Summer and the Snowgirl

Summer and her first Snowgirl.

Winter storm #2

It started snowing yesterday and within 3 hours we had this much snow. This morning it looks like we have close to a foot. More pictures to come.

PS-Summer is in my lap while I have been on the computer and I jst looked down to find her asleep. No wonder she wasn't moving!

Summer Marie_8 months

Summer Marie Martin is 8 months old!

Milestones: Summer does a version of crawling. Kind of a pull up-scoot (repeat)

She has 2 bottom teeth. They came in and I didn't even know. My mom put her finger in her mouth and said I feel a tooth. Sure enough it was there and then the next day the other one popped up. Goes right along with the fact that I didn't know I was having contractions.

Her most recent expression is this hacking laugh. It sounds like a cross between a cough and a choke. She was doing it in all of the "8 month" pictures.

Another facial expression that Summer has mastered is the POUT. She has inherited my bottom lip and she uses it! If she wishes she was being held, bottom lip comes out. If she wishes she could hold the remote, bottom lip comes out. If she wishes you didn't take the comb away from her, bottom lip comes out.

Summer loves electronics. We have finally found one that she can play with...the calculator. Introducing the future CFO of the Martin family.We toured the Biltmore this month and it was amazing! The home was enormous and the grounds even in the dead of January were beautiful. We are going to purchase season passes so we can go on a weekly basis. How cool that Summer can say she grew up playing on the lawn at the Biltmore. Not actually the front lawn...more like the gardens.

We are so happy to be living close to family. Gramma got to go to with us to the Biltmore. Summer was an angel on the tour. She was in the baby bjorn; awake, alert and happy.

Chad and I had a blast in the conservatory. We took like 30 pictures in 15 minutes. Every plant was so unique we wanted a picture in front of it.

This one's for you

I know that the majority of you who have been reading our blog this month have felt heart ache for our family over the loss of my two perfect nephews, Jake and Ben. We thank you for your love and prayers. Life is sad and tough and quite simply sucks at times. But that isn't the end of the story. For those of us who have faith in a loving God there is hope, love and joy.
Jake and Ben have opened my eyes to my life's roadmap, the Bible. Before now, I viewed the Bible as a book of history and since I don't really like history (sorry Doug) I didn't read it. However, when the going got tough I turned to scripture and wouldn't you know it...there are some really inspirational one liners in there.

Below is an email from Jay and Jen. This is a real testimony of what God can do in your heart if you're open to his love.
******************
Jen and I send this email out to you broken hearted. God is good and we know that he has a plan for us though we know not what it is and can't understand it now. Our motto is still Day by Day, Lord Thank You For Today.

After all the fighting that we had in us, Benjamin Lane Savage went to be with his brother Jacob William Savage and heavenly Father on Wednesday January 20th at 2:55am. Both of our boys were born into this world too early without a fighting chance to live here on earth with us. We fought so hard for them but it was not meant to be. Jake and Ben were PERFECT in every way. We have prayed so hard as so many of you did to God that our will be His will. We know that our prayers were heard but that His plan is alot bigger than ours.

We wanted to thank all of you for the emails, cards, flowers, prayers, and food. We would read the emails and cards out loud to give us strength. So many of you sent us words of encouragement and scriptures that we could lean on that helped us make it through each day with HOPE for the next. We want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You helped us make it through.

Jen and I had so many dreams of what our lives were going to be like with the buddies. We dreamed of little league, with Jen cheering from the stands and I coaching from the dugout. We dreamed of them water skiing for their first time. I dreamed of them catching their first bass and killing their first deer. I dreamed they would be linebackers and play for the Tide. We did get to watch the entire season and the national championship with them. Our ultimate dream for Jake and Ben is that they would grow up knowing and loving God and that they would spend eternity in heaven with Him. Our ultimate dream has come true!

