Happy New Year!!

Okay, I know you probalby think I've lost my mind...but I can't quit thinking about New Years Day today. The start of a new year means many different things to people--fresh starts, diets begin, new habits are formed, commitments are made--but for Joshua and I, New Years 2009 is going to be a day that changes our lives forever! We are SO EXCITED to FINALLY announce that on January 1 (at least somewhere around there), we are having a baby!!!! We are so thrilled & thankful to the Lord for giving us this sweet little blessing!

Here's how we got the news!! I went to the doctor towards the end of April for my yearly check-up and left with them telling me that I might be in the early stages of pregnancy--um...I didn't know whether to cry tears of happiness or laugh. :) They did a pregnancy test in the office and one of the lines was somewhat faint, so they decided to do some blood work as well and then told me that they would call me the next day to tell us the results. Talk about a LONG 24 hours!! Joshua and I were so excited, but at the same time, we didn't want to get too excited, just in case my blood work came back negative. So, being the patient people that we are, :) Joshua brought home a pregnancy test that night just for fun and this is what we saw. :)

Two red lines = POSITIVE!!!

My doctor called me the next day and told me that in fact, I was pregnant (yay!!!!), but he also mentioned that he wanted to keep an eye on me because some of my levels were a little low. Thankfully, they got me one some meds right away, and since then, my levels have been great.

On May 8th, the day our neice was born, Joshua & I had our 1st doctor's appt, and we were able to hear the sweetest sound I have ever heard....a little heart beat. It took everything in me not to sobb & Joshua could have shot through the roof with excitment. It's so funny how girls and guys react so differently...we were both so happy, but just showed it in completely different ways. :) I've always heard how special it is when you see YOUR baby for the first time and are able to hear the heart beat...but NOTHING could have prepared me or Joshua for what our hearts felt during that moment. It was so amazing!! After we left, we prayed & thanked the Lord for what we expereienced there in the doctor's office...something we will NEVER EVER forget.

So, its official...we're having a baby and we want the world to know how excited and grateful we are! Our prayer is that we will be the godly parents we need to be in order to raise this child in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. That is the most important thing to us!! Please keep us in your prayers that our pregnancy will be smooth and that our baby will be healthy! Here are some pictures from our 1o week check-up yesterday....enjoy! And thank you for celebrating with us!!

Baby Martin @ 10 weeks!

He was moving around like crazy in there.

You can really see it's arms & legs in this one!

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a great Memorial Day weekend...hope you did too! My in-laws live on the lake, so we spent the majority of our time being lazy @ their house. I'm always so thankful for long weekends...it was so relaxing and a much needed break from the busyness of life.

Saturday night, we celebrated Phillip's graduation from Southeastern Seminary, with a really nice dinner @ a restaurant in downtown Knoxville called Chesapeake's. He just finished his Masters and is now working on beginning his doctorate. We had a really great time and are so proud of Phillip for all of his hard work! Dr. Johnny Hunt is Phillip's FAVORITE preacher, so for his gift, Joshua and I asked Dr. Hunt to write Phillip a letter of congratulations and then had it framed. He LOVED it and his favorite part was that Dr. Hunt invited him to come to Atlanta & have lunch with him to celebrate his graduation. I think we won the prize for best gift. ;)

TOTALLY SURPRISED!!

Reading his letter from Dr. Hunt


Happy after a yummy dinner!

Sunday we went to church and then spent the rest of the day @ my in-laws. The weather was gorgeous so the boys decided to go golfing and me, Mandy, Sally and the kids sat by the lake and enjoyed the day! That night, after the guys got back, we ordered some pizzas and sat outside by the lake and talked till almost 11 PM. It was so nice not having anywhere to be or anything to do!


Monday morning we were up bright & early and at Joshua's parents again for a YUMMY Southern breakfast for the entire family. Our friends from church, Jennifer & David, and their sweet little boy, Eli, joined us as well. We ate way too much and had the best time playing on the lake. Here are some pictures of our fun day. Happy Memorial Day!!!

Joshua & Malachi on the jet ski!


Joshua's Uncle Mark is a hoot & always has something up his sleeve!!! Monday, he pulled up with this sign on his boat...certainly got a laugh out of all of us. :)

Taking a ride in "Phat Boyz" boat

Kelsey, Malachi, Maverick, & Aunt Lori

Me & Jennifer went too while the guys played on the jet ski!

Uncle Mark letting the boys help drive the boat.



Our handsome grillin machine. :)

Jen & David just before they wiped out on the jet ski...SO funny!

What An Opportunity!

