And Baby Is....

We finally had our ultrasound on Tuesday! Our new little one was eager to share some things, but hid other things from us. First thing that we saw as soon as she started the ultrasound was that baby #4 is definitely a BOY! That was no secret at all! We got to see that he is growing at a good rate, measuring right on time. The thing that he was hiding from us was his face. He had his arms and hands covering it the whole time. The ultrasound tech tried to shake on my belly to try to get him to move and had me turn on my side, but no luck. So no profile shot of his little face.

Boy or Girl

Today is the day!!! We are finally going to find out what baby #4 will be. I am very excited about seeing the baby. That is the best part of modern technology is being able to catch a glimpse of our newest addition months before we can hold them. Hopefully I will be able to post a picture later today. Off to get ready!

Movement

I have been feeling baby #4 moving for several weeks now and I have actually been able to feel it move from the outside for a couple of weeks. I have not had success with having Joe feel the baby though. The baby moves most during late night hours and early morning hours when I am normally not around the rest of the family. I was feeling a lot of bigger movements just a little bit ago so I called Butch over. He had been very eager to be the first to feel the baby move. He was the same way with Otter, too! He had felt her move several times before Joe felt her for the first time. He is almost desperate in his desire to be the first. He even asked Joe again last night if he had already felt the baby and was happy when his Dad said no. I think that it was a good thing today since we were quite disappointed to not be able to get my ultrasound today. Due to the ice storm that hit us during the night we could not get out today to go to the doctors office. I will have to try to reschedule my appointment and hopefully it will be soon!!!

Christmas Surprise

We are excited because this is the week I go in for my ultrasound with baby #4. We will be learning what the sex of the baby is on Thursday if the baby is willing to show us! We were talking to the boys the other night and they thought we should put it in an envelope and they could open it Christmas morning to learn whether it is a brother or sister. So it looks as though we will not be sharing the news with everyone else until after Christmas. This will be hard for me because I am so excited about shopping after my appointment and sharing with everyone. Now I will have to shop and hide it until after they know (and not refer to the baby as a he or she).

Another funny story was something that happened yesterday morning. We put up our Christmas tree Saturday evening, so on Sunday morning Otter came in the kitchen as Joe and I were preparing breakfast to ask if her presents had come while she slept. She had assumed that we put the tree up and that meant it was Christmas the next day!

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! It was so nice to have almost all the family here this year. There were lots of reasons to be thankful this year. Not only the two new additions we are anticipating through births in the next few months, but we also will have another addition through marriage! We are blessed with the wonderful woman that will soon be my new sister-in-law!

The guys had a great time playing flag football again. There were lots of great plays and several funny moments. We even had a guest this year when one of the boys in the neighborhood (that goes to school with Bubba) came to play for a little while. Several of the older members of the family were sore after the game, but I think that the annual day after Thanksgiving hike helped most stretch out those achy muscles! Not my Joe, though! He had to sleep most of Saturday to recover! ;)

Amazing Music

I wanted to share a link to my cousin's website. I was blessed to be able to spend some time with Andy and his wife while they were in town today. Andy was asked to come and lead music at a local youth conference this weekend. I have heard him singing several times and I believe that he has been blessed by the Lord with his music. He shared some of the recording he is working on for his album with us and I was really blessed by hearing them. Hope that you all head over and listen to his music!

Tabernacle of David

Blessings

Looks like our family is going to be blessed with a new addition in 2011! A couple of weeks ago we got to see the baby as well as hear the heartbeat. I went in this week and got to hear the heartbeat again which was a huge blessing! All the kids have been wanting another sibling and they are all excited. This pregnancy has been the hardest so far because I have been feeling poorly all the time. This is part of the reason why I have not been on here posting much lately. Sometimes it is just hard to concentrate.

Popcorn Time Again

Well, it looks to be time for the annual Boy Scout Popcorn Sales. This is the main fundraiser for the Boy Scout Troops each year. The money raised from this funds the activities that the boys do during the year. So please support the Boy Scouts as they sell!

Fun With Granddad

I took a trip with Joe to Chattanooga yesterday. While we were gone Granddad kept the boys and took them to school and picked them up. On Sunday afternoon Granddad told Butch to bring his baseball stuff with him. He then told us that he was going to take Butch to the ball field to practice his pitching. Bubba asked, "What about me? What will I do?" Granddad responded with "Sit on the bleachers and do your homework!"

Great Labor Day

Today we had a wonderful day with our families! We went up to Metcalf Bottoms Picnic area for breakfast. My mother-in-law makes the best mountain breakfast! We had a picnic site right by the river which made all the kids happy. They were just eager to get into the water. After breakfast the younger kids got in the water and most of the rest of us hiked up to the Little Greenbrier School house. When we returned we got in the river. It was so much fun to watch the three "boys" (Joe, Wesley & BJ) trying to rearrange stones to get a little pool for us to sit in. They got distracted by all the crawdads, though. So along with the older children we captured the crawdads until we were ready to eat lunch. After lunch the kids were all back out in the water. My little Otter did not want to get out of the water except to eat. She did not want to leave! We were all worn out when we got home.

