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.

My Abercrombie Model

Happy Valentine's Day!

I have been working this week to get all of Dane's Easter outfit together, since we are going to be so busy during the month of March. I had not intended to actually find everything this week, but luck was on my side, and I did.

So, today, we finally got the finishing touch...his first "Big Man" tie. He keeps saying how he is a big man now. So, I couldn't resist, and I had a very fun photo shoot. I think he was so excited about his tie that he did everything I told him to do. He'd smile when I asked, and I loved that he put his hands in his pocket and leaned against the tree on command!

I hope you enjoy looking at the slideshow as much as I enjoyed watching him today!

Look what I found this week!

I wanted to take some pictures of Dane today, but somehow the three of us have turned this house of ours into a warzone! I will not place all of the blame on Dane, but most of the mess is his! For some reason, I allowed myself to become callouse to the caos today, and we all enjoyed our day off together. My birthday is this Friday, but we can't celebrate it then because of a youth retreat, so we enjoyed a great lunch at Olive Garden. I had really been craving those breadsticks and alfredo sauce, and it had been so long since we had been there. It was really good. After that, we came home and all went on a walk together with Spanky, who, by the way, has completely forgotten how to walk on a leash since I let myself be lazy and not walk during November and December (pregnancy is an easy excuse for that!).



Anyway, during the afternoon, Dane was in his room climbing and getting into his dresser drawers, and he found a little box that had some coin proof sets Lane's grandfather gave him for his birth year. Well, in that box, I guess I had slipped this picture in it during the move because I haven't seen it in ages! As some of you will recognize, this is a picture of our child, Rusty. Before I was expecting Dane, Lane and I went with our friends, Bruce & Katy, to Dave and Buster's to play one night. That particular Dave and Buster's had a photo booth called The Gene Machine, which took each of our pictures and then came up with what our possible offspring might look like. To be perfectly honest, when we first saw Rusty, we were very alarmed. He looked angry, and he looked like he might be the type to take out that anger on us. The fact that he looked about 5 years old and already entering into puberty also alarmed us.

So, anyway, not long after that, we found out we were expecting Dane, and all during my pregnancy, we would sometimes refer to him as Rusty. So, clearly, unless I am blind to my child's appearance, Dane does not look like Rusty. However, our fears have already begun to surface about what looms ahead of us with our expected bundle of joy coming this summer...Will Rusty really become a part of our lives?...Will Rusty really be so angry, or is it just his look?...Is Rusty really even a boy?...If not, I will start saving now for all of the uni-brow waxing expenses in her future!...And, why is his/her hair so matted looking?!

Snow in Kilgore!

This morning around 11:00, much to our delight, it starting snowing here in Kilgore. Unfortunately, the temperature is too warm for any of it to stick, but we are still enjoying watching the beautiful snow fall. Some of the flakes are as big as a quarter. Hopefully, it will keep on snowing and the temperature will fall enough for a little bit to stick. Dane keeps on talking about building a snowman - wouldn't that be a treat!

Anyway, we decided to walk outside on the front porch for a couple of minutes to let the snow fall on our heads and to take a couple of pictures. After I took the pictures, Dane declared, "These are great pictures!"

Catching up after the Holidays

I recently caught Dane in our bed wearing Lane's glasses and reading a Harry Potter book! So studious looking!

It seems like forever ago that I updated my blog. So bad! Anyway, I wanted to catch everyone up on our Christmas and everything else that has been happening since.

We had so much fun with Dane this Christmas. He was really into all of the lights and trees and Santa Claus! He especially loved baking cookies for Santa and writing him a note. He was so excited on Christmas Eve that he stayed up until about 11:30. At about 9:00, we got him ready for bed and thought we would drive around and look at Christmas lights until he went to sleep. Usually that works within minutes, but not on Christmas Eve. We drove around for about an hour, and then gave up and headed home. So, we got the cookies and milk all set out and ready for Santa and took some really sweet pictures.

Christmas morning was great, and my dad drove over to enjoy seeing Dane get his Santa Claus presents. I think he kinda understood everything, but ever since Christmas, he keeps saying that he wants presents from Santa Claus. It's hard, since he still doesn't have that great of a concept of time, at least past minutes. He can wait a few minutes, but he has no idea what I mean when I say he has to wait until next year when Santa comes back!

We got to spend a lot of time with friends and family over the holidays, and that was wonderful, too. We even managed to have a successful photo shoot with my side of the family! You can see those pictures down below. We've finally gotten back into the normal swing of things, and my work schedule is finally back to normal this week, since classes started back at the college. That is nice, since I will be able to get Dane back on his normal schedule.

