Our last Christmas with different names

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and I wish you all the best this new year! I'm sure most of you have had a busy month like we did. Thanksgiving came and went so fast I didn’t realize it was December till it was almost over. The first week we were on vacation, the next weekend I can’t remember what was going on, then we turned around to Christmas with all the family and a surprise birthday party for my uncle at our house… phew I’m tired. Normally my company gives us Christmas day off only. We usually get to leave a little early for Christmas Eve, but that isn’t till around 3. Well this year they were nice enough to give us the entire day off. We spent the Saturday and Sunday before Christmas at Justin’s parents. It was such a nice weekend. Everyone was able to make it down and Sailor stole the show. She finally decided to let go and she is walking all over the place! Since her birthday was only a month ago she kind of had the idea when we started opening presents. Of course then she wanted to open all of ours! =) She is too cute.
Justin had to work Monday but he was off early as usual. My dad’s family decided to have something different for dinner so my mom volunteered me to make my King Ranch casserole. It ended up taking longer than I thought, but it was still good none the less. After dinner with my grandparents, Justin and I headed home to have Christmas with my mom and dad. Tuesday we had Christmas with my mom’s family and then went home to veg. It was all fun, but I’m kind of glad it is over. It all came way too fast this year, which really scares me because now April is fast approaching and I have a lot of planning to do. Here are a few pictures from Christmas. If you roll your mouse over the picture the caption will come up.

Logan, The Sky Angel Cowboy

For those of you that live in the Houston area, you may have heard of this. This young man is 13 years old and works on his family ranch in Nebraska. He listens to a local Houston station via the internet. He called KSBJ a few months ago with this message. I hope it touches your heart as it has mine.

"Come out of the clouds Erin"

Friday morning I was brought out of the clouds. Traffic was light so I was having a good morning. As always the loop was a little slower, but it didn't really slow down till right before you go under 45 and that is when it happened. I heard the tires and thought, "Not me!", just in time to look up and see a truck piling into my bumper. Thankfully I remembered to take my foot off the break on impact and then put it back on in time to keep from hitting the car infront of me. When it was all said and done I had been pushed about a foot over into the lane next to me. This guy was hauling! After calling 911 I made it over to the shoulder shortly followed by the truck that hit me. I called Justin and he sent Cameron, his brother, to my rescue. I thought it was a little silly, but after he got there and we moved to where the officer said he would meet us, I was so thankful he was there. The man in the truck called his family and by the time the officer arrived, five memebers of his family had shown up. Everyone was very nice but it didn't help my car to look any better. Considering the hit I took, my car looks pretty good.

I was really sore over the weekend and really glad that I had already gone to the doctor on Friday. He gave me some muscle relaxers and other medicine to ease the pain in my back and neck. I sure am glad because I don't know if I would have made it thru the weekend. Praise God it wasn't worse than it was. That was my first real wreck and I don't think I could handle being in a bad wreck. God has really been watching over me because I've been driving the same path for over 3 years now and this was my first real accident. Now to deal with the insurance company and reapirs. Please keep me in your prayers because I have a feeling it is going to be a mess.

Soon to be Mr. and Mrs. Lane

Wow a lot has happened since my last post. Wednesday, October 31st Justin proposed and of course I said YES!!!! I knew it wasn't far away, but he really did surprise me. It was just the two of us at home, but that made it even more special. Justin did a great job picking out my ring. It is everything I dreamed of and more. He must love me! Anyways, Thursday I went to work to show off my ring and try to get some work done which didn't happen because I was in a daze all day. When I got home we started brain storming dates and ended up finding out it wasn't going to be as easy of a decision as we thought. I just think about how much I love him and remind myself that this is only one of many decisions we will have to make in the years to come! God has truly blessed me with a wonderful man that I will soon be able to call my husband. Ahh I can't wait!

Sailor visits

Yawn, I'm tired. But it is a good tired. After a longgggg day at work, I stopped by to visit little Sailor bug. Although that isn't the main reason I stopped by, and she isn't as little any more, I had a great visit with Sailor and her mommy. We even ended up trying out one of Christina's new receipes. I had a lot of fun cooking with them. I also enjoyed getting to have dinner with the entire Lane family. Thanks for the invite guys!

