My name is Cristina "Crick" Martindell and I just want to introduce myself and tell a little of who I am. As I thought about this I am first and foremost a wife and a mother, not sure which order, I think they are equal in importance to me. I will have been married 26 years as of this February, wow how time flies! I am married to a wonderful husband Rob, who is an incredible person and makes a lot of what I do happen! He can fix and do anything! He loves to cook on the grill and relishes in making people happy with his wonderful grilling expertise. He is a supervisor at the mine here in Safford, AZ, which gives him several days off because of his schedule, to work on fun projects with me.
I am the support specialist at the LDS Safford Seminary and I love my job! It is part time, but very rewarding. The seminary teacher Bro. Huntsman is truly an amazing teacher and cares so much for his students. I am very blessed to have him as a boss and they are equally blessed to have him as a teacher. I just love working with and being around the youth they are so amazing! I guess that is a good thing because they have just called me to be the Stake Young Women's President, not exactly sure why, but I guess the Lord knows what he is doing, right?!
Well my husband and I are both are from Snowflake, AZ, and the question I get a lot is, "Does it snow there?" The answer is yes! I know when most people think of Arizona, they think of desert, which is where I live now, but Snowflake is a beautiful town of four wonderful seasons! A great oxymoron, I do miss it there! The one thing that Safford does have that I absolutely love and am drawn to is a huge mountain called Mt. Graham. Which also gets quite a bit of snow. This is my favorite place to be, especially in the summer time. I really could just sit and watch it for hours, sounds strange I know, but I really love it.
We have been blessed incredibly with 6 beautiful and talented children, this is the time that I guess it is o.k. to brag a little bit on them right? We are the Brady Bunch, 3 boys and 3 girls. I just want to tell you a little bit about each of them.
Jessica is my oldest, she is married to an incredibly kind, fun-loving husband named Jordan. They have two beautiful blue-eyed children, David and Lizzie. She is so amazingly talented when it comes to music. She has a beautiful voice, plays the piano and cello. Her husband is also a wonderful musician, especially with the piano, he can play anything amazingly, including basketball! Music just brings her family so much joy. They both love to be active and be outdoors and find new places to see, hike and visit. Jessica is a great athlete and has a love for soccer and is amazing at it. She has found that she likes to crochet and also do crafty things and is getting really good at it. She is an amazing mom and tries so hard to be. She is so caring and loving and wants everyone to be happy. As a teenager you would most likely find her either at the piano or on her bed reading a good book!
Robby is the oldest boy and was a boy through and through! He was lucky enough to marry a beautiful wife named Rebeka, who is adventurous, kind, has a great love for animals and is incredibly smart! Robby was a natural athlete from the time he was little and loved to play any sport and was very good at it with little practice. Rebeka is also an extraordinary athlete especially in volleyball. He loves to be doing anything outdoors and has found a new love in snowboarding and they love doing this adventure together. Robby is very competitive when it comes to anything and is usually very good at everything. I can't say he loves to sing, but he is good at it. Robby has a very tender heart and loves to be with and surrounded by his family including their two German Shephards and a cute long haired black cat. As a teenager you would most likely find him at or on any sports field or watching it on TV!
Emery is our second daughter and is married to one of Robby's best friends Duskin. Duskin is also an avid outdoors-man, especially when it comes to hunting. This is funny because Emery is very girly and just loved doing girly things growing up, but don't let this fool you she has embraced this side of him and loves to go out with him. They have a very handsome little boy named Kason, who is the center of her whole life. All she has ever wanted to do is be a mom and is also amazing at it. She loves to spend time with her family doing anything that they are doing. She has an amazing singing voice, even though she doesn't think so. She is our crafty girl! She loves to decorate and has an incredible eye for putting things together and making it look good, whether it is clothes or decorating a house. As a teenager you would most likely find her out with her friends doing crazy (good) fun things, things that I would never have thought of doing (like eating goldfish, the live ones!)
