious to meet Claire. They are just so awesome! I was SO SO SO happy to have Curt come to Utah! It had been a really tough week so far and we were really missing him. Time away from him always makes me so grateful for him. He is so helpful and is always there for me and our little family!

The next day was an exciting one! I had been so looking forward to it!! We went to Cafe Rio!! Ha Ha that's actually not was I was looking forward that day we spent in the Temple! Some very amazing things happened that day! First Marissa received her endowments and the whole Martin family was in the temple together! After we spent a short time in the Celestial room we went to a little sealing room where Sue was sealed to her parents. She had waited until all here children could be there together! Chris and Marissa were proxy for her parents! It was one of the most spiritually powerful moments I can ever remember having! The knowledge of the eternities and the covenant of Eternal families was even more ingrained in my heart and spirit! It was a wonderful day! It was also the longest I had been away from Claire so I was so excited to go see her again! Curt's wonderful cousin Stacy watched her while we were there! THANK YOU STACY!! That night was the wedding dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory!

The next day was another exciting day! Chris and Marissa's wedding day!! It was a perfect day! It was beautiful outside and the temple wasn't too busy because it was a Friday so that was nice! The wedding ceremony was wonderful! It was so nice to hear the word of the marriage covenant again! It is always so nice to remember exactly what is said! After pictures we went to the reception center and took even more pictures!! It was a really beautiful reception center! It was a fun evening of meeting new people and visiting with family and friends! It was a long day!! Marissa's dress was amazing on her, she looked so beautiful!! We are so happy for them and excited that Chris is in the family!

The next day was yet another exciting and VERY special day! Claire's blessing day!! Thanks to my brother Keith, who arranged his in-laws home for us, we had a perfect place to hold the blessing. It was such a special day and there were so many things that made it that way! Claire was blessed with here cousin Jonathan. I was so happy to be able to bless my baby on the same day as my sister!! I just love her so much and was so happy that we could share that special day! Also Claire was blessed in the very same dress I was blessed in which was hand made by my grandmother! She was also blessed with the very special blessing blanket Curt's grandma made especially for the day! She also wore a blessing day bracelet that Sue gave her. Her aunt Rylie and uncle Chris also gave her an adorable little neclace to wear but in the rush of things I totally forgot to put it on her but she wears it all the time now! It was just a wonderful day in all aspects! I was so touched with with wonderful blessing Curt gave to our little girl! I was so proud of him that he is worthy and has the spirit with him. He is a strong leader and priesthood holder for our family and I couldn't have been more happy that day!

That afternoon we went back to Salt Lake for a baby shower for my sister-in-law Rylie and their little girl Arista! It was fun to be with some women and chat! Also I am just so excited for that little baby girl to come!! It has been a hard year for them and I just want them to know that we love them and are always praying for them!

Finally that night we got to relax and play games and the next day was the day we got to come home! I have never been more excited to get on a plane in my life!! I was so happy to be coming home!!! Claire did awesome on the plane both ways! At the end of the flight the woman sitting just in front of me stood up when she did she said "oh there was a baby sitting behind me!" Claire didn't even make a peep!!!

Sorry for the long story, it was a long week!! Here are the pics!!

YIKES!!!

2009-09-03T17:20:00.000-07:00

"in an exchange at a congressional hearing last April between pro-life New Jersey congressman Chris Smith and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Smith was questioning current Administration policies to promote abortion internationally. As part of his questioning, he waxed philosophic and asked Mrs. Clinton about her recent acceptance of Planned Parenthood's Margaret Sanger award. Sanger founded Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider.

He pointed out to Mrs. Clinton that Sanger was a eugenicist and racist who said "The most merciful thing a family does for one of its infant members is to kill it."

The Secretary of State listened stoically and then replied: "We have a fundamental disagreement ...We happen to think that family planning is an important part of women's health, and reproductive health includes access to abortion."" ~ Star Parker

I just can't believe this!! I was reading this column and just had to share.

A FEW MORE!!

2009-08-27T19:10:00.000-07:00

BY REQUEST

2009-08-27T17:24:00.000-07:00

I keep getting requests to put up more pictures of Claire. So here you are! She is already six weeks old! I can't believe it! We love her and she is so much fun.

On the Menu today.

2009-08-23T06:21:00.000-07:00

We are having our friends from Curt's dental school over today for Sunday dinner. It's always so much fun to get together! We have such great friends!

