Pictures!

I know that both sets of my grandparents will appreciate a post of all pictures!

Marshall Family 2013

I'm not sure who's more intense- Tenley or Mike!  Either way, I'm not sure Paisley likes it!

Tenley loves wrestling around with Daddy!

Uh oh!  Tenley was messing up Daddy's hair!

My sweet girls.

Trina Made Me.

Because I'm convinced that Trina is the only person who still reads this, and maybe my grandparents, I decided I needed to update my favorite Detroit resident on the newest Marshall Madness.

What have we been up to?  This stage of life is exhausting.  Do you think someone could have warned me that the 3's were harder than the twos?  Would that have been too much to ask!?  Well here's your warning- they are.   Tenley is stubborn, independent, hard headed.  But she's also the sweetest, most polite little girl.  I pray every night that her stubbornness will be used for good one day.  That she will stand up for what she believes in and not care what other people think.  One day, I just know that God will use all of these attributes for good.  The other day when she was getting a little sassy, I said "Oh Tenley, you're lucky you're cute." And she looked up at me and grinned and said "Oh I know Mama".  Ha!  Right now her favorite things revolve around:

Sophia the First

The Little Mermaid

And anything princess or purple!  She also wears her cowboy boots every day around the house.  She loves the snow ... specifically eating it.  Her favorite foods are popcorn and macaroni and cheese.  She pronounces "macaroni" as "maceeoni" and I hope she never says it right.  It's the cutest thing.  She's taking more and more of an interest in her little sister, which makes this mommy happy.  Tenley is so excited for Christmas.  She can't wait til we go look at the lights! 

Paisley.  Oh my sweet Paisley Grace.  What a joy she is.  Now remember all those things I said about Tenley?  All those qualities that I will love about her some day but tends to be frustrating now?  Paisley is the opposite of all of them.  She's so laid back, so content.  Maybe that's common for the second child...although not in my mom's case.  Sorry Jason :)  She is quick to smile and laugh.  She loves her big sister and watches her every move.  We're celebrating her 1st birthday with a party this weekend.  I am sure I will have lots of pictures from that next week.  

We are enjoying this stage of life as tiring as it can be.  Mike is working a lot of hours, the girls are busy bodies and we're just laughing our way through!  We are looking forward to the Christmas season with our friends and family.  We are also very well aware of the hurt and lonliness that can come to many people during this season.  For those of you who find themselves missing someone this year, please know we're praying for you and God is with you always!

Peace in the Chaos

I'm feeling so torn today.  We got some really tough news from some friends of ours.  If they weren't states away I think I would have rushed over and just embraced them for hours.  Our dear friends from Merrillville have tried for years to have children.  She became pregnant just four weeks after we found out we were having Tenley.  We were so excited to walk through this journey together.  Sadly, she had a miscarriage a few weeks later.  I remember feeling very guilty.  There I sat nauseous, bloated.  Even though I wasn't showing yet, I felt like there was a big red arrow pointing to my belly letting everyone know that I was pregnant and she was not.  Because of the person she is- she probably never once thought that about me.  She never would have thought "why her?  why not me?" .  But I sure did.  Years have now passed.  They have moved to Texas, we have had another child.  They have started the adoption process.  They were notified a couple months ago that a birth mom had chosen them!  They were so excited and we all rejoiced with them.  What a blessing this sweet baby boy would be!  This was the boy that God had created just for them!  Yesterday, the birth mom's due date, we received a message that the birth mom had changed her mind.  She wanted to keep her son.  What do you say?  How do you cope with something like that?  

They were at peace just two days ago and now chaos.

They were blessed by a little life and now it feels like a death.

They had experienced God's healing and now feeling a loss.

What a celebration we had and now the grief is tangible.

It's unfair.  It's a gut wrenching feeling to watch them go through this, let alone go through it themselves.  What do you do with those feelings?  The only hope I have is our faith in Jesus.  He keeps us rooted.  He keeps us on the journey that we are intended to be on. He helps us continue the fight.  This is hard.  This path is narrow.  But God never intended it to be easy.  And I have to have faith and believe that Colt and Lindy's path is leading them to the perfect sweet baby that they will hold in their arms and never have to let go of.  He is faithful ALWAYS.  Their story isn't over.  Hold on tight Colt and Lindy.  Jesus is carrying you and He will make it right.

Welcoming Fall with Open Arms!

Goodbye Summer!  Hello Fall!  I'm not sad to see summer and it's 90+ degree temps go with it!  Overall, we had a pretty mild summer.  But the fall weather is good for my soul.  I have had our house decorated for fall for a few weeks now, mums are in place on the porch and I'm ready for some hot apple cider, hoodies and football!  Summer is full of Marshall Madness but fall feels a little slower, much cozier and a bit lazier.  I'm all for it.  I have to admit, the girls look extra cute in jeans and hoodies too!

Tenley ended her summer with her 3rd birthday!  I can't even wrap my head around how she can be three.  She's full of life, smiles and laughter.  She cracks us up most of the time and leaves us wondering how she comes up with some of the things she says!  She's becoming more independent - likes to do things on her own, does well using her imagination and playing, but she is also a social butterfly and doesn't know a stranger!

Paisley is 9 months old now and is trying to crawl!  I'm savoring every last moment of her being immobile! She's the happiest baby and is so content most of the time!  What a joy she is to us!  Her big sister loves her and often holds her hand while they are in the car together.

This fall we're looking forward to visiting a pumpkin patch, ND games, hot cider, campfires in our yard and lots of time outside with the girls!

Today also weighs heavy on my heart as the leaves start to fall off the trees and the seasons change.  Today marks ten years in Heaven for Nick.  Ten years!  I remember when going 24 hours without talking to him was miserable.  If only I could have known what I know now.  But instead of mourning our loss today, I am rejoicing that he has lived ten years in Heaven with our Savior!  What an amazing promise to know that I will see him again!  Our Heavenly reunion with Nick and Brad will be amazing and filled with lots of laughter I'm sure!!

Couch to 5K

While we're on the topic of Summer from my last post, here's another thing that has been going on this summer.  I decided to start training for a 5k.  Along with my best friend Kayla, Mike and a few more friends.  We formed a team and signed up for The Color Run.  It's a fun 5k that is happening in South Bend on October 5th.  I'm very nervous, but I'm just finishing my 5th week of training.  I have an excellent running partner who is constantly motivating and encouraging me.  While I don't think running is something I'll ever really enjoy, I have really felt better since doing it.  Most of the time I don't dread it as much as I used to.  I run every other day.  Tonight is my first big run (although they have all felt big).  The whole point of Couch to 5k is doing running intervals.  We started out running for one minute, walking for 90 seconds.  Repeating until you've been doing it for 30 minutes.  Week by week your running increases and your walking decreases.  Tonight I will run 2 miles in 20 minutes - no walking.  I don't feel very prepared for this one, but the great thing about this program is that I can always repeat a day or week when needed.  

I'm proud of myself for making it this far.  When I first started running for a minute was tiring!  Let alone 20.  But I'm excited to see how long I can go tonight and know how much I need to improve.  We're running this race for Brad.  He was the only person who could convince me to do things I didn't think I could ever do.  Somehow I think running a 5k would be on his list of things he could get me to do.  So here I am.  Say a prayer for me tonight! 

Summer

Summer is almost over and I have yet to update on all the fun things we have done!  We have spent lots of time by in or around the water!  Whether that be by our own little kiddie pool in the backyard, at a friends pool, on the lake, or at the splash pad!  Tenley is a little fish and we just love watching her be so brave and try new things!  Here's some pictures of some fun we had on the lake on the 4th.

We were also able to get some fun family pictures that day!

Tenley has been spending some Sunday afternoons with Lindsey and Brent.  She just loves the two of them and always looks forward to her time with them.  On one of their adventures they took her on her first convertible ride!  She's riding in style now!

Biker babe!

Tenley received a bike for Christmas last year and we hadn't gotten it out until the other day when I came home with a helmet for her!  Great Grandma and Grandpa Mast surprised her with a bike for their house the other day too!  So we got that bike out the other day and let her try and ride it!  I didn't have her trusty helmet with me, but believe me she will usually be wearing that!  Here's a video of her!  She did such a great job!

And here's a picture of her on her bike at home!  We'll be taking family bike rides before you know it!

Sleepover

Tenley had her first sleepover this week.  She was so excited!  Our babysitter, Miss Iva, had been asking if we thought she would spend the night some evening.  I really wasn't sure, and to be honest I kept putting off the question hoping that maybe she wouldn't ask again!  I wasn't quite ready for Tenley to grow up that fast! But like all things do, the question came around again.  Another little girl that Miss Iva watches who is a couple years older than Tenley was spending the night and asked if Tenley could too.  I decided there was no harm in trying.  If I had to go get her in the middle of the night that would be okay.  So I packed her Dora backpack with her favorite pajamas and blanket.  I let her pick out a stuffed animal to take along.  The whole way to Iva's she sang from the backseat "Going to a sleepover!  Going to a sleepover!" I looked at Mike and said "Do you think she really knows what sleepover is?"  He laughed and agreed probably not.  But she was so excited to be spending extra time with Mady.  She ran in to Iva's and started playing right away.  As Mike and I lingered by the door watching her I was a little overcome with how quickly she has grown up.  2 seems way too young for a sleepover, but she still is such a little lady at times.

All ready to go!

She had a great time!  I went to bed around 11 that night after feeding Paisley, and I kept looking at the clock wondering if I would get a call from Iva.  The call never came!  In the morning I went to drop off Paisley on my way to work and when I walked in Tenley immediately said "No, no I'm not ready to go!" So I knew she was having fun!  Iva said that she did so well and she slept in a big bed with Mady and they didn't have any problems!  I could tell that evening though that she was very tired.  She went to bed early and slept late.

Updates

Since one set of the girls great grandparents are still in Florida (come home already!!) I thought I needed to update with a few pictures! We are loving the summer weather with lots of time playing in water and running around outside. Tenley would live outside if we let her! Paisley is growing so much! She is such a sweet and content baby!

Tenley's cousin Lindsey and boyfriend Brent took her to get ice cream last week!

It got really hot, she couldn't help but climb in!

This sweetie and her cheeks are just so kissable!

Posing after a birthday party!

Paisley

Here's Paisley at just about 4 months smiling and laughing.  We thought our Florida loving great grandparents might enjoy this!

The sickness hasn't quite left the Marshall household.  I took this little one to the doctor this week and she has RSV.  Not good at all.  RSV can be very serious in infants, so I was nervous, but the breathing treatments that we have to give her up to four times a day seem to really be helping.  She's coughing less and is able to cough up some of that gross crud.

 Paisley also had her three month pictures taken yesterday.  She was great.  Here's a sneak peak.

I would like to end by saying how much we miss our friend, Brad.  Brad went to be with Jesus last Wednesday, February 27th.  I didn't realize at the time how big of a hole Brad would leave in our family.  Not only was he Mike's best friend, my constant source of fun and laughter, but also Tenley's favorite play mate.  She will often ask for him when she's playing in her play kitchen- she loved cooking meals for him. Although we feel like God chose to take a wonderful father and husband entirely too early, we know He has a greater plan.  We are having a tough time seeing through the fog right now, but some day- the fog will let up and we'll be able to see a glimpse of the blue skies ahead.  Please keep us in your prayers as we try and make sense of this great loss.  Also, remember Brad's wife Kayla and his 11 month old daughter Jayda.  My heart is broken for them as they navigate this life without him.  One thing rings true through our grief and heart break- God is still with us.  Carrying us through this storm.

We love you Brad!  See you later.

Ugh.

The title of this blog pretty much sums up how Mike and I feel today.  We didn't get much sleep this weekend - we were up with a very sick little girl.  Friday when Tenley woke up she barked like a seal when she coughed, her eyes were watery, nose running and she sounded terrible.  Luckily the girls were staying home with Mike that day, because he hadn't worked the day before.  I told Mike just to let her take it easy and relax all day.  I received several texts from him saying that she wasn't getting much better.  When I got home she had a low fever.  That night she woke up crying and moaning.  Mike brought her to bed with him and she had a fever of 102.  The fever broke in the middle of the night thank goodness, but on Saturday morning I knew by the way she sounded I couldn't wait to get her to the dr.  She was wheezing and having trouble breathing.  The doctor said she had a respiratory infection and strep throat :(  I hadn't even thought about strep, but knew it was going around.  So we took it easy all weekend and let her watch lots of tv, eat a Popsicle and kept her away from her sister!  I think she liked all the tv we let her watch!  She went back to the sitter's today- I don't think she's feeling 100% but the medicine has helped.  I know Iva will make her rest a little too.

Since we were stuck at home this weekend, on Friday night after the kids were in bed I met my dad out at the shop to work on some projects I've been wanting to do!  I wanted new curtains in our kitchen.  When I'm at the sink, I can see right into our neighbors kitchen window if they have their blinds open.  So I wanted a little more privacy.  I am in love with the chevron print right now, so I chose the yellow and white print!  I'm happy with how it turned out!  The other project is for above the couch in our sitting room.  It was a big blank wall, so I couldn't wait to get these done.  My dad and I reupholstered the chevron fabric onto plywood with foam.  I hung three up on the wall- the one with the M on it is in the middle and the outside ones are the plain chevron print.  My dad saw just what I wanted and made it happen!!  I am so happy with how they turned out!  My next project is Paisley's nursery!  I haven't done a thing to decorate, so I really want to do something to that room!