Tyson is our second son and a twin to our third daughter. He is one of the smartest people I know and can fix anything from a computer to a car and spends much of time giving these services to his friends and family. He loves helping people. He amazes me sometimes with the things he accomplishes, if only he would focus more on actual school! He has also found out that he loves to sing and dance...at the same time! He has an incredible voice and is an even better dancer. He loves to play all kinds sports and is really good at almost anything he tries, but his favorite is basketball. He is very generous and would literally give you the shirt off his back, but would really love to beat his brother in Fantasy Basketball! As a teenager you would most likely find him in front of the X-box playing games with his friends.
Tyanne is our third daughter and a twin. She is married to one of Duskin's good friends Ryan, which is how they met. Ryan is an incredible athlete especially in basketball but can also play the piano. Together they love to ride their motorcycle and enjoy the scenery. Tyanne is very hard working, especially when it comes to school work and worked hard to get amazing grades. She loves to work out, stay fit and cook incredibly delicious healthy food! She has always loved making up new recipes. She loves the outdoors and thankfully would always be my hiking buddy. She is very athletic and always worked harder then everyone else always keeping a positive attitude in every situation. She is an amazing artist and can paint or draw almost anything. She also loves to sing and has an amazing voice! As a teenager you would most likely find her in her room, on the floor, with her computer, doing homework.
Darius brings up the end. He is the baby and relishes in it, at the same time he is one of the most kind hearted people I know. He always has a smile on his face and hates any kind of confrontation. He loves sports and is a really fast runner. His soccer coach gave him the nickname of "The Flash" and he loves it. His favorite sport is track and loves to long jump and triple jump and is really good at it. His biggest love of all is his love of music. He sings constantly, I'm not talking occasionally, but all the time! He loves to play the piano, guitar and his newly acquired ukulele. He works hard to keep good grades and loves to work with his dad making things out of wood. As a teenager (now) you would mostly likely find him anywhere in the house literally singing at the top of his lungs!
Well that is my family. Why did I take so much time describing each one of them? Because they are so much a part of me and who I am as well, even though my three girls and one daughter-in-law will be telling about themselves on here and going into deeper descriptions of their wonderful families. As for me, well it is really hard to describe myself. I have changed so much over the years but if I was to say "As a teenager I would say that you would most likely find me playing sports or just being outdoors with my friends somewhere." I don't find myself playing sports much any longer, my focus has changed somewhat (mostly due to age), but I do still love the outdoors. I love to hike in the mountains or float down the river. I love to go camping and see new places that I haven't been before. I am however, afraid of bears, so when I go hiking I always bring something to protect me from bears, silly I know, not that it would really help though, but it makes me feel better. I also love taking pictures of the adventures I go on....so beware!
I absolutely love to sing with my family. When we get together it is so much fun to gather around the piano and just take a part and sing. Which brings me to...I love Pentatonix! They are truly amazing and I love listening to them. When we go on road trips we listen and sing to them and try to pick out the different parts. Another funny thing we do on road trips is make music videos....I may have to post one or two of those from past trips!
I love creating things, whether it be with sewing, cooking, on the computer, my silhouette, wood, paint, or just about anything I can get my hands on. It just brings me great joy to create something from nothing (well I guess there is usually materials involved).
I love the fall and especially Christmas! I love getting together with family, cooking, playing games and the best of all, listening to Christmas music! There is just something that happens when you listen to it that makes everything feel warm and fuzzy. Speaking of warm and fuzzy, I love being a grandma. Spending time with my grand kids is the best feeling ever. I know I get a little emotional when they leave, or I have to leave, but I just can't help it.
All of these things are wonderful fun things, but who am I down deep inside? I have a love of trying to be better then I was yesterday and to make those around me feel that they are loved. To follow my Savior Jesus Christ and do what he would do and be who he was. To serve those around me to the best of my ability and to encourage those who need it. To be a person who doesn't judge or make anyone feel that they don't measure up. To call up that friend or family member who is having a bad day and to be close enough to the spirit to know when to do so. To do what I am asked to do and follow through with things that need to be done. I am not perfect in any of these things but I am trying to do better every day. I am thankful to be a member the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I feel very blessed to know of its teachings and strive to learn more every day. I have a love of the scriptures and most of all a love of the temple and the fact that I know, that because of it, I can be with this sweet family of mine forever! There is no greater blessing on earth!
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