Yum!

Nothing says delicious like a mouth full of rocks and dirt!

Loves

"Uncle Luke" came over to visit. "Uncle" Luke also happens to be one of Lilly's very favorite people. Every time she sees him, she gets so bashful and giddy. When he holds her, she always snuggles in and lets him rub her back. She returns the favor by patting his back and giving loves. So cute!

John - UPDATE!

It has been a sad last few days for my family. My brother-in-law John has been diagnosed with pneumococcal meningitis, and is in the ICU. He is a fighter, and wants to beat this. I know he will pull through, and I have faith that he will have a full and quick recovery. Anna is so strong, and is holding up tremendously. Anton and I love John so much. He is one of Anton's very closest friends. It has been devastating to us, and the fear of whether or not he would make it, was the saddest feeling. This evening my dad called to tell me that John had finally woken up. I was ecstatic! I was just talking to Anna this afternoon about how she hoped so much that he would open his eyes today, and if he didn't, how that would really set her back. It was an answer to prayers. He continues to slip back into his comatose state, but at least he is waking up some and responding to Anna and the doctors. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and thoughts in John's behalf.

John, we love you. We know you can fight this. So many people love you and are praying for you! And, we are looking forward to beating you in a mean game of hearts soon! ;)

Update...John is doing remarkably well. He has progressed so much within the last few days. He woke up, was moved from ICU, started walking, etc. He is still suffering from headaches and his MRI showed some abnormal spots on his brain, although, Anna is feeling optimistic that they are not permanent "damage" so to speak. It really is a miracle that he survived. Doctors said if he would have been taken to the hospital any later, he would have died. Thank you SO much for your prayers in Johns behalf!

Caught Ya!

Could she get any cuter? No. I really don't think so.

The Big 33!

Happy Birthday Love!

We are so happy you are "ours"!

Love,

your girls

Alaska

Anton just got back from a week long fishing trip to Alaska. My dad took all the guys in the family - and needless to say, Anton had an absolute BALL! The night he got home, we stayed up until 2 am talking about the trip. He came home with loads of fish...and when I say loads, I mean enough fish to last a long long long time. We had it for Sunday dinner, and it was delicious. They saw so much wildlife, and said it was just beautiful where they stayed. You will see from the pictures that at one point they got really close to whales...so close it kind of frightened them. Hopefully I will be able to figure out how to upload the videos of them. Anyway, I am glad to have Anton back, but I am SO happy he had such a great time. My family all got together on Monday night, and you could tell that they had such a fun time. It has been really fun to see how hard and often he laughs while reminiscing about the "Boys Trip to Alaska". My brothers are hilarious, so I can only imagine how much fun they all had. And yes, Anton is still growing out his "Grizzly Adams" beard that they all grew on the trip. Apparently growing a beard makes a man a REAL man. :) Now, I can't wait for the girls trip...only two more weeks. Yippee!!

Books

Recently, Lilly has loved reading books together. She loves to turn the pages, and look at every picture. Sitting down with her, and snuggling with her while we read books, is such a precious time. For Lilly's birthday my brother gave her the most adorable book. It is called "What I Like About Me". Absolutely darling. The message of the book is so sweet and so important. If you have a little one, be sure and find this book, you will be happy you did! I love this book!

What are some of your favorite children's books? I would love to get some more books for Lilly's collection!