from Holden's birth to New Years

(ok confession....Justin and I wrote this a few weeks ago and never posted. Since it is a snow day her in Alabama and Justin is home and the kids are all outside playing in the snow, I finally have a chance to had the pictures and post it......here ya go!)

It has been a very busy (bordering on crazy) couple of months since the last time this blog was updated. Justin has been busy with his new job which sometimes means he has to go out of town. Sometimes at the worst possible time. Our fourth child was due in early September so we figured it would be fine if he was out of town from August 23 - 27th. Especially since the doctor said it looked like the baby was not quite ready to join us. Just to be safe, Ginger's mom came out to help while Justin was gone. Unfortunately, Holden decided that he was ready. Luckily, Ginger was sensitive to her body and could tell something was wrong. She went to the doctor and ended up having a semi-emergency C-section while Justin was breaking speed limits on the 5 hour drive from Mississippi. Ginger was just grateful that she didn't have to do it alone and that her mom was there to be with her! THANK YOU MOM! We could not have done this with out you here to help and be with Ginger. Holden managed to tie 3 knots in his umbilical and have it wrapped around his neck. Due to the lack of nutrients from the constricted cord, he had a rough start to his life. He was born 5 lbs 6 oz. He ended up spending 3 weeks in the infant ICU in Montgomery. We are so thankful that all the grandparents were able to come out and help our family durning this time! It was great for the kids to have their grandparents to hang with. Fortunately, our insurance is good and the doctors were excellent and as of now, although he is small, Holden Jay Marshall is doing very well.

Not to be outdone by her younger brother, Hawley crashed on her bike which necessitated a trip to the emergency room. She managed to break the bone where the roots of her top teeth are. The doctor was able to pull the broken bone back into place. She also got some stitches on the inside of her lip and the outside of her lip. The oral surgeon and the ER nurse both commented on how tough our little girl was during the process. She was awake through the whole operation. In the end, Hawley has a good story (and loves to tell it) and a small scar to show for her escapades.

Things slowed down a bit for the next couple of months, but we have been traveling quite a bit since then. Our annual trip to the Outer Banks for the week of Thanksgiving was, as usual, excellent. The beach was great as usual for body boarding and kayaking and having a lot of friends there that we don't see regularly always makes for a great week.

The travel didn't slow down too much for the next month. Justin traveled to Washington D.C. in both November and January and then to San Francisco in December on work related trips. The biggest travel event was the two weeks for Christmas and New Years. We went to San Jose with the entire Bob and Linda Crawford Clan. It was the first time the whole family had been together in several years. It was a really great time and the kids loved rekindling friendships with their cousins. With the large number of people it did result in a bit of chaos at times but we loved every bit of it. We have plenty of pictures and video to remember the fun we had. Thank you Mom and Dad for putting up with all of us!

We are looking forward to another great year here in Auburn. We are very grateful for all our blessings and hope we can see more of our friends and families throughout the upcoming year.