Computer Woes

Over the past few months we have been having trouble with our desktop and after trying several little "fixes" with no real results my husband took drastic measures. He completely wiped off the hard drive and loaded the Linux Ubuntu operating system. This has taken some big adjustments for me. The biggest obstacle is the fact that my Family Tree Maker software is not compatible. That is one of my main uses on the computer and I now have no access on my desktop! All of my pictures have also been moved to an external hard drive. Hopefully I will get settled into this new system soon and post more often.

Another Great Reunion

I was so excited to once again be in South Carolina for my Lane family reunion. I always enjoy getting to see my family. We spent a little more time together this year, though it still seemed to fly by! I actually got to see a few cousins that I don't ever remember seeing before. After the reunion we headed to Dillon to stay with my cousin Theo. All three of his sons were there so we were all able to chat for a little while. Otter decided that she did not like the name Theo, so she called him Gooey. She would not even let us call him Theo! She would try to correct us so that we would call him Gooey, too! I really enjoyed our stay with Theo and his wife Lou! They are awesome cousins!

Humor of a Child

Over the past week we have had some good laughs from Otter. Here are a few:

She walked into the kitchen (where I was) and ask to watch "Billy" (the exterminator). I turn to see her wearing her cowboy hat in preparation! She said, "I'm Billy!"

She has been "tucking in Daddy" a few times. Each time she goes to get a book to read to him. She climbs up and lays beside him and "reads" him the book. One night she started talking about Cap'n Book. He is the brother of Cap'n Hook and he is "VERY scary!"

Last night this is what she told me this:
Otter: God said that we should obey ours parents, right?
me: Yes, that is correct. He told us to obey our parents.
Otter: God is our Daddy, too, so that means we should obey him, too.
What amazing truths a small child can understand!

Preparing For Family Time!

I always get excited about July. More specifically, the fourth Saturday in July because that is when the Lane family gathers in Marion, SC. I have always enjoyed the Lane family reunions and getting to see my SC family. This year is going to be good since I will see some that I have not seen in many years! The internet has been a great tool to help with meeting and keeping in touch with many of them, but nothing beats getting to see them in person! I am thankful for those who many years ago decided to start these reunions and for the wonderful memories I have from each of them. If not for these reunions I might not have met many of these relatives and I cannot imagine my life without their love and influence! So for those Lane relatives out there...bring your best potluck dishes, any pictures to share, grab as many of your family as you can and I will see you in a few weeks!!!

Happy 4th of July

I hope that everyone is enjoying celebrating the 4th of July. Our independence and the freedoms it gives us are precious and cost the lives of many brave men & women. Remembering the sacrifices of all those early Patriots and the men & women in our armed forces from the beginning of our nation to the present make me proud of our nation and the freedom we have thanks to their sacrifices. I hope that everyone has a safe and happy holiday and don't forget to pray for our soldiers who are currently fighting for freedom!

Couple Time

I was excited to be able to get away with Joe for a weekend earlier this month. He made all the plans and picked out a very nice place called the Stone Fort Inn in Chattanooga. It is a beautiful Bed & Breakfast! We had a wonderful breakfast then we went down to the river. We walked along the river then walked partially across the pedestrian bridge. We later went to Rock City. It was a place that neither of us had been to before. I enjoyed the gardens and the rock formations. The skies were very clear that day so we had a great view from "Lover's Leap."

Another interesting part of the trip was when we purchased a GPS unit to help us get to our destination. Joe was very excited about it! On our way back home I was looking at the different voices. Neither of us were particularly fond of the American woman's voice (it sounded too automated), so I decided to try another one. Each language has a man and womans voice and they are also given names (ie: American-English woman - Jill). I decided that I wanted a British voice so I chose the British-English woman Emily as our voice. We both seems to like her voice more than "Jill's." Now it is very amusing because we now all refer to the GPS as Emily. When Otter and I get in the van she now asks where Emily is. We even talk to her and tell her "No thank you, but I do not wish to go that way. Recalculate, please."

All Day Marathon

We have come to enjoy a tv show called "Billy the Exterminator" on A&E. This is a funny show, although what he does is serious and dangerous. Today is an all day marathon! Sometimes it is nice to be a stay-at-home mom!!! All day, all Billy! "Billy, I got a job for ya!"

Great Deals In K-Town!

I learned that Kroger has a great deal until May 1st. If you buy one single day admission ticket to the Knoxville Zoo you get one free! They also have a discount on tickets and memberships with your Kroger Plus Card. $2 off for single day admissions and $5 off memberships with a valid Kroger Plus Card. We love the zoo and I thought I would share this so that everyone else who enjoys going could enjoy these savings, too!

Well, a rough couple of weeks have just passed for me. Sometimes I just wish I could understand why these things happen, but I don't think I will.

