A New Bible Study...

Well, we are back from the great outdoors, if you can call it that! I mean how naturalistic is air conditioning...the in-camper potty...and watching movies in the camper when it rains? NOT that I'm complaining though! That is plenty outdoorsy for Mandi! We all had a wonderful time! The kids loved every minute of it! Maddelyn, Zoey, and Regan played great together. Sure we had a few....I had it first moments, but when you have a 3 yr old and twin 4 yr olds for an entire weekend that's not bad. Maddelyn did end up learning to ride her bike! She was so proud! She still needs to work on it though. She got the pedaling thing down but can't do that and watch were she is going at the same time. She is kinda like me when I am typing....gotta look at what I'm doing, not where I'm going! :D

Nathan got in at about midnight last night from his Iowa trip. He was of course tried from the long drive but you could see the excitement in his eyes from being back on the campaign trail! He is home for about 3 weeks and then he will be headed back to Iowa again. Nathan was able to spend the morning with us at the camper and even watch Maddelyn show off her new bike riding skills. she's so proud! Emma also learned a new thing this weekend. Her latest phrase is..."O-K!" She is so cute saying over and over again!

Tonight was the first session of a new bible studdy that Nathan and I are involved in. They have us split into two groups. The men are doing a book called "Wild at Heart" and us ladies are doing the book "Captivating." I will be sure to update you on the study as well as how the book in general is. I have heard it is a must read for every Christian woman. The books will be in this week as well as a journal to go along with them. Nathan seems to be excited about his book/study as well. It is not only nice to spend some time getting into God's Word a little deeper, but also nice to get to know some of the other men/women in our new church.

This week should be anouther busy one as always! Nathan and I each have our plates full of things we need to get accomplished, he with the campaign and I with custom scrapbook orders. On top of all of that I would like to get the landscaping done this week by mulching and planting the new Hostics I bought. We will have to wait and see what the weather holds though. This newly PG mommy to be is NOT going out in 90 degree weather to mulch! LOL! We also have my dear cousin Kaytie's graduation this weekend. I can't believe she is done with school. Man that makes me feel old! I remember the day she was born...granted I was only 6, but I still remember it!

My Little Escape Artist!

We are back form visiting my parents and I have learned Emma has a few tricks up her sleeves! I put both girls down for thier afternoon naps today(...they share a room..) and after a few minutes I heard them giggling! I went in and found them both in Maddelyn's bed? Hmm? I had placed Emma in her own crib? Maddelyn said she used a large box of books placed beside the crib as a stepping stool to get out. Uhh! Emma! So, I moved the box, no problem. I placed them both back in thier own beds and left the room again. Not 2 minutes later Maddelyn is yelling "Mom..she did it again!" No way! So I open the door and there is Emma running around the room. So this time I put her in the crib and then hide behind the crib's foot board to watch and see what she is doing. That little booger walked over to where the foot board meets the crib rail......she grabs ahold of the foot board....hikes one leg over the rail...pulls herself up to straddling the rail.....huals both legs over the rail...and then just kinda free-fall-jumps to the floor! WOW! And this is my tiny Emma Grace and a full sized crib! Who would have known! So, needless to say neither girl got a nap today! How am I going to keep her in bed to take naps? Actually when I put them down tonight I brought the play pen upstairs to put her in. It has a netting side and nothing for her to grab ahold of to fling herself over the edge with. Unbelievable!!!

We got an email form Nathan's Aunt Tabith today and found out they are expecting baby # 5 January 27th! How funny is that! She was pregnant with Lydia when I was pregnant with Emma Grace! Feels like we are trying to keep up with the Jones' on how fast we can have those baby girls! I think that thier #5 is beating our #3 though! It's nice though because Tabitha is such a great resource/bank of knowledge for me on anything to do with babies/nursing/deliveries and all that falls between! Congrats Tabitha!

We are leaving in the morning to go camping with my parents, brother, and his kids. It should be a lot of fun. The weather is supposed to be beautiful so I am hoping to have a chance to teach Maddelyn to ride her bike. She officially knows how to pedal now, it's just confusing because on her bike if she does it the wrong way it puts the brakes on. We'll work on it though. I think we might take her rollerskates too. She is so looking forward to playing with her twin cousins Zoey and Regan.

Nathan should be home on Monday. He is still out in Iowa on the campaign trail.

So everyone, have a great holiday weekend and remember to THANK A VETERAN!!!!

BIG NEWS!!!

Well everyone in blogg'n land...we have big news in our family! We are now expecting baby # 3!!! He or she should make their arrival about January 30th of next year. Nathan and I are tickled pink (or blue!) about the news! It was funny to have to call him out in Iowa to tell him the big news though.

Oh, he is in Iowa because he has a new job. He has been hired on to be the National Coordinater for John Cox's Presidential Campaign. We are so very excited about him being given this opportunity! GOD IS SO GOOD! So, Nathan is busy this summer traveling around to different states working on the campaign. With him traveling so much it leaves quite a bit of time for me to scrapbook...which is always good! :D I have quite a bit of custom orders to fill for ebay, so that's good!

Wow, what a wonderful time in our lives right now! God has been so faithful to us not only blessing us with a wonderful job this week, but now a baby as well! Yes, we had a rough time after hearing the campaign results, but it was all for HIS glory and we were ok with that. We were just waiting for God to open that next door in our lives, which it looks like he has with this new job and another baby on the way. PRAISE GOD!

