10 Years of Memories

So, last week, Andy and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary! Seriously, 10 years. We got married on August 19, 2000 at Immanuel Baptist Church in Benton, IL. Andy had just turned 20 and I was 21. We were young pups, but knew we wanted to be married and start our lives together.

Here's an overview!

2000- The wedding was August 19th and we left for our honeymoon to Marco Island, FL that night! When we got back, school had started so we were right in the swing of things. We were both in college. I was at SIU (after transferring from Union University in Jackson, TN) and Andy was pursuing Social Work at John A Logan College. We lived in the tiniest apartment in Marion, IL and had a futon for a couch and a card table for our kitchen table. I remember that first Christmas buying Andy, who LOVES movies, a DVD player!!! It cost $250! Isn't that crazy? I think you can get one now for $30. He loved it. We both worked in the evenings and went to school in the daytime, but we loved all the moments we got to spend together!

2001 - I graduated from SIU with a degree in Speech Communications. After realizing there weren't a lot of job in Southern Illinois for my area of interest, we decided to move to Newman, IL where Andy's extended family lived. He transferred to EIU, still studying Social Work and worked for his Papaw at the Joines Funeral Home. We lived in the apartments right next to the funeral home. We searched, and searched, and searched some more for a church without finding one. Every week, visiting churches, Sunday morning and Sunday night...nothing!

2002 - Andy comes home from a night of working with his Grandpa and says, "I think I want to be a funeral director!" Seriously?!?! He was in his next to last semester for Social Work...we were almost done. But, if this is what he wanted to do, then I was all for it! That summer we found our home church, First Baptist Church of Atwood and quickly settled in and got to work serving in the church. In September, Andy packed up and moved to Chicago to attend Worsham College of Mortuary Science, while I stayed here and held down the homefront, working in Champaign at Colwell.

2003 - Andy graduated from mortuary school and he was HOME! Finally. I was never so happy to have him here.

2004 - Andy served as an apprentice for a year for his grandfather and we suffered a terrible miscarriage. Andy did ok with it and I was devastated. I didn't understand and didn't understand God's plan. I still don't understand, but after 6 years and 3 more children, I am at peace! 2004 was a tough year for us, but we made it through!

2005 - On my birthday, January 5, I quit my job. Immediately after, we started moving into the funeral home. We painted, sanded, painted some more, hung wall paper and decorated until we were exhausted. Just a few weeks later, we found out we were expecting. One of my dearest friends, Stacy had just moved to Georgia and Ashley and I decided to go see her. We drove the loooong trip from IL to GA! That night, we had terrible storms! I had no idea that at home, there were major storms too! That night, whether from lightning or electrical problems, our house/funeral home burned! Andy was sleeping inside and the room behind his head had huge flames shooting out of the roof! Somehow, God woke him up and got him out! Everyone said he should have died...they didn't even know how the bed hadn't fallen through the floor because there wasn't much of a floor left. I am so thankful he saved Andy and had me (and Molly in my belly) out of the house! We quickly, with the help of my dad, built a new funeral home and were in 2 weeks before Molly was born. On November 14, 2005, we welcomed our first baby! Molly Ruth Appleby. God was good to us. So FAITHFUL. Life would never be the same! I learned a lot about my husband when our daughter was born! I remember the day we found out she was a girl and his response while looking at the screen was, "I'm going to buy her a pony and build a barn for it". Seriously, if you know Andy, that's a hilarious statement. He doesn't build anything at all, but I knew, laying there looking at our baby via sonogram that Andy Appleby would never be the same. He loved her, changed her diapers, read to her, carried her and adored her! The man I married was the best dad I could have asked for, for my children!

2006 - We had a new funeral home and a new baby! Molly was such a good baby, that we decided we'd go ahead and have one more. I got pregnant right. At my very first doctor's appointment, the doctor found a rather large lump in my breast and told me on a scale of 1-5, she was sure it was breast cancer. I was so incredibly sad, my mom's sister had died of breast cancer much too young! I remember thinking about Molly and the baby I was carrying. Andy was so supportive! The doctor's told me what to expect with chemotherapy while you are pregnant. A few weeks later, I had a sonogram and the doctor's were going to do a biopsy. That day, the sonographer came in and looked and looked and looked at the screen. For what seemed like an eternity, he looked at the screen and finally said, "Nothing!" "There's nothing there." "I don't know where it went because I know I saw it a few weeks ago, but it's gone!" I of course, made sure to tell him that we were Christians and had been praying for this! A shout of praise and a sigh of relief! Once again, God was FAITHFUL!

