Best Friend

Luke has been calling me his best friend lately. He isn't even asking for anything after he says it. I just don't know what to make of this!

God

Everynight before bed, Luke gets to pick out a book he wants us to read to him. The other night, he wanted to read the bible. John was telling him an old testament story of how the people loved and obeyed God. Luke stopped his dad and said, "I love God." I wish we could hear that more often!

Thanksgiving Dinner

We had the family over on Thanksgiving for dinner.

I can't believe everyone fit in this little corner of our house for a picture!

Thanksgiving

I guess I have been talking a lot about Thanksgiving in preparation for our Thanksgiving dinner because the other night Luke had a basket of cars and he was handing cars out to me saying, "thanks giving mom." He would also say while giving me a car, "thank you giving!" He might not understand Thanksgiving but he does have a happy heart!

E-A-G-L-E-S

The boys watching the game together!

God's helper

John and I noticed Luke talking about being God's helper one day. He would say, "sing God's helper." We asked him several times what he was talking about. He just kept saying, "I am God's helper." Neither of us can remember talking about being God's helper. We don't know if it is a song, but we figured he learned this sometime while being at church. Since then, I have heard him talking about being God's helper while he was playing with cars, reading books, coloring, etc. What a great reminder to me that no matter what I am doing at any given moment, I should be God's helper. It is not about me, I should give God the glory for everything! Thanks Luke!

The Wizard of Oz

While we were vacationing in Flordia, John and I thought it would be a good idea to ride bikes everyday to get some exercise. My aunt and uncle had 2 bikes and they lived on a beautiful golf course. So we thought we would explore the area.

After we started riding around for awhile, we noticed that the neighbors were laughing at us. I guess we kind of did look like the Wicked Witches from the West. We both got a good laugh at watching each other ride those bikes!

Other Flordia Beaches

A lighthouse and heron in Sanibel.

The next two pictures are taken at sunset on a beach in Naples. The two vertical lines are rainstorms out at sea. We can't wait to go back!

Siesta Key

One of our day trips in Flordia was to Sarasota. We LOVED the beach there! We had to make the 1 1/2 hour trip twice that week to go to Siesta Key Beach. We couldn't believe this beautiful beach had free parking and was open to the public. We both thought this beach was the nicest we had ever seen.

Note: Beware of banana hammocks in some of the following pictures.

We couldn't believe the number of birds that we saw on the beach. They weren't the nicest birds either. If you had food in your hand, they would snatch it right from you.

We also loved the sand! It almost had the consistency of baby powder and it was white!

In the following pictures you can see schools of fish. We thought it was pretty neat that SO many of them would just swim right around you.

Happy Birthday to Me!

John suprised me with a suprise before my birthday! Check out Jay and Amy's blog for pictures http://gardocki.blogspot.com/. I have some great friends and family!

Lovers Key

John and I celebrated our anniversary and my birthday in Flordia this year! We stayed at my aunt and uncle's beautiful home in Fort Myers. We were there alone! My dad and Sally kept Luke! It was a great present from a wonderful husband! Below are pictures from our first day on vacation at Lovers Key.

On the right hand side on this picture is a manatee! John and I were pretty excited to see a manatee in its natural habitat. The lady who worked at this park said she sees them everyday.

Names

Luke and his cousins were eating breakfast at their pappy's the other day. Alex, Luke's cousin, was trying to get Luke's attention. He was saying, "Luke, Luke, Luke!" Luke was ignoring him. Finally he said, "My name is Lukey!" After that Alex called Luke by the correct name, and Luke would respond!

Rascal's

We went to Rascal's for food and games the other day. Luke was a little young for the games, but we still had a great time!

Firetrucks!

Luke loves firetrucks! Our local fire company had a fire safety event where they had food, games and firetrucks. Luke was really excited to go, but when we first got there he said, "I'm scared!" He did enjoy the firetrucks, eventually, but he refused to go in them. He did get a chance to use one of their hoses from the firetrucks.Here he is helping fight a fire!

Cute Lil Sayings

Luke loves to say to John and I, "Nice to meet you." Then he will shake our hand.

His saying, "I love you" to John and I increases proportionatly at meal times. He will also say it more often when his favorite foods are served. The key to his heart was figured out at a very early age!

Luke enjoys watching sports on tv. One of his favorites is baseball. Every pitch is followed by a "good one" by Luke!

Secrets

One of Luke's favorite things is to tell John and I secrets. He will come over to us and whisper into our ears the word, "secret." That is the secret!

Labor Day Weekend

We went to go visit my dad the week before Labor Day. We had a lot of fun visiting family! Here are some pictures from the Labor Day picnic.

The boys are playing a competitive game of Baggo.
The boys are trying to start a fire in the trailer!

Family Hug

Luke is a big snuggler! He will often hug both John and I at the same time and say, "family hug, family hug." I love these big squeezes!

The Last of the Visitors

Todd, Lisa, Dale and Justin visited us this week. This was 3 family visits in the past month! They left to go to the shore yesterday. Luke is not going to know what to do with himself now. We had a great time with them! Below are pictures from the Crayola Factory.

Park Fun

Last week we spent the morning at a park with our friends Barb and Micah. We all had a really nice time, even though it was really warm! Here are the two buddies together.

Princess?

Since our niece Katie left, we have found Luke on several occasions spinning around saying, "I am a princess!" John quickly told him that boys aren't princesses. We told him he could be a twirling Luke, prince, superhero, etc., but he still continues to call himself a princess!

Chillin' with Cousins

Aunt Kristen reading to the kids

Crayola Factory

Sesame Place

Luke imitating Katie.

He absolutely adored Katie. He would follow her around and we would frequently hear, "Where's Katie."

Please Touch Museum

Last week Aunt Kristen, Katie and Alex came to visit us and we kept busy! One day we took them to the Please Touch Museum, another day was Sesame Place, and finally the Crayola Factory. We can't wait for them to visit again!

4-H Fair

We took Luke to a local 4-H fair. He was a little afraid of the animals! He loves them, but he doesn't want to get too close. He would have preferred if we watched the animals from the car! We still had a nice time, though.