The Price One Pays for a Scapbooking Mommy!

T.V. ZOMBIES!!!! Yes, I guess this is the price one pays for having a mom who scrapbooks. You know all those perfect little families that have layouts showing the mothers PERFECTLY clean scrapbooking room with her children playing carelessly in the back yard???? Not true! LOL! This is what we call reality scrapbooking. This is what we call mom-is-scrabooking-dad-is-doing-computer-work!!! This is why I generally try to scrapbook during nap time and clean or such while the girls are up. This way only periodically the girls have "Tube-time!" How funny they look though sitting there all glued to the tv! And Emma! Such a young age and she still gets drawn in by the TV! In all honestly this really is not an all the time thing! Please don't turn me into Children's Services for scrapbooking while my kids are raising themselves! Funny thing is...you know I'll scrapbook these pictrues of my kids entertaining themselves while I was scrapbooking! LOL!

Random Facts About Me!

Well after a long day of household chores..how about something kinda off the wall?

Random Facts About Me:

1. I am fanatical about my covers in bed. No I mean I will actually wake up and fix them at 2am and then go back to sleep (well usually it is my dear sweet hubby getting up to fix them! :P). They have to be all nice, straight, and tucked in. I know Obsessive Compulsive!

2. I don't like chocolate..it can cover something else like a with a Butterfinger, but that's pushing it.

3. I'm the baby of the family.

4. I get really sick around people who smoke...allergies

5. I LOVE mayo but hate onions on my burgers.

6. My favorite color is pink...anyone who knows me is saying duh by now!

7. My all time favorite cartoon was the ole school Strawberry Shortcake. (My girl's nursery was in it.)

8. I am deathly afraid of snakes.

9. My 2 dream jobs are: Walmart cashier (don't ask) and owning my own scrapbooking retreat bed-n-breakfast.

10. I have no idea why snakes were not too late to miss the ARK??? Shoot!

11. I was born in the 80's...my name is Mandi...and my mom own's the Barry Manelow Greatest Hit's CD Set----> Coincidence????? I think not!

12. I'm a boon-docks girl who has gone SNIPE HUNTING!

13. I come from a long line of terrific cooks and can't cook worth a hoot! It was so bad that my hubby had heard about my family's wonderful cooking even before he met me! I guess he picked the wong family member to marry! LOL!

14. I LOVE CSI!

15. My hubby wants to be President! I think I could pull of the whole Laura thing.......NOT!

16. Laura Bush is my hero...well yes and no. I think she's great and a wonderful person to inspire to be, but she has a few political views that don't align with mine. So setting aside the politics...(like you can do that with a First Lady???) .....she is my hero!

17. My scrap'n style is very girly, lots of pinks, bright colors, tons of ribbons and rub-ons, and very geometrical.

18.I have no idea how I came up with what my scrap'n style is...but it sounded good!

19. When I was little and we would all play legos.....I would sit and sort them all out by color and then shapes while everyone else was building stuff. I still love to sort things. I guess it is the OCD again. Maybe that's why I like to make lists...clean..and organize? Hmm?

20. Speaking of cleaning...am I the only one who about once every few months has a midnight cleaning blitz? My hubby laughs at me. It will be about 10-11 oclock at night and I will be ending my day when I realize what a disaster my house is. So so I start picking up. Well one thing about me is that I have to finish whatever I start, so I keep cleaning and then sorting, and then I end up cleaning a closet or re-organizing a cuboard. Hubby is sitting there at 1am laughing his head off! But If I don't finish what I started I will lay in bed and think about it until the next morning. He says it is one of the funny bonuses of marrying me...midnight cleansweeps!

21. I still have not found one person who can tell me why my hubby and I can't share a mansion in Paradise??? I don't want my own! And what is Heaven if we can't stay married? So many questions so little time here on Earth. I'm gonna have me a big ole talk when I get to Heaven...lots of questions. Do you think God will ever get the point where he will say...Mandi put your hand over your mouth???

22. When I was little I talked ALOT so my parents would get tired of me talking litterally just to hear myself making noise. So we would be driving along, and I'd be just blabbering away..... and they would say....Mandi put your hand over your mouth. So, there I'd be just a little thing in the back seat riding along with my whole hand covering my mouth. Oh the memories. Now my whole family just thinks it's a gut buster...funny thing is I am tempted to try it on Maddelyn somedays!!!

HAPPY MOMMY DAY!!!!!
........As Maddelyn has been saying all day. Today started out wonderfully with my dear, sweet hubby and two princesses waking me up with flowers, cards, and breakfast in bed! How precious! See...I told you I married a prince! We then did nursery at church this morning and had a nice lunch at Fridays. After visiting my Grandma...her first Mother's Day without Grandpa...we then headed over to my parents for a cookout. My very first watermelon of the season! Mmmmm! We also stopped and picked up Liberty from my aunt's house. She had been keeping her and the pups while we were in the midst of the campaign. All 6 puppies easily found homes last week. It was sad to see them go, but 7 labs in one house is way too much!!! So Liberty is back in the house again and we now have our happy family back together. The girls missed her so much...well we did just as much, I think?

