JAY IS HOME!

The best news of our day, is that Aunt Jay is home from the hospital! Thank you for the prayers and concern for our family over the past 3 weeks...it's been very hard for us, but we're thankful to have so many who are concerned for our family and our well being. Please keep Jay in your prayers, as she continues to heal... and my Mom and all of us, as we continue on the path of healing emotionally. We miss Don. It hits us at odd times and hurts that he's not with us anymore. THANKS!

Our little climber

Ashley LOVES to climb! She will climb anything and has passed her love on to her brother, as Daniel wants to do anything and everything his big sister does!! They are so much fun to watch and the things they say and do crack us up (for the most part)!

Park Days

We went to the park yesterday after Bible study and then again this morning, with all 4 kids...FUN TIMES! It's great to be outside and enjoying God's creation again! Ashley with her buddies, Sawyer and Evan We brought Lily to the park with us and had her over for the day and then all the kids stayed with Lily's mom Tammy, while we went to the Cubs game--they won their 10,000th game--GO CUBS! Lauren & Ashley...such good friends! Ryan is walking--YEAH! Daniel is thrilled to have someone to run around with now... although Lauren is more his speed...he seems to like the ladies more too--good thing!

Wednesday Morning Bible Study

These are the ladies that came to our end of the year brunch, from our Wednesday Morning Bible Study. This group meant a lot to me throughout this past year and I will miss not meeting with them, but will treasure our times and what we learned and prayed through together. I went through my first Beth Moore study with them, delving into the book of Daniel. I'm going to see Beth Moore down in Colorado Springs next weekend, May 2-3 (yes, on Ashley's 3rd birthday, but it gets over at noon and David is going to pick me up and we're heading to the Cheyenne Zoo down there and she will love it--her party will be that next weekend). My Thursday Night Bible Study group will go through another Beth Moore study this summer and I'm really looking forward to that. God has blessed me with many wonderful, Christian women in my life...past, present and hopefully future and I thank him for it!

Update about Jay

I guess Jay didn't even go into surgery until midnight, which I'm frustrated about...there was someone having an appendectomy before her (his had not perferated or ruptured!), then her and then there was another one after her...but what I got from my mom, is that her appendix did rupture (or burst)--maybe even up to 4 days ago (she started feeling sick on Wednesday, while we were still there)... so that is REALLY NOT good, as all of that crud was floating around in her body for that long... but my mom called around 1:45 (they said it would be a 45 minute surgery and it took MUCH longer) and said she was out and that things seemed to go well, that they think they got everything cleaned up, but they'd have to watch her and she'll be in the hospital for 5-7 days (the hospital that Don just died in, so my mom is not real thrilled about having to be there, but she keeps telling herself, "It's not about me, it's not about me")...that's what I got from my mom. I just spoke with Jay's nurse...he couldn't tell me a lot, b/c I didn't know the code word and he didn't even have her chart yet... but he could verify things that I said and he did mention that Jay was on the regular floor, and not in ICU or even a step-down unit, so that was a good thing (or maybe they're lack of attention to her?) ...and he was very nice and I told him about Don, and he was thankful for that and I told him how rude the doctor was to my mom and he felt bad about that...so at least he knows to look out for her... And I'm just so far away and I want to be with them, but I wouldn't be very helpful with my two small children under foot, and my brother is at my mom's house... so I'm thankful to be home and with my loving husband and children and to know that I have friends who are praying for us...and that will just have to do for now...we'll see... Please pray for healing for Jay and my mom and for peace and comfort and strength for all of us--that only God can give us. I'm going to try to go to sleep now... thank you again, for caring and for praying. With love, andrea ps...I know there are a lot of pics on the blog...it's just good for me to see them and to share them.

We love Aunt Jay

Other Florida Pics

Here are all of Don's daughters and some of the grandkids. It was really good to see them. They all got to meet Ashley & Daniel for the 1st time. The cousins. We miss not seeing Katie-10, Lizzie-6 and Michael-4 very often. They all played really well together and had fun in Grandma's pool! We had fun at Tab's house with her 2 little ones, Ty & Katie and Jen's 2 little ones, Maddie & Lila. Ashley wasn't into posing for the group shot! The "Johnson Clan" celebrating Lila's 1st birthday. It was good to see my other family, although Buck was missed (he lives in Ohio). Great Grandpa Bobby & Great Grandma Faye came over to celebrate Ashley's 3rd birthday a little early...it's always good to see them. It was very good to see all of the family and friends that we got to spend time with...they were our saving grace!

More Disney Pics

Bobbie Turns 60

My mom turned 60 on Wednesday and we took her to Disney World to help ring in her 6th decade of life! We went to EPCOT on Tuesday, to see the flowers and then to the Magic Kingdom early Wednesday morning (we got there by 8:ish, before the park opened)...we did Fantasyland and then had Daniel's 1st haircut! Ashley had her second haircut there too and they both got color geled up (Ashley has sprinkles too)! I'll post pics when we get home! It was nice to get away and go to our happy place...but it was also bitter sweet too, b/c Pa wasn't with us. David came into town that night and we'll all be here for another week...enjoying the warmth, while it's snowing in CO again! It's been good to see our friends too...we went to Tab's house yesterday and Jen & her kids came over and we'll spend time with the Johnson's tomorrow, to celebrate Lila's 1st birthday.

Don is gone

I'm home in Ft. Myers, but it doesn't feel like home...someone is missing...2 someones, actually. David will join us on Wednesday, for my mom's 60th birthday, but Don won't be with us any longer. He passed away last Wednesday, April 2 (the day after my Dad's birthday). They are both greatly missed by our family. Everyone is here tonight...my Mom, Jay, Mick, Pam, Katie, Elizabeth, Michael, Ashley & Daniel...we're all missing Pa, but we're thankful for the time we had with him and that he didn't suffer. It just would have been nice to see him one last time. I'm thankful for the pictures and the way he loved my kids and they loved him. Daniel enjoys pointing to him in pictures and saying, "Pa!" I'm sad that he won't remember him...but he will live on in our hearts. I'll post some pics of Don later...when I get home to Colorado. Home... seems like a weird concept right now.