Dreaming of days to come...

From the moment that we decided we were moving home I feel like we've been stuck in Limbo. Whether we are waiting on information from the Marine Corps on when we will actually be leaving island or trying to figure out our own crap: transportation, school, work, childcare, living arrangements; it seems like we are always waiting on something. Looking at it in hindsight now, it actually should be a very stressful situation. Yet somehow, may it be our faith in God's plan for our family, being too distracted with Madelyn to care or just outright luck, we are only looking forward to what the next few months and years hold for us with excited anticipation.
Joe and I find ourselves dreaming on a pretty regular basis of all the things we will be doing once we're home.
His dreams usually consist of fishing, hunting, hanging out with the guys, riding sleds again in the snow, playing in the snow, playing with Maddy in the snow, having Maddy see snow for the first time... okay so for the most part anything that involves SNOW.
My dreams have a little wider spectrum. I can't wait to raise my kids in the same state that I grew up in and loved. I can't wait to watch Madelyn discover that sticky white stuff that falls out of the sky for the first time. I seriously can't wait to have a home, in one place, and NOT MOVE for a very long time and have my children recognize this place as their home (even if this last one is going to take a little while it is at least a possibility now that we won't be in the military anymore... I am very tired of moving by the way). I am also very very very excited to get back on the ice and start playing hockey again, with any luck Maddy will be skating in no time!
Everybody dreams, it is just very nice to know that your dreams have the capability of becoming a reality.
But alas, for at least the next three months we are stuck in Paradise. This last weekend we went on a beautiful hike. Here are some photos :)

 Above are some ancient ruins that are located about ten minutes off the main highway near base. This was a summer palace of King Kamehameha III.

 There's our beautiful girl!

 

 Family shot

Our friend David at the base of a beautiful waterfall we hiked to.

I'm off to dream of more things to do once I get home! Hope you all have a beautiful night.
All our love!
The Marshall Family

Holy Smokes, 8 months!

Another month down. I swear every single month I am amazed that this little human has grown so much. She's come a long way from the 4 pound 2 ounce little baby that I brought home from the hospital. Check this girl out!

 The teddy bear pictures are getting more and more interesting the more she can move.

But you can at least you can see how big she's gotten :) A whole 14 pounds 1 ounce!
We've been enjoying more of a schedule these days. Maddy is up to eating three times a day like a big girl and although we've had a few setbacks, sleeping has been going well for the most part.

Madelyn hasn't quite figured out crawling yet, but she's SO close. She manages to get around pretty well though... and she gets into EVERYTHING! The xbox is her new favorite.

We also got to spend some time out in the grass this past week. She was very interested, especially interested in eating it.
This weekend Joe gets a whole 4 days off work so we're off to explore the island a little bit tomorrow. I'll be updating photos afterward.
Oh and if you hadn't noticed, our family is off Facebook for the Lent season so we'll be back after Easter, until then you'll just need to keep up on here.
We'll be posting soon!
The Marshall Family

Blocks and Boxes and Standing, Oh my!

This last week has brought us many new adventures with miss Madelyn. After discovering her standing in her crib (still in the infant position I might add) we have lowered both her crib and the pack n' play as well as begun baby proofing for the soon to come days of crawling.

Other exciting little things lately consist of Maddy getting her first set of wooden blocks, which she absolutely adores, and discovering the fun of boxes!

Honestly, what could be more fun than having children? I don't believe anything :)
Until next time!
The Marshall Family

Sweet Love

I've always had mixed feelings about the month of February. Throughout the duration of our relationship, Joe and I have spent the majority of our Valentine's Days separated... Even though he always manages to come up with something sweet, being apart doesn't make for a very romantic holiday. This year however we have a little someone that makes all the pink, sparkly, over the top madness that surrounds this one day totally worth it! Our little Maddy Grace.
Seeing as how our little princess is only eight months old, there won't be too much Valentines craziness going on this year, but having this little sweetheart makes me excited for the years to come.

 How can you not love that face?!

 This last weekend we spent some much needed time at the beach to say goodbye to one of our good friends. These next few months will hold some very sad times as many of our closest friends are coming up on the last of their time in the Marine Corps. Before we know it we will be in their shoes and headed back up north to Alaska.

We also celebrated our very last Marine Corps Ball on the 31st. Such a fun time, but as always it went by much too quickly.

 Then came Super Bowl Sunday! Madelyn had to represent for the Cardinals since we were short a 49er's jersey. We spent the day at a friends house and ate a ton of food that was absolutely terrible for us. It was glorious :)

 Today Daddy is on duty so Mommy and Maddy will be spending the day together. Our newest project is trying to re-vamp her feeding and napping schedule in attempts of a full nights sleep. There have been far too many early morning wake ups (by early I mean 4am) lately for my liking... I'll send you off with one more photo of our sweet girl. I don't know about you but I just can't get enough!

We're off to explore Miss Maddy's crawling capabilities in the living room. Until next time!
With all our love,
The Marshall Family

Oooooh crawling!