Here are some pics of my Maddie Jo helping me "garden" the other day. I was working on the landscaping getting it ready for Spring and she was pulling up weeds with her new gloves. She was helping out by picking the "yellow flowers" for Mommy. Well, she was supposed to get only the dandilions and when I turned around she had a big red tulip by the stem with two hands!! AHH! LOL! She is SUCH a helper! :D

There are also a few pictures of Emma after her hard day of work in the yard. She couldn't even make it through lunch without a little snooze!

Our whirlwind lives....

Well, as many of you know by now, these past two weeks have been a whirlwind for us. On top of the last minute campaign rush, we also had the passing of my Grandpa Hartz. It was something very sad but we had known it was coming for some time. We do have peace though to know that he is no longer suffering and is in a MUCH better place now. It was a beautiful service that was held for him. Nathan was honored to be able to participate in the military funeral for him by being an honor guard and firing the rounds. I have pictures that I will post later on, of the military salute as well as my grandma receiving the flag in his honor.

Well I'm not going to go into too deep of a speal, but Nathan did lose the election. As I told him, it was a race well run and I am so proud of him for how he conducted himself. He was able to walk away form the race with not having lost his integrety and not having said something about another candidate he would have been afraid to tell his children in the years to come. Yes, I did marry a wonderful man who not only was man enough to step up to bat and run...but he ran the race God would have wanted him to. I'm so proud of my hubby! :D So now our days are filled with trying to find jobs and still seeking that "normal" life....haha! We are just waiting for God to open that door to lead us into the next stage of our lives.

Today we went out to Kingwood Center and took photos of the girls with the flowers. The photos tured out pretty nice as seeing how Maddelyn was crying and whining between each of the pictures, saying she was done and wanted her treat NOW! Yes, she thought, ok...one pic and I deserve the icecream Mommy promised. It doesn't work like that! I would have to say though that I am pretty proud of the photos we did get. This was my first time doing a photo shoot with my girls outside of pics at the house or such. They actually do look much better in person and not scanned into the computer. I have to say without bragging on myself..not too shabby! :D I'll post more later in the week.

Campaign Update...Prayers Needed!

Just a quick update here at campaign headquarters.....Well, as many of you have heard, this has been a trying weekend for our family. Smack-Dab in the middle of crunch time, we got a phone call that my grandpa was in the ER after his heart stopped at Kidney Dialysis Friday. We had just packed out bags to head to the other side of the district to do a bit of door-to-door that day, but instead stopped everything and headed to the ER. Come to find out they had put him on a vent...not what the family wanted...and according to the doctors he was not expected to make it. My grandpa has struggled with Kidney and heart failure, Diabetes, amputees, as well as other things for many years. Anyways, after discussing it with the family and by him responding to the doctor's questions by squeezing his hand.....it was decided that they would stop all treatments and give comfort care only to him. Basically Grandpa is just being kept comfortable until his time to go. They removed the vent and he was admitted to the hospital. He has been put on O2 and he is being given morphine. So, basically we all said out goodbye's...cried a lot...and now we are just waiting. He is non-responsive now, but we still just sit and wait with him. Sorry for the depressing news, but in our family it is a bitter-sweet even. It is a hard thing to let him go, but we know that he is headed for glory where he won't suffer any longer.

This has made the final few days in the campaign quite unique. Nathan is balancing being there at the hospital with trying to run the campaign. I will have to brag on him a bit and say he has been wonderful through all of this. He took Friday and Saturday off just to be with me and the family at the hospital. Only after my family told him to go did he finally agree to go back on the campaign trail today. Not many men would do that. He was willing to give up all of the campaign time and show us that his heart was where his mouth was by putting family first. Thanks Nathan......what a wonderful man of God you are!!!

So, as we head into the final days of this campaign, I ask for your prayers not only for my family as they prepare for the passing of my grandpa, but also for the will of god to be played out in our lives with this campaign. No matter what results come in on Tuesday night, we know that we were there for a purpose and we followed what God asked us to do. It was all for His Glory...win or loss. Thanks to all of my dear friends and family for supporting us with all of your actions as well as prayers these past few months. We couldn't have made it through with out you!

New A2Z Essentials Papers

These are just a few projects that I will be teaching classes on at the Store in Norwalk. They are having a National Scrapbooking Day Crop, and asked me to teach on the new A2Z Essentials Lines. Of course I was happy to do so! Any chance I get to play with those cute papers is fine by me! If you like them, you can check out their website http://www.geta2z.com and see where you can pick some up at!

Well enough for now. this was just a fly-by post to show you what new papers A2Z has out. Back to the campaign now. It's 11:00pm and I am headed back downstairs to put together MORE yard signs. Yes, we ordered 1000 and all of them have to have the metal stakes put in by hand before we can put them up. LOL! The joys of campaigning! ;)

Crunch Time!

Well as you can tell with my lack of posts, we have been busy! So busy infact that the kids are visiting their Grandpa and Grandma in PA for a week and a half while Mommy and Daddy run all over the 4th district! To give you an idea of just how many doors we will be knocking on...hand's we'll shake....and people we'll meet, we have 20,000 pieces of literature, 1000 yard signs, and 29,000 phone calls to make in these last 2 weeks! Basically I am glad we have good walking shoes! I would have to say Nathan has done quite a bit more than me. Our schedule is so crazy that 6 hours of sleep at night for him is a good night!

