Surprise! Actually, it's no secret- I am one spoiled lady!

Last Friday, I went to what I thought was our monthly Book Club. When I arrived at Megan's house I learned that my sweet friends had thrown me a surprise baby shower! This is baby #5, so I wasn't expecting anything at all. I think it is wonderful that this little baby was treated just as special as if he were baby #1. A huge thank you to Annick, Cathy, Heather, Itzel, Jackie, Jenn, Laura, Maggie, Marsha, Mary, Megan, Rhonda, Sabrina, Sheila, Sonia, Tammy, Tanya, and Wendy!! You made me and baby feel so loved.


All of the adorable clothes, super soft blankies, yummy lotions, beautiful Willow Tree statue and other precious gifts that we were spoiled with.


And we got this awesome cradle swing too! Kaleb and Noe had a hand-crank swing, Gavin and Teague had a battery-powered one (that had its engine burn up), now this one is a super fancy, electric one- wahoo!

*More pictures from the night coming soon!

Color Scheme

This photo was from after church last Sunday (when we're looking tired and not so fresh) in the clothes we wore for our Lee family pictures last year. The color scheme was coral, blue, gray, and white- and I think they all go great together (good job to my sister, Mandy!). Anyway, as soon as baby boy is born we're going to have to get another family photo done to go up on the wall and for our Christmas cards. I'm looking for a new color scheme for the 7 of us and would love any ideas/ opinions/ advice. Thanks so much!

An interview with Teague

Age: 2
Favorite Subject: Writing (on paper, the walls, his legs, etc)
Favorite Hobby: Building the Marble Race
Favorite Sport: Running
Favorite Food: Macaroni
Favorite Dessert: Cupcakes
Favorite Season: Summer
Favorite Animal: Cats
Favorite Color: Orange
Favorite thing about Church: Nursery
Favorite Book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Favorite TV Show: Super Why
Favorite Song: I love to see the Temple and Follow the Prophet from Primary
Best Friend: Molly (and future wife, tee hee)
What you want to be when you grow up: An Electrical Engineer (he can remove the "child-proof" outlet covers, open the "child-proof" cupboard, plug in the toaster, and turn it on- ugh!)

An interview with Gavin

Age: 4 (Junior Kindergarten)
Favorite Subject: The Lego Center in class
Favorite Hobby: Playing trains
Favorite Sport: Galloping
Favorite Food: Pasta
Favorite Dessert: Cheesecake and Ice Cream Cones
Favorite Season: Summer
Favorite Animal: Dogs
Favorite Color: Blue and Green
Favorite thing about Church: Linger Longers (potluck lunch afterwards every 3 months)
Favorite Book: The Cat in the Hat
Favorite TV Show: Thomas the Tank Engine
Favorite Song: Accidents Happen from Thomas the Tank Engine
Best Friend: Jex (imaginary), Josh, Griffin, Owen, Emma, and two Jenna's (from school)
What you want to be when you grow up: A Big Boy and a Train Driver

An interview with Noe

Age: 9 (grade 4)
Favorite Subject: Gym
Favorite Hobby: Drawing
Favorite Sport: Dance
Favorite Food: Quesadillas
Favorite Dessert: Mint bars (brownies with mint frosting)
Favorite Season: Spring
Favorite Animal: Dolphin
Favorite Color: Pink
Favorite thing about Church: Learning about Jesus Christ
Favorite Book: I Bloom Like Flowers (by Noe Reil) and Magic Pony: A Dream Come True
Favorite Movie: Sleeping Beauty
Favorite Song: You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift
Best Friend: Jessica and Samiha
What you want to be when you grow up: Artist or Dance Teacher

An interview with Kaleb

Age: 9 (grade 4)
Favorite Subject: Math
Favorite Hobby: Origami
Favorite Sport: Taekwon-do
Favorite Food: Seaweed
Favorite Dessert: Oreo Truffles
Favorite Season: Summer
Favorite Animal: Hummingbird
Favorite Color: Yellow and Blue
Favorite thing about Church: Learning about the Plan of Salvation
Favorite Book: Canada Invents
Favorite Movie: Star Wars (all of them)
Favorite Song: Firework by Katy Perry
Best Friend: Morgan
What you want to be when you grow up: Pastry Chef

35 days?

This is pretty much how I feel these days- can't sleep, breathe, walk, let alone glow- ha ha! I tried talking to my doc at my last appointment and he just basically brushed aside my concerns. My previous doctors were adamant about me NOT going into labor before the scheduled c-section as it can be a lot more dangerous for baby and mommy (and this is c-sec #4 for me). New doc just told me if I go into labor head to the hospital. Oh, okay! Next week he is out of town and I am seeing one of his colleagues for my appointment. I hope he will talk to me and give me some peace of mind!

