abi & andy http://abiandandy.com Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:46:24 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 playing with dog… http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/playing-with-dog/ http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/playing-with-dog/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:46:24 +0000 abi http://abiandandy.com/?p=684 This week’s you capture challenge theme is play.  I was going to get a picture of husband playing with our new dog, Maggie, but didn’t ever get around to it.  This is one I took this weekend of Maggie playing with a toy.

Maggie is a really good dog. . . . → Read More: playing with dog…]]> This week’s you capture challenge theme is play.  I was going to get a picture of husband playing with our new dog, Maggie, but didn’t ever get around to it.  This is one I took this weekend of Maggie playing with a toy.

Maggie is a really good dog.  She is pretty mellow a lot of the time and likes sitting on the couch on a blanket with us while we watch TV or surf on our laptops.  But then she has a few hyper ADD moments every day – when we come home and let her out of her crate, sometime after dinner she’ll start going crazy and play with any and all toys in the house, and she loves to run outside.  Andy’s been working on training her and we can already tell that she is really smart.  She is still not liking her crate and whines a lot at night.  She seems to do fine in it during the day though.  We are working on getting her used to a schedule so she knows when we’ll be home and when she’ll have to go in the crate to go to bed.  We’re all still adjusting.  Having a dog around is brand new for me!  But at least she’s cute and can be pretty good most of the time.  Husband is still loving having a dog again – he loves to play with her and take her out for walks.  We both like the fact that she is getting us exercising more and walking her seems like it is good for Andy’s continued recovery.

]]> http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/playing-with-dog/feed/ 1 something new…. http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/something-new/ http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/something-new/#comments Mon, 26 Jul 2010 05:11:23 +0000 abi http://abiandandy.com/?p=674 So this weekend we got a dog.  I know my friends and family think I must be going crazy…since I have never been a big dog person.  But my husband is a dog lover and has been wanting us to get one ever since we got married.  We thought about getting a dog last year and . . . → Read More: something new….]]> So this weekend we got a dog.  I know my friends and family think I must be going crazy…since I have never been a big dog person.  But my husband is a dog lover and has been wanting us to get one ever since we got married.  We thought about getting a dog last year and even tried it out for a weekend, but decided that dog wasn’t the right one for us and it wasn’t the right time for us to get a dog.

I don’t know why I started thinking about getting a dog recently – but it was actually my idea to start thinking about it again.  I guess we just have had such a long year and Andy’s especially had a rough time with everything, that I just thought it might be a good time for a dog.  So we talked about it and looked around online a little and I found a dog that I thought looked like a good fit for us.  I called about the ad for the dog and we decided to go and check her out the next evening after work.  The dog was at a neighboring county’s humane society – only about 30 minutes away.  We met the dog – she was very friendly and passed all of Andy’s tests.  He was really impressed and I could tell he was pretty excited about the idea of adopting her.  He said he could tell that she had been well trained and taken care of before she came to the shelter.

So we decided to adopt her and we renamed her Maggie (since they didn’t know what her name was before she came to the shelter).  We went to pick her up on Friday after work.  She was great about coming with us and has been pretty good all weekend.  Andy is so happy – he really loves having a dog!  She is housebroken and we think she was crate trained before too.  We are putting her in a crate overnight and while we are away – she barks a little to let us know that she’s not crazy about being there – but otherwise does ok.

She is a Cairn Terrier (which is the the type of dog played Toto on the Wizard of Oz) who is about 10 lb and 2 yrs. old.  Perfect little dog for our apartment and small enough that we can both pick her up easily (Andy still isn’t supposed to lift anything really heavy after the accident).

Maggie likes taking long naps too…

]]> http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/something-new/feed/ 1 prayers… http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/prayers/ http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/prayers/#comments Fri, 23 Jul 2010 11:14:38 +0000 abi http://abiandandy.com/?p=672 This morning my mom headed to the airport to fly to Malawi for 5 weeks.   She is co-leading a missions team that will be working primarily with people/families who have HIV/AIDs.  She has gone on missions trips like this before, but never for this long and has never led a team.  I’m so excited that . . . → Read More: prayers…]]> This morning my mom headed to the airport to fly to Malawi for 5 weeks.   She is co-leading a missions team that will be working primarily with people/families who have HIV/AIDs.  She has gone on missions trips like this before, but never for this long and has never led a team.  I’m so excited that she has this opportunity and know that God has big plans for their time there.  Please pray for her and the work she is doing.  Also for my dad and little brother she left at home – my dad is doing better and started back to work (he is not quite up to full-time yet, but he is adding an hour or so each week so that he can build up his strength and not overdo it), but with all the health problems he recently has had, it was harder for my mom to leave him this time.  But my 15 yr old (well he’s almost 15) brother is home with my dad and hopefully they will help each other out – my brother knows how to cook and do laundry so he can help my dad!

