SHE TURNS ONE!

December 29, 2007

Danika Kay Bierer's First Birthday

There are no words to describe how much I love this little girl. I can NOT believe she is already a year old! It seems impossible. I know people say this all the time...but it is so true. I feel like she was just born...there is no way that could have been a year ago! But it was. And she is crawling like a speed demon and thisclose to walking. My Endicott cousin's went together and got her a beautiful dress to wear for her party...but alas, my munchkin is only 17lbs and still wearing 6 mos clothing....most 9 mos clothing just falls off her. So, the 12mos dress was way too big. But...we were able to exchange it for a really cute "Birthday Girl" t-shirt that fit perfect, and a "Birthday Princess" tiara that made the whole outfit. :) Of course, this is MY daughter we are talking about here....so both the shirt and the hat sparkled like mad. As did her shoes. There can never be enough glitter in the world. :)

Doug and I have been debating what to get her for her birthday...we knew she would be getting lots of toys from other people and tried to think of something she would like, but would be a little special. Back in October when we went to visit Kristen and Dave, Danika fell in love with Julie's lady-bug folding chair. It is a munchkin sized folding chair, and Danika just climbed in and out of it the whole time we were there. So....Doug and I talked about it and thought that a Danika-sized chair would be the perfect gift...but we wanted to find one that was well paded and very hard to tip over because our little wild-child is a climber and absolutely fearless. So, the search began.

I found the perfect chair at Target on sale right after Christmas. It was this adorable pink fuzzy upholstered chair just her size...a little wider than it was tall, so it looked hard to tip over. I bought it, and we kept it in the van until her party.

Danika's party was at Grandma Andrew's house since our little house is so tiny. That was such a blessing because Grandma's house has lots of room for people, food, and tiny little munchkins to run around and play. It was perfect. When it was time to open gifts, we brought the chair out first covered with a blanket. When Doug sat it down and pulled the blanket off, Danika's eyes got HUGE and she sqealed and immediately dove into it. We captured the look on her face as soon as she turned around. That pretty much says it all! It felt so good to get her something she liked that much!!!

I have to thank all our family for the gifts they got her...each and every toy was a PERFECT choice for her...I can't think of a single toy that she received that isn't a "favorite". The whole party and every single gift was just one of those moments in life where you know God is smiling as He watches...everything was just about as perfect as a person could ask for. All the kids played great together, the adults got to enjoy wonderful time together, and at least for this Mom, a wonderful memory was made.

Thanks for celebrating as our little girl turns one!!!!

Christmas 2007 - Ohio Trip

Well, Christmas was wonderful. We got to spend five days at hom in Ohio with my Mom and Dad(which was WONDERFUL), and then came back to Erie to celebrate the holidays with Doug's side of the family (which was also WONDERFUL!). It was just an incredible holiday season filled with great food and fantastic family.

It did seem at times that the celebrations would never end! But what a wonderful thing to be able to say. This was really the first time in years that we have been able to be home in Ohio for Christmas. We got to see my Endicott cousins first...that was just great! I love them all so much and wish I could see them more often. The party was held at my Unlce Aaron's house. I can't say enough about how much I love my family and how much I miss them. Getting to visit for such a short period of time always makes me wish it was longer. But I am thrilled that we all were able to get together.

Here are a few pictures...as you can see, there was a visit from Santa. Danika wasn't very impressed. :)

There is also a very, very large annoying child who wouldn't stop harrassing Santa. :)

This is Uncle Aaron, his wife Patti, and Danika.

All the grandkids together.

Who knew it was so difficult to get two children to look at the camera at the same time???

We got to celebrate Christmas Day at Mom and Dad's house with Joanie, Cory and Brock. Aunt Jane was there as well. It was just a wonderful, relaxed day with great food and tons of laughter.

Danika couldn't decide if it was more fun to open the packages or sit on them.

Danika got a barn from Nana and Paw-Paw. (SHE LOVES IT!)

Joanie, Cory and Brock in thier "Christmas" pajamas. :) Doesn't my pregnant sister just look adorable?

Merry Christmas! Now back to Erie to celebrate with Doug's side!

She Counts!

Danika's newest accomplishment...she can count to two. :)

We have been listening to her all week and it still just cracks me up. She will be playing with her blocks and saying "unnnn.....tuuuuuu" over and over again. If you start buttoning up her jacket and you say "one" she says "two" as you grab the next button.

She loves to play with her new shape sorter (Thanks Terri Rae) and her favorite toy in the world (which has been true for about 2 months now) is a toy that has wood pegs that slide into holes and can be flipped over. She even uses the hammer appropriately. :)

She waves "bye bye" like a wild woman...and much to our surprise she does so on command now. :) Her new other games are (1)covering her own eyes and waiting for us to say "Peek-a-boo" and then flinging her hands out to her sides and (2) putting her hands above her head when we say "how big is Danika". Not huge accomplishments to the rest of the world...but pretty big in ours.
It may not look like much to you...but this is part of the wild, multi-directional "wave" we get when we say "Bye-bye".
The hair is still pretty thin...but there is enough now to get some wild looks when she wakes up from a nap. This mohawk was not altered or created by mom or dad...this was exactly how she looked when I picked her up out of her crib...I couldn't stop laughing. :)

Merry Christmas all! We will post pictures from Christmas when we return from Ohio!

Merry Christmas!

We managed to take a family photo for Christmas!

Thought you would enjoy!



love-
The Bierer Family

I need a 1-story house.

Greetings, one and all! :) For those that knew me in high school or college...let me start this out by reminding you that my coordination level has not increased even a little since you last saw me. I still have major issues. With that information, feel free to read on.



