A Day to Think...

Memorial Day has always had a special meaning to me. I was raised to appreciate our country's service members, not just on this one day a year but on every day of the year. I have had grandfathers, many uncles, countless cousins and even more friends serve on the front lines of many different wars. The amount of respect I have for these individuals cannot be explained in just words.
My view of this day however changed immensly the moment I fell in love with my husband. I always knew in the back of my mind that deployments were innevitable; that spending weeks, even months away from my other half was going to happen whether I liked it or not. Knowing this doesn't change how difficult it is to deal with. Starting in November of 2010 my very own hero left for a 7 month deployment to Afghanistan. I truly believed that those seven months were the scariest, most trying time in my life. But we made it through it! My husband returned home safely in June of 2011; it was THE happiest moment I had experienced in my life.
We began enjoying the time we had and loved every second that we were blessed with; finally starting our new life together. Then came November 1, 2011. This day became the new happiest day of my life; the day we discovered we were expecting our baby girl. The news came with many different emotions: excitement, overwhelming amounts of joy and of course a little bit of nerves. After the initial shock began to disappear we soon realized that whether this deployment was going to be combat or not, Joe would most likely not be here for the birth of our first child. Sadness was of course in the air but was over- shaddowed ten fold by the excitement of our news.
April 2nd was the day that Joe left for his second deployment with the United States Marine Corps. A hard day of course but once again I was overwhelmed with feelings of pride for my amazing husband. This Memorial Day is filled with mixed feelings. Sadness that my husband is away, joy that I am lucky enough to have someone so incredible to call mine, and pride in all that Joe does every day to keep our family safe. I cannot express how lucky I feel to call him my own and how excited I am to introduce our daughter to her amazing daddy the moment he steps off that plane in October.
There are no words that can express my graditude to each and every service member and their families across the globe that must sacrifice their time together and so much more for the needs of our country. Your blood, sweat, and tears will NEVER be forgotten.

With all our love, support, and prayers, we think of you all daily.
~The Marshall Family

A Confession...

I'll admit it: I am VERY bad at keeping up with this blog. BUT! With the little one almost here I am going to be posting as often as I can to keep everyone up to date with the happenings of our life.
Joe has now been gone for just about 8 weeks and is getting to experience so many amazing things. He has been to Australia and Thailand and those are only two of the five awesome places he gets to visit on this deployment. I couldn't be happier that he is getting to travel the world through this deployment; even if I do miss him like crazy.
As for our everyday life... I am doing my best to stay as active as I can! This baby sure does take a lot of energy out of me, but we're still getting in our daily walks and staying fit. No more trips to the gym for this momma however; those Braxton Hicks contractions are no fun while on a stationary bike :( The dogs are getting restless so I've been doing my best to get them out and about. Oakley, however has found something else to do with his spare time.

Apparently he doesn't enjoy a comfortable bed as much as the next dog...

The next few weeks will be filled with many things:

• The greatly anticipated baby shower!
• The beginning and end of birthing and breast feeding classes.
• A visit from the Hall family!!!!
• Quite a few doctors appointments.
• And general preparation for baby Marshall's arrival.

I really will do my best to keep the updates coming. Just a little while longer and this home will be as busy as ever with our sweet little girl :)

With all our love, as always,

Amanda, Joey, and baby M~

As days go by...

Today marks the two week mark of my favorite person being halfway around the world. Things have been easy on some days and harder on others, as can be expected with a loved one being deployed.

On the up side, this little girl in my belly is growing growing growing! I cannot express how wonderful it is to feel my baby moving all day long. What a blessing!

Here is a little something to keep you all up to date on our growing family.

With all our love!
The Marshalls

One week down... many to go.

Our first week has passed! This is a pretty big deal considering how long it felt like it took. Joe is doing great in Australia and having a good time figuring out how different the world is down there. Here are just a few things he has relayed to me.

• They drive on the wrong side of the road
• The hot water in the sink is on the wrong side.
• The water in the toilet spins the opposite direction.
• There are birds on base that attack you as you run by during PT.
• You aren't allowed to go into any water past your ankles... there may be crocodiles that will attack.. Yikes!
• And sadly it is VERY hot and VERY humid.

But aside from all of the differences he is extremely thankful for the opportunity to go through such an experience.

As for on the home front, I've been keeping busy with work, the dogs and this crazy baby inside of me who I am pretty sure is working on her black belt!
We enjoyed a wonderful Easter service at the base chapel today and it was exactly what I needed. It never hurts to be reminded of how great our God is.

I promise I'll be keeping you all updated on the happenings our family; but as for right now I believe I hear my bed calling my name. :)

Here's just a little view of how baby Marshall is growing.

Sending all our love!
The Marshalls

It's not "Goodbye"... It's "I'll see you later.."

Today was the day:

• Up at 1:45am 
• In the parking lot at 2:30am 
• Wait until 7:30am for the dreaded white busses to drive away. 

As much as I thought it would be... Nothing about this day was any easier than when I watched those same busses drive away in November of 2010. I believe the sitting and waiting is the hardest part. You can only mentally prepare yourself for so long before you get used to the idea and then when the Commanding Officer shouts that it's time to load the busses the whole concept of the person you love walking away from you for six months still hits you like a freight train going at top speed.

With all the tears, emotions and hype surrounding this entire deployment there has been one thing in the back of my mind. God has a plan! And with His plan come challenges and obsticles that, although are hard at the time, will only make our family stronger in the future.

These next six months will be filled with preparing for little Miss Marshall's arrival, spending some much needed time with my mother during the month of July, and working my hardest at keeping my head up and drawing nearer to the Lord.

There are few things that bring me more happiness than this man! Just six short months and a Hero will be returning to his loving wife and new baby girl. How can you be sad when you have that to look forward to?! 

We'll be posting soon!

With all our love,

The Marshalls

A Time for Some Firsts... and Some Seconds

Oh where to begin... 

This is my first time posting on a blog in nearly forever! 

We are now living in our first home in the beautiful Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

I am 26 weeks into our very first pregnancy and could not be more excited!

But...

This coming week brings a second time for preparation and patience.

These next six months bring us a second need to draw nearer our God.

Because... Joe will be leaving for his second deployment with the United States Marine Corps.

Although the next few days will undoubtedly bring many tears, they are small in comparison to what the next few months will bring to our family. An amazing gift from above will be gracing us with her presence in  early July. Timing was not on our side when it came to a pregnancy and an upcoming deployment but we, as a family, have all the faith in the world that God has a plan and are confident that the next six months will fly by; bringing an amazing husband and new daddy back into our arms.

Knowing this, I am committed to spending this time apart bringing myself closer to the Lord, staying possitive, and being the best momma I can be!

Here are just a few photos to catch you all up on the past 6 or so months of our life here in the Marshall household!

There will be more posts to come... I promise!

With all our love,

The Marshalls