Curt and I always play a game when we go grocery shopping. When we get to the check out line we each guess what we think our overall cost will be. Of course, in everything I do I love to win and so does Curt. Things usually get pretty competitive. So when I was planning what I wanted to serve today Curt was giving me a hard time saying "wow, this is going to be a hundred dollar meal" I told him that it would not and that I think it will only cost thirty to forty dollars. So yesterday we went shopping and when we got to the check out line we had to separate all the things I was getting for the meal and all the other groceries. The checker and a few other checkers around us were laughing and getting into our little game. With each scanned item I was getting more and more excited because the price tag was going up very slowly! In the end the cost was $47.37!!! I WON!!!

Here is the menu:

Appetizers ~ Cheese stuffed pasta crisps with tomato Parmesan dip
Salad ~ Tomato and fresh Mozzarella with balsamic vinaigrette
Soup ~ Cold cucumber soup
Main Course ~ Honey mustard chicken skewers
~ Herb mashed potatoes
~ Cheese and chive biscuits
Dessert ~ Left over desserts from our Friday get together. Chocolate peanut butter bars and Ice cream.

NEW NEW NEW!!!

2009-08-15T19:38:00.000-07:00

It has been such a busy month! Really it has been a very busy summer! This last month has been all about NEW. We moved into a new apartment! We love it! I love it because it has a larger kitchen than our last place. Everything fits in a place and I still have room! Curt loves the extra study room.

Also on the list, of course, our sweet new addition to our family. I LOVE being a mother. I told Curt the other day that every time I go to pick Claire up I get the most giddy excited feeling ever. It's funny because its the same feeling I get when Curt calls me mid day just to say hi or when he comes home from a long day of school and hugs me. The best way I can describe it in words is, its the feeling of the deepest love, excitement and knowing how lucky I am all mixed up and bubbling deep in my heart. It's amazing!

Another exciting new thing in our lives is a new car!! We were told by Chad, my very protective father-in-law, that we had better get rid of my old Honda Passport and get something safer to put our little Claire in. It was hard to admit, but yes, I had way too many joy rides in my car and it was literally falling apart one system at a time. A car can only take so much. So we got rid of it and got a spiffy new Ford Escape! Well I am so glad I gave in and gave up that car because we have one sexy and smooth new ride. It's black with black interior. It has all sorts of electronic hook-ups and doodads in it. But my favorite part is the hands free phone system.

All this new has been exciting and fun but now that Curt has started school again its nice to get into a rhythm.

More pictures of Claire!

2009-07-29T15:21:00.000-07:00

You probably think we are obsessed with our little girl... well we are!! We just can't get enough of her! She is one sweet little baby! She sleeps seven to eight hours every night! Curt and I are always on the go. We have taken her out and about almost every day. We are gone for hours and hours and she is a champion. She is just the most pleasant little thing! And she smiles!!! I can't believe it but she really does! And she has dimples on both of her little cheeks!! It is so adorable!!

One proud Daddy!!

2009-07-29T15:04:00.000-07:00

Curt is the most proud Dad I have ever seen! Not only is he proud, he is amazing!! He has done so much for Claire and I! He is always doing the dishes and cleaning up. He gets me water all the time because I am always so thirsty! Curt has also changed more diapers than I have! WOW!! He IS awesome!! Not only does he do all that for us but he is also moving our entire apartment to a new one!! Along with a big move he has setup/assembled tons of furniture! (a table and six chairs, a desk with a hutch, and two night stands.) Curt is our superhero!!! WE LOVE HIM SO MUCH!

I just had to post pictures of the wrist band from the hospital he wore around for almost two weeks after Claire was born. See he is a proud Daddy!

Claire Martin

2009-07-26T07:15:00.001-07:00

More Claire Pictures

2009-07-23T14:11:00.000-07:00

Our little baby girl Claire

2009-07-19T21:35:00.000-07:00

Claire was born July 16th at 3:23 PM in Houston TX. She weighed in at 6 pounds 9 ounces and was 18.5 inches long. She has skinny legs and arms and is the most adorable and friendly little girl. We love her more than anything and cant wait for all of you to meet her.

More Claire Pictures

2009-07-18T19:41:00.000-07:00

2009-07-16T19:59:00.000-07:00

New Video of our Little Claire

2009-06-29T18:35:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH-fDrjYGUM

We are such proud and excited parents!! We now only have three weeks until the Due date even though I keep hoping for a sooner arrival of our little girl. We are just so excited to see her and to hold her. There is so much to do to get ready though! Wow!!

