More Pictures of Payton

Payton Will

Payton Will made his way into the world at 9:20 p.m. October 1st, 2009. He and Mom are doing very well. He is a very good baby...doesn't cry much and is usually happy. We are all so happy he is here...especially Kierra and Brookelynn. They both enjoy taking turns holding and kissing him. Kierra keeps asking when he will be big enough to wrestle with? LOL. We posted a bunch more pictures on Facebook if you want to check them out.

Will

Life is going well

Sorry we haven't posted anything in quite some time. Since we both have Facebook we have been slacking on this blog. :)

Danae is 37 weeks pregnant and will hopefully have Payton soon. She is going in to the Dr.'s on Thursday to "naturally" do something that is supposed to cause labor. Danae's sister, Kristie, is flying in on Wednesday to help with the girls when Danae does go into labor...I'm happy to have the extra help. Danae's mom is coming in on Saturday and will also be a big helper...the girls are excited that one of their aunts and grandmas are coming to visit them.

Work is going well for me. I'm still a platoon leader in an Air Defense unit here at Ft. Campbell. We may be getting a new mission to go and do some work in Afghanistan, but we don't have anything in writing just yet. As soon as I found out some details I will post so that everyone can be informed.

Be in prayer for little Payton since we're hoping this is the week he decides to join us on the outside!

Love and miss you guys.

Will

7 Years of Marriage

Today is our 7th wedding anniversary. It's amazing to me that when we first got married we thought we were "so in love" and had no idea what love really was. We did love each other then, but I think that we both would agree that our understanding of what it means to love has grown and matured throughout these past 7 years to the point now where we can honestly say that we love each other more and more each day.

God has truly blessed our marriage. Danae and I have had to face difficulties that many couples will never have to face...like the fact that just 3 months ago we went over the "been together more months than apart" time frame. I've had to miss a lot of things over the past 7 years (because of the military) but God has granted us the grace and dependence upon Him to get thru everything and with His help our marriage is stronger than ever.

Love and Respect - this is something that Danae and I are both committed to doing for each other. She knows that I need respect as a man and I know that she needs/craves love as a woman. Anytime we have disagreements we try to fall back on this principle and it usually solves whatever issue has occurred.

Thank you Lord for the past 7 years with my wife. Please help me to love her even more for the rest of our lives. Amen.

I love you Danae! You always be my Lady!

The Mr.

Air Assault!!

Yesterday I graduated Air Assault school which is a 10 1/2 day school where you get hazed (you do a ton of physical exercises for getting in trouble) and you learn about what it means to be part of the only Air Assault Division in the world. It is kind of cool to be part of this tradition that we are all very proud of. :)

The culminating event is a 12 mile road march with body armor, weapon, and an assault pack. Basically 55 lbs of gear on...I did it in 2 hrs and 26 minutes...the standard is 3 hrs or less. I've been very fortunate to have been able to go to so many schools in the very early stages of my officer career. This will probably be my last school for a little while tho...I'm glad to be able to get back with my platoon.

Life is going great here in TN. God is blessing us and showing us how He wants to use us here. Looking forward to the days ahead as we pursue an awesome and Holy God.

Love and miss you guys.

Will

Thoughts on Raising kids...

One thing that always happens to me whenever I am away from my family (or they are away from me) is I take more time to pray for them and to reflect on what they mean to me. Lately I've been thinking about how important my kids are to me and how much I want God to help me be the best Father possible to them. It seems that our culture today is trying very hard (and winning the battle if you ask me) on telling Christians how we are to raise our kids.

In my quiet times God always seems to reveal things to me about how I am called to raise my kids with Danae. Here's what I feel God wants me to share with others. Especially those with daughters:

Dads - go after their hearts...that is where obedience and respect will grow from. Take them on dates (even if they are little) make them feel special. Compliment them often...on everything. Girls want to be adored, admired and sought after...if you don't give them this attention now they will go looking for it in some dead beat guy later. Set a standard of how a man is supposed to love a woman by how you treat and love your wife. Your girls are being taught and trained what to expect from guys by how you treat them and how you treat your wife...think about this responsibility often.
Help around the house. True leaders lead by example! True leaders are servants...like Jesus. Help your wife with everything...especially in discipline when they are younger. Lead with love and not with anger.
Most importantly teach your kids about God - pray with them, do Bible studies with them, teach them to memorize God's Word. Make them want to mirror your relationship with Christ.

