Weird Story

Wanna hear a weird story?

If you will remember back to my Halloween Post, I mentioned going to the beach and getting stung in the foot, after stepping on a bee. That was a little strange. I had never seen bees at the beach before. I Certainly had never been stung at the beach before. I can't even remember the last time I was stung by a bee. Oh well, it happens right?

The story gets weird when I stepped on a bee at the beach AGAIN on Tuesday! It felt like Deja Vu, except it actually happened!!!!! It wouldn't even be that weird if I got stung again, but it was on the same foot, exact same spot, in the exact same way at the exact same beach. It was about a 1/4 mile down the beach from the last time, but still!

Why are bees attracted to my right foot? How annoying, but really not the worst thing that could happen to you. In fact, this time it hurt less than last time. It didn't swell up at all, and has only been a little itchy. You can see a small red mark where the stinger was. I wonder if the first sting worked like a vaccine and now I am not as sensitive to bee venom in that part of my foot. STRANGE! Now, I feel like writing a creepy honey bee x-files episode or something!

Any ideas why such a strange thing happened to me and should I be worried about this happening again, or just forget about it? I really don't want to start wearing shoes to the beach. That would be ridiculous, in fact that would probably be considered a crime in my family.

Curiouser and Curiouser...

Party Party!!!!

April 7th (I'm slow, but at least it is still April!) we took my now happily married friend, BreeAnn Gwilliam out for her last single night out on the town before she tied the knot! It turned out to be an absolute blast Girl's night out, so here are the pics and night in review!



We started at my house, popped in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and gave BreeAnn hand and foot massages with Satin Hands! Thank You Mary Kay!

Then we played dress up with my family's sweet assortment of costumes, and voted on what BreeAnn had to wear out that night. We chose the 80's pink prom dress, complete with a Bachelorette Sash, crown, and huge light up ring. We completed the outfit with gorgeous hot pink eye makeup! Woo woo!

We went out to Fidel's Norte in Carlsbad for some great Mexican food. We all told our favorite memories of BreeAnn and then we wrote fortunes for BreeAnn predicting her future life, which she read aloud to the group. We played the "If, then Game" with a twist. You had to make up a statement "If BreeAnn..., then Andy..." and then trade so that everyone got mix matched statements. They were very hilarious of course. Then the restaurant brought BreeAnn Dessert and sang "Happy Wedding to You" complete with a guitar serenade. It was fabulous!

Then we headed to "Pump it Up" for some fun games and quite the exercise for a night on the town. Who would have ever imagined a bunch of grown girls at a little kid party place having such a blast! We had the whole place to ourselves and at an extremely good rate! (Thank You to the Bartons!)

We concluded the night with a little ice cream at Mickey D's and then some hot tubbing at my house. What an awesome night! I hadn't had a GNO since before Lucy was born, so this was seriously needed! Anyway, I guess I will conclude by saying congratulations to BreeAnn! I couldn't be happier for you! And last but not least, plan a Girl's Night Out...it is totally worth it!

Emergency Evacuation

I'm desperately trying not to fall asleep right now. It is 11:30 a.m. here in San Diego and the last couple days I have slept away the afternoon, as I ignored the need to get rid of jet lag. Today, I just have to stay awake, so I have to do something brain engaging, and I know I kind of left you hanging, so here is the end of the story. I will try to make it short and comprehendable given my quite unalert state right now. Once again this is a continuation of the last post, so if you feel confused please see the post before this one ("Just one of those days... part II")


We spent Tuesday in the hospital and Dave finally convinced me we just couldn't stick it out in Korea. After Lucy's first hospital visit we were considering coming home early. I wanted to be strong and stick it out so badly, probably mostly based on pride, while David just wanted to send our little girl home so no one else could touch her and get her sick again. I had been praying about the matter all weekend and knew what the Lord wanted, but just really didn't want to admit it and thought maybe we could at least wait a month and do all the last things I wanted to. After beginning a second hospital visit, and hearing her start to cough (knowing it was because of her previous close quarters with pneumonia patients) I knew the trip was swiftly upon us.




We looked at flights and determined that I had to go asap. Tomorrow would be the day. Lucy was still vomiting, related to her Salmonella infection, but now with the cough we thought "who knows what she is coming down with. We have gotta get her home before she gets any worse, so we can get some American medical treatment and get her a little farther away than 2 ft. from all these other probably contagious babies." I would fly with Lucy, while David would wait until they found a replacement at work to fly home (we loved his employer and couldn't just desert him with a bunch of English classes). I worried about bringing my sick baby on the plane, but prayed for comfort and confidence.


Wednesday morning at the hospital, I started vomiting. From about 3:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., I was not in good shape, running down the hall of the hospital hoping to make it to the restroom every hour if you get my drift. Dave wondered if we would be able to make it on the plane that evening and I assured him I would be fine, no matter how sick I got. Never before has the Lord fortified me with such confidence amidst such hopeless circumstances.


