My Mom...a Heaven mover and Earth shaker

My mom had 4 full-time jobs. I know it's hard to believe one woman could manage 4 jobs at one time, but it's true.  Her place of employment was called HOME and her full-time job had 4 different names...Carey, Heather, Holly & Corey. She was and will always be the best mom for so many reasons. Of course the number one obvious being she birthed us ( I have new appreciation for this act of service, since giving birth to my daughter Haven almost 2 weeks ago) but then she did things like let us roller skate in the kitchen, cleaned up every fort we ever made, and cooked dinner every single night...sometimes making something out of nothing; those dishes being called "Judy Martin Specials".  She drove us to friend's houses, soccer games in Tim-Buck-Too, washed all our clothes, sat at the bar in our kitchen countless hours to listen and absolutely made whichever house we were living in a home.

As I have gotten older she has become a firend, but most importatnly she has stayed my mom.  She will always be my mom. I can find lots of friends, but I will only ever have 1 mom and I want her to stay that role model, guide and sounding board in my life.  Even growing up while I know she worried from time to time, like when I drove with 3 girlfriends the entire way to Florida for Spring Break...geesh, what was I thinking...she gave us this incredible amount of freedom to make our own choices.  My parents led with the notion that they would  commit to putting so much truth into us that truth would be our first reference in the face of every temptation, pressure or decision.  My mom's tireless efffort to invest what would add up to millions if it could be calculated in dollars, stirred this deep desire in me to not disappoint.  I wanted to please my parents.  their nod of approval, their endorsement or prasie was as if heaven was applauding.

In addition to her incredible gift of time and love into us she remained the most selfless person I know.  While she had 4 "jobs" at home she would get odd jobs to help out when someone needed braces, there was a vacation being planned or there were 3 weddings on the upcoming calendar.  I look back and am not always sure how she did it...but she did, and it not only spoke to her 4 kids it has spoken loudly to the world.  Her love didn't stop within the walls of our house it stretched way into the streets of Columbia to a Cuban immigrant named Hilda, and into a church pew to help a single mother named Sharon. My mom's love leads her to train stations in the pouring rain to clothe the unlovely and she has a gift of finding grace to love those that never intend to love her back.  Her love brings her to her knees in prayer...literally bridging the gap for those that don't know Him or seem to want Him. Her love somehow miraculously enables one pan of lasagna to feed every visitor whether she knew they were coming or not. Her love keeps the phone to her ear, listening, guiding the lost soul at the other end of hte line.  How is this much love possible? It's because her love is really HIS love.  She knows the Father's heart. She knows his love. She seeks it daily and finds it.  She knows her Father in heaven...He is not just a man in a white robe...He is her friend, her strength, her grace, her courage...her LOVE.  He is with her at the train tation, on the streets, in the kitchen, on the phone and loves to meet her while she's on her knees.

Bill Johnson says in his book "When Heaven Invades Earth" that "faith moves heaven, so that heaven can move Earth."  This is my mother. Her faith, her love, moves heaven on a daily basis and in return this Earth is moved, it's loved, it's changed by the power of the Holy Spirit because of one person's faithfulness.  My mom has made loving Him and loving people her full-time job.  And that's something I can aspire to. 

I love you Mom...Happy Birthday, may He continue to shine His face upon you.

My mama still has kisses for her firstborn daughter minutes

 after becoming a mama myself.

Chief & Grammy meeting Haven, grandchild #10

The Stool Chaser...

Last month was my twin sisters birthday...I got behind on blogging, but I do have a tribute to them, I will just have to post that on a random day. This week my "little" brother Corey turns 29...one more year until the big 3-0 :)  So here's to you Corey...completely diesel on the outside and 100% passion on the inside.  It's called real strength.

Holly, Carey, Corey & Heather...blessed.

Question. Who can you loathe and love all at the same time?  Answer. A little brother.  You love him when he's brought home from the hospital, sweet and innocent. You loathe when he's about 10 and shows off for every friend you bring home.  You love him when he sits next to you on the big orange chair in the living room and affectionately lays his head on your shoulder. You loathe when he chases you around the house with a stool!  You love him when he steps onto the basketball court, plays like a champion, and makes you feel proud.  You loathe when you stay up at night worried about him.  Ultimately you love him. You loathed some of the terrorizing, but ultimately you LOVE him.  You love him even when you are away at college, you call home and end your conversation by saying, "I love you Corey", and there is silence at the other end of the phone. And because you love him you say it again, but hang up without an answer because you know he loves you too...his words have just escaped him.


My brother Corey and I are only 5 years apart in age. Today almost being 34 and him being 29...5 years seem so trivial.  But when you are 5 and you have a new baby brother...well that's BIG!  That's show n' tell material. That's a "baby doll" to play with. And I did.

