Now about Bryce

Just a short post to update everyone on my pregnancy. I am now 36 weeks! Where has the time gone?? We're having a c-section in Warren on July 15. I go back to the doctor on July 3, so that could change, I suppose. I have been doing really great. No swelling, or high blood pressure or anything. Just keep praying that everything continues to go well and we'll have a happy, healthy baby boy really soon!

I have been to camp and back

Last week I was 35 weeks pregnant and I went with my hubby to take kids to youth camp. Most people thought I was absolutely crazy!!! However, it was a great week and I was a good girl and didn't tire myself out too much. Here's a day-to-day synopsis of our week:

Tuesday
Left for camp at about 10:45. Arrived at Camp WOW (walk on water) in Stuart, OK at about 2:15. Unpacked, blah, blah, kids took a swim test, had worship that night. Before worship every night we had blue light specials where the kids played games for prizes. Tuesday night's game was wall twister. Yep, they had to figure out as a team how to play twister on the wall. Very interesting! After worship, we had church group time and then a luau. Of course, I had Cayson with me so every night after the band was through playing, (about 8:30) I had to take him back to our room and put him to sleep. So I missed the speaker and the late night stuff every night.

Wednesday
Breakfast, morning worship, family group time, morning break-out session (where the youth ministers each taught a class and the kids could sign up for which one they wanted), lunch, rec time (our girls went undefeated this day!), free time, dinner, blue light special (camp idol!), worship, church group time, western night.

Thursday
Basically the same as Wednesday except blue light special was the wheel of misfortune! They had to spin the wheel to find out what they'd have to do to earn a prize. At the end all the youth ministers raced to see who could eat 3 things the fastest: an onion, a cricket, and a worm! Shaun did pretty well with the cricket and the worm, believe it or not. It was the onion that got to him. The late night activity was laser tag.

Friday
Same stuff, except blue light special was camp bingo! The big prize was an Ipod Touch! And the late night was free time.

Saturday
Baptism and head home!

Now for the awesome stuff. We took 4 girls and 2 of them accepted Christ! Shaun baptized them in the lake Saturday morning!

Camp was a really different experience for me. I didn't get to hear any preaching at all, whatsoever. But I did experience some really incredible worship time. And I know I grew a lot in my faith despite not hearing any preaching.

Oh, and Cayson learned his first song!!! He learned the chorus to "Lord I'm amazed by you"! It is the sweetest thing I've ever heard! He was just singing right along with everyone else. He was such a good boy this past week. I'm so proud of him!

Happy Father's Day, Sweetie!

You are such a wonderful husband and dad. You are so good to us. We love you so much!

Still here, just getting ready for that baby!

Hey guys! I'm still here. I'm just to the point that I'm ready to have Bryce and get on with everything! Just to remind you, I'm having a csection on July 15, unless something happens! This has been a very busy month so far for the Martin household. The biggest thing was my sister-in-law's wedding last weekend. It was a little stressful getting ready for it, mainly because of my bridesmaid's dress, but it pulled together beautifully. I had to get my dress made since the dresses she picked out didn't come in maternity sizes! What made it stressful for me was looking different than everyone else and simply being HUGE! But I think it turned out okay. Cayson was a ringbearer and he was so cute! The highlight for me was after he RAN down the aisle, crawled up on stage, handed me his pillow, he stood up and clapped and said, "I did good!" It was so cute!

Next week we leave for youth camp! Pray for me that Bryce stays put while we're gone!

Me at the rehearsal, waiting to get started. Notice the new haircut (bangs and layered) and, of course, the baby bump!

My cute little man!

All the bridesmaids with Kelly, the bride. I'm on the far left, in case you couldn't tell!
And Kelly with Cayson and Ever, the flowergirl.

Check him out!

I'm proud to announce that my hubby is blogging again! He's been working on a website for our church and each of the staff members are going to have a blog. So he set up a Tumblr blog, since it's so easy to use. Please check it out and leave encouraging comments!

Memorial Day

Please be in prayer for Steven Curtis Chapman and his family

Please read this article.

My heart goes out to this family.

Because I Can't Sleep...

It's almost 2 am and I cannot go to sleep! Part of it has to do with some things going on in my life (nothing bad, just a lot of stuff) and the other is the little human that keeps kicking me!

