Finally October!

ok, i promise i will work on some 'creative titles' for my blogs... there just are no creative juices flowing these days. not to sound droll, or to nullify the word "joyful" in our main heading... but a word that might sum up the days lately (at least for my pregnant self) is:

DREARINESS (rhymes with weariness... go figure)

1. 36 weeks pregnant tomorrow. feeling huge and awkward. back pain. crampiness. hard to get comfortable at night. RLS. heartburn! strong baby kicks. uncomfortable chairs- ALL chairs now, not just those wonderful theater seats! a minimum of 2x nightly of bathroom trips.

2. "Terrible Two's". Naya loves to scream at the top of her lungs when she's not in a loving mood. when she wakes up in the morning, or from a nap... when she can't have juice between meals... when she can't watch a movie... when she doesn't obey... "YYYYEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHHWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!" The good thing in this area, however, is that we can see that she is indeed learning the difference between obedience and disobedience. she is often able to anticipate the impending time-out or swat before we even approach her. oh- and she's also developed a fantastic little frown/gripe-face!

3. ok, i'm actually DELIGHTED(!!!!) that the weather has cooled down!! yay fall!! but my internal thermometer is still down in the southern states... the classroom temp. is 71 degrees, which for me is shorts and tank top 'weather'.... but i enjoy sticking my head out the hallway window in between classes.

4. doctors. and the michigan dhs. not the peaches and cream of other states. but after waiting with ZERO (ZERO ZERO ZERO ZERO ZERO) correspondence on THEIR end for 45 DAYS (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), we finally have learned that we are indeed on the state health plan and also the food assistance program. we've been covered since august 14th, the date of our application. but i tell you, what a horribly trying experience it was... i will be writing a letter. in my spare time. HA! ok, so no spare time, but i plan on writing a letter- in which i will of COURSE express my gratitude for the benefits we will now be receiving (indeed, thank you, Lord!! it is a HUGE HUGE HUGE blessing!!), but also to "mention" how long it took and how poor the communication was. simply so they can consider if there are any areas of their services that they'd like to one day improve. as for doctors... that has also been a trying experience here in michigan. finding a doctor/clinic was not an issue at all. (in case any of you plan to move during a pregnancy, it's really not that big a deal to FIND doctors/clinics...) but today was my 3rd appointment, and also the 3rd negative experience at this place. they are disorganized, not up to what i would consider good standards of cleanliness (! eek !), they are STILL trying to sort out my prenatal records from seattle (very very tacky), and the n.p. that i've been seeing the last 2 visits doesn't listen carefully, doesn't ask the right questions, doesn't put together the information i give her, doesn't respect my questions or desires, doesn't follow through. so not only is my health-care thus compromised by her lack of attentiveness to detail, but i don't think i should feel like a 'moron' for the questions i ask. wow, this paragraph is LONG now!! have you gotten the point? so my goal for tomorrow is to find a new clinic/doctor. i'd love prayer for that, if you happen upon this blog. i'm only 4 weeks away, and am really hoping that a dr. will be willing/available to take me on as a patient. a friend here at NTBI is due about the same time i am, and goes to a dr./clinic in lansing that she very much recommends. so that may very well be our first try tomorrow.

basically this blog is a gripe session, isn't it?? by show of hands, who thinks i'm a griper?? actually, i'm probably much more of a gripe than you or i realize. i'd like to think i'm becoming a more Godly, graceful woman. but sometimes i sure feel like i'm walking the opposite direction. that's why we need each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. not to sit by and nod and agree with each other's troubles all the time. although there are times for that- times to sympathize and pat on the back and all that. but the Word of God calls us to rebuke one another with gentleness... not to let sin tarry. to spur one another on toward love and good deeds--- out of discouragement and into heads and hands lifted high in the joy of Christ!

i hope that through all my dreariness the joy of Jesus Christ is still radiating out from me! i can't do that on my own. i can't make myself be joyful despite circumstances. CHRIST does that! i mustn't try to live FOR Him, but to let Him live in and through me. He values me greatly, but His Word ALSO says in galatians 2.20 that "i have been crucified with Christ, and i no longer live, but Christ lives in me. and the life i now live in the flesh, i live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

so away with all of the griping above. those are some of the things that i (and consequently we as a family) have been dealing with lately. but in perfect timing, the Lord is working them all out. each and every one of them. may we always press on, no matter what the circumstances are telling us. God IS. circumstances come and go. but God IS.

FAITHFULNESS.

