Wow doggies! It's been a long time postin'. Happy New Year and a Belated Merry Christmas

This will have to suffice for our holiday letter. It's been quite awhile since I posted.

Let's see...what's been happening.....life is challenging, life throws curve balls, life is full of changes.....I see a theme here!!!

Aubri and Thomas will have been married for THREE years in February. I can't believe it!! They are flying off to Connecticut for Thomas' accounting internship with Delliotte and Touche (even the spellchecker doesn't know how to spell those). They are embarking on a wonderful adventure. They get to see new sites, live in a foreign place, meet new people, begin climbing the corporate ladder, fight against elements, grow, learn, experience, and have the time of their lives. We get to take care of their two birds until they come back in April.

Ian is having a great Senior year. He is such a delight. He's applying to colleges. He was selected for All State in the Men's Choir as a second bass. Holy cow that's low! This is really a big honor. Only two guys from the area were selected. He has seven pieces of music to memorize by January 16th and he just got them last week. Yikes!

Larry and I are busy working our private practice. I will look for something that will give us health benefits for the coming year.

That's about where we are. We wish each and every one of you a blessed New Year with love, laughter and spiritual deepening. We are so blessed to have the restored gospel in our lives and we are grateful for the love and sacrifice of our Saviour Jesus Christ. It's a great time to be on the earth.

Blessings to each of you,

Love from the Martins

Ian's Senior Pictures by Aubri (and one by Mom :)

Aubri and Ian had a great time doing Ian's senior pictures. It's so fun for them to spend time together. They've always been close to each other, but time and distance don't allow many opportunities for them to do much together. Since Aubri and Thomas are getting ready to move to Connecticut in a couple of weeks, the time spent was especially precious.

The picture with the hat and suspenders was taken by Mom after the Pioneer Trek this summer. Now I'll try to post the pictures. Who knows.....maybe I'll figure this whole blogging thing out yet!!!!

GETTING STARTED

Here's the first post to the Martin Family Blog. I have no idea what I'm doing (I'm the Mama....Stephanie or Taffy to some of you who have known me since childhood.......which was an exceedingly LONG time ago :). I'm not even sure if I'm making this post correctly, but I read something that said "New Post" and clicked on it. Maybe I'm just answering myself when I haven't even made a first post yet....who knows. Such is adventure.

My inspiration to attempt this blog came from Aubri, Anne and Rick Furniss, and we had an Enrichment Activity at church that taught how to do blogs. I, however, was working and did not get to attend....so I thought I'd just do it anyway all the while being clueless but willing to learn. It sounded like a fun thing to do and I don't really do the whole journal thing very well so here is a high tech way to do a journal. Don't expect sordid details of life on a public blog like you may find in a journal, though. ha ha ha ha ha....which apparently can also be written LOL but I don't quite get the full effect of LOL as opposed to "ha ha ha"...must just be me.

This is probably one of the most non-sensical times for us to start a blog, so considering our lives, I guess it's as good of a time as any. A few factoids......we live in Oregon. Ian is 17 and a senior in High School, Aubri (almost 23) and her husband Thomas (24) are in the area for just a few more weeks before going off to Thomas' accounting internship with a big firm in Connecticut (how do school children EVER learn to spell that State's name?) and Larry and I are plodding along with our coats drawn tight, holding on to each other, bending against the gale force winds of life that never seem to abate.

So.....now I'm going to post this and look at our blog page and see if I did this right. If I didn't I will contact Aubri at a more sensitive time in the AM than 6:52 and ask her what to do. No doubt Ian will be helping me as well. I can also promise that my entries on this blog will not be consistent but I'll try not to be boring. Of course, the boredom factor would be a matter of a personal decision on your part.

Have a lovely day. Look up, look within, and give thanks :)

PS...I just looked at the blog and edited twice. Yeeaaahhhhh!!!!! I'll add being able to edit blogs to my list of "Things For Which I Am Thankful". Blogging is not hard. I recommend it.