Joshua is ONE!

My little man is officially ONE today, as of 4:41pm this afternoon!! UNBELIEVABLE! WOW, I am still asking myself where his first year went...

We had an interesting day, to say the least, but did NOT go without celebrating our little guys birthday. It is tradition in our home to wake up the birthday honoree early in the morning with the "mañanitas". Grandparents call with their wishes and aunties, and uncles call as well making the birthday person feel even more special on their special day! We also sing the happy birthday song before blowing out the candle on his/her own chocolate cupcake. After that we open one gift, and then it's whatever comes at us the rest of the day!! This morning Joshua got up with a grin on his face, after the "what are you singing to me mommy?" look that I initially got. He enjoyed being the center of attention and loved hearing familiar voices over the phone! Let me tell you this little guy absolutely LOVED his cake!! He ate it ALL, no messing around with him. Here are some pictures of him enjoying his cake. I need to post some more of him getting his cake, and then opening his gifts. and then we had a little diversion for the rest of the day. Our little princess got up acting like she felt great, until we got a little concerned that she felt quite warm to the touch. Took her temp and found out she was running nearly 102 temp!! Immediately we got on the phone, and to sum it up we spent the rest of the day in the hospital. Kateli had low counts, low hemoglobin and low platelets counts. She had to have a blood transfusion, platelets transfusion, an antibiotic administered, and be admitted to the hospital for at least a one night stay. So, a year ago today we were in the hospital celebrating the arrival of our little guy. Today we were in the hospital concerned that our daughter gets to feeling better soon. God has his way of saying, "you have to remember what is important in life"...it's not a birthday celebration necessarily, it's remembering that we are a family and we stick together no matter the circumstances! Thank you Lord for being so wonderful and loving. Despite the circumstance, we praise Him for being a God who loves us and blesses us in ways that are beyond our measure and understanding.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE MAN! To read and see pics of Joshua's birth, please click here Joshua's birth

Happy self feeding

Joshua turns 1 in 2 days!! WOW!! I'm having a real hard time believing that my little baby is not so much a baby anymore!! It makes me a bit sad, yet excited at the same time because he is so much fun and it gets even better each day! Tonight we were out to dinner, and Joshua was eating relatively well, but lately he's gotten into the bad habit that he will spit out his food if he just doesn't want it. Instead of refusing it, he takes it, makes a face and pushes it back out with his tongue. Well, tonight as we were eating and I was feeding him he got a hold of a fork. He proceeded to grab it, properly I may add, and try to grab food from the plate that I was securing in front of him. As I watched, I thought I'll help him put something on the fork and then we'll see what he does!! What do you think he did?? Well, let me tell you. As I lead his little hand to stab a piece of chicken onto his for, he looked at me and grinned really big. Then he took that fork and directed it perfectly into his mouth, bit off the chicken and moved that fork back onto his plate!! Yep, he is self feeding--with just a tiny bit of help getting food onto his fork--but he's doing it alone and enjoying every second of his independence. Just another way to show that he's growing up TOO fast!! I love my little guy!

Complete sentences...

Well, maybe she's been using complete sentences for a while now, but this morning's stands out like a sore thumb. Kateli speaks so well, yet it seems that although she gets her point across pretty clearly most of her sentences are composed of a noun and a verb, no article. This morning, she woke up in our bed (of course, as most mornings lately) and turned over to me and said "mommy, what time is it?" just like that "mommy, what time is it?" COMPLETE or what?? Anyway, I thought I would write it down because it is really the first time I take note of this accomplishment!! She's going to be 3 in 3 months!! WOW!!!

Fun times at the fountains

We took the kids to play at the fountain on Riverside this weekend. They had a blast. Here are some pictures. Enjoy!