The main reason I stopped by was to borrow Sailor's oh so precious tutu outfit for a friend to check out. Christina and a friend have started making some of the adorable "baby fashion" that we have been seeing. It started with tutus and has grown to include personalized onesies and bows. Oh but this is just the beginning!!! As we looked at some of the ideas they have come up with, we both kept throwing out even more ideas. At this point the possibilities are endless. For now it is a small start with tutus and monogramming (pretty much anything you have that you want done for now) but I'm sure with creative minds like Christina and Kimberly's, we will see many more adorable outfits and accessories. So if you are interested hop over to Lane Life and check out some of the things they have made. I only have a picture of Sailor's tutu outfit for now.

Last Saturday we were all together to watch the UFC fights. Sailor was sleeping when we got there, but she couldn't miss out on the excitement for long. We haven't spent much time with her lately so I was excited for the chance to play with her at home. She is growing so much and it is hard to believe she is already 10 months! I was able to see all her new tricks: standing up out of no where, holding on and walking the length of the furniture, holding her own bottle, climbing the couch or your legs, and my favorite...her love of straws. Let me tell you, I've never seen a kid freak out over a straw before but Sailor was all about it. I had a shake and if Justin wouldn't have been there to hold her back, Sailor would have had it empty before I could have blinked! She was the funniest thing to watch her leap for my straw and laugh and smile at me as if to say, "Yeah, you're going to give me some of that aren't you?!" I can't wait till she is big enough to say, "Can I stay with Aunt Erin and Uncle Justin". lol Here are some of the pictures from our visits. I'm so glad we were able to play together!

Catching up

Man I can't believe how long it has been since I have posted something. A lot has happened since the last post. My cousin and Dexter were both married in August, Labor Day weekend we headed out to the ranch for a dove hunt where I harvested my first animal, and Justin has a new job to name a few. I guess by the lack of posts you can tell we have both been busy. Here is a picture of us after Dexter's wedding. My slide show wasn't working properly and the pictures were very fuzzy.

Wendi and Travis tie the knot!!!

Saturday was Wendi and Travis' wedding. Praise God it didn't rain but it sure was hot. The ceremony was done outside in a small garden area. It is a pretty garden, but with all the rain lately half of it looked more like a pond. I think there is supposed to be seating on both sides of the walkway, but it was too wet on one side. They had a very good turn out and some people ended up standing. I think they were a little surprised by how many people showed up.

The minister did a great job and did what they both asked; made it nice but short and sweet. In all I think we were out there for 15 minutes! I'm glad though because the guys were wearing all black in about 4 layers and us girls were starting to sweat too. The reception was a blast! I think the only time the bride and groom's table was used, was for a back drop during group pictures. Normally Justin and I don't dance, but this time we made an exception. I'm sure a few people had a good laugh watching me, but I had fun. I mostly danced with the flower girls, but they did play a slow song at the end for Justin and I to dance together. I told him we would be okay if he let me lead... good thing no one was paying attention because he wouldn't let me. It was a great wedding and I'm so happy for Wendi and Travis. I wish them all the best!

Rehearsal

Tonight was the rehearsal dinner for Wendi and Travis' wedding. Dad cooked all kinds of yummy BBQ. There was sausage, brisket, baked beans, corn on the cob and lots of finger foods. Everyone had a good time chowing down and then in the pool they went. Almost everyone went for a swim and boy did those guys have fun. Everyone ended up getting splashed, some worse than others. It was fun I'm just sad I didn't take my suit. Here are some pictures of the party!

Lane Laughs

So I've fallen a little behind lately. We have had a lot going on with family get togethers and weddings. Two are tomorrow and then there will be two more shortly after that. A few weeks ago we made a special trip down to Justin's parents for a Lane Family Reunion/ 4th of July party. It was a ton of fun. All the kids had a blast in the pool and so did us big kids. The sun was shining and everyone had a great time. Here are some of the pictures.

Gruene with Envy

Welcome to Historic Gruene. Erin and I made a road trip last weekend and made a stop in the town of Gruene. There we walked around the historic little town taking pictures, and enjoying the history it holds. We walked around and took a picture of the oldest dance hall in the state, Gruene Hall. We only wish it hadn't been 9 in the morning so we could have went in. So instead we settled for the general store, where we shopped and looked at all the cool little Gruene stuff. Since it was getting later, and we needed to leave, we bought a couple of t-shirts and made our way back to Houston, the whole time planning our next trip to Gruene. All I can say is if you have never been to Gruene, it is well worth the trip.

