what IS PurKids??

Earlier this week the PurKids Foundation Inc. held its very first board of Directors meeting here in Kelowna. To many of you this may be ... *yyyaaaawwwwnnn*

but to me ... this is HUGE!

I've been waiting semi-patiently for this for a very long time now ... let me give you some background.

About 4 years ago my husband and I, not married at the time, were living together and expecting our first child - Miss Karleigh Dawn, we also had an 11 and 15 year old at home. If any of you know Lane very well it will be no surprise that even with 2 kids, 1 more on the way and running a business (from home at that point) the wheels were just spinning in his head as to "what can I do next???" so I clearly remember one evening when he threw the idea out there ... "maybe I should start franchising". Even if I WANTED to ignore this huge thought it wouldn't have mattered, once Lane is passionate about something there is just no stopping it and everyone close to him has to learn the ABC's of his new adventure right along with him ... so, needless to say, the re-brand and transformation of 'Modern Furnace and Air Duct Cleaning' to PURAIR (www.modernpurair.com) began! One night, probably in between a bottle or diaper, after a homework check and possibly an email or 2 from a teacher, we sat down and talked about potentially what would happen to the company during the whole franchise process (which of course involved the office moving out of the house and into its beautiful building out on the north end of town) like anything there were and are huge risks and learning curves, but this is something that he truly believed in and wanted to do. So he asked me "IF this works ... what role do you want to have in it??" I told him, like any smart woman "I want to give away your money" *wink*

Fast forward to today and my wonderful entrepreneurial minded husband has taken that "home business" and turned it into a very (although still sometimes stressful and risk taking) successful and thriving business, currently with 11 franchises and growing, and I am so honored to have shared and STILL be sharing in this journey with him. The PurKids Foundation Inc. is the corporate social responsibility of PURAIR and I am its very proud President! Along with Vice President Janice Nice, Secretary/Treasurer Jaime Laramie and Secretary Lesley Scott we have, after many legal bills so that we do this "properly", set out on a very fun ride! The PurKids Foundation is a non-profit organization (yep! we really do it simply because we love it!) and our main goal is to help children any and everywhere who suffer with airborne illnesses and respiratory ailments. Raising awareness to educate people on WHAT is in the air they're breathing, what its doing to them, and mainly what its doing to their children. I will be keeping you all updated as best I can when we have fundraisers, get togethers, or simply to let you what kind of donations we are making and where. If a thought ever crosses your mind please pass it along to me - I would love to hear any ideas you may have or thoughts on the subject. Stay tuned and thank you for taking a few minutes to read something small in print but that is so tremendously large in my heart! Please join PurKids on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Purkids-Foundation-Inc/127916403889198?ref=ts

Here are a few pictures, our first directors meeting, one of the Sprinter Vans that you may see around town and one of the front entrance at Head Office - Enjoy!

A Blessed Mom

The other day I blogged all about Frankie, Lanes Gramma, and my kids Great Gramma who recently went to Heaven :) I mentioned in that post that we have 4 kids, I also mentioned the names ... of 3 of them. Karleigh, Keegan, and Logan ...

Since I was about 14 (the same age as the "unmentioned") or younger I have been a big believer that being the "good kid" isn't always that great. You don't get into trouble, or not much anyway, you do your homework, almost all of the time, you're responsible and reliable and nobody really has to worry about you because they know you will be ok ... which sometimes leads to them forgetting about you (only for very brief periods of time mind you ... but still)

Lets, just for this posts sake, call Tristan the "good kid" whom I forgot to mention in my blog the other day.

Its not because he wasn't a very special part of Nana Frankies life, because he definitely was. In fact she spoke about him quite a lot just 2 days before she passed. It's not because he didn't send in a tribute to her like the rest of us, because he did. Its also certainly not because he is any less of my kid than the others are, he is with me nearly 365 days out of the year as Karleigh and Keegan are - minus sleepovers :) I make him just as many dinners as I make them, I worry about him just as much as I worry about them, and I have never in the 4 and a half years that he's been "my kid" told anyone that I only have 1 or 2 children. So how could I forget to mention him?? Sometimes, in a house full of babies, toddlers and teenagers, the mind is very thankful when you only have to worry about 1 or 2 kids at a time. Its calming sometimes to know that at least one of your kids is either sleeping, playing, or at school and just for a minute there is one less person to worry about.

