I love LOVE!

It's February! This is definitely my favorite month of the year! To me, it means pink and hearts, romance, love songs, chocolate, and my birthday! My favorite flower (well one of them anyway), Tulips, start showing up at all the florist shops! I love to buy Tulips in February...suddenly winter seems like it's over! I love shopping in February and seeing all the new, fun stuff for Spring! Everything is brighter and sweeter!!!
Happy February! With lots of love and hugs from the Martys!

Latest Crazes, Phases and Phrases!

This recurring post will be a little glimpse into the "everyday" stuff of our life.
So, I thought I'd put up a picture of Briar in her boots! It seems quite apparent that Briar has inherited my love for shoes. These baby Ugg boots are her favorite, but she is constantly changing into her black patent leather shoes, or her leopard print mary- janes...or whatever she can find. I would call this her latest craze! It's about as common for her to put on her boots with her pajamas as it is for her to put them on the wrong feet, both of which can be seen in this picture. She is at such a fun age! She turned 21 months yesterday! She still lets big brother and sister do most of the talking for her but she's learning some words here and there, the trick is to get her to actually use them once in awhile. She's definitely going through a screaming phase. If we are at home it's pretty annoying but easy enough to ignore or "tune out" but we are quickly reminded of the urgency to teach her proper use of the English language when we are out in public and she starts the screaming form of communication--so embarrassing!

Grampa and Gramma Come for a Visit!

We had a great time with Q's parents! They were here for 12 days! There was a Director's Retreat for HOPE International last week, so Paul and Cindy were in town from Ukraine. They stayed with us and we enjoyed every minute of it! There were many wonderful HOPE events throughout the week, and we managed to squeeze in some shopping, dinner at our favorite Vietnamese Restaurant, and to just hang out and talk at home too. For their last night here we had a special candle-light dinner with a "sweetheart" theme, since V-day is just around the corner.
The kids loved having Grampa and Gramma here too. We took a couple fun pics on the couch and bein' silly on the floor in the living room.
Special thanks for the outfits for the kids and all the treats and goodies for Valentine's Day and Just Because.
We love you Mom and Dad!

Happy 2008!

Happy New Year from us to you!
We celebrated Jesus' Birthday as a family before we hit the road for the Midwest, yet again! We had a great time with family and friends in Wisconsin and Minnesota! Some of the highlights include visiting our church family at Eagan Hills, where Quenton was the associate pastor for 5 1/2 years. We always feel so welcome and at home there. Spending an evening with old college friends Jim and Michele and Jason and Shannon, we hadn't seen them in 8 years. Lots of family time...the kids had so much fun with their cousins, and I got to spend a lot of time with my sisters.
And, seeing the Vikings play! Truman and Quenton spent Sunday night at the Metrodome watching the Vikings vs. the Redskins. That was a dream come true for both of them, thanks to Q's brother Josh for the Christmas gift -- the tickets! Here's a few pics from our Holidays!