Nathan had his second forum/debate last night. He did wonderfully! You can't tell it by this morning's news paper article coverage...but he stomped all over his opponent! In a political way of course! :P Hey, I figure if his opponent can do all sorts of nasty things behind out backs like spread false rumors....drive by our house and take pictures while I'm home alone with the kids.....call my husband less than Christian in an email forwarded from his campaign manager....try to get people to rescend their endorsements by talking filth about my hubby, Nathan can put him to shame by bring out the TRUTH infront of everyone including the media! Hey...if you want to play hardball, make your sure your slate is clean first! Basically we're only exposing they guy for who he really is.....not nice at all! >:( So if anyone is interested in learning the TRUTH about my wonderful hubby they can check out his website at http://www.martin4congress.comrtin4congress.com He is a great guy and I am very proud to say I'm a Congressional candidate's wife!






Enough politics...here are some adorable pics of my girls playing with our puppies!
They are HUGE now! They'll be turning 6 weeks on Sunday. They are finally getting to that playful stage! So very cute! Emma is hilarious with them because he fingers are at a perfect height for them to chew on. So, she'll go "No! Ouch! No!" Sure enough the puppies don't listen! Their little teeth are sharp though!

I am sure that this will be the last post until after May 2nd. We will be headed out on the campaign trail this weekend for our final week. Please keep Nathan as well as this campaign in your prayers. We definitely could use them. It is going to be an uphill battle, but we are here for whatever God wants us to do. If it's His will, we will win...if not...we won't. Either way we are following His direction and running this campaign as He would see fit.

Happy Easter from Campaign Headquarters!

I can't believe he's turned me into a campaign wife! LOL! We spent all day Saturday doing my first ever door-to-door campaigning for my dh! That was a new experience for me! We spent from 10:00am until 5:00pm knocking on doors and handing out literature! Yep..LOTS of walking and quite a bit of sun! Actually Nathan, Steve (our campaign manager), and I all ended up burnt! What was funny was that today at church our youth pastor's wife asked me if we had been on vacation? I was like no??? She said well you've gotten quite a bit of sun? I laughed and said no, this is from campaigning door-to-door! LOL! While most 24 year olds are planning how to treat the sunburns they received from Spring Break in Fl......Mandi is treating her campaign wounds! LOL! The best part is that in the next 15 days until MAY SECOND, we will be doing this same thing just about everyday! Lets just say that we have at least 20,000 pieces of literature to pass out before May 2nd! Yep...I'm buying a BIG bottle of sunscreen! :D

Now about the real reason to blog today. I just wanted to say a huge Happy Easter to you guys! We had a wonderful day going to service this morning and then a day with family at a cookout. The food and fellowship were terrific. We had fun hiding the eggs for all of the grandkids. It was so much fun for them that we actually collected them back up and re-hid them for them! You can do that when you have 6 little girls 4 yrs and under! They loved it! We also spent time riding a 4-wheeler and doing target practice! Yes, Nathan helped me shoot for the 1st time. I was so proud that I hit the target withthe 22, with my first shot! Wooo-hooo me a girly-girl. I should have stopped there though because that was all I hit for the rest of the afternoon! Shhh! Just let on like Mandi hit the target on her first shot! :D

I just wanted to say how thankful I am today to be a beliver. How blessed we are to have such a loving God to send His son to die at Calvary for Me??? I like the Christian song out now...can't remember the title or artist...that says that we picture Christ with his curly brown hair, blue eyes, and perfect skin as he dies on the cross. I rejoice that I had the opportunity to see the Passion of the Christ 2 years ago. It really hit home for me just how much Christ did suffer to pay the greatest price for MY sin! After walking away from the movie I was honestly speechless (a huge deal for anyone who knows Mandi >>>>yes I said nothing! ) It left me seeing the cross in a whole new way. A human way. I saw it as his mother peered up at him as she watched her first born be tourchured in a way that you wouldn't treat a animal...and then horrifically die. She saw Him pay that price for us. That tore at a mother's heart. So as you see Easter come to a close tonight. Make sure that you see beyond the "pretty crucifiction painting" that hangs at the front of your church, and see how it really was...a place of sacrafice for all of mankind. He died and rose again for US!

Practicing her art with a green marker and her sister!

Well I guess you can say that Nathan's campaign is allowing out children to experiment with their creativeness? We were all full swing in to tying to get a 500 piece mailing out last night when Emma comes climbing down the stairs. She is literally GREEN from head to toe! That is one of those parent moments when you know that someone should be in trouble, but you can't stop laughing to find out who. Well, the majority of the marker was on her legs, belly, and most of all her toes ( I think they were trying to paint Emma's toenails?) Anyways, Emma doesn't seem to mind at all and Maddelyn is proud as a peach of her newest "living scrapbook" as we like to say. It is not a rare thing for Emma to end up with stickers...glue stick or the sort on her. We asked Maddelyn what happened and her answer was "Emma did it." Well after a bit more investigation we found out that Maddelyn's bed, sheets, and pillow case were also covered in green stripes. So, Maddelyn then admitted that she did Emma's belly, legs, and feet...but Emma did the bed and her face. LOL! Too funny! It's kinda of obvious which child was to blame when Maddelyn had a few green marks on her...most were on her RIGHT HAND (drawing hand) and Emma was covered! LOL! After two baths, Emma is still a faded greenish color. Well I guess we will have to wait on those Easter pictures until AFTER Easter! The joys of being a mommy of toddlers!