(copy and paste the URL to your navigation bar. I don't know how else to do it)

Washington D.C.

2009-06-29T16:51:00.000-07:00

For the summer Curt did an internship in Washington D.C. at Bolling Air Force Base. We used it as a great opportunity to have a fun vacation! Everything was paid for but my plane ticket which was so nice! Normally we would have had to stay on base at their housing but we got lucky and it was all booked for the time we were there! So we had to stay at a hotel off base. (oh darn) We ended up at a really nice place right on The National Harbor. It was beautiful!!! Also Curt being the amazing person he is, he talked the rental car place to upgrade us to a nicer car than the one the Military got us, which was a luxurious and comfy Lincoln Town car.

Curt was so excited to be able to play lots of golf and tennis with his dad, and he did play a lot!! They even got to play in a golf tournament! They came in second place! I was so proud of them!

This is on the waters edge of National Harbor. It's called "The Awakening". It looks more like he is screaming "get off me you big pregnant woman".

One of the Saturday's we got to go with Chad and Sue (Curt's parents) to the bishops store house! They are so awesome!! It was so fun to see them do such a great work. Sue made us lunch while we were there and they gave us a tour and let us help out a bit too!

We also got to watch the Air Show from the parking lot of the Storehouse! It is so amazing having those huge planes blare over our heads.

Chad took us to one of our favorite things to do when we visit them! We went to a Washington Nationals baseball game! We play the funnest game with him when we go! We can't wait for our kids to go to a game with Grandpa!! They will have a blast.

Curt again being the amazing man he is totally surprised me and treated me to a weekend in New York!! We drove from D.C. to N.Y.C!! It was so much fun! He got us Phantom Of The Opera tickets and took me to some really neat restaurants. We had so much fun there! We walked around Central Park and Times Square just enjoying spending time together.

When we got back from New York we had guests at our hotel! My parents came to visit!!! We were so excited to see and spend time with them. We gave them our hotel room with a large comfortable bed (I loved the bed) and we went to stay at Curt's parents house. They took us to Mount Vernon which is where George Washington's home was! It was a beautiful place full of history. The spirit of power and goodness were felt throughout the whole estate.

Curt's parents had us all over to their house for dinner one night. Our families don't get to spend much time together since they live so far away so we were happy to have our parents together. Our friend Michael Bush was even there to spend time with us!

One night I was able to see one of my mission companions, Sarah Groesbeck, She cooked Curt and I dinner! It was great to see her and catch up.

We had such a fun trip! And Curt really enjoyed his internship. He was able to see lots of really neat things and get a better feel for what he would be doing as a dentist in the Air Force.

ONE AMAZING YEAR

2009-04-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

Everyone always says their mission was the best two (one and a half) years of their lives. Up until I lived this last year I would have agreed with them. Unfortunately I would completely disagree with them now! Serving a mission was truly the most rewarding, amazing time I had ever had. I didn't think anything could EVER be better. I am so happy to be proven wrong. Before I ever considered getting married I was, to be honest, terrified at the thought of it. Then when Curt and I got engaged everyone would tell us to "endure the first year because its hard but it gets better after that". We also heard, "enjoy the first years because after that is when it really gets hard". So from the begining Curt and I decided to do things our way and to do what ever it takes to make sure we are both always happy and trying to love and serve each other. To this day, one year one month and one day after the day we made the most important commitment we would ever make, we are still doing it our way. We decide everyday what is most important. We strive to treat each other with the most love we possibly can. We truly and sincerely love and care about one another and we never forget about the promises we made in the begining. As we have learned and grown together we have found so many new ways that we can grow and become better people and better spouses.

Now that we are expecting a third addition to our happy twosome we have grown even more love, patience, and commitment. We have learned that when you do things right life gets better and better! It truly has been ONE AMAZING YEAR!

Not so good at this!

2009-04-14T21:09:00.000-07:00

So I have decided I am not so sure I am that good at being pregnant! I know I know many women have done this many times and I should be so grateful to have the chance to be pregnant. I really am!! I am so grateful everyday for this tiny growing miracle inside of me. As much as I am happy to be blessed with this amazing gift I have to be honest, there are times when terror strikes! This is a HUGE deal here! I know taking it one day at a time is the only way to get through it alive!! I just watch so many amazing examples around me and I think to my self "yeah they are good at this, but can I really do ALL of that." It's times when I have flash forwards that I get overwhemled. I have so much to learn! I have discovered some things that make me happy at this stage on my path to becoming a Mama! I wanted to share them maybe they will make you or someone you know happy too!!