Top 4

You might remember that last year at about this time, I made a list of the top 5 postings we were hoping to get for this year. Obviously, we didn't move this summer so here we are again trying for next year. DFAIT has been making some changes that haven't been too positive for Leonard's career advancement right now. (It's a long story that goes back to his Teacher being sick for his French exam back in December 2002. He wasn't able to reschedule the test until January 2003, and that has caused the hugest headache for the past almost 9 years- ugh!) Anyway, we're not holding our breath to get a posting now (we're quite comfortable in our home and community- just wish we had more funding to travel to see our family and friends in the West), but here is what Len submitted today:

1- Brussels, Belgium

2- Oslo, Norway

3- Rome, Italy

4- Brasilia, Brazil

5- There is no 5, only allowed to submit 4 choices this year, ha ha!

Meeting VIP's

Last night our kids had a babysitter as I was off to the school for Meet the Teacher night. As I already mentioned, Gavin's teacher was Kaleb and Noe's teacher the past 2 years and we are thrilled that Gavin has her this year. Kaleb and Noe have a new teacher to the school, but it is a small world as we have lots of mutual friends. I'm so grateful for all the hard-working teachers that care for our children!

Leonard was gone as well. He went down to Parliament to hear David Cameron (Prime Minister of the UK) speak. Len has worked a lot of overtime the past 2 months preparing for this trip. I'm so glad he got to attend the speech. Hard work pays off!

I Know the Scriptures are True!

This Sunday was the Primary Presentation, my favorite week of the year! The theme was from 2 Nephi 4:15- “For my soul delighteth in the scriptures, and my heart pondereth them.”


Kaleb shared his talk on Temples that he presented in Primary earlier in the year. He did a great job, and most impressive- he wrote it!

Noe sang in a trio with her friends Kaysha and Brianna. They sang, "I Will Follow God's Plan" and sounded so beautiful! I was subbing during one of their practices and Noe's friends weren't there that day. She was nervous, but sang the song solo and it made me cry!

Gavin memorized his part, "Thomas S. Monson is the prophet today," but he needed a little help during the presentation. At home he was a little cheeky monkey and would say "Thomas the Tank Engine is the prophet today." I'm so glad he didn't say that on Sunday!

Teague kept screaming Noe's name while the kids were up on the stand. She'd smile at him and wave, and he would then scream louder- ugh! His favorite song right now is "I Love to See the Temple." The whole Martin family sang it and it was so lovely it made me cry. Teague was so excited that he clapped afterwards and wanted them to sing it again.

It was a great Sacrament meeting!

Punishment fit for the Crime

Teague has a great pencil grip for a 2 year old and enjoys "writing" on lots of papers.


This weekend he learned that the pencils write fantastically on walls too. Once I discovered his hard work, I told him that it only belongs on paper. For his naughtiness he had to help Daddy scrub it off. He likes to be a helper too, so I don't know if it was punishment or a reward- ha ha!

Political Science for Dummies

I'm married to a political scientist, so in our daily conversations I hear the major events from around the globe. When a friend e-mailed this, I just had to share!

DEMOCRAT
You have two cows.Your neighbor has none. You feel guilty for being successful. You push for higher taxes so the government can provide cows for everyone.

REPUBLICAN
You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. So?

SOCIALIST
You have two cows.The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor. You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow.

COMMUNIST
You have two cows.The government seizes both and provides you with milk. You wait in line for hours to get it.It is expensive and sour.

CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE
You have two cows.You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.

BUREAUCRACY, CANADIAN STYLE
You have two cows.Under the new farm program the government pays you to shoot one, milk the other, and then pour the milk down the drain.

AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one. You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when one cow drops dead. You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have downsized and are reducing expenses.Your stock goes up.

FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows.You go on strike because you want three cows. You go to lunch and drink wine.Life is good.

JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. They learn to travel on unbelievably crowded trains.Most are at the top of their class at cow school.

GERMAN CORPORATION
You have two cows. You engineer them so they are all blond, drink lots of beer, give excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour. Unfortunately they also demand 13 weeks of vacation per year.

ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows but you don't know where they are. You break for lunch.Life is good.

RUSSIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.You drink some vodka.You count them and learn you have five cows. You drink some more vodka.You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. The Mafia shows up and takes over however many cows you really have.

TALIBAN CORPORATION
You have all the cows in Afghanistan , which are two. You don't milk them because you cannot touch any creature's private parts.You get a $40 million grant from the US government to find alternatives to milk production but use the money to buy weapons.

IRAQI CORPORATION
You have two cows.They go into hiding. They send radio tapes of their mooing.

POLISH CORPORATION
You have two bulls.Employees are regularly maimed and killed attempting to milk them.

