First Soccer Game update

Battery on camera died, and I don't remember how to upload video. So....

It was freezing and blustery, not ideal for the start of the "soccer experience". It took George until after halftime to even put on his shirt, much less think about playing. Nana and Pop were there and bundled up, cheering him on! His daddy coerced him out onto the field for about 2 minutes but he cried the whole time. :( Not interested in kicking at all.

Post-game pancakes at J-Pat's went over well and all were happy and warm!

During reflection time, he shared that he did not want to play because he was upset that he didn't have his OWN ball, and was confused about why there was ONE ball everyone was trying to kick. Makes sense doesn't it? Guess we should have explained the rules of soccer a bit better...

George, the Little Soccer Dude

George started his first organized team sport this week, 3 & 4 year old Soccer at the YMCA. He was so excited to have his own soccer ball with his favorite color orange on it and to wear his cousin Cliff's shin guards (Cliff is now 15)! His best buddies Asher and Cache are on his team which makes it even more fun!

Listening intently to the coach...



As his first practice began, George became unsure of it all, and cried, refusing to play.

In typical George fashion, it took him about 15 minutes of observing the other kids from the sidelines and soaking it all in....then he decided to join in! He made great shots into the goal and had fun running and kicking the ball with his new teammates. And he was even more pumped about the post-practice snacks!! What a great player...and so adorable (sure, I'm biased!)

I love 3 yo soccer...check out Cache's practice stance in the lower rt corner of this pic!

Ending practice pep talk (notice Asher's almost handstand in lower rt corner! love our friends!)

The Martin Invasion

A pre-post for this post, Miss Ballerina loved posing with her daddy. She picked out her dance outfit for ballet class and dressed herself perfectly, head to toe. I think she has her mama's love for clothing! Doesn't every girl need a black & leopard print tutu? Thanks Grammy!




Nana and Pop are finally here!!!! It took four phases to get them here (with still one more load of Pop's tools to go) but they are here and unpacked and their Shreveport house is on the market! After George & Abigail spent five days with the Morris clan in Houston over Spring Break, Laura drove all five kids to Norman and Sherry & Doug came over from Lubbock for the biggest, fastest unpacking you've ever seen...and the most clutter-free living the Martins have ever experienced! Noooo, they're not pack-rats at all (slight sarcasm there!).

Ok, let's back-up. G&A had a blast in H-town with their three cousins and aunt and uncle. What a great seasonal introduction to pull out the shorts and flip-flops from our attic to send to Texas! They went to the Children's Museum and the Rodeo. George loved getting to sit on a real horse and Abigail loved seeing the pigs. They had tons of fun with the "big kids" and ate Laura out of house and home!! Another biggie of that week, Laura tried giving Abigail only cooked fruits and veggies (instead of raw) since we still have tummy problems with her, and her stomach responded well. So we may be on to something here....

Matt and I had a great kid-free week. We ate out tons, had dinner with long lost friends (love you, McClendons & Gannaways & Pollans), and slept in every day! It still amazes me how physically taxing raising twin toddlers is...got all caught up on my zzz's (and managed to work some too!). Matt installed our new lighting for the living room & I hung the new wall arrangements to make our living room makeover complete! We greatly appreciated the parenting break, more than words can express!

We enjoyed spending the weekend with the Morris' and Saffles. Laura, Kirby & Sherry are very gifted at unpacking and organizing...they were such a blessing! Amidst the sea of boxes and fights over the garage sale pile, there were fun times too. Several caught the OU baseball game and everyone took turns entertaining the littlest twins. Nana & Pop are now off to a good start in their new Oklahoma home!

Evie, George, Cliff, Kirby, & Abigail

Waaaay overdue....

It's been a while since I posted. Realized I have left out a huge gap in our family record...maybe because I haven't been ready to write about it yet.

We spent a weekend in Shreveport a few weeks ago to load the last big moving truck for Mom & Dad. This has been a long process of relocation for Mom and Dad, beginning the week before Christmas when they closed on their house in Norman until now, nearly three months later.

