the month of may

This past month has been very busy and fun.
Here's a look at what I've done. (I do enjoy rhymes.)

Finished work at the Callier Center...even had my employment "terminated" -harsh.
GRADUATED... 3 days of thrills!
Saw Lady Antebellum & Kenny Chesney - one in the rain and one in the sun.
Outran dangerous weather on foot...twice.
Enjoyed 3 weeks of "retirement" - probably about all I could handle.
Went to camp with Miss Ashley to see Liz and Emily...and everyone else.
Had a little bit of deja vu as I moved BACK to Waco - this time without 12 flights of stairs.
Took a road trip to Colorado for Air Force Academy graduation. Awesome.
Discovered somewhere along the way that the state of Kansas has 1/2 the population of Houston.
Returned to Texas to find that summer has definitely arrived.

I start work June 1st... will have to let you know how the 1st week goes :)

What a great week!

This has been an excellent last week in Dallas. Technically, I'll be here next week.. but this is my last week of working and living in Dallas before I start packing like crazy.

Monday we celebrated eCast's 25th birthday with a delicious home-cooked meal and fabulous black bottom cupcakes.
Tuesday... Cinco de Mayo celebration at Chuy's. Mmm, free queso.
Wednesday I got to meet Abby. What a sweet pea.
Thursday... Beckley BrewHouse.
Friday: LAST DAY OF WORK. Got to wear jeans and go home at 12!

What a great week!

And baby makes 6!

...little Martin girls, that is.
Introducing Abigail Hope, born on Cinco de Mayo at 5:29 a.m.!

She is 6 lbs and 19 inches. Here are her lucky sisters/cousins...

Cinco de Mayo

In case you were wondering (as I was)...

Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for "fifth of May") commemorates the Mexican army's unlikely defeat of French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. The outnumbered Mexicans defeated a much better-equipped French army that had known no defeat for almost 50 years.

While Cinco de Mayo has limited significance nationwide in Mexico, the date is observed in the United States and other locations around the world as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride. A common misconception in the United States is that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico's Independence Day, which actually is September 16th, the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico.

adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinco_de_mayo

MAY 2009

I can't believe it is finally, really, actually MAY 2009. My classmates and I have been waiting for this for the better part of 4 years, thinking it may never come. And here it is. Everything is starting to fall into place for graduation...

Haircut: Check.

New fun dress: Check.

Regalia: Check.

Hooding tickets: Check.

Graduation tickets: Check.

So now I'm just waiting for the next week to come and go so my mom can come up and help me get ready for the big day, followed by the big move to Waco. I'm ready for Mothers' Day, too, so if we could just fast forward this next week that would be super!

Love these girls!

These pictures were taken at Thanksgiving and Easter... I just noticed the girls are sitting in the same order. We have the best swingset ever!

Becca (2 1/2),Ramona (3 1/2), Rachel (4 1/2), Hannah (5 1/2)

storytime!

This was written by my mom, but I wanted to share it...

If you’ve joined the Butler family at Easter, you know that we are big fans of gathering together to celebrate. I’m positive the kids in our family would surely call Easter our family’s biggest tradition. We love gathering family and friends and having a big day of food, fun and fellowship.

This year, as I’m putting away the plastic eggs and continuing to clean colorful confetti out of the house and sidewalks, I find myself wanting to acknowledge the inspiration for this annual family holiday. Her name was Shirley Butler, my mother in law. Ed and I both have fond memories of family Easters as children; however, neither celebrated Easter as grandly as we do now. We wouldn’t miss it. I’ve often said that sometimes two plus two equals five . . . it’s momentum that often blossoms something normal into something much larger.

Granny’s first granddaughter, Lauren, was born on Thursday, March 31st. That year, in 1983, Lauren’s first full day on earth was Good Friday and we came home from the hospital just in time for Easter Sunday lunch. Thanks to a capable, loving husband and excited brand new father, who could then, and 26 years later still can enlist the troops, our first family Easter lunch came off as a big hit. Grandparents, aunts and uncles arrived that Easter morning to be on the “Welcome Home” and “Happy Easter” fun committee. Each Easter just grew from that big day forward in our lives.

Grandma Moore, Aunt Peggy, and Aunt Linda particularly jumped right in and helped us celebrate. The next year, Lauren was just old enough to venture out to the backyard and proclaim with each and every colorful egg: “UH OH!” - and now years later our family has another set of little girls to share the excitement.

My favorite moment of this Easter actually came the morning after the big egg hunt in our front yard. I was tipped off that the Easter bunny might have visited our mailbox and there might be something hidden there still. I ventured out with Olivia, the youngest of the great granddaughters, to investigate the mailbox. We pulled open the door together and both looked inside. Olivia looked at me with surprise on her face and reaching in she pulled out not one but two confetti eggs! Giving me one and keeping the other for herself, Olivia knew just what to do. She deliberately poked one of her tiny little fingers into the pastel tissue and turned the egg upside down. She and I left a thin trail of confetti all the way back up the driveway. And, I thought, mission accomplished. My family loves Easter just like this little girl’s great grandmother did. Shirley hadn’t been with us on Easter for eleven years now. She died in March 1999 just before Easter.

And now, instead of letting Easter take a back seat to other holidays, I cherish the tradition that my husband, Shirley’s youngest son, and she began.

Why I love Easter

Celebration of new life in Christ. He has conquered the grave!

Lots of family!

Lots of food!

Confetti Eggs!

Little people and big people having an absolute blast with the same activity!

Watching the little girls get bigger every year!

...and the first shall be last...