-Lisa, for the Martinez family

One Month Already!!?

one month signifies a lot of things currently...

-just over 1 month that we've been here at NTBI!

-(and consequently just over 1 month that we bid farewell to our family...sigh)

-just over 1 month until this baby girl should be born!

(or a few days fewer would be nice!! hehe)

ok... so apparently i am a major exaggerator. 2 things is not a lot of things. but since they are both life-changing, they qualify just as well as "a lot of things," i suppose.

classes are going along just fine. i don't recall what i posted before about our daily/weekly life... so forgive me if i'm being redundant. but here is a picture of a normal week of 7 days for us.

Monday- all 3 of us are up and at 'em (i always thought as a kid this was "Up and Adam". could never figure out what Adam and Eve had to do with my waking up in the morning...) by 7.30-ish. (Noe a little earlier) Noe makes yerba mate to enjoy during classes, and between us we get naya out of bed and into her high chair for breakfast. noe and i enjoy smoothies in the morning, and naya is now partaking of said goodness as well... noe takes off at 8am for his first class. then i make coffee (thank you again, grandma Roe for the coffee maker!) for myself (yes, women with low-risk/normal pregnancies can have up to 2 cups a day... do your research, oh you antagonists! hehe). Naya gets dressed (actually, I dress her...), and around 8.45 we head down one floor to the child care, where she runs in the door eagerly and "gets her bubbles!" Bubbles = hand sanitizer. she stays in childcare until 11.50am. At 9am, Noe and i go to chapel. i mentioned briefly before about Chapel- it can be anything from safety/evacuation procedures to worship/praise to a missionary speaker... then 10am and 11am are the classes that both noe and i take. we then pick up naya, return home, and make lunch. naya goes for a nap (as do i when i'm blessed with that option!), which unfortunately has only been averaging 1.5 hours (!!). the afternoon is playtime, and sometimes letting her watch a movie (Elmo, or "Tomatoes" [veggie tales], or "Fishy" [Finding Nemo]...) which is fine right now since her attention span is soooo short. :) if she only naps 1.5 hours, she has "quiet time" for 30 minutes at least around 5pm while i prepare dinner (or pretend to anyway...). On Monday and Thursday nights at 7pm is what is called "Food Cart." Food Cart is a blessing(!!) for married couples- the kitchen pulls out any substantial leftovers from the past 3 or so days, and we are entitled to take as much as we want for free (well, the price is to wash those food cart dishes once a month... which is really no price at all!). so we've come away with things like veggies, cooked chicken breasts, pasta, pasta salads, bread/rolls, the occasional dessert, etc... sometimes we freeze it, or we consume it over the next day or two. it's a HUGE blessing, even if it is 'school food.' no complaints here! Naya goes to bed around 8pm, and then it's homework time for me. noe has usually started his homework in the afternoon, unless he worked. the Lord has been providing side jobs for noe... one just ended today, so we will pray that the Lord will lead him to another one!

Tuesday- the only differences on tuesday are Chapel- this is "Dorm Chapel" day, so single ladies meet in their dorms, and single men... married men... and married ladies. great times of encouragement- usually with snacks too! ok, i really don't care about the snacks because i've just eaten breakfast at this point... but great encouragement anyway :) Noe also has his Job class on Tuesday and Friday afternoons at 2.10-3pm.

Wednesday- just like monday. all the students except for mothers are required to put in 3 hours (depending on the job) of work to help maintain the school. anything from helping in the kitchen/mowing the grass/maintenance/bathrooms/etc... Noe started out on maintenance crew, but a couple weeks ago a guy broke his foot (surgery required)..this guy's job was buffing the floor of our freshman classroom. so noe was re-assigned to this job. it is approximately a 2-hr job to buff the floor, including once a month adding 1 hour to apply some kind of wax to the floor. incredibly boring job, but gives him the chance to listen to some podcast sermons!

Thursday- same as monday, including food cart. Also, our Chapel on thursday is Married Couples chapel. usually the dean of marrieds speaks to all of us couples. but he's also encouraging us to have small groups, so sometimes we will meet in our small groups of 3-4 couples instead. speaking of these different Chapels... this HAS been fabulous to have the different breakdowns of chapels, because if you read my entries before, i complained quite a bit about the chairs in the auditorium. now it's once a week or so that i have to sit in them! woohoo! thank you, Lord! speaking of being uncomfortable, i'm now at the point in classes where i have a chair in front of my spot at the table to put my feet up, and i bring a small pillow to put behind my lower back. some afternoons i find the energy to take naya outside to the playground! she loooooves that, naturally! i'm looking forward to not being pregnant, and thus having more energy. too bad for the long winter... but next summer/fall will be better. some of you i'm sure are thinking "that's what you think, but wait until you have a newborn AND 2-year old!" well, with all do respect, keep your comments to yourself...try having a pregnancy like mine that isn't at all enjoyable, and then we'll chat. :) (wow, i'm getting fiesty, aren't i? can you tell i'm pregnant? !!)

