Merry Martin
Christmas 2016
This year we are again
so very blessed. Here is a count of our
blessings:
One wonderful living parent!!! We are blessed to have Jerry’s 90 year-old mother
Melba Martin still with us here on this Earth.
She is as mentally sharp and spunky as ever. We are spending Christmas with her in
Preston, Idaho this year.
Two new Grandchildren! Cute and cuddly, Jordyn Gemie Martin joined
our family on August 12th.
Jerald Lynn Martin (the 3rd with that name) could come any
day now and we feel he is already part of the family. (Is this counting our grandchildren before
they are hatched?)
Three new homes: Not for us, but three of our families got new
homes this year. The Boren’s moved to a
new home within the same city (Lehi, Utah).
They love their pool and large back yard. Justin graduated from medical school in San
Antonio and he and Kara built a new home in Temple, Texas where he is doing his
residency. They are enjoying being first
time home owners. The Ronér’s
made the move from the Atlanta, Georgia area to the Syracuse, New York area
where they built a new home! The
children are missing their old back yard, but happy to experience snow. They are having a White Christmas!
Four callings: Jerry (Sr.) was called in February to be the
First Counselor in the Plano, Texas Stake Presidency. He has also accepted a volunteer position as
the District Chairman for the Golden Arrow District of the Boy Scouts of
America. Gemie continues to serve as the
Stake Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for our Plano, Texas Stake. She is gearing up for our Stake Emergency
Preparedness Fair which will be held on February 25th. She also volunteers in the Family History
Center on Tuesday mornings.
Five extra "weekend days" each week! That is what is supposed to
happen when you retire right? It was
working for us. Now we are so busy we
wonder how Jerry ever had time to work and how Gemie accomplished what she did
with eight children to chauffer all over Plano and a family of 10 to cook and
do laundry for.
Six Hobbies: Jerry loves coin collecting and can boast the
best Lincoln Wheat Back Penny collection ever assembled! (Rest easy, it is in a
safe deposit box). Jerry also loves
reading (Brandon Sanderson is his favorite author). He also loves to hike and
is putting a lot of mileage on his new knee (which was replaced in January). Gemie’s newest hobby is baking with sour
dough. She loves creating new recipes
(sour dough and otherwise). She also loves
to sew and read but rarely finds time for either.
Seven wonderful in-laws! We have four terrific sons-in-law, (Spencer,
Brendan, Neil, and Brett), and three fantastic daughters-in-law (Sara, Kara,
and Karen)! We are so grateful to these
wonderful people our children chose to have as their eternal companions! We couldn’t be more pleased to have them in
our family!!!
Eight Wonderful
Children! We are so lucky to have each child! We appreciate each one for the way they
conduct their lives. Our children and
their spouses have fun texting the whole group when things happen in their
lives (like the new Christmas puppy that just appeared down in Temple, Texas)! When our phones start buzzing non-stop, we
know our children and their spouses are having fun in a group conversation! We
love that they enjoy keeping in touch with each other and with us. Camie, Alyssa, Kindra, Jenae, Jerald (Jerry),
Justin, Christopher (Chris), and Adam—we love you fiercely!!!
Nine Wonderful Siblings: Gemie
still has all seven of hers: Loren (Bud), Marlene, George, Mark, Julie, April,
and Marvelee. We love our family reunions in Bliss Canyon
(Moab, Utah) where four of them reside!
Jerry has two sisters: Sharan and Nadine who we love our visits with as
well (we are also spending Christmas with Sharan this year). We also have a wonderful sister-in-law Sallie
whom we love to get together with and will also see Christmas day! Sallie lives in Logan, Utah.
Ten handsome grandsons:
They range in age from Ryan who will be 14 in March to the littlest (as yet
unborn) Jerald (Jerry?). In between we
have Benjamin (Ben) who is 10, Luke (9), Joshua (Josh) who is 7, Logan (6),
Dallin (6), Trace (5), Seth (3) and James (almost 3).
Eleven rooms of new
windows. We finally got around to
replacing most of the windows in our home.
We love having no more cold and drafty areas in the winter! We hope to see lower utility bills in summer
and winter. We wish we had done this
sooner!
Twelve wonderful months
of enjoying each other’s company. I
would say we can now finish each other’s sentences, but Gemie never knows what
Jerry will say. Jerry needs to finish
Gemie’s sentences because she forgets what she is saying mid- . . .
Thirteen gorgeous granddaughters!!! At 12 Brooklyn is almost a teenager. Ashlin and Katelyn (Kate) both 11 are “Irish
twins” having been born less than a week apart.
Then we have Bailey, Abigail (Abby), and Eleanor (Ellie) all 10. Marin and Rachel are nine, but turn 10 early
in the year. Lilian (Lilly) is six. Our other set of “Irish twins,” (born just
two days apart) Addison and Brinley are three.
Then we have Gemma (the only girl in her family with four older brothers)
who just turned one. Last (but not
least) is Jordyn who is 4 months old.
As we contemplate our many blessings and celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, we count our greatest gift to be His marvelous Atonement. We know His atoning sacrifice will make it possible for us to someday be reunited with Him and our Heavenly Father and all our beloved family members who are on the other side of the veil. We often say, "Families are forever," and count on the prospect of being together for the eternities with our wonderful family to whom we have been sealed through Holy Temple ordinances. We know it is our Savior Jesus Christ who makes this possible for us.
We wish you and yours a
Merry Christmas and a Happy (and prosperous) New Year!
Jerry and Gemie Martin
