Thumbnails on blog index column disappeared when backed up

I have a few blog posts at http://naturalconnectionshealthcare.com/blog/. Today when I edited a posting, when I signed in I decided to click on the WP notification line about updating. It said that I should back up my data, which I had never done with WP. So I used my FTP to open the blog folder on my Gate.com server and downloaded the data manually into a new Blog Backup folder on my home computer.

Then I saw that the WP instructions said that needed to update MySQL before I could update. I could not find how to update the MySQL (I sent an email to Gate about that), so I stopped seeking to update the WP to the newest version.

However, now when I look at my blog the tiny thumbnail pics that had been on the right-side column are now not appearing.

Is there something that I can do to restore those? Would reloading the posts bring those back?

Maybe I need to learn more about backing up, but I though that that would cost money so I did my own FTP download. Maybe that is the problem.

I am still deciding on how much of my site to trust to WP. The main part of my site is homemade using Microsoft FrontPage/Expression Web. I’m doing this on a tight budget and so am hoping that I can continue to use WP and maintain the great look-and-feel that I’ve experienced so far.

Thanks in advance for any wisdom on this basic process.

PS: Please excuse the avatar that the Forum signup process assigned to me; I do not recognize it and so apologize if it has any iconic meaning to anyone.