Marshallog

Father's Day 2009

2009-06-23T16:23:00.003-04:00

I love my Daddy!!!!

So I am obviously not a blogger. When I think about my personality and my stage in life I can begin to understand why it is difficult for me. No the less for those of you who are I hope my occational pictures will do:)

We had a very relaxing father's day. It was fun to celebrate what a wonderful father Brian is to our sweet little girl!!!!

New pictures

2009-05-25T22:45:00.005-04:00

Fun in the sun!

Bath time

Liz here are a few more recent pics just for you. Thanks for caring and keeping me on updating. We are all doing well. Kayla is scooting all over and only crawling a bit...she scoots so much faster! She also loves pickles. As for Brian and I, I graduated a few weeks ago and seem to find alot to do instead of studding for boards...especially now that it is nice. I am also in the process of hunting for a part-time job. I have had several interview but not sure how things will turn out yet. We hired some one to do some re-landscaping of our backyard to prevent future flooding so that is under consturction but we are both really excited to get that done. Otherwise we don't have any major plans for June...hope to just relax and enjoy the nice weather!!

Solid Food

2009-01-24T22:06:00.004-05:00

So we decided to give Kayla a little bit of rice cereal this evening. It is always very exciting/ entertaining to watch her experience and do new things. This was no exception. Hope you enjoy the video, because we sure enjoyed the experience. It wasn't nearly as bad as Kayla makes it seem at the end.

Visit to STL

2009-01-19T19:05:00.003-05:00

We headed off to St. Louis this weekend to see my sisters play some b-ball and also to hang out with the Mohr's. It was so great to see them all. Kayla and Arie Alex had a lot of fun together too!

Kayla

2008-12-30T12:30:00.003-05:00

I know that we have not been posting nearly enough of Kayla on here, so here is a video. Just over the past couple of weeks she has really started to use her hands and now she smiles at just about anything. There are few things that warm our hearts more than a smile from our daughter!

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-17T17:23:00.003-05:00

We just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas season! I finished my semester last week so the rest of life can start again. We had a great trip to como over thanksgiving but since I was still in school you get no picture but for all of those we got to see...it was fun!!

Farewell friend

2008-11-03T23:32:00.000-05:00

Today I said good-bye to a dear friend. Jack was 7 years old and the most loving and loyal dog there could be. He was my 21st birthday present when he came to live with me 7 years ago this friday. I never new you could love a dog so much. He was a blessing from God and over the past years has brough me countless amounts of joy. I will miss him dearly!

2008-11-03T23:20:00.003-05:00

Isn't she the cutest little pumpkin!

Our friends the Jackson's came over for our own little mini Halloween Party...so much fun! I wish I could dress up as the chicken:)

Introducing Kayla!

2008-09-09T22:27:00.005-04:00

It has been a crazy seven days at the Marshall household. Genese and Kayla are finally home and everyone is doing well. We will spare everyone all the details in this post so that you can just enjoy the pictures, but we must confess that God was incredibly gracious towards us! Kayla had some respiratory issues shortly after birth and had to go the the NICU. I can honestly say that I've never prayed harder in my life, but thankfully God was merciful to us and cared for our little girl. Despite all the initial issues, she is a healthy baby girl! Praise God... enjoy the pics.

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-02T11:28:00.006-04:00

Instead of sitting around waiting for baby Kayla to come Brian and I decide to make the most of the weekend. Sat night we annoyed our Illinois friends by cheering on the tigers to victory! Then on Sun we went to to a local park and took a 5 mile walk/hike and went out for a late dinner. However, Monday was the best. We found a new lake and recreation area about an hour away from our house (near Bloomington) where we took Addy swimming and hiked around. We stopped at Chipolte on the way home...the nearest one is in Bloomington. We really enjoyed our time together and hope that it was our last weekend with out Kayla!

Addie had a blast Swimming!!

Still waiting...

2008-08-25T18:24:00.002-04:00

I am 39 weeks and 3 days. Kayla is due friday....I hope she comes before then!! I look and feel huge and can't wait to sleep on my back and tummy again! We will let you know when she decides to make her arrival! Hope everyone is enjoying the nice weather.

On to August...

