Welcome Vinney Mike

Vinney's First Diaper
Proud Nani

Mommy & Daddy





Vincent Mikel Maucelli Marshall arrived this morning at 10:10 A.M., weighing in at 8 pounds 7.9 ounces and measuring 21-1/2 inches. Stephanie is doing great after her scheduled c-section, she is feeling very tired. I am so proud of my beautiful nephew. Taylor and Jimmy hung in the whole morning waiting to see their new cousin. Stephanie and Vinney will remain in the hospital for four days. Mom accompanied Steph during the c-section and Dad, Dylan, Nick, Sydney, Rachel, Kam, Taylor, Jimmy, Shelia, and myself were in the waiting room awaiting his arrival.


Stephanie Jo, you are a mommy now, that is too cool! Congrats to you and Dylan, I wish you both the very best, you have a gorgeous son!

Friday, September 28, 2007

Vinney Mike will make his descent into the world at 9:00 A.M. We are all so excited! Stephanie will be moving into her new home this week. Steph wants me to stay with her that first maybe even second week and help her, which of course, I am more than happy to do. We can't wait to meet you Vinney!

Moving On...

I don't think that our family will ever be the same without Dooley with us but we will try our hardest to move on with him in our memories. We all have expressed the emptiness now within us and like I have said before, there will never be another who can replace the void in my heart that I am now left with.

On a better note, Vincent Mikel Maucelli Marshall will be brought in this world before the end of this week and I am so excited to see him. I want to add that I misspelled Vinney, this is how she will spell it. He will now be Vinney Mike!

I have started searching for homeschooling supplies since the time has come to start school once again. I found a great site today that really made me happy and I cannot wait to use it. I have choosen a new path for myself and will take my children along for the ride. At first I was not going to mention it but I am proud of who I am and everyone who knows me know that I am a good person. I have figured out that I am Pagan and I have chose to take the path of Wiccan which has been a very interesting subject for me. Since I have stumbled upon this a couple months ago I have felt so much better inside, at peace. I have learned a lot about moon phases and natural healing, it has been a great experience.

For so long I thought pagan's were devil worshippers but looking into it I found they do not even believe in the devil, they are for nature and nature's way and I think that is great. Never knowing where I belonged in a religion has been a struggle for me for several years and now I am so happy to find something that is what I have believed all along, I just didn't know it had a name. The Wiccan Law is very simple to remember: "Do as ye will but do no harm!" I was able to celebrate my first holiday Saturday, which is Mabon: Autumnal Equinox, it was great and you can celebrate with everyone even if they do not believe the way you do.

I will continue to homeschool the children through Abeka, which is a Christian school but I will also teach them about the "Old Ways" as well and let them choose the path that is best for them. Eric was a little scared when he first found out that I have decided to do this but has calmed down once he figured out what it was about. He was here to celebrate Thanksgiving with me over the weekend and everyone who joined in had a great time, even Uncle Mike had a place at the table. Even though this is not the way my family believes, they did stand behind me and had a great time, thanks to all that came to celebrate with me.

Uncle Mike: Through darkness, there is light; through bane, there is happiness; through death, there is birth! We will always love you and will miss you the rest of our days! Blessed it be in the Goddess Light!

A Sad Day For All

Today was one of the saddest days of my life, I had to say goodbye to Uncle Mike. I cried so hard and felt so lost at times. Seeing my family members cry, most of them I have never seen shed a tear, tore me up inside. I know that Uncle Mike was there, I could feel him, he knows that all these people showed up for him and you know he was smiling when he heard all the stories and memories people were talking about. I was happy that so many people loved him! He was one of the greatest men I have ever known and I will always think of him.

As everyone knows, my sister is getting ready to give birth to her first child, she has decided to change his name in memory of Uncle Mike. He will now have the name, Vincent Mikel Nicholas Marshall and she is trying to make her c-section September 26th, the day Uncle Mike would turn 49. Stephanie Jo, I know Uncle Mike is so proud right now, a part of him will be with Vinnie always.

I want to thank everyone who showed up today, it meant so much! Forever in our hearts you are Mikel Doolioni of the Maucelli's and we are proud of you and your legacy will live on with us!

I Love You Uncle Mike!

Dear Uncle Mike,

I wish I would have told you all the things that are going through my mind at this moment, before it was too late, but we never expect that the ones we love may never be seen again. Since you have passed all my memories of you have been playing in my mind like a movie and I am remembering things I haven't thought of in years.