Walking and waving bye-bye...two more milestones

Joshua is 8 days shy from his first birthday!! He's going to be ONE!!! OH my gosh!! Where did his first year go, I wonder? Especially the last 6 months, have been quite a blur, but all in fun! Joshua is finally waving bye-bye, and with a huge smile on his little face. He is so excited that he can get his little fingers to bend back and forth, I think!! And, he's also walking!! Well, not walking on his own quite yet, but that will come soon enough. He's walking all over though, pushing his little walking toy and he loves it. He gets so excited, especially when he hears his cheering squad (Kateli and mommy) rooting him on!! I got some video of him...but it may take a little while to get it posted. We'll see if I can do it soon...for now, just close your eyes, imagine our little man walking away pushing his little toy and looking back waving bye bye to you with the BIGGEST smile you have ever seen....can you see him??

It's been FOUR years....

Since Dan and I said our "I do's"!!! Wow!! Time flies when you are enjoying life...even with the downs that we've experienced and are experiencing in our time together. Amazing the beautiful ways in which God works. 10 years ago, I would have never guessed that I'd be in Tulsa, married to a wonderful man, and be a stay at home mom to our two most beautiful children! Had you asked me what my plan was, I would have said "be married by 24, have kids, and have a great career as an engineer" funny how God has other plans for us, huh?? I was more focused on the things that I wanted, mainly success...rather than the things that are most important. I did not have a real close relationship with the Lord, and was not really happy. I've come a long way since meeting Dan and have done a whole lot of growing up spiritually. I met Christ and have grown in my relationship with Him. I continue to do that daily, and know I will be doing just that for the rest of my life. God is good. It's so much fun and amazing to think back to how Dan and I met; as well as all the things that we have gone through which clearly show God's presence and constant involvement in our lives, even when we thought maybe He just was not listening or watching over us. I know most of you know our story, but here it is just to jog memories...

I moved to Tulsa, Labor Day Weekend 2000, and started working right away. I remember I flew in on Saturday, and started working on Tuesday (Monday was a holiday, Labor Day). I found myself, on my own, right out of college and in a town I had never in my life visited. It was a brave move, and for weekends on end I would sit in my apartment and wonder what in the world I was doing here all alone...I didn't know. Here is how things have unraveled, all in God's hands.

Dan and I sat in cubicles across from each other at work, but we didn't meet right away. Dan was on a business trip the week that I started, so we met when he came back. Right away I thought he was good looking and funny, but that was it. In February, Dan invited me to a Jenny Laboe (sp?) concert, at the ID (it's something else now) on Brookside, for Valentine's and I accepted. But I accepted only under the condition that we would go as nothing more than friends--funny to me know that I think about it. We started hanging out more and more, and the more time I spent with this man, the more I realized that I was falling for him. I remember I would go to the Varsity with him to watch the Blues, Cardinals and the Rams play JUST so that I could spend time with him. All of you who know me, know how much of a hockey, baseball and football fan I am right?? God was all over this, can you see?

From there it only took about 2 1/2 years for Dan to realize that I was the one and to finally get down on one knee! Without sharing too much detail, not everyone was happy with the idea of us being married, but you know what? God was there and still is, working in the hearts of those who differ in opinion one way or another--we see Him working to this day. So, almost 3 years after we started dating Dan and I were married in a beautiful ceremony at The Kirk. Such sweet memories!! The reception was so much fun, we danced and danced and danced the night away.

We were pregnant before our first anniversary, and spent 7 weeks in the hospital waiting for Kateli to be born. You guessed it, God was all over that situation as well. He gave me the time that I needed to get to know Him better and to realize his Sovereignty and His love for me, for Dan and for our growing family. God saw us through this, surrounding us with His love shown to us through the wonderful people he put in our lives. He gave us a healthy, beautiful baby girl.

We found out we were expecting again, on New Years 2007! What a great way to start a New Year!! Joshua was born in August, 3 weeks early and through a successful VBAC. You guessed it...God's was here and all over this too from the beginning. We were able to get in with a great doctor who would allow for the VBAC. Although Joshua was born early, it was a blessing in disguise. I didn't even think "VBAC (or anything associated with VBAC)" during labor, and I was able to deliver our baby without any fear of the risks. What an awesome God!