Well, I go back to the doctor tomorrow afternoon, so I am anxious to find out how Brown #2 is coming along. It's been very nice to me so far, so I have a feeling that this kid and me are going to get along just fine! As of now, my official due date is July 21, but it will be born before that, since I will have to have a c-section. I am going to ask tomorrow if I can have it July 17.

That's us for now!

Dane wanted to have another Christmas photo shoot on his own. He set his chair up and really got cheesy for the camera.

Lane and Dane with Santa's cookies and milk!

More posing with the cookies

Pretty good stance for a two year old, if you ask me! Notice the lefty swing!

Dane with his new most prized possession...Buzz Lightyear!

The 2007 Bowers Family Photo

Granna, Pa and the Grandkids

The "Nuclear" Bowers Family

Mama & Daddy

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

It's been quite a while since I've blogged - we've had a lot going on here. It's officially my favorite time of the year, starting with Halloween and going until Valentine's Day. I know - it's a big holiday season, but during that time, all of the important events take place for me (Halloween, Thanksgiving, my anniversary, Christmas, New Year, my birthday and Valentine's Day)! That's actually a very selfish point of view, I just realized. It's also Lane's and Dane's birthdays, too, so it's not all about me! Anyway, I just love this time of the year.

I mainly wanted to share with you the official 2007 Brown Christmas picture. It didn't quite turn out exactly how I wanted - it seems a little blurry to me, but I just loved the expression on Dane's face. I think it threw him off to be smiling at an unmanned camera, so he came out with this great little fake smile. I had never seen it before, but I love it!

I also wanted to catch everybody up on what Dane has been up to lately. I am most proud of his latest development. In his Bible class, they have been working on memorizing John 3:16. I had not heard him say it yet, and the other night, he picked up a Bible in the living room and said, "Let's read a Bible story". So, I started to grab the Bible and I was going to find a story to read to him. Before I could grab the Bible, he opened it in his lap, and he started in, word for word, reciting John 3:16. He gets a little caught up on a few words, but once he gets toward the end around the phrase "should not perish", he's home free. There are so many developments that make me proud of him, but there is absolutely nothing like the feeling you get when you hear your child saying the words from God's Word! So precious! Lane and I keep trying to get it on camera, but he doesn't like to perform for the camera, and I am not very good at being discreet with the camera. I'll have to work on that. I'll try to get it and post it on the blog.

Anyway, some more big news we have is that I'm pregnant, and I'm due in July! We are very excited about meeting the baby that will complete our family! I am almost ten weeks along, and I have my first doctor's appointment this coming Monday. That's another reason that I haven't blogged in a while because we've known about the baby for almost six weeks, and I know that I would have let it slip!

I hope that you are all doing well and that you are enjoying the wonderful season!

Trick-or-Treating Fun!

Today was a great day for us here. This is the first year that Dane has really started to understand the concept of Trick-or-Treating. I was a little concerned at first because we had bought white tights to go under Dane's costume. I was a little afraid that I might be scarring him for life, since, as I was putting them on him, he started crying, "No thanks, Mom! No thanks!" Lately, when he gets upset or embarrassed, he runs to the corner of the dining room and sulks, and that is what he did after I got his costume on. However, he started coming around to the idea of it once I showed him how he will get candy in his basket. So, no harm done, I don't think!

From 3:30 to 5:30, all of the merchants in downtown Kilgore passed out candy to the kids. They blocked off most of the downtown streets, and there was a huge turnout from the town. We met our friends Holly and her daughter Winter, so that Dane and Winter could walk around together. They both went as M&M's, Winter as the green dark chocolate one, and Dane as the blue almond one. They were really cute together. One of the highlights of our experience there was getting candy from the biker dudes at the motorcycle shop. Dane really liked that, especially when he saw a motorcycle parked on the sidewalk. He walked away making motorcycle noises! Then, later on, upon spotting one of many Spiderman costumes, he screamed, "Mom, I found Spiderman! I found Spiderman!" I think he really liked seeing all of the different costumes.

After we got tired of waiting in line and walking around downtown, we took the kids to McDonald's for a quick supper. As we got out of the car, Dane exclaimed that he needed to get his basket out. I had to explain that we weren't there for candy, just dinner. So, I guess he was beginning to get the idea of trick-or-treating.

