Introducing the Marshall Family

Hi there!

My name is Joy Marshall. I am thirty-one years old. I love writing, birth and my beautiful family.

I am married to my handsome husband, Kevin. I've loved him for, I don't know, forever. I think I started hoping that I'd marry him about one week after I met him. (I was fourteen years old.) He works. Hard. He is re-learning to play. Our spirited children help him a lot with this.

Lily is 11 years old and was born just shy of 9 months after our wedding. She also loves to write and is probably better at it than I am, when you factor in age and experience. She also loves reading, bikes, running and art. She's a beautiful person.

Troy is 9 years old. And he's good at it. But, lest you think he's ALL potty humor, legos and obnoxiousness, you should also know that he's terribly sensitive and tender-hearted. He is generous, kind, witty and playful. And he has a smile that melts my heart.

Ezra, 6, is a human tornado. He is messy, fun, loves gymnastics, can climb ANYTHING, has more scars than I care to count (but only a couple on his face) and can't resist a good competition. If you ask him to do a somersault, he'll do a front handspring. Ask for a cartwheel and he'll do three.

Kelley is 2. He is happy, funny, devoted to his older siblings (AKA buddies). He still thinks he should nurse, even though he self-weaned 6 months ago while I was pregnant. Shh... Sometimes I let him. He is just so stinkin' cute that it kills me.

And then there is our newest guy, Brennan, who is 9 weeks old, smiling and easygoing. Can't wait to see what form of "spirited" he takes.