Bathing Beauties

My aunt Nancy and uncle Jerry have a pool at their home so I went over there this afternoon with my mom and we brought Shannon's kids swimming. Addalyn even dipped in the water for a bit - only for like 5 minutes - MAYBE. I would have done it longer, but it was sunny...she did great!

Shannon is doing okay - still in the hospital and recovering. We found out last night that 3 of the nodes ended up turning positive for cancer, which is a bummer. Her cancer is stage 3. That means chemo is definitely in the plans. She will go back in about 4 weeks to discuss that treatment, once her body has recovered a little more from the surgery. The good thing is, that technically Shannon is now in remission because they removed the cancer from her body. Now, the chemo is to keep it away and ensure that anything that may be remaining...is GONE. I believe 6 months of chemo is the plan - so PLEASE - any prayers you can spare to send her way, I appreciate from the bottom of my heart.

I can't explain what an emotional rollercoaster this week has been...and I'm just the sister. My heart aches when I think of what Shannon has gone through and will. She's so strong. Love that lady SOOOO much. Ugh...tears just thinking about her right now!

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Anyway, these kids brighten up SO much in life. You look at children, and realize what miracles God CAN do!! Enjoy the pics of these little ones :)

The pool

Isn't she so cute in her suit???

Hanging out in her shades and swimsuit cover up (thanks agian Brooke for the cover up!)

Grandma (my mom) and Drew!

Brooklynn

Brynne - Oops, her head got cut off a bit :)

Drew-babes!

Brynne in action going off the diving board!

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"No matter how steep the mountain - the Lord is going to climb it with you." -Helen Steiner Rice

What a Week...and it's only Tuesday :)

First of all - THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE PRAYERS! Please Please Please keep them coming for Shannon. Shannon's surgery is over with and she is in recovery. We just got home from visiting her. The cancer had gone through the colon wall, which is not good...but they removed 45 lymph nodes and tested ALL of them and NONE OF THEM tested positive for cancer. WHOO HOO TO THAT! We will know more as she recovers in the hospital. There is a very good chance she will have additional treatment such as chemo or radiation.

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I also started working again this week - so it has been EXTREMELY emotional for me! I was doing okay when I was getting ready for work yesterday morning, until I had to go in and wake my peaceful sleeping baby and she wasn't happy. I just kept saying "I'm so sorry" (and yes, had a few tears in my eyes). I did have a breakdown around 11:30 or so and called Aaron and lost it - told him I just wanted to go home and be with my baby. But honestly, I think it was just more because I was worried about Shannon and was having a hard time being in the "real world" at the moment.

So - to leave you with some smiles...here's a few pics of our babes!

This pic is now my background at work on my computer so I can look at her all the time!

She just looks so dang cute, you just want to kiss her cheeks over and over!

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LIKE MAMA OR DADDY???

So, these next pictures of Addy have already been posted, but we've been told that the top one looks like Aaron, and the bottom one looks like me. So, I decided to post them next to pictures of us as babies.

Been told this looks like Aaron

One of the youngest pics of Aaron we have scanned in...

Been told this looks like me...

Aaron and I think that I might be able to claim her eyes :)

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Maybe sometime in the future I'll put up a little poll to see what you all think...is she looking like here mama, daddy, a mix - or is she just Addalyn???

Prayers...

My family learned some difficult news this week, and I am hoping to receive some extra prayers by sharing the news on the blog. My sister Shannon was told she has colon cancer. As of right now, we don't know much (like what stage or anything) - she will consult with her surgeon on Monday, and surgery is scheduled for Tuesday to remove what is necessary. We will know more after her meeting with her surgeon.

We are all in okay spirits - staying positive and hoping that surgery is all that is necessary to remove the tumor. Shannon was at the cabin when she got the news with my sis Angela and 2 friends. I had plans on going up there with Addalyn on Tuesday. She decided she wanted to stay at the cabin - she has 3 little ones at home (Brynne 4, Brooklynn 3, and Drew 1) and she felt it'd be hard to be around them and stay positive while she was processing things. So, Addy & I still went up on Tuesday, and just got home last night. It was a really great trip.

Shannon is remaining postive, as we all are. My dad has been working at the Mayo Clinic for over 30 years - and that has paid off! He's been able to round up the best surgical team he knew by talking with colleagues :) My dad works in surgery at Mayo, so he does know a lot of the team (if not all of them) and hand picked the best for his daughter (who wouldn't??!!!). The anesthesiologist is actually on vacation next week, but not going anywhere for it, so agreed to come in to do the surgery on Tuesday. Cheers to that :)

I was debating sharing the news on the blog, but Shannon said she didn't mind, so I am passing it along. It would have felt a little weird, posting pictures of things going on in ours and Addy's life without mentioning this, so I'm glad she gave me the okay.

Enjoy the pics of our time at the cabin...and please pray that Shannon's surgery goes well and her recovery is quick from this ordeal.

