So Much Excitement

It's the end of the school year. We are being showered with love and gifts for baby Martin from every corner. There are birthdays of dear friends to celebrate and weddings to attend. The sunshine is drawing out everyone around us for front yard conversation and backyard fires. Our baby arrives in a few short months and stirs in my belly almost every moment. It's hard to sleep at night with all of these thoughts and excitements slushing around in my head. We have until June 23rd to see if anything happens with our house, but I'm ready to pull it off the market now. I want stability and certainty and to get that nursery set up! God has taught me a lot about patience lately, and even more about how I am not Him, and He is not me. Shocking, huh? Finding strange comfort in Isaiah 55:8-9:

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Amy and I celebrating her and Josh's 30th at The JASCARS

Pregnant ladies can party too- Ali and I are due only 2 days apart!


The guys at Catherine White's wedding

A lovely shower thrown last weekend by Judy

28 Weeks

3 months to go!

Let the Fun Begin!

Well, I had my first official shower today. My amazing co-workers had the Culinary Arts program at school put together quite the spread and serve it up! There was fruit salad, caesar salad, pita pizzas, pulled chicken and sloppy joe sandwiches, tortilla chips and cheese dip, shrimp, and more that I cannot remember! I'm still wondering exactly how much butter was used in the cake because it was so buttery and creamy tasting- I loved it! So sweet. I will dearly miss my work friends and felt so honored they would put on such an event for me :) Tear...

Green Tip

The environmental systems class at Whitmer will put out green tips every now and I thought this one was definitely worth passing on. Even if you already recycle your junk mail, you can take it one step further:

Now is a great time to stop the junk mail from coming to your home. Millions of trees and billions of gallons of water are used to create junk mail, most of which never gets recycled. You can get off national mailing lists by sending your name, address, and signature to: Mail Preference Service, c/o Direct Marketing Association, P.O. Box 643, Carmel, NY 10512.

Channelling Your Inner Gargoyle

That was the theme of the bed and breakfast we stayed at in Ann Arbor this past weekend. Ben and Matt Lochtefeld found a 1/2 trail marathon they wanted to run on Sunday, so off we went (Laura too) to this very eccentric but amazing B&B. When we pulled up I thought I heard some sort ware wolf howling in the background and we all starting cracking up. What WAS this place? It was actually an old church and parsonage as we came to find out, but pulling to it with gargoyles in mind gave it an eerie feel.

So if you haven't been to Ann Arbor, you must take a day or two to go stroll around, eat and admire the established homes and neighborhoods-not to mention U of M's campus! We also spent some time at a great store that Laura researched on her quest to get info. on cloth diapers. The Little Seedling was opened by a mom who is apparently quite passionate about babies and baby products. We got all the info. and demos on cloth diapers that we were hoping for. Even the guys found it impressive. Not only that, but they just so happened to be having a raffle at the store that day in which Ben and I won first prize: a nearly $600 stroller! Shoot. Not a bad day. I guess it will all equal out though because we have already dropped some serious cash on diapers there and are registered on their site for many more along with some other goodies. I am pretty pumped about this futuristic stroller though.

Overall, it was just a great weekend of relaxation and time away with friends. The diapers, stroller and gargoyles were just a bonus :)

See more pics of our weekend.

Cuddle Love

My dog is a hopeless romantic when it comes to cuddling. (he gets it from me) We'll see how this all works out come August. There will probably be more cuddle-loving going on than ever before; I just hope B man is okay with sharing us, cuz he's gonna have to!

Easier Said Than Done

That's my motto lately, especially with my faith. Shortly after Ben and I discovered our family addition, we began questioning the possibility of moving. Now don't get me wrong: I love our home! So much in fact that I completely dismissed the idea of moving. The more I prayed about it however, the more I was reminded of God's call for us to open up our home. We've really felt convicted to not only invite others over for fun times and good food, but to stay. Anyone remember Lukka from last summer? There have been other instances of international students who have needed a place to stay for a few days or a few months and through Global Connections, there will be plenty more opportunities. So with that prodding and a combination of other things, our house is now on the market.

Now what I've been telling myself and others all along is, Well, if God wants us to move, this house will sell! No doubt about it. That's where it's easier said than done. Now that we are actually doing this thing, I have been slowly taking it all back. Doubt and worry have been seeping in, and those things are not coming from a faith-filled, trusting heart. So there's a little update on what is going on in the Martin household. I must say that Ben and I have made a really good team when it comes to cleaning and touch-ups around the house though. And it's been fun to house hunt together with our future family in mind, since Ben already owned this house before I was even a twinkle in his eye...