some thoughts...

I read something in a book once that really stuck with me. A husband was asking his wife why life couldn't just roll along smoothly all the time...why so many trials, discomforts, illness...etc. Her wise response is something that I just love.
"honey, if you were hooked up to a heart monitor in the hospital, would you want to see a flat line? No. It is the ups and downs that let us know we are alive."
Don't you just love that little nugget of truth and wisdom? I do.
Today has been a day of reflection and deep thought for me. I had a good long sit by the ocean this morning just trying to dig deep and pull out those things inside of me that I know are there...they just get buried sometimes by life.
I read something else just today that I really love too:
"Sometimes the things we view as our biggest weaknesses, turn out to be our greatest strengths. Don't be too eager to rid yourself of your burdens. Your burdens are what shape you"
I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father who gives us weaknesses so that we can grow. I have many. I am so thankful that I am surrounded by people in my life who love me in spite of them.

Happy Birthday Abram

February is a special month around here since Alex and Abram both have birthdays. I have to give a little shout out to Abram today as we celebrate his 15th birthday. As you can see by the picture, he is almost taller than me so I still have a few more months hopefully to call him my little boy.
Ah...what to say about this guy......Abram keeps our family exciting. He got some serious creative genes from both sides of the family and he amazes us with his creativity and talent. When he gets focused on something, there is nothing stopping him until he figures it out. This kid is smart. So smart. He loves to cook (and eat). He has become quite good at making stop motion videos. He is an excellent artist. As of late, he has become an avid reader, which has never happened before in his life. Read for FUN? Why would he ever want to do that? Well, thanks to his Aunt Amy who sent him a new series for Christmas, that really captured his attention...he now spends hours a day reading for FUN! I love it.
He has developed a new infatuation with owls lately too. His birthday morning breakfast was a real "hoot" haha....we searched high and low here for some fun owl things and actually we were quite successful. Check out his blog for pics of his new friends. That, along with 3 new bottles of Tabasco sauce and he was a happy guy this morning!
Abram is truly unique. No one ever told him that teenagers don't like to hug their moms anymore and so I get to be the recipient of many hugs every single day. I hope he never outgrows that because I love them. He is super sensitive to other people's feelings and always looks out for the underdog. He adores his sisters like nothing else. He is also a good pal to his dad and still loves to go fishing with him even though they come home with an empty hook every time!
Abram makes the most of every minute. He is up early and stays up late just to fit in all the things he wants and needs to do. He is getting super grades this year doing his online school and we are so proud of him.
This morning I got a little choked up as I realized that we only have him home with us for 3 more years and then he will be off to college and mission as well. Time goes so fast. Thank you for being you Abram. I love you.

School girls

Well, we decided to add a little more structure to our homeschooling efforts and put the girls into the public school here in Matapalo. The schools here have been on summer break so we were anxiously awaiting for it to begin again. Emma was super excited as you can see. Lora....not so much. She was actually forcing a smile here for this picture.
That has changed drastically now that they have been in school for 3 whole days. The girls quickly found that they are basically celebrities with the "paparazzi"following them both around like magnets all day! It may get old, but for now, they are both soaking it up and it is providing us with lots of great laughs here when they come home with their stories! oh, so funny.
Emma is like this glowing blonde angel in this sea of black haired, black eyed, chocolate milk skin, beautiful tico children, and Lora is the "nina de estados unidos"that all the chicos (boys) are mesmerized by! Emma came home the first day and said, "apparantly the kids think I am a toy because they are all fighting over me and touching my hair!" Lora said a boy told another girl that he wants to kiss Lora and she had a good laugh about that.
Lane and I are so happy that THEY are so happy going to school. Whew!! We didn't know quite how they would do. They are both just getting in there and trying to do the best they can with their limited spanish, but it doesn't seem to be holding them back. Kids are amazing that way. They both have made good friends already and it is just so fun to listen to them talk to each other. Emma uses her hands like crazy and it is so cute. Lora just seems so confident and is not afraid to say, "no entiendo". She just keeps trying until she gets it.
This experience will be so priceless for them down the road and I am so thankful that they are both willing to be the minority and just jump in there and adapt!
We found out on the first day that these little blue dresses are actually the kindergarten uniforms...oops....so we have since outfitted them in the proper ones, which are white button up shirts and navy skirts or pants. They look adorable of course!