Friday- same as Tuesday, in that Noe has his Job class in the afternoon.

Saturday- well, come on, you have Saturdays wherever you live, too!

Sunday- we've found a Church with solid Biblical teaching, and we might very well continue to go there! that really and truly is the only priority, folks... what's the worth of being in a Church that has 'all your needs met' and great music but horrible teaching? or no teaching? or deceptively false teaching? seek out the true Food, y'all!! because the rest will flow from that. the truth is, almost all the churches around here have adequate children's ministries and other ministries and fine musical worship. but truly (x 1000), what a waste all of that would be without solid Biblical teaching! sooo... climbing back down off my soapbox... we may try another Church or two (we tried one 2 weeks ago that had pretty solid teaching as well... best to give a Church more than one week before making a decision, eh?). but we may have found a place to land while we're here in michigan!

so there's a horrifically long, detailed look at our week. and yet, i feel like i hardly touched on anything!

i had my 34-week appointment on wednesday, and baby looks just fine. i asked if they could tell if she was head-down or not, but they said it's still a little too early. whatever... if a baby wants to flip, she'll flip whenever she wants. i didn't really care if she could've flipped again. but hopefully at the next appointment in 2 weeks they will be willing to give me an answer (or at least a guess). i think i miss my dr. from seaside... that was the best prenatal care i've had. the one in seattle got the job done, but i don't think i'd recommend her to anyone. in seattle, they didn't even check urine or measure to see how big baby was... which made it irritating to show up with a full bladder every time and then not be given a chance to share the wealth! haha... sorry...

i'm enjoying watching the Husky games, even if i'm a week behind! my parents are sending them to me each week on dvd... hard to find a time slot to watch it, besides my monday night laundry. oh yes, forgot to mention that... 8-9.30pm is my official laundry slot. (i have a 2nd one, but i rarely need it) but it's usually 8-10.30 to get the clothes dry and folded. so this last monday i watched the first half of the game with headphones in the laundry room. fun!

this saturday NTBI is hosting a school picnic at a private lake nearby. we're hoping to go, at least for part of it (it's 10am-10pm).

guess that's all for now! (yeah, too much for now, you're thinking, right?)

the Martinez family

Help, Autumn!

Autumn, how do I make the picture smaller??

thought you'd enjoy this post... haha!

Naya's 2nd Birthday!

yes indeed, little Naya turned 2 today! i rather successfully worked with her throughout the day to say "It's my birthday!" and "I'm two!" She is also practicing how to hold up two fingers. currently it's just a hand with splayed fingers. pretty cute. :)

after a relatively normal day, including bouts of "Terrible Two" syndrome, 7.00pm finally arrived, and we greeted many new friends into one of the small classrooms here at NTBI for a very casual birthday "party." because the cake was cut into 45 pieces (who did the math?? hmm...haha!), and we had 3 pieces left over, we had approximately 42 guests, about 15 of whom were young children. the balloons we had blown up for the kids to toss around popped quite consistently throughout the evening... we went from 24 to about 5 by 8pm. one little girl of about 18 months thought it was a ball of some kind, and proceeded to sit on the balloon. boy was she in for a shock! she just sat quietly on the floor after that for several minutes, wondering what happened. :)

we greeted our guests, urged them to drink of the 5 3-liter sodas we had bought, took pictures with the cake, enjoyed seeing naya get scared of the 2 candles when she couldn't blow them out, sang happy birthday, served cake, and lastly Naya opened a few gifts, which she thought was pretty special. she is a pro at ripping the paper off now, and said "Wow!" several times throughout.

as naya went to bed, she got to talk on the phone with her grandma Marina (Mama Mina), and about an hour later, Jason and Chelsea called and sang 'happy birthday' to naya although naya was sleeping. pretty fun!

hope you enjoy the pictures!!

with love,

Noe, Lisa, Adannaya, and "Little Two"

(sorry, for some reason, Blogger is not letting me move the pictures around!! :( i don't understand... but enjoy them anyway!)