2008-08-09T12:49:00.004-04:00

August has slowed down a little but the days still seem to fly by. I have officially started nesting and have just a few things left that I want to do before Kayla comes. Brian started a new job at CAT last week and it is keeping him really busy trying to learn his new role! I will officially by unemployed as of this Thursday...yeah!!! Our plan is for me to stay home with Kayla until I graduate in May. I am now going for weekly OB appointments and hoping that this baby will come soon because I am pretty uncomfortable most of the time, but it has only slowed me down a little:) I will try to be better at posting!

July

2008-08-09T12:26:00.007-04:00

I apologize for not making any post in July...it was a crazy month! It started out with a 5 day mini vacation to Effingham, IL to spend time with Brian's family at the lake and pool. I can't seem to find the skiing pics but when I do I will post them! I didn't get to ski but it was fun to ride around on the boat and see every one.

The next weekend my friend here in Peoria had a baby shower for us. It was a lot of fun and everyone gave us the coolest baby stuff! Thanks guys!
Our friends from GA, Bryce and Natasha, came to visit with their 2 kids Ellie and Drew. It was the first time that we got to meet Drew. So fun and so cute! It so good to see them but to short. It made me miss not having them here them a lot!

The following weekend we went back to COMO for a baby shower with the friends and family from home. It was so good to see some of the folks that we don't get to see very often. And Marti and her girls came all the way from GA! It was a blast to have all the people we love in one place!

So, between work, child birth class, breastfeeding class and baby showers we were exhausted, but thankful that we got to see so many people who are so important to us!!! Thanks for everything!!

Grand Canyon

2008-06-15T13:00:00.007-04:00

Since I was out in Arizona for work, and had to stay over the weekend, I thought I'd head up to the Grand Canyon for the day. I've always heard people say that you just can't appreciate the magnitude and grander of the canyon from a picture... you have to stand with your toes on the edge and take it all in. They are sure right! It's funny though, even being there my mind still seemed unable to comprehend all that my eyes were taking in. It was very surreal. Our God, the creator of the earth is quite spectacular!

It was a fun trip, but would have been way better if Genese was there with me!

Thumbs up for Kayla

2008-06-08T15:49:00.004-04:00

Kayla was 28 week on Friday. We got to have an ultrasound and everything looks good. She is now in the 47 percentile and has chubby cheeks. I am feeling good...my only complaint is that I pee all the time.

Finally some belly pics (sort of)

2008-05-26T17:38:00.002-04:00

I know that everyone has been asking for this for a long time... so here it is. A belly shot of Genese at 26 weeks. We have not updated the blog forever, so not even sure that anyone checks it, but for those who do - enjoy!

Its a...

2008-04-10T13:31:00.004-04:00

Look at the toes!

Heart rate was 160 bpm

GIRL!!!!!

I am glad that the sono tech was good because I sure couldn't tell, but I guess we'll have to take her word for it. This is a 3D sono of her head. She has all her organs, fingers and toes. She is a little on the small side but very healthy for which Brian and I are so thankful!! We can't wait to meet this little one.

In case you haven't heard...

2008-02-17T18:15:00.000-05:00

Most of you have probably heard the exciting news about the much anticipated arrival of a new member of the Marshall Family, but in case you hadn't we wanted to make it official with a post on the ole' blog. In addition, we have also received numerous comments on the last post expressing some "disappointment" that we haven't posted anything yet.

Anyway... we are both extremely excited about this gift that God has provided for us (Ps. 127:3)! The "kido" (as we have decided to refer to him/her until we know the sex) is scheduled to be born on August 30th. Six months seems like quite a while, but we both know that it will come very quickly.

Genese has been feeling a little sick and tired, but looks forward to that being over in a couple of weeks as she enters the second trimester. Brian also looks forward to not waking up every morning to the sound of Genese dry heaving. (He also feels sorry for his wife feeling so poorly.) Here are some pics:

Here is the first "family" picture courtesy of Brian's Mom

Here is the 9wk ultrasound

The Look of Pure Joy

2007-12-11T21:27:00.000-05:00

Ever wondered what someone looks like after they have taken their last final for graduate school? Well, wait no longer! Genese took her last final of her Masters in Nursing program today. Even though she still has a year to go before graduation she is done testing (until boards)!