Another prayer that is on our hearts…..Andy’s cousin, Mark and his wife Jen and their son Connor in Georgia are going through an incredibly difficult time right now.  Jen is 5 mo. pregnant with a baby girl and they just found out that the baby has 0% chance of survival outside the womb.  She is going to have to deliver the baby next week and say goodbye.  Please pray for their peace and strength as they go through all of this.

]]> http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/prayers/feed/ 0 you capture – black & white… http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/you-capture-black-white/ http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/you-capture-black-white/#comments Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:52:43 +0000 abi http://abiandandy.com/?p=666 This week’s You Capture theme was black & white – any photo in black & white.  I do like black and white photos, but wasn’t too inspired for some reason.  I liked all the photos I took better in color!  But here are a few that turned out ok….

. . . → Read More: you capture – black & white…]]> This week’s You Capture theme was black & white – any photo in black & white.  I do like black and white photos, but wasn’t too inspired for some reason.  I liked all the photos I took better in color!  But here are a few that turned out ok….

And this one was in the post below (in color) but I thought the shapes looked interesting in black & white…

]]> http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/you-capture-black-white/feed/ 3 our new nephew… http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/our-new-nephew/ http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/our-new-nephew/#comments Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:00:29 +0000 abi http://abiandandy.com/?p=655 This weekend we went up to the triad and spent a little time with Andy’s family.  We drove up on Saturday and went to visit our new baby nephew.  He is so cute!

Baby Braeden – 2 weeks old

me & baby (note to self – need to teach husband how . . . → Read More: our new nephew…]]> This weekend we went up to the triad and spent a little time with Andy’s family.  We drove up on Saturday and went to visit our new baby nephew.  He is so cute!

Baby Braeden – 2 weeks old

me & baby
(note to self – need to teach husband how to use the new camera)

with his Nana and Pa

His parents are tired but seem to be doing really well – and they were so nice to let us come visit and get some baby time in!

We had a nice time visiting with Andy’s family the rest of the day Saturday and then on Sunday I went shopping with Andy’s stepmother and stepsister.  We also went and saw the movie “Date Night” which was pretty funny – much better than I thought it would be.  On the way home, Andy and I stopped at the historic mill near his parent’s house.  He wanted to get grits and I took some pictures.

I thought this was a cool wind chime!

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

]]> http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/our-new-nephew/feed/ 1 you capture…. http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/you-capture/ http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/you-capture/#comments Fri, 16 Jul 2010 01:00:17 +0000 abi http://abiandandy.com/?p=648 Last week was so much fun (thanks for all the nice comments!) that I’m going to try and participate in the You Capture challenge each week.

This week’s theme: vehicles

. . . → Read More: you capture….]]> Last week was so much fun (thanks for all the nice comments!) that I’m going to try and participate in the You Capture challenge each week.

This week’s theme: vehicles

]]> http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/you-capture/feed/ 7 your hands http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/your-hands/ http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/your-hands/#comments Tue, 13 Jul 2010 01:18:27 +0000 abi http://abiandandy.com/?p=644 When I was driving up to Baltimore, I listened to a really good Christian radio station for a while in Virginia (90.something?) and heard a song I really liked.  They didn’t say who the artist was, so when I got up to Baltimore I asked my music minister brother – the expert – if he knew . . . → Read More: your hands]]> When I was driving up to Baltimore, I listened to a really good Christian radio station for a while in Virginia (90.something?) and heard a song I really liked.  They didn’t say who the artist was, so when I got up to Baltimore I asked my music minister brother – the expert – if he knew the song/artist.  I just said a few of the words in it and his wife Jen, knew right away what song I was talking about.  She said – “that’s Your Hands by JJ Heller – we have sung some of her songs at church” (and she probably has done them as solos – Jen has an amazing voice!).  I had never heard of JJ Heller, but since I’ve been home, I’ve checked some of her stuff out online and really like it.  She has a great quote on her website, she says, “We have the choice to live in fear, or to live in the hope that God is in every moment with us…That’s one of the major themes of this season in my life.”

