So long Alabama, it's been a great visit! We've been home for 2 1/2 weeks, and while I wish I never had to leave, I'm super happy to be seeing Gary tonight. Rather than getting easier the more often we do this, it gets harder and harder to be away from him. Today we are traveling down to the Gulf Coast Fellowship Meeting at Crestview Florida, where Elder James Conley is the pastor. Hope some of you will be there for the weekend.

We've had a wonderful visit, from snow days to sunny days outside. We've seen family and all sorts of Church friends. Britt has chased cats and run from lick-ity dogs. We've shared our exciting news (thank goodness, because I couldn't have kept that secret much longer), and talked about lots else beside. It's always good to come home, it's like recharging your batteries.

Here's a few of the highlights from our trips, see you all again next week...

(The last minute is a pretty funny clip of Britt with a singing fish. He's gotten to where he's not as scared of it, but he still doesn't like it much when it goes to swing it's head around and sing to him.)

Well, today makes 17 weeks with this little one. She (yep, that's my guess, and that's what I'm going with until someone tells me different) is 5 inches long, almost as long as a normal ink pen. Long and lean right now, she'll start putting on that cute baby fat soon. She weighs about as much as a turnip (5 oz). She has all her organs formed, but they have a ways to go before she's ready to meet the world and her bones are starting to harden.

She's still way calmer the Britt was, at night when I'm very still I can feel her rub her little hand or foot back and forth, very cool, and very different from how Britt moved. Morning sickness is still hanging out with me, though I'm seriously hoping that it's going to go away any minute now.

Gary and I have been talking about names, and we are finally starting to narrow the list down. His top two picks for a boy are William David and Michael Connor. And even though, he's sure that we aren't having a girl, his top two picks are Ashley Ruth and Laura Grace. All of those have made my top 5 list. I am liking William James (after my grandfather's great-grandfather) and Michael Connor for a boy. For a girl, my top two names are Ashley Ruth and Rebecca Joy. I hope to have decided on something when we go for our ultrasound exactly 3 weeks from today.

Momma is letting me blog a day early because I have so much exciting news to share. As we were finishing up my haircut we looked out the window to see snow, as big as quarters flying furiously down. By the time we got to Grandmother's, the snow had picked up speed and lost some of its size.

Then I stood at the window a while and watched as the snow flakes got smaller and smaller. A few of the roofs were starting to get white, and a little snow stuck to the ground, but since it was 36 outside it didn't last long, but boy was it fun while it lasted.

I trimmed up Britt's hair on Monday after his birthday. It was a nightmare, that I swore never to repeat. All I managed to do was cut the ends in the back and a line over his ears. It wasn't straight, it didn't look great, and it was stressful. Not that he was bad, but he just kept turning his head to see what I was doing, and I just knew he was going to lose an ear.

Bro. Charles Carlton will be having surgery a week from today. First, he will be having a fairly minor procedure to close up the remaining hole from his trach. Next, he will need to be openned back up so that they can remove the old wires from his old heart surgery and scrape the bone. They have determined that the staff infection has gotten into the bone. This is a very needful surgery, but especially with him being so weak it is a very serious surgery. I please continue to pray for him, and for the family, especially Aunt Patricia who is responsible for so much of his daily care along with taking care of her house, husband, and kids. She really is a super woman these days.

I haven't updated in some time on Little Nate Ferrel. He has been sick quiet abit over the winter, which is always hard on his little body, but he has recently been through his spring round of test, and everything looks very good right now. They still have a few appointments coming up, and of course the big trip out to Houston the beginning of April to meet with the Mito Specialist out there. The goal right now is to get him to gain some weight. Amber is helping to organize a Mito conference here in Florida and if anyone is interested in helping or donating money please get in contact with her, or go here for more information.

Isn't he stinkin' cute in his bluejeans and boots. Mother informed me that he couldn't be wearing Wranglers and boots, it made him look too old. Of course I told her when she's going to have two grandkids, she must be old, haha.

One of the reasons that I came home this week was because my most favorite red-headed sibling was acting in his last play at UNA. He really wanted me there, and I didn't want to miss it. Besides, I love Shakespeare, and they were putting on Hamlet. It's a really exciting story of murder, mystery, and revenge. Complete with 9 deaths it's an exciting play full of twists and turns.

I wasn't quiet sure what to expect when they billed it as a post-apocalyptic time, where a struggling theatre troop finds an old copy of Hamlet and decides to act it out, but it was spectacularly done. With modern, yet very Renascence-y clothing and a simple but beautiful set it wasn't too out there. There were some very modern touches, such as a virtual reality sword fight and one slow-mo death that made it a little more funny than serious. All in all it was a beautifully staged play.