BELGIAN CORPORATION
You have one cow.The cow is schizophrenic.Sometimes the cow thinks he's French, other times he's Flemish. The Flemish cow won't share with the French cow.The French cow wants control of the Flemish cow's milk. The cow asks permission to be cut in half.The cow dies happy.

FLORIDA CORPORATION
You have a black cow and a brown cow. Everyone votes for the best looking one. Some of the people who actually like the brown one best accidentally vote for the black one.Some people vote for both.Some people vote for neither.Some people can't figure out how to vote at all.Finally, a bunch of guys from out-of-state tell you which one you think is the best looking cow.

CALIFORNIA CORPORATION
You have millions of cows. They make real California cheese. Only five speak English.Most are illegal.Arnold likes the ones with the big udders.

Ha ha! I just thought this was too funny, and surprisingly (or sadly) too true!

Junior Kindergartner in the house!

Today was Gavin's first day of school and he was so excited! His teacher invited him in to tour the classroom during the last week of summer vacation and she also hosted a play day for all of the junior and senior kindergartners on the school playground. Last week Gavin went for his interview and was ready to stay. They do a staggered start here, so today was finally his first real day.


He looks so handsome and so grown-up!

He is just thrilled that he has a backpack and lunch bag like Kaleb and Noe!

My 3 school kids.

Do you recognize his teacher? Yep, she was Kaleb and Noe's beloved teacher of the past 2 years. We are so happy that she will be Gavin's teacher this year. I was worried Gavin would cry, but he barely said goodbye- he was just ready to start already!

Of course, I cried (since my baby love is now a big school kid) and Len's eyes got watery, but Teague cried the hardest. I think it was because he wanted to stay at school too. Thank goodness I still get 2 more years with him. He will be busy this year with Play School (which he jumped right into this morning), Phonics Class, Play Day, Institute, and Nursery. I think all of my kids are going to have a great school year!

10 years later

It's one of those things you'll never forget. Like when you first heard JFK was shot, or that the space shuttle The Challenger had blown up. I was pregnant with Kaleb & Noe and Len & I were living with my dad and step-mom. My step-mom came and woke us up and told us we needed to go and watch the news. We started watching right before the second tower fell. I immediately started crying and I remember my dad told me that I couldn't cry since I was pregnant, he didn't want the babies to feel my stress. I couldn't NOT cry! America is my home and the country that I love. She stands for such beautiful things. I could not understand why anyone would want to hurt her! I do worry about the state of the world and the future. Are we really going to all be better off if China becomes the next super power?

If you haven't seen this commercial, you must check it out: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-QUmj7CScU), but have a tissue ready. God Bless America!

Canada chose well!

The top 3 female dancers were all spectacular, but I must admit that Jordan Clark was my favorite. This is really shallow, but I think she is the prettiest so I enjoyed watching her dance the most. My favorite male dancer was Christian Millette. I loved watching him in all of the couple's routines, but I am not a huge ballroom fan, so I didn't care for any of his solos. I definitely think Canada chose the best dancer!

Corn in Cumberland

My favorite ward activity each year is our corn roast out at the Historical Cumberland Museum.

There are so many cute buildings I want to capture with my cute kids, but this year they just wanted to play. My big belly gave in to their demands and off they went. They love playing on the old-fashioned toys on the school playground and seeing all the animals. I think there are bunnies, sheep, goats, cows, ducks, pigs, peacocks, and horses- whew!

What to do when you feel like a beached whale...

...put your feet up and get pampered! My sweet friends, Airi, Angelique, Annick, Jackie, Laura, Lianne, Marsha, Mary, Rhonda, and Sonia gave me a gift certificate for a mani-pedi for my birthday. Since I could no longer reach my toes, I felt it was time to redeem it!


It had been well over a year since my last manicure- and that was a 10 minute one during my layover in the Toronto airport. I think the last pedicure I got was for my 20th birthday! Thanks so much everyone! My feet are SO soft now. (Notice my fingers are too fat for my wedding ring to fit, sigh.)

Since it had been 6 months since my last cut and color, I decided it was time to get that done too. I do feel better about myself having my toes, fingers, and hair done, but unfortunately I still feel like a beached whale- ha ha!

True Beauty

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; Never throw out anybody.
Remember, If you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm.
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears,

the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.
The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes,

because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.
The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole,

but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.

It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows,

and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!

-Sam Levenson

ABC...XYZ

I saw this on my friend, Chris' blog and thought I'd try!