We continue to see God working. From Kateli's early diagnosis of Leukemia to how well she is doing with treatment. The only way we are making it through all of this and staying strong is because we have God on our side and we trust in Him, in His love and in His care.

Lots to go through in four years, right?? All good things...

Fun with the fish...

When I went to bed last night, I had kinda promised Kateli that we would go to the park today...BUT that didn't happen. Not because I didn't want to keep my end of the deal, but because weather did NOT permit. I had every intention to go to the park early this morning, had it not been so hot. However, when I checked the forecast at 9am it was already 88 degrees and only getting hotter by the minute. I decided to forgo the park and figure out something more fun to do that would be indoors. I came up with "let's go to the aquarium" Kateli was not real sure what to think of my idea...as she had never been and had no idea what I was talking about. Then I put it in her terms and said "let's go see Nemo!" She immediately got a huge grin on her face, and ran to get her shoes on. So, after packing all the necessities we were out the door about quarter to 10am. We met some friends at the aquarium and had a wonderful time walking around and seeing all the fish displays. We were there for nearly 2 1/2hours!! Kateli seemed to enjoy herself, although she wanted to be held most of the time. She was a little weary at first, but as the morning progressed she got a little braver and even petted a conch shell!! Yes, I was surprised!! She loved watching the turtles eat; and stingrays swim and the beaver do laps in his pool. I was excited to go into the cool shark tunnel display, and I thought Kateli would be too. Nope, she was NOT at all impressed by the display. She wanted to get out even before we were even half way through--it was too dark for her taste. I don't think she let me put her down in there. I don't blame her, I guess. If I were a 2 year old walking into a darkened tunnel with huge fish swimming over me, I guess I'd be a little afraid as well! :) Joshua had a wonderful time, after mommy finally decided he was not going to nap and just needed to partake in the fun. I took him out of the stroller somewhere around the american alligator display. I remember exactly because it was one of the highlights of our morning. Joshua gets so excited and squeals at the sight of an animal. Well it was no different when we walked over to the alligator display. He was talking and flailing his arms in excitement...but he got a little too excited for the alligator's taste. Joshua hit at the glass a couple of times--the alligator did not like that, and he creeped over to our side, jumped and snapped at Joshua's face. Boy, was I glad that there was glass between us and that animal. Vicious little thing....I don't have any pics from the aquarium this morning, as I forgot my camera at home.

but I'll show you some pictures of what I found our little guy doing this afternoon after naptime, while they were supposed to be watching a video...

Announcing our new venture...

Check it out....

new BLOG

The first and the second...

I was going through pictures today and found these pictures of our kids. Take a look.

Here is Kateli...
...and here is Joshua.

Our trip to Snake Creek on Ten Killer Lake

This post is well overdue. As posted in the previous post, this one is out of order. We went on a weekend trip to a Lake in OK a few weekends ago with some of our friends. It had been a LONG time since Dan and I had gone to an OK lake--way before kids, maybe even before we were married. We've been enjoying outdoor activities lately that we thought it was fitting to go spend a day on the lake, so we did just that. Turned out to be so much fun. The kids really enjoyed the water, and playing with friends. The place we went to, turned out to be really nice. We were surprised to find waterfront picnic/campsites when we arrived, but quickly learned that it was due to the water level rising so quickly. It was expected that the water level would continue to rise through the night, so close to the time when we were eating dinner, they were coming around to shut down the electricity to all the outlets on the waterfront places. yep, the water was high, high enough that we sat on park benches, and had water up to our chest...yep, it was high for sure. But we had fun nonetheless. The kids played in the water for a while, and then enjoyed just playing on the campsite. Kateli loved pretend playing with her baby and Becca's baby. Joshua, well you know that little guy. He was content sitting on a blankie surrounded by little toys to chew on. He did get a wonderful little nap in, in one of our wonderful hammocks that my parents gave to us a few years ago. I have to admit that we've had the hammocks for some time now, and just barely used them for the first time. We're hoping to get out more this summer and enjoy more camping/day trips like this one. We had a wonderful dinner, and then went over to the play area before packing up and heading home. Thanks to the H family for letting us tag along on their day trip. Kateli really enjoys Brayden, Becca and becca baby (that's little Andrea!)





and if you click here, you can see more pics.