What does _____ make you think of?

I saw this challange on 2peas and thought...hey..I can actually do this one! So here it goes! I was supposed to type out the first thing that came to my head after reading each one of these words:

1. Harry....the 2-headed monster on Seasame Street (we have a 3yr old and a 1yr old. What else can you expect?)

2. Black.... My favorite color of cardstock to back a layout with. It really makes your pictures pop.

3. Delicious... fruit smoothies..mmm! Wow it is almost summer time which means that the farmer's markets will once again be carrying the FRESHEST/SWEETEST fruit! Woo-hoo! :P

4. Funny... When Nathan's campaign manager got caught in our mini van's automatic sliding door! Too funny! Yes, it might have been dangerous, but now it is plumb hilarious. (Steve...you know we wouldn't make fun of you if we didn't love you!)

5. Green... The color that our grass here in Ohio is FINALLY turning! WELCOME SPRING!

6. Ribbons... My true addiction! I was so inspired by this one that I had to do a layout proclaiming my love to ribbons!!! :D Yes, most of you know that I am hopelessly addicted to scrapbooking...but the truth is that ribbons are the real problem. I think the only thing that might compete with my ribbon buying habit might be my rub-on buying habit? Can a girl have too many of either? I don't thing so! All of my ribbons are neatly wound around clothes pins and then placed in color coded mason jars. Yes...I am a control freak. I LOVE ORGANIZATION! Anyone need me to write up a list for them? I can! :P

7. Internet... Well, I guess I have to place my ode to 2peas here! GREAT site! http://www.2peasinabucket.com These are a wonderful bunch of ladies (and I think a few men too?) who not only are great friends...but share my addiction as well! If it were not for the insiration I get from this site, I would not be the scrapper I am today or have the style I have. I am always learning new techniques as well as finding new products through them! This site also led me to a couple of new local friends as well, Alicia and Amiee!

8. BBQ... Wow...TN BBQ! I have never had one bad meal, it's all wonderful! I guess my favorite has to be John G's BBQ in Cleveland TN! (Smokey Bones/Jordan's/and Sticky Fingers were all close runner's up though! If you're ever in East TN and need to know where to find the best, give me a hollar!

9. People... I guess this one to me is kinda special. It made me thing of all the people in our lives that have helped our family out so much. I was so blessed to have a great support group of family and friends here in OH while Nathan was deployed. I couldn't have done it with out them. I do want to give a special thanks to my parents who so graciously gave up part of their home for my dd's and I. Thanks guys for all the support and thanks mom for being my labor coach/maternity taxi! :) I also am so appreciative of the people who have given Nathan such tremendous backing during his Congressional Campaign. We have some good hearted people out their that not only wish to make a difference by electing Nathan to Congress, but have truely went out of thier way to help out this campaign, support our family, and committing to pray for us. I wan to say thank you guys for all of your support.

10. Quirky... hmmm???? Well what are some of my quirks? I am a freak about my covers in bed? I literally will wake up in the middle of the night, get out of bed, and straighten/re-tuck my covers before I can fall back asleep. Well, I guess to be honest...my DEAR hubby is the one who gets up and straightens them for me! Girls...I told he was a keeper! :D What else??? I go where the heat is. No, I don't mean I spend half of my days in FL, I just HATE being cold. My hubby laughs at me becuase I will literally go into the bathroom with my laptop or a book and sit in the floor just because I can shut the door and turn the heater on to make a sauna. LOL! He HATES being hot and I can't get warm enough. He said that I spent 1/2 of my pregnancy with Maddelyn in the bathroom because I was either taking hot showers ( to get warm) or sitting in the floor infront of the bathroom heater reading a book. See, I go where the heat is. Yep, I'm different but God made me that way...a organizational freak/list maker/always cold/scrapbooking addict /control freak kinda gal. Sometimes it needs some work, but sometimes it makes me who I am. It is kind of funny though because we can already see Maddelyn is picking it up. She cries at night if we put her to bed without "making her bed" first. She is also the only 3 year old who makes her own bed every morning without being told! Yep, it's rubbing off!

A Living Sacrifice for Him

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." --Romans 12:1-2 (ESV)

I found this verse on a challenge thread on 2peas http://twopeasinabucket.com/mb.asp?cmd=display&thread_id=1691806 After reading it, it was amazing to me how much this sums up our lives over the past 2 years. Nathan and I have always tried to live out our marriage according to what the will of God is. When you read the verse above, to the unbeliver/new in faith, it seems as if you must put everything away fun or good of the world away to please God. Basically how boring is that? I on the other hand see this verse as kind of a road map as to how to receive God's abundant blessings in your life. Nathan and I have learned through experience that when you put away the wants/expectations of the world/flesh.....God so richly blesses you beyond imagination. Our first lesson in this was with the birth of our 1st child. We were brand new married and both in college, so the obvious thing was to wait for a baby. Well, we began praying before we were married that God would plan out our lives, including future children to be in HIS timing. Well that timing brought Maddelyn on our 10 month wedding anniversary. At first I was scared a bit and kind of questioning God's timing. I mean we were in school and finances? But god proceeded to show us that when we put away the worries and expectations of the world He will bless us. He sis. We sat back in amazement as things just came together. I don't think we paid a singe penny for anything for Maddelyn until she was several month sold. Everything including maternity clothes, baby items, and even medical bills were just "taken care of." by God it was truly amazing.

the next lesson was Dear Emma. We found out that we were expecting Emma 2 days after we learned that Nathan was being deployed for 18 months to Iraq. The first thought was....GOD???? I thought you had things worked out and we were surrendering it ALL to you? Now we're pregnant? I would have to say that Emma's pregnancy and having her around was such a blessing during the deployment. Instead of throwing a pity party for myself about how long Nathan had been gone, It gave me something to look forward to. It was more of a "well I'm 24 weeks pregnant now!" Not a "well he's been gone 2 months now." Basically God gave me something to be positive about.

