God Is Good All The Time...

October 1st 2012 2:00pm,

And All The Time God Is Good.

God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. I was on my way to take my car into the mechanics because the power steering is going out again. My fuel tank was on 'E' so I stopped at the gas station to fill up before dropping it off. I was about to leave when the gas station worker said "Hope you aren't planning on going somewhere, your tire is flat." I guess when things go wrong, it all happens at once. Thank God the man at the gas station was an old friend from highschool, and he remembered me! He and his boss put the spare tire onto the car for me while I dealt with my fussy baby, who was in the back seat and not happy. In a way my luck today was bad, but also good! I am thankful for kind people who help a person in need. Now to wait and pray that the car problems aren't huge problems.

Having brought the stroller with me, I walked home after dropping off the car. Leon fell asleep on the way, and is still napping in his stroller. The house is quiet, which is very relaxing, and I made a pot of coffee. I think I will sit and fold laundry while I drink some coffee, and enjoy this quiet time while it lasts. :)

Have a blessed day!

It Has Been A While

I have not written in a while, as you can tell, my last post was many months ago. So let's start with a new introduction! My name is Karissa Martin, I am a 22 year old mother of a wonderful 14 month old boy, Leon. I am married to the greatest man in the world, Chicho Martin, and we just celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary on June 13th. Our little family resides in a small coastal town, we love God and we are blessed and so happy. Now you know all the important stuff about me. :)

I first created this blog as a means to begin writing again, for it is something I truly love to do, and that is what I will continue doing. I will also share my thoughts, experiences and revelations in my day to day life.

Alright, for todays post I would like to share a passage from an old journal I found by chance today, going through a box of miscellaneous items in my attic. Reading my old journal reminded me of how much I used to write, and how often I used poetry to express my thoughts and feelings. The passage dates September 3rd of 2005 at 9:32pm, from my dairy:

Regrets & Praises

So many things of my past

I regret with many tears

Mistakes and bad decisions

Memories and fears

I wish to take them all back

Yet in a way I don't

For the joys of my present

Are products of my past

My life unexpectedly changed

And in a way so fast

Falling in and out of darkness

I was saved once again

 My Lord blessed me with a gift

And took away my sin

Undeserved was His mercy

And certainly this gift

So fast His light appeared

As my sins He did lift

I praise the Lord for this

This love that he has shown

And even though it pains me so

It shows how I have grown

Learning life's hard lessons

Are never easily done

But in the end you will see

The good of what has come.







Sicky Baby

Two nights ago I woke up around midnight to a very unhappy baby. He was screaming and crying, and I thought he probably just had a bad dream. So I picked him up and snuggled with him until he fell back asleep. 45 minutes later I woke up to a coughing baby, and that's were it began. By the time morning arrived I had a sniffly coughing baby. His first cold! I am so sad! I know eventually we all get sick, but it breaks a mama's heart to see her baby suffering in any way. We spent the first day snuggled up near the vaporizer to help his congestion. The day went fairly smoothly, but it was an exhausting day. Lets just say I didn't get any house work done and we had pizza for dinner, (did you know Safeway does $5 fridays? They have whole roasted chickens and family sized pizzas for only $5!) I got Leon to fall asleep by 9:30, and then over the course of the night he woke up 6 or 7 times because he was either hungry, or just not feeling good. He had a slight fever by 5am (99 degrees, when he is normally 97.6) so I gave him a small does of baby tylenol and his morning bottle. He slept again until 8:15 and here we are now, sitting next to the vaporizer. He seems more congested today, but hopefully he starts feeling better soon, I hate to see him so miserable. The adorable part of all this is that even though he feels like poo he still smiles and giggles when we play. He is such a trooper!

Drawing Once Again :)

I realized there is something I used to do all the time, something I did even more than writing...ART! I finally started drawing again! I just wanted to share with you some of the things I have been working on lately, and some drawings I have done recently. 

This is a sketch I have been working on. This is only the rough draft, I plan on doing a final draft soon, fix some issues and clean it up a bit. I referenced this from a photo of Leon. :)

I did this one right before Leon was born. I love Peter Rabbit! :)

Love you all! <3 Have a blessed day!

Lesson Learned

I woke up startled by my baby's cry because it was different from his usually "I'm awake and hungry" cry. I turned toward the cosleeper next to my bed where Leon sleeps and to my horror I saw my baby wedged in between the cosleeper mattress and the side of the cosleeper! His head was all I could see! Thank God he is so big now that his little feet were touching the bottom of the cosleeper and he wasn't hurt. I yelled to my husband for help as I quickly grabbed him underneath the arms and lifted him out as he lifted the mattress. Seeing that he was alright I hugged him tightly to my chest as if I would never let him go. I was terrified and had no idea that hazard even existed. Once my heart rate slowed and I calmed down I went to my computer and Googled the brand name and model of the cosleeper. The first thing to pop up was a recall due to entrapment and suffocation. The lesson to be learned from this story; always research a product you receive second hand, and always look up the instruction manual if you do not have one, even if the product seems simple enough to assemble. I have learned my lesson. Thank God my little one wasn't hurt in the process. Thank you God for protecting my baby and continually watching over our family.

I love you Son! <3

Cat Naps

I am going to take this short moment of rest and blog. Leon is napping, for how long, I do not know. He has decided he will only take short cat naps during the day, but luckily he still sleeps about 8 hours at night. Oh how I miss those 2-3 hour naps he took as a newborn. :)

The "organize Leon's room project" is nearly complete. All of his currently fitting clothes are neatly folded in his dresser and hung up in the closet and his diaper station is better organized for easy reach. Already I feel quite accomplish, but also exhausted! Maybe it is this foggy weather that has crept in over the past week that is making me so tired and unmotivated. So far today I can actually see blue skies! I believe a good long walk is next on my to do list. I need to go to the post office anyway, so that is a good goal. Yesterday was my hubby's day off, and it was so great to spend the day together. We went for a walk and ended up walking down to the eye doctor so that he could order new contacts, and so I could schedule an appointment, which is this coming Monday. I am afraid I need glasses, for far away things at least, especially when driving. After we finished up there we walked back home, grabbed jackets because it was a little chilly, and continued our walk up to Fred Meyers. There we ate lunch at the deli, I had a yummy chicken wrap, and then bought a bike tire pump for the stroller wheels. I did not realize until my husband pointed it out, that the wheels on our jogging stroller were nearly flat. After pumping up the tires it rolled so smoothly! On our way out we rented a $1 movie to watch with dinner, and finished our walk back home. My legs are a bit sore today, but I love a good walk, especially when I am with my best friend/husband. :)

Oh, Leon is awake now. It is time to get ready to walk. The sun is still shinning, so it should be a pleasant stroll. :) Hopefully I have time to write some more tonight and share with you my latest artistic endeavors, that is if I can get my scanner to work so I can upload my drawings. :) Have a blessed and beautiful day!

Crafty Mama

As you can tell I did not blog yesterday, and I apologize for that. I had a great day with my husband and son. We went for a walk while the weather was nice, and spent the day together.

My newest project is in the works. I am currently working on Leon's first Halloween costume! He, of course, is going to be a lion (Leon means "Lion of God.) So far I have made a lion mane hat with ears, and a tail. It is a rough draft as I will most likely be working on a better one once I get more materials. Here is the hat so far.

And here it is on little Leon. :)

"Roar!" :)

I can't wait to get started on the paws! He will be the cutest lion ever! More picture updates will be added  throughout the process of this costume making. And if enough people are interested I will upload a tutorial on how to make this simple, yet adorable, costume. God bless you all!