WHAT THE HECK! (an awesome pizza place by our cabin that we all bought sweatshirts at!)

I LOOOOOOOOVE my sisters!

My babes and I

A view of our cabin from the dock

A view of the dock/water from our cabin

Trip to Michigan (Part 4) - FAMILY!!!

So as you can see - this is part 4...lots of blogging going on here in MN! Check out all of the pics from our trip to Michigan...I have posted a TON of them :)

Grandpa Lowell & Addalyn - check out how big her outfit is on her. She SWIMS in 0-3 month clothes because she's so skinny. They typically fit her length wise, but I could take 1-2 inches off her waste in all of them right now. Sooo, she's still sports lots of newborn clothes!

The fam! Back left: Joel, Tammy, Ed, Lowell, Aaron - Middle Left: Jeffrey, Tina, Anthony, Marissa & Addalyn - Front Left: Holly, Alesha & Brandon

Grandpa Lowell w/ his grandkids!


Cousins!!!!!

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"Due Date Twins!!" - I know I've mentioned on the blog before that Aaron's cousin Brooke was due the same day as I was. She was LUCKY and had Sadie Lee on our due date! So the girls are one week apart. It's interesting because there seems to be a pair for every grandchild & great-grandchild on the Anderson side of Aaron's fam. Sadie & Addalyn are just one example.

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I think their names are pretty cute and both have a fun ring to them - Sadie Spindler & Addy Anderson!!

The dads w/ their babies :) Congrats again Brad!

Moms and their babes! Addy looks sorta funny here, a little too relaxed maybe?!

The girls - I thought this pic was cute because Sadie is holding Addy's hand!! It took a few attempts to get a cute pic...it's hard posing two 1-month old girls!!

Trip to Michigan (Part 3) - Other Fun Things!

Fourth of July! Addy's first major holiday. :) The 4th is always a busy time in Michigan. Aaron's family/friends all come out to his dad's camp for the 4th...it's a FULL house, but always fun and entertaining. Basically we all just hang out and the kids swim and such. There is always a bean bag tournament too...and then when the sun goes down we set up some AWESOME fireworks. Lets just say...boats on the river come towards the camp during the fireworks because we rule. Ha ha!!

These girls know how to dress for the holiday!

"All American Cutie" (that's what her outfit says!)

Holly Sue sporting her festive outfit on the 4th!

Addy's first boat ride on the 4th!!!

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Addy's first trip to the Congress - the pizza place in Ishpeming (Aaron's hometown). This pizza is one of a kind...super super tasty!!!

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A little rest time on our ride home from Michigan - Addalyn did SO good in the car!!! The trip takes 7 hours without any stops...so as you can imagine with a little one, it took longer than that!

Trip to Michigan (Part 2) - Hanging Out

The majority of the week we just stayed out at camp (that is the same thing as a cabin, for us non-yoopers!). We did a lot of visiting with family & friends. I'll let the pics speak for most of the week...

Auntie Tina, cousin Holly & Addy. Holly LOOOOVES Addalyn!!

This is what Addy did most of the day out at camp...nothing better than relaxing outside with some fresh air & a great view!

Speaking of the view...this is what you see when you are sitting on the porch

Had to take a picture of her in her shades...even if they are about 5 sizes too big for her little head!!!

Auntie Tina & Addy - some how we went the entire week with not getting a pic with Addy & Auntie Tammy. Tammy, how'd you get away with that????

Uncle Eddie and Addalyn taking a snooze!

Cousin Brandon

Cousin Alesha

Jeffrey

Aaron & my attempt to take some pics for Leinenkugals (for those of you not familiar...their marketing campaigns are basicallly this: outdoors (camping, canoeing, log cabins)

Anthony

Watching ESPN while we were all packing up - isn't it scary how quickly they can get fascinated by the t.v.??

Life out at camp is soooo relaxing

Trip to Michigan (Part 1) - Sugarloaf Mountain

Since we were in Michigan for about a week, I took tons of pictures and will have to put them in a few posts. The first day we got there, it was not sunny out, but it wasn't too cold, so we decided to take a hike up Sugarloaf Mountain.

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For those of you that don't know - Aaron's from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (the U.P.), his hometown is about 20 minutes away from Marquette, Michigan...on Lake Superior. The view from Sugarloaf Mountain was awesome!

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Addalyn slept on the hike up, and was asleep for the majority of the time we were on the mountain, but we did feed her up there, so she was awake for a little of the activity!! I've noticed a trend that Addy sleeps through most of her "first's" (like the parade...and other photos to come here on our trip to Michigan)...we'll have to take other photos to see Addy's excitement when she's actually awake for the event!!

Grandpa Lowell w/ his granddaughters - Alesha, Holly & Addalyn (we had taken a picture of him with all his grandkids, but Anthony wasn't too happy about the photo...so we redid this pic out at camp on a later day!!)

Addy & Daddy hiking :)

Family photo on the backside of the mountain,