Apa-butta

2007-10-24T21:01:00.000-04:00

So these this is one of those posts of something that happened way in the past... but I'm going to post it anyway. We went home for the second annual Marshall Family Apple butter extravaganza at the beginning of October. It was great fun to get to see the whole family and enjoy the bonding experience of making 78.5 pints of apple butter (grandma's secret recipe!). It is an all day activity which starts with cutting four bushels of apples into small chunks and turning them into applesauce over a giant kettle. Then you've got to strain the sauce and let it simmer for several hours with constant stirring (see pic below for example). Normally it would be nice to stand around a fire in October, but unfortunately, the fire just made the 90 degree Saturday afternoon feel all the worse. Oh, we had fun.

Here is a picture of Maggie experimenting with jar lids!

Tanners Orchard

2007-09-26T19:52:00.000-04:00

So what is there to do in central Illinois on a nice fall afternoon? Well, of course, (did I even need to ask the question?) go to the local Apple Orchard and get some apples! So we headed off to Tanners Orchard were we picked up some great homemade food and spent the afternoon outside enjoying the great weather. After stocking up on pumpkins and other decor for the yard we watched the goats and had a brief moment to pose for this picture with the 10 foot tall Scare Crow.

Morton Pumpkin Fest 10k

2007-09-15T22:54:00.000-04:00

Today we celebrated the 41st annual Morton Pumpkin Festival 10k run. Both of us finished in relatively good times considering our weak training schedule leading up to the race. Immediately after the race we stood in line for over 30 minutes at the all you can eat pumpkin pancake breakfast! Man were those pancakes good... well worth the wait. After coming home and hanging our for a while, we headed back to the Festival to work the Harvest Bible Chapel table and eat some more pumpkin themed food. All in all it was quite a fun day!

Polo Match

2007-08-26T23:00:00.000-04:00

We had an absolutely beautiful weekend here in Peoria. Looking for an excuse to go outside we head out to the polo match. Prior to this weekend my only experience with polo was watching it in the movie "Pretty Women". Surprisingly it was very entertaining....it's like playing a mix of soccer and croaky on horse back. For those of you that have never watch a match you should give it a chance. Even if your friends make fun of you:)

Quick Trip to the STL

2007-08-26T22:40:00.000-04:00

Brian is the official blog keeper of our family and to be honest I rarely do something worth blogging without him. However, I did ditch him for the day and made a trip to STL without him.....it stinks to have to work everyday of the week:) I was lucky enough to see my old friend Amy and her husband Dan for the evening. It was so good to see her and it make me miss her even more. We always have a good time together.

We attempted a pyramid. Usually, the smallest goes on top.....but don't you think Dan looks good!!!!!

My sister Janelle move to STL 3 months ago and this was the first time I had been down to her new house. We spent Friday at the water park. It was so much fun to ride the slides and float down the lazy river together....until it started to rained. Regardless we had a great day. My 24hour trip went quick and there was lots I still wanted to do and people to see but I had to get home and get ready for my fall semester to start.

Bad day for a Buffalo

2007-08-24T22:12:00.000-04:00

So, I've never put a link to a video on our blog before, but I just couldn't pass this one up. It is rather long, but definitely worth watching. Just so you know (in case you feel bad for the baby buffalo) he ends up making out ok.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM&NR=1

Fellowship of Christian Athletes Golf Outing

2007-08-19T21:49:00.000-04:00

So I know it against the rules of blogging to post something that happened several weeks ago, but in an effort to make our lives look more exciting than they probably really are, I'm going to recap this wonderful event from earlier in August. The second annual FCA golf outing was once again as hot as ever. However, as a team, we put up a respectable 5 under par before it became a -13 due to our handicap. Even though the winning team shot a -20 (before their handicap) we enjoyed our time on the course. With more than a couple comedians on the course (at least one on my team) the morning was quite entertaining.

Here is a picture of our putting experts lining up a put on the last hole. Or they might be playing baseball, I'm not quite sure.

Apparently I forgot to wear my red shirt. I guess I was the black sheep of the team. At least I remembered by red hat!

Jason & Jessica's Wedding

2007-08-19T08:12:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we went to Jason's (one of my cousins) wedding. It was a great time. He and his new wife Jessica looked so happy. It was fun getting to see all the family and spend some time hanging out and playing games with them. Here is a pic of us with the immediate fam.

Colorado 5

2007-08-01T23:10:00.000-04:00

During our entire time out there, the one thing that we enjoyed the most was all the hikes that we were able to go on. In all, I think that we took some form of a hike everyday. There is no other view than the views from mountain trails.