Yesterday I spent the whole day with Trist, part of it with the "littles" too and then after they went to sleep for the night we went out to do some shopping (and pachos!) something we used to do more often together, but lets face it - bottles, diapers and naps can get in the way of just about anything!

Our home is full of odd numbers, age-wise. 36, 26, 14, 3 and 1 - and I often get the "how IS that??" question ... I always answer with "we are very blessed ..." the odds were/are certainly against us, but that never mattered. Some blended families have the kids half of the time and as much as the thought has crossed my mind, not gonna lie haha ... I wouldnt want it any other way. We're a family, not a "blended" one, just a family and I am so blessed as a Mother and as a Stepmother (although Im still not a big fan of that term thanks to Cinderella) to have such a great relationship with all of my kids.

All of this to say that Tristan, you are never forgotten ... sometimes, as a worrier, I just enjoy the short break knowing that you are ok :)

xo

We'll Miss you!

Well - its been a while!

May (so far) has been a bit of a crazy month, which is nothing new for the Martin Household. It seems that all of our birthdays, anniversaries, and of course Mothers Day, fall in May so needless to say by June we are all sort of ... well ... tired of each other haha!

However, this May has been particularly full of family time and its the good kind, the supportive "there for each other" kind :)

On April 27th the littles (Karleigh and Keegan) and I packed up and ventured off to Calgary to be with Lanes mom and Gramma who was not doing so well. It was becoming very clear that Nana Frankies days were becoming few and far between and I really wanted the kids, mainly Karleigh, to be able to see her one last time and create a few more sweet memories with her Great Gramma - and that she did! She would go running into the room where Nana was staying and happily say "HIIII Nana Frankie!!" and rest her little head on Nanas hand. Nana would smile down at her and pat her head and they'd share a few quick words and then Karleigh would bound back out of the room again ... "BBYYYEEEE Nana Frankie!!" *I should also add the way that Nanas eyes lit UP when she saw Keegan come marching up to her bed. The last time she saw him he was only a few months old so certainly not walking and he definitely has more of a "Mister" personality now.

Karleigh was very aware, in a 3 year old sort of way, what was going on and that Nana wasn't feeling well and pretty soon she would be going to Heaven, and that meant that we wouldnt see her for a very long time.

We spent tuesday evening, all day Wednesday and Thursday with her before she peacefully drifted off to sleep very early on Friday morning April 30th 2010.

It was an odd thing to watch someone go through, but to witness that happening with such grace, and faith and "sureness" of where she was going, was pretty amazing. To be able to have my 3 year old and 1 year old there with me and for them to not have an ounce of fear or even question where we were or why we were there was so reassuring to me that we had done the right thing by going.

Frankies memorial was held on May 7th at her church in Dalhousie, and WHAT a turn out!! She was so loved by anyone and everyone who ever knew her and it sure showed that day. Lane and his cousin Cameron did a wonderful job of "MC'ing" the afternoon and I am sure that she was watching down upon them, partly helping them to keep it together so well and partly just in awe of all the kind words that were spoken and all of the people that were there.

Everyone was welcomed, a day or so before she passed, to email or phone or text a tribute of their own that would then be printed and posted in the bulletin at the memorial. Each and every one of them are so unique but they all have one thing in common, they all outline what a wonderful, loving and Godly woman she was. The first tribute to be sent over was from Logan, our oldest of the 4 kids. I dont know if Logan even knows this but her tribute to Nana was the only one that Frankie was actually able to hear in person. Logan texted it to Marlalee who then gave it to me and I was able to sit and read it to Nana on Wednesday the 28th.

I could go on forever but I will just end by saying that we love her and we miss her - but we are happy in our hearts that she is in such good Hands now.

xoxo

Where does the time go!?

I know we say this all the time ... but Im serious ... HOW does time go by so quickly?

Yesterday we celebrated Keegans first birthday, I can hardly even believe that fact. What a sweet little angel he is though, as is big sister Karleigh. Still, a whole year later, Karleigh acts as though Keegan is the greatest gift that we ever gave to her. She is so excited still everytime she sees him, loves to be the first one in his room to see him in the morning or after naptime and when she "helps me" change him she always brings 2 diapers ... because she knows that "Keegy likes to play with one" while Im changing the other :)