Countdown

2 more days until I see my little sister who I have not seen in WAAAAYYYY too long.

2 1/2 days until we both go down to Flaorida to see my sweet as sugar baby nieces and spoil them rotten for a few days

3 weeks until Leslie and I head to West Ga. for orientation.

4  weeks until I run the 4th of July 5K. I really need to get on the treadmill tomorrow.

10 weeks unitl my baby, yes my baby, starts her sophmore year of high school.

15 weeks until Wayne and I celebrate 20 years of wedded bliss with a cruise.

That is as far in the future as I can let myself plan for now.

Remember when

Dear Leslie,

Remember when I left you at Gatewood for the first time in Ms. Nancy's class and you cried? I told you it was going to be Ok and you would love it....and you did.



Remember when you were in first grade and you hated to read and you threw the book on the floor and cried? I told you that one day you would love to read and that reading would take you to places you have never been.  Now you love to read even if you stay up until 2am doing it.

Remember when you begged me to buy you a disposable camera and you would take all the pictures up in one afternoon?  I told you one day you would be the world's best photographer......and you are on your way.

Remember when school started this year and you cried and said there was no way you could make it?  I told you that you were a strong smart woman and it was time to act like it.  You did and graduated with honors.

Remember this spring when you text me a picture of your ACT scores and then called me to tell me you were going to West Georgia?  I told you that college would be some of the best years of your life........and they will be.

I love you sweet girl. You have made me very proud.

Love,

Mama

Mixed emotions

Have you ever felt mostly happy but a little sad?  Have you ever laughed when you felt like crying?  Have you ever been excited, but never wanted the day to come?  Have you ever wanted to freeze a day, but at the same time wished you could go back in time?

Yeah, I know the feeling.

Driving Miss Daisy

Just in time. Her sister is flying the coop.  I need another driver, bad. I'm lazy.  I am used to sending them to Walmart. I'm used to the extra time in the morning, when they get themselves to school.

But this one, I think she's gonna be a lead foot...like her mama.

PLANKS

No, not the kind on my back deck, the human kind. That's right, somehow I have managed to commit myself to a 6 weeks program of strengthening the core through planks.

Life After Bagels is where you can find out about the entire program. Why am I doing this? Well, it's mostly to improve my running form. A strong core means less injuries and less fatigue.  So here's where I am and here's where I am headed:

Today (5/16) I could plank for 30 seconds

My goal is:

1) plank 5 x a week, (basically every weekday)

2) add 5 seconds every plank

3) Max out at 4 minutes (shoudl ocur around week 5 and will sustain through week 6)

I would love for you to join me, Tina and my cousin Becky (who is responsible for beginning this madness).  Just link to the Life after Bagels website above or find her on FB. Then post your goals and updates either on your blog or on FB!



Sissy

I guess it statred  before Ginny could even talk. As soon as Virginia came on the scene, Leslie became "Sissy"  We called her that, and as Ginny learned to talk, (which was not until she was almost 2) she called her "sissy" too.
Today, 15 years later, Leslie is still "Sissy".  The sweetest sound in this house, is to hear Ginny call her older sister "Sissy".  Sometimes it is through laughter and sometimes it is shouted in frustration.  I thought that one day she would outgrow it, but I'm so glad she never did. 

Whatcha readin'?

I have lots of online friends.  Some are real life friends that I talk to everyday, others I talk to every once in awhile and their blog is how I keep up with them.  Some are friends from long ago and some I've never met.  I read a variety of blogs. So I thought I'd share some fun ones and ask you to leave in comments section blogs you enjoy.

Of course I hit my sister's blogs everyday:
Heather and Liz

These are really good friends of mine. Some write all the time, some sporadically but always enjoy them:
Lauren
Roxann
Hollie
Megan
Worth


Knitting: My new passion. Reading knitting blogs helps me find cool patterns and  funky yarn.

Adventures of a Rogue Knitter
Spud &Chloe
The Purl Bee 
The Yarn Harlot

Coupons: The hottest craze among women everywhere! This is where I find good coupons, bargain, and freebies.

Southern Savers
The Bargain Babe
Krazy Coupon Lady


Fitness: I love these blogs. Usually they have some sort of challenge to get up and get going.
Life After Bagels
Chocolate Runners Blog

Bible blogs, I mean like who isn't gonna listen to what Beth Moore has to say
Desiring God
Stuff Christians Like
The LPM blog
Mark Driscoll: The Resurgence


This is only a small portion of the blogs I read. What are you reading?

Salute to Mom's Day

This Mothers Day was different on many accounts, and I have to say, one of the best I've ever had.  Yes, even better than my very first Mothes Day.  That was the year that Wayne decided to celebrate his baby mama with an electric razor.  Yeah, it was less than stellar. He's come a long way baby.

This year, my mother was busy taking care of babies in Florida with my baby sister. So I pretty much had the day to myself to be spoiled, and I was.

I