Here are some pics from our 6 mile hike with the dogs on Raspberry Gulch Trail. The trip was a short afternoon hike but the views were awesome. Halfway through the trip we all got nice and wet, good thing we were prepared with all of our rain gear. Unfortunately, they don't make rain gear for dogs... not that they minded, but they sure gave the car a nice smell on the trip back to the cabin!

We capped off our trip by bagging one of Colorado's 14,000+ft peaks. It was Genese's second 14er and Brian's third.... only 50 more to go! We decided to do Mt Princeton (14, 196 ft) because it is one of the peaks that overshadows BV. It's the peak that we each woke up to see the sun shining on its face each morning that we worked out there.
The hike started at 5:00am in the pitch black. To complete the trip we covered 27 miles and had to gain over a 5,100ft of vertical elevation gain. It was a tough trip, but very rewarding once we were at the top.
The second pick shows us on the top. Unfortunately, due to bad weather, we were only able to stay there for about 5 minutes... not a lot of time to enjoy 9 hours worth of work to get there and back. I must say though... the view was awesome. How can anyone ever experience the mountains and not believe in a Creator God?
The hike left us both very sore and ready for the long drive home!

Colorado 4

2007-08-01T22:55:00.000-04:00

On Thursday we got to hang out with our friend P-Dawg (aka Polly). Here is a picture of us by the Ark river with a random dog named Jane. There must be some unsaid law in Colorado that every touristy picture must contain a dog. Oh well, thanks to Jane for willing to be in our pic.
We all had fun catching up on all that has gone on since we last saw each other. It was especially fun getting to discuss all that God has been doing in each of our lives over the past few years. It was quite a testament to the loving attention that he gives to each believers sanctification process.

Colorado 3

2007-08-01T22:49:00.000-04:00

Here was the view while sitting on the back deck at the cabin... can't beat that.

Just below the mountain in the back of the cabin, there was a great creek for all the dogs to swim in. Addie and Jack had lots of fun playing fetch in the water. We were quite impressed with Addie's swimming ability seeing as how she had no problem going after the stick even when it floated over into the really swift water. Thanks to the close proximity of the creek, Jack and Addie were wet 16 hours of every day!

Look at all the happy faces after a dinner of freshly caught trout!

Colorado 2

2007-08-01T22:42:00.000-04:00

After spending a few days with Mike and Jess, we headed out to good old BV to spend some time in the mountains with Genese's family.

Here a pic of one of the sweet brown trout that I caught on the all day fishing trip with Mike and Melissa. Melissa claims she caught the largest fish, but I have yet to see a picture proving it!

To celebrate Renae's B-Day we took a whitewater rafting trip with my old rafting company Noah's Ark. We all had a great time despite the fact that we almost got struck by lightning prior to beginning our trip. It is amazing how fast storms develop up in the mountains. It was a lot of fun to see the river again, but I found it very difficult to sit in the back of the boat and not be guiding. Genese and I did, however, enjoy getting to sit by each other for the trip!

Colorado 1

2007-08-01T22:31:00.000-04:00

So, we spent the last week out in Colorado taking a much needed vacation. We had a very full week and tons of pictures to share, so there are several posts outlining our whole adventure.

Jack and Addie are troopers when it comes to riding in the car, but on a trip this long they started to get a little anxious towards the end. It's almost as if they are looking at us from the back and asking "Are we there yet?"

The best part about the drive to Colorado is that moment when in the very distance you can see the mountains for the first time. While they are ever so faint the excitement knowing that you are finally there is quite overwhelming.

At the start of our trip we spent several days with our friends Mike and Jess. We enjoyed hanging out with them and hiking some great trails just outside the Fort Collins area. You can link to their blog on the right to see some more pictures of our time with them. Here's a good picture of Addie and her new BFF. Once Addie realized that Jess would play fetch with her, she ignored us and preferred to follow Jess around.

PS Addie thanks you for giving her a bath

Trip to Starved Rock State Park

2007-07-13T23:55:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to send out this cool pic from our not so recent trip to starved rock state park in northern IL. This (unfortunately) is some of the greatest wilderness this state has to offer! Oh well, we will be off to Colorado soon so we can get our fill of the true outdoors. Check back for some blog updates on our trip out there.

Turkey Time

2007-04-25T19:21:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to share some pics with everyone from the weekend turkey hunt. We headed out to Kansas and spent the weekend at Genese's grandparents' farm. It was great getting to see them and spend some much needed time away from work and school. I spent the entire weekend hunting with my Uncle Chris... well, I guess we didn't hunt the entire time... we had to squeeze in a few hours to do some fishing as well. As you can see, both of us got really nice Tom's. Thanks again to Chris for taking me and calling in these birds!

It's cold... but not too cold for a walk

2007-02-20T22:38:00.000-05:00

Genese and I took the dogs for a walk along the riverfront a few weeks ago. The weather here has been preatty cold, but we took advantage of the break in the snow to get outside for a little while. I don't think most people around here do much outside this time of the year... but fortunately that means that we have the trails and walking paths all to ourselves. That means that Jack and Addie can run free and sniff around. On this trip Addie almost caught a squirrel! I don't think that she would have done anything to it except herd it arround, but I had to call here off because she was making up ground on it as it was running to the nearest tree. I know the squirrel was a little fat and not used to being chased, but I can't believe how fast that dog is!

The Tank

2007-01-20T21:16:00.000-05:00

So I spent some time today cleaning my fish tank... it was long overdue. Every time after a cleaning (which causes me to spend some time watching the fish) I am just always amazed at the beauty of God's creation! Our God is full of imagination and creativity... and to think that we are the greatest joy of his creation! We serve an awesome God. Anyway, enjoy the picture.

New Year's Day Playtime

2007-01-01T20:05:00.000-05:00

Jack and Addie's friend Jersey came over to play today. They all had tons of fun and are now completely worn out. Our dogs are currently zonked out and haven't moved since we brought them inside a few hours ago.

Merry Christmas from the Marshall's

2006-12-21T20:33:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the first annual installment of Brian and Genese’s Christmas blog. This year got off to a great start as God answered our prayers and led us to a church that we could call home. In January our neighbors (knowing that we were frustrated with what the area had to offer as far as churches goes) set up a meeting for me (Brian) to meet the pastor of a new church plant that was planning on starting in April. After a very informative and exciting conversation over a cup of coffee it was evident that God was calling us to join the launch team of Harvest Bible Chapel of Peoria. The vision of the church possessed all the things that we desired… 1. The authority of God’s word was to be preached boldly…. 2. Worship was contemporary, passionate, and scriptural… and 3. It was to be a church dedicated to ministry through small group bible study. When we joined the team that January, there were only 15 of us meeting on Sunday evenings at one of the launch team member’s houses. During that time, our pastor would take us through a short lesson and then we would spend the majority of the time praying together for God to provide all that we needed to launch a new church in the Peoria area. As I mentioned earlier, we had a pastor, but we needed God to provide several things including a worship director and a place to hold services.

Over the course of the following eight months we experienced great joy and growth as we witnessed the Lord provide for us time and time again. We learned that while the Lord is faithful in carrying out his sovereign plan, he always works in his good and perfect timing. While the original intent was to hold our first public services on Easter morning, due to many circumstances and much prayer we realized that God had so much more in store for us. After God provided a worship director, a building to worship in and sufficient launch team members, we planed for a late summer launch date. Launch officially occurred the second week of September at which time our core launch team of 50 people were blown away by the Lord’s work as we saw over 450 people attend worship that first Sunday!! Now, fourteen weeks later we are seeing regular attendance of over 400 people. Clearly, numbers are not everything, but going off of the way God has used this church to change our lives, we are excited to see the same potential in all those who now call Harvest their home.

Another huge answer to prayer came in August when Genese had the opportunity to take a new job in the GI lab. While she was reluctant to leave the work she enjoyed in the ER, the new position had much to offer that both of us had been diligently asking the Lord for. First and foremost, it was a daytime job that allowed us for the first time in our marriage, to spend every evening together (no more night shifts for Genese!). Additionally, with Genese starting her Masters in Nursing program at about the same time, the new job offered the flexibility that allows her to go to school full time and work part time around her school schedule. Just last week Genese finished her first of five semesters as she completed all of her finals with flying colors.

Things are going well for me at work. I completed my 15 month rotational development program in March and have returned to my hiring group full time. A majority of my time this year has been spent working at our proving ground planning and carrying out testing.

Jack and Addie are as energetic and entertaining as ever. You may notice that they didn’t make it into our Christmas card this year, but that’s not because we don’t love them… it’s just because I didn’t think that it was worth trying to get them to cooperate for a picture with the camera timer (we had no one available to take a picture of the four of us last minute). Addie is getting ready to start an intermediate agility class (its something fun for her and me to do while Genese is studying), but Jack mostly lays around the house and barks at stuff (like any good guard dog should do).

You’ve come this far and visited our blog. If you haven’t already done so, please take the time to browse through our posts and see all that we’ve been up to. There are links to previous posts, and archives of previous months all along the right hand side. Also, feel free to check in anytime. We try to add updates every month or so.

May the Lord bless you with a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love,
Brian and Genese

Winter Wonderland

2006-12-01T18:43:00.000-05:00

As most of you know (more specifically those of you who live in the Midwest), we got quite a bit of snow last night and into today. I tried to get up early and leave for work, but I got the trailblazer stuck about 10 yds outside of the driveway.
I don't know what the official snow fall amount was, but with the wind up here, we had several drifts well over three feet tall. I don't remember ever seeing snow like this before (except in Colorado).
We both enjoyed ourselves at home today, even though there was work and studying to be done. With as much as we enjoyed the day, I think that the dogs liked it even more. Enjoy all the pictures!!!

Early morning shot of the front of the house... snow's still coming down

Addie: "Why are you not outside playing in the snow with me?"

Brian using the snow blower to try to clear off the driveway

Out of the ice cave (or dogloo buried in snow)

That sure looks like a mouth full!

The masked man who owns the snowblower

Yes... we are knee deep in snow

I don't even know what to say....

2006-11-28T21:35:00.000-05:00

I know that it is very cliche', but a picture really is worth a thousand words...

Soccerfest Champions

2006-11-20T20:31:00.000-05:00

This weekend I was able to travel to Columbia to coach my sisters and one of my cousins in a 3-on-3 soccer tournament. We had a wonderful time and the girls played excellent soccer. I had such fun watching them and coaching them. We had some very close games where I really wondered if we were going to be able to pull it all off.... but we did. After five games the girls won the championship by a final score of 5 to 3!
It is such a privileged to be close enough to make it back to for the weekends for stuff like this. Thanks girls for letting me coach you...

......

2006-10-31T20:27:00.000-05:00

So... We definitely have not been keeping up with this whole blog thing as much as we intended. Therefore, even though nothing terribly exciting has been happening lately, I feel guilty for not publishing anything... thus here is a posting... about nothing....

Well... one thing that I would like to mention is that we celebrated the Cardinal's victory of the World Series! Here are some pics from the locker room after the victory!

Wow!

2006-10-01T20:17:00.000-04:00

The Harvest launch was absolutely amazing. God is doing something here in Central Illinois. Our first Sunday we had 478 people show up and this week we had 415 attendees. I am just in awe of the response that this church has received in the community. People are hungry for a church where they can come and worship the living God. They are hungry for a place where they can be fed by the Word of God! Continue to pray for our church. There is still much to be done and many challenges before us.

Harvest Bible Chapel Launch Coming Soon!!

2006-09-08T20:17:00.000-04:00

This past weekend we had our first practice service for Harvest Bible Chapel. We will be having our services at a local highschool, so that means that all of equipment will have to be brought in each weekend. Fortunately, we bought this sweet trailer full of equipment that has 17 or so rolling crates full of stuff. It is pretty cool that we can fit all of the equipment that we need for church services (from sound equipment to toys for children's church) in one trailer!
We are all very excited with the anticipation of what God is going to do through this church. Our prayer is that we can make an impact in this community and see many people come to faith in Christ Jesus. I know that we have both seen a lot of spiritual growth in our own lives... now we want to see that occur in the lives of others. Please pray for our church as it launches at the end of September!

Genese's Flowers

2006-08-30T21:34:00.000-04:00

These pictures are from earlier this summer, but I wanted to get them out there for everyone to see. Genese did a wonderful job with the flower beds this year and really had some wonderful flowers. Thanks to our parents for all the floral contributions. :-)

Adventures in Galena

2006-08-21T21:09:00.000-04:00

Well, I don't know if we really had alot of adventures, but we sure had alot fun and relaxation. Brian planned us fun anniversery weekend of much relaxation. We both have been working alot this summer and have spent very little time together over the past few weeks while I was finishing up one job and starting another. I am now working in the GI lab....day shift....YEAH!!!! We celebrated all weekend the "new life" that we are going to get to have this next year, as we now will be spending every evening together.
On our trip we toured the small town tucked into the hillside. The contryside was much prettier than flat Peoria. We ate lots of good food and Brian treated me to a couples message. He is the best!!!!