This book is awesome! I got tired of reading such serious books on pregnancy and parenting. I think they were making me more paranoid than anything so I switched to this. It is such a fun real look at the whole experience. The author is great! It feels like I am getting advice from my best friend. This is a #1 on my list

This one made me laugh when I discovered it! I love what its called! BOOB TUBE!! But it really has been a gem!! I love it. If you want more details on what it does maybe you should call me! :)

These are also another gem I have discovered! This is called the Belly Bar. They are good but not too flavorful, if too much makes you sick. I keep a few in my purse at all times so if I feel like I am going to get sick or I am working and I can't stop to eat something I will grab one of these! The pink and green are my favorites!

This is the mother load!! If you have old or new stretch marks this is the thing to get. It really does help. I will be honest I check my self all the time to see if I can find any signs of stretch marks and sometimes I even make Curt check just in case I am missing any area my eyes can no longer reach. Many people say you can't do anything about stretch marks, either you get them or you don't. I decided I didn't want to take the chance and see if they are right or not I just want to do everything possible to prevent it. This cream actually lightens old marks and is supposed to be preventative as well. Let's hope it works. So far so good!!

Oh and stretch marks are just a sign of a huge heart and your amazing sacrifice so if you have them don't fret. You are amazing for going through what you did to get them!

I really think I would die without a fruit smoothie. I had to start adding peanut butter so I would have the extra protein to get me through. I did discover that I could use weight loss shakes as well. Ones like Slim Fast but I usually get the cheaper brand. The great thing about those is it has more nutrients than just peanut butter but has almost as much protein!! YUM

Next, this book is on my list! I can't wait to get it! I have read the first few pages and have looked through it to see the titles and topics of the rest of the chapters and it looks like another fun book with a blunt, real take on pregnancy and becoming a parent.

Once I actually read it I can tell you if it is worth the buy!

There are all my secrets to staying focused and calm during this "GROWING" time! If any of you wise, practiced mothers out there have any more tips please pass them on!! I would appreciate it!

BABY CLAIRE!!

2009-03-06T17:40:00.000-08:00

I will try this video again!! Hope it works. I had lot of trouble trying to get this to download but hopefully it will work now!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIKQMQXNpe0

Ok so I can't do it so hopefully you can copy and paste the URL. If anyone knows how to upload videos please tell me!

IT'S A...

2009-03-05T17:38:00.000-08:00

GIRL!!!! We were so excited all day today about going to the Doctor and finding out the gender of our baby!!! Curt and I were so excited, in fact, that we both had headaches by the time it came down to it! I guess the excitement got to us! Despite that, we were loving it!! We took footage of the ultrasound, its kinda long so you don't have to watch the whole thing. If you fast forward to the end you can see the part where we find out that its a GIRL!
Here are some pictures of some fun things that we splurged on after we found out! We had to celebrate! Here are the cute little booty socks that Grandpa Chad bought when we were in California! This little girl will be one sporty chick!!

Feeling the movement!!

2009-03-03T11:27:00.000-08:00

I just had to share the excitement I have had this week! I have started to feel my little one move around! I was feeling the slight flutters about a week before but this week I have felt the actual kick or fist or bump our baby is doing! Its crazy and so exciting! I feel it mostly at night when Curt and I are talking. The baby loves to hear Curt's voice. I also feel it jump when Curt talks right into my stomach... I think it startles the baby. But i love it!! I also feel it in the morning around ten! The calender says its about the size of a banana now! That seems pretty big to me but, yes, I know it only gets bigger.

So this week is an especially exciting week for us because we will have the appointment where we find out the gender! It will be Thursday! I can hardly wait! I am looking forward to Curt seeing the baby move on the screen also. I think that will be really special!

I will let you know who it is on Thursday!

ANOTHER FUN DAY AT THE ALLIGATOR PARK!!

