Tolman Family

We just got back from our ultrasound appointment and we found out we're having a girl! That means 99% of the people who guessed were wrong - Everyone thought we we're having a boy! It was really exciting to finally find out. Now we can go shopping. :) We don't have any idea what we're going to name her yet, though. You can see her head on the right side, an arm up in the middle and her knee bent in on the left side. Here's my belly at 20 and 1/2 weeks. That's well into my 5th month. It's growing - slowly, but surely!

Hank's hometown of Chapman, Kansas was hit by a tornado last week. Over 70% of the town was destroyed. One person was killed, 3 people were severely injured and a dozen others had injuries. The population was only 1200, so it is pretty devastating. Hank and I visited Chapman last summer on our Honeymoon and luckily took some pictures. Here are some before and afters. Before - Hank in front of his elementary school After - The school was supposed to be a refuge for those with unstable homes, but unfortunately it was hit, too. Before - Hank in front of his childhood home. After - This is not Hank's house, it's just the only picture we could find. We still haven't heard if his house was hit. Our hearts go out to all of the people in Chapman (and all over the midwest - they've had some crazy weather!). Hopefully they can rebuild soon. It is a beautiful small town with wonderful people. Chapman Elementary/Jr. High School serviced all of the outlying towns. Chil...

We'd like to wish a Happy Father's Day to all the fathers that have influenced our lives. Including: Bruce, Jim, Greg, our Grandpas, uncles, and many others. Thank you for your ongoing support and great examples. We love you. Even though we are not quite parents yet, we still like to celebrate these holidays together. I got Hank the Planet Earth DVDs that he's been wanting for a long time and our unborn baby got him the traditional gift of new ties. :) I cooked him breakfast and burnt all of it. Being the good sport he is, he ate it anyway. Hank is a wonderful husband and I know he will be a great dad. He is kind and strong. He upholds the priesthood and he provides for our family. I am proud to be married to such a wonderful man. To: Daddy, From: Baby

Happy Birthday United States Army! Hank and I went to the 233rd annual Army Ball tonight. It's the bet part of the Army, as far as I'm concerned. It's very formal, so we get to get all dressed up for it. When you first get there you wait in a receiving line to meet all the generals and commanders during the cocktail hour. Then we go into the dining hall for the program and dinner. My favorite part is the toasting. There are about ten toasts that we stand for and have to say something specific. It goes something like this: Someone says, "Ladies and gentlemen, I propose a toast to our Commander in Cheif." Everyone says, "To the President." Then we take a drink. As you first walk in there is a small table with a single setting and a red rose. It is in honor of the fallen soldier. Each thing on the table represents something. When we toast to the fallen soldiers we do it in silence and don't take a drink. At dinner we found out we were se...

My brother, Elder David Martin, has been serving in the California, San Jose Mission for the past 2 years. Hank and I were so blessed to be stationed here in his mission. Last night we attended his farewell fireside in San Jose. He bore a beautiful testimony of the Savior. We're sad to see him go, but, of course, my family can't wait to have him home. The ward mission leader from the area he was serving in last introduced himself to me. He said, "I want you to know that your brother is the greatest missionary I've ever seen. I've served one full time mission and six Stake missions, and your brother is the best." David made a real impact on the people here. In a ward where there hadn't been a baptism for three years, David got in there and had three baptisms right away. He is a joy to be around. His fellow missionaries and his mission president loved him. We're proud of you, Elder Martin!

It's true, Hank and I just bought our first Hobbit Hole. It's also true that we're complete nerds. We love to play Lord of the Rings Online. We sit in the same room on separate computers and follow each other around Middle Earth. We get assigned "quests" to complete and we earn money. This house cost 1 gold piece (that's a lot.) These characters are named Hankwise and Trudi. They're level 15. Hank also has a level 45 character. I was never much of a gamer before, but it's one of Hank's favorite past times. I started playing so it could be something fun we could do together. Now I love it! (Click on the pictures to see how detailed they are.) Chatting it up on our bed. We have a great view of the Shire from our roof. ...Like I said before, we're nerds! :)

Hank and I celebrated our one year anniversary on April 19th. We spent an awesome weekend in San Francisco. I met Hank at the Shariton Hotel on Friday night. I was on my way home from Orlando. We went out to dinner then watched a movie in our room. On Saturday morning (our anniversary) we met our ward at the Oakland Temple. We did our own session of sealings. There was such a strong spirit there. The names we did were Native American names, so some of them were really cool. Our favorites were Dragging Canoe, Little Crying Bear, and Soaring Eagle Number 2 of the Paint Clan! We had already decided that we would make it a tradition to do sealings every year on our anniversary, but after that session we amended our tradition. Next year we will have at least one name of our own to bring. I think that will make it even more special. After the temple we went into San Francisco. We got roped into going to a timeshare presentation, but it was okay because we got a lot of free stuff. We rode on ...

This post is to catch you up on some old news. In April I took a last minute trip to Orlando, FL with my family. We spent four days at DisneyWorld and it was so fun. I told my family there that Hank and I are having a baby. They were shocked! (Note my still-skinny belly!) Epcot Center: Melanie, Sammy, Grandma, Mom, Danica Animal Kingdom: Grandma, Mom, Melanie, Sammy, Danica Magic Kingdom: Dad, Mom, Grandma, Melanie, Sammy, Danica