Family Fun in the Forest

Family Vacation came early this year. We usually go to Ocean Beach for a week in September but this year we switched it up and headed up to Hume Lake the second week of June. We started our journey at 9am on Saturday morning and finally reached our destination at 5pm Saturday night. It was a looooong drive. I found out I'm not very good with long drives. I don't think there will be any cross-country road trips in my future. Ivan kept telling me every hour on our way up "if we were going to the beach, we would be there by now." He loves to torture me. So we made it up the hill and started our week in the mountains. It was much different being up in the mountains. We were stripped of all the comforts of technology.....no tv, no cell phones, no internet. Just the 15 of us in one house.....it could have been a disaster but by the grace of God, it was wonderful !!! We stayed in the most beautiful cabin surrounded by the forest and the fresh air. We were about a mile from Hume Lake Christian Camps. We found plenty to do, hiking, fishing, bike rides, games, and food. Here's a peek at our week........

the caravan has arrived !!!!!
the kids on a hike with Nana & Papa.

Each evening we would make our way down to the camp and get milkshakes at the snack shop....they are the best milkshakes I've ever had.

yeah the kids liked them too :)

It's time for some fishing.....the boys all caught fish, big ones !!!!

Good job Benny and Mikey....you made Papa so proud.

It's the simple things that binds a family together...........

It's a family death march...oh I mean a family hike....silly me.

It's the girls, Kim, Mom, Me, and Linds.

taking in God's magnificent creation......the journey to get there, not so magnificent...but that's another story ;)

It's great to be climbing trees like a kid !!!! And this was a big one.......

I believe that God gave us trees like this to give us just a glimpse at how big He is !!!

such beautiful spot to spend the afternoon.....and yes that is me in the chair trying desperately to get cell phone service.....it was day 2 I was still in the midst of deep withdrawls.

Here we are the last day of our vacation and we still have smiles....that says everything :)
I Love my family.

Breaking Through Conference

I know that so many of my friends and family were praying for the Breaking Through Conference that I helped put together and I wanted to share with you all how it went. April 30th came quickly, much quicker than I had expected. Before I knew it I was at Calvary Costa Mesa and preparing for the conference. This day had been planned for almost a year, so it was awesome and scary to know that it was finally upon us. For those of you wondering how I got involved with planning this conference, here's the scoop. I had Lisa Musil, from White As Wool Ministries come and speak at a Purity Conference that I planned at our church CCSJ. After she spoke at our conference she felt that the Lord told her that she should do a conference at her church, Calvary Costa Mesa. She called me and asked if I would be willing to be on the Board and help plan that conference. I am so happy that I said yes, because this conference was such a blessing to be apart of. So anyway, I drove to Costa Mesa on Friday so that I could help Lisa with all the things that needed to be done. We were at the church setting up until almost 1 am!!!! We got back to her house and got a whopping 4 hours of sleep and then got up and started our marathon day. We started to check in our helpers and then the resource booths got there to set up and everything was ready to go. The speakers and some of the Board members gathered in the prayer room to pray. Nothing is worth doing unless you are willing to get on your knees and ask God to be there.

We were all suprised when girls started showing up early to register. By 9am we had a really long line of girls waiting to check in. It was so awesome !!!! Well, probally not for the girls standing in line but I thought it was awesome ;)

So it was finally time for the conference to get started!!! We had the Holly Starr Band there to kick it off. They did an awesome job. They are the greatest bunch of kids, so fun to work with.

We had 7 speakers in all. They did an amazing job. God spoke so clearly through each one of them. We were so blessed to get to hear about the struggles they have overcome and how they have victory in Christ Jesus.

Outside in the courtyard we had all of our resource booths set up. Satan tried to take them down with the Santa Ana winds but God calmed the winds!!! I about had an ulcer stressing out about the winds but God is always faithful. It was so cool to see the girls going to each booth and shopping and getting their photo taken at the photo booth. We had some amazing ministries that donated their time and resources to be there. It was so cool !!!!!

So that's the short version of how the day went. We were lucky to be apart of a Conference that God put together. We got to see Him move and touch people's lives. I feel so honored to have been able to watch that. Thank you everyone for your prayers !!!!!!!

Taking Time with the One You Love

There comes a time when you have multiple children and your life is crazy hectic that you look at your husband and he looks a little like a guy you used to date......that is when it's time to plan a vacation for just you and him !!!!! The time had come, it had been almost 5 years since Ivan and I last had a vacation together alone and it was way past due. He casually asked back in December if we could go on a short cruise together and I was way ahead of him. I had already planned a week long cruise up the Pacific Coast to Vancouver. I wanted so badly to suprise him with it however the suprise was spoiled by Valentines Day..... Oh well, it was still priceless to see his face when I confirmed what he already heard on the answering machine (thanks NCL lady who left the detailed message on the machine). We were both looking forward to some time together to relax, explore, and just have fun. So here are some of my favorite moments together:

Here we are bowling on our ship....

