Adventures!

We have been so blessed with good weather these last couple of weeks. Today Joe and I got to take Maddy on another incredible hike with our friends Shannon and Taylor. What a day! We did get a little lost on the way up... which resulted in me falling about ten feet down an extremely slippery set of rocks... But we made it! And we have some beautiful photos as a result. Thank goodness Daddy is home, I'm a little sore from the fall and the help with Madelyn is greatly appreciated.

 The first picture is our final destination. We couldn't even see the top it was so high!

 We found something that looked a little bit like home :)

 Shannon and I at the base of the waterfall!

 Miss Maddy had quite the explosion on the way up so she got to wear Momma's t-shirt the rest of the way

We just love Shannon and Taylor! Couldn't ask for better hiking buddies!

We had such a wonderful time today! Now it's time for some dinner and a little rest for my sore body! We'll be spending the rest of the week getting ready for Nana to come on Thursday... so exciting!

Until next time!
All our love,
The Marshall Family

Week one with Daddy

Well it's official. Our little Madelyn is SO in love with her Daddy! This last week has been amazing as a momma and as a wife. Getting to watch the two loves of my life bond and learn about each other has brought me more joy than I can describe.
This past weekend we got to go on our first hike as a family. Miss Maddy loved it! Joe carried her the entire 3.5 miles in her carrier; what a guy! Needless to say this little girl was completely fascinated by the sky and the dirt and especially the trees! I think we have a wilderness girl among us... She sure does like being outside!


We are so lucky to have such a great group of friends out here in Hawaii. The guys are still getting used to having a baby in the group now but my girlfriends are amazing with her :)


At home we have been enjoying every second of watching our baby girl grow and learn. Madelyn is well on her way to rolling over and is loving getting to stand with a little help from Mommy or Daddy. The carseat has become one of her least and most favorite things as of lately. She hates going in it but sleeps so well in there! It's a work in progress... Some other milestones that we've hit recently are things such as talking back (babbling) when we talk to her, bringing her hands together (over and over and over again) and grabbing on to her pacifier and rattle! She has already changed so much just since Joe has been home, it's so interesting to just sit an watch her.





Most of all it seams that Madelyn and Daddy like to take naps together. It gives Momma a little bit of quiet time that is very much appreciated.
I'm off to go enjoy my two loves. Until next time!
With all our love,
The Marshall's
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Daddy is home!!!

These last two days have been by far the happiest of my life. My best friend and the father of my beautiful little girl is back where he belongs: in my arms! The few days leading up to the homecoming were stressful to say the least... And yet when I saw him walking toward us I knew that every second of the six months that he was away no longer mattered. The only feeling I felt was joy; pure, uninhibited joy!


Watching my amazing man bond with our daughter has brought me more happiness than I could imagine. I swear I could sit and watch them stare at each other for days!


I feel so incredibly blessed to finally have my family together.





These two like to hang out quite a bit together. It's a perfect situation since Momma loves to watch them play :)


I'll be posting more soon! But right now I need to get to my little girl and that handsome daddy of hers :)
With all our love,
The Marshall family
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Single Digits!!

The days are truly flying by! This time next week Madelyn and I will be waking up for the last time without Daddy and we cannot wait. Six months seems like such torturous concept at the beginning and yet I feel as though Joe got on that bus yesterday.
The best part of this return is knowing that we have at least one whole year with our man before having to be separated again. The best case scenario will have Joe getting accepted to flight school and being a non-deployable for two entire years. That could give us almost three years without extensive separation!! Oh, dreams.
These last few days miss Maddy Grace and I have been spending some much needed time with the girls. Today most of all showed me how lucky I am to have such amazing friends in my life. I don't do it nearly enough, but today I made a point to thank God for all the incredible people he has placed in our lives. My husband, our friends, our family and our beautiful baby remind me daily how beautiful God's grace truly is. I need to make a point of thanking Him more often than I do.
Mass this evening was a good reminder to me of where our priorities should lie as Christians. As the priest asked the congregation a seemingly simple question it got the wheels in my head turning. "Who is He to you?". The answer of course must vary from person to person, but these words do have the potential to be quite perplexing. I'll be going to bed this evening this this question on my mind. It's always a good day when you get to do a little soul searching and pondering :). One thing I do know for sure: God is oh so good!
Enjoy just a few photos of our beautiful little blessing.












Sending our love and some little baby smiles!
~The Marshall's

Lists

Ok, so since having a baby... Well realistically since becoming pregnant, my memory has been horrendous! I'll be sitting and thinking about something that needs to be done and by the time I get up to do it I have completely forgotten what it was. Due to this little predicament I have resorted to making lists.
The problem with lists is that if you're like me (barely remembering anything), you have to be pretty specific. So this morning as I'm looking at all my lists I chuckled to myself. I believe I have become my mother...
Right now in the Marshall house hold we have our "big list", the one with everything that needs to be done before and after Joe returns home. On that list I have items such as wash the truck and give the dogs a bath (yes, I do have to remind myself of this). The funny thing is though, on my big list I keep finding that I have instructed myself to make more lists! There is the cleaning list; naming all the things that must be cleaned before homecoming. Then we have the grocery list; keep in mind that I have been feeding only myself for six months so this could pose a problem. Finally we have the meal list; something new I'm going to try for a bit.
Staring at all of this is quite intimidating. So much to do in so little time!!! Having all of these lists I am also finding can be a little exhilarating. Yes I know, it is sad that I get excited about chores, but honestly having these lists means there there is very little time until my handsome husband comes home. :) And it just doesn't get any more exciting than that.
Well I better go get started on all these to-do's! Until next time.
With all out love, always.
~The Marshall's

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3 Months!!

Time has gone by SO fast! I cannot believe that Madelyn is already 3 months old... how did this happen?
Our little girl has been growing so incredibly well, sometimes it's hard for me to believe how little she was when I brought her home from the hospital. At just 4 pounds 2 ounces the day we checked out Madelyn barely fit in her carseat. Now she is chunking up so well... 9 pounds! That's over double her birth weight!
Here is our monthly teddy bear picture to show you how big our girl is getting!

We'll be posting more soon!
With all our love,
Joey, Amanda and Madelyn Marshall

Our big girl!

This last week sure has made me a very proud Momma. I cannot believe how quickly little Maddy is growing up! Here are just a few photos to show off how far Madelyn is coming in her tummy time ventures :)

Getting so strong!!