Here we are in height order

 

The amazing YOU

"The sound we hear is being played on a perfect little musical instrument inside our ear. The sound waves go down the auditory canal and are carried by the bones of the middle ear to the cochlea, which is rolled up like a tiny sea shell. The outer ear operates in air. But the cochlea is filled with liquid, and transferring sound waves from air to liquid is one of the most difficult problems known to science. Three tiny bones called the ossicles are just right to do the job that enables us to hear properly. Interestingly, the size of these little bones does not change from the time we are born."

Just another example of how amazing the human body is. I am always trying to explain to my patients that hearing aids just can't do what our brain does. Unfortunately, they probably never will.

I must be shrinking.

Above is a picture of Ben & I when I was in Houston a few weeks ago. Below is a picture taken at a wedding a year ago. Scary how fast he's outgrown me!

That's a first...

I decided to stop by McDonald's this morning to check out their new fancy coffee selections. I ordered a small hazelnut latte, to which the employee responded, "Would you like regular or diet milk?"

I have to admit, I froze. Diet milk? I've never heard of that. Now I know there are lots of kinds of milk. I am usually a bit overwhelmed at the grocery store by all the different types and colors, but diet milk I am sure I've never run across. I decided to go for it, and tried to spit out "diet" before the long pause got too awkward. The latte was definitely tasty, and cheaper than Starbucks. I just may be a new McCafe fan.

7:45 am

My little sister just landed solo in Buenos Aires Argentina. Good thing she speaks enough Spanish to (probably) find her way to her hotel without too much trouble. The rest of her group arrives tomorrow for the TOMS shoe drop. I am quite envious that she gets to visit Argentina without me. Not so envious of the overnight flight to get there. Apparently, it's a little further away than Panama or Mexico! Can't wait to see pics when she returns.

Happenings

Here are some pics from January and February, for those of you who don't use facebook. Enjoy!

One year ago...

Today marks the 1 year anniversary of a day I will probably never forget. As I was walking into practicum, I got a call that Mama Dara had died earlier that morning. It was also her birthday. After I finished practicum, I crossed the sky bridge over to the hospital where Aunt Peggy had been admitted for pneumonia the night before. That was the last time we got to talk to each other, and the last words I said to her were, "When I come back next Thursday, I won't expect to find you here." Unfortunately, she was in ICU by the weekend and she passed away 3 weeks later. It's hard to believe a whole year has passed, and I remember that day like it was just yesterday. I still think about Dara and Peggy a lot, and miss them both terribly. They were very special to me.

Spring's a comin'

Well, it's almost the end of February, which means spring (and by spring we mean summer here in Texas) is just around the corner. It's that time of year when I can stop putting on a hat and gloves every time I walk the dogs, but I also have to be careful what gets left in the car (i.e. chapstick, iPod, purell and the like). It means it's time to pull the shorts and skirts out of the back of the closet and find my swimsuits and beach towels and put them on a shelf I can actually reach. It apparently also means that the weeds begin to grow uncontrollably in our grass-less back yard. I can already tell the days are starting to get longer, which I absolutely LOVE! But alas, it is still February, which means that even though it's 84 today we probably won't get above the 50s this weekend. So, I can't put away the gloves and hat quite yet.

Sadie girl

Valentines!

Family Valentines Banquet - First Baptist Church, Portland, TX

Devotion

Saw this billboard today. Wow.

Random

1. My uncle once: told us he was pooped from spinning us around and around, to which my sister exclaimed, "YOU POOPED IN YOUR PANTS?!"
2. Never in my life: do I expect to go skydiving. I am past the age where I thought that was a good idea.
3. When I was five: I cried because my parents made me give up my carseat for my little sister.
4. High school was: a tough time, but when I look back I see mostly happy memories.
5. I will never forget: the day my little brother was born.
6. There’s this guy I know: who died for me so that I can spend eternity in paradise.
7. Once, at a bar: I actually drank something alcoholic.
8. By noon, I’m usually: eating my 2nd lunch for the day.
9. Last night: I got to listen to people tell their stories. I saw myself in all of them. It was a God thing.
10. If only I had: enough guts to skip graduation for the Brazil trip.
11. Next time I go to church: I get to eat free Pei Wei!
12. What worries me most: getting caught up in "life" and forgetting to LIVE.
13. When I turn my head left I see: "That's what she said."
14. When I turn my head right I see: Reagan, headphone-less... astounding!
15. What I miss most about the Eighties is: wearing two pairs of colored socks, and rolling them down.
16. If I were a character in Shakespeare I’d be: probably a tree. Shakespeare bores me.
17. By this time next year: I should have a real job.
18. A better name for me would be: Jenny's sister.
19. I have a hard time understanding: poverty and injustice around the world. How can one family live in a big house with way too much stuff and another live amongst a garbage heap. I don't get it.
20. If I ever go back to school: I must have gone crazy. I'm never going back.
21. You know I like you if: I invite myself over.
22. If I ever won an award, the first person I would thank would be: my parents.
23. Take my advice: go to bed by 10 every night.
24. My ideal breakfast is: anything my dad makes... or pancakes at Granddad's.
25. A song I love but do not have is: chicken fried.
26. If you visit my hometown, I suggest you: let me know which town it is, because I'm still not sure.
27. Why won’t people: fork over a dollar to send a kid in Haiti to school?
28. If you spend a night at my house: I hope you don't mind the dogs.
29. The world could do without: the commercialization of Christmas.
30. My favorite blonde(s) is/are: 5 little Martin girls.
31. If I ate the same thing for lunch every day it would be: Panera's You-Pick-Two
32. If I do anything well it’s: vacuuming and doing laundry.
33. Something I haven't done in a long time is: gone snowboarding.
34. I can't stand: for my ears to be cold.
35. If I could do anything with my life: I would travel and take pictures.