New Otter Pics

Otter In The Mountains

Otter (along with the rest of her family) took a trip to the mountains for a yummy breakfast cooked by her grandmomma and a hike with her family and some friends. This was little girl's first hike in the beautiful mountains of East Tennessee. She is so happy to be outdoors. It really has a great calming effect on her. Both Joe and I carried her in the baby carrier (Joe on the way up, me on the way down) and she slept peacefully the whole time. I really enjoy these times we get together for breakfast and hiking and I am thankful that our little girl seems to as well.

Otter Is A Month Old!

It is hard to believe that my little Otter is already a month old! She is just so adorable that I seem to not be able to pull away from her. I am not sure if it is that I might be a little bias as her mother, but she is ssooo gorgeous! She is healthy, growing at a good rate, and she is sleeping well. What more could we ask for?

Fun On The Fourth

Today was a fun day (once we got it started!). We met with my brother and his kids and we all headed to the mountains. We had decided to head up to Greenbrier to try to find a swimming hole. We found a nice little area that the kids (along with the two big boys) could play in. There was another group close by that let us borrow a few tubes and the kids had a little area that they could use the tubes to go down. They were having so much fun! Then we headed to the Sinks so that the guys could jump off a rock. After Bubba, my brother, and my nephew jumped off several times Joe joined in before we left. From there we headed to my parents' house for a great cook out and to watch fireworks.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

It is that time of year again! The Stitch N' Pitch season has already started! So click on the link below to order tickets to see your favorite baseball team while enjoying another favorite pastime! I am sad to say that we will not be able to make it to the Braves game on July 15th. :( Maybe next year!

Otter Is Here!

Sorry it has been a while, but I have been slightly preoccupied the past week. On Saturday, June 9th we welcomed our newest family member. Otter was born at 11:56a weighing in at a whopping 8lbs 5ozs and 22 1/4 inches long! I never thought I would see the day that I would have a 8 pound baby! She is absolutely gorgeous and has a head full of hair. She is very much a momma's girl right now. We were discharged from the hospital with everything looking good for both of us.


Wednesday I took her in for her followup check-in at the Dr. office. They checked her and everything was good (weight loss was almost a pound, but she was eating like a pig!) They also checked her bilirubin levels. Well, they were quite high, so they sent us to Children's Hospital for the "industrial" light treatments. After two nights in the hospital her levels had come down enough for us to come home. So now we are home and she is doing well, or as well as a week old baby does!

How Much Do You Love Cats?

I was shocked when I learned that I was not the cat lover I thought I was! I was shown a link for this new amazing cat that was going to be so extraordinary it would amaze me (the cat pictured to the side is not it!). It has been specially bred to have the exotic feel of a leopard with it's spots, but it is a very tame cat for a regular household. It is even said to be easily taught to walk on a leash! Who would not want one of these amazing cats? (other than Joe! ;) ) Well, you will soon learn why even I would never want to try to obtain one of these amazing wonders of modern science. There is a 9-12 month delivery time (or for an extra fee you can reduce that by 4-6 months). That is not the biggest turn off for these wonderful cats, no that would be the exorbitant price for the privilege of owning one. Get this, you must pay a small fortune of $22,000 for one highly intelligent house cat that would awe your friends and family! If you think that this cat, called an Ashera, is for you here is a link for you: Lifestyle Pets

Finally, Some Time! (I Think)

It has been a while since I pulled out my blogger mind and wrote to tell everyone about what is happening in our neck of the woods. Last week was my last week of working and although I will miss the kids and my co-workers, it is a relief to have that time to focus on other things. Today was also the last day of school for Bubba and Butch. That means that I no longer have to wake up and get two boys ready for school each morning! Alright!!

I have been trying in the last week to finally get the baby's room cleaned out and set up for her imminent arrival. I was able to successfully remove several boxes as well as clean and set up her crib (you can see her bedding pictured to the right). I felt so good about being able to accomplish at least that much while the guys were away on their camping trip. Now if I could only be able to get the rest of the boxes cleared out and get her clothes washed and put away I would be thrilled!

So there you have it! I am now 36 weeks and counting.

Our New House

Well, it has been a while since I could post as we were in the process of moving and now as we unpack and settle into our new home. We moved a couple of weekends ago and have since closed on the house. So, now it is officially ours. Very scary! We have enjoyed being back in a wooded location. We always did enjoy the wildlife that surrounds you and now we have a large picture window to add to our enjoyment.

On the day that we moved my father-in-law saw that my dear Joe had tried to fill a finch feeder with regular birdseed. Of course that just frustrated the birds that came looking for food. So my father-in-law went and got us a normal bird feeder and some seed made for the finch feeder. He came and hung our new feeder and changed the seed in both. The birds were SO HAPPY! Now we enjoy seeing the different birds coming to our front yard looking for food. Recently we had noticed that the feeder was somehow getting knock out of wack and I assumed a squirrel was involved. Well, this morning we got to witness first hand what was happening. And here is the culprit!

One Step Closer

Well, it seems that we are finally one step closer to owning a home. We got the call today that the inspector came and FINALLY gave us the go ahead. I am so glad that I will not have to worry about those little flakes anymore (and I am sure that Joe and Wesley will agree)! Now there is just a little paperwork that needs to come in and I think we will be done. I will be so glad to see this process completed. Now, I am off to try to get some more packing done.

Spring is Here!

I always love this time of the year. The weather starts to warm up a little, trees and flowers are starting to bloom. For the past couple of days I have been able to have the windows open for the greater part of the day, which I love! Peach and pear trees have started blooming. You can see the buds coming out on so many other trees. Ahhh, spring!