Going into the San Francisco Bay: Our favorite city, this was our 5th time to S.F. together and we always have so much fun there together.

This is where we spent most of our time on the ship, it was gorgeous and we would just sit and relax in the sun and Ivan would eat and eat and eat....there was a buffet right there. This explains the differences between us....I loved it because I was outside in the sun and it was quiet except the sound of the ocean, he loved it because there was an endless supply of food within 20 ft. of him......God knew what he was doing when he put us together ;)

This one is my favorite because I booked only 1 shore excursion for us and it was a Lighthouse tour in Astoria, Oregon. I booked it because it said the activity level was 1, which means that there was minimal walking and it was on level ground. Well.....that didn't end up to be true. There was a 3/4 mile hike to get to the first lighthouse. It really was a hike, up hill and on rock. My husband knew how badly I wanted to go to that lighthouse so he sucked it up and went for it. Everytime I looked at him I could see the pain all over his face but when I tried to stop he said "keep going" and it's things like that, that show me how much he loves me. It was cold and damp the worst weather conditions for him, but he never complained. The hike was gorgeous and the Lighthouse was awesome....so thank you honey for being the man that you are !!!!!!!

And finally, marriage is about compromise; Ivan endured the endless walking and I endured the juggling class !!! This is what my husband loves to do, well besides eating, he loves to be a kid !!! That is one of the reasons I fell in love with him. Our age difference has never been an issue because my husband it forever 10 years old at heart. He really wanted to do this juggling class so I sat and watched and took pictures of him. I know it meant alot to him that I was there so I went with a happy face :)

The vacation was great and the time with Ivan was even greater. We laughed alot, and ate alot, and explored alot. We made some great memories and I can't wait until the next time I get him all to myself !!!! For all my married friends, invest in your marriage, take the time, spend the money and do it !!!! The rewards are so worth it, a healthy marriage is the best gift you can give your kids.

Ivan I love you more today than ever, thank you for being the man that you are and for loving me the way that you do.

Family

This blog post is mostly for my family but I don't mind sharing it with everyone. Today I was looking through old pictures and it just hit me how incredibly blessed I am. My family is a gift from God and I know that sometimes I can take them for granted but today I am overwhelmed with thankfulness. We have been through alot the last several years....lots of good and some bad but through it we remain in tact. Some of the pictures I saw made me laugh so hard and others just warmed me up with happiness, some of them made me sad. We have been through alot together graduations, weddings, lots of babies, new houses, new jobs, vacations, losing loved ones, holidays, birthday parties, fights, make ups, surgeries, and so much more. I can't wait to see all that God brings us through in the next 10 years. I LOVE YOU !!!!!!!!!

Bi-Polar Christmas

It seems like Christmas comes around and the craziness begins and the month of December becomes like a whirlwind. I get caught up in it and sometime the first week of January it lets me go and I fall back down to earth with a big thud. This year has been different, I don't really know why but it has been slower and less hectic. This change has been nice but I find myself not feeling very Christmas-y(I know it's not a real word). Yesterday, I went shopping for my kids presents and I came home and realized I had no good hiding spot so I needed to wrap them and get them under the tree ASAP. So I locked myself in my room, put on my favorite Pandora station, and started to wrap. Somewhere between Josh Groban's Silent Night and Amy Grant's Noel, it hit me, how very very very blessed we are. Here I was surrounded by toys for my kids and even though I can't afford to buy my 5 year old the ipod he wants, he still gets gifts !!! They get to wake up Christmas morning in their warm house and go and get their presents. That is so much more than alot of kids in America right now. I hear so many parents talking about how stressed they are to find their kids these presents that they can't afford and I feel so bad for them. What a miserable way to spend your Holiday!!! I find myself wanting to give my kids all they want just to see the smile on their face, but what I've come to realize is that if I give them all they want that smile fades so quickly because nothing is ever good enough. They become spoiled rotten boogers and I don't like them :) I say that in the most loving way of course. Anyway, this has always been a struggle for me, how much is too much? How do we give our kids the things that they want but still keep them content? I'm not sure, and I look to the Lord to help me out with that. So as I sat on the floor of my room contemplating all of this I was thinking how blessed I am to have such great kids and at that very moment they sensed it. What is it, you ask? Well, we moms know that when we start to think of how great our kids are they suddenly become possesed!!! Is it just me or does this happen to you too? I promise you, the minute I think "wow, Benny is being really good today" he instantly turns into the naughtiest child on earth. So there I was in my Christmas-y heaven in my room and they all at once start screaming, there is a violent UFC match happening right outside my door. I can't open the door because their presents are everywhere in my room, so I start screaming at them. You better stop it!!!! I'm gonna take all these toys back to the store if you don't stop!!!! Don't make me come out there, you are gonna be sorry! Yep this is Christmas.....this is how it really is, moments of bliss and moments of utter pandamonium. Welcome to the Martinez house!!!!

