Smiles!

There is nothing better than seeing Marley smile and having a "conversation" with her. She is experimenting with her voice and making all kinds of cute noises and faces. We discovered that she finally really enjoys being in her bouncer because she can see and be entertained by the toys and songs. It reminds me of how it is such a testament of God's love for us that He created us to enjoy life. He created excitement and joy and happiness for His precious creation to experience. Even little Marley who is just scratching the tip of the iceberg of wonderful things to enjoy and make her happy is a recipient of His amazing love in this way. Thank you, Jesus, for joy!

Eight Weeks of Love

Marley Joy is 8 weeks old today, and we are more blessed than ever. It has been so fun to watch her grow and develop. She is smiling now and starting to make little coos when you talk to her and we just love it! This video link below shows just the beginning of this process. That's right, we bought a HD video camera. We have officially become "Those Parents" and we are not ashamed!

http://gallery.mac.com/bodieq#100053

Marley has thrush, but we are so blessed in that our pediatrician actually goes to our church and his wife (who is a nurse!) was holding her and they diagnosed her on a Sunday morning! Then they just called in the prescription for us and it's a good thing because the next day Marley was very uncomfortable and we already knew what was wrong and had the medicine to treat it. She's doing much better now, but it is very hard to get rid of.

She had her first experience in the pool on Labor day. She loves her bath so much (and let's you know by how much she screams when you take her out!) that we were just sure she would love the pool. Well...maybe we didn't pick the best time because she had just been awakened from too short of a nap and we were too excited to see her in her cute suit that we put it on and put her in. She definitely was less than amused at first, but then settled down as long as she was being held really close.
Marley is so loved. We are blessed to have so many people that care about us and about our little precious girl. I started back to work part time on August 29th and we have some of the best babysitters there are: grandparents! It is such a relief to know she is cared for so dilligently. My parents watch her at their house two days a week and Bodie's stepmom comes all the way up from Carlsbad to watch her one day a week. Uncle Kenton has volunteer to watch Marley two Wednesdays a month so I can go teach at youth group, and he is so good with her. Here are some recent pics of those that love her.

Proud Uncle Kenton

Auntie Megan

Auntie Kelly

We continue to be amazed at how much we love our little gift from God. It seems like every little thing she does is amazing. She now sleeps 6-7 hours in her first stretch of the night, then eats and sleeps a couple more hours. Last night was her first night in her own room and crib! We will keep you updated on her progress

Firsts

Marley is officially 4 weeks old! So much growth and change has happened, it is amazing. Thank you Jesus for continued health and joy! She is now sleeping a 5-6 hour stretch each night followed by 2 more. She is a delight. Here are some updated pictures:

Auntie Ajja came to visit us, and Marley thought she was just great! It must be her relaxing Hawaiian vibe.

Grandma, this outfit and these socks are far too big for me! You need to wait!

This is my "I'm awake and curious" face

Daddy sure makes a nice pillow. He must be watching Agassi.

Marley and Presley hanging out in the back seat while Heidi and Kathleen have an "outing"

First Bath! We didn't like this too much at first, but by the third night of baths, they have become one of our favorite things!

I took this picture to remember how little she looks in her carrier. One day she is going to fill it!

This is Joiya Szolomayer doing a great job holding Marley

Marley just loves hanging out in the Baby Bjorn. We took a 30 minute walk around the neighborhood with her in this and she was relaxed and taking in all the sights.

"I sure am curious!"

Beautiful Baby

We were so blessed to have a friend from church come and take some professional pictures of our precious little one. She is one week and one day in these pictures. Please visit our friend's website, www.photobyangel.com, and see some of her other beautiful work!

Eyes Wide Open

I realized that all the pictures I put up before were of Marley sleeping! Although she does do that most of the time (she is a GREAT sleeper! Even at night!), I wanted you to see her with her eyes open, as she begins to take in this world that God has created for her.

May we continue to see this world as God has intended us to: through eyes of love, compassion and humility, fixed on Jesus to whom all glory and honor is due. "Love sent my Savior to die in my stead, Why should he love me so?"

Announcing Marley Joy Quirk!

Marley Joy Quirk was born Tuesday July 17, 2007 at 9:22 am. She weighed 7lbs. 3 oz. and was 19 inches long. Already she has captivated us with her little noises, precious looks and sweet spirit. We are absolutely in love. We have been so blessed to have tremendous family support from Glenn, Sara Lee and Kenton Martin and Jim and Luanna Quirk. Collectively, they have cooked, cleaned, washed, fixed and taken care of every possible need we might have so that we can just be parents. Words cannot express how thankful we are for them.

We have also been overwhelmed by all the love and support that has been lavished upon us by family and friends in this special time. We are truly humbled by the grace that is given to us and thank the Lord for His provision.







We will try to continue updating this blog with pictures and stories as this blessed little gift grows day by day. Thank you for visiting!

Back to Blogging

What a year it has been! Each day we are reminded of the faithfulness and sovereignty of our Lord, and are so blessed to be called His children. We found out we were pregnant in November 2006 and began counting the days for our little one to arrive. In December 2006 we moved into our new home in Orange. We thank God for it everyday, as now we are only a few minutes from church and Heidi's work is much closer. We pray it is a place of ministry and peace. Here are some pictures:

Upstairs Laundry!!

Guest bedroom and bath

Our Bedroom

Nursery with loft

We were also blessed to go on a trip to Hawaii with Heidi's parents in April 2007. It was a wonderful time of rest and relaxation. Here are some of the hightlights:

A view from our room!

Bodie graduated from Biola in May 2007 with his Masters in Christian Apologetics. He loves learning and is continuing his education at Talbot in Theology.

Day 13?: We've lost track!

Wow, it's been a long day or two. We stayed up until the bus was to take us to the airport at 1:30 am. We played many a game of spoons and had a blast. When Ronnie, our tour guide, parted with our bus, he said that he wished more people were like us and we would always have a friend in Israel. He has never worked with a group like ours, and it was a blessing to show him true love and acceptance. He jokingly said that our group was more Jewish than he is because of our interest in and support of the history and future of Israel. There was no better way to end the trip. Please contiue to pray for him, as he asked for prayers too!


Our late night crew in a heated game of Spoons (or sugar packets)











Another picture of the back of the bus crew just before we left for the airport.












We took one flight from Tel Aviv to Frankfurt, and then another from Frankfurt to DC. We arrived safely (with luggage!) and got a hotel for the night. Bodie's friend Elizabeth came and hung out with us which was a blessing and helped us stay up later too!

A new game we learned called Indian (not sure that's very p.c.) And we entertained the masses in the gate waiting for the plane.










We are blessed to be back in the states. Thanks for all your prayers and we look forward to seeing you soon! We fly back tomorrow (Friday) and will get in to Long Beach around 5pm.