It's crazy, we've been at this church for 2 and a half years now and I've managed to not overload myself. I've pretty much stuck with helping Shaun with the music and the youth. For the most part anyway. Sure, I've helped out with big events such as VBS, but I just haven't overdone it. Until now. We're having a one day women's retreat at our church May 31. Way back in November I agreed to help out. I guess I didn't realize how crazy my life was going to be in the months of May, June, and July. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I'm helping. There's just a lot going on right now. In addition to the retreat, I have to get my Sunday School room ready for promotion Sunday--which happens the day after the women's retreat! I've been wanting to change up my room for a while now and I had figured that the perfect time would be for promotion Sunday since I have a ton of kids moving up. Plus, I've got to contact all these new kids and introduce myself, etc.

And then that Monday after promotion Sunday (June 2, in case you lost count) I'm starting a teenage girls Bible study. I did this last summer and it was such a hit that I really, really wanted to do it again. It's an 8 week study and to be sure and finish up before school starts back, I really needed to go ahead and start it. (There's going to be some weeks that we don't have it, like when I have my baby!)

That Thursday, June 5, we will head to Warren and Crossett for my sister-in-law's wedding. I also have a doctor's appointment that day. Fortunately, we decided to stay in town that Sunday instead of heading home Saturday night. I'm hoping in spite of all the wedding stuff, we will get a little bit of rest. And it'll be nice to be in church with my family again.

After the wedding is over, things start getting a little easier. Of course, we have student camp in June and I'll still be doing the Bible study. Oh yeah, did I mention I'm helping with children's choir on Wednesday nights, too? I'm leading the 4-5 year olds. We're working on a musical that we will present in August.

In July, the big thing is, of course, the BABY! Time has flown by so quickly! I still have so much to do to get ready for him. I've been so much more laid back this time than I was with Cayson. I just hope I get it all done.

We have VBS the week after the baby is born, but we planned for this, thank goodness. I don't really have to do anything, except work on a nightly newsletter template. That'll be really easy, I just have to sit down and do it.

Ha, I just remembered something else we're doing in June: Shaun and I are leading a community group in June!

When did my life get so busy??? I used to thrive on the busyness when I was in high school and college. Now it's just wearing me out! Say a prayer for me that I can get all this done and not go completely insane!

Now to end this post on a very, very positive note: As I type, Cayson is spending night #2 in his big bed!!! Yep, last night he slept all night in it and he's working on it for tonight. And he napped in it today too! This was a little bit hard for me, but Shaun reminded me that we've been working towards this. This is a picture of him spending his first night in his big boy bed.Isn't that so sweet?

What a great day!

Today was a great day in the life of First Southern Baptist Church! The theme for today was a celebration of ministry, tying in to the wedding feast of the Lamb. This morning, we had our service outside under a tent. We used guitars, congas, keyboard, and a praise team instead of choir. We decorated like a wedding. Russ preached on the parable of the wedding supper found in Matthew 22. We also had a family join our church this morning. It was such a great time of worship! (That's lil (ha) ole me over there on the keyboard!)



Tonight, we celebrated with a wedding banquet. This was to symbolize the marriage feast that christians will participate in one day. It was also a celebration of everyone that participates in ministry, or should be participating in ministry. It was also held outside under the tent. It was truly a special day.

How do they do it?

How in the world does this little boy, who's only 20 months old, manage to get into the things that I thought were well out of reach??? Twice today he has spilled a bottle of his baby lotion all over everything. The first time was only mildly annoying. More funny than anything. The second time got to me. I love him so much, but he got to me! Fortunately, I held my temper pretty well and didn't say things I'd regret later. I just need suggestions for what to do with all the baby stuff once the baby gets here. I always kept the lotion, baby wash, diaper cream, etc., either on the top bookshelf next to the changing table or in the drawer in the changing table. Since I swapped Cayson's room, I had all that stuff on top of a tall dresser that I thought he couldn't reach. Apparently I was wrong. What in the world do I do? He can open the drawers. We don't have a cabinet in the bathroom that he can't get into. Help me out here moms (or dads)!

Spilling lotion for the SECOND time today!!!

This morning I have...

cleaned up lavendar-scented baby lotion from all over the living room. Yep, someone got curious. At least the living room, along with my precious son, smells really good now!

New for me

Tonight I did something I've never, ever done before. I burned a baked potato. On the inside. I have no idea how, especially since the other one came out perfect. The only thing I can figure out is that I tried to make them with the salt on the skins. That was my first attempt at that. I coated them with olive oil and then sprinkled kosher salt on them. But somehow one came out burned. Oh well. Sorry dear!

Idol Dreams

Let me preface this post by saying that the Martin household LOVES American Idol. Even Cayson. I guess that's what happens when musicians marry each other. And our favorite for this season is David Cook. And we don't like David Archuleta.