Then, from 5:30-6:45, our church did a Trunk-or-Treat out on the front lawn and parking lot. The neighborhood that our church is in literally draws hundreds and hundreds of kids, so we thought it would be a good way to reach out to everybody. We had a lot of people participate, and we all had a great time!

After our evening service and Bible class, we headed over across the street to the home of one of our church members, who hosts a Halloween party every year.

So, once everything was all said and done, Dane and I had been trick-or-treating and partying for basically 4 hours, if you subtract the hour spent at church. We had a great time together, and it really brought back a lot of fun memories from when I was a little girl!

Dane's 2nd Birthday Party!

Well, it's very hard to believe that it's already time to have another birthday party for Dane! His birthday is not actually until Thursday, the 25th, but it was most convenient for us to have his party this past Saturday. There was no question that Dane wanted a Cars themed party. I had taken him to the party supply store a few weeks back, and he saw the Cars stuff and said, "Mater!!!". That's one of the characters in the movie that he loves, so I knew it would be a hit!

We had a lot of people from church as well as some of our family come, and we had fun and opened presents and ate cake and ice cream and then ate stuffed baked potatoes, and then played with all of the presents Dane got for a while. I will say this...a 2 year old party is a whole lot livelier than a 1 year old party, but it was lots and lots of fun, too!

Here are some pictures from our fun day...

Dane made sure that he had on proper headgear for opening presents! He insisted on wearing his bike helmet for a lot of the party.

Trying to pry open the packaging to this car! He told me, "Mom, I need scissors!" For some reason, that's a new and often request with him lately. Not sure where he learned about scissors - I guess Sunday school?

Nana & Pa Pa came through big-time with this full A&M football uniform, complete with helmet, shoulder pads, jersey and pants! Dane immediately switched over to wear his new helmet, shoulder pads and jersey for the remainder of the party.

As usual, my mom went above and beyond on the birthday cake. Thanks for the great cake, Granna!

Growing up, it never occurred to me to ask if I could blow out the birthday candles over and over again. For some reason, I thought we should keep on relighting the candle to let Dane get the hang of it. It was lots of fun. I think I blew it out the first time, then Lane the second time, and the third time, Dane really blew it out all on his own! That was really exciting!

Enjoying eating some good cake and ice cream!

Just some weird shots from a weird boy!

The last few weeks, Dane has come up with some very interesting outfits all on his own. While we were watching the Texas A&M/Oklahoma State football game, he came in wearing his own version of shoulder pads. He figured out where Lane's underwear drawer is, and he takes about 10 pairs of underwear and wears them over his head on his shoulders, and then runs around with a football. I think it's the weirdest thing I've seen him do yet! Thankfully, he only uses clean underwear. I usually try to keep all of the dirty laundry picked up anyway, but this new uniform development has really made that one of my top housecleaning priorities!

I'm not too sure, but I think he uses this basketball basket as a helmet. It is a cushiony basket, so I guess it's a pretty good choice for a makeshift helmet. As you can see, it is useful to help his mom clean the sidetables as well as to ride his 4-wheeler!

What do you think - I probably need to get this little guy a football helmet and shoulder pads, huh?

1st Annual Pa & Granna Campout

It's been a while since I posted, so I've got quite a lot to catch up on. We've been really busy around here. A few weeks back, Dane, me and Robyn and her three kids all met at Mama & Daddy's house for the 1st Annual Bowers Cousins Cookout & Campout! Daddy built a fire out back to roast hotdogs and marshmallows. He set up their tent about 2 feet from the back door. Honestly, I really doubted that the kids would want to stay in the tent for very long, but they surprised us all. We had lots of fun hanging out by the campfire, and we even sang the "Weinie Man" song from Camp Deer Run before we cooked the hotdogs. As you can see from the pictures, the kids mainly filled up on the cold hotdogs in the package, while we were cooking the rest. So, by the time they were cooked, the kids were pretty much already full! It was still lots of fun, though. At about 9:00 that night, we all got our jammies on and piled into the tent for some more fun! Poor Mary Nan had a pretty nasty cold, so she and J.J. went into the house and went to bed at about 9:30. Dane and Laura stayed in the tent until about 10:00, which we thought was pretty good for as young as they are. It was so much fun, and I hope that Mama and Daddy will let us make it a tradition each year!

Daddy and the fabulous campfire

Dane, relaxing by the fireside

The kids seemed to prefer the hotdogs straight from the package!

Too much excitement to look at the camera!

Dane & J.J. really enjoyed playing with Pa and his flashlight in the tent.

Dane also enjoyed climbing over Pa for about 15 minutes!

Looking for Terry Cat outside the tent window!