I still remember the first time I met you when you were first living with Auntie Ann in Regency Apartments and there was no furniture in the living room and we all sat on the floor, at that moment I was so young and didn't realize I was meeting a man who would eventually make a huge impact on my life. There was also a time when I was young, right after you and Auntie Ann moved into Poppa and Nani's old house, it was just the two of us and we made chocolate chip cookies, you know, the ones in a roll that you refrigerate, and then sat outside on the patio table and ate cookies and milk. I still remember you looking at me and telling me how beautiful I was, I never forgot that, it made me feel so good.

You were the first person to teach me to ride a 3 and 4-wheeler and that first time I wrecked it was you on the back with me. I felt so bad that I wrecked your bike but you were more concerned with how I was and told me that the 3-wheeler could always be fixed. You were the one who saved me when I wrecked the 4-wheeler too, I have never seen someone with such fast reflexes, you were off your bike fast and able to keep mine from pinning me under the water in the creek. The night Angie, Dustin, and I decided we were big enough to camp in the woods by ourselves and I got scared, it was you that stayed the night with us in the tent and kept us safe. I love you Mike Dooley, more than you probably realized.

I have never felt such sorrow as I feel now and I still can't believe that it is you that is actually gone. I know that you had so much on your plate and it must have seemed endless, but we always have loved you, always! I was so happy to see you three weeks ago and now I am so glad that I did, I just wish that I would have know it would be the last time because I would have held you a little longer and let you know how much you mean to me. Uncle Mike, you have a huge space of my heart that no one will ever be able to fill, you are a very special person and I know that you are safe now, you are at peace and that does make me happy for you, all your demons are now gone.

When I saw you a few weeks ago, I told the kids to give Uncle Mike a hug and you looked at me with shock and asked, "You still call me Uncle Mike?" Why wouldn't I? You were the only uncle that ever paid any attention to me or showed me any affection. You are such a compassionate man, you always looked out for others before yourself.

I wanted to write a memorial for you on the page, but even though I know you have touched so many people, I cannot speak for them, but I can speak for me. I decided an open letter is the best way to go and now every one, especially you, will know the love and pain I feel at this point. You are so special and will always be remembered, with me your memory will never fade and I will make sure my children know how great their Uncle Mike was.

Uncle Mike, I ask one thing of you at this point, please be with our family Wednesday, we will need you with us!

Love you always and Forever,

Joey

In Loving Memory of Mike Dooley

Mike Dooley passed away last evening. The family has stuck close today and we our doing our best to help Auntie Ann, Rachel, and Sean through this tough time.

We all are remembering all the great times we have had with him and hope he is finally at peace. As everyone knows, Mike, was always joking around and always so much fun to be around. I will remember Mike always as my favorite uncle, I loved him very much.

I am having a hard time writing at this moment because this has been such a hard day for us and my head is not all here, but I wanted everyone to know how much this family loved Mike and we will all truely miss him.

Uncle Mike...you are truely a wonderful man with such a big heart, I just want you to know how much you mean to me and have been a huge part of my life, you will always be in my heart!

WOW...It's Been Awhile

I know, my posts keep getting farther and farther apart, but soon I should be able to make regular posts.

I have never been this busy in my life but everything is starting to come together and I am getting closer to a calm down. I have found Auntie "G" a new home and we have placed the deposit down, she will be moving in about 3-4 weeks. I know she is very excited about the move. She is moving into a 2-bedroom assisted living to start out with and will be transferred to a 1-bedroom as soon as it's available. I now need to get her home ready for a sale and I will have her help me with all the small details on that. She is doing so much better these days, now that she is on regular medication and eating everyday her mind is back to where it needs to be, she still has some problems with her short term but she is 86-years-old and that is expected.

I realize that this is a long process but I am here for the long haul and cannot wait to get her settled into her new place, she is going to be very happy there.

I talk to Eric every day and he is doing great, we miss him a lot. He has been keeping busy at work and we spend the evenings chatting on the phone before bed. It's definately been hard without him here but I know it's not much longer until we will be reunited again. I really enjoyed his visit and we pushed as much as we could into his week here, but it didn't seem long enough.