Last night I had a dream. I dreamed that Shaun and I went to the pet store and bought a fish. I can't remember what kind it was, but I remember it was a blue one. (Hey, I do dream in color!) When we went to pay for it, our cashier was David Archuleta. The funny thing is, there was no mention of American Idol whatsoever. We then left to go visit Shaun's brother in the hospital. I have no idea why he was in the hospital. He's not in the hospital in real life. Anyway, that's not the important part of the dream.

When I woke up this morning I said to Shaun, "I had the strangest dream. I dreamed that we bought a blue fish at a pet store and David Archuleta was our cashier." To which he replied, "That's interesting. I dreamed that I went to Radio Shack and David Cook was working there." I thought a second and then said, "Hey, your dream was cooler than mine!"

My Hair

If my hair has become my son's "security blanket", I probably shouldn't get it cut 2 months before the baby comes, right?

Life in the Martin Household for the Past Week

Whew! It's been a busy week! Last Tuesday my parents came to town! They were on vacation and spent the rest of the week with us! Every day was packed with things to do. the first thing on the agenda was to get them to help us move Cayson's room to the bigger spare bedroom. Boy, was that a job! It took 2 days to finish, but we got it done! We still need to put the finishing touches, like hanging pictures, but I'm saving that for when we paint.

Thursday was Shaun's birthday. I had planned to write a post all about him, but it didn't work out that way. For his birthday, he wanted to go to the David Phelps concert at a church in Fort Smith. So we had ordered tickets about a week before. Here's the fun part: we didn't tell my parents about it. My mom is a HUGE fan of David Phelps. We thought it would be fun to surprise them. So we waited until Thursday at lunch to tell them about it. Boy, was she surprised! The concert was awesome, by the way.

Friday, we relaxed a little bit and went out to eat that night.

Saturday, we went to Fayetteville to the Red and White game. The day's activities started at noon with the game at 6. We got there around 2. It was pretty fun. It would have been more fun if Cayson was old enough to participate in everything. See, they had all kinds of jump arounds and games and stuff for kids. And it was all free! If you have kids, you should really bring them next year. Plus, there's lots of freebies. Several former Razorbacks were there to sign autographs and some even played in a 7 on 7 flag football tournament. And Hog Heaven, the souvenir shop, had everything in the store half off! My parents bought Cayson a jersey for $12.50. Even the game was free. We actually got to sit on the 50 yard line, about 8 rows back! It was a lot of fun, but I really don't know how I was thinking I was going to be able to handle all that, being pregnant and all! We walked around so much! And those bleachers were not very comfy!

Sunday, we all went to church. We had such an awesome worship time. It was one of those days where everything just clicked. And one of my Sunday school kids got baptized!

All in all, it was a very good week!

Holiness

Sunday nights at our church aren't "typical". (Although, in this day in time what used to be "typical" may not be anymore!) Anyway, we are in a spring semester of Disciple University. This is where several classes are offered on Sunday nights and everyone chooses one to attend. Shaun has been teaching one on parenting teenagers. I am taking a class on discipleship called "The Next Step". It was actually written by our teacher. This week's lesson was on Holiness. Man, it was awesome. The illustration that David, our teacher used was so simple, and, yet, I'd never thought of it that way.

He had a wedding dress displayed. This was a wedding dress belonging to our church pianist. Her husband is in our class. He started out talking about what makes a wedding dress special. Some of the answers were: it's white, only worn once, symbolizes purity, etc. Also there is a ton of fabric that goes into making a wedding dress. It's not a dress we would wear on a normal Sunday morning!

So then, David proceeded to pour about 2 ounces of grape juice into a cup. He said he hadn't gotten permission, but since there was so much fabric he was going to pour a little bit of grape juice on it. Whoa! The women in our class immediately started objecting, even though we figured he wasn't really going to do it. He said that it would only make a stain about 2 inches. What's 2 inches going to matter? You probably wouldn't even see it! But we women know that even a 2 inch stain on a wedding dress would ruin the whole thing. That would be all anyone would look at! (He didn't pour the juice on the dress, by the way.)

About halfway through this demonstration I was hit with what he was getting at. It gave me "God bumps". The lesson is that we are supposed to be holy...pure and white and unblemished. Kinda like a wedding dress. But when we sin, even just a little "2 inch" sin, we are no longer pure. I am so thankful for Grace, because without it I would be covered with stains. But because of Grace, do I get a free pass to sin all I want, as long as I ask for forgiveness? No. God still wants me to strive to become more and more like Him. That means that when I sin, I have to repent and not do it anymore! But boy, is that easier said than done! Especially with those things that seem to constantly be a struggle. And with the "little" sins that I sometimes shrug off. It's so easy to think that because I don't kill anybody, or steal, or cheat, or even tell big humongous lies, I'm doing ok. However, a sin is a sin in God's eyes.

