Happy Easter!

We have been very busy during this past week, and unfortunately, a little under the weather, too. Last Wednesday, Dane and I started coughing and then proceeded to lose all of our ability to keep our noses from running out of control. We think it's allergies, but it's still no fun.

Anyway, we just kept trudging on...Thursday, Lane and I took Dane to stay with my parents for a few days while we went to Dallas for LTC. I felt horrible leaving Dane while he didn't feel well, but I checked with his dr. before we left, and they told me what to give him to help him out some. Of course, I knew that he would have a great time with Granna and Pa, so that helped to reassure me some.

Lane served as the Coordinator for the Speech event at LTC again this year, so we had to be there a day earlier than the rest of our group, since he had a meeting first thing Friday morning. Everything went great this year at the convention, and our kids that came did a fantastic job and behaved themselves so well. We were really proud of all of them. They really are a great group of kids.

Saturday evening, I headed back to Mama and Daddy's house, and Lane went back to Kilgore with our group. I decided that, since we were planning to come to lunch with my family after church anyway, it would just be easier to spend the night there and go to church in Daingerfield. It was nice to see everybody there, too.

Saturday night dyeing eggs - What Fun!

Lane made it over in time for lunch Sunday, and soon after, our good friends Christopher and Angela and their boys, Chase & new little Drew, came on over just in time for the 2nd Annual 2nd Generation Bowers/Mays Easter Egg Hunt. Us Bowers kids grew up with both Christopher and Angela, and it has been so special to see all of our kids enjoy being friends just like we do! Of course, Chris and Angela and the boys also go to church with us in Kilgore, so Dane and Chase have really become best friends, along with Winter, who completes the Trio. They're just so goofy!

Of course, the Easter Bunny left Dane some great goodies, including this chocolate Dude da' Bunny and also his very first "Swanky", which is Slinky in 2 yr. old East Texan language.

A moms and kids shot after church (Didn't Robyn do a great job making Mary Nan's and Laura's Easter dresses?)

Walking around before Easter lunch

Just the boys talking things over

J.J. likes to end his conversations with a kiss. This is a little weird for Dane, since he really doesn't like to kiss anybody. I'm sure J.J. will grow out of this someday, but for now, it is sweet.

Just a swingin'

My sweet little man!

Mary Nan and Laura, of course, are seasoned egg hunters, and they did very well in the hunt. J.J. enjoys the end result of the hunt, the candy, but he often loses sight of the goal during the hunt. We kept finding his basket deserted. It was really funny. I was so excited with Dane's hunting skills this year. Being the competitive person that I am, I was so proud to see him find so many eggs! As we were hiding them, Lane and Christopher got kinda tired of it, and one of them, I think it was Christopher, just dumped about 15 eggs down on the ground in a big pile and put a box over them. We considered that stash to be the jackpot, and much to my pleasure, Dane was the one to discover them! Yea!!! I know I shouldn't be so competitive - I'll have to work on that so that all of the other sports parents won't hate me someday!


We had a good time, and most importantly, we got to spend time with our family and friends. Too bad Joe David and Stefany couldn't make it this year - maybe next year they'll be able to come with little Jed, who will soon join the Bowers family in May!

I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend, too!

So Much Excitement!

Well, I think I have officially been bitten by the "having a girl" bug, and I (with some help from my mom), have gone a little crazy this weekend after finding out our exciting news! Here's some of the fun stuff I found! I think I've gotten it all out of my system now, so I should be good for a little while longer.

This is the bedding I ordered for the nursery. I had already picked it out earlier, just in case!






Mama & I had so much fun finding these goodies! Notice, there's nothing pink yet. With the chance that she might have red hair, pink is out for now. Pale pink is the worst color for a redhead, or so my mother always told me growing up. She always said that red and pink clashed with my hair. I agree on the pink, but I love red, so I wear it anyway! I love all of the orchid and teal stuff - I think those are my favorites!

Here's the little man of the house, trying to decide which toy to play with. I love the hand on the hip and the finger on the chin - very serious business!

This is our latest addition to the house. Thanks to my Daddy, I designed and he built us this great desk! We had been using this really compact computer armoire with no workspace for a few years, so we have all really enjoyed doing all of our "work" on it! The other day, I caught Dane sitting at the computer tapping his fingers on the keyboard, and then he would get some paper out of the printer and get a pen out of the drawer to draw. Then, he turned around and told me he was doing his work.

It's A Girl!!!

I just love how she is smiling at us in this picture! I hope that she will be a smiley girl all the time!

It's official...well, my doctor says 99.5% official that we're having a little girl! Lane's reaction - I would call it basic fear. He doesn't seem to think that we will have a clue what to do with a girl. I told him we will just make sure she understands both football and basketball. I have a feeling, though, that he will be putty in this little girl's hands, and he will very quickly learn how easy it will be to fall in love with her.

The doctor said that she looks perfect and very healthy. She weighs approximately .95 lbs, and is about 10.5 inches long. The doctor said she is in the 70th percentile right now, which is good, too.

Anyway, we are thrilled to finally know what we're having, and most importantly, we are so thankful to God how he has blessed us.

Our Short Snow Day!

Last Friday, like most of North and Northeast Texas, we got a little bit of snow here in Kilgore. It started snowing at about 6:00 AM, but sadly it turned to rain and had all melted by noon. However, while we had the chance, we got to play in it for a little bit. Lane and Dane enjoyed a lively snowball "bite", as Dane called it. He also calls pillow fights "pillow bites", which always makes us laugh.