Our next lesson was the deployment in a whole. I would have to say this was the biggest lesson in surrendering it all to him. The week before Nathan was to leave, he was offered a slot in Officer candidate School (OCS). This is something that he had applied to over a year and a half before but they had not had any openings yet. When the officer told Nathan of the opportunity, he said that if Nathan chose to go, then he would not be able to join his unit in Iraq. He would remain stateside with us. So, OBVIOUS human choice was OCS for the wife! Iraq...or home with me??? hmm? Well, that was not God's plan for us, so after many prayers, we as a couple decided to follow God's lead and to turn down the position in OCS. It was tough to have blind faith like that, but it brought a complete peace once we had told the officer of our decision. It is amazing what peace following God's will brings!

So, Nathan went to Iraq and as I knew he would, God brought him home safe and sound. It was the toughest faith lesson we have ever had to learn, but we made it through. As we saw it, It was not some random call of the government that brought Nathan to Iraq, but rather God's will being played out to complete some master plan. Talk about peace! At the time we did not know why god thought it best for Nathan to be miss his elder daughter's 1st two birthdays, most of his 2nd daughter's pregnancy as well as 1st year of life, but He saw fit. So with blind faith we surrendered to God and Nathan left for Iraq. We didn't know why he had to go, but we had peace in knowing that he was supposed to go. So an entire year and a half goes by and Nathan returns, still not knowing why he went. Now being April (almost 2 years later) we see exactly why Nathan went to Iraq. the campaign he is currently running has brought him to an entire new perspective because of what he viewed in Iraq. Nathan has always had a heart for politics, but we ever thought we would be running for congress in '06! While in Iraq, Nathan was totally fascinated by how in touch the people of Iraq were with their new government. They not only wanted to be involved into eh forming of it, but they wanted to know details of the hows and whys it was ran the way it was ran. They were seeking out a TRUE democracy! Then he looked back on his own country and realized how distant the average American is from their own government. The average person does not even know who their elected officials are, let alone can explain how a constitutional referendum works. America was founded by the people, but is sadly not run that way anymore. So, he decided (after being that our congressman was retiring) to run for office and do his very best to give the local Americans a voice in their government. Bring things back to the way they were designed to be, and hopefully instill a true conservative value system to our country once again. It is funny to look back and think that if we had not sought out God and His will for our lives....we wouldn't have Maddelyn...Nathan would not have gone over seas.........and He wouldn't be running for congress now! Yes, the decision to run was DEFINITELY coated with prayer!

This all just kinda makes you think...what could your life be missing for not surrendering all to Him?

Another one of my favorite scriptures, as well as our family's dcripture, shows how blessed we will be for surrendering to his will:

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, ...plans to give you hope and a future...You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart."
-Jeremiah 29:11

Doting on my Hubby!

I just wanted to dote on my hubby for a minute. Nathan is such an awesome man of God! Not just because he is doing WONDERFUL in his Congressional campaign, but because he is true to his convictions. I am very proud to say that my dh was offered a packaged valued at over $100,000 worth of $ and media from a certian anti-war group and he turned it down! Yes, politicians are always asking for donations, BUT not when you have to go against your standards. By saying yes to that liberal military group, he would have had to have agreed to their agenda which includes withdrawing from Iraq immediately and not supporting our president. Basically Nathan would have had to have gone against EVERYTHING he went to Iraq for? He basically would have been saying that his time in Iraq was for nothing and the great job that these guys/gals have and are doing now is for nothing since we want to pull up camp and ship everyone home? And that helps worldwide democracy/freedom how? I agree with my husband, no matter if you believe we had the right/cause/whatever to go into Iraq....we're there now and we need to continue our support of their new government because the world is watching to see if we hold true to our word or not to stick it out to the end. On top of all of that he would have had to denounce his commander in chief...his military boss? Not happening! So Nathan turned down the large amount of money not because it might look good in the papers or get him a few more votes in the primary, but because of his values. After God and his family, the thing Nathan holds most dear is his integrity. He believes that if a man has no integrity, he has nothing. This is why it was such a big deal to me to proudly sit back and watch my hubby turn down media coverage (commercials and such) and cash donations so that he could stand tall and know that he IS a man of his word! Wow hubby! You'll make a great congressman! Of course I am going to do a shameless plug for his website on my scrap'n blog..he's earned it! :P http://www.martin4congress.com

Finally Spring!

It is finally Spring here in Ohio! Yes, the weather could be a bit warmer, but Spring is definitely in the air! The grass is turning green, a few flowers have sprouted, and the birds are out once again. Our girls love playing outside once agian! It is almost as if they are finally ready to be rid of their cabin fever! Once they go outside, it is almost impossible to get them back indoors! I think Emma is the worst! She loves running up and down the walkway to our big deck out back. I think she does more running on the walkway than she does actual playing! I took some pictures of Maddelyn this afternoon while the sun was out. Emma was napping so I will have to catch her another day. Maddelyn was so cute in one of her new birthday outfits! She is such a ham for the camera!