This is the song that I heard on the radio that I really liked….but I’m now enjoying quite a few of her songs and am going to download some of her songs….(which I’ll enjoy listening to once I get my ipod in the mail – I was scatterbrained enough to leave it in the guest bedroom at my parents….can’t believe I left it there!)…..anyways hope someone out there enjoys this song as much as I did.

]]> http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/your-hands/feed/ 0 fun with my family…. http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/fun-with-my-family/ http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/fun-with-my-family/#comments Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:39:58 +0000 abi http://abiandandy.com/?p=629 Yes…one more post with pictures from my trip to Baltimore last weekend…..can you tell I had a good time?

Patrick and Jen and I went to visit my grandmother.  She is looking great and doing really well – we had a nice time visiting and taking her to Chick-fil-a for lunch.

We . . . → Read More: fun with my family….]]> Yes…one more post with pictures from my trip to Baltimore last weekend…..can you tell I had a good time?

Patrick and Jen and I went to visit my grandmother.  She is looking great and doing really well – we had a nice time visiting and taking her to Chick-fil-a for lunch.

We had a big family dinner at Emily and Paul’s house on Monday night.  We had fun eating, laughing, talking, and enjoying watching my niece, Samara, run around.  She was all over the place – last time I saw her, she wasn’t even walking on her own yet.

So cute.

She wasn’t too into posing with me though.

We were checking out it my little brother is taller than his big brother – he is!  Just by a little bit, but he’s still growing.  Probably going to be as tall as my dad or taller.  I thought this picture turned out good – I like the angle and the focus on the hands.

]]> http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/fun-with-my-family/feed/ 0 love these girls (and their families!)… http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/617/ http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/617/#comments Sun, 11 Jul 2010 23:44:31 +0000 abi http://abiandandy.com/?p=617 When I was in Baltimore last weekend, I had a great time visiting with some of my good friends.  I had made plans to see them when I first got into town on Saturday since most of my family had other things going on that day.  I went over to my friend Erin’s house . . . → Read More: love these girls (and their families!)…]]> When I was in Baltimore last weekend, I had a great time visiting with some of my good friends.  I had made plans to see them when I first got into town on Saturday since most of my family had other things going on that day.  I went over to my friend Erin’s house and we had a great time sitting around, catching up, and making pizzas and a big veggie salad.

(the pizza crust looks a little random because it was gluten free since one of my friends has a wheat allergy)

Then because it was such a nice night, we went over to White Marsh Avenue to wander around out side a little. Here’s a group shot:

The next day I got to see them (and their husbands and kids) again at a 4th of July cookout at Becki and Josh’s house.  I took a bunch of pictures of their kids – they are all growing up so fast!

Emily Joy and her youngest – Elijah

Becki and baby James – he’s so much bigger than last time I saw him!

Such a beautiful family!

Thank you all for everything!  I had a great time visiting and wish I could do it more often.  Hopefully we’ll be back up there in a few months.

]]> http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/617/feed/ 1 more fourth of July happiness… http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/more-fourth-of-july-happiness/ http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/more-fourth-of-july-happiness/#comments Thu, 08 Jul 2010 10:02:21 +0000 abi http://abiandandy.com/?p=604 While I was up in Baltimore, Andy went to visit his family.  He spent most of the time up at his parent’s lake house and had a great time relaxing, grilling, and watching everyone shoot off fireworks.

He also got to go visit his (first) nephew!  Here’s a dark/blurry phone pic he sent of him holding the . . . → Read More: more fourth of July happiness…]]> While I was up in Baltimore, Andy went to visit his family.  He spent most of the time up at his parent’s lake house and had a great time relaxing, grilling, and watching everyone shoot off fireworks.

He also got to go visit his (first) nephew!  Here’s a dark/blurry phone pic he sent of him holding the new baby:

Congratulations to his stepbrother and sister-in-law on the birth of their beautiful baby boy!

We are so happy for you guys and I can’t wait to meet him too.

]]> http://abiandandy.com/2010/07/more-fourth-of-july-happiness/feed/ 0