{a} age :: 36.
{b} bed size :: King.
{c} chore you hate :: Mopping the floors, the kids keep them CONSTANTLY dirty!
{d} dogs :: Do Webkinz count? We visit real ones at Gramma and Grampa's.
{e} essential start to your day :: My morning meditation- read scriptures, say prayers, write in journal. After the baby is born, I can't wait to add exercise to the list.
{f} favorite color :: Yellow.
{g} gold or silver :: Both.
{h} height :: 5'11".
{i} instruments you play :: My kids' toy xylophone- ha ha!
{j} job title :: Wife, Mom, Homemaker, Life Artist.
{k} kids :: Almost 5.
{l} live :: In Canada's capital.
{m} maiden name :: Pittl.
{n} nicknames :: Now- Woman, Love, Mommy, Jen. As a kid- Jenny Penny, Susie Buttons, TW (Tiny Wench), Sissy.
{o} overnight hospital stays :: For all 3 of my c-sections, and for the month Noe was hospitalized.
{p} pet peeve :: Mean people.
{q} quote :: 1- Choose thy Love; Love thy Choice. 2- Children need the Most love when they are the Least lovable.
{r} righty or lefty :: Righty.
{s} siblings :: 2 brothers, 2 sisters. 3 step-brothers, 1 step-sister. 4 brothers-in-law, 7 sisters-in-law.
{t} time you wake up :: The alarm goes off at 6:00, but I am usually awake before 5:30.
{u} university attended :: Brigham Young University (Bring 'em young- ha ha!)
{v} vegetables you dislike :: Bitter lettuces.
{w} what makes you run late :: Getting my kids ready.
{x} x-rays you’ve had :: Toe, elbow, teeth, chest (for immigration purposes).
{y} yummy food :: Filet mignon, cheesecake.
{z} zoo animal favorite :: Koalas.

Please let me know if you do this on your blog!

Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing

Was my favorite book when I was a fourth grader.


What I can't believe now is that my babies are big fourth graders themselves!

My handsome and caring Kaleb.

My sassy and sweet Noe.

I think their backpacks weighed as much as they do will all of their school supplies inside!

*They had a great first day and are excited for this new year. They have a new teacher, and since there is only one French and one English class for the Grade 4's, not only are they in the same class, but so are all of their friends. Yeehaw! Let's go fourth grade!

**They will turn 10 this school year, so we'll have a few tween years, then teen years, then they'll be off to University (sigh). We've heard that the conversations parents want to have with their children 5 years from now, they should actually be having NOW! So we've been talking about the serious stuff- drugs, morality, violence, etc.

Another thing we heard is if you want your teenagers to be successful in high school, you must focus on the ABC's- Athletics, Band, and Cheerleading. I whole-heartedly agree with that, and I hope our kids have a plethura of extracurricular activities to choose from when they are in high school.

Leonard's dad taught his boys "the natural sequence of events" to use during the years they left their parents home until they established their own homes, which Len followed. We altered it a bit for the next generation and have been "High-Fiving" our kids with it now. We call it the "High-Five to Happiness and Success." 1- University, 2- Mission, 3- Marriage, 4- Career, 5- Children. Of course, some of these things will overlap, but some things should definitely be pre-requisites to others! We just want our children to follow their dreams and soar!

Last Summer Hurrah

Our last day of summer vacation fell on Labor Day, so Len had the day off of work too. We originally wanted to go back to Peche Lake one last time, but the weather was too cool and we wanted to get all the back-to-school prep done early so the kids could get to bed on time. So instead, we headed to McDonald's. We all got ice cream cones, then we let the kids climb and slide in the playplace for an hour. (Len brought his laptop and I brought my book- the time passed quickly for all of us!)






My camera battery died, so I didn't get any shots of them in the playplace, but they all had such a fun time. Who knew McDonald's would be such a hit? Well, I loved it as a kid too.

*Leonard gave all 4 of the children beautiful Father's blessings. He also gave me (& baby-to-be) one too. I am so grateful for a husband that holds the Priesthood worthily and loves his family so much!

The Saga introduced to the next Generation

This summer we watched the Star Wars saga with our kids for the first time. We couldn't decide if we should watch them how they were released 4-3 or chronologically 1-6. We decided that when Luke finds out Darth Vader is his father, it must be a surprise for the audience! But you can't end on the saddest movie #3. So we did both. We watched the original Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. Next we watched the new episodes 1-3, then watched the "remakes" of episodes 4-6 again. We watched one movie each weekend and it lasted all summer. The kids loved it (and the frozen fruit smoothies that accompanied each screening night).

The kids decided we should all dress up like the characters for Halloween some year. They also decided who each of us will be: Len= Darth Vader, Jen= Queen Amidala, Kaleb= Luke Skywalker, Noe= Princess Leia, Gavin= Han Solo, Teague= Chewbacca, and baby boy= Yoda. We'll have to see if we can do this sometime.

The kids also found this fun Weird Al song on YouTube. Enjoy! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEcjgJSqSRU)