We have our second annual high school friends get together.  Robyn and Chris graciously hosted again.  Seems the men were scarce, do we scare them?  Anyway, almost all the girls were able to make it, even Jess came all the way from Texas ;)  It is always good to catch up with friends who have know you so long and knew you "when". 

We have plenty to praise God for; friends through it all.

have chalkboard will travel

I found this tutorial to make a travel chalkboard.  It was pretty quick and easy and it seemed to keep Maria occupied on our road trip Saturday to see friends. 

13 months

Our favorite one year old is changing and growing so much.  She is now more interested in walking with help and can stand for a few seconds before crumpling down to the floor.
She is talking SO much...not sure who she could be hearing so many words from...Maria is just SO quiet(ha).  Anna is often heard saying hi, drink, swing, uh-oh, dog(and she can pant like a dog), cat, shoe, hat, cheese, ball, doll, bubble, bird(especially likes to watch our hummingbirds at the kitchen window), Trey(after hearing Maria say her cousin's name about every 5 minutes last week), dada, mama(very infrequently), sissy, mmm(for something tasty), ooo(for something she likes or is pretty)
She loves to give kisses and hugs, blow kisses and dances when she hears music.  If you ask her to sing she will sway and hum something.
She can pat her head and belly, point out her nose, mouth, and feet.  She seems to understand simple directions when you ask her to get something or open or close something.

fashion diva

On our way home from a walk tonight I looked in the wagon and what did we see a fashion diva in the making...Anna had grabbed Maria's discarded hat and made herself look quite amusing.

on the road again

Yes, we had a very full, long weekend. After heading back to Culver Saturday night with Trey, we got up went to church and got right back on the road Sunday to head to cousin Joshua's 3rd birthday party. Trey had been at Grandma and Grandpa's all week and was picked up by his mom and dad at the party. Maria loved having him to play with and share her room Saturday night. Anna learned to say his name, so she must have loved it just as much. Maria always loves playing with Joshua too!

The full van load.

We have plenty to praise God for; cousins who entertain.

the graduate

Back in 1999 I started watching this little girl named Katie during the summer....jump forward 11 years and you have a high school graduate!  A beautiful, intelligent, kind, sweet and wonderful 'little sister'.  Congratulations and may God guide you on the path He has laid out for you.  May you continue to seek Him and serve Him.
It was an honor and joy to celebrate Katie's graduation this past weekend, the main reason for heading back home.  How I cherish the many memories I have with Katie over they years.  I can't wait to see what the future holds for her.

We have plenty to praise God for; those who choose to be as close as family to you.

old friends, new friends

We had a chance to meet baby Gabrielle 'Ellie' while we were home last weekend.  Jess and Ellie are here for the month of June from Texas.  Anna was especially interested in Ellie and would have loved to poke at her...we tried to keep that under control for the most part!  At 6 months old this 11 lb miracle baby made Anna seem so big, but Ellie has come a long was from her 3 month early arrival at barely over 1 lb.  Jess and I have been friends since she moved into our school back in 7th grade.  She and I were only a few lockers apart and became fast friends.  We may not talk all too often, but it's always easy to catch right up.

We have plenty to praise God for; the blessings of friendship and new life.

the zoo

The girls and I went home this past weekend, and had quite a few things to see and do while we were there.  I love the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo.  Thanks Grandma for taking the girls, Trey and me.  We had a great day.
Check out pictures from the zoo by clicking here.

don't swing on a swing...

it's much too frail, the best kind of swing is a Tigger's tail.

She just wanted me to take her picture on the swing with her new sunglasses...that is a change from how she usually acts when the camera is out.

the evolution

She eventually warmed up to GG. 
We have plenty to praise God for; the love of grandparents, especially greats!

Yes, that is me in the last picture. I was 2 1/2. My mom kept the dress, so Maria wore it to church. Fun to see her wearing something I had as a kid.

auf wiedersehen

Goodbyes are not forever.
Goodbyes are not the end.
They simply mean I'll miss you
Until we meet again!

Blessings on you Marshall Family!

got milk?

princess play

In case you were wondering what princesses look like when they have playdates.

too slow

You just have to laugh at her delivery, especially with hiccups and how cute she sounds..."gimme five..."

cuteness

3 years and some change

I realized shortly after taking Anna's one year pictures that I had forgotten to take Maria's 3 year pictures.  SO, I took a couple of outfits, and set to work to remedy that.  She is at a stage that you have to find her in just the right mood in order for picture taking to happen easily.  We went for a walk up at the lake house and made use of some random peoples landscaping to get some good shots.  I think I had just over 200 when I was done.  I have whittled them away to only 58!...some of which are better than others.  Here are a few of our favorites...not sure if anyone is really up for looking all of them, but the second one is all of the ones I kept!  Thanks to Uncle Andy and Aunt Therese for the cute dress that Maria just insisted on wearing!

faster, faster

Yep, finally Maria has shown a bit of interest in her bike.  Maybe spurred on by a friend of hers that she has seen ride by on her bike on several occasions.  Whatever the cause, it is fun to see her pedal and figure out the steering all by herself.  We took her over to the high school track and rode around...much easier than the narrow sidewalk she kept trying to drive off of!

Our Anniversary

Missed posting our anniversary last Friday, May 28th.  5 Years already...seems so quick, but what a great 5 years it has been...a look back.

Our wedding day

One year~DeMotte

Two years~DeMotte (Maria 5 weeks old)

 Three years~on vacation in New Jersey(Maria 13 mo old)

Four years~Culver(Maria 2 years, Anna 6 days)

Five years~North Webster at our lake house (Maria 3, Anna 1)

We have plenty to praise God for; we are well on our way to 50 years!  Here's to celebrating many, many more.

grandma's got talent

The girls got matching outfits made by grandma for their birthdays.  Don't they looks cute all matchy-matchy?