At Poppa and Nani's we spend a lot of family time together, at least twice a week we have a family movie night where we pop some popcorn and find a comfy spot and veg in front of the big screen, last night was Wild Hogs...funny movie and a definate must see. We have dinner every night as a family and we all love sitting and chatting. Once we put the kids to bed it's off to the computer room where each of us sit at our computers and do our surfing. I feel very honored to have grandparents like them and love to be around them all the time.

Lets move on to Stephi! She is doing well in her pregnancy with only a few more weeks to go. Last Friday we had a false alarm, but it's her first and those things happen. She is growing bigger and bigger each time I see her and we know that Vinney is already in position, he's ready to go. We have decided to postpone the baby shower because everything keeps piling up on top of each other (meaning, everyone has something going on) so we have decided to throw Vinney a Welcoming Shower after his birth, that gives everyone a chance to meet him. Please watch in the mail for your invites probably sometime in October.

The kids are both doing great and Jimmy is very excited for Kindergarten to start. We have visited Renee, Jordan and Delaney a couple times since we've been here and I am sure we will see more of them in the future. Alisha and Izabel came for a visit last week and that was a lot of fun, I love seeing both of them. I know Izabel will do great with her new baby sister when she arrives, she seems to adapt pretty well. Izabel and Jimmy hit it off really well and had a lot of fun playing together, we will have to get together for more play dates.

Taylor and Jimmy have been great with adapting to me taking care of someone else as well and help me whenever they can. Nani and MawMaw have also been big helps whether it be watching the kids on a split second notice or helping me with information, I am grateful. Nani will help me get all the supplies she needs for her move and has been a great rock for me to lean on when I have felt some much pressure. I have many others that are helping through and I cannot say thank you enough.

I think that about covers everything and I will try to post soon. Love you all!

My New Exciting Life

I have been going non-stop for the last 3 weeks. For those of you that don't know, Auntie G (Lelia,) had a bad accident and was put into the hospital with a broken kneecap. I have moved her to a new Elderly Care Center that she really seems to like and I really like this place as well. I have gone to one court hearing over her accident but it has been continued for August 1st and I will continue fighting for her until she is safe. Mom had surgery last Friday and I have spent a lot of time with her as well, she is staying at Nani's until she is able to care for herself. I have had a lot of problems with my knee and plan on getting knee surgery while I am here so I can have Nurse Nani help me heal.

Steph had a doctor's appointment yesterday that Taylor and I accompanied her to and everything is looking great: strong heartbeat, vitals are great and now she will start going every two weeks. I can't believe she is already this far in her pregnancy but I am very excited for the arrival of Vinney, as I know she is as well.

Eric, will be in town August 3rd and I am very excited for that. We plan to have a fun-filled week together. We got a room at the Chateau Avalon for the weekend he gets here and plan to do some shopping at the new Legends Mall and have a nice dinner. The kids are very excited to see their Daddy and I know he misses them as well.

I have been taking pictures but will not be able to post them until I get over to my mom's. The kids have been doing great but spend most of their nights with Aunt Ste, I have them three nights a week and everyday but Sunday and Monday. I am not used to not having the kids around but I know that they love being with their Aunt Ste and they miss her so much while we are in Florida.

I will try to post more in the future, but until I get everything wrapped up with Auntie G, she is my priority and get her back to feeling safe.

Alisha, I tried to call you and I can't get through. Give me a call at Nani's so we can get together.

Busy Busy Busy

Hi-Di-Ho strangers! It's been awhile but hopefully I will be able to post more soon--I have a lot going on in my life right now and just don't have the time. I got some good news this afternoon, Eric, will be in town August 3rd and is planning to stay a little over a week! Yeah! I really miss him and can't wait. Mom has been very sick for the past week so I opted to stay with Poppa and Nani for a bit, I really don't want to come down with what she has. They have been nice enough to let me stay in their 5Th-wheel and I love it. The kids have pretty much abandoned me and I have become Stephi's babysitter while she is at work. They love their Aunt Ste so she keeps them almost every night except maybe two nights a week but she brings them to me while she goes into work and then immediately picks them up after work. I guess she is getting used to being a working mom before Vinney arrives.

Steph has been doing very good in her pregnancy and I am able to feel Vincent move all the time. I can't wait to see him, I know he will be a beautiful baby boy! Hopefully I will gets some updates on the 11th for both babies, Steph and Alisha have doctor's appointments on the same day and I can't wait to find out the sex of Baby Jack!