4th of July

My, oh my, where does the time go?? 4th of July has come and gone, and I'm just now getting around to posting news from our clan. So, I'm going to apologize already, because my next two postings are going to be out of order. I just finished downloading pics from our 4th of July weekend and thought what better than to post some pics of our fun holiday. Next, I will try to parse through some neat pics that we got of the kids at the lake, which we went to a few weeks ago with some friends from church...



Anyway, this 4th of July we decided to join family and drive to OKC for a fish fry. We had tons of fun catching up with Dan's side of the family, playing in the pool, and watching our kids interact with the cousins. We drove out to OKC on Friday afternoon and stayed through Saturday night. We joined up with Dan's family at cousin Monica's house for a fun afternoon of swimming and eating fried goodies!! Kateli really enjoyed the chicken nuggets, the fries, and the lemonade....as expected, Joshua tried everything, and didn't turn a thing away (of course, I'm not crazy enough to give him fish, yet, but I'm sure if I offered it he would eat it...) That night, we drove over to our friends in Edmond to catch up with them and lodge in their home. Saturday morning, while the daddies slept in, the kids and us mommies got up early and enjoyed chatting and catching up as well as watching the kids play. Then it was back over to cousin Monica's for the "Marsh Olympics"! I'm sad to say that we missed most of the competitions, as we arrived about an hour and half late...but it was tons of fun nonetheless. We swam some more, ate some more and played some more in the sun. Here are some pics of our weekend with family...enjoy!





you can see more pics at this link... morepics

Back on the saddle and enjoying the outdoors...

No, not a horse saddle....but if you know Dan and I, you would have guessed, the BIKE SADDLE!! Yep, and with the kiddos!! "how?" you may wonder....

Well, our most recent purchase has given us the freedom to go out on bike rides with the kiddos. We bought a Chariot carrier...and we bought the bike kit so that we can attach it to the bike. Our new toy came in last Friday, and I am not lying, the kids have been in it EVERYDAY since!! The first outing was Saturday morning. We packed up and headed for Riverside, to check out the new trail on the west side of the river. I have to say that the first outing was not SO much fun for Joshua. He was exhausted, from missing his morning nap, and he sat right next to Kateli the entire way...he CRIED almost the entire outing!! YIKES!! We were out for about an hour and a half on the bike, but we did get to enjoy a fun lunch at the riverpark cafe, near downtown. Anyway, we thought we were doomed...but we attributed the crying to being tired, and to being a little too close for comfort to his sister. We figure it will just take a little bit of time for him to get used to the teasing and touching, after all they are brother and sister :)!! Well, luckily we were right about that. The next few times that we have been out, Joshua has done marvelous, and he's actually enjoyed the ride. Kateli loves the trailer, or "coche" as she calls it!! It's just become another one of those "paci okay' zones for her, which I think she enjoys. (She is only allowed to have a paci for specific times of the day, namely the car and naptime/bedtime...now, we've just added riding in the trailer) Sunday, we went out on the bikes again and were joined by some friends, who made the outing even more fun for all of us. Our evening ended with playing at the swing set, and eating at the park. Monday night, Dan took the kids out for a ride...Tuesday night, same thing....Wednesday night, again Daddy took them out in the evening, and today...well, today I thought I would venture out. So, I called up my friend who has a trailer just like ours and invited them for a ride. We went out this morning and had so much fun. I've got to say that I've had my workout for the day...we decided to ride the HILLIEST 2 miles of the riverside trail...but had a good break in between as we stopped at the park, played and fed the ducks before heading back to the car. We also had lunch while we were out...By the time we got home, it was straight to nap time and now I'm enjoying a little bit of peace and quiet.

