Kevin Shutterbug and the Bing Bear

We had a little fun with this installment of Kevin Shutterbug. Think of this little video as our Christmas card from our family to yours! Merry Christmas from the Martins

Kevin Shutterbug & the Fall Leaves

Kevin Shutterbug speaks with my wife as they go through a digital scrapbook of some of the amazing fall sites we have seen on or trip this year! We hope you enjoy the views!

Kevin Shutterbug and the rainy days

On a sunny afternoon in West Virginia, Kevin Shutterbug interviews the Martin boys about what they do on rainy days to pass the time! This is one cute video!!

Kevin Shutterbug and the Interview

Kevin shares a little of his frustration at being ignored during our recent television interview on WIFR in Rockford, Illinois. We thought he was going to talk about this great campground we were at in Indiana, but he could not get over himself!

Kevin Shutterbug and the Cheesehead

We had a little fun here with Kevin doing his first interview with Blake. Be sure to check out One Way Street for great puppets like Kevin Shutterbug and other amazing ministry resources

Kevin Shutterbug at Matchstick Marvels

 

Sorry, but this post has been deleted because it is a part of our new book called Napkin Dreams!

 

Kevin Shutterbug was so impressed with the matchstick marvels he had to show you his pics and his attempts at the unusual art form!

Kevin Shutterbug at Jellystone

Our family recently stayed at the Jellystone Campground in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Kevin had a fun time asking us about our favorite things to do here. Thanks to One Way Street for making Kevin’s reports a reality.

Kevin talks Boondocking

In this installment of Kevin Shutterbug, our favorite roving reporter discovers the meaning of some RV jargon – when he learns the term boondocking! Thanks again to One Way Street for making Kevin’s report about the Martins and their life on the road a reality!!

Keven Shutterbug gets an intern

Our recent stay in Thermopolis was alot of fun and gave us a chance to not only see the cool formations created by the mineral rich hot springs located there at Hot Springs State Park, it also gave us a chance to swim. It has been so cold lately that we haven't had a chance to swim since SoCal!

We also had a fun time crossing over the suspension bridge.

We felt a bit like Indiana Jones!

Poor Kevin didn't get any swimming in though. Check out the video and see what we mean.

One Way Street

Our family finished our Colorado ministry tour by stopping by One Way Street. This was a unique stop for us because it is the "birthplace" of Blake's alter ego, Kevin Shutterbug. One Way Street has a been a supporter of our traveling ministry, Kidology to Go. They are primarily a puppet making company, but they also have skits, books, DVDS, illusions, props and other kids' ministry aids that they sell.

It was pretty cool for our kids to see all the puppets, including the ones that were in the process of being made. We also enjoyed taking a look at their warehouse which had boxes and boxes of different puppets. I spotted several puppets we have used through the years, including the heart puppet and a Bible puppet. It made us nostalgic for the days of working hands on with kids! Children's ministry can be so much fun. Then I remembered all the recruiting and the volunteers that never showed up and I was cured of my nostalgic moment!

Still One Way Street is a great organization helping outfit children's ministries across the United States and the entire world. Of course Kevin Shutterbug had to do a live report from One Way Street, which included a little talk with One Way Street President Todd Liebenow!

Kidologist and Kevin Shutterbug

Our family visited the founder of Kidology, Karl Bastian (AKA the Kidologist) and his family in Parker, Colorado. Kevin got a chance to sit down with the Kidologist and have a little chat and a few laughs. Thanks again to One Way Street for making Kevin’s interviews possible!

JEDI COUNCIL CONVENES IN PARKER, CO

Happy Easter

Today we celebrated our first Easter living on the Road in a 300 square foot motorhome. We had a nice time even without a big home to find eggs in. Still the Easter Bunny had a hard time waiting until everyone fell asleep and filling baskets in the dark and hiding eggs in the rain! Oh well, as a friend of mine said "Silly Rabbit, Easter is for Jesus!"

Some other highlights of our Easter holiday.

• Visited a nice church here in Utah. Powerful preaching for sure. Love it there are still churches that proclaim God's Word.
• First time in two decades I wasn't running around crazy and busier than a one-armed paper hanger on Easter weekend. I took my family to church, sat with my wife in service, worshipped God with no preoccupying thoughts.
• Saturday I took my kids to a community Easter Egg hunt and just enjoyed being a dad and watching my kids grab for the eggs!
• Tanner's teacher at the church told us how knowledgable he was about the Bible. Best thing you can tell a parent, at least us!
• Sherman ate two jelly beans. That and the smell of ham wafting in the air and we had one crazy and hyper little Chihuahua.
• Three words - Durkee Green Beans
• Watched the new Veggie Tales Easter DVD with the youngest boys.

Earlier in the week we taped this special Easter version of Kevin Shutterbug during one of our visits to Zion National Park. Enjoy the scenery and our boys explaining just what Easter is all about!

Kevin Shutterbug and the Wild Buffalo

My lovely wife Patsy has to admit she was wwwwwrong!

Kevin Shutterbug interviews Emma

We have been visiting my sister’s family in Monterey, California and we took the opportunity to have Kevin Shutterbug interview my niece Emma. You can also learn a little about Kevin’s favorite food in this installment!

