Check Out Those Eyes!

Wow! Zackary sure does have gorgeous eyes and eyelashes. This picture was taken the same night when we took the picture of Anton's black eye. How lucky I am to have such wonderful little boys.

Anton's First Shiner

Anton got his first black eye. I guess every little boy needs to have at least one at some point. He fell off of a chair and on his way down his eyebrow hit the edge of the seat. Within about five seconds of him falling he had a little bulge in another thirty seconds his eye was mostly swollen shut. The doctor said that it was just some broken blood vessels and that he would have a really good black eye. It didn't even seem to phase Anton. He was running around and jumping as usual, although his eye did look quite pretty. This picture is taken at the prettiest point of the black eye. Yes, his face is quite dirty. He fell asleep on the way home from some Thanksgiving weekend activities, so he didn't get his face washed or get in his pajamas, but instead just got put straight in bed. Luckily, his eye is pretty much all healed up now. In another day or two we won't even be able to tell that he ever had a black eye.

What Cuties!

Anton and Zackary on the day of the funeral. They are wearing their hats that are like the hats that their grandpa and great-grandpa always wore. How could I ask for any more adorable boys?

We will miss you Dad and Grandpa!

Early in the morning on October 9, 2008 I received a very sad phone call. My father-in-law had passed away. He will be greatly missed. He was an incredible man, full of love and acceptance for everyone. He did a great job of raising his children, and I was blessed enough to marry one of his sons. From the moment I first met him he showed great love and caring for me. I remember how he showed up at the hospital after our first baby was born. He had a special arrangement of flowers for me and a stuffed puppy for Anton. He was thrilled to have a new grandson and wanted to make sure that we were doing all right.

He visited us at least once a week, always wanting to take us out to lunch and spend time playing with his grandson. When we would visit him his face always lit up with joy upon seeing his son and grandsons. He always thanked me for bringing his boys to see him. He loved playing with Anton and Zackary and holding them, singing songs to them.

I remember one time, shortly after Anton was born, I had gone back to work and Linden was working out of town. He came to my work on an errand from Linden. Linden had given him some money to buy me some flowers because he knew I was having a hard time going back to work and having Linden gone. How grateful I was to see him and know that I had help. How wonderful that Linden learned such love and generosity from his father, because he truly taught his children about love and giving.

He had a love for knowledge. He was always reading about history and architecture and birds and so many other things. He had a wonderful sense of humor, a tremendous amount of patience, and a quiet, gentle manner.

What a privilege it was to have him in my life for the few years that I did. How wonderful it would be to have him here to see his grandsons grow and learn. We will deeply miss you, Dad and Grandpa. Thanks for your great example.