If you read our blog regularly, you know that I managed to fall all the way down our basement steps on Halloween and sprain my ankle pretty bad...along with an injury to my shoulder and a number of other scrapes and bruises. I never went to the doctor. I thought it would be fine and heal on it's own. It has been over a month and both the ankle and the shoulder are still causing me quite a bit of pain and the ankle still swells a lot...so I put it on my "to-do" list...along with about 500 other things...to eventually go to the doctor and get it checked out.



That brings us to yesterday morning...when I fell down the steps from our 2nd story to the ground floor. Yes...that's right....2 falls in less than 6 weeks. How pathetic is that? Except this time I managed to injure the other foot. Judging by the pain, swelling, and immediate discoloration, I thought it best if I not wait a month this time. And because crisis never hits when you are ready for it, I had to juggle a few other problems. #1- we got a ton of snow and it was STILL coming down...roads were icy and slick and there were crashes everywhere. Not a good day to go out if you don't have to. #2: Danika was home with me because she was sick. So I couldn't take her to daycare, Doug couldn't help because he was working his first day with a new crew, Dana was out of town, Susan was at work, and Grandma was too far out of town on the bad roads to risk taking Danika there. So...I packed up Danika and off we went to the doctor's office together...in a snow storm...with cars spinning around in circles and flying off the road around us....and me limping along with BOTH feet injured and carrying a 17lb kid in a 12lb carseat. It was a GRAND day.



I got there, the nurses had pity on me and helped carry her to the examination room. They quickly informed me I needed x-rays (after asking 35 times which injury came from which fall down which staircase...I told Doug to look out...they may be sending someone to investigate him for my many "falls" :)). They also quickly informed me that Danika could not go with me for x-rays. So...at my wits end and not knowing what else to do, I called Doug's Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Chuck. They were beyond gracious and let me bring Danika over there while I went to get x-rayed. Uncle Chuck even went with me so I didn't have to go alone. They are so wonderful! I don't know what I would have done if they hadn't been home.



Anyway...a zillion x-rays later, I had Danika loaded in the van again and we got home to find that there was about a foot of snow in our driveway and the plow had packed it up so that we couldn't pull in. So...leaving the van running on our little street and hobbling on wounded feet, I got to rummage through the garage, find the snow shovel, and start to dig a place to park my van. One of the neighbors saw me and had pity on me. He came and helped to shovel my driveway far enough to pull in. Interestingly enough, standing out in the snow with my feet freezing and numb while I shoveled was probably the least they hurt all day! :) The ice was quite helpful as it formed in my shoes and under my jeans. :)



Anway...they called me this morning...the verdict is in:



Right foot (injured yesterday): no fracture...just jammed/sprained

Right shoulder (injured Halloween): no fracture...just muscle injury

Left ankle (injured Halloween): fractured



At least I know I'm not totally losing my mind...I thought that ankle should be better by now!



So...tomorrow I get to go see an orthopedic specialist about my ankle fracture...and hopefully they have something good to say! I'll keep you posted.



And...in case you are wondering...there is a cute little 2 story house in Erie, PA going up for sale...owners are looking for a 1-story ranch with no stairs. :) (Just kidding...I think...)

God is so good...

As I mentioned in several other posts, Doug and I have been looking for a church to call our own. We think we have found that place.


Lately, we have been attending McLane Church in Edinboro. It has been a really neat experience so far, and a church we think we would like to make our home. The people have been kind, but most of all, this church has a very clear focus on showing people how to have a personal relationship with Jesus. It seems like the kind of place where we can grow, but even more importantly, where we can bring people who are far away from God and where they will feel comfortable asking the questions they need to ask in order to bridge that gap. The church is exceptionally patient and respectful of each person's own spiritual journey and process. They present Truth clearly, but allow for everyone to make thier own choice without guilt or pressure. It's the kind of place we want to be a part of.


Since Doug and I have been married, God has blessed us with more than we could ever ask for. When Doug was a pastor, God gave us friends, family, a church that loved us, and always met our spiritual, financial and physical needs above what we ever expected. Now that we are pursuing a different career path, He is still showing us new and exciting ways He wants to use us and at every turn He has proven that He can and will meet our needs. It doesn't matter if those needs are social, mental, physical, financial, or spiritual....He always knows what we need and what we can handle. A phrase we hear at McLane all the time is: "God is seldom early, but He is never late." I didn't know what it would be like to find a different church, but as always, God has been so good to us. We continue to be blown away by His amazing kindness and constant blessings...always exactly when we need them. Both of us have a totally settled feeling...we know this is where we are supposed to be right now. And it is pretty exciting.


There is tons I could write about this church, but for now I will settle with my favorite experience so far.


A month or so ago Brian Kelly preached a series called "McLane U". It was all about what the church views as it's mission and what they value. It was a 4 week series and it just broke me. I loved every minute of it...I downloaded the messages and I have listened to each one at least 2 times. If you want to listen to a great series, go to the website and download the McLane U series. It will be time well spent. "Course 101" and "Course 301" were my favorites. But the coolest part about this is that God brought it along at the perfect time for us. We have been asking if this is where God wanted us...if this was the place He wants us to call "home" and wants us to serve. After hearing that series, there wasn't a doubt left. If that is what this place is about, that is the kind of place we want to be...the kind of place we want to invest....the kind of place we want shaping our hearts and our character.

Oh, God...let us have hearts that line up with you...let us have desires that mirror your desire to bring the lost back to your arms. I can't think of a better focus to have at Christmas.