2007 - Here's Ryan! April 22, 2007, Ryan Andrew Appleby was born! Molly was 17 months old when we brought Ryan home from the hospital! Twice the diapers, twice the mess and twice the fun! Ryan laughed out loud in the hospital the night he was born and I remember thinking that he was going to be a funny kid who enjoyed laughing! BOY, was I right!!! I still love to hear him laugh.

2008 - In 2008 was a busy year, chasing a baby and a toddler around the house. Ryan was learning to talk, Molly started writing her name and telling all kinds of stories. We really enjoyed our life and our kids. We felt complete as a family!

2009 - What were we thinking!!! One more baby!!! Just one more, that's all we need! So, in the fall of 2009 we found out we were expecting another bundle of joy! I was sick as a dog for the rest of the year! I went from chasing kids to laying on the couch and throwing up! Not fun! Andy took care of everything - the housework, the kids, the "everything you can think of". He was amazing and again, I was reminded of how thankful I was for a husband that was so understanding and caring!

2010 - Still sick... Molly is 4 now and Ryan was 2 (turning 3 in April). Even though I was sick, I worked with them, teaching them things. Molly learned to read words and then read her first book "Hot Dog"! I was so proud of her. Ryan learned to write his name, which really looked like a circle with two sticks on it and some scribbles after that, but he was PROUD! In February, we found out that our health insurance company was not going to cover our maternity care or delivery! I called the hospital and they told me at once that I would have to come up with the $30,000 to have the baby! $30,000??? Where was I going to come up with that? Andy kept reminding me that God was faithful and He would provide! Sure enough, God was FAITHFUL! He provided every single penny! Every penny for us! God is FAITHFUL! On May 15, 2010, Katherine Brooke Appleby was born! Our third child! Wow! I was 31 and had 3 kids! This was more than I could ever imagined for our family. She is a beautiful and sweet baby and loves her Mommy! Since Katie's been born, Molly started Pre-K and we're facing her being gone from us all day. She's not sure if she likes it yet, but we know she will eventually. Right now, Andy and I are enjoying our days with Ryan and Katie and realizing that we should love each moment since they're going to grow up as quickly as Molly did and be gone to school soon.

God has been so good to us in our 10 years of marriage. I am thankful to Him because I know that before I was conceived and before Andy was conceived that God knew that in the year 1999, Andy Appleby and Misty Smith were going to meet at Wal-Mart in Benton, Illinois in the card isle. He created us to be together. Andy, the relaxed one. Misty, the high strung one. Andy, the one who enjoyed the day to day and Misty, who had everything planned out for the rest of her life. God is good. He is good to us, He was faithful to us and is still proving His faithfulness in our lives! I love the 10 years I've had with Andy Appleby and all it has entailed. God is the giver of all good things and for that, I must say thank you to God for his awesome gift to me!

No Crying = Soda After School

Molly started Pre-K last week! We are devastated here without her. For her entire life, she's been at home with both parents and having adult conversations since she's been able to talk. She's gone to Pre-K now...Monday through Friday, 8-3! It's a long day, but for a girl who's as shy as Molly is, we knew this was best for her. This summer, Molly went to the library program and her teacher was the Pre-K teacher at the school. The Pre-K aide is a great family friend, Teresa Hawkins. She and Molly get along great! We knew that if there was ever going to be an easy transition for Molly that this would be it!!!

Let me say after a week of school, I am so glad we did this now because I cannot fathom how horrible it would be if we did this next year and she didn't know the teachers. She has cried almost everyday. She tells me how much she misses me. She stands on the playground crying with all the other kids running around her, having fun. I don't understand because I was never so shy. I feel sooo sorry for her standing there all alone and I cry because I can see she's upset. I know, it's only been one week and I'm hoping it only gets better! Andy swears to me that she won't be a senior in highschool, standing on the playground alone or playing in the rocks by herself under the tree.

I know she's bored with the conversation. I ask her how lunch was and she tells me who she sits by and says, "those kids don't talk much". I asked her if they talked to other people and she said they didn't, they just don't talk much at all. I'm sure she's pretty bored considering she's eaten 3 meals a day with Andy, Ryan and I and we talk about EVERYTHING!

Sending Molly to school has been very beneficial in one area so far! She is praying like crazy! She's learning that she can pray wherever she's at, no matter what! She's praying to not be scared and praying for friends (to have them and for the ones she's made), and this is certainly keeping me on my toes, spiritually. I am in constant prayer for her!

I cannot imagine how I'm going to feel when my kids go through things and tough experiences at school and in life. It breaks my heart to see her cry everyday in Pre-K.

All I can say is that I am so thankful that God has entrusted 3 children to me. I am committed to teaching them to pray about every situation and to be faithful witnesses for Christ!

Pray for Molly today, that she stays strong, that she finds people to play with, that she has fun AND that she doesn't cry (because Daddy's going to give her SODA if she doesn't)!