I thought I said a tearful goodbye to my hometown in January, but Matt had to have his last hurrah as well. We decided to make one last pilgrimage and have our last weekend of eating out at our favorite stops in Shreveport...dinner at Herby-K's, breakfast of Southern Maid donuts, Sweep the Swamp pizza for lunch from Johnny's, dinner at our favorite Monjuni's, and breakfast and strawberry pie at Strawn's. It's amazing when you think of how food is always tied to culture and memories in the South. That's what life is...FOOD!

I remember being a little kid, spinning around on the bar stools and drinking a Coke from a glass bottle while Jimmy the bartender made me laugh at Herby-K's after visiting Uncle Bill at his store in the West End.

I remember loving to see the "hot, Hot, HOT" sign lit up at Southern Maid which meant the donuts were fresh out of the oven and always looking for it when we were on I-20, begging to stop.

I remember going to eat Johnny's pizza with my neighbor Susan and her parents and being so excited to play Pac-Man in their arcade and wondering why the pizza slices were rectangles.

I remember loving the sweet sauce of Monjuni's and having its importance made permanent in my life when Matt took Mom & Dad there to ask for my hand in marriage...Oh, the hundreds of Monjuni's cups we used to have in our college cabinets and how tingly I still feel when I see the jar of sauce in my kitchen cabinet!

And the many mornings before school we would go to Strawn's for breakfast and love their big-as-a-plate pancakes and mile high strawberry pie...nobody else comes close. And the fabulous convenience of living across the street in the Centenary Dorms and being able to walk there!

These items of food carry so much significance, so many memories of growing up, so many rights-of-passage, so many transitions into childhood to being a teenager to college years to adulthood and now life with kids. Obviously, it is so much more than the food. It's my life, my history... the start to my story. And then sharing those pearls of perfection with my children. There was nothing more gratifying than taking George & Abigail to eat at Monjuni's and then to watch their joy while they played at the Duck Pond. Sharing with them the power of food and historical experience, priceless!

How do you say good-bye to the 34 years of constancy of Shreveport....going "home" to the house that you grew up in...driving streets that you could drive blindfolded, knowing every pothole and curve...passing my old schools and the old "cut-throughs" and backways...pointing to each house and knowing the families that lived there...remembering the stories only the walls could tell at 3014 Pines Road. This process of change has been more painful than I ever dreamed possible. Never thought I would get so emotionally tied to a city and a house, wasn't until it was time to leave that it's impact on me screamed.

And the parting is for a great reason, to have Mom and Dad closer and to be able to share experiences daily. I am thrilled that they will be building their new life here and though the transition will be a shift for all of us (first time in 14 years that we have lived in the same town), we have longed to have family in town. George and Abigail have already gotten used to this new idea of grandparents across town: they have their own toys and room there and have already discovered the "fun" of hiding in the pantry and playing dress-up or "working" with Pop in the workshop. It will be wonderful to share spontaneous lunches or have a family night all together and to have Nana and Pop at performances and sporting games.

But it's still tough to say good-bye. My heart will heal, of course, and life will go on. Some days I'll think of how ridiculous I'm feeling. And we'll have the occasional trip to Shreveport where we indulge again. But next time will be different because it's not "home" anymore. And that's okay because this is my home, Norman, Oklahoma. This is the "home" that will so deeply affect my children and where our story as a family began. That is the blessing in it all.

So off the emotional goop and on to fun stuff....

Here's a pic of my cuties "rockin' out" on a winter afternoon.

We were able to make a quick day trip to Alexandria to visit my dear Martha and her family. As my post of Facebook read that day, "Some people come into your lives and you are never, ever the same." Potluck college roommates never faired so well.

George LOVED the tractor (might be his next big gift idea).

Martha, Will, Abigail, Sarah Frances, George, Thomas, and Matthew.
How precious.

McFarlin hosted Mommy/Daughter PJ party..."Beautifully Made" was the theme, reminding girls that they are beautifully made by God inside and out!

We decorated pillowcases (can you see A's happy face that she drew all by herself?)...
had manis and pedis....

...,decorated cards and cookies and watched a VeggieTales movie! It was a treasure to spend time one-on-one with my big girl.