I'm so behind.

Well...as you all have figured out by now, I fell behind on my blogging.

I am going to work my way towards catching up. Please forgive me as I get up to speed again... ;)

love,
andrea

Five Years - April 25th

Can it be possible? I just almost can't believe it has been five years since I married this wonderful man. Our 5-year Anniversary was on April 25, 2008. To celebrate, we left Danika with Mimi and Papa and went to a wonderful Bed and Breakfast in NY.

We had a wonderful time and the food was AMAZING. I feel so blessed to be married to someone I love this much. And...just to make sure he completely keeps me guessing, my incredible husband bought me a wonderful gift.

The night we were going out to dinner to celebrate, Doug surprised me with this gorgeous watch. I absolutely LOVE jewelry, and I couldn't believe what a perfect gift he picked for me. It has sparkle, but not too much, and it is something I couldn't have chosen better if I had been in the store with him. How fun that he did it all on his own and surprised me. :) I was so shocked I cried. :)

Have I mentioned I love him? We had a wonderful time getting away just the two of us, and we appreciate Doug's parents taking care of Danika so it could happen.

I love you, honey!

First Date: 2002 with Chuck and Emily

Engaged: October 18, 2002
Married: April 25, 2003
Did I mention he always makes me laugh?
With Danika: January 2007


Happy Anniversary, Doug! I love you!

The Purple Dress Meltdown.

Okay....this is just for humor.

I put Danika in the cutest purple dress last Sunday for church. So...naturally, I wanted to take her picture. But...that was NOT what she wanted to do. Check out the progression of pics.

I started out sitting on the floor with the camera trying to get a good shot....she wasn't happy. Doug tried to help her stand up...that was what started the crying fit. Then she just started stomping towards me while crying...she kept coming until she got to me and flopped in my lap as if her life is so hard! :) Doug grabbed the camera and snapped a few more. As you can see...she is such a drama queen. The tears instantly dried up and she started to laugh and smile.

Wow...I'm going to have my hands full with this one. :)

Julie turns 5!

My niece Julie recently turned 5, so we celebrated with her while she was in town. Thought you would like to see some pictures from the party!


Dana & Susan with all three grandkids. :)

Julie, the Birthday Girl!

Alayna and her blue eyes.

Danika trying to figure Grandpa Hoddy out. :) Good luck! :)
The Miles Family.

Julie and her cake.

Happy Birthday, Julie!

Good for my heart...

God knew that I needed this weekend. My heart needed encouragement. He knew what I would need and planned it six months ago.

My last month has been very, very bad....all sorts of things from work, to personal, to sickness, to unexpected sadness....it's been a bad month. Normally I can honestly say that life is good. This month, I was having a really hard time.

This weekend, I went to see some precious women whom I love dearly. It has been ten years since 1998 when I went to Australia on a singing and drama team. We spent 6 weeks there and we spent the better part of a year practicing and preparing for the trip. I formed life-long bonds with these girls that I can't even fully explain. Five of us met in Columbus Ohio for a weekend of catching up and encouraging one another. It was wonderful.

Girls...I love you all! Thank you for making me smile from the inside out. It was wonderful to catch up and spend time with you!

Chuck E Cheese healed her.

My little girl is walking again.

Cousin Julie and Aunt Kristen are in town...so we rounded up Trinity, Danika, and Julie and all headed off to Chuck E Cheese. All the kids had a great time...Danika wolfed down TWO entire pieces of pizza...and then wanted down to walk around. It is the first time since Sunday she has put weight on her ankle. But, apparently the excitement was too much for her and she had to join in. I am so relieve to see her using it. :)

Drama

Talk about drama.


Danika stopped walking on Sunday. Not just kind of stopped being active...stopped using her legs. It was so bizarre. We narrowed it down to one specific ankle. If we touched it, she cried in pain. We decided we better take her to the doctor...and she sent us to the ER.


We spent 6 hours in the ER on Monday night and had some very nervous conversations with doctors...long and short of it they were really nervous about a very serious internal infection. But...as long as she doesn't spike a fever, and eventually starts to use it again, everything should be okay.


It has been a stressful couple of weeks at our home.