Moms - You too have to lead by example. You are with them probably more than any person ever will be...this means that you have endure more headaches than anyone...God will bless your continued efforts! Don't get so wrapped up in the moment that you lose sight of what you are really doing...which is loving your kids and raising them to know the Lord. Teach your kids to obey you the first time...this helps with the patience thing. :) Lead by example in your walk with God and your kids will want to follow in your footsteps.

Ok, I'll get off my soapbox. I love and miss you guys.

Will

Good News and Good Day

I just wanted to let everyone know that we had the tests on the baby yesterday in Nashville. All came out great as far as the doctors could see. He is weighing right on and there were no defects found. God is good all the time!!!! I do want to thank everyone for the sweet phone calls, emails, and texts. You all are great friends.

Now I am leaving tomorrow for Ft Leonard Wood MO with the girls. My brother and sister-in-law are expecting their second any day now. I told Shannon that it would just be easier on everyone if she had the baby while we were there....my parents are driving out there too. If she doesn't I don't think we will get to see Leah till Christmas time as I am getting too big to make that trip. So Shannon I am praying Leah comes soon!!!:)

Will starts Air Assault school Friday here at Ft Campbell. He will do well I am sure of it. He can already do the most challenging part of the course well. Not to mention he surpassed all the standards for the prelims. He's so smart! I just love my man!

Well, it's off to the free movies with the girls even though I should be here doing laundry and packing. That can wait till midnight I guess like it usually happens.

Always Praising Him
Danae

It's a BOY!!!!

For those of you not on facebook, we found out last week that we are having a boy. We are very excited and I think Will has picked a name. Payton Will. The girls are so excited and so funny when they talk about Payton and a baby brother. They will be great big sisters.

Please keep the baby in your prayers as the ultrasound came back abnormal. I am going to Nashville next week for further testing. Not really sure what any of it means. We just have to be still and wait on the Lord who already has a plan and a purpose and has our best interests in mind.

The family is headed to KY for the 4th for a big family reunion with all my Mom's side of the family. We are very excited to see everyone.

Hope you all have a great 4th! Praise God for our Freedom!!

Love
Danae

Scentsy

Well, it's official, I am a Scentsy consultant. Haven't even gotten my start up kit yet, but I have my very own website. I think it'll be just a fun little extra thing I can do. In case you need some more wax or even a new pot my website it...

www.scentsy.com/danae1



As far as baby goes, I finally get that long awaited ultrasound. It's on the 25th of June. Can't wait.

Hope all is going well.
Danae

Our home....

I thought I'd post a few pictures of our home. We love it here and we are finding lots of fun and exciting things to do. We have been hiking a few times and to the river to go boating once in KY with my aunt and uncle. It's nice to be so close to family. This weekend we plan on going to the land between the lakes to check that out.

I see a nurse this Thursday at my OB clinic but I'm not all that sure what a nurse is going to do for me. Hopefully set up an ultrasound apt, huh? I'll post some prego pictures in the near future...not all that exciting this time around:)

Glad to finally be back online. Looking forward to hearing from everyone.
Danae

Ft. Campbell...

Sorry to everyone for not posting anything for quite some time but we are without internet service til the middle of June...

We have rented a house in Clarksville, TN and are almost all unpacked and settled in. The house is very nice, lots of space and lots of storage...the kids are happy to have a place to call home. (Although they ask me every night if we are leaving/moving soon) lol

I am a platoon leader in 2-44 ADA Bn and they just got back from a year long rotation in Iraq. Its kind of nice to be coming into a unit at this time because we are resetting and as such we have a lot of time off for family time.

Danae hasn't been to the Dr.'s yet so we don't know what we are having...she will probably not get to see the OBGYN for a while because everyone is pregnant down here! so all the OBGYN's are packed...we will post something whenever we find out.

Pray for us as we are looking for a church and as I get settled into my new position/unit.

Love and miss you all. Feel free to visit anytime you want...we have extra room!

Will & Danae

We made it....