2009-02-17T15:31:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun day with our friends at the alligator park. Our friends who came were Richard and Amanda Brannock, Richard is in Curt's class at school, they are in our ward and Amanda is a month and a half ahead of me in pregnancy!! Our other friends John and Katrina and their little girl Sevie and their baby boy Teik were there too. John is also in Curt's class and Katrina is one of those super moms who teaches classes at the gym, makes all sorts of cool crafts, and takes her kids to the zoo! Our other friend who was there is Jeremy Funk! He is, you guessed it, in Curt's class.

We took our fishing poles and packed our selves a great picnic and headed out for a wonderful warm day. It was so relaxing and fun to be in the outdoors and to be there with great people! We loved it and I think we even came home with a few suntan lines!! No fish were caught but see if you can find the picture of Curt with his fishing line caught in the tree. The guys were bummed they didn't catch anything but I think they didn't realize that when the lakes were stocked with fish there were hungry alligators waiting to be fed.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

2009-02-11T06:59:00.000-08:00

What a great way to turn 26!!

Curt totally spoiled me on my birthday! Actually he always spoils me but WOW... he is just amazing!! I had the best day, and any day is even better when I come home to my sweet amazing man.

The day of my birthday Curt and I had a lunch break together so he took me to Quizno's! Curt, being Curt... made me hurry and eat as fast as I could so we could go home and open my presents.

I told him I wanted to wait until that night when we were going to have cake and ice cream with our friends. Do you know what it is like trying to contain a 6 foot 1, approximately 200 pound, child? OK, I am sure you do know if you have a husband.

So we rush home from lunch and with only a little time to spare I tore open all my presents!!! The most funny part about this is that Curt couldn't even wait until my birthday, so most of the presents I opened... I knew what they were.

To give him well deserved credit, he did save some surprises. It was such a fun birthday and I loved the gifts Curt gave me. He is the most thoughtful person ever. The best part of it all is he goes through a lot of work for each and every item he gets... meaning he finds it all for the best price he possibly can!!!

I want to give you an example of how bad, but good it really is...

If Curt would have spent full price on everything he got me it would have all cost the grand total of...

$2300.00 YIKES!!!!

One of the things Curt just can't keep to himself is the price he paid for things! He gets so much joy out of getting a great... make that an amazing deal! I figured if he told me how much everything was then I could share it with you. So the real total of the birthday splurge was.... (drum roll everyone)

$305.00 PHEW!!!

I still felt like that was a lot to spend on my birthday but I loved every gift so I didn't complain!

Its a really good thing Curt is the king of finding the best deals!!!

TEMPLE BLESSINGS

2009-01-23T18:26:00.000-08:00

This has been a really rough week for me... well it started out rough and is ending great!! To preface the story, I HAD the most awful job I have ever had!

I have not had good luck since we have been in Texas in the job area of life. I even said the other day "I just come from a happy place where people are nice and care about life and others." I have been suffering through the most horrible place to work ever. I worked with people who wouldn't even say hello to each other. It was like pulling teeth to get them to greet me in the morning. It was not only that they all just had the most negative and rotten attitudes about everything, they needed someone they could take it all out on. That person was me. Anything that could ever possibly go wrong or be bad was all me, even if I never even knew anything about it. It was frustrating. Monday was the last straw! I was being yelled at for something that had absolutely nothing to do with me so I did what I needed to for my own personal happiness and sanity. I QUIT!!

I came home and sobbed to Curt about how I was a quitter now and that there must be something wrong with me. I felt so bad about the whole situation. Curt being the sweet, kind husband that he is he held me and told me all the great things about me and how he was proud that I stuck up for myself. After that I felt much better.

The next day I tried to go to the Temple but I got lost. The directions are really confusing and if I go by the GPS I end up taking all the toll roads in Houston so I came back home. I was determined to go still so Curt made a really easy map and directions for me. I really couldn't get lost. So the next morning I woke up really early and left before the sun came up. It was a beautiful drive as the sun came up over the city. When I pulled up the Temple a wave of relief rushed over me! I thought to myself "How could something this holy and perfect be in a city like this?" Don't get me wrong I love Houston! I am sure you can imagine, though, the magnitude of such a feeling with you don't get to be around it that often.

The blessings of going to the temple were worth the drive and the early morning! I had such comforting feelings that I did the right thing and that something great would work out. My faith was boosted and my hope restored!

The blessings are so apparent! I already have a new job!! Isn't that great! The new job I got is at A Pea In The Pod. Its a Maternity boutique. I even get the blessing of a discount on clothes!! Yeah!! I was so excited about that aspect!!

