You've Got Mail

Today when Shannon's mom and stepdad came over for dinner they brought us our mail. It included:

-A congratulations card and check for Lane.
-A notice from Blue Cross Blue Shield saying "your care provider may bill you X amount of dollars."
-A notice from Alaska Airlines saying that our annual fee of $75 would be added to our upcoming credit card statement. This account was closed two months ago.
-A bank statement from Wachovia. This account was closed one month ago.
-Bills for our health insurance for the month of April. We canceled our health insurance about three weeks ago since we'll have new health insurance through our new jobs.
-Tampon samples for Shannon. I mean, he is a 14-year old girl, right?

Anyone else notice a pattern here? Wasted postage! (Well, except for the card and the check...we appreciate that!) How much less could be charged for things like health insurance and annual fees if companies would not mail out unnecessary crap? I'm just saying...

The Bible In A Year

This year, I decided to do something I haven't done in awhile: read my entire Bible through. I've done it before, maybe 4 or 5 times, but it's been a few years since my last read-through. So, I decided it was high time to get myself back in the habit. I find that I've tried to do it and about 2 weeks in I decide I have too much going on and give it up. This year I am resolved to do it. Life is always going to be crazy, right? And this year is no exception. We'll have moved 3 times in 5 months, live in at least 4 different places, have had a baby, and will learn a new language and our way around a new city. I'm 2 weeks behind in my reading (but I was 3 weeks behind about a week ago), and am slowly catching up and am determined not to get any further behind until (and hopefully not even then) we move again. The easy reading plan I've always followed?



3 chapters a day and 5 on Sunday. Sometimes I read 2 chapters a day and a Psalm. Other times I just read 3 chapters straight. I think I like to do the 2 chapters and a Psalm when I'm in the boring more-difficult-to-read parts. So that's it. A reading plan that's actually doable. If you've never read your Bible all the way through, I'd like to challenge you to start. Start on April 1st and try to finish by March 31st 2011. Give it a try.

This Just In...

Yesterday we took Lane for her six-week shots. She didn't fuss too much about the shots, but she was interrupted while eating in order to get them so she was mad. We gave her some Tylenol so she took a long nap when we got home and then we gave her a bath (the nurse said it would help her legs feel better). Then she just snuggled on my chest for about an hour until she fell asleep. Last night was a bit rough as she never slept the four or 4.5 hours straight that she's been sleeping, but instead she woke up every three hours on the nose, probably because the Tylenol was wearing off. So I was prepared for her to still be grouchy today. But...this is what she's been like instead when we talk sweet to her:





I love being a mom!

The Last Week

Our lives have been a little insane as of late. Two Saturdays ago we headed to Memphis for a few days of meetings. Since then Shannon has been to an Auburn baseball game, we've been to our first baby shower, we met with our financial adviser, and Lane got her first round of shots today. We've been to the mall a million times to exchange baby clothes for the next size up (or down), trying to get things to be the correct size for the season. I've been to the mall a few times attempting to find new pants for myself since my pre-pregnancy pants don't yet fit. We've gotten all of our boxes from Shannon's mom's house and are in the process of repacking them (they were mostly the last bit of random stuff from when we moved last August). I've been researching the cost of extra bags on transatlantic flights (how many you can take, how much they can weigh, how much they cost, and so on), and of course they're different for each airline! We've been writing thank-you notes, doing laundry (thank you, Lane, for spitting up or pooping on something of mine and something of yours every single day), hanging out with family, and just in general trying to get our lives organized before we move to Richmond in a month. Some photos from our last two weeks or so:


Shannon, Lane, me, Sharon, and Milton at our baby shower given by Sharon and Milton's small group.


Lane got a stroller and a new carseat!


The never-ending list of things to do.


This is what Lane thinks of the college fund we set up for her.


Dinner still needs to be made! Chicken-vegetable stew is always good, especially when you're fighting a cold like Shannon and I are.


Shannon's getting the "get Lane to sleep" thing down!

So that's our last two weeks in a nutshell! Maybe now that we're back in town and staying in one place for a month I'll be better at updating!