Well after a long day of flying, we made it to Ft Benning GA. It has been great. Brookelynn won't let her daddy out of her sight and Kierra is totally up for the adventure again. They are eating cereal out of a cup on the floor of the hotel and watching cartoons. It's a little crazy, but we are enjoying life all being together again.

We will load the remainder of our things here in GA and head out for Ft Campbell KY tomorrow afternoon. Will graduates in the morning. Pray that the Lord will have the perfect house waiting for us and if we have to wait...patience in the waiting. We are all so ready to not be living out of suitcases and so ready to spread out a bit again. I know the Lord already knows our future and I will rest in that.

It was so great spending tons of time with all my friends and family. Love you all!!
Danae

This and That and moving again....

Uncle Levi is not going to sleep....

Papa Carl taking Brookelynn and Kierra on a walk

Kierra helping Aunt Trish make Mother's Day dinner

Uncle Jason and Brookelynn

Playing with the dogs

Making Smores

17 Weeks

And moving again.....

Hannah (my niece) Brookelynn and Kierra playing in the weeds

This is a few pictures of our last month here in Idaho. It has been fun seeing and hanging out with all our friends and family. We even got to see Levi (my brother) and his family that came from Ft Leonard Wood MO. It is a bitter sweet good bye to this great state and saying good bye is never easy.

But we get to see daddy (Will) tomorrow and for that we are so very excited!! And we're hoping a house will be quickly available as we are anxious to get all our stuff out of storage which is already in KY waiting for us.

As for the pregnancy, it is going well and I am feeling lots of movement. We can't wait to find out what we're having but it's going to be another 2 months maybe before I can get that ultrasound. So I keep telling myself that waiting longer won't change the sex of the baby so what's the rush...right?

Well, we will write more when we get to GA and KY. We will miss you all here in Idaho. Come visit us whenever....well, maybe you should wait till we get a house, but it will always be open for you!

Love

Danae

Pathfinder Week 2

Wow! I thought last week was mentally challenging...this week made last week seem like a joke. :) Thankfully, I passed the dreaded drop zone test and now we will move on to practical application of what we have learned in the field.

This is my last weekend before I get to be with my girls again and I am like a 7 year old kid waiting for Christmas. God has been good (as usual) but we are all ready to be united once again.

Next stop will be Fort Campbell, KY (or Clarksville, TN) depending on where our house is located. Fort Campbell borders the two states...you get the picture.

Hopefully we will get into a house on post, but if not God will provide us a home.

Love and miss you all.

Will

Pathfinder Week 1

I just finished one of the most humbling weeks of my career (with a smile of course). :-) This course that I am in now is by far the hardest academic course I've been in so far. We had 3 tests last week and I missed more points on those 3 test than I did on all my Army schools in the past year combined...part of the issue is that I am dealing with stuff that I have never heard of before let alone seen. So I am learning a lot. :) This week we have 3 more big tests so please pray that I will continue to pick up the information being shot out of a fire hose at me.

This is my second to last weekend before I get to see the girls and I am so excited to be reunited with them again. God has been graceful and made this time go by very quickly so I am very thankful for that.

Danae will supervise the packing and movement of our household goods on Monday and Tuesday and then it will just be a count down until they head out to Georgia. After I pick them up in Atlanta we will gather the rest of our stuff that we have here and drive our two cars to Ft. Cambpell, KY. Please be in prayer that we will be able to find a house quickly so that my poor family can have something to call home for the first time in a year and a half.

I love and miss all of you guys and look forward to hearing from you this week.

Will

The Girls going out with Uncle Sage....

Last night the girls got to go to their Grandma Linda's house and see all her animals. Uncle Sage and Aunt Kristen dared the venture with them and they had a blast. Mommy got some alone time and that was much needed and a great break. Two more weeks before we leave to see Daddy and we're all ready. I am finishing up last minute packing as the movers will be here on Monday. It's exciting to see all our stuff again even if it is just through piles in storage. Lol. Hope all is well with everyone.

Danae

Airborne!!

So I got to jump out of an airplane at 160 mph 5 times including one at night. It was quite an experience, but I'm glad that its over and I am still in one piece. :) This is a picture of me and my friend Dave who wasn't in my class but came to my graduation. I start a new school on Monday. Less than three weeks and I get to see my girls again...I can't wait!