Here are some of the pictures I took! I love you all!

ALLIGATOR PARK!!

2009-01-17T19:03:00.000-08:00

Today was such a fun day! We went with our friends Richard and Amanda Brannock, and Jeremy Funk to the ALLIGATOR PARK!!! So, we all live in the middle of a large city and we work in the city and go to school in the city! So as you could imagine we are tired of THE CITY!! So we planned a day trip to a State park where there are tons of alligators, and miles of the great outdoors without a building in site. It was so much fun! We walked around with binoculars scanning through the swamps spotting alligators floating in the mossy green water. Then we went to the nature center and we were able to pet a baby alligator. It was so cute and tiny! I was a little hesitant to touch it but I finally worked up the courage put my finger on it.

It was pretty cool! After we were done with the alligators we found a good deep lake and, the cool thing about a state park in Texas you get free fishing with the entry fee, so we threw in two lines and.... well nothing... so after a while we got distracted with the fun conversation with our friends. It eventually got late enough that we decided that we were all hungry so we went and ate pizza together. It was delicious pizza for VERY CHEEP!! Thanks to Curter and his amazing talent at finding the best deals ever!!!

UNEXPECTEDLY EXPECTING!!!

2009-01-02T11:21:00.000-08:00

Curt and I got the most surprising and exciting news of our lives!! We are having a baby!!! When we found out we were shocked, we were not planning on this little gift, but the Lord obviously was! After we got over the initial shock, we are so excited to have such a wonderful addition to our lives. Curt and I have such a great relationship and the best friendship you could imagine. We love spending time together doing anything and everything. I was curious to see how this would impact our relationship. I think maybe I was nervous at first because things were so perfect and we were having so much fun just being together. Despite my slight worries and the anxieties of becoming parents, life with Curt just keeps getting better. It is amazing how close it is bringing us together. We both have said that we now have feelings we have never felt before. Our feelings towards each are becoming so much deeper and more powerful at the thought of having created something together. We are now aware of the intimidating, but wonderful responsibility of someones life and learning. The greatest of all feelings is the even deeper and more connected feeling to Heavenly Father we have had. Soon after discovering I was pregnant I was laying in bed after Curt and I had said our prayers and Curt had drifted off to sleep. I still had more in my heart I wanted to express to Heavenly Father. Part of what I felt and did was thanking Him for entrusting us with such an amazing power and letting us raise someone from a baby to child to teen (yikes) to an adult! What a process!!! Life really is the greatest miracle of all miracles! We are so happy to share our news with everyone!!

I am almost three months pregnant and so far so good!! The due date is July 25th!! The Chinese gender calender says its a boy. The string with a pin on the end of it dangling over the belly says its a girl. I have the worst heart burn ever! Curt is the most excited expectant father you could ever imagine! I am still trying to come to grips with the whole thing!!!

We are so happy to share the news and we welcome any suggestions and advice you may have.

Love,
Curt, Julie and Claire/Boy (name unchosen)

CHRISTMAS VACATION WITH THE MARTINS!

2008-12-31T10:52:00.000-08:00

It was a very Merry Christmas with the Martin family. We had so much fun on our vacation! We went to Coronado Island near San Diego! It was beautiful there. There is a Naval base right in the prime location of the island and that is where we stayed.

I loved the base. They are so nice and quiet and clean. I kept telling Curt that I would love to live on a base some day. They have everything you could need. Golf courses, tennis courts, bowling allies, any type of shopping you could need. I loved it. The best part about them is they are so safe! I could go running anytime and not worry about traffic and scary people.

So that is exactly what we did the whole time we were there. We golfed and played tennis and went running on the beach! It was beautiful!

Some of the HIGHLIGHTS

We drove to Las Vegas and went to the show Mystere at Cirque De Sole! It was amazing and crazy! The acrobats were incredible! If you have never been to a Las Vegas show I would recommend it... No not that type of show, I would not recommend that... But the cool theme shows, with people flying through the air and music and lights and pizazz!

We played a lot of tennis!!! It was so much fun to play tennis with such a great athletic group. I am not as good as everyone else but they are all so patient with me and we just have fun together. They are all helping me become a better player. I get a lot of tennis lessons from my father-in-law so that really helps out a lot! He is an amazing coach! I can't wait for him to give lessons to our kids.