Maddelyn's birthday weekend went great! We found out that Maddelyn does have a bit of shyness in her! She actually started crying when everyone sang Happy Birthday to her. Poor thing got embarrassed! She had a wonderful party with the twins! They all got bikes from my parents, so I am sure that Maddelyn will want to be outside even more now! Teaching her to ride it is Nathan's job though! :P Maddelyn has had fun telling everyone that she is now three and that she had a party. When we asked her what her favorite part of the party was, she said "Bubblegum!" A few weeks ago my sister-in-law was over here taking pictures of all the girls. She told them that if they were good she would give them all a piece of gum. Well the night went on, we forgot about the gum, and they ended up leaving. Maddelyn was heart broken over it! She still talks about how Aunt Thelma didn't give her any gum! So, Thelma made a point to put a box of Bazooka gum in Maddelyn's gift bag and she was thriled! So out of all the party events and great gifts from everyone...the bubblegum was the best! She is so cute!

My Precious Child is Turning 3!

Today we are preparing for the girl's big birthday bash tomorrow. My how our princesses have grown! This is Maddelyn at her 1st birthday party enjoying her cake! The journaling reads: In our family we have the tradition of the 1st birthday cake. It is made of chocolate and is completely covered in icing! We of course let you make a huge mess!

It amazes me how much she's changed in the last 2 years, but at the same time she is exactly the same just bigger. I mean it is amazing to watch her learn new things and develop into the person God designed her to be. I would have to say though from the time she was a baby we could already see that STRONG Martin personality. (Yep Nathan it's ALL from you! :P) She is the goofiest, ham-it-up kinda gal, but at he same time so determined and strong-willed! A perfect mix of the two! Well, maybe just a tad bit too much bull-headedness in there? Nathan says it's all from me, but no.....I've heard stories about him when he was little! I guess if we are pointing fingers at where her personality comes from we could look at Grandpa David as well? When he dedicated her at 2 weeks old, he said her name meant "strong tower." Yep, that did her in. She is definitely a strong tower kinda gal!

Enough joking, she is such a precious gift of God to us! I can honestly say that God knew what he was doing when he send me Maddelyn. She is what got me through Nathan's deployment. Yes, we but heads quite a bit, but she keeps me on my toes. She always has me thinking...well why does that happen...where does this come from...who made that happen...and so. She is such an intelligent child! I say that she is a Princess, but Drama Queen is much more like it. Everything to Maddelyn is extreme...really happy...really excited...really silly...or really mad. That is how she lives her life...to the fullest! I might get frustrated sometimes with her stubbornness, but I admire her. She is living out her life to miss nothing God set before. She is taking life by the throat and not letting go.

It is kind of sad to see my oldest turn three tomorrow, but in a way it is exciting to see this new phase in her life begin. She now is officially a "pre-schooler" oh my! I hope that she has a wonderful time tomorrow at her Princess party with her cousins who turn 4. We have lots of fun things to do and lots to prepare before then.

Makes you think!

Here are a few...Make-ya-Think's. Gave me a few chuckles so I thought I would pass them on! Thanks Thena for posting them on 2Peas tonight!

Why isn't phonetic spelled the way it sounds?

If you can't drink and drive, why do you need a driver's license to buy liquor, and why do bars have parking lots?

If 7-11 is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, why are there locks on the doors?

If nothing ever sticks to TEFLON, how do they make TEFLON stick to the pan?

Why do they put Braille dots on the keypad of the drive-up ATM?

Why do we drive on parkways and park on driveways?

Why is it that when you transport something by car, it's called a shipment, but when you transport something by ship, it's called cargo?

You know that little indestructible black box that is used on planes, why can't they make the whole plane out of the same substance?

Why is it that when you're driving and looking for an address, you turn down the volume on the radio?

Why is it called a TV "set" when you only get one?

Why does your nose run and your feet smell? Why does an alarm clock "go off" when it begins ringing?

Why is it called a "building" when it is already built?

Why do they call them "apartments" when they are all stuck together?

Why is the word "abbreviate" so long?

Why did kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

What is another word for "thesaurus?"

Why do we sing "take me out to the ball game", when we are already there?

Why are they called "stands" when they're made for sitting?

Why is there only "one" Monopolies Commission?

Why is it when two planes almost hit each other it is called a "near miss?" Shouldn't it be called a "near hit?"

Why are there interstate highways in Hawaii?

When it rains, why don't sheep shrink?

If "con" is the opposite of "pro," is Congress the opposite of progress?

Why do they lock gas station bathrooms, are they afraid someone might clean them?

If man evolved from monkeys and apes, why do we still have monkeys and apes?

Could it be that all those trick-or-treaters who wear sheets aren't going as ghosts, but as mattresses?

Whose cruel idea was it to put an "s" in the word lisp?

If a man is standing in the middle of a forest speaking and there is no woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?

Isn't it a bit unraveling that what doctors and lawyers call what they do "practice?"

Is there a Fedaral agency you're supposed to call if you see an endangered animal eating an endangered plant?

If a turtle looses it's shell is it homeless or naked?