I get so excited about seeing my flowers growing and starting to bloom. I started seeing the daffodils blooming in the end of January (in the Great Smoky Mountains by the Sugarland Visitor Center). In the next couple of weeks the dogwood trees in our area will be in full bloom. This is even more exciting now that we will be living on the Dogwood Trail. I am eager to see what kinds of dogwoods we will have. I am a little partial to the pink dogwoods, although I like both the pink and white.

Spring this year will also be very special since we will be having another little blessing in the form of our daughter. I know that I am very excited about her coming and last night we even heard about how her older brother, Butch, is also eagerly anticipating her arrival. In art class at school they are focusing on spring and he said that on his project this week he put "spring with my sister." How sweet is that!

4th Annual Pinewood Derby

The race today went very well. We had sixteen Cub Scouts enter cars and thirteen cars enter the open class (leaders, siblings, parents). In the scout race there are weight and size limitations. I was the person who was in charge of checking the weight as they registered. The race began and as I was unable to watch to see how the races ended (I was also helping with getting the cars in line for each race) I was not sure how Bubba and Butch faired. After the race of the open class we learned the results of the speed and design of our scouts. I am happy to say that both boys placed in the top five for speed as well as Butch winning a spot in the top five for design. This is another opportunity for both boys to go to district to race. Last year Bubba placed third in the district, so we are eager to see how they do this year.

Ready For The Pinewood Derby?

Tomorrow is our Pack's fourth annual Pinewood Derby! Tonight we set up and prepared for the race. It is funny how you take all this time setting up when the race itself will not even take as long as they worked tonight to get it ready. I guess when you think about it from a boy's perspective it makes it worth the time and effort. They all get so excited about the race and seeing the different car designs. I look forward to seeing the cars and the boys excitement. I will be posting the results hopefully sometime tomorrow evening.

The Songs Kids Know

Today was a field trip for Bubba to a local planetarium, which had a combination of fourth and fifth graders. After they watched the movie about black holes and learned about constellations there was a laser show. It was set to music that was a combination of music from the 50's to current day music. I was hoping that they would not be playing any Backstreet Boys, Brittany Spears, etc and I was glad to not hear any of that. There was one song that I was quite amazed to hear three of the fourth grade boys behind me sing along with. It is so surprising that I still have to laugh at the thought of the three of them singing the song and I mean they knew every word! You might ask, What was the song? It was Shania Twain's I Feel Like A Woman!

Eating Until Blue In The Face

The Luau was Friday evening and I believe that it went well. I had some great help in getting everything set up and we had a turn out of over 50 people. Everyone brought a dish of food and a couple of guys from the Pack grilled chicken shish kabobs.

There were skits by some of the dens and some of the boys were awarded advancement of rank. One of these was our own Bubba who earned his Webelos Badge.

Another interesting aspect of our night was called Jonah's Revenge. During the past month the boys from the pack brought in money to "vote" for the lucky den/pack leaders to participate in Jonah's Revenge. All of the monies received were going to be matched by the pack and used for a piece of equipment for their school's playground. After all of the money was counted it seems that the boys favored their Pack Master and the Assistant Pack Master. So they had to use their faces and mouths to dig in a pie of blue pudding for five gummy fishes. Of course the boys all loved seeing the men digging into the pies. It was a really good evening and I was glad that everyone seemed to have a fun time.

Blue and Gold Banquet Time

This Friday it is once again time for our Blue and Gold Banquet in Cub Scouts. Our theme this year is a Luau. This is a really fun theme for any party (it was the planned theme of Butch's birthday pool party last year). So I, along with several others, will be decorating and preparing a room at a local church Friday afternoon for the big event. We had originally thought to have a pig roast to add a more traditional element, but that later seemed like a not so good idea for a mainly indoor event in February! That also means that there will not be any fire dancers at the Luau either. What kind of party are we having?!

Biblical Names

We have been trying to think of some names for our little girl and I thought I might see if any of you might have some suggestions. We are looking for a Biblical name we might possibly use for her middle name. We would also like to know the meaning that go along with the names. Here is where you come in. As most of you will know, female Biblical names are few and far between. So I am asking you to give us some female names and their meanings. I look forward to seeing who can tell us the most unique name. Also if you know where the name is located in the Bible please include that as well! I only ask that you do not include her first name for those of you that know it already.

Oh The Fun Of Birthdays

Do you remember the fun you had on birthdays? The fun gifts you got and getting to play with them. Like Christmas there are always toys that need some sort of assembly. It is amazing sometimes what parents or uncles will do for the kids in their lives. Poor Wesley was working on this Rody inflatable horse that kids can ride or bounce on. Only after several minutes he looked up laughing and stated that the engineers for this must have been crazy. Notice in the picture where they placed the valve to inflate this horse.


He was even good enough to help her take her first ride when she was scared to ride by herself. Grandmomma had even tried to ride before Wesley in an attempt to get L to ride her new horse, but it seems that Wesley just has a way with kids. He is not afraid to look goofy or silly. What child could ask for a better uncle than that?

Results Are In

We had the ultrasound yesterday. The baby is doing very well. All measurements were good and the baby measured a little ahead. As for how obliging the baby was about letting us learn whether it was a boy or a girl, I have to say that SHE was very good. Yes, we will be having our first little girl in June! We are all very excited about this newest addition and are eagerly awaiting the day of her arrival. Now we just have to think up a really good nickname for her.

Pink or Blue?

Okay, we go in tomorrow morning to find out what our little dumplin' is. What I want to see is a little poll as to what you think we will be having. I have heard a few friends tell me what they think, but I would like to see what all of you think. So please comment and put in your vote!