I know I have a lot to work on. How's your wedding dress?

So I was Tagged

Jennifer over at Raise Mine Ebenezer tagged me for this.

The Rules:

1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I have had 2 surgeries in my life. One was my c-section when I had my first son. The other was when I was a junior in high school. I had torn my ACL while snow skiing spring break. Fortunately, cheerleading tryouts were the week before my accident! But, I was supposed to be an archbearer for graduation and I had to miss that.

2. I have a bachelor's degree in music, with an emphasis on flute. I almost had enough hours to have an emphasis in vocal music, as well, but I didn't want to have 2 senior recitals. And they wouldn't let me combine both recitals.

3. I used to get terrible warts. It all started when I was in 2nd grade-right after I had meningitis. I only had one at first, and we had it removed. Then it came back. So we had it removed again. And it came back. Then it started bringing friends. They were all on my left elbow for a while. We'd remove them and they'd come back with a vengeance. Then they started showing up on my hands and legs. Last summer, my mother-in-law told me she had read that taping garlic to the wart for 24 hours would make it go away. It was supposed to blister and then fall off within two weeks. Well, it did blister, but it stayed. However over the next 6 months, I noticed that the wart I tried it on was shrinking. It eventually faded to nothing. As well as ALL my other warts! I wonder if I had a garlic deficiency or something. Who knows. I'm just grateful they're gone! It was kinda neat being able to say Shaun married me, warts and all. LOL.

4. I teach 1st and 2nd graders in Sunday school. So far this year, I've had 4 kids from my class accept Christ! I didn't have a part in actually leading any of them to Christ, but I can say that I helped to plant the seeds.

5. I played fastpitch softball in high school--and I was pretty good at it. I started my sophomore year, but then I had to quit my junior year because of my knee.

6. I performed in several operas and musicals in college.

7. My husband is about to turn 30! And I have about a month or so left before I'm 25.

Ok, so I'm tagging:

1. Suzanne over at The Joyful Chaos
2. Mandy at Peace and Craziness
3. Lee Ann at Sunny Side Up
4. Lou at It's My Wonderful Life
5. Rob at My Little Corner of the World
6. Sean (not my hubby) at Sean Mills H2O
7. Jeff at Notes from the Trail

Ok, It's Gettin' Serious

Who wants a FREE puppy???
I still have 3 to give away. Plus, I'm holding one for a friend and we're keeping one. So that's FIVE puppies and their mother that we are supporting right now! Come on people, I have a baby comin'! They are as cute as they can be! All the ones that I have left to give away are girls and they are black, like the one in the first picture. They are now about 10 weeks old. Their mother is a half sheltie, quarter lab, quarter golden retriever. We're not sure about the dad, but their mom has been an awesome dog!

If you want one, please let me know! Also, please keep us on your mind. If someone you know is looking for a puppy, tell them about us please! Even if you live in South Arkansas, as many of my readers do, I can arrange to deliver it! We'll be heading that way a lot in the next few months!

Rough Night

We had a bad night last night. I knew it was going to be pretty bad, but I didn't expect so much. We got home from church like normal and I fixed some sloppy joes and french fries. I was ready to watch Idol Gives Back and relax. Instead, we were under a tornado warning. We got things ready to go in the bathroom and finally Cayson and I did. Shaun watched the weather. I was pretty scared, especially because Shaun's never actually made me go in the bathroom before. It's never been bad enough since we've been married. I called my parents as a distraction and Cayson played basketball with his tub basketball and goal. At one point, it began to hail. It was so loud! I don't think I've ever been in such a bad hailstorm! Finally, Shaun let us out and I thought we were in the clear. Well, It wasn't too long after that, that we were under another tornado warning. By this time Cayson had fallen asleep in my arms so Shaun moved the rocker into the hallway. This one wasn't quite as bad. Then we got the all clear. Then a little later, we were told by the weather people that there was a lot of rotation in Greenwood. So there was another tornado warning. This one wasn't in our path, though, so we stayed in the living room. I'm just glad we don't live in Lavaca anymore. Our place in Lavaca was right next to the tornado sirens! It was soooooo loud!

Anyway, we're all safe, just a little bit tired. Thankfully, Cayson slept 'til 9 this morning.

By the way, speaking of Idol Gives Back, did anybody get to watch the end? I didn't last night because of the radar, but I heard about it this morning and caught it on youtube. The top 8 sang Shout to the Lord! It was so awesome!