I'm 5, he's 1 :)

28 and 33 :)

Like the day we were all working in the strawberry patch (sounds so Little House on the Prairie...in reality it was the only thing we could grow...haha!)  Mom had the rototiller roaring, was unable to hear a thing, including the announcement I was trying to make that Corey had dropped a serious bomb in his diaper.  So, naturally I decided to take matters into my own hands and haul this kid inside for a diaper change.  It was simple.  Carry him inside, brave the stairs, and lift him onto the counter top and change the STINKY diaper.  But I concluded quickly that I needed better leverage. Being nose level with the atomic bomb was not a good situation.  So thank goodness we were behind on laundry!  I suppose typically any family of 6 usually is. I moved the pile of laundry in front of the vanity, stepped up onto the heaping pile of dirty clothes and now had easy access to his poppy bum.  Bada bing bada boom. Clean diaper, mom uninterrupted, and big sister feeling pretty important.

mom and her boy

And when you are 15 and he's 10...well you believe you are from different planets.  You are on the planet of, "I'm too cool for words, don't look at me wrong or I'll cry" and he lives on the planet of, "I'm so annoying and relentless my life's goal is to make you miserable". When people on these two planets collide it can mean full fledged combat.  Remember the chase scene with the stool I mentioned earlier?  It was always on nights when mom and dad went to church and "us kids" stayed home by ourselves.  I insisted that they remind Corey that I was "in charge", but when Heather beat him at Super Mario Brothers for the 15th time, no one cared who was in charge.  Anger set in and somebody was getting chased with a stool.  But amidst the occasional "war" there were so many truces.  Like the nights we promised ourselves we would not watch "Unsolved Mysteries", but did anyway and huddled together on the couch to stay safe.  Or when Corey begged and begged for my Michael W. Smith poster, only for me to give it to him and have him return it the next day because he was SURE Michael's eyes moved at night.  I loved jumping off the school bus, running down the basement steps and grabbing 4 pints Haggan Daaz ice cream we had acquired from Nelson Habecker, a dairy farmer from our church, who sold milk to them and I guess in exchange got all the "Death by Chocolate" pints he wanted.  He kept us supplied.  We would dive into the ice cream while watching Dennis the Menace...a perfect way to defrag from a hard day of elementary school.  And of course I will never forget the summer nights of making home videos and then lining up the sleeping bags in my bedroom because I always managed to get my room cooler than all the rest. 

Classic...haha!

These moments were priceless and I realized that immediately when I went off to college.  The little brother that I thought I couldn't wait to get away from became the person I missed the most.  Corey continued to remind me from time to time that he was still the "little" brother, like the night he decided to pull a cruel prank and slid into the end of my bed while I was in the bathroom, only to grab my ankle as I crawled in...sending me into a fury of fear.  I shrieked. He laughed.  Proving once again, I was the big sister and he was the little brother.


Truly the stories are endless and they will continue to be because God had a plan when he created families...when he created big sisters and little brothers.  Today we bike at the gym, grab coffee and just "chat it up" as we like to say at Prince Street Cafe, or sing on Sunday mornings together. Over the years this little brother has now become a husband and a father, and an amazing one at that.  A little while back we drove Corey and Malia, his oldest, to the airport to board a plane for California to join Carrie, Noa and the rest of her family for Christmas.  As we pulled away, I glanced back through the cloud of exhaust and saw my little brother standing there on the curb with HIS little girl and I wondered...how had this happened so quickly?  How had we all grown up so fast? Weren't we just watching Saved By the Bell together last week?  I'm beginning to believe that times does "fly", which reminds you to cherish the past, embrace the future, but live for today.


And growing up isn't all that bad.  As you grow up you realize that all the things you thought you loathed you actually loved.  It's been ALL LOVE...ALL the time for my little brother.


You are an inspiration to me Corey. If someone asked me to describe you in 6 words or less I would without a doubt say..." A man after God's own heart."


I love you. Happy Birthday!

Corey & Noa napping at Raystown Lake

The Martin's

Corey and his beautiful wife Carrie

...another nap, but with Malia :)

now that's one cool dad...he had a pretty good example :)

For Today...

 I'm usually known to be more of a "woman with many words". Rather than making a "long story short"...I tend to make a "a long story longer"...haha.  My tongue gets tied, I cut myself off, and words refusing to populate my brain fast enough occassionally stand in between what's in my heart and what actually gets said. But when it comes to putting words on paper, well that's usually where I feel like my sincerest, most heart felt words live most clearly.

But sometimes there are so many thoughts racing in this brain of mine I hardly know where to begin. There's still something "magical" about handwritten letters, notes and journals (I am a firm believer in never letting this "art" die)...although being able to tinker away at a keyboard is technology I would hate to live without.


 Last night I found an outline if you will, for simply recording, in just a few words, in just a few minutes...things that define TODAY.  I like it.  It gives this chatterbox, thought overloaded, slightly high strung person a way to make the long story short, and yet still in words encapsulate another beautiful, blessing of a day.  Thought you might like the outline to help you record some of your most precious and most ordinary of days :)
So here it is...


FOR TODAY: February 29, 2012 LEAP YEAR


Outside my window:  it is pouring rain, damp and there is a chill in the air. But...yeah!!! The pansies I just planted are getting watered!


I am thinking: if my child decides to make his/her debut today...they will only have a birthday every 4 years.  good for my wallet, but bad for them...haha :)


I am thankful for: God's forgiveness


From the kitchen: yikes, not a good day for kitchen creations.  Reagan and Shannon went out for dinner...soooo, I ate cereal, fruit, fudge popsicle, crackers...wow, what a mish mosh!


I am wearing: jeans, pink v-neck and my slippers


I am creating: a blog entry :)


I am going: to meet Jess Daly for coffee at the Coffee Company at 10:30 am


I am reading: Baby Wise for the 2nd time (last minute brush up)


I am hoping: my sweet child decides they want to meet me soon!


I am hearing: The Fray station on Pandora


Around the house: I'm not sure there is one more cubby, drawer, closet, knook or cranny that could be cleaned :)


One of my favorite things: daffodils in the spring. just put a few on the dining room table today.


A few plans for the rest of the week: HAVE A BABY...haha :) Unfortunately, this can't be "planned"...and that's ok :)


Here is a picture for thought I am sharing...