Turkey, Football, Lights, & Trees.....

The Holidays are here and I couldn't be more excited. I look forward to November and December all year long and every year it goes by faster and faster. I wish I had a pause button I could push at all my favorite parts so that they could just stop long enough for me to take it all in. I have realized that with 3 kids I am always going to miss something. There is not enough of me to fully experience each event with each child. I grew up in a house where tradition reigned supreme! Every holiday had it's own set of traditions and they were never broken!!!(well, almost never) If my mother or father tried to do something "new" they would feel the wrath! Oh my poor poor parents.....how they tried to move the Christmas tree to a different room of the house, or thought it was a good idea to stay home for Thanksgiving instead of going to Bakersfield or when we didn't get calendar's with our stockings. To you these may seem like harmless things, but to us, it was a colossal travesty. I love tradition, it makes my world happy :) I know exactly what to expect, I look forward to these things in life that are exactly the same year in and year out. That is so rare these days, to have things stay the same. Our lives are riddled with change and I hate change so of course I love our traditions that NEVER change. Ok I may be a little OCD about it but it's who I am. I have had the daunting task of trying to come up with new traditions with my husband and our kids. I want them to be just as special as mine were when I was a kid. But slowly we have come up with our family traditions and I see my kids getting excited. This just makes me overjoyed!!!! I dreamed about my kids and how they would be growing up and to see them happy and healthy and loving life just makes me feel so blessed. I try to teach my kids that the holidays are not about what you get from people but the time you spend with your family and the memories that you make. The toys and that stuff, they will break and get lost and lose their fun; but the memories, the laughs, the love; that will never ever leave you. The Lord has blessed us so abundantly and I praise Him for the family I have. I pray that each one of you has a Holiday season full of love, laughs, and great memories.

Thankful

I have been thinking about thankfulness alot lately. I think when November comes around it's tradition for me to start thinking about how thankful I am for the many blessings in my life. Throughout the 10 years Ivan and I have been married, thankfulness was not always my strong point I have to admit. There were alot of years that I focused solely on the things that I didn't have and how my life could be better. The Lord took me down a tough road to show me all that I had to be thankful for. 3 years ago I can remember picking up a book entitled "Surrender" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss to read for a small group I was in. I didn't know what was about to hit me when I opened that pretty little purple book. The first time I picked it up to read it I only got maybe 2 pages in and threw the book across the room and swore to never pick it up again. Can you tell I had a little bit of an issue????? Now I can laugh about it, but then I really struggled. Here is an excerpt from "Surrender" that I really love :

When it comes to uncertanties that keep us from sacrafice, surrender, and slavery to God, we, like Abraham, have "exceedingly great and precious promises" from God's Word-promises that powerfully counteract our deepest fears. If we trust those promises and the God who has made them, we will be given courage to make each sacrafice He asks of us. If we do not trust God's promises and, therefore, do not step out in faith and surrender, we will ultimately find ourselves in bodage to the very things we refuse to surrender. We will end up being controlled by that which we are seeking to keep within our own control.

You may be thinking what does that have to do with being thankful??? Well, for me it went hand in hand. I couldn't truely be thankful until I surrendered all of my wants and needs to the Lord. Not that I have perfected that ;) But 3 years has gone by since I first read that book and it has a profound affect on me still. I have learned to be thankful for all the small things in my life and for the big things. There will always be things in our lives that could be better and there will always be things that I think I "need" but ultimately God knows best. He wants the best for me!!!! That is one of his precious promises!!!!!! Not one day has gone by that I don't thank the Lord for my home, my husband, my kids, my cars, my church, my family, my friends. There will always be someone out there who has more than me and there will always be someone out there who has less than me. I am sooooo happy to be in a place where I am content with what the Lord has blessed me with. I don't ever want to repeat the road it took to get here but I am BLESSED!!!!!

"This is the day the Lord hath made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!"