Happy 7th Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary Andy!

I can't believe we have been married 7 years...though some times it feels a lot longer...haha. I want you to know I love you very much and I am so glad I married someone that makes me laugh daily! You spoil me all the time by the little things you do for me. Whether is it surprising me with breakfast on my desk at work....cleaning the house....getting up before everyone else on a Saturday morning to make us breakfast or make sure I get to sleep in...running to the store for something we forgot we needed...ha...cooking dinner after a long day at work...or offering to take the kids somewhere so I can have a quiet moment at home....the list goes on...and I thank you for all that you do for me and our family. You must be doing something right because our boys think you are the BEST EVER and I think your one of the funniest, smartest, and most thoughtful man around...!

The Dreaded Post

I have been putting this post off for months but I want to document this because I am already forgetting some of the details.

We had a family get together to celebrate my Grandpa's 89th birthday at the end of February.

It was the first time we all were together as a family since my grandma's funeral a couple days after Christmas. It was hard having a family gathering and she not be there. She LOVED her family and was so proud of all of us. She had a way of making you feel so special. I have dreaded blogging about her passing and my miscarriage but it definitely needs to be documented.

So here it goes... On December 8th grandma suffered a stroke and was admitted to the hospital. That same day I had gone to the doctor for a checkup a week earlier then scheduled because I had been having some spotting...which isn't a good sign when pregnant and I had miscarried 6 months earlier. I was 6 or 7 weeks pregnant. The ultrasound showed no heartbeat but a fetus. I wasn't to concerned since I could have been off a week or so on how far along I was. So they scheduled me to come back in a week.

Grandma and me

The next day we where giving encouraging news that Grandma was doing better and would have some therapy and be able to go home in more or less 6 weeks....I hope I remember all this right.... But later that week she had turned for the worse. I remember my sister calling me crying that Friday and I thought she was calling to tell me that Grandma had passed away. But they were just calling the family in to discuss options with the doctor. We all took shifts at her bedside and had family member/s with her around the clock. I didn't think she would make it through the weekend. Because of her age and frailty with the stroke it didn't look very good. Her heart had been working on 30% the last year and if I remember right was working on even less then that after her stroke. So with either condition it was bad but with both against her it was worse. She was so frail and weak sometimes telling us about her past and other times not remembering where she was and wanting to get out of bed b/c she needed to fix dinner....which she was way to weak to get out of bed even if she wanted too. She made it through the weekend and the hospital made arrangements for her to move to a nursing home. The hospital said there was nothing else they could do for her so the choices were to take her home and have hospice come in or go to the nursing home that grandpa had gone to a couple months before due to falling at home and getting hurt.

Our family loves to play games and Grandma always seemed to win...especially in Dominos. One time within the last 2 years she stayed up till 2 am to watch Jennifer and me play our cousins in a game of Canasta. She was so content to just watch us play just so she could be around us. The last game I played with her was Farkle the day after Thanksgiving.

On Tuesday I went back to the doctor for a 2nd ultrasound. At that ultrasound it showed no change in the fetus and still no heartbeat. At that time we were giving 3 options. To schedule a D&C, take a pill that would make me miscarry, or wait. We choose to wait. At that appointment I was not as hopeful and even busted into tears afterwards. But we choose to put it in God's hands and wait it out.

Grandma made quilts for all of her kids and grandkids...this is mom's quilt

My quilt

This is Jennifer's quilt.

It seemed that Grandma was doing good in the nursing home and they even had her in a wheelchair. I didn't get to see her in the nursing home during the week since she was 50 miles away and I thought she was doing well enough that I could wait and see her that weekend. My mom sent me a text Saturday morning that said, "Grandma won't wake up." My Aunt Mary had gone in to see her that morning and Grandma didn't respond to her and wouldn't wake up. Her body went into a coma and was functioning just enough to keep her alive. The nursing home was great to give us a room all to ourselves so we could be with her but we had to have a family member with her all the time. We were now responsible to take care of her but they where still great about checking on us and taking care of Grandma's physical needs. I didn't want to leave her bedside I was worried that when I came back she wouldn't be there. I ended up staying all weekend taking shifts and left to go back home Monday. She never woke up or really responded to anything we did. They didn't give her an IV because it would put to much strain on her heart.

