Our Little Trip!!

So, Tyler and me had a fabulous 24 hours away! No kid! It was a beautiful thing. I remember talking to my friend Julie recently about how needed this kind of thing is, and she was SO right. You just forget about all the responsibility and can focus on each other and things that you don't get to do because they just are so much more work with a toddler! My mom came down and stayed with Makena-THANK YOU, THANK YOU MOM!!! Me and Tyler went out to eat...TWICE! Went to the movies, got dessert out, went to the beach and just had a fun time! It was lovely. Leave the kids home and do this soon! All we had was 24 hours, but it was fabulous!! Obviously I didn't take too many pictures, but here are a few from the beach in Newport. It was a beautiful weekend!
It was like 85 degrees that day. It was January!!!

My handsome Husband!!

4 YEARS!

It has been four wonderful years since we got married. It's funny because sometimes it seems like it has flown by and then other times it seems like it has been so much longer. I am grateful to be married to such a patient and loving husband. He truly grounds me and loves me completely! I LOVE YOU TYLER and can't wait to spend an eternity with you! You are amazing!
I am so excited that tomorrow my mom is coming down to stay with Makena and me and Tyler are going to have an all day and night date! I can hardly contain myself that I get a whole day away!! That was my anniversary wish! Details to follow. For now I am enjoying the day and getting ready for the weekend! Happy Anniversary to ME!

Oh Sister!!

So, I have been thinking a lot about my little sister today! She is such a great person. I still remember the night that she was born...20 years ago! I remember staying the night at my grandparents and not really sleeping that night. I heard the phone ring and I knew that was the call. My baby sister was here. I had a sister. I was between my two brothers and was so excited to have a sister. She has been such a great little sister. Shanitz- You are amazing. I don't envy the stage of your life that you are in, but enjoy it. Before we all know it you'll be moving on to bigger and better things! Just a few things that I LOVE about my sister, Candice.
*She always says what she thinks-we have that in common :) and it is usually the most random and hilarious things you could think of.
*She always has new crazy 'dos that I love to see. (She is currently in beauty school with only 4 months left!)
*She is sensitive...it's a good thing
*She loves her family more than most people do! And we love her too!
* She has a great sense of fashion that people like me envy. I just throw on clothes...she actually spends time thinking about it!
* She is just a beautiful girl inside and out. She has a beautiful spirit that you just want to be around!
Candice-I love you so much and couldn't have asked for a better little sister! You're my favorite :) HAPPY 20th Birthday Can!

Beautiful Prints!!

I saw this on a fellow bloggers website (Thanks Kitchen Ditcher :)) and wanted to join in. These are all beautiful pictures by an amazing artist. I wanted to share these beautiful pictures and what the artist has to say about each one of them! David Bowman: has had a passion for art ever since he could pick up a pencil. He loves creating images of the Savior that inspire and uplift. Along with his Christian fine art, David has also written and illustrated a series of scripture storybooks for children titled "Who's Your Hero". Check out his website at http://bowman-art.com/indexFineart.htm to see more of his precious art.

"Innocence"The Savior tells us we need to become as little children to inherit the kingdom of God. I've often wondered what it is about little children Jesus loves most, and I think its their innocence. They are clean slates, seeing the world and others through untarnished eyes. Their hearts are pure, without the baggage of cynicism and self-doubt. In this piece, I've tried to imagine how a child would act upon meeting the Master for the first time. Without reservation or inhibition, I think he would simply want to play with Him. He would be at complete ease, allowing his pure little heart to soak in the love and laughter of His pure, infinite heart. Its no wonder Christ delights in these little ones and sets them up to be our examples.

"Security"One of the greatest human needs is a sense of security. In all aspects of life, we naturally gravitate towards anything that makes us feel safe. In this piece, I wanted to convey a sense of complete peace and calm like only the Savior can provide. It's a security that allows us to rest assured, without fear or worry, when we put ourselves trustingly in His arms. Little children have that inherent kind of trust in their parents, so it's fitting that the man and girl who modeled for "Security" are actually father and daughter. They generatedthe exact feel I was looking for.



"My Child"This piece conveys an intimate, up-close-and-personal feeling of the Savior's love. Notice how all the lines draw your attention and point towards Jesus' face in the center. I chose the name "My Child" because the only thing that could compare (even remotely) to Christ's compassion for us is the love of a parent for his/her child. This image is also intended to put things in perspective. Above all, we are God's children first. He allows us the privilege of experiencing parenthood for ourselves and we are entrusted to be the mothers and fathers of His children here on earth.