Golf, golf and more golf! We golfed on base and had a little scramble game. It was so much fun and the course on the island was beautiful. It ran right along the beach! One day we went into a little stream that was in the course that ran into the ocean, we took off our shoes and socks and waded through the water and found hundreds of golf balls!! We took our treasures back to the hotel room and washed them. We divided them up took the ones we like to play with and the rest which were not good balls to play. We took the bad ones and went to the shoreline and tee'd up the balls and hit them into the ocean with the sunset as our backdrop!! You can't get better than that!!!

Poinsettia bowl!! Chad got us all tickets to the football bowl in San Diego! it was so much fun to go to! It was TCU against Boise State. It was a good game and Marissa (my sister-in-law) and I were the only one's who cheered for the winning team!! Go TCU!!

While we were there the Martin family are really good friends with some great people so we spent a lot of time with them. Scott and Stephanie Sessions are their names and they were so wonderful to have us over for Christmas dinner. We actually invaded their home a lot! While we were there Scott, who is a plastic surgeon, gave Sue some Botox and Juviderm and a few of us were all standing around watching and a few minutes later I don't see Curt anymore. After it was all done Curt came walking over and he was white. He told me he had to go lay down or else he was going to pass out! Ha Ha!!

Overall it was such a fun trip! Thanks to Chad for planing it all and for everyone being so much fun!!

Here are some other pictures from the vacation!!!

How did I get so lucky to get such a handsome man! WOW I must have done somthing good!!!

LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW. . .

2008-12-14T20:56:00.000-08:00

... BUT WHAT TO OUR WONDERING EYES SHOULD APPEAR...
A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS SURPRISE THAT BROUGHT US LOTS OF CHEER...

2008-12-14T20:48:00.000-08:00

2008-11-30T20:54:00.001-08:00

So much to be thankful for... where do I even begin! I love Thanksgiving! In years past it has been so much fun to be around family, having your uncles tease you about going back for thirds when you are in line for your firsts and only, playing football, seeing family you don't get to see often enough, and having wonderful food that you would not eat at any other time of the year. This year was quite different from all the others Curt and I have had. We missed being around family and sharing with them the spirit of the season. But I do have to say that it was such a wonderful Thanksgiving for us. The morning of, Curt got up and went to the Stake Center to play in the Turkey Bowl with all the other guys and I got busy preparing our Thanksgiving meal. (I know so unlike me, I usually would be out there playing football, but then we would not have a dinner to enjoy) I did it all, the Turkey, mashed potatoes, I even made gravey, (I don't like gravey but it turned out great), I made carrots and, parmesan baked asparagus (yum), and... a pumpkin pie! When all was said and done I had made a fantastic meal! I was quite proud of myself! Oh yeah and I made a pumpkin cake roll because I would way rather have that than pumpkin pie! More than the food and the football I love the meaning of THANKSGIVING! A few months ago it was Curt's turn to do the lesson for Family Home Evening and he did it on GRATITUDE. He gave us each a piece of paper and we had to write on it what GRATITUDE means to us. Part of what I wrote was "Gratitude is a sign of understanding, humility, and depth of character." I wrote this because when a person really understands and appreciated the BLESSINGS they have and they learn how to show proper THANKS, then they understand where the blessings come from, and they have the humility to recognize the source. That kind of attribute creates so much depth and certainly understanding in a person’s character.

I have always admired Curt so much for his ability to be truly GRATEFUL for every little thing in life. He recognizes it and is so good at expressing it. I love it because always being around him I can't help but to become more and more GRATEFUL for everything. I love what he wrote for our FHE activity, “Gratitude is being aware of and appreciating blessings and kindness given to us. We can express it through sincere words of thanks and through actions that show our appreciation. An increased spirit of gratitude will bring increased joy in our lives.” Curt is a man of his words… it’s amazing and is brings so much joy and love into our home. He shows and tells me how GRATEFUL he is for me and it makes it so easy to feel that way towards him. I it just a perpetual wonderful cycle everyone should get stuck in.

On the other side of the paper he had us list all the things we were GRATEFUL for and I love this activity! It really makes you take the time to think of all the little things you are truly deep down grateful for. Try it… some of the things you write may make you and others laugh but it is a great way to count your MANY blessings!!!

2008-09-23T18:41:00.000-07:00

The Bayou right by our house!!! So much water!!!

2008-09-23T18:33:00.000-07:00

From Hurricane to Whirlwind!!