I will try to get some posting done soon so please keep checking, I haven't stopped I just have to take care of some family issues and then I will be home free...hopefully!

Pictures From Father's Day

We had a nice Father's Day dinner at a Japanese Steakhouse and everyone had a lot of fun. The last time Jimmy had gone to one he was not old enough to know what was going on, so he really enjoyed it. I loved seeing Dad and it's not very often that Dad, Stephi, Nick, and I all get together at the same time.

The kids are spending some time with Nani Celli this afternoon while I will be doing an errand with my Auntie Nini. I have really enjoyed being here and seeing my mom and my sister and brother everyday. Nick and I have been spending late nights on the computer playing poker, we have a lot of fun.

Nani was the first person we saw when we came into town, she picked us up from the airport. We headed straight to Damar to surprise Mom and we were able to see Kyle, Poppa, and Auntie Ann. Nani took me to the casino afterwards where I lost my ass! Mom took the kids and I to lunch that day and that was a lot of fun, I have missed good Mexican food.

There are still many people I need to see but I have really been a homebody since I have been here, only venturing out every once in a great while. I have been really tired lately and not feeling quite myself but hopefully that will pass soon.

I also have added Stephi's link for Vincent in my favorites so please check it out. Steph is so excited for her little boy to get here that she can hardly stand it. I have to admit, I am pretty excited myself and can't wait to hold my first nephew.

Meet Vincent Ray

Full body
Baby feet
Beautiful face
It's a boy!
Baby boy again
Another sweet face shot
Full body profile


My favorite picture

I would like to introduce you all to my little nephew, Vincent Ray. Yes, I know, we were wrong thinking it was a girl and boy were we all surprised at the ultrasound today, but we were all very happy as well. First thing Stephanie did was exchanged the girl things that I bought her (mom bought girl stuff too) and bought precious boy things. Mom couldn't stand it and had to make a trip to target as well after work and Vincent has some very cute outfits waiting for him. We know that he has full lips like his mommy and it looks like mommy's nose as well, they were also able to see hair on his head...yippy! I am so excited to meet him and I am very happy that I got to share in the experience of today. Stephi, had 11 family members at the ultrasound and has over 50 pics of Vinney. Congratulations Stephanie Jo, you are already doing a fantastic job as a mother and caring for your baby boy, I am proud of you!

Stephi Update

I just want to let everyone know that Monday Stephanie has her 3D/4D ultrsound and we will learn the sex of the baby. As everyone knows, I have said it was a girl from the get go so lets see if I am right. I will still be happy if we have Vincent but I (and everyone else) have had that girl feeling all along. I can't wait Stephanie Jo, we will be shopping like crazy!

Tay, Jim, and Kam

A Night of Babysitting

I got the pleasure of keeping Kam'ron all night Friday and I loved it, I forgot how fun babies are. Mom gave him a bath and the rest of the night was cradling and feeding him...oh yeah, lots and lots of kisses. He was a lot of fun and I can't wait for the next time. He was having some tummy issues but his mama took him to the doctor today and found out he has acid reflux, but even through that he was a very good baby.

Meeting Kam

Our second day here we finally got to meet Kam and he is so adorable. I couldn't believe how small he was, the pictures are very deceiving but he looks like he was just born. He is a beautiful little boy and I cannot wait until the next time I get to hold the little guy!

The Surprise

We Made It!

We arrived in KC Tuesday much to of Mom's surprise! The kids ran into Damar and blew Mom away with a big "Surprise Nani!" Her face was priceless and her eyes weld up with tears but was very happy to see all of us. I don't think I have ever seen my mom so flustered before. I was so very happy to see her and enjoyed spending the day with her yesterday.

KC Here We Come

I am getting so excited for our upcoming trip to Kansas City, I just can't wait to be surrounded by the people I love. I miss my mom so bad and can't wait to throw my arms around her neck and just feel her touch again--a mother's love. The thought of being back pretty much has consumed me and my thoughts, I can't wait!

Tonight the kids and I had a fun-filled night watching America's Funniest Home Videos (we had a lot of laughs) and of course playing along with National Bingo Night. We still are waiting to shout BINGO but it's a lot of fun just playing.

Barry is Gone

We had our first sub-tropical storm of the year, Barry, and he brought some much needed rain. Barry dropped about 5 inches while passing through but we are still about 30 inches short this year. We are having the worst drought in history and could really use some more rain.