I love and miss you guys.

Will

14 weeks

14 Weeks

Here are my 14 week pictures. I'm growing very fast and I'm nervous for the last trimester unless I slow down:). Also we have been flying kites with the girls and they love it. So here are a few of them.

Danae

Our Baby's first picture!!

I think this is our BOY....

Measuring a little large...

Hi Daddy!

I went to the doctor last week and he thought I had some signs of a twin pregnancy. I had the big ultrasound this morning and let me tell you. I have never been so nervous for an ultrasound in my life before. If he would have taken my blood pressure I would have been admitted to the hospital. I was sweating and clamy. I couldn't eat breakfast and my heart was racing. Thank the Lord He knew just what I could handle.....NOT TWINS!!!! So here is our little one and we won't know the sex till we get to Ft Campbell.

We are so Blessed!

Danae

Tower Week Complete

Hey everyone,

We finished up Tower week yesterday. I thought most of it was fun...they really drill you on the techniques so that your confidence is up in both your abilities and equipment going into jump week. This next week I will jump from an airplane 5 different times. I'm sure that I will be questioning my judgment every time I get in the airplane and the doors open, but it will be a rush no doubt.

I heard a lot of the guys talking about how they were going to go to church for the first time ever (for some) this weekend...nothing like jumping out of an airplane to make you realize that you want to be right with God! :)

Danae and the girls are doing well; I'm happy that I get to talk to them everyday. Kierra is busy ruling the world and Brookie is the definition of cute and 2! Danae is now 14 weeks and has an ultrasound on Monday. She had a Dr.'s appointment last week and heard a good strong heartbeat.

I'll post more at the end of jump week and let you know how falling out of an airplane went. :)

Love you,
Will

Easter Fun!

The girls and I had a fun Easter....well, as fun as we could have had without daddy around. We had 2 Easter egg hunts and lots of food. That's always fun!

The girls are settling in well. They have slept through the night the last 3 nights. And what a treat that has been. They have been getting up more than 7 times a night between the 2 of them.

Hope all are doing well. I go to the Dr this week and I am begging for an ultrasound. I'll let you know what we find out. I feel like I'm too big for just 13 weeks. I'll post more pictures later.

Danae

Ground Week

So I finished up ground week on Thursday of this week. This included learning how to properly exit the aircraft, jumping from the 34 ft tower, and learning how to do a proper parachute landing fall (PLF). Its been pretty fun; this next week we will continue to go over the techniques that will help us safely jump from an airplane and land safely. :)

I've been able to link up with a few of my friends that I made while I was in Oklahoma. I've got less than five weeks til I see my girls again so I am very happy about that. The girls seem to be doing better with me being gone this time...thank the Lord for that!

Tomorrow is Easter and I pray that you all have taken the time to reflect on what our Lord and Savior did for us almost 2,000 years ago. I know that I have been doing a lot of thinking about it this week and I am still in awe of how much He really does love us. Go and tell someone about this love!

Love and miss you guys.
Will

Some fun Comparisons

So I thought I would do some comparisons between my first 2 pregnancies and this one. I'm not sure how many I can come up with, but here we go...

1. I have no time to nap or even go to bed at a decent hour with two little ones always needing my attention.
2. I find myself too hungry too often as I forget to feed myself while chasing the kids or cleaning up after them.
3. Bleeding is normal in my pregnancies so I haven't called the Dr once to let him know about it....I bet he's happy to be sleeping instead of returning my calls:)
4. It's easier to be pregnant with my husband around than my husband gone.
5. I cannot carry my other 2 kiddos around as they are much older and heavier than Kierra was when I had Brookelynn....she was only 17 months at delivery with Brookelynn. Now 3 1/2 and 2.
6. I have no cravings.....just foods that make me disgusted....I had some serious cravings with the other 2.
7. Patience....I have none this time and the dumbest thing can annoy me to no end. My poor husband
8. Instead of being warm to hot this pregnancy, I am cold to freezing.
9. My stomach popped out entirely way too fast this time and I actually looked pregnant at 8 weeks.
10. I'm not on track to gain my usual 60 pounds this time.....No instead it looks like its going to be 70 pounds.

