Happy news!

I debated about whether or not to post this because I try to respect my family's privacy as much as possible. But I don't think my daughter would mind. I hope not anyway!

As some of you know, I have been estranged from my second daughter for 3 years due to my stubborn bullheadedness and self-righteous pride. Yet, while I struggled over my ugly behavior those 3 years we both grew and matured. It was a good thing that God knew we needed to go through. And now we are reunited and God has healed what was damaged between us.

My daughter has 4 children and has gone through a lot of struggles in raising them on her own. She is a fine mother and deserves to find real love after looking in all the wrong places. Real love is a rare jewel that eludes many; and having 4 children makes it even harder when looking for a soul mate. Yet life is funny sometimes in that when you stop looking you often finally find what you were looking for. And she has. And he's Catholic!

So without further ado (and rambling), I want to announce the engagement of our daughter Angie to her guy, Ryan! Don't they look sweet together?



This pic was taken at Son's Eagle Court of Honor last November. We met Ryan there for the first time, and were reunited with Angie and the kids there, as well. It was such a happy day all around!

Since then we've gotten to know Ryan and we love him to pieces. He is a great guy and we look forward to having him in our family.

Ryan is big on family and tradition and wanted to do things right. Bless his heart! He was in the hospital for the umpteenth time due to an illness he's had since childhood and Hubs was going up for a visit (he works nearby). Well, for this visit he got a big surprise. Ryan asked him for Angie's hand in marriage! He said yes, of course! We were just thrilled! It meant a lot to us that he did things this way. Angie has wanted this kind of guy for so long. They're not exactly easy to find, ya know!

They both suffer from health problems that keep them aware of the important things in life. Suffering will do that to you. And because Angie has been married before she will have to go through 2 annulments to marry him. This is a long process that sounds, from what she told me, extremely demanding, but it will only prove her love for Ryan all the more to go through this process for him just to set things right so they can marry in the Church.

On a side note, we would appreciate your prayers for Ryan. He's been in and out of the hospital lately, and I think they're both pretty worn out from all the health drama and would love a break. Thanks!