Merry Christmas from the Martins-2010

Well here it is, December has rolled around once again. It is time for the annual Christmas letter. I decided to post it on the web this year and spare all those who hate Christmas letters. So for those interested, here is what we have been doing this year:

Adam is half way through his senior year at Hart High School. He now has a car (we purchased a used mission car) and gets himself to Seminary, school, church, and many other activities. He serves on the Stake Youth Committee for Church and yes, he actually does attend Stake youth dances and activities. He has recently re-read all seven Harry Potter books but has only seen the latest movie twice. (He's been studying to take the ACT exam which he sat for last Saturday). Adam is still an avid fan of the Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Cowboys, and Texas Rangers.

Christopher is in his final month serving as a missionary in the Dominican Republic Santo Domingo Oeste (West) Mission. He will be leaving the DR and coming to Santa Clarita, California to join us on January 19, 2011. He is serving as a Zone Leader in San Juan which is not far from the Haitian border. Almost every week Christopher reports of baptism(s) or progressing investigators. He is working hard to be a good missionary right up to the end. He will resume his studies at BYU after he spends a few months getting reacquainted with his family and friends.

Justin and Kara are finishing up their bachelors degrees at Brigham Young University. Justin is busy applying and interviewing at different medical schools. He still loves to participate in sports. His degree is in Neuroscience. Kara's degree will be in Biology Education. She just finished a major entomology project where she gathered and classified over 300 bugs. (This has made her the favorite aunt amongst some of her new nieces and nephew who delighted to help her with the collecting.) The couple have a pet snake named Zeus.

Jerry (Jr.) finished his schooling at BYU earning a Master of Accountancy degree in April. He recently passed all four CPA exams so he is now licensed. He is living in our home in Plano and is employed by Deloitte Touche working in their audit department. He has two pets. They are both exotic Ball Pythons. He has plans to get more. Jerry is the Ward Mission Leader of the singles ward in the Dallas area.

Jenae, Brett, Ashlin, Rachel and (soon), Lillian Boren. The Borens are living in Lehi, Utah. Brett is still enjoying his job with Private Capital Group (PCG). He loves playing sports and is always up-to-date on the latest technology. Jenae loves being home with her daughters. She is excited to get back to running. She will begin training for her next several half marathons (after Lillian is born, of course). Ashlin (5) is enjoying Kindergarten. She loves to sing, dance, and do art projects. Rachel loves her dance class. She also likes to ride her scooter and swim under water. Lillian, who is due in late December will not likely make press time for this post.

Kindra, Neil, Brooklin, Bailey, Luke and Logan Ronér. The Ronérs live in Sharpsburg, Georgia where Neil recently became an FX trader for Novelis. In his spare time he loves golfing and playing basketball. Kindra loves to photograph her children, sew, and is re-decorating their house. Brooklyn (6) is in first grade. She is following in her mother's footsteps and loves her soccor team. She is very friendly and is always helping others. Bailey (5) is in pre-kindergarten. She is current on all the pre-K drama (who is holding hands with whom and who is engaged to whom, etc.) She is also up on all the pre-teen lingo "for real." Luke (3) is a very independent little man. He loves to be outdoors and mows the lawn with his very own lawn mower. He is helping paint the house. Logan who joined the family April 26, 2010 weighing in at 8lbs 3 ounces is now 20 lbs, crawls and is a happy baby boy.

Alyssa, Ryan, Katelyn, and Marin Christensen. The Christensens live in Lehi, Utah. Alyssa is a microbiologist at Richards Laboratory in Pleasant Grove. Her favorite hobby is reading. Ryan (7) is in second grade. He is a budding astronomist who also loves venomous animals and tall buildings. Katelyn (5) is in Kindergarten. She is a dancer and will soon start gymnastics too. She loves to draw and color. Marin (almost 4) is also a dancer who loves to smell everything. She enjoys swinging and swimming.

Camie, Spencer, Benjamin, Joshua, and Dallin Carroll. The Carrolls live in Orange, California where Spencer is an administrator over two skilled healthcare facilities. Camie enjoys life as a stay-at-home mom. Three boys keep her very busy. Benjamin (4) is in pre-school. His latest love is dinosaurs. Joshua, who will be two in March, is a cute toddler who keeps his parents very busy. He is into everything. Dallin, born December 10, 2010 weighing in at 7lbs. 3 ounces and 19" long is an adorable addition to the Carroll family.

Jerry and Gemie (a.k.a. President & Sister Martin) are spending our second Christmas in the mission field. At the end of this month we will be half way through our mission. How time flies when you're having fun! We have been doing a lot of public speaking. On one recent weekend, President Martin spoke in six different meetings. He spoke in the evening session of one Stake Conference, the Morning session of another, three different leadership training sessions and a fireside. (And he wonders why he is so tired all the time). When we started the mission, we had about 135 missionaries. We will end this year with 194 missionaries. Although we feel the added responsibility, we are grateful for each wonderful Elder and Sister we serve with. Seeing their testimonies and capacities grow, strengthens ours. We know the Gospel is true and that the work we are engaged in is truly our Savior’s.

We wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Halloween in Southern California

Wow! Where did September and October go? I can't believe how fast time flys when you are trying to keep up with 180 missionaries! President Martin (a.k.a. Jerry) is the main trainer for all the missionaries. He has been rolling out the new "Fundamentals of Preach My Gospel" curriculum that we were sent by the missionary department and the general authorities who oversee missionary work for the Church. The trainings have gone well. Hopefully that will be reflected by an increase in baptisms as the missionaries learn how to teach by the Spirit more powerfully. It is exciting to be a part of this. I am mostly "missionary support." I organize meals to feed those being trained. I also dispense advise to sick and troubled missionaries with the help of Dr. John Lyman our area medical advisor. Flu season is coming up so I expect my phone to be ringing more and more. We have had several injuries and even a few surgeries.

Adam is patient with his two parents. We gave him a home haircut the other night with disasterous results. Jerry had just given him a pretty good #6 haircut with the clippers. I came along and decided to even out some stragglers. I picked up the clippers and to my horror realized I was buzzing the side of Adam's head! (I had not realized that Jerry had taken off the #6 guard.) We had no choice but to buzz all around the sides and back. So, just in time for Halloween, Adam is sporting a Herman Munster haircut. He wore his Texas Rangers baseball cap for a few days. I wanted to take a picture of it to post on this blog site but Adam did not want it posted. I think he looks quite nice. (Maybe the Marine Corps?) He is such a good sport.

We are happy to be adding two new grandkids. Camie and Spencer will be getting their third son in December. Jenae and Brett will get their third daughter in January. This will make our twelfth and thirteenth grandchildren. We will have 6 grandsons and 7 granddaughters. We are excited!!!

President and Sister Martin Take a Few P-Days!

I was up much of last night with my little grandson Joshua Carroll. He is so cute. I finally ended up sleeping in the recliner holding him. I must have had more sleep than I thought because I find myself unable to sleep tonight (it's 3:15 a.m.). Yesterday we had Jenae, Brett, Ashlin, and Rachel Boren as well as Camie, Spencer, Benjamin, and Joshua Carroll visiting us. It has been so fun having them. The Boren's came on Tuesday. Camie and the boys came over Tuesday too, but went home that night. On Wednesday night the Borens went down to Orange to visit the Carrolls and go to Disney Land. They stayed there Thursday night after a long, fun day at Disney. Then both families came back up here. They had a fun Saturday planned. They took Adam to the beach with them. Then we had dinner together and the Carrolls headed back to Orange. In between we watched movies, swam at the pool, visited, played with Grandma Gemie's train and played with Princess paperdolls. I took mostly video so will have to wait to get this all posted.

Earlier this month, we had Alyssa, Ryan, Katelyn, and Marin Christensen visiting us. They left to go down to Orange on Tuesday August 11th while the ten outgoing Elders (there were no sisters), came and had lunch, dinner and a testimony meeting at the mission home before leaving the next day. We had an interesting day. An unexpected visitor showed up. A painter working on the side of the mission home discovered a rattlesnake eating a rat. The back end and tail were still hanging out the rattler's mouth. It rattled it's tail nonstop. The painter came to the door and tried to tell me what he had discovered. Because he spoke little English and "yo no ablo Espanol," I called Elder Ibarra (a native Argentine), over to translate. We called Animal control who took their sweet time arriving. They finally came and took the snake out to the wilderness. So we have one less snake and one less rat here at the mission home. We have video, which this technologically challenged author cannot share with you at this time. What really haunts me is that my three-year-old grandson Ben had run through that side yard time and again just the day before we discovered the snake. Luckily Alyssa, Ryan, and Adam had spotted one a few days before when they hiked up to the "Hollywood" sign. Jerry, the girls and I visited the set of a "Bones" TV show at the sight of the "Batman" caves. The Hollywood sign was clearly visable on the back side of caves so Katelyn can also say she saw it. Jerry returned to the set with Ryan and Alyssa while I played at a near-by park with the girls.

So this fun string of P-days have almost come to an end. President Martin has had a lot less time with the families. Adam has started school. Jenae and Brett and girls leave tomorrow (er make that today) after Sacrament meeting. It was fun while it lasted.

Gemie's New Blog

Gemie has started a new blog. It is entitled "Diary of a Mad Mission Mom." When I say "mad" I do not mean angry. I am also not implying that the mission experience is driving me insane. I am just admitting to being a little "off my rocker." It will serve to be more a journal of my experiences about mission life and Martin family life in general. The address to get to it is: www.diaryofamadmissionmom.blogspot.com