22 Months!

Happy New year everyone!! We spent a great day together!! We ended up at the beach because I wanted to do a little photo shoot of Makena, since she is 22 months old TODAY and I wanted to test out my camera more!! It was freezing by the beach and foggy, but I got a lot of great shots! Here's just a few! We sure love her. She is a precious little girl!!

Recovery!

Well, we are back from spending almost a week at the parents. We had a great time full of food, fun, family, cold weather...did I mention food. Yeah, there was lots of that :) Santa was good to us this year. Makena got WAY too many toys for the space that we live in, but hey that's the fun of it all. She was so excited to just open presents. She'd open her own then run to someone else who was opening one and "help" them it was so cute. The couple days after Christmas she kept putting her hand to her ear like a phone and saying " Santa...ho ho ho...presents". It was hilarious.
I must have been a very good girl this year because Santa brought me a new camera. The one I've been dreaming of for so long. The expensive kind that Santa may have gotten into trouble for actually getting, but who am I to complain too much. My Nikon D40 is BEAUTIFUL and I look forward to the pictures that will shortly be coming your way!!
So now all the hype is over and we are in recovery mode. The day we came home Makena came down with a nasty cold and that is never fun. I am still trying to find a home for all of our newly received gifts, but that is pretty tricky. I wonder why with all the gifts Santa didn't bring me some extra storage space. That would have solved all my problems. Okay, not all of them but one of my issues at hand. ( I have a few!) Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and have a safe and sober new years. We will be staying in. Nothing says New Years Eve like going to bed the same time you normally do. Maybe we'll be risky and stay up until midnight. I probably will while my husband doses away on the couch. He just works too hard :)
Just thought this picture was hilarious. Happy New Year from our cute little nose picker. I seriously think she has issues :) But she's so darn cute!!!

Merry Christmas to ALL!!

Well that time of year is here and almost gone again! I seriously cannot believe that Christmas is in almost 4 days! I say it all the time, but where does the time go. So, since I am heading to my parents tomorrow I thought I'd send a Christmas shout out and share a few pictures of our lovely decorations. (Since the next time I post will probably be after Christmas I better do this before the tree is down...it's shedding everywhere)
Here's our FREE Christmas tree...I really wasn't even going to get one this year, but an opportunity presented itself and we took it, but let me tell you...it was ALL decorated at one time! Real tree + almost 22 month old= REALLY BAD IDEA!!!

Now this was going to be our Christmas tree. It brought in the lovely smell without all the hassle. Oh well...it's still around too :)

And these are just a few more decorations that I like. I actually made the garland and the stocking box. Beginner's work, but I think they turned out pretty good.



Now go snuggle by the fireplace, drink some hot cocoa, and spend time with the family. That's what I'll be doing and I can't think of anything greater!!!
And if you're wondering about his cute girl...


I think Santa might be giving her a little too much for the naughtiness that she does. I have warned...one more drawing on the wall, floor, bottom of my shoe, book (not meant for it)...you get the idea, that Santa will not be bringing her anything on her list. She then proceeds to look at me and asks for a hug. What can I say...she has Santa wrapped around her little finger. We love her!!!!!
Merry Christmas to all, now I'm going to bed so have a good night!

Happy Holidays from the Marsh Family

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

SHIRLEE!!

So, many of you know my sister-in-law Shirlee. She is currently working super hard to become a nurse and goes all week long. On Friday I got a call from my mom that Shirlee had been in a bad accident. Don't worry. She's doing okay-considering. Where they live-it is just a two-way road with no turning lanes. She was waiting for the oncoming traffic to subside and a person coming up behind her didn't notice that she was stopped. They ran straight into the back of her and from what I heard she was pushed into the oncoming traffic. Needless to say she is lucky to be alive and even luckier to just be at home and not in the hospital. She has NO broken bones, but we saw her yesterday and she was VERY sore. Shirlee- we love you and hope for a quick recovery and that you can make it through these last 2 weeks of school and then take a break! I'm sure she'll post about it too, but I just want to thank my Heavenly Father for watching over her and that it was not serious and that her little boy was not in the car! It is a true miracle!!

We're Back!

So we're back and better than ever after our 4-day weekend up at my parent's house. We had a great Thanksgiving and hope you all did too. Now I feel like I shouldn't eat for a few weeks to even out for all the stuff that we ate all weekend long. Oh well. It was fun, and that's what it's all about. Hope you all had a great holiday and are now looking ahead-like me- to the Christmas season. I'm hoping to start getting the decorations out in the next few days. Yippee!!