I'll have to post more later. That's all I can think of. So my advice Shannon is to stop at 2. It's safer that way :-)

12 weeks

So for all of you wanting me to post a picture here you go. I'll be 12 weeks tomorrow and I'm not sick at all. It's been a good 3 weeks about. Oh, I had to post the one of Kierra. She wanted to pose for a picture too:-)

Danae

I made it to Ft. Benning, GA

Hey everyone,

After some good days on the road I made it to Georgia. Today I will finish up some administrative stuff and then I report to Airborne school tomorrow. The challenge with this upcoming school is both mental and physical. Mentally challenging because of the heights and different places I will be jumping off of...physically challenging because of the fact that for two weeks straight all we do is learn how to fall. :)

I had a great time in Idaho, although it went by much too fast. Sage and Kristen's wedding was an awesome experience and I'm so grateful that I was able to be there for them.

For those of you wondering about how my separated ribs are doing, they seem to be healing very well. I "rested" them as best as I ever will "rest" anything and I know that the time off was helpful. Thank you for the prayers.

I also ask that you pray for my girls, as each one of them has to deal with me being gone in their own way. Brookelynn has become quite a Daddy's girl and often times refuses care from anyone but me...it's cute when I am home, but sad when I am gone. Kierra seems to be doing much better on this round, but she still doesn't quite understand why Daddy has to leave so much.

Danae seems to finally be getting healthy again, which is a big praise. My beautiful girl has been sick for over a month and pregnant on top of that...she is feeling much better with this pregnancy than the previous two though. Pray for our newest addition to the Andrews family as he/she grows and develops into who God wants him/her to be.

I'm trying to get a place online to post my sermon so that you can listen if you like. More to follow on that. I love and miss you guys. I will have the ability to communicate at night and on the weekends so feel free to call/text/email whenever you want. :)

Love you guys.
Will

Update.....

Well, Will has made it to Ft Benning GA where his last schools will begin. He flew into El Paso Sunday gathered our things and headed for GA. I can hardly believe him when he says that the trip was much more enjoyable without our 2 little monsters in the back seat. Brookelynn is such a rough traveler that she'll make you want to find the nearest large cliff and drive right off it. But I am glad he made it safely.

The girls and I are still enjoying being at home in Idaho. It is so cold here though. When does spring come to Idaho? Cuz we are sure ready!!!

My Grandma taught Kindergarten for something like 25 years so she is continuing to teach Kierra how to write and some basic skills she needs to keep up on. I tired but we both want to kill each other by the time its over so it's much better if someone else teaches her.

Brookelynn still wants to go home, but I don't think she's figured out yet that we don't have a home. Poor baby is so confused. She also insists that I carry her everywhere but that is getting to be a challenge with my ever growing waist line. But all in all we are doing great!

I'm really trying my best to keep this updated so we'll see how that goes.

Danae

This was our last 2 weeks.....

Kristen and Kierra and Brookelynn - March 28, 2009

What a good looking Best Man!!

The Groom - Sage - Will's little brother

The cutest flower girls ever!!!

Rehersal

Out playing with Papa Carl's Llamas. This lead one spit at Will. It was so entertaining!!

Brookelynn leading the other set.

Will's graduation and all of his loot.

As you can see we hit the ground running here in Idaho. Will was only here for two weeks and we had lots of family fly in for the wedding so that kept us busy. It was a beautiful wedding but I'm not going to lie.....so glad it's over.

Will left yesterday morning for El Paso to get our things out of storage and head for Ft Benning GA. Just talked to him and he is not too far from Houston. Texas never ends when you're driving through it. He will start Airborne school next week and then Pathfinder school. The girls and I will meet up with him mid-May to head to Ft Campbell KY. Can't wait for that.

The girls have plenty of adjustments since we have no home, but it is nice to be staying with my parents and they are doing well.

I did have a dr's appointment but I really didn't find out too much. Besides my due date is October 18th. I am hoping for an ultrasound in a few weeks. We have all been sick since we got here, so can't wait till that lets up.

My hope is that I can keep on top of the blog since things have settled down a bit.

Danae