Kevin Shutterbug at Joshua Tree NP

We recently visited Joshua Tree National Park near Palm Springs, California where Kevin Shutterbug spoke with Patsy about their visit to this park and the upcoming Children’s Pastor conference in San Diego where the Kidology to Go RV will be making a special guest appearance!!

Special thanks to One Way Street for letting The Martin family adopt Kevin during their travels!

We had a great time at Joshua Tree NP climbing rocks and finding lizards. We hiked to Barker Dam and we saw tons of lizards along with antelope squirrels and a black-tailed jack rabbit. The weather here was so nice, on the 80s this week. We just arrived in San Diego today for CPC and it is 20 degrees cooler here. Brrrr

Kevin Shutterbug meets Sherman

Kevin introduces the newest member of the family, Sherman!

Kevin Shutterbug at Saguaro National Park

In this video Kevin Shutterbug does an interview with me about my favorite desert plant.

I love the Saguaro Cactus and our family recently visited Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Arizona (no we were not there during the tragedy but yes we were there during the visit from President Obama, no we did not see him). Our family had a great time exploring this park. Our four youngest sons have been participating in the Junior Ranger programs at all the national parks, while Blake helps the younger guys finishing theirs. The Junior Ranger program is a great feature that really helps kids learn the history, geology, geography, science and cultural aspects of each park. At Saguaro National Park they learned how the Saguaro cactus can live to be 200 years old, that the Gambels woodpecker makes holes in the cactus and that other animals, such as owls, then use these holes as homes.

We have incorporated this program into our boys schooling, and seeing the things they are learning about has been a tremendous addition to their education. Whether you homeschool or not, if you visit a National Park on your next vacation, consider participating in this free program! By the way the bonus is they always get a badge or patch upon completion of the program (sometimes both!) and they get to take an official Junior Ranger pledge.

Why we didn't go to Mexico

If you watch the video below you can tell our family was really pumped about going to Mexico. Blake was especially interested in going because he has been studying Spanish and also the culture of Mexico in school. I was so excited to show my family where I lived during the year I stayed in Mexico near Monterrey Mexico. I also looked forward to touching base with some of my friends who lived down there.

Of course we had heard a lot of words of caution regarding the dangers of visiting Mexico, but we have had plenty of people caution us about most of the things we do in life (planting a church, foster parenting, adopting, marrying an older woman, marrying a younger man, moving to Canada, living in an RV, you get the picture). We have not let fear or even caution direct our steps very often in life. We do try to listen to the voice of God. Now that can be hard to do, and honestly I am sure I have gotten His voice confused with something else more than once.

But this time it felt like God had opened up an amazing door for our family to do some ministry in Mexico and have another chapter of adventure in our life at the same time. Perhaps God was juts seeing how willing we were. A friend of mine recently said peace is a big indicator of God's will in your life, and I have always felt the same way. The morning we got up to leave for Mexico I woke up with a knot in my stomach. For some reason a big part of me did not want to go. I was feeling this was an unsafe position to put my kids in. I shook it off as nervous jitters and listening too much to the well-intentioned naysayers. So we packed up the van and headed to the Laredo crossing 150 minutes away. I said nothing to Patsy about my feelings.

I let her drive as I studied the maps of Mexico and tried to commit to memory where our route would take us, as we discovered our GPS had no coverage in this area of Mexico. Then our van started to act just a little funny. The steering was making some funny noises and acting a little weird. Nothing serious I was sure, but that knot in my gut was not going away. So then I committed and said something to Patsy about my feelings. She is the cautious one of our duo, so she was surprised how I felt but very soon began to feel dubious about going to Monterrey. Especially when I told her about the State Department warning specifically warning about the Monterrey area.

I made a few phone calls to friends and family, asking for advice and prayer. Then I made the call the the host missions agency and told them we at least wanted to get the van looked at before we went in. Of course finding a mechanic in Laredo outside of a Jiffy Lube or Walmart wasn't easy, so we decided to head over to San Antonio and spend the night there. The van still isn't sounding perfect, I think the power steering fluid may need to be flushed, nothing major. Anyway it was getting dark so we knew we weren't going into Mexico at night. Finally we settled on listening to our hearts and simply decided not to head into Mexico.

Yes we were disappointed, especially Blake and me. But who can fathom the mind of God and perhaps what He foresaw if we did make this trip. So while in general I do try to encourage people to live an adventurous life of faith and to not let fear dictate their life choices, I do highly recommend that you let God order your steps and be open to His voice at any time! He doesn't always make sense, and He even seemingly asks you to do one thing only to change course midway (think Abraham and Isaac on the mountain).

So in the end wether anyone was wondering or even reads this post, it is always a good reminder for me to write these things down as a memory stone for myself and my family of just how important it is to hear the voice of God and obey.

Kevin Shutterbug Merry Christmas

Thanks so much to everyone who has been praying for our family and the Kidology to Go ministry! We pray God's blessing on you this Christmas!! Thanks again to One Way Street who helps make this ministry possible and to Kidology for partnering with our family!!

Merry Christmas

Marty, Patsy, Blake, Tanner, David, Brendan, Chase ....... and Kevin Shutterbug!

Kevin Shutterbug - Boredom while driving Howard

Kevin Shutterbug talks to Marty about how our family deals with the long hours of driving in Howard the RV.