We asked the Doctor to release us (those demanding Americans) and said we were leaving for America. Knowing my current condition, he offered to put me on and IV to rehydrate me and give me the strength for the ensuing journey home. At first I was like "are you kidding me? An IV was practically the worst part of labor with Lucy, and you think I would willing hook up to one of those things?" but then as I tried to walk around the hospital only to get light headed after a few seconds, I acquiesced, seeing the wisdom. So Lucy and I spent our last few hours in Korea, just chillin' on the gurney, re hydrating together, while Dave called in sick at work and went home to pack for the two of us.





We left the hospital at 3:30 p.m. and were in the air at 9:45 p.m. I called all my dearest friends on the way to the airport and shared with them my sorrow that I would not get to say goodbye personally. I cried as I left my sweet husband at security and wondered when I would see him again. And then we were off. We had a whole row to ourselves on a moderately full flight. I couldn't have been more grateful, and knew once again that the Lord was keeping a special eye on us. Lucy slept a lot and didn't get sick too many times and we made it home. We practically kissed the ground as we got off the plane and met my Mom, who had been informed of our journey only 24 hours before. Life can change quick...one moment you think you won't see your grand baby for 9 more months and then 24 hours later she is by your side.


I am happy to be home (definitely looking forward to a winter in California as opposed to South Korea, or Utah, or any other cold place that I have suffered in for the last 6 years away from home), but missing Dave. There is nothing like having your Mom to take care of you, and I didn't realize how much I needed taking care of after the last 2 and 1/2 sleepless weeks. Lucy is improving, still pretty wiped out and vomiting a little, but with bouts of playfulness. I have called the doctors and am keeping a close watch for any signs we should head to the hospital. Once again, I am so grateful to have American doctors close by, who I can call and actually talk to.


So we aren't "Kickin' it in Korea" anymore, well me and Lucy aren't anyway. If you have any ideas for a new blog title do share. I guess the moral of the story is "there is no place like home." I had an awesome experience and will always look back fondly on my time abroad. What can I say? This is life with Lucy. She is absolutely in every way too adorable to survive in Korea, and I can't complain because it is half my fault. I guess she will have to wait until she is a little older and can stand up for herself to live abroad. For now this is the end except for one thing, a plea if you will:


Please tell anyone you think might be interested there is an awesome English Teaching job available in Korea! Best employer, Best City, Best pay, Best everything else you can think of! All you need is a four year degree in any subject. If you are interested I will get you details, leave me a comment with your email address! Please, help me search and get my husband home for Christmas!

Moving Out: Part II

Here are our last Provo Moments to remember as we said our goodbyes and packed up:

We went to say goodbye to the Perry's our good friends. Here is there adorable little girl Savanna. We caught her and Lucy holding hands. What a precious little moment as we say goodbye to all our dear friends who we will miss. (Savanna is 3 months younger and is one of the only babies I have ever met who tops Lucy in size. You just gotta love those chubby little cheeks!) A smiling moment with Uncle Nick. We finally got a picture with him and Lucy. One last family picture with our beloved house that we have lived in through the first 3 wonderful years of our marriage.
My cousin Olivia came to help me clean and watch Lucy while I was at the end of my rope with so much to do! Thank you Thank you!

Lucy hardly ever falls asleep in my arms, but while sitting on the pianoman's (AKA my brother Brian) lap while he played the piano she fell asleep. He then transferred to the couch and slept another hour, allowing me to get some more packing done. What a charmer! Ladies lookout!

And again, she enjoys some tunes with her uncle brian. She even learned to clap along with the guitar. Two musical geniuses side by side.
A tired little puppy fell asleep in the bath. Here is her Dad taking her out to go tuck her in bed.

A tuckered little baby, sleeping on our makeshift bed as we sold our bed and all our furniture. I love what a classic lazy position she has assumed.


It has been a tiring week for all of us, especially the little one as you can tell by the number of sleeping pictures. These were our last great moments in Provo. You have been good to us Utah. We will miss you, but it is time to move on.

Lucy's First Car Accident

Okay, so it wasn't exactly a car accident, but it was crazy and I didn't know what else to call it! On Wednesday, June 18, We took our car for its safety inspection and decided to walk to the Mall while we waited. We put Lucy in our favorite and trusty baby backpack on Dave's back. We were coming to a big intersection, but there was construction on the sidewalk so we had to walk around to the crosswalk. I guess while we were walking around the yellow beetle ready to turn right, she must have been looking left for cars and didn't see us getting ready to cross. Dave and Lucy walked right out in front of the car because we had a walk signal and the car was clearly stopped. Without looking back she started to go, looked in front of her, saw David and Lucy, started screaming, hit the gas (what?) hit David and Lucy! Luckily, David athletically jumped up on the hood a little and saved our little angel. They were both fine. I had screamed pretty loud and we were both a little shook up by it. I don't think it would have been as big of a deal if Lucy wasn't on Dave's back. My biggest concern is that the lady's reaction was to step on the gas and scream when she saw David and Lucy in front of her. I would certainly hope my reaction would be to step on the brakes, but she eventually stopped and there was no real harm done. Don't startle her, I guess! I feel very blessed everyone was okay!