I was excited to see several old faces: Mark from high school playing the evil Uncle (and he pulls off evil roles so well for such a nice laid back guy), Kat as the Captain, and of course Matthew in the third best role in the entire show, a role that he was PERFECTLY suited for Polonius.

Polonius has some of the best lines in the entire play, and many of the sayings and advice that we have come from him in this very play: "For the apparel oft proclaims the man" (from which we get the clothes make the man), "Brevity is the soul of wit" (from which we get the idea that it is better to say little and leave more to the imagination), and "Neither a borrower nor a lender be" (which of course orginally comes from Proverbs in a slightly different form), and his most famous line "And this above all else - To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man." Almost all his best lines come in the way of advice as his son goes off to France. It is a very complex role, as Polonius is cheif advisor but he is also behind the scenes as cheif manipulator. He is considered wise by some and a "tedious old fool" by others. Eventually, though by accident he is murdered by Hamlet and his death leads to Hamlets own death by the hand of Polonius's son in revenge. Matthew played the role well, as if it was made for him. I was very impressed, and I don't say that just because he's my brother. We had a great time!

Sis. Ann Tucker past away a week ago, please continue to remember her family.

They have confirmed that Bro. Charles Carlton's infection, has gone into the bone and wires from his previous surgery. The only way to correct this is to open him back up remove all those wires and mesh, and scrape the bone. They don't have a time yet when they will plan to do this. Also, Bro. Charles's hole for his trach has never completely healed up, so they are looking into two different options for closing that the rest of the way up.

Grandmaw Bea has been seeing the doctor to be sure that all the issues with her blood clot have resolved. She's trying to get all the test and information taken care of before they plan to go back up to Kentucky sometime in April.

Parker Allen had his accident down at Auburn two years and a week ago today. The weather was terrible, and high winds pushed his car up against a curb where he blew out a tire, and then the car rolled down the embankment there. It took emergency crews 45 minutes to get him out of the car, and then at the hospital the prognoises was very serious. He had a collapsed lung, a blood clot in his brain, and many, many broken bones. The doctors never expected him to come out of a coma or come home. Since that time Mrs. Allen has retired from teaching out at East Lawrence and takes care of him. He has overcome alot, but still cannot, walk or communicate much with his family. There was an article about Parker in the Decatur Daily a few days ago, and he is currently going through pool therapy which has helped his mobility and helping him gain strength. His family still remains very hopeful that in time he will recover, but it's a long slow road. Please continue to remember them.

Additions to the prayer list are Meagan Weaver (Gary's first cousin) who is expecting, I've been meaning to put here on the list for months and keep forgeting. And us, since we are expecting a new one on September 1st, though our favorite Brother Randy Miller is insisting this one is a girl and will arrive at 4:37 am on Sept 2.

So last night we finally made it to Ahna and Grumps house, and I had lots of things to tell them. I just talked and talked, but no one understood me, but during supper after they took off my coat they got my message.
Yep, that's right folks. I'm going to have a little brother or a little sister, sometime around Sept. 1st. Momma is 15 weeks along, and still a little sick, but the medicine helps alot. Ahna and Grumps were really surprised, they weren't expecting that news, but they are excited too. I'm not sure that I'm excited. I might lose out on some attention, I'll have to see how this goes, and what I think about this.

There's this nifty little park over in Lakeland, called Common Ground. Kelly and Joshua invited me and Britt over on Monday to visit, and we had a ball. Unlike alot of play grounds this one had stuff even for kiddos Britt's age. Of course, silly me left the camera at home, but stay tuned to Kelly's blogspot, and she might post some pictures of our outting soon.

Gary, Britt, and I went back over on Tuesday, because I was so impressed and thought Gary should see it. It was a bit cooler and very windy, but way less kids. Britt had so much fun playing around. And this time we had the camera handy. He played with the drums and bells over in the toddler section, then on the little playground equipment he went down the slide a few times from me to Gary, then on the bigger equipment he went in and out of the tunnels and up and down the stairs a few times with me and Gary. He just loved the park.

On another note, tomorrow afternoon will be the funeral for Sis. Ann, and much of the family and our Church went up to Georgia to be there for the family. Please continue to remember them in prayer.

Sis Ann Tucker, Aunt Joanna's mother passed away at 4:15 this afternoon. This morning she was having a little more trouble breathing than usual, and so Aunt Joanna called the hospice unit to be sure that she was doing everything correctly. Hospice was there when she passed away. She didn't seem to be in alot of pain, just not really herself. Aunt Joanna is waiting for her brother Dereck to get here from Georgia, and then they plan to carry her home for services there. Please continue to be in prayer for the family, as this is a very difficult time for them.

I am ticklish everywhere, and I like to laugh. Also, my current favorite song is "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." Maybe you'll like this too!