Happy Birthday Alex

This picture was taken right before Alex left on his mission, so I know it is two years old now, but it is how I remember him. I just love this picture. He has this mature, somber, yet knowing smile on his face as if he fully knows the wonderful adventure that he is about to embark on. He has prepared to serve a mission since he was just a little boy. Serving, helping others, sharing his testimony of the Savior with others...those things have always been part of who he is.
Today he is 21 years old. I can't even believe it. Where did the time go? Sometimes I refuse to believe that he is not my adorable little toddler that I could snuggle in my lap and read to for hours. He is still adorable, just doesn't fit in my lap too well anymore.
While sometimes I want those days to return, I could not be happier with the stage of life that I am in right now with my kids. Alex has grown into the most incredible young man. He amazes me. He amazes everyone. I have received countless emails, phone calls, letters, from people in Missouri that he has served among on his mission. One day in particular I was driving down the street and my cell phone rang. On the other end was this sweet older woman who introduced herself to me. She said that these 2 wonderful young men had just left her home in Missouri. They had knocked on the door and wanted to share a message with her. She said she had never been so impressed with a young man as she was with "Elder Martinsen". She said, "he had a light about him and a smile that was just magnificent. He brought something into my home that I have never quite felt before." She said the only thing she could think to do in return was to call his mother and tell her. She must be a mother herself. I was so glad she did. It warmed my heart like nothing else could.
A few weeks ago, the 6 of us gathered around our little kitchen table here in the yellow house and we made a birthday card for Alex to send in plenty of time for his birthday today. We decided to list 21 of our favorite things/memories about him. We had ourselves laughing and crying as we went down memory lane. It was hard to stop at 21.
Alex has always had a great sense of humor, yet very sincere. He has always had a good sense of who he is and is a great communicator. He could debate and WIN, most of the time ANY argument from the time he was 3 years old! He attracts friends wherever he goes and has influenced many lives for good.
It is a strange, yet wonderful stage in life, when those little ones that you snuggled and read to and bathed and stayed up long nights with...suddenly become your friend and your example in countless ways. He has become someone that I look up to and admire. I am the luckiest mom in the world to have a son like him.
Alex returns from his mission next month. I have been saving up a hug for 2 years now and you can bet it is going to be a good one.
Our family will finally be complete again. I love you Alex.

News Flash!

The last 24 hours have marked 2 very important "FIRSTS" in the Martinsen Family!

Emma lost her very first tooth! Not too often you see a child with a bloody mouth smiling huh? She worked on this thing for hours and was so excited when she finally pulled it out all by herself. She was all smiles again this morning as she discovered that the Tooth Fairy found her all the way in Costa Rica and left her 1,000 colonies! (that is about $2)

The other "first"was that I caught the Martinsen men hanging clothes on the line! WOW....who knew? We have recently decided to start hanging the laundry to dry now that it is no longer the rainy season. Hoping to lower the electricity bill too. We have all come to LOVE the smell of fresh laundry. Lora's new chore of choice is to fold and put away all of it. She has always had this little quirky habit of smelling things, so this makes the chore very enjoyable for her. She gets paid 100 colonies per load. (shhh....that is only about 20 cents, but she doesn't realize that and it is working out great for me!)
I also spent 5 hours translating songs into Spanish today for Primary (that was a first)....thank you Mariah and Abram for doing all the pictures for me. I am seriously lacking in the artistic department.

It has been a good day. What a difference a new post makes huh?

A good vent cleaning

Ya know how you are supposed to clean out your vents now and then or they will get clogged??? Well, I am feeling a little "clogged" these last few days and I need to clean my vent. Allow me to unleash a little, just know that it is for a good cause. (maybe I will feel a good breeze of fresh air just blow on through me when I am done)

So, I decided to pick my top 10:

1. hot dirty grocery stores that are frequently out of basic commodities such as wheat bread and chocolate pudding!

2. herds of cows just mosy-ing down the road when I am on my way to the hot dirty store. At first it was fun, but now it is just annoying.

3. Pot holes the size of the great lakes. Makes it impossible to drink a smoothie on the road or even chew gum for that matter.

4. seems that everything here from tin foil to toilet paper is made at half the quality we are used to. hard to get a good nose blow when i am having a good cry.

5. PAINFULLY slow internet most of the time, including the phone lines that make you sound like you are underwater....always cross my fingers when I go to make a call.

6. Enormous grasshopper-like creatures that clank into the windows at night and hang out on the porch and the door so we are all screaming as we try to get in our out of the house at night.

7. Trying to dodge entire families on one bike or just people in general that walk IN the road at night and don't seem to mind that we missed them by a mere inch, if that.

8. kids. my kids specifically. I am pretty sure I saw Lane cut the umbilical cord on all of them, but it seems they are still attached these days. I try to take an extra long shower since that is the only place I am really alone. Even then, they know how to pick the lock and will usually come in and out for items that just can't wait. Really important things like a band-aid for a stuffed animal.

9. My hair. Will it ever go back to the nice shiny soft hair that it was before?? It seems that it is permanently frizzy and untamed here from the humidity and I swear my gray is showing up on a much faster schedule than it was in the states! (thank heavens Lane is actually in Boston right now for business and is close to a Target. Please don't forget honey...Garnier Nutrisse #30!!)

Hey, I just had a thought...maybe I am in the slumps because my other half is in the states. We have been together 24/7 for quite a long time now and maybe all these things just aren't that big of a deal when he is around. I will let you know when he returns in a few days :)

ok, I was just gonna post #10 and then I clicked on over to Mariah's blog to check it out......oh boy. I have A LOT of growing to do. Probably the reason that I am here in the first place. Guess I better go borrow that book she is reading.