And then there was Martin

This is a picture of Martin and his only sister, Ann.  There is eight years difference in their ages.  Do not let Martin's little angelic face fool you--I have heard from several family stories about what a crazy little kid he was (one in particular that involved a butcher knife-although it was never used!)

Here is a recent picture of Martin with his sister and their Mother.  They, apparently, weathered the storms of their childhood to become very close.  Martin's sister Ann is married to Larry Stevener.  Martin and Ann's mother, Matamary, just passed away this last month.  When Martin and I were first married I can remember us both dreaming that if we could have a family like Ann and Larry we would be so happy.  Well, they had three children-a girl then two boys.  And guess what...we had three children-a girl then two boys.  Pretty good huh?

The Stevener kiddos
*Amy-who is now married to Rodger Cope.  They have two gorgeous little boys Matthew and Joshua
*Scott-who is now married to Kara.  They have a beautiful little boy named Preston.
*Robert- who is now married to Heidi.  They have an adorable little girl named Mariella and they are expecting their second child at the end of the year.
 All of them have grown up to become such kind and wonderful people.

All in All- I married into a very Terrific family!

Where are they now?

I look at how fast time has flown by since my children were little.  I am sure my mother feels the same way.  This is a picture I found of myself, my brother and two sisters.

*FROM YOUNGEST TO OLDEST
*Jeannie is married to Jim Stone. They have one daughter, Julia who has just started junior high school.  Jeannie was recently named Assistant Superintendent of Wylie ISD.
*Michael is a married  to Denise and they have three sons Michael, Daniel and Larry.  They have two daughters in law Kimberly and Tasha and a brand new grandbaby boy named Dirk. Michael is a sargaent in the Dallas Police Department.
*Mandi currently lives in Indiana.  She went back to school as an adult and earned her nursing degree.  Mandi has two sons Christopher and Bradley.  Chris just graduated from Ball State with a business degree and Bradley has recently joined the military.
*Barbara is married to Martin.  They have three children Jessica, Andrew and Ryan.  They have a son in law Michael and a daughter in law Mitzi.  Barbara also went back to school as an adult and earned her nursing degree.

Trash to Treasure

One day I was driving around town and I saw a new antique consignment store here in Tyler.  Out in front of the store, lying on its side, was this rusty old  wrought iron bakers rack.  I loved the shape but it sure was a mess.  I went inside and the owner told me I could have it for $35.00.  I was excited but to make a long story short...I paid $25.00 and took it home.









Martin took one look at it and immediately said the line he is famous for "more garage sale fodder".  I knew I had to prove him wrong.  I got online and found a company in town that would sand blast and powder coat it for me for $50.00 and here is the finished product.  I love it!

It's the thought that counts!

 You know, you gotta love the fact that your husband will even buy you flowers but honestly...the first is a "before" when Martin tried to arrange my flowers and used the only container he could find (a small milk jug).

The second  pic is "after" I snuck the same flowers into the kitchen and rearranged them and put them into an actual vase!

The funniest part of all was that he didn't know I had changed them and later said "see, I can pick out nice flowers for you"

"it's the thought that counts"

Crawfish Parties!!

Our family has had some really fun parties with my favorite being our crawfish parties!  Martin and Uncle Mike sure do know how to boil up some mean crawfish and a good time is always had by all!!