Andrea Shipley and Family

What an incredibly daunting task, summarize life over 10 years in a few sentences. Where do I even begin? I suppose I should answer the questions that arise in most peoples minds; college, marriage, kids. The answer is yes to all three. I graduated from Brigham Young University in 2003 where I double majored and double minored just because people told me I couldn’t do it. Okay not really, but I wish I was that ambitious. I earned my B.S. in Audiology/Speech Language Pathology and returned home to San Antonio following graduation. Soon there after I traveled to Cardiff Wales for work; I spent only a few months there but what a life altering experience it was. It took only the mass array of people I encountered at the Heathrow airport to instill a penchant for traveling inside this little Mexican girl from Texas. A year later I returned to Cardiff and took a trip to Paris with some friends. My plan was to travel to Rome the following year but that plan was interrupted for something even more incredible, my wedding! My husband Bill and I were married in August 2005 and returned back to Utah so that he could finish school. In December 2006 we were blessed with our daughter Micaela Olivia. She is amazing! In June 2007 we, once again, returned to San Antonio so that Bill could attend dental school at the UTHSC. Not long after school began we quickly saw the need arise for me to stop working and take care of our family full time. After all, dollar menu from McDonalds four days a week isn’t exactly a life prolonging diet.

We are now thoroughly enjoying life below the poverty line! (A loan meant for one person is stretched unimaginably thin when it has to support three.) It seemed unimaginable for someone as materialistic as me but it really is happening!

I’d hate to leave this post feeling as I’ve done nothing but boast about life over the last 10 years but for those of you who knew me well in high school you should remember that I have always been long winded, so what are a few more sentences?

The truth is, the events that have brought the greatest happiness to me over this time have also been the most challenging. College - a mental challenge. Wales - a moral challenge. Marriage – an all encompassing challenge. Motherhood – an endless challenge. I hope all of your lives have been as challenging as mine has been and may the rewards you have reaped be equally as great.