"And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Cor 13:13

It has been an amazing journey over these past 3 weeks the amount of love that Jake and Ben have inspired in us. Our love for God has grown to heights unseen in our lives before. I had always thought that we would grow closer to Him when we got more active in church activities, small groups and bible studies. That was not His plan. He knew that this is how we would grow closer to Him. Our love for each other has grown by leaps and bounds. I have seen the kind of mother she is by the sacrifices that she made to try and do everything in her power, so unselfishly, to try and save her boys. She was willing to take it to a point where her life was in danger so that they could live. Her body was physically frail and beaten by the weeks of bedrest. She never got out of bed once and never complained, and her mindset was that she would do whatever she could to save the buddies. Our love for our families has grown so much as they took it upon themselves to try and make our lives as comfortable as possible given our circumstances. We had hot meals cooked every night. The love our families have for each other has also grown. The staff at UAB showed so much love to us as we had nurses witness to us when we needed it, make us laugh at down times, and give us encouragement and hope when we needed it most. God has put all these people in our lives at just the right time. Our sweet nurse Debbie, who helped Jen deliver our sweet boys, came to visit us the night after they were born and gave Jen a necklace with an angel and the words "If we ever wish to know angels for what they truly are...perhaps it is we who must first learn to fly".

I pray now that you would ask God to be with Jen to heal her body and give her strength for a quick physical recovery. I pray that you would ask Him to be with the both of us and to heal our hearts as we learn to fly. I pray that Jake and Ben will watch over us always and comfort us in our times of need. We are so thankful that He sent His Son to die the ultimate death so that Jake and Ben can spend eternity in heaven safely in His arms forever, never knowing the burden of sin or evil deeds.

Jake and Ben, You will be in our hearts always and forever! We love you so much!
****************

Life's Trials

Early Wednesday morning, January 20, 2010, baby Benjamin Lane Savage was born and went to join his brother Jacob William Savage in Heaven. They have brought so much love into their parents hearts and, of course, Jay and Jen were sad they couldn't spend a lifetime with them here on Earth. These boys have changed the hearts of many. They have brought all those that loved them closer to God and quickly put in order our priorities. They will be missed.

I know that some of you who are sweet enough to follow along with our life have been through devastating losses similar to Jay and Jen. I would value your words of wisdom on how to comfort and support them in this journey of grieving and recovery. If you don't want to comment in public you can email me personally at janasavage@hotmail.com.

Lately it has been brought to my attention that every Christian has trials. And they hurt. Chad and I have found (I'm sure God pointed us there) a church that immediately fit. They started a series on Restart and at the end of the sermon members wrote their life situations on one side of the cardboard and then flipped it over to show how God had Restarted and where they are now. I was amazed at the amount of grief and heartache that so many of the members had gone through but were recovering from. It really sank in that you never know what is going on in someone else's life behind the nice clothes and pretty smile.

After I heard the news of Ben's birth I drove to Birmingham and I turned the radio to the Christian station and instead of music they were airing a sermon on What to do with Trials from the series When Life is Hard by James McDonald. Typically I am not the type of person who would listen to a sermon on the radio however this seemed to fit my situation perfectly. It was based on Hebrews 12 and basically the bible says all Christians are going to get it. Trials are coming your way. God uses trials to discipline us. Not discipline like, you have been bad, but discipline like training. We are to use these discipline life lessons to shape our character.
Hebrews 12:11-13
"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strenghten your feeble armes and weak knees. Make level paths for your feet so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed."

I pray for whatever trial you may be going through or may have already endured. That you will be trained by it and that righteousness and peace is headed your way.

Mercy

I couldn't go to bed tonight for a pull in my soul to read the Bible.
I started reading in Psalms and came across these verses.
As a bad situation is turning worse I can only turn to God for direction.

Psalms 143:1,4-8
1)Oh Lord, Hear my prayer,
Listen to my cry for mercy;
in your faithfulness and righteousness
come to my relief.
4)So my spirit grows faint within me;
my heart within me is dismayed.
5)I remember the days of long ago
I meditate on all your works
and consider what your hands have done
6)I spread out my hands to you
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land
7)Answer me quickly, Oh Lord
my spirit fails
Do not hide your face from me
or I will be like those who go down to the pit
8)Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love
for I have put my trust in you
Show me the way I should go
for to you I lift up my soul

Mighty to Save

As my heart aches for my brother and Jen who lost one of their twins, baby Jake, over the weekend I was reminded in church that our God IS mighty to save. And that he is watching over Jay, Jen and baby Ben.