2008-09-23T17:50:00.000-07:00

It was quite the experience to go through a hurricane... not one I would like to have again! Curt tells this story better but I will do my best. Curt and I discussed several times about this Hurricane Ike that was forecasted to hit us... We talked about whether we should stay or go, if we were prepared enough, and Curt had to calm my fears several times. Curt has gone through one before when his family lived in Hawaii that one was called Iniki. So Curt thought he knew what he was doing so I, being a good wife, trusted him. (Don't worry I still do!) So we made our preparations with food and water and flashlights and parked ourselves in front of the TV to watch as Ike approached us. We were actually starting to get excited to see something like this. So the night the storm hit we were sitting in our house and before anything got going with the storm... bam.... our power went out!!! It was only about 8:30 p.m. We knew from then on it was going to be a long night. So we watched a movie on our ipod in bed with the blinds open waiting to see any sign of the storm. It wasn't raining or even very windy at this point. So we waited with anticipation and at about midnight that night it hit us... a lot harder than we were expecting. It was the scariest thing I have ever seen and felt. The trees out side were bent over sideways and the rain looked like it was going from the ground up and the wind... oh the awful wind... We were sure all of our windows would shatter into peices. We sat there listening to the madness outside wishing we could open our window to escape from the heat that was building up inside our house, but we were too terrified to move. We wanted to hold each other and I wanted the comfort of Curt's arm to soothe me but it was way too hot... we couldn't touch each other. Every once in a while Curt would reach over and touch my hand or give me a quick hug but it was too miserable to do anything else. To make things even more exciting at about 2:00 a.m. our fire alarms started going off. We jumped up and searched the house for a fire and there was nothing so then we tried taking the batteries out of the alarms so that loud blaring would stop so we could think, and do you think that worked?... NO! The siren screeching noise would not stop! We went to the front door and peeked our heads out to see if the rest of our apartment complex was OK and to make sure there really wasn't a fire. The whole apartment building did have alarms going off but thankfully there was no actual fire. The down side is is that the alarms didn't stop until 9:30 a.m. that morning! It was an awful and sleepless night! But when the sun arose and the storm stopped we were so excited to go out and see what had happened. So as soon as we could we went outside to check it out. Here are some photos to show you!! TO BE CONTINUED. . .

2008-09-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of our 5 Month anniversary!! WOW what an amazing time we have had. We went to P.F. Chang's for dinner and enjoyed, yes, yummy lettuce wraps, great meals, and time to reflect on the past, not only 5 months of marriage but the past 14 months of dating and being with each other. It has been so amazing finding the one person who makes your life so much better and more meaningful.
Curt is getting more and more busy with school. Tests are more frequent, he has start carving teeth with wax molding, and the studying has become more intense. It is so awesome to see his motivation and the clear talent he has for the field of dentistry. As for me I am fine with hearing the stories and seeing the pictures but the second he brought home real teeth in a jar I was done!! It totally grossed me out!! I usually love the blood and guts of things but the teeth in a jar just didn't settle right. I made him hide them back in his backpack.
I am currently looking for a job. I had one interview and I am going back tomorrow to do a presentation on how to give injections. The job I interviewed for is at a school teaching Medical Assisting. That could be interesting and a fun new challenge. I will let you know how it goes!!

2008-08-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

Getting settled in...

2008-08-22T07:42:00.000-07:00

It is quite the experience to move cross country. Gratefully we are here safe and together in Houston. For anyone who has not been to Houston, you are missing out! This is a really neat place. We love it! Yes I do get frustrated that it is so huge and I get so lost when I try to explore. Curt solved that problem by getting us a very nice GPS. Now i can go to my hearts content and when I am done I just push the "HOME" button and I am directed right back to where I started! I love it! I also get frustrated that everywhere we go no one speaks English! We went out to eat the other day and we asked 4 people the same question and they all just looked at us like "no intiendo nada". Yes we are the minority here. I will just have to solve that one by really learning Spanish. One more thing the Medical Center is so huge that I don't know where to start looking for a job. It is like a monster with 500 heads! Which one to go after first!?!? It's overwhelming to say the least. It looks like a whole city all by its self. I will just have to take that on a little bit at a time.
The thing we love most about or first little bit here is our ward! We have already made so many friends and we look forward to making many more. Everyone is so nice and helpful.
Overall we are so happy and love the opportunities life has brought us!

2008-08-19T12:59:00.000-07:00

Just getting started!!