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.

Snow Day #4

We had a playdate with our twin friends Asher and Cache this morning. All four kiddos loved the sledding hill in our driveway. Matt built the coolest hill out of shoveled snow and G&A have enjoyed it every day this week. Mrs. Leah and I got a cardio workout running up and down the street pulling the kids in the sled. Afterwards, we peeled off the snowy clothes and enjoyed hot chocolate with marshmallows and yummy comfort food lunch.

The weather was perfect....beautiful powdery snow falling all morning, no wind, and 23 degrees. You could hear the tranquil peace falling from the sky....amidst the squeals of laughter and glee! I have always longed to live in Colorado...well, today I felt like we were there!

I think the kids will have a great nap today!

A little "behavioral redirection!"
Abs & Cache in the sled...if only you could hear the giggles through this pic!

Having a blast!!!! Go Leah Go!
Asher & George
Apparently three kids do NOT fit on our sled...
The four munchkins and one of the wranglers.

Three Sweet Friends!

We ventured out today to visit our dear neighbors, the Hilfigers. Evangeline is a precious little angel whom G&A adore! Though it was 10 degrees outside, the sun was shining and the kiddos had a great time making snow angels, sledding down their front slope (into the street no less), and eating the snow!! G got a little cold and grumpy, so our visit was short, but they loved seeing their friend on yet another day home due to the "Snow-klahoma 2011"!!!
Mrs. Jemellia and the girls

It's an Abigail sandwich...
This is what E did practically the whole time we were outside! J, do you hydrate her?? ;)

Blizzard 2011

Hard to believe that just three days ago, we set record high temperatures with nearly 80 degrees in January! We took advantage of it and spent Saturday hiking in the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge. G even had a little sunburn on his neck. It was G&A's second time to go hiking and they loved it!! We chose a more technical hike this time and they went over the boulders and up and down steep narrow trails like pros. We brought Boomer this time and he loved it too!! Finished the afternoon with big cheeseburgers and peach cobbler at Meer's...couldn't have been a more perfect day!


And then the Blizzard of 2011 hit. The high today was 9 degrees and we had 40 mph sustained winds. Absolutely bone-chillin' cold....and we were out in it having a blast! We enjoyed the snow day with family snuggling, a big breakfast, making cookies, then ventured out to deliver the cookies to our neighbors. The kiddos loved our new sled and George loved doing belly-flops on it and sliding down inclines. Matt "built" a snow slide with the shoveled snow and both kids raced down the driveway. Even Miss A was a huge fan of the snow this year; we had to beg them to come back inside. We love winter weather....especially the hot chocolate and snow ice cream!

Our house pre-shoveling.
Cheering Daddy on from the warm inside...

All bundled up!

Even Daddy made a snow angel...
Look at those red cheeks!
Grammy, this face is for you! (In case you were wondering, Abs is making a snow angel)
More pics to come as the snow is supposed to hang around for several more days!!!

p.s. Happy Birthday Pop!!! See you soon!!

New Year, New Beds

We are officially crazy. Well, only partially I guess. We bought bunk beds for G&A!! We decided to separate the beds at first and bunk them when they are a bit older. They spent their first night in their new beds last night and loved it! Another sign that my babies aren't babies anymore....

Then I am reminded of their creativity and sense of humor, which is the fun part of growing up. This was how they ran around the house tonight...in their "camel costume" (note: Abigail is the hump--see her feet?). Times like these I love being a mom of multiples!