Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Martin 6

Our Christmas was full of family and fun. It was one of the best Christmases we have had. Lots of special gifts and great family fellowship. Praying that yours was a blessing as well.

Happy New Year.

School, Fair, Football, Basketball and Fun

We are all busy around here. We had been into school since the first of August. The kids have all adjusted well. Liz is working on learning to read and realizes it might be a little hard. Josh and Andrew are in full swing of football. Jerod is playing a fall basketball league with some stiff competition. He is getting into the routine of lifting and ball practice.

We did take a trip to the fair. Unfortunately Rod did not get the day off; but the kids and I enjoyed it. We watched a comedy show, saw an electrical demo, ducks, rabbits, new born calves, sheep shearing, fair food and rides. By the end of the day we were worn out and glad to head home to see our Daddy. Yes I did take pictures but I have not downloaded anything yet.

Graduation Get Away

We just spent a week in Arizona. It included pool time, basketball, great visit, lots of yummy food and my nephew's graduation. It ended with a straight thru drive from Gilbert, AZ to home 17 1/2 hours driving time. But well worth it to see Andrew graduate from Spin Kids at church and to graduate some of my sweet little ones to Spin. God is good all the time.

Basketball and Birthdays

This weekend Joshua played in his first basketball tournament with his AAU team we joined a couple of weeks ago. He is playing with some very talented kids against some talented kids. He is being challenged greatly. Saturday he didn't get time at all; but did a good job of cheering for his team. He of course was pretty disappointed and so was his coach cause he really wanted to get him in. However, we still need some work to get to this level of play. All good. I really appreciate the coaches' encouragement and desire to help Joshua learn.

However today is my birthday and what a fun present to walk in to his games today after church and see him playing. He set some great picks played some good defense and did his job. He played quite a bit in the 1st game which we won easily and got a tiny bit of time in the 2nd which we fell just short in. At this point, it was a good experience and I am looking forward to seeing him grow in his basketball skill and life skills as well.

I just had a great birthday! I will need to do some serious exercises and disciplined eating to make up for this birthday. :)

TheReal Deal in the Rock Tournament

We headed out to Little Rock Friday morning. Liz, Josh and Andrew headed to Grandma and Papa's for the weekend. It was a great time or them. They fished, skated, played with cousins and ate all kinds of fun stuff at Grandma and Papas.

We had a bit of a drive. We played our first game against the Atlantic Celtics on Friday. They were the 4th ranked team in our division and we were 33. This was one time when the seeding were accurate. The average around 6'4" 200 lbs for their starters. They even had a 6'9" kid.

We played 2 more pool games on Saturday and lost those as well but they were very close games. We made some key errors that hurt us. Then we headed to the consolations bracket for 14U. They won their first 2 games and played well. The final game they lost for the championship of the consolation bracket. The crazy thing was they (the other team) did a stall game for the last 4-5 minutes of the first half. Coach Perez was very frustrated. The other team's guard literally stood at half court holding the ball until half time. In the second half we got within one and took a good shot missed and then turned it over had to foul and lost by 4.

Overall, we had a great weekend. Saw some giant boys play some great ball and learned some good lessons that will improve each of the boys game.

One of the best things was heading to Kingman and picking up the rest of the crew this morning. Thanks so much Papa and Grandma. We love you.

Baseball Season

We are now in the swing of baseball season. Jerod is playing with a couple of his friends on the Derby Invasion team. He loves baseball. He is doing a great job. I missed his games on Saturday where he pitched and had 7 strike outs. But last night I was able to head out. He caught and was 2-3 at bat with a single (hurt quad single) that brought in 2 runs, a triple, and strike out. Actually his strike out was a foul tip back into the catcher's mitt.

The estate is closed

Well actually it has been closed for a few years; but today we signed the paperwork on the last of the rental properties that we inherited. It was really a mixed emotion kind of thing. I was very relieved to not have to hassle with it anymore since I have been taking care of them for quite a few years. But at the same time it reminds me that what my parents had invested in for so many years is done. It is like closing another chapter in the history of who they were.

I didn't cry at the closing; but feel like in some ways the whole situation needs a good cry. In addition, the tenant had lived there for 27 years prior to passing in Feb. 2010. I remember being with mom and dad when we showed him and his wife the house the summer before my sophomore year. I remember watching them sign papers on the back of our car. Anyway, it is finished for good now. And I guess the hardest part is that it reminds me that I miss my parents very much all over again.

And so we wait for the joy of heaven when once again we will be reunited in the presence of the Lord with the ones we love.

A Fun Season of Life

Okay so it might have been a little while since I blogged. :) We have been enjoying a lot of basketball fun. We have felt a bit overwhelmed with all the running; but it has been a great season. It is hard to believe we have only about 3 more weeks left and then we will wrap up.

This has been my first season to coach the girls JH Defenders basketball team. I have learned many wonderful things and have seen the girls improve in many areas. What a joy filled time to be teaching and learning with such wonderful young ladies. I love that God gives us sports as an avenue to use our physical bodies and our minds and to glorify him.

As the season wraps up I pray that we will continue to grow together as a team and individuals and the Lord will be praised with all that we do.

Josh and Andrew really enjoyed their season even though the didn't have the number of victories they would have liked. Thanks to their Coach Kenny and to their dad for all of their time.

Jerod is doing well. He is growing in so many ways. He is taller than Rod. He is working hard on his basketball skills taking lessons and playing as often as he can. I would like us to be doing more school right now; but Rod tells me I am an overachiever most of the time. I don't know about that.

I hope this post finds each of you well. God blessings on your springtime.

2011

The Martin 6 is praying that you had a blessed Christmas season and hope that you will celebrate your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ each day in this coming year 2011.