Jesus shine your light on Ben!

Please scroll down to the bottom of my blog and view the music video.

Mighty to Save lyrics by Hillsong United
Everyone needs compassion
Love that's never failing
Let mercy fall upon me

Everyone needs forgiveness
The kindness of a savior
The hope of nations

Savior, he can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save
He is mighty to save

Forever, author of salvation
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as you find me
All my fears and failures
Fill my life again

I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in
Now I surrender

Saviour, He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save
He is mighty to save
Forever, author of salvation
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave

Shine your light and let the whole world see
We're singing for the glory of the risen king

All my love and prayers go out to Jay, Jen and Ben.

Mathematics

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEN!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUCY!
This
Minus
Plus loads of this
Plus smart & reasonable portions of this
Will hopefully get me back to this

In time to run the Spring into Action 5K on March 27th. Anyone want to come join me?

Video-Summer Talking

Here is a short video of Summer "talking."

Basically I held the flip under my armpit so that she wouldn't notice I was filming her. Otherwise, all she will do is look at the camera and stop doing all her "tricks."

Enjoy-Jana

Updates Updates

The Twins Update: Jay and Jen are doing as well as can be expected. They are keeping a positive attitude and God is working in their hearts during this challenging time. Amazing how a challenge really brings you closer to God. The Twins are growing and thriving thanks to their sweet Mommy who is supplying them with the best little home in her belly. They saw Baby A hit Baby B in the back yesterday. Those boys are rough housing already! Thanks for all of your prayers and continue to keep them up.

Mommy Update: Being Summer's mom at this very moment is so much fun! She is almost 8 months and THIS is what I thought she would be like at birth, ha ha. Now that she can smile, laugh and scream with joy it is SO much more rewarding for me. We can now play dress up and smile for the camera (I seriously had some looney tune idea that she would be born a "baby" but reality quickly taught me the definition of an "infant").

Summer and Lucy

This picture was taken later in the day after we had stripped our tights and lost some of our happy energy.

Kitchen Update: Listen, my Aunt Pam is the sweetest women in Florida, and I know she didn't mean anything sarcastic with her comment regarding my grammer but I laughed out loud that I didn't know what an alliteration was and yet she teaches that in her First Grade class. Wow, do I need to a refresher class or what! Thanks Aunt Pam, I will never forget that word from now on.

And here is the Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole recipe from the Heavenly Delights (Jenks Ave. Church of Christ) cookbook submitted by my cousin Tiffany.

8 oz sour cream

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1/3 cup milk

2 tsp. poppy seeds

1 cup Minute Rice

1/2 cup water

cooked, chopped chicken (about 4 breasts)

1 pkg Ritz crackers, crushed

1 stick butter melted (I think you could use less)

Mix the first 6 ingredients together. Stir in chicken. Place in 9x13 baking dish. Top with crackers. Pour melted butter on top. Bake 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees.

Martin Review - Chad and I loved this receipe and we will add it to our family staples. In fact I will be making it again this weekend when Mom and Larry come to visit.

Amazing Discovery in the Kitchen

First the Disclaimer...this kitchen discovery is "amazing" to me and may not be amazing to everyone.

Now let's proceed.

One of my 2010 goals is to diversify my delicious dinners (I couldn't help but triple use the D-word and I am sure that is called something in grammer). So where do I turn first but to my trusty southern cookbooks from Jenks Avenue Church of Christ. And of course I must make the recipes that my cousins Tiff and Mook submitted as well as Aunt Pam. Last night I made Tiff's Poppyseed Chicken Casserole and it was delicious (see below).

Well I let the dish soak overnight and this morning the bubbling butter (and possibly the PAM that I sprayed the dish with) that made the dish so yummy simply wouldn't come off with my scrub brush. Up until now I would have thought, oh well that dish is ruined. And now the aha moment...I used a Scotch Brite Stainless Steel pad and magically all the brown came off.

