Now that I'm an official married woman, I've marked the occasion with a new blog. (I mean, we're not just "Becca and Ruby" anymore...) Here's the address: http://lanemillsspicerack.wordpress.com/

Check it out and see what our family is up to!

Beginnings of Beginnings

Life has flown by in the rush of full-time schooling, wedding planning, and life living. I feel like we have lots to share...

The wedding date has been officially set for May 31st. We're having a small wedding--just our parents, brothers, and Ruby. We decided small was more our style. We're getting married about an hour outside of Asheville in rural NC. The place: Mountain Farm; an organic dairy goat lavender, and blueberry farm. Check it out at: www.mountainfarm.net. Here's a pic of where we'll be having the actual ceremony (and spending the weekend). There's a lavender labyrinth as well as a nice view of the mountains.
It appears that the universe has conspired for us to do more than just get married here...
A week or so after we visited the farm, the owners called us and offered us jobs. That's right, we're gonna be goat farmers. We will be moving out to the farm and our job includes our very own cabin.

Ruby is also included in the mix and will now be spending her mornings helping us milk goats and make cheese. Not to mention getting fresh eggs from the chickens. We'll be helping with everything around the farm, including taking visitors on tours and teaching school groups about how the farm operates.



We've taken Ruby to visit a lot, as we want her to be comfortable with the move and change of lifestyle. She is very excited. Yesterday, she told someone at the grocery store, "I'm moving to the goat farm. There is a cabin and goats and baby goats and mama goats." We think she'll adjust fine to her life as a farm girl.


My mom came up last weekend and we went, along with Scott's mom and Ruby, to visit Mountain Farm. The moms wanted to check out the wedding site (and future home). We had a great time walking around, visiting the goats, and smelling all the lavender.

Guess what?!

In all my life as a blogger, I've only once written the name "Scott." It is time for an official introduction. This wonderful, kind man named Scott has been my friend for almost five years. I am now proud (and blessed) to say that he is going to be my husband.

That's right, we're gettin' married.

Pumpkin Patch & Corn Maze

We spent the day at Hickory Nut Gap Farm here in Asheville. It was great. They have a huge pick-it-yourself pumpkin patch and a great corn maze. They also had lots of baby farm animals.













Ruby really enjoyed feeding the sheep. She spent about 30 minutes scooping feed and holding her hand out to the sheep.

Hunting Island

Scott, Ruby, and I took off to Hunting Island, SC for a beach camping trip. This place is great! We camped in a jungle-like forest with huge spiders and strangely intelligent raccoons (they knew how to unzip things). We had a "primitive" camping site which was a "hike" of 125 feet from where we parked the car.


There were three spiders like this around our campsite. Ruby insisted on watching them "sleep" several times throughout the trip.

We spent all day playing on the beach, which was practically empty despite the campground being full. The island itself is a state park, so no hotels, restaurants, or beach shops.



Ruby loved the beach but was convinced the ocean itself was "slippery." She wouldn't go near the waves. At low tide, however, we spent hours in deep tide pools swimming. The rest of the time we ran up and down the beach filling buckets with broken seashell bits.

Baxter got to come with us, too, which was fun. He tried to launch himself through the tent at one point in the middle of the night when the raccoons started eating his food. All of us in the tent though we were being attacked. The next nights, all food went in the car.

College mom, Nature Baby, and more

We've been a long time without a post. Life has gotten crazy busy. Good, but busy. I have started school again and with my 15 hours of classes, I don't have much time to write blogs. Ruby has started going to a small in-home preschool down the road from where we live. She is there while I'm in class. She loves it. She cries when she has to leave. I take this as a good sign (and try not to be offended that she hasn't been constantly missing me while I'm gone).

Our website has finally launched and, with it, the challenge of trying to run a business out of our home. Boxes of toys, clothing, and natural laundry detergent surround us as we go about our normal lives. Check out what's going on with that part of our life at: www.naturebabyonline.com and our Nature Baby blog. (Shameless plug, I know.)

Ruby is growing up as fast as kids are said to. Enjoy the random assortment of pictures from the past few months of our life.



Swim lessons proved very exciting. Ruby surprised me and loved being under water and getting her face wet. She "graduated" from Preschool I and gets to move on to Preschool II. OH yeah! (She's still afraid of the shower though...)

Ruby, Baxter, and I spend lots of time hiking around the area. This is one of our favorite spots along the Swannanoa River. It was a chilly day (50ish degrees) and Ruby still took off all our clothes and got in the water. Not me!

Our friend Nora sewed Ruby her very own sling to put Baby in. Ruby loves carrying Baby around like I carry her around.
Ruby still loves her clothes and enjoys going through her wardrobe almost daily. This is a dress some friends just gave us. It is sized for a 6 year old, but this didn't stop her from wearing it and dancing around.

Blueberry Pickin'

8:00 AM. We are making breakfast and packing lunches to take with us on our grand blueberry adventure. Ruby is so excited she keeps making this face.


Before we had gotten many blueberries, Ruby discovered the river. Oh yes, time for a swim before we get more berries.
Ruby sat and picked lots of berries. None of them made it into her bucket though; they all went straight to her belly.
After eating lots of berries, Ruby was on my back and ready to nap. She borrowed Scott's hat, which she thought was hilarious.