The next day I had another ultrasound scheduled that showed the same thing as the other 2 ultrasounds. I had started bleeding more that day and had some cramping. I went back to Cabot that night to give Jessie to his dad for his Christmas holiday and I went to visit Grandma. I didn't end up staying long because my cramps where getting really bad. As soon as I got home I jumped in the shower hoping it would help me feel better and by that time I was bleeding heavily. I ended up miscarrying less then 10 minutes after getting out of the shower, it was December 22nd.

Two days later, on Christmas Eve, we had received a lot of rain and the roads where flooded. I was suppose to get Jessie back for our Christmas holiday and was worried I wouldn't be able to make the drive to get him. Traffic was backed up and not moving due to the highways flooding. By mid afternoon the water started receding enough so traffic was moving and I was able to head to Cabot. On my way there my mom called and told me that Grandma had passed. Even though I knew it was going to happen it was still hard to accept. I still have a hard time accepting it and it has been over 4 months. She was the BEST grandma and I am so privileged to have known her! She was passionate about God and her family! She made the best chocolate pie. And she loved her in laws and grand in laws like they where her own! She is GREATLY missed but I know is having the BEST time in Heaven!

Grandma's Graduation Picture

The last picture I took of grandma, with my sons Joshua and Noah, and my cousin Deagan.

This was at our Thanksgiving family gathering.

Governor Beebe Visits Jessie's Class

Jessie's 3rd Grade Teacher, Jami Branch, started a project that involved her students. She created an Arkansas History Room for Bryant Elementary School. It has all kinds of artifacts that have been donated to the room so students can see some of Arkansas' history. Her 3rd grade class room helped by holding a coin drive and collecting aluminum cans. They also helped sort the artifacts and clean up the room. They all worked extremely hard to get the room set up and I am so proud of Mrs. Branch and her 3rd grade class.

So today they had a Ceremony for the Arkansas History Room, officially opening it up to the public. Jessie and his classmate Rachel Mayes were selected to greet the Governor when he pulled up at the school. Jessie was asked to give the welcoming speech but he wouldn't do it. His teacher even begged him to but he wasn't up for it...ha. It would have been in front of the entire school, administration, and some state representatives... I don't know if I blame him for not wanting to go up there..ha Jessie and Rachel took the Governor and his staff to the Arkansas History Room where they got to see all the things that they have collected so far and show off all their hard work. Here are some pics of today.

Jessie and Rachel greeting the Governor.
Jessie with Governor Beebe
Jessie with Superintendent Dr. Abernathy
Jessie and his 3rd Grade Teacher, Jami Branch, holding the plaque giving to his class.

You can go here to see other pics from today and if you have anything you would like to donate for the Arkansas History Room, please contact the Bryant Elementary School at 501-847-5642 or jbranch@bryantschools.org

My Getaway Surprise

So Andy planned a surprise getaway for us this weekend. He arranged for the kids to be with the grandparents. And made the arrangements for where we were going to stay. He didn't tell me where we were going but just to pack my bags.

He got us the Valentine's package at the Heart Break Hotel and tickets to see Graceland, Elvis Presley's airplanes, his car collection, and other attractions. I was so excited. I have wanted to go to Graceland for a LONG time. It was a GREAT surprise. I got a lot of pictures, but he didn't want to be in the pictures because then I would have proof he was at Graceland...ha

Thank you Andy for such a AWESOME surprise and for taking me to do something that isn't on your 'Bucket list' of things to do. I love you!

Thanks Grandparents for watching the boys for us!