So, I know that this posting is getting lengthy but I have to say that the reason we got the trailer was not just to get out on the bike, but because both Dan and I are seriously considering running a marathon with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Association this year. We just have not committed yet. So, this is to say that we hope you will pray for us as we train for this feat, as well as support us in raising some funds for the Society. More in the future, once we commit to this and have a plan at hand...

bye for now....here are some pics of our new toy!

Snapshots of the kids...

So, yes...I'm trying to get into photography...yet, i realized the other day, that I have not posted any recent pics of the family or the kids...what kind of photographer mommy am I?? So, I've gone through and selected some of my favorite snapshots that I've gotten of us, and wanted to share. Granted, this is going to be a mush of pics...enjoy!

At Riverparks over the weekend, listening to live music

...and of course enjoying a nice meal...

At home, before bedtime one night...little Marshie Marsh (as I like to call this little guy) was in a playful mood--NO SURPRISE THERE!

Little man loves his doggie, and Renny enjoys the attention!

Another afternoon at Riverparks...handsome little guy, don't you think?

Making faces at mommy and the camera...

Daddy at riverparks...uhm...I wonder what he was thinking?

Memorial Day Weekend. After our pool swim...we shot some pics in our front yard...

...and here they are with mommy...

We caved in on Memorial Day weekend and bought the kids a small pool they could enjoy during the heat of summer....unfortunately, it's been raining so much we have not enjoyed it quite as much as I'd thought we would...

Enjoying the pool...he only slid once...BUT he didn't come up crying...:)

Kateli really enjoyed playing with the squirt guns...I wonder where she gets it from?? Daddy??

Joshua at Riverparks. He pulled up on this bike rack and had the HUGEST smile as he was coming up on his feet...

First time in the pool for Joshua...it took a few mins for him to actually enjoy it...but he DID!

Of course, this little princess always has enjoyed a nice swim...

in the pool with brother and daddy

Hope you liked the catchup on pictures....check back soon!

Just some pictures that I've taken

So, I'm trying to do a little bit of photography, which I'm REALLY enjoying!! Here are some shots that I've taken.

My sister. I'm getting pretty proficient in Photoshop. I put "digital" makeup on my model, could you tell before I said anything??

Portrait of my sister and her family!

Pretty cousins....

I absolutely LOVE this picture. It was captured on February 13th, the day before Kateli was diagnosed with ALL.

No more army crawl...he's off on all fours and wanting to stand up

in the middle of the room that is. He's pulling up, yes...but he's wanting to stand up just anywhere, without support!! Joshua's has officially graduated from a simple, slow army crawl to all fours and he's getting places much faster. It's funny, now he gets to where he wants in no time, and I get to hear more complaints from Kateli that her "mano" has something of hers...and I hear attitude from him when things are taken away!! It's exhausting, but so much fun at the same time!

He's got a little cold going on right now. We had him checked out at the Urgent Care, while we were there with Kateli this evening to make sure that he, too, didn't have an ear infection. Turns out he's just got a cold, and we are hoping that it does not go beyond that.

Pushing up to sitting and sitting up in bed...

Well yesterday morning was the day. The day that I walked into Joshua's room to get him in the morning, and found him sitting up. As soon as I walked in, he looked up at me and gave me my "good morning mommy" smile that I get each day. I was excited to see him sitting up, actually!! Now we have to raise the rail on the crib after I put him down for bedtime.

Oh, yeah. He's finally mastered sitting up by himself. So cute to see!! He's making such strides in his development and we are so proud of our little man--who's not so little anymore!!