Row Row Roadie

So since Justin and I have been together, our only out of town trips have been to the deer lease or his parents. I keep telling him I want to do something different but we haven't had a chance or just haven't done it. Well Friday on my way home he calls and says that our friends are going to the river and he would love to go but didn't figure I would want to. I'm a planner and he knows that but I surprised him by saying I'd love to. So he headed off to buy a tent while I fought the traffic home.

The first night we stayed at our friend's parents house on Lake Medina. Our supposed 4 hour trip to Bandera turned into around 6 hours or more. We finally made it to the house around 1 am. The best part about getting somewhere new in the dark, is waking up to the surprise view you get the next morning. With all the rain this year, the lake was all the way up and it was beauitful. They said that it had been so low the last couple of years that you could walk almost all the way across.

From there we packed up and headed for River Road. I think we made it to our campsite around 4 Saturday afternoon. I feel like all we did was drive the entire time, but once we got there it was worth it. We got our stuff together and headed for the river bank. The people we were meeting up with were hanging out on the bank a few feet down. We tried to make it over to them which proved to be more of a disaster than we thought it would be. Half of the group was seperated and being that most of us had never floated, it was a bit of a task to get back together. In the process I slipped away from Justin and he had to come grab me. He pulled me over to the rocks so we could walk back to our group. Well when I got out of my tube the rocks had already started their damage. I cut my toe and lost half of the nail...ouch! Justin started leading the way and got ahead of me. Being in flip flops and trying to carry a tube, I lost it on the slippery rocks. I hit knees first. Man did I have to talk myself for a long time to get up. I finally did and made it over to Dexter who had his daughter and the coolers. One of the girls with us got trapped on a small rock in the middle of the river for about 30 mins without a tube. We finally got over to her and figured out the new game plan. Once we made it through the shoot we were good to go. Now that is what I was thinking about when we said we were going to float the river!

Even with the cuts and purple knees we had a great time. I wasn't sure if I could handle tent life, but one night wasn't so bad. I sure was ready to get home and get a shower though!

Small and Special

I wanted to take a moment to introduce you to some of the very important additions to our family in the last year. It has all happened so fast, so I will have to back track a little. First of all, I am an only child. Thankfully Justin has two brothers and we will say an adopted third. That would lead us to Jay, the best friend that became the other brother. Jay and his lovely wife Angel were the first of many of our friends to have a girl last year. Jordyn came along in January of 2006. My it was a fast year and now we are looking at the year and a half mark. Oh my goodness!

With a few girlies in between, Justin's older brother Cameron and his wife Christina brought us Madyson Sailor in November. She answers to Sailor and her Grammie (Justin's mom) calls her swirly top for the perfect swirl she has on top of her head. What a Lane trait to receive as a girl, but I'm sure her momma's hair dresser skills will come in handy.

These little girls have been such a delight to watch grow. By no means are they even close to being done, but every moment spent with them is a true testament of God's miracles. We are proud to be their aunt and uncle and hope that we can use this practice one day down the road.

I am very excited to say I will have another little one joining my "to be spoiled" list this coming January. Maybe this time we can add a little boy to the mix. I was always worried that I would never be an Aunt since I was an only child. Boy was I wrong! I love it though!

" In a nutshell "

Hey everyone, my name is Justin Lane and I am 25 years old, this is my first time to blog so bare with me. I love the outdoors, hunting and fishing are my passions, I always love watching the longhorns football even though My beautiful girlfriend Erin hates football, hopefully she will grow to like it someday. Well for the most part thats me, maybe something exciting will happen soon and i can share it with yall. Catch you on the flip side.

Fun Far Away

Starting last year we had the chance to lease a ranch between Ozana and Big Lake, TX. We have since fallen in love with the place and the family that works it. Last year it was Justin, my dad, his dad, and his brother Cameron. This season Justin's mom, Sharon, scored an opening. All the guys did really well last season and we are looking forward to possibly even better this season. Above are some of the latest pictures from our last trip and a few of the kills from last season. Although we love going, we have to limit our trips. It is a 7 to 8 hour trip! Once you get there it is worth it, but coming home is hard and going to work is worse.

Howdy

Hi, I'm Erin. My boyfriend Justin and I have decided to join our group of blogging friends. We will try to keep everyone up to date on what is going on in our busy lives. We wanted to start out by introducing ourselves. This is kind of new for us so be patient for the time being. I'm sure it won't take long and we will be old pros!