1 Month Old

Dear Lane,

Happy Birthday! Today you are one month old. You are totally rocking mommy and daddy's world! We love you so much, even if you don't like to take naps during the day which makes it hard for you to sleep at night. But we're working on that! You're very alert and like to follow things with your eyes. You love it when we massage your legs or feet, and you also love to suck on the pacifier to soothe yourself. You like to nurse when you need to poop...we think it's because you know that eating makes at least one thing in that area feel better, so why shouldn't it fix the other things? You're pretty good about sleeping at night, once we can get you to sleep. You wake up every 2-3 hours to eat, but you usually fall right back asleep. You hate tummy time, but you can turn your head from one side to the other and can lift it up about 45°. You probably weigh at least nine pounds by now, because nine days ago you weighed 8 pounds, 13 ounces. You're still wearing newborn clothes, but a couple of one-piece outfits are too short for you now because you're over 22 inches long! Your hematoma is almost gone, and your baby acne is clearing up on your face but spreading to your neck. You're even losing some of your hair! You're a very happy and good baby, and we are so grateful to God for giving you to us!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy


Your first bath after your umbilical stump fell off.


This is the look you give us when you're trying to keep yourself awake.


We went for a walk to church yesterday and it was a bit chilly. You fussed until we got outside and then you calmed down...we think you like being outside!


Sometimes when you fall asleep you like to dream about "touchdown, Auburn!"


You're so happy and smiley so much of the time!

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

This past Tuesday we embarked on the first of what will surely end up being a plethora of crazy and long trips with baby in tow. We left Kenai at around 11:30 a.m. to drive to Anchorage, arriving around 3:00 in the afternoon. After filling the car up with gas and getting a quick bite to eat, my brothers dropped Shannon, Lane, and myself off at the airport. At 5:40 we boarded our flight to Seattle, and in Seattle we boarded a flight to Dallas/Ft. Worth after a two-hour layover. In DFW we had a 3 1/2-hour layover before our flight to Birmingham. We finally arrived at 10:00 a.m. after almost 14 hours of flying and the almost gour-hour drive to Anchorage.


"I'm about to fly 1400 miles to Seattle, Dad!"

Lane was quite the trooper! She stayed awake for most of the first flight, and then did this for most of the rest of the trip, including the layovers:


Taken on the Dallas to Birmingham flight.

Lane was just a little fussy during the first flight and then I think she was so wiped out from not napping well that she totally crashed, sleeping through take-offs and landings. We were very blessed that our first and third flights were not full at all, so we were able to get a free seat for her car seat. On our second flight, someone gave up their window seat and took an aisle so that we could have a seat for her car seat! Oh random person, how we thank thee! Since our tickets were purchased with airline miles back in August we didn't purchase a ticket for Lane (for one thing, we didn't have a "passenger name"!) and then decided a week or so ago that we'd rather hold her than use miles to purchase another ticket. So we were very blessed to get a seat for her for free on all of our flights (and were quite grateful we didn't use our miles to buy her a seat!).

All together, Lane now has a road trip mileage accrual of about 550 miles and a flight mileage accrual of about 3700 miles. She's been to two states and will travel to two more next week. This is going to be one well-traveled kid!

Hip Hip Hooray!...

...It's Valentine's Day!

We actually don't celebrate Valentine's Day in the Scarbrough household...at least not in the traditional sense. Shannon and I have a $5 spending limit on each other: just enough to buy a card or a bag of chocolate. I've never been a fan of Valentine's Day, whether single or in a relationship, so we have maintained a very low-key approach to the day. I'm a firm believer that if you love someone, you should tell them you love them and make them feel special on any day of the year, not just on the day that society tells you that you should. I love it when my husband buys me flowers because he thought of me, not when he buys them because he feels like he should. I love it when he surprises me with dinner plans because he figures it's been awhile since we had a "real" date, not when he feels like he needs to splurge because it's February 14th. And I love to make his favorite meals and buy him candy (rarely found in our house) just to show him I love him, not because he expects it on a specific day.

However, now that we have a child (and more to come one day!) I'm sure that we will celebrate Valentine's Day a bit more than in years past. Maybe we'll make heart-shaped cookies, and maybe we'll make sure our girls get flowers from their daddy. But it'll never be commercialized in our home: love will be shown and our children will know that we love them on February 14th and on every other day of the year!


A dozen red roses that Shannon bought me. Not for Valentine's Day, but for Thursday, February 4th.