How do they get deer to cross the roads at those yellow signs?


Maddelyn is getting so excited for her birthday! Everyday we have this battle of trying to convice her "Today is not your birthday...it's Saturday." Let's just say I hope after Saturday she will stop asking if it is her birthday! She has been on this since her Dad's birthday Feb. 13th! I finally got her to leave it be by telling her that when the snow went away...it gets warm outside...and the flowers come up out of the ground it will be almost your birthday. Well today it was almost 60, and we say flowers in the landscaping of the post office. So...she thought TODAY WAS THE DAY! We were in Walmart and she actually got mad at me for not stopping by the bakery to pick up a cake! LOL! I told her you will get a cake, I promise...but ON your birthday! WHEW! The energy...determination of an almost three year old!


I finished a custom order project today. It is a altered journal for an 11 year old girl! I hope she likes it! If I were a journal kinda person I might just have had to make me one ot match! This was the first time I have used Heidi Swapp fuzzy rub-ons and I love them! Should have known, ANOTHER great product by Heidi! GREAT designer!

Just wanted to say a HUGE "Happy Birthday to you...Happy Birthday to you....Happy Birthday dear Alicia Burns...Happy Birthday to you!" Lots of love Sweetie! Wish we could have been there!

Procrastination????

This represents what I have been swamped with the past 3 days...LAYOUTS! I have proudly completed 24 pages in the past 2 1/2 days! Yep you can say I kinda procrastinated a few deadlines..oops! I guess that is what happens during campaign season. These are just 2 of the 12 that went to Cropper's Corner today. These are for the Rob and Bob Spring Layout Class. I also completed an adorable altered Easter paint can...but of course forgot to take any pictures before I dropped it off at the store. Now only 2 more custom items for ebay and then I caught up...well for now maybe? It is amazing to me how much God has blessed my addiction...uhum..."hobby." I was telling my aunt today that last National Scrapbooking Day I was attending my first crop and in 1 year, I have gone from novice, to teaching classes, to designing for a store, to now I am on a design team and teaching at the same crop that got it all started last year. Amazing! Thank you God! :D

I just wanted to say a huge HOORAY for Heather Preckle. She is the Design Team Coordinator for A2Z as well as part owner and last week she was announced as a Hall of Fame winner! Woo-hoo! I knew she had the talent! Great job Heather! You guys have to go to her blog and see the amazing work she does. Inspiring! http://heatherpreckel.typepad.com/ Also wanted to say that Heather and Heidi, I'm praying for your dad!

Well, they say that politics is a grueling game..I realize now that it is. I can't spill all the beans but basically we have been hearing a bunch of slander aimed back at my hubby and the sad thing is that almost all of it is true. We actually had someone quote scripture to us! WOW! Nothing like pointing out "sin" to the pastor's kid! Anyone who knows Nathan personally would get a kick out of that! He is the MOST upstanding, conservative, honorable, faith-based, pro-America, pro-military, pro-family man I believe I have ever met....(I have never met Mr. Graham in person :P LOL!) So anyone who knows him knows that all of this being said is garbage and nothing but an attack on his integrity. So with that said, we would appreciate your prayers during this last 5 weeks of the primary for not only the strength to carry on, for God's will to be lived out in our lives, and for His provision, but for the patience to take this all with a HUGE grain of salt! :P It's ALL part of his perfect will!

My Silly, Silly Girls!

Here are a few pics of my silly, silly girls! They both were in a crazy mood that day, so the pictures are not the best. Oh well, we had a great time taking them! Emma had in her very first hairbow that day. My child has a well...... hair growth limitation??? LOL! I guess maybe just when comparing her to Maddelyn who was born with a head full! Emma has hair, just in the back! It kinda resembles a mullet! :P It took hair glue (yeah they really make that stuff!) and a rubber band but we got that pony tail to stay! Funny think is that even after the band is out, her hair doesn't budge! Alph-alpha!

We made a crazy trip over the past 48 hours. Nathan had to clear supply with the TN National Guard in order to transfer to Ohio. Well, bad thing was that they needed him to do it in person! They said we could wait to the middle of April...but with a May 2nd primary????? So left Thursday night at 10:30 after a function, traveled through the night to TN, completed the supply clearance, had lunch with friends, and then drove home! Yep, we made it in around 2:30 this morning. We definitely are NOT as young as we used to be!

Nathan made the Washington Times this week! It is a great article, you guys need to check it out. We have been told that there is a second story coming out as well sometime this next week. http://washingtontimes.com/national/20060322-122734-5218r.htm

Our baby is getting so big! I just can't believe that she is already 17 months old. We had these pics taken a couple of days ago and it hit me that our baby isn't much of a baby anymore. She is joining her sister in growing up way to fast. She knows several words already, but speaks more Emma-ish than anything else. But believe me she still gets her point across! She is such a joy in our lives and we praise God for her everyday! No matter how crazy the day might get, Emma's smile makes it all worth while! Her dimples are just too much for one to handle! She lives up to her name in the fullest - Emma (full of life) Grace (undeserved GIFT from God!)

Our precious little girls are having birthdays! My SIL came over last week and did a photo shoot with all three girls for birthday pictures. I can't believe that the twins will be 4 and Maddelyn will be 3 already! WOW! Amazing how that happens! This is a layout I did with a few of the goodies I picked up last weekend. too much fun! Thanks for looking!