Yawn, right!

Wrong, this was a break through for my kitchen because yall, I have alot of pans that have that brown on them. So I broke them out and cleaned them all...of course in my pink dishwashing gloves. No I don't use the pink dishwashing gloves to protect my manicure because I haven't had one of those in months-not that I wouldn't want a manicure, along with a pedicure, a smaller waistline, thicker hair, longer legs-I wear the pink dishwashing gloves for motivation! I put those on and it gives me the extra energy to get the job done. Along with my Dad's voice in the back of my head that says, if your going to do it then do it right. I translate that to if your going to clean one pan then clean them all.

BEFORE
AFTER

While I am on a cleaning rampage...I also hear my Dad's voice in my mind when I am vaccuming. I sometimes think, oh I'll just skip that area because it would cause me to unplug the vaccum and replug closer (seriously, what a loser excuse Jana)...so of course, Dad always wins in my mind and I do a thorough job.

Well what is the moral of this rambling post. I think what I am trying to say is that you should always cook with a cute apron on and clean with hot pink gloves and if you have to go to the Post Office get dressed up in your cute dry clean only clothes.
Forgive me...this post is a little over the top pointless and crazy.

We are the Champions!

Can I get a BIG ROLL TIDE!

Summer in her Bama dress clutching her elephant (the girl doesn't have a prayer where her allegiance is).

And look how giddy she got when I said Nick Saban's name....just like her mama!

I have to say it feels really good being THE BEST, #1, Champions of College Football! In our house we will be soaking in the victory until the 2010 season begins.

Just Another Day in the Martin House

Monday was Day 1 of my new 2010 "organized" schedule. EVERY minute of my day was accounted for. I exercised, showered, prepared a hot lunch and dinner.

Tuesday, Day 2, was nowhere near as successful as Day 1. Spent 2 hours on the phone trying to get our internet back up and working, Sampson had 3 seizures (urine and slobber cleanup x3), plus Sampson went #2 in the sunroom and then fell in it tracking it all over (thank goodness he was confined to one room).

Wednesday, Day 3, back on track - exercised and took Sampson to the vet. Plus I have completed a fun craft project for Jay and Jen. And as I type right now I have Elmer's glue crusting on my fingers...which I will enjoy peeling off before I go to bed.

I guess 2 out of 3 means this week has been a success so far but boy has it been eventful!

Thank goodness to my new washer and dryer that we got over the weekend, yeah! They are getting broken in real quick. They aren't fancy but they are new and clean and work. By the way, this is the first washer and dryer that I have ever purchased (all others were kindly donated) and I learned that the price beside the picture of a washer and dryer is only the price of 1 of them...you marketing execs got me!

And take a look at Frenchie before we went shopping...

And after shopping...

Summer really is a happy baby. Everytime you smile at her she smiles back. Here are a few pictures I had to share.

Summer has been wearing RED the past 2 days in honor of her beloved CRIMSON TIDE! Tomorrow she will be wearing her new Christmas Bama Dress...stay tuned for pictures!

Go get 'em Bama - ROLL TIDE!

Thank You

So often in life when others try to lend me a helping hand my first reaction is to refuse in order to prove my independence, strenght, drive, passion. In 2010 I am going to open myself up for others to help me. I am going to simply say Thank You when offerings are given rather than be so tough. This applies to many areas of my life.
I struggle to write this as I hesitate to show weakness but I am going to do it anyway because it isn't about being strong anymore. I need your prayers for my brother and sister-in-law who are expecting twin boys. They are experiencing complications and we need everyone available to drop to your knees and talk to God on their behalf. Please pray for Jen and the boys' health and for Bud's heart to handle the helplessness. It is at these moments that we need God to hold our hand to keep us from just crumbling. Tom Petty was right, "The WAITING is the hardest part!" However we know God can do ANYTHING and in the larger picture when are we ever in control. God is in control and he is looking out for us.
Love to all you Savages!