My brother, Bradley, has been given an amazing opportunity to serve the Lord this summer!! A few months ago, he got a call from someone on staff @ Hume Lake Camp, in California, asking if he would pray about being their worship leader for summer camp this year. Now, if you know anything about Hume Lake Camp, it is one of the largest camps in the US--its incredible--and thousands of teenagers will pass through in just one summer. So of course, Bradley was THRILLED and honored that they even would ask him. He took several weeks to pray about his decision, talked with my mom & dad, and finally made the decision, that YES, this open door/opportunity was definitely a divine appointment for him.

This week he is in Nashville with his band recording a CD for the summer. It will be awesome! Then they leave on Sunday for Hume Lake to get ready for the summer. Can you just imagine how excited he must be? He loves to sing/lead worship/love on people more than anything and I am so happy to see how the Lord is blessing his humble leadership. Please pray for Brad this summer as God uses him to lead these kids in worship. That is a huge job and something I know he doesn't take lightly. B, we love you & are praying for you...have an awesome summer doing what you love to do most!! We are proud of you!

The Crazy Life of the Martins!

I have been missing from the blogging world for the last couple of weeks...but I promise, I have a GREAT excuse! I think we crammed as much as we possibly could into the last 2 weeks of our lives....Joshua & I moved into our new home, Phillip & Mandy had their baby girl, we celebrated 2 family birthdays and then with graduations, etc on top of that, our life has been crazy...but in a good way!

Here's a quick recap of what we've been up to:
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On May 8th, our neice Mary "Mahala" Martin was born @ 9:23 AM. She was 6 pounds 9 oz and was 20 inches long. She is absolutely BEAUTIFUL!! Here are a few pics

The last family picture before Mahala made her entrance into this world. I was there @ 6 AM to babysit while Phillip & Mandy went to the hospital & I also had the job of getting the boys ready and taking them to school...it gave me great appreciation for mommys and all they do!!!



Here's Mahala with her daddy minutes after she was born.

Our 1st picture!

Joshua is so sweet...he just sits and stares @ her. I think it was love @ 1st sight!



She's home and doing great!!!


The morning after Mahala was born, (May 9) we closed on our 1st Home! The closing went perfectly and by the end of the night, we already had ALL of our stuff moved in. Thank the Lord for family & friends who were willing to work so hard to help us. I don't have any pictures yet, but I hope to have some soon. Everything is coming along wonderfully and we absotluely LOVE our new home!! I was able to take a week off of work to get settled, so that was great, however, I don't think I want to do this moving thing again for awhile. :)

The rest of our month has been spent celebrating b-days, graduations, and I've also tried to help Mandy with the boys as much as possible while she gets adjusted to having another baby. She's doing great! Joshua and I also had dinner with our friends Seth & Jordan Dye this past Saturday night at their home. It was the most beautiful evening and we had a blast grilling out/talking. Thanks for the wonderful meal and for such a fun night guys!

The boys playing wii. :)

Jordan made some YUMMY brownies for dessert!!

Her LATE wedding present! Joshua gave Seth some tools...manly stuff of course.

Jordan & I got tired of watching the boys play wii, so we decided to watch a "chick flick". We crawled up on their bed and watched The Holiday, which is one of our favs!

Knoxville FG Festival

I LOVE the Billy Graham Association and I am constantly reminded of what an honor it was to work there for the short time I did. This past weekend, we had the Franklin Graham Festival here in Knoxville and it was AMAZING!! It reminded me of the very 1st time I attended a Festival back in 2004. Dolly was working in the team office at the time, and she invited me to come and stay with her there in Canada...so of course I went! I will never forget seeing all the people come forward to give their life to Christ....I had never seen anything like it before. Anyways, it was wonderful being able to re-live that experience again this weekend and it was SO fun being able to see some very special friends too. I was able to spend some time with Nancy (my boss @ BGEA), Amanda, and Ashleigh. We had the best time having lunch & catching up on life. Who would have ever thought that my life in Charlotte and my life in Knoxville would cross paths the way they did this past weekend....but I'm so grateful that they did!!

After a great lunch with Amanda & Ash @ the Hilton!

Me with Amanda & Nancy on the last night of the Festival

Amy, Juanita, Amanda, me, & Nancy

WOO HOO...we love American Idol, Phil Stacey!!

Not the best picture, but Nancy and I got the guts to ask MWS for a picture, so you better believe I'm going to post it!!! He was SO nice. :)


Phil Stacey bringing down the house

Gotta LOVE George Beverly Shay!!


MWS did an AMAZING job leading us into worship!!

Decisions that were made for Christ--PTL!!!