Yoda-lay-hee-hoo! I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas spending it with family & friends. I wanted to give you guys a quick update since I know that there are people that have been following along with our journey & wondering how Daniels surgery went that was scheduled for December 23rd. But first…let me tell you what we were up to the last couple of weeks!

We headed to New Orleans for my sister Jordan & Cory’s destination wedding on December 16th. We spent our time there loving life, celebrating the soon-to-be newlywed’s love (and our love too hehe), visiting with family & friends & of course, roaming the magical city of NOLA having delicious food & fun times a-plenty! 🙂 Jordan & Cory’s wedding day was soooo gorgeous! It was so fun getting to be a part of the wedding instead of photographing it for a change. It also brought a new perspective to me when it comes to shooting weddings! It made me realize more than ever that the little moments are SO so sooooo important to capture just as the big ones are – (of course I already knew this, but being a part of my sisters wedding really just made me FEEL so much more adamant about it — down to the core) & I’m going to strive to be better in 2016 overall – to push myself more than ever! But that’s a whole different blog post in itself :p The day before their wedding – I took Jordan & Cory to a park in the city that had spanish moss! I have been dreaming of the day that I could shoot a session that involves spanish moss – so this was the perfect time! It was a chilly yet sunny morning – and I think their photos turned out gorgeous! I will be posting more of our time together soon – but here is a sneak peek of their engagement session: swoon-ing!

Anywhoodles, throughout our time in NOLA, we danced in the streets like no one was watching, kissed under the mistletoe,  cheers-ed (is that a word) to good times & lived life to the fullest! We even went to a Saints game – my first NFL game ever experience ever. It truly was a week that I will never forget.

As the week was coming to an end – I couldn’t help but feel nervous butterflies invading my tummy as I knew we were getting closer to Daniel’s surgery date. I would wake up in the middle of the night (several nights in a row) with a lump in my throat at the mere thought of the surgery date getting closer. All I could do was immediately start praying to calm my nerves & in the midst of laying awake and my talks with God, I’d slowly drift off to sleep knowing that He would take care of my love & I just had to trust Him wholeheartedly. You know that saying – “Fear can keep you up all night, but faith makes one fine pillow.”? That has basically been my life the last few weeks leading up to Daniels surgery date & Daniel’s too. I could tell he was nervous about it all – although he would never tell me that. He didn’t want me to know that he was scared. Throughout this whole journey – he has never led me to believe he was nervous. He’s so strong & courageous & brave & perfect. I admire everything about him.

(If you’re new to my blog & aren’t caught up with what’s going on – you can read the last post here or type “Our Life Lately” into the search bar & find all of the posts)

Well, the wedding week was over & it was time to head to Houston to MD Anderson. We left NOLA & went straight to Houston – it was really fun packing for three weeks away! We checked into our hotel & barely slept a wink the night before. Finally, it was surgery day bright & early at 5am! The day we have been dreading yet looking forward to for so long. Our sweet families were there to support us. 14 people deep in the waiting room, ya’ll. Before Daniel went back to get prepped – we all grabbed hands and said a prayer right there in the waiting room for my love & for the surgery to be amazingly successful and for God to guide the surgeons throughout it all.

It was time. After Daniel was prepped – the nurses wheeled him back after I gave him about a million kisses & hugs. They basically had to pry him & his hospital bed from my hands lol

He was in surgery for almost 10 hours. TEN HOURS! We all tried to sleep, play games, social media-it-up & etc to pass the time. The nurses would call me & Daniels parents into a private room to give us updates every 2 hours – which was awesome! The surgeons WERE able to use the robot for the entire surgery!!! Dr Ward mentioned that he wasn’t sure if it was possible & he would never do anything to put Daniel in danger during surgery – so if they needed to, they would have to cut him from his breast bone down to his pelvis. Thankfully – they didn’t have to! After 10 hours of sitting on pins & needles – Dr Ward came out with a huge smile on his face!

He said that the surgery was a HUGE success! So much of a success that this surgery set a new standard for MD Anderson as a whole. He also said that Daniels case/surgery was the most difficult surgery that they had ever had for a lymph node dissection at MD Anderson. Whhhhaaat? I’m glad he didn’t tell us this beforehand 😉 He was so proud – gleaming from ear to ear. They were able to remove all of the cancer that was in Daniel’s abdomen. PRAISE GOD you guys! We high fived the doctor, hugged our family & were beyond pumped about the outcome & I couldn’t stop thanking Jesus for his mighty hands protecting Daniel through it all! My momma-in-lawlove & poppa-in-love & I couldn’t stop hugging & high-fiving afterwards for hours. They’ve been there with us every step of the way & truly know how we’re feeling about everything. They’re heaven sent & I just love them with all my heart. They have been such a rock for us when we needed it the most & have been there with us through every chemo treatment, every doctor’s appointment, every surgery. Love you momma & poppa if you are reading this! 🙂

Finally – we were able to go back and see Daniel! He was alert & adorable. We got to his hospital room where he was watched throughout the night. He was hurting but the pain was manageable. We spent Christmas in the hospital – but we are so blessed as this was truly one of the best Christmas gifts we could have ever received!

(Daniel & Rudolph doing great & enjoying the holiday season together!)

(On Christmas Day, we were able to take a stroll around the hospital & get some fresh air)

The next day, the doctors came in early in the morning & gave Daniel another exam. They said that they were trying to find a reason for Daniel to stay after such a massive/major surgery, but they just couldn’t find a reason for him to stay! So, he was discharged from the hospital the day after Christmas! Now, we are home & Daniel is healing. He’s finally able to eat solid foods & keep them down…along with water which is so so so important!

I just want to thank everyone for their prayers & love that have been sent our way. I was planning on keeping this update short & sweet…but sometimes when I get to typing, I can’t stop lol Thanks for tuning in guys & for all of your support – we love you & appreciate it all so very much! xoxo, Chandy

– Chandra’s Collection Photography

– Texas Wedding Photographer

– New Orleans Wedding Photographer