April 2009

So here we are again for our monthly update. I really should try to update this more, lol. So around came the two year anniversary of the death of my sister Krissi. Its hard to beleive that it has been two years already. This one wasnt as hard as the last one and it only gets better in time. I know that God is watching over her and that at last she has peace, and with that Im ok.
So great news, I got into graduate school. When I finish my official title will be Masters of Arts in School Psychology with a Specialization in Applied Behavior Anaylsis, fancy huh? Not really. I pretty much will provide ABA therapy and work in the autism commuity. And for those who know me, thats already my life so why not get paid for it, he he!
Jakob and Oliver are doing great. They are growing up so fast. It seems like everytime I turn around they are bigger. They are in the stages of hating each other right now and Jakob has learned to lie, geez isnt that wonderful! So the conversation pretty much goes like "oliver did it" "No, Jakob did it". Who knew this parenting thing would be so exhaustive!
Zac is well. He is Mr. Busy, all the time. He enjoys his work so I guess thats good. He recently bought a new truck, he is such a man and so proud of it! He spends a lot of time at work so I dont get to see him a whole lot, but I know it will be worth it. Always remember, patience is a virtue.
Well thats it for right now. I posted some pics from out vacation to Sea World, hope you can see them.
Until next time, all our love,
The Martin Family
Zac, Esther, Oliver, and Jakob

San Antonio?!?!?! Day 1 and Day 2

So here we are in San Antonio on family vacation. The ride down here was about 9 hrs, should have taken less. Lots of bathroom breaks and horrible traffic in Austin, but we finally made it!! We are staying with Zac's aunt, saving us tons of money, its greatly appreciated, trust me. Today we took the boys to Sea World. They had a blast!! We started with the sea lion show and I haven't seen them laugh so hard in forever!! We then headed over to the Shamu show, which Jakob kept calling "Shampoo". It was kind of cheesy, but still pretty cool. Oliver had a slight meltdown because we couldnt ride the rides, the lines were terribly long! I dont think that they understood that you had to wait so long to ride it. So in that moment we decided that it would be better to make it a two day visit. The best part of the day was the dolphin cove. Jakob and Oliver leaned up along the wall and hung over the side (as everyone did) and fed and petted a dolphin. I even did it too, it was the coolest thing ever! The boys had so much fun, they said it was their favorite! Afterwards we headed to McDonlads and ordered...wait for it..a 50 piece nugget...seriously, a 50 piece!!!! I have never in all my days seen that, and I have been to a few McDonalds (ok, no comments needed. lol). We then headed home, where we all took a really long nap (soooo needed!!). Then Deb and Bob took us out to dinner at a "hole in the wall (their words)" Mexican restaurant and it was really good...funny story there, but I will elaborate later :) So thats all right now. We are headed back to Sea World Thursday, and tomorrow we are going to take the boys swimming in the lovely swimming pool out in the backyard. Day 3 begins soon....to be continued....

Some pics for you!

Whats going on!!

Hey again guys, hope all is well. Things are good here in Oklahoma. January didnt start off too well, being sick and all, but February was a decent month. I am currently bombarded with school stuff but it is so worth it! I am currently waiting to hear about graduate school and what my next step will be. Cross your fingers folks!! Zac's business is going extremely well. He works around 11-13 hours a day so that should tell you how busy he is. He bought a beauty of a new truck a couple of weeks ago...men and their toys...he's really excited. Oliver is thriving at school. We had his annual IEP review to see how many goals that he had matched. They were hard pressed to find things that he needed to work on, so we are grateful for that!! Jakob is rotten as ever, boy I love that little boy! He is turning four tommorrow and thinks he can rule the world now...i kinda let him...my bad. He has decided tht he needs two cakes (one for school and one for his party). One cake will be Batman and the other will be a "day old cake' As he says, what he really means is a "Diego" cake. That kid is so funny sometimes. We are taking out first true family vacation in two weeks to San Antonio, Texas. We are going to say with Zac's aunt and take the boys to Sea World, the boys (and me shh) are really stoked. For the most part everything is the same here, just different stories that fill up the day, but all in all the same. Looking forward to what is ahead. We are taking a summer trip to Virginia to see the family and hopefully can extend it and stay a little longer this time. Time flies. Its been almost two years since we moved here, and only now do I feel like I am settling down comfortably here. While I dont intend to make this my home forever, I am content at the moment. Now if only the landscapers will show up and cut down these trees that are in the way of where my pool is going to be....oops thats me dreaming again.
With all my love and blessing,
Esther Rebekah Martin

Christmas and New Year's

So we took the long wonderful trip again this year home to Virginia for Christmas. On the way out there we stopped in Lebanon, Tenn. This is where we always stop. While we were there, Jakob left his stuffed animal in the otel room, we didnt realize until we were in North Carolina, where it actually was. He was sad, but not too heartbroken. Well on the way back to OK we stopped there again, and they had the teddy bear, 10 days later!!! Can you believe that? I love how things work sometimes. Not everyting was roses though. The rental car was wrecked, luckily due to a previous fiasco, Hertz gave us an extra day for free so we could get it fixed. Christmas was great, of course I love spending time with my family anyway. My hubbie sat down with my Nannie and talked to her for hours. He learned some things that I didnt know about her, it was nice. So after the drive back, my in law took the kids up to the farm to see Zac's side of the family and we were going to get to spend New Years together, with no kids!! So we thought. I ended up in the ER with a stomach bug and a blood pressure of 75/43. Apparantly I was extremely dehydrated. Four bags of fluids, four shots, and some tordol later...its all good!!! But after all that debauchery, I am good now and am excited to finish my Bachelor's in May! Here's to a great year!!!