She's up and ready to go! I swear this week it's going to happen. The idea of her crawling is absolutely terrifying but at the same time completely exciting. :) A mobile baby changes everything. She is just growing so fast!
There hasn't been much going on this last week or so but we do have some pictures of our little one to show off:

 She sure is a daddy's girl! She can't get enough of Joey's hats.

Our beautiful girl out and about for the day.

 

Helping Momma make the bed in the morning:)

Ok so this last one isn't of Madelyn but a cool photo none-the-less. This is one of the trails that we take to a local beach here on base. The dogs absolutely love it. I am going to miss this place so much....
Well that's just about it for now. Joe and I are attending our last Marine Corps Ball this week so there will be many photos to follow.
With all our love!
The Marshall Family

Another month has passed! And plans have changed again...

We are no longer immobile! Our little one is on the move and it is crazy in this house!
When we left for Wyoming Madelyn had just become interested in sitting up like a big girl. Just a few short days after that she had it down like it was nobody's business and now she has moved on to lunging, getting up on her hands and knees and when all else fails she just rolls across the floor to where ever her little heart desires. As excited as I am for these amazing milestones, it is a little heartbreaking to see our baby growing up so quickly. At seven months old she has taught me to find the good in each day, (which usually consists of something awesome she did) and to thank God for the beautiful life we get to live. :)
Here's a picture of our little munchkin!

On another note! Our plans as a family have changed once again. Although the military life has blessed us in some unimaginable ways in the past three and a half years, this May we will be calling it quits as a Marine Corps family and be moving back home to Alaska.
Part of me thinks that I always knew we would go back no matter what we said. You can take the kids out of Alaska but you can never take the Alaska out of us!
This journey will come with some struggles and many tests of faith I am sure, but we are prepared and ready to go full steam ahead together.
This coming summer will be spent out at the lodge with Joe's parents where I will work and Joe will help his dad with guiding on the rivers. I will never complain about spending a summer in the beautiful Copper River Valley. Come Fall our little family will be heading to Soldotna to begin Joe's first semester as a full time college student! I could not be more excited for him and this chance that he gets to earn his degree. Another huge thank you to the military for allowing him to receive his education.
That is as far as our plans go right now. We are toying with the idea of Joe joining the Army reserves for some of the added benefits and income but as usual, it is all still up in the air. One thing that I do know for sure: as long as we have each other and our sweet little girl, we can do anything. :)

I'll leave you guys with one last picture of our little one.
Until next time!
With all our love,
The Marshalls

Oh, What a year!

It is easy to say that this past year was one of the hardest and most fufilling of our lives. We endured our second deployment in the first two years of our marraige, welcomed our beautiful little girl into the world and realized that our time in Hawaii is coming to a rapid end. I could go on for days about all that has happened during the last 365 days, but it might get a little boring... So instead I'll recap with photos :) Everyone likes that better anyway!

 

 We began our year by informing all of our family and friends that we were expecting our little angel! At that point we didn't know we were having a girl but were ridiculously excited none-the-less :)

 

Since Joe was leaving for his second deployment in the beginning of April, we decided to get some maternity photos done before he left.

On April 2, 2012 I said goodbye to my love for what seemed like the longest six months ever. Life went on however, and I finished up work at the Child Development Center and started preparing for the arrival of miss Madelyn Grace.

 As my belly grew I knew that I wanted to capture every single moment. Although it is pretty imposible to have a professional photographer on hand 24/7. I loved being able to show Joey how much his little girl was growing from so far away!

 Just five short days later after my last maternity shoot, Madelyn Grace Marshall suprised us with an early arrival. On June 13, 2012 at 11:18pm our munchkin came into the world in style. At 4 pounds 7 ounces she has lit up my life in ways I could have never imagined. Truly the best day of my life.

 Maddy's birth was followed by an influx of family visiting, which was greatly appreciated since Joe was still gone. My momma came for a month, my dad for a week, and finally my grandma closed out the deployment for 2 wonderful weeks. I loved the help but was grateful for some peace and quiet to prepare for our man's return.

 September 25th couldn't have come fast enough. Our main man was finally home with us! Watching my husband meet our daughter for the first time was seriously a moment that will be burned in my memory forever. Such a beautiful time :)

 We were finally able to enjoy our little lovebug together. Here she is on her first Halloween!

 Now we are here in Wyoming, celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of another. There is no better place to be than with family :) Such a beautiful time of year.

 Madelyn's first Christmas!

 Hanging out with her great grandfather, "Papa"

 

Just this past Saturday we celebrated Madelyn's baptism at the Marshall's home church here in Sheridan. It was such a blessing to have such a large amount of family there with us to celebrate. The only thing missing was some of the Petty/Scott family!

 

 Now we are just enjoying the remainder of our vacation here in God's country.

I am so excited to see what 2013 will bring our family. One guarenteed move and certainly many suprises to come. I can't wait to keep you all up to date on what is going on with the Marshalls.
With all our love,
Joey, Amanda and Madelyn Marshall