I just included a few of the hundreds of pictures I took so as not to bore anybody...ha The pictures of our room is a mess b/c we where fixing to check out. I was going to use the song Heartbreak Hotel for the slide show since that is where we stayed, but I can't get it or any other Elvis song to play after I turn it in to a movie. So I had to go with what I had on my computer...oh well.

It may take it a minute to load...

Waylan Scott Martin

Ryan, Andy's brother, and Candice had a baby boy today. They named him Waylan Scott Martin. He is 5lb 12oz 19 inches long. He was born 5 weeks early. But he is doing great and Ryan and Candice are elated. I have just a few pictures to share. One of them Ryan is holding up 3 fingers...meaning 3 generations of Martin men...

Snow of 2010

So we finally got some snow where we live. By the time we got to go outside and play it was starting to melt and the snow that had been falling had turned to rain... But I got some pictures of the boys making a snowman and throwing snowballs.

Tree Farm 09

So we visited a new tree farm this year called Motely's tree farm. It was pretty neat. They had a petting zoo, pig races, hayrides, swings, free hot chocolate, a store, and a snack bar. The tree selection is pretty small though as far as how many they have. We looked but didn't really find one to our liking and decided we would wait and try again but we haven't had the opportunity to go look again and at this point I rather not mess with it....ha Andy's parents picked Jessie up for us and brought him to meet us at the tree farm since he was coming home from his dad's and they brought my nephew Bayliss too. I am not sure how I missed getting any pics of Jessie but I didn't get any of him but I have some of the other boys.

Thanksgiving 09

We went to my Aunt Anne's for Thanksgiving this year and we had a great time. I learned how to play a new game called Farkle. It was a lot of fun. The boys had fun playing and wrestling with their cousins. Here are a few pics of the day.

Jessie turns 9!

It has been 9 short years since I had my 1st born...and it has been the best 9 years of my life!

Jessie,

You are turning into such a wonderful young man that makes us so proud to call you our son! You do so well in school. At your parent teacher conference your teacher had nothing but good things to say about you. One story was about a boy in your class that was going home crying everyday b/c he was being picked on at recess. She said that you offered for that boy to play with you and your friends and his mom called the teacher bragging about a boy named Jessie and Max that has made her son so much happier at school. Your teacher also said that you are a leader in your class, everyone wants to be on your team, and you encourage your classmates when they are down. You are good at whatever you put your mind too and what a blessing from God to be able to have so much talent in one person. We are excited to watch you grow into a young man. We hope that the most successful thing you do is to have a personal relationship with God and make Him your top priority and then everything else in your life will fall into place...

We love you!

Here are pics of Jessie and our neighbors yesterday when we celebrated Jessie's bday.

Halloween 2009

So Andy and the kids wanted to do a Star Wars theme for Halloween. And our guy neighbors joined in with us and dressed up too. Here is a run down of characters....

Andy - Darth Maul - He asked me to make his robe and it was some work so I told him he has to find a character that requires a black robe for the next couple of Halloween's...haha He also had to shave his goatee and Noah didn't understand where Andy's goatee went and why when he woke up this morning his goatee wasn't back...lol Josh also did Andy's makeup and did an amazing job!
Carrie - Padmé Naberrie - my neighbor Annette helped me curl my hair...so thanks Annette!
Jessie - Jedi Jessie....he was at his dad's for Halloween
Joshua - Chewbacca-Joshua originally was going to be Darth Maul but we found this Chewbacca costume on sale for 50% off so we had to get it...lol...it took some convincing though...but everyone loved it when we went trick or treating...
Noah - Yoda - he was perfect for Yoda...he even was trying to fight with the light sabers with our neighbor kid, who was a Star Wars character too...and we had to call Noah off...he was taking his Yoda character to heart...and was putting the smack down..haha

Wesley - Darth Sidious

Josh - Darth Vador

Here are pics of the night...not to many since my camera didn't work right.... Also we didn't tell either of the kids to pose and they just did their own poses and it was funny...