Dogwood Time In Tennessee

Yesterday officially opened the Dogwood trails in Knoxville! Trails are open from April 7 - April 25. This year the Fountain City trail is the featured trail. The Dogwood Arts Festival happens every April in Knoxville and there are lots of events. Check out the calendar on their site for dates, times, and locations. Saturday there is an all day event that looks very interesting. The Marble Springs Storytelling Festival will be from 10am-10pm at the Marble Springs Historical Farmstead. They will have ghost stories in the evening, too.

Spring Is Here!

These are all pictures that I took this afternoon as I walked around our yard.

Kerria

Grape Hyacinth

Bleeding Heart

Flowering Almond

Hoosier Cabinets

I have always been a big fan of the Hoosier cabinets. I remember my aunt had one in her kitchen that was a white enamel with red trim. Those are my favorite ones, but I also like the wooden ones as well. I have been keeping my eye out for one for many years, but I currently do not have a kitchen that would accommodate one. My dream kitchen is a farmhouse style kitchen with a Hoosier cabinet in it. Maybe one day...

Duck Duck Goose Time!!!

Alright everyone prepare for some amazing shopping in the next few days! Duck Duck Goose is back in Knoxville and they have packed the old Kmart building on Kingston Pike! I was there tonight to help organize and it is crazy how much stuff is there! If you have children or want to buy for children this is the place to be. The public sale starts on Thursday, March 11th. For more info about this sale go to their website: Duck Duck Goose

Etsy Update

I wanted to let everyone know that I have now opened an Etsy store! I only have a few items listed so far, but I plan to add more soon. I would love for you to go and take a look! Here is the link to my store:

Heather of the Hills

Etsy

If you have not heard about Etsy, it is worth a look. It is a marketplace for items that are handmade. There are so many different varieties of things on the site, but I wanted to share about one particular store. My friend has started a store there to sell hair bows, ribbons and clips. She has a special gift for making these (she is a former cheerleader who absolutely loves ribbons!). I have several bows, clips and her newest items, fabric flowers on bobby pins. They are all great and I love the way they look in Otter's hair. Otter loves the bows that Em makes for her! Please take a moment and go look at my friend's store!

I Love Red Hair

Additionally I would like to add that I am preparing to open a shop on Etsy in the next couple of weeks to sell my crochet hats and other items. I will post a link as soon as it is set up.

New Quarters

I was in Hobby Lobby yesterday when I came upon the coin collecting section. I saw a large new book for quarters. The series is officially called the "America the Beautiful" series, but also called the "National Park" series. I was excited and looked at the book. The series starts in April of this year and goes through 2021. Here is a link if you would like to see some of the design candidates or to learn more: National Park Quarters

Another Background

I was looking at the Hot Bliggity Blog site for my newest background. I love the vintage look and the colors on this one are awesome! There is no name to the designs on this website, but there are lots of backgrounds to choose from.

New Background

This is the second background from Shabby Blogs. The design is called Rozlyn's Roses.

Cool Websites

I came across two websites that provide free backgrounds for blogs. I have decided to use several designs to show off some of the very cute backgrounds they have. The first is a design from Shabby Blogs called Orange Blossom. Every time I add a new background I will add a post to share the site and the design name.

The second website is called Hot Bliggity Blog . I have several favorite on this site, but they do not have names. The vintage, shabby chic looks are very much my style. Thought I would share these with all of you. Hope that you enjoy!

Enjoyable Day

Today I have had lots of fun. This morning I went with my mother-in-law (and the kids) to Sweetwater to go shopping at the Sock Shop. It was so much fun looking at all the different socks and loading up on them, too! I got some more of the Worlds Softest Spa Socks and I am loving them! We went over to Hunter's Bakery and Cafe for a good lunch then walked to a couple of the Antique stores nearby. This evening Joe and I went to an Ice Bears hockey game. They lost, but we did have fun. Now I sit relaxing in my new spa socks (pictured here). Ahhhh. How nice!!

Kalencom Diaper Bag

My cousin had a link to show a diaper bag that she is wanting from Kalencom. After looking at it I liked it as well. It has straps that help it attach to your stroller as well as a few other nice accessories. I like two of the designs best. Ozz Quilted Morocco Orange and Ozz Printed Nylon Flower Power Blue. A site called The Bragging Mommy has a review and giveaway on their site. I encourage you to have a look if you are interested in diaper bags or other products for children.

Bad Beginnings

This year started on a bad note for most of our family. It all started on New Year's Eve. Butch started getting sick. Then in the wee hours of the morning I got sick. It was terrible. We were both so weak from the stomach bug that we just slept for the next two days. We were almost on the point of dehydration. Joe, bless his heart got it a couple days later. Luckily Otter and Bubba did not get it! Then as soon as that passed and I started getting my energy back I got sinus stuff. Ugghhhh!!!!!! Now there have also been other things to add some stress (plumbing issues, heat went out, more plumbing issues, and a root canal). This has been a rough two weeks. I am hoping that the rest of the year proves to be a lot calmer and less stressful!