For more Galena Pics Click Here

Answered Prayer

2006-08-14T22:49:00.000-04:00

Most of you know that we are part of a launch team trying to plant a Harvest Bible Chapel here in Peoria. I just wanted to share with you the how wonderfully God has answered our prayers so that you can rejoice with us...
For the past eight months we have been praying for a place to meet for worship, sufficient funds to support the ministry of the church, and a group of able-bodied believers to get this church launched. God, in his great faithfulness has provided all these things!
The last thing that was needed before we received the green light to launch was a Worship Director. Man how our launch team prayed for that!!! We wanted to launch by the end of September, but time was getting very tight. God, as he always does, appeared in His perfect timing and provided that Worship Director. Thank you Lord!

Official Launch of Harvest Bible Chapel is 9:00 am September 24!!!!

Weekend In Columbia

2006-08-14T21:54:00.000-04:00

Well, we just had a wonderful weekend at home in Columbia. We made all the rounds and got to spend time with all the family! Even though we had a three day weekend, it still went by way too quickly!

Genese's sister Janelle was in town from West Virginia and we both enjoyed getting to see her. Over at the Riley house we joked that we had quite the red-neck weekend. Not only did we have a bonfire to roast some marshmallows, but much of our weekend consisted of sitting in lawn chairs in the front yard watching the dogs play. Jack and Addie were very excited to meet their new cousin Grace (the other German Shepherd) Oh well, call it what you'd like, but we all had fun!

At the Marshall household Genese and I had to maintain our good name by defeating my little sisters in a game of 2-on-2. I know what some of you are sarcastically saying..."Wow, they beat his little sisters?" I'm telling you though, Genese and I had to work a lot harder than I thought we would. Allison and Megan gave us a little run for our money. However, let the record stand that we won 11 to 7!

Lastly, we enjoyed some great home-cooked food and a time of relaxation out at the West Ranch. It was a beautiful day and a great way to wrap up our weekend!

Thanks to all of our family for loving us and making our time at home so enjoyable.

Frisbee Time

2006-07-31T22:17:00.000-04:00

I thought that I would put this picture out here for you all to see. I took it the other day when Genese and I were out playing Frisbee with the dogs. I've never seen two dogs get so excited over anything (other than food) before. While Addie almost always beats Jack to the Frisbee, both of them enjoy the chase. Unfortunately, its been so hot lately that we haven't been able to take them out to play. The heat has kept all of us couped up in the house. I sure wish we had a pool!

Lazy Dog

2006-07-30T17:26:00.000-04:00

Most of the time Addie has tons of energy, but in the mornings she is so lazy. She sleeps in later than anyone else in the house. This is the way that Gense typically finds her every morning after getting out of the shower.

Cards at Wrigley

2006-07-30T14:38:00.000-04:00

Thanks to our friends (and best neighbors ever) Derek and Tracey, we got to experience a cardinals game vs an unmentionable team that plays at Wrigley Field. Not only did we watch the game, but we were able to "experience" it from the famous "bleachers." Although the cardinals lost, they made a great run in the top of the ninth that caused all the Cub's fans to start booing their own pitcher. As for me (Brian) the highlight of the game was catching a baseball. I'd like to say that it was off an Albert Pujols homerun or something cool like that, but truthfully it was caught during batting practice. Still sounds cool, huh, well while it was during batting practice it was actually thrown to me by one of the outfielders... but still, I have a major league baseball which is more than most people can say!
Genese's favorite part of the game actually didn't have anything to do with the game... it instead was the Lemon Ice that she bought in the 7th inning after running down the Lemon Ice man. Oh well, I can't blame her... it was like a 100 degrees out there!!!
All in all, we had a fun day in Chicago with our friends. GO CARDS!

Our very first Blog

2006-07-28T19:01:00.000-04:00

We'll we've jumped on the technology bandwagon. So many of our friends have blogs, and we enjoy being able to know what they are up to even though they are hundreds of miles away. We hope that this blog will serve the same purpose for our family and our friends. Check in frequently to see what we've been up to.

-Brian & Genese