Four months with Hannah

Hannah has been with us for four months!  She is doing very well and learning so much!  With school in full swing and activities started, we are trying to make the most of our family time.  We are especially trying to make the most of our time with Hannah.  Her surgery is this week and we know that her recovery may be long and unpredictable.  A detailed post about her surgery coming soon!

Here is what we have been up to!  At the end of August, Matt's Uncle Johnny tragically passed away.  We loaded up in the car and headed to his burial at the National Cemetery in South Dakota.  Although it was unfortunate circumstances, we were grateful for the opportunity to see Matt's Mom's side.  Hannah was finally able to meet Grandma and Grandpa Marquette.  She approves!  It was a sweet time with our extended family.  

Over Labor Day, we headed up to Chicago for a night.  Matt had a surprise in store!  We went out to dinner, went to see War Room (highly recommend it!), and stayed overnight at a hotel (without kids!) to celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary.  We were so thankful for that time together.  We reflected on all that God has done in our marriage.  We pray that we He will be glorified with all that we do.

One of our favorite Chicago restaurants and also where we had our rehearsal dinner.

This weekend we spent (freezing) at the big kids' first soccer games of the season.  Claire scored two goals for her and Micah's team.  Nathan scored three goals for his team.  They are very excited to be playing soccer this Fall! 

We also made our annual trip to Tanner's Orchard.  There was apple picking, the Back 40, horse riding, goat feeding and FUN!  It was a beautiful day and the kids had a blast!

Thanks for checking in our family!

School Days

This week is a big week for all of the Marquette children.  School starts!  Nathan is in second grade, Micah and Claire are in kindergarten and Hannah is in Sunday school at church.  After many months of modified cocooning, we let Hannah go to Sunday school. Sadly, there is no picture of her first day. :(  She walked in never looked back!  The teachers said she did so well!  What a good girl!  We are so thankful for the children's ministries at church.

The big kids were excited to go to school for their fist day today.  There may have been a few nerves, but they were all smiles.  Please pray for their transition to school and for Micah's education team.
We also covet your prayers as we have appointments for Hannah tomorrow.  We are praying that God makes His ways clear and we will be given wisdom on how to proceed with Hannah's care.
Thank you for praying!

Claire is already an overachiever and lost TWO teeth in one night!  She is growing so fast!  The girl has now lost six teeth!

Family Time

Our family has been quite disconnected lately.  We knew that we needed to take time to be as a family with no distractions or commitments.  On a whim of crazy and desperation to gain control, we hopped in the car and drove to Florida.  We headed to Panama City Beach after a pit stop at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.  We enjoyed our time in the sunshine, surf, and sand.  Each child picked out something that they wanted to do on vacation.  Nathan has been talking about going to the Georgia Aquarium for several years.  He wanted to see the whale sharks in addition to his beloved penguin friends.  Micah wanted to see the beach.  Claire wanted to visit the American Girl store and dine with her bitty baby.  Hannah is all about the swimming.  We are happy to say that all kids were able to check off the items in their list.  We are grateful that we had the opportunity to create memories as a family of six.  We talk of vacation memories often and it was difficult for Micah to understand and relate.  He can now say that he has been on vacation.  Although there was a fair share of bickering, we had a great time!  It was a wonderful way to end the summer.  T-minus one week until school starts!

We're off!

Georgia Aquarium

Picking a winner with this family pic!

One of the whale sharks.  This viewing area was amazing!

They were excited to finally arrive in FL!!

Micah's first feel of the ocean.

Hannah's first swim in the ocean.

God's beauty on display

Micah's catch of the day.  A HUGE school of fish was right at the shore line.  It was actually quite disgusting, but the kids loved it (and so did the sea gulls!).

They loved riding the waves!

The girls loved their trip to the "baby store."

The tea was a hit!

We are in trouble!

These crazy kids...

...give this trip a thumbs up!