December 2012... Hawaii and Cali fun

Be ready for a ridiculous amount of pictures... December was a busy month for us and forgive me but they are not in order.

We walked by this guy our first night in Hawaii and I had to get a pic 

 The night before we left for our trip Aricin did some rock climbing at a party

 Aricin and Daddy at his Christmas Party

 Us at the Denver Ballet's Nutcracker... We all loved it!

 Tally at Ballet Class

 Daddy surprised her and made it to one of her classes

Newport Beach... This was towards the end of our trip back in Cali 

 Newport... oh how we miss this beach

 Oliver at the Lego store in Downtown Disney

 Daddy and Aricin at ToonTown Disneyland

 Brotherly Love in Hawaii

 Impact Edventures Christmas Tree Auction- it was an awesome fundraiser!

 Hugs in Hawaii

 Before Christmas we had an Elf show up different spots every morning

Silly Elf 

 O and Daddy

 Bad Hair day in Hawaii

 Snack Time

 The kids got to feed the Koi at our hotel

 Funny Face

The boys on our balcony 

 At the Paradise Cove Luau

 Spear Throwing

Matching Tattoos 

 All of us

 Hawaiian Princess

 Beach fun at the Lagoon

Hang Loose 

 A loved the slides at the Hotel Pool

 This is what happens when we asked Grandpa and Uncle Jon to babysit Oliver...

 My little bro, Jon down on one knee...

 She said YES!

 Petting the Penguins at the Hotel

 Hanging out with Uncle Jasun

 View from the Balcony

 Diamond Head Hike

Diamond Head with little Bro, Jasun 

 The engaged couple... love them!

 Oliver's first paddleboarding session

 The Fam

 Family Paddleboarding adventure

 Aricin loved surfing on the Paddle board

 We got to hang out with my old roommate, Kristen from when I went on Semester at Sea in 2000.

 Angry Birds

 Martinet Family Gift... Being able to touch our noses with our tongues 

I made him take this, he's a good man :) 

Happy Kiddos in Santa Barbara for New Years 

 So much fun with the Falconer's and Copus Families

 Daddy went surfing out at UCSB and we got to play in the sand

 Aricin got stuck on a rock

 Visiting with Great Grandma in SB

 Disneyland

Hanging with the Bancrofts 

 LOVE LOVE LOVE Small World!!!

 Lake Arrowhead Visit to see Great Grandma Ruth and Great Grandpa Ron

Newport 

Bryn and the swings 

Fun with Grandpa Rick 

 Farmers market in San Luis Obispo- so fun

 Concert for Grandma

As you can see we had a pretty Killer December/January. Before we left we were busy with our crazy Elf surprising us every morning in a new funny spot. Aaron's non profit threw a fundraiser, a christmas tree auction that i ended up catering for and decorating. It was a huge hit and despite being a lot of work was a lot of fun too! 

December 21st we left HR at 2pm and drove 14 hours straight to Phoenix where we tried to fly stand by. We were numbers 39-42 on the stand by list but by the grace of God we made it, got the last 4 seats and made it to Hawaii at about the same time as my parents via Sacramento and my brothers via San Diego. Our Hotel (The Hilton Hawaiian Village) was amazing. Super kid friendly, with it's own lagoon and water slides at the pool. Our days were spent surfing, paddle boarding, playing beach volleyball, hiking diamond head, playing with the kids in the sand, and laying around the pool. The week went by too fast! My little brother Jon, proposed to his girlfriend while we were out there, it was fun to watch him go down on his knee and then celebrate with them the last few days of the trip. 

We didn't have any problems flying back to Phoenix, we got in at midnight and drove straight to Pasadena, getting to Aaron's dad's about 6am. We had a great time with them and even got to go to Disneyland. We also spent New Years in Santa Barbara with good friends and Aaron was able to get another surf session in. We also hit up Newport before Aaron flew out. I spent an extra 5 days in Cali with my parents and then over in San Luis Obispo and Avila for Farmers market on Thursday night. Oh yeah i almost forgot we also Drove up to Lake Arrowhead to hang out with my awesome grandparents- Needless to say we were BUSY but it was SOO FUN. We are blessed with some pretty awesome friends and family. My mom made the drive back to Colorado with me- it was so good to have her help, we were sad to see her go.

We are now home and trying to despoil the kids and get them back into a normal rhythm. They are back in school, Aaron's back at work. Oliver has started a once a week tumbling class. Tally's back in Ballet and I am always busy doing or planning something. We just found out Aricin got into Aspen View Academy, a charter school in Castle Rock- it's pretty hard to get into so we were pretty excited when we found out. 

Marshall Family Christmas Ode

2012 Annual Marshall Family Christmas Ode

Hello friends, here’s a note from us to you.

Filled with love & sharing what’s new.

In January these Colorado hippies decided to detox.

And Talia’s first tumbling class put holes in her socks.

In February we snow shoed Colorado on many a cold day.

And directing kid’s stuff at church became a new role for Nay.

In March Aaron passed his progression board – now ABD.

We saw cousins in Steamboat and had a visit from grandma Julie.

In April Aricin turned four with a “Robots & Aliens” party

While mom made Ollie loads of organic mush that was hardy.

In May we saw the circus and Ollie started crawling

And had a cool Denver date on bikes without falling

We headed to the basement for a simpler life without kinks

And enjoyed a visit from Marshall grandparents and the Brinks

Our May basement move was short-lived due to zoning

So we moved again in June – not without a little complaining

Our apartment’s not ideal we won’t deject,

Living simply lives on, just not how we’d expect.

We discovered a treat in Golden’s Alpine Slides

And caught Dodger/Rockies games via light rail rides

Summer trips to the zoo, pools, and parks put miles on our tires

And all Colorado bore the weight of the shooting and horrific wildfires.

Palisade offered a sweet time with family and friends

And Aricin’s hospital adventure (7 stitches) left a scar that bends

Kids classes kept summer flying by – hooray!

With tennis, swimming, and ballet

In August our three kids were dedicated to Christ with friends

A community of people we consider to be godsends.

Before school ramped up we saw the hot air balloon fest

Then off for camping (kids in tow) with friends – great rest!

Autumn saw the kids in pre-K, volleyball for Nay,

And Impact edVentures holding its 1^st fundraiser – a 5K.

We flew to Cali for a Martinet family reunion – Cajun Style

And did some stand up paddle-boarding on the Malibu Mile

In October Talia’s 3^rd Birthday party was all Hello Kitty

And friends took us to the Great American Beer Festival in the city

Aricin scored his 1^st soccer goal & we're the Incredibles for Halloween

Tally tripped at church and got 9 stitches in her head – quite a scene

In November Oliver got the Chicken Pox from his one-year vaccination

For Thanksgiving we served in the Dakotas at an Indian Reservation

In December I learned I have a 1^st degree AV Block in my heart

Another chance to see God heal though at first it gave us quite a start

We also put on Impact’s annual Christmas Party fundraiser

Janay rocked the catering while Aaron sported a fedora and blazer

We’ll be spending Christmas with family in Hawaii

Looking forward to some sand, surf, and yummy Mahi Mahi

Oliver cuddles and laughs and is full of joy,

Always wanting to join the older two – a very fun boy!

Talia is a nurturer, taking devoted care of her baby dolls

She loves ballet and demands hugs when she falls

Aricin is our philosopher, full of questions & imagination

Boundless energy matched with contemplation

Life with 3 kiddos all 4 and under is just crazy!

We never stop going and at times wish we could be lazy

Aaron still works at Valor as a Department Chair

And a shift toward teacher training is an answer to prayer

Aaron’s also directing an NPO – Impact edVentures

Started with friends encourage service learning through adventure

The Education PhD in Scotland is still in progress,

With a couple years to go, we’re pushing past the stress

The kids are growing so fast – we’re trying to embrace every moment

Knowing soon they’ll be grown & we’ll just have each other to torment

We love our life in Colorado. It still just feels right

The weather is grand and all 4 seasons are quite a sight

Reflecting on last year we feel immensely blessed by God’s provision

Looking ahead we’re excited to be under his grand supervision

Many trials have filled these last 6 months to say the least

But God’s faithfulness shapes & grows us; Jesus’ teachings, our feast

When life is easy we get comfortable and self reliant

When it’s hard Christ teaches us to be less defiant

Life is a journey and lasts but a short while

Stumbling we try to live beneath God’s smile

So that’s our year so much to tell

We hope all of you are happy, healthy, and well

We wish you peace, love, joy, and blessings this holiday season

And invite you to visit anytime for any reason

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Love, The Marshalls

Aaron, Janay, Aricin, Talia, & Oliver

A Noteworthy November

Let me begin by filling everyone in on my health. So the results of the heart monitor confirmed everything the EKG said, I have a 1st degree Atrial Ventrical Block. The good news is, my doctor doesn't seemed to be worried about- she told me I can resume all normal activities and unless I start to feel light headed or have fainting spells then they will put me on meds to help regulate the heart beat. In the meantime I'm still trying to figure my new normal- abnormal heart beat and not stress about it. I've also emailed my dad's friend who's a cardiologist just to get his thoughts on everything. Again, Thank you so much if you've prayed for me and my heart situation. God is good and for now things are great.

Now for some pictures of course... A lot of pictures of course :)

 Mt. Rushmore

 Powerful words at the Crazy Horse Monument Museum

 Broncos SuperBowl Trophies came to Valor

 Tally with the Broncos Cheerleaders

 Aricin's soccer team

 He scored his first goal this fall and got his first trophy

 We made a Thankful Tree for November

 With her new princess dolls from her birthday

 Had a sweet visit with one of my besties and bridesmaids, Kimber

 Operation Christmas Child- the kids loved this

 Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota

 Aricin's new buddy Kailan

 The Badlands 

 More of Mt. Rushmore

 The girls

 Aricin and Kai

 Us with Fernanda (Producer for Shark Wrangler TV show)and Brad (In the band Dispatch)

 Crazy Horse Monument

 We found a horn

 We just started the Elf on the Shelf tradition keep posted for more pics in December...

 Aricin's new favorite book- He makes me replace the kids name with Aricin and the baby brother's name with Oliver

 Same author, Talia's new favorite book. She makes me repalce her name and the dogs name with our dog, Jeremiah.... what would we do without Library's

 Aricin thought it was the coolest thing to see dead honey badgers and porcupines- they had just killed them to make a headdress for a pow wow

 Aricin and his buddy Cody watching Mitchell Laso a horse at their house

 Tally and Aricin's turkey's on thanksgiving on the res.

 More Badlands

Sorry at the lack of order in the pictures, they were kind of all over the place. So for Thanksgiving we got invited to go to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation with a small group of people (10 adults and 10 kids). We made an awesome Thanksgiving feast, and were able to deliver some firewood, blankets, and clothes to them. It was awesome to be able to go on our first mission trip together as a family. Pine Ridge is in the southwest corner of South Dakota and has a population of about 30,000 people. The 3 counties that make up pine ridge are the poorest 3 counties in the country. The unemployment rate is 80% and the alcoholism rate is also 80%. The suicide rate is extremely high and the conditions that these people live in is heartbreaking. A lot of people are living in hold FEMA trailers donated after Hurricane Katrina via New Orleans- these trailers are coated with visible mold and yet it's better then anything else. We stayed at a Casino on the Res which you would think is a big money maker, but we learned last year each resident on the res. got a check for about 27 cents from the profits. Each Lakota tribe member is given land on Pine Ridge and a lot of times the land is inaccesable so they lease the land out to wealthy american ranchers who consequentially made Billions last year- a lady we met told us last year she got a check for $24 dollars for the year to lease her lands to the ranchers. The whole situation is both frustrating and heartbreaking. As you drive the roads on the Res, you pass lots of markers showing where people have died from drunk driving- it's eerie. One of the days we were driving and Aricin asked "Why are the peoples houses hear all old and cracked? We don't they just buy new houses?" We told him that they didn't have enough money to buy new houses. His response "Well mom, why don't we give them some of our money to help them." Aaron and I looked at each other and smiled because he's getting it- we want our kids to have broken hearts for others and to desire to help others. Our time at Pine Ridge was good and hard. We went to the Wounded Knee Massacre and learned a little about America's history with the Native American's and it's sad. The more i learned the more embarassed I am at how we treated the Native American's. So many Indian Chiefs were shot in the back under a white peace treaty flag by our soldiers- it's terrible. All and all we look forward to returning to Pine Ridge and reconnecting with some of our new friends on the reservation.

My Heart is Broken... no really it is

It's been a crazy week. Have you ever heard the phrase "Nothing's changed and yet everything's changed? This kind of sums of the last week.

You see for the past month my heart has been acting a little weird, at times it will race, other times it feels like it's beating super slow, and other times it feels like it's beating to a 3 beat rhythm or no rhythm at all. I've mostly ignored it because I joke that i have hypochondriac tendencies and I didn't want my doctor to say "you're crazy." Besides I just had a physical in march that determined i was super healthy. Well, last week I had 5 different people share with me stories about them or someone they know having a heart issue. By the end of the week I felt like it was clear, God was telling me...I should go in and check with my doctor.

I got to my appointment feeling fine, I shared with my doctor that I love to run, ran a 5k in August, another in September, but for the last month I've been busy coaching and haven't been feeling great. Before I start running hard again I want to get a clean bill of health. She decided to to a quick EKG for a minute to see if it picked anything up. I told her i was feeling good and my heart wasn't acting up at the moment. The EKG did pick something up however, it showed that I have a 1st degree AV Atrial Ventrical Block. What does that mean??? The electrical impulse that starts at the top of heart and works its way down is slow due to some sort of block in the muscle cavity. As a result my heart is beating fast and irregular. My doctor also listened to my heart and said "That's interesting." my response "Really. i don't want to hear that." She said the two ventricals in my heart are beating at different times. Most peoples two ventricals beat at the same time. She did say that in athlete's because of lung capacity it's common to see the ventricals beating at different times. So what's next... She ordered me to go to a cardiologist monday morning to pick up a monitor to wear for 24 hours to get a better idea of what my heart is or isn't doing. I'm wearing the monitor now, it's pretty awesome. I've got wires and stickers all over my chest and sweet walkman like recorder that i get to wear with it for the next day or so. It kind of looks like an Octopus set up shop on my chest.  So where are we at??? We should get the results of the monitor back in the next few days. Best case scenario they can regulate my heart beat with meds. (kind of funny thing here- I hate medicine, even after I had Tally and Oliver i was reluctant to take a Tylenol for the pain because i hate taking meds- at this point it's funny because if it's going to help me live... I'm like bring on the drugs :) Worst case scenario- I might have to have a pace maker put in. Yes a pace maker. Funny thing here is... So i just turned 33 and in turning 33 i thought... Oh i might Get a few grey hairs or maybe even reading glasses, never would have guessed i might Get a pace maker.

So right now i'm feeling suprisingly at peace. We've shared what's going on with not a ton of family mostly our close friends from church or friends that are believers that we know aren't going to tell us things filled with nice thoughts but rather people we know that will be on their knees praying hard. I've got an Army of family and friends praying for me and I can feel it. Under normal circumstances I would think i'd be freaking out right now, but i have been blanketed in a supernatural feeling of peace that i know is from all of those people praying for me. I have had a couple moments where I've been brought to tears at the thought of Aaron and the kids doing life without me. I've thought about the video journals i'd love to leave my kids if i do find out bad news and those thoughts make me sad, so i'm not going to let myself go down that road yet. I've thought a lot the last few days about Aaron's mom. She had a scary diagnosis when Aaron and his brother were toddlers and miraculously lived for 20+ years after. I can remember her sharing the story about how she prayed that God would allow her to see her kids graduate from high school and after that happened, she prayed college, then she prayed she'd get to see the girls her boys would marry, she then prayed that she'd be able to see her boys get married and felt that God was going to allow it. She held on for our wedding a died a few weeks after. She never prayed that she'd be able to meet grandkids because she just knew. She kept journals for Aaron and his brother.... something i've been wanting to do and actually bought journals for the kids a year ago- this might be the motivation i needed to start writing notes in them for my kids. Things that they do that make me laugh, my hopes, desires, and prayers for them.

I have a good friend, Samm who is my age. In college she had strep throat and it went untreated as a result she is now going through Kidney Failure. She's been on Dialysis three days a week for the last few months. On mondays i bring her dinner at the Dialysis center while her blood is getting cleaned out. This last monday was the last time- Next week instead of going to the Dialysis Center to bring her dinner i'm going to spend the day with her at the hospital as she gets a new Kidney. How awesome is that! I've prayed, cried, and wrestled with God over this girl and it's awesome to see that she is going to be alright. Last night as we sat and talked she mentioned that she wasn't much of a runner and for the last year and a half has been too weak to work out. She asked if i'd teach her how to run after she got her new kidney and new lease on life. I smiled at her and got choked up because it made me realize how much i do truly LOVE RUNNING and how sad i'll be if that's something i can't do. It made me think of Eric Liddel of Chariots of Fire fame. Beyond being an amazing runner he was also an amazing man with a heart after God who happend to be from SCOTLAND an happened to become a missionary until he died. Anyways one of his famous quotes is "I feel God's presence when i run." As silly as it sounds that resonates with me- i feel God's presence when I run. I feel joy and I have so many sweet memories around running. Anyways I pray that with all this heart stuff i'll still be able to pursue that desire without the worry that i'm going to keel over and die on a run :)

It's crazy... 5 months ago when we made a dramatic decision to live simply and follow God, I blogged that one of my major struggles is SELF RELIANCE and I knew moving down to the basement and living simply was going to be hard but i looked forward to the fact that we had made a decision to be radical and even though i wasn't saying God bring on the trials I was excited about the fact that WHEN LIFE IS HARD IT FORCES US TO BE LESS SELF RELIANT and if we embrace the trials that God can and will grow us and teach us. Looking back on this i think HA! Nice Janay are you really ready for this. The Bible specifically talks about when you choose Jesus you will be attacked. I shared with my pastor what i put on my blog and he laughed and said "Don't you know better." So... Since I asked God to grow me, refine me, teach me through hard times we've had some trials...

* Our Neighbors called the county and complained because of zoning issues and our lack of permits- essentially evicting us from our house and moving us into a 2 bedroom apartment.
* Aricin got gouged in the arm with a brass oar holder while we were on vacation in Palisade causing him to get 7 stitches in his arm.
* Talia fell at church and had to get 9 stitches in her forehead
*My heart stuff going on now.

Kind of a lot. It kinda feels to me like we are being attacked and that sucks. But I also know that as hard as these last 5 months have been. They have also been AMAZING. I feel like for the first time in a long time I'm growing in my faith. I've learned that for some reason i have in my head an American dream mentality that the goal in life is to be comfortable I've learned that to have that Goal of living a super comfortable life in a big house with lots of extra stuff inside contradicts the gospel. The more stuff we have the more easy it is to forget about helping others and we become more self reliant- feeling like we don't need God because all of our needs are met. Yikes!

The night before Tally had her little head injury i specifically remember laying in bed and praying protection over her from injury and Illness and the next day she falls and gets 9 stitches in her forehead. After her accident I remember feeling frustrated with God. Thinking "really God, you tell me to pray with the faith that what i ask for has already been given to me and then this happens?" It made me realize sometimes when i pray I like to think i have control over God as crazy as that sounds. Like so many other things i sometimes try to put God in a box and control him and he doesn't work like that. Who's to say Talia's injury could have been so much worse but because i prayed God coveted that and saved her from what could have been so much worse. And now this, i guess the point i'm trying to make is... God has me and our family on a journey- Even in the midst of this sucky situation I'm humbly left wondering what God is trying to teach me through this. I know i like to feel like i have control over my health- I eat healthy, i exercise, and I'm relatively young-and so i like to think nothing can happen to me- but it can. I'm definitely wondering why this? Why my heart is not working and what God is trying to teach me through this. To doubt God right now, to spend my days worrying, would be a waste. There is a lesson to be learned in this trial and although i don't know what it is. Even though this SUCKS i'm excited to know that if i can continue to rest in the thought that God is in control, this is how he made me, and he has a plan for all of this- i know he is refining me and growing me in my faith- and because of that I'M OK and IT'S GOING TO BE OK no matter what.

One last thing... In the midst of all these trials I haven't been the only one growing in my faith. Aricin (my sweet 4 year old) has asked questions like "If kids in Africa don't always have enough food to eat, do they still love Jesus?" and "Can Jesus come into my heart and live in me?" and "How can you hear God when he speaks to us." It has been so sweet to foster and cultivate his growing heart. As a family despite these trials I'm thankful for the journey God has our family on and I wouldn't have it any other way. The easy life gets boring :)