Our little sickie.  Doesn't she look so old with her hair all pulled back like this?

Finally an Update!

Time for an update!
Things have been going really well in the Marshall house!  I won't lie, I could use a bit more sleep, but I'm finding getting up with a newborn a little easier this time around.  Probably because I don't have time to whine about it!  I just have to suck it up and get on with my day!  A certain two year old doesn't leave me much time for my own feelings!

Tenley is now 29 months old!  She's singing lots of songs, helping us pray, says her ABCs with only a few missing letters, counts to 15 in English and can count to 10 in Spanish.  She also fondly calls the moon "la luna" in Spanish rather than English most of the time!  We do not take any credit for this, all credit goes to her morning episode of Dora the Explorer!  Mike and I have been trying to do special things with just Tenley since we've had Paisley.  Tenley loves our special time together.  Recently, Tenley went sledding for the first time!  Mike and I were both able to take her and Tenley's best friend and our neighbor, Brenin!  She had so much fun!!  She got really brave after a couple times and begged to go down on the sled alone!  Mike and I shared a look that said 'no way!!'.  So I got creative.  We put her in a sled by herself and I laid down on my stomach behind her in a separate sled.  I told her I was going to push her down the hill.  She was so excited and said "mommy i'm so big!!" So as I pushed her down the hill I just went with her holding on to the back of her sled and to her coat.  She never knew the difference!  The older she gets I know we won't be able to trick her like this, but for now it worked!

 One of the other fun things we did was take some pictures of just Tenley and daddy!  She loves her special times with Daddy.  He likes to take her to the store with him or to run other errands.  But my cousin Lindsey (our wonderful photographer of choice) offered to take some pictures for us for free since she wanted to try some new things anyway.  So we took advantage of that!  Here's a couple of our favorites!

Dancing!

Sharing a milkshake

A friend of ours just had some baby pigs, so we would like to take her to the barn to see those next!  Let me know if you have any ideas for our special times with Tenley!

As for our sweet little Miss Paisley.  She's such a joy to us!  She's so laid back and easy for the most part!  She had a little stomach bug a couple weeks ago, but we're recovering from that now.  Poor thing is eating all she can get now that she can handle a whole bottle again!  She's gaining weight- up to 9 lbs. now!  Seems strange that she's 9 lbs at 2 months and that's what Tenley was at birth!!  She's cooing and smiling and she loves to lay on her activity mat and look at the mirror and the hanging toys.  Tenley is enjoying her role as big sister.  She's finally getting used to having Paisley around all the time and she doesn't like when she can't see her!  Last night I moved the swing into the kitchen, so that I could cook and keep an eye on her.  Tenley was playing in her play room with daddy and she came running in saying "mama where is Paisley!?!  Where is she!?" with her arms in the air questioning where she was.  I told her not to worry that I had moved the swing into the kitchen.  After Tenley saw that Paisley was safe and sound, she looked at me with a stern face and said "that's not funny mommy".  Well I'm sorry!  Ha.  She has quite the personality these days! I'll leave you with a couple pictures of the two of them together!

Family of Four

I realize I have some work to do on this blog!  I'm no longer just Tenley's mommy, I'm now Paisley's too!!  I'm back at work now after six weeks off and it's nice to be back into our "normal" routine.  Although my new normal now involves feedings every three hours during the night.  All in all, Paisley is such a good baby. She's easy and sweet and laid back.  Tenley is a great big sister (it took some adjusting of course!) and likes to show you how we change diapers and feed her.  It's been fun to see Tenley take on this role and she's growing up so quickly right before our eyes.

Because this blog tends to be more for myself, and I just don't want to forget these moments- here's something Tenley said the other day that had us laughing.  On my way to the sitter's one morning Tenley explained to me that she doesn't like naps, but that she takes them upstairs at Iva's.  I asked her if her bed was upstairs and she said "yes, in the barn."  "you take naps in the barn?!" I said.  "Yes, I do."  "Tenley I don't think Miss Iva makes you take naps in the barn, that's not true."  "It's true Mama."  So when we got to Iva's I told her to tell Iva what she had told me.  She stated the facts for her- she sleeps in the barn.  Iva laughed and told Tenley that she wouldn't last two minutes out there with the horses!  Tenley tipped her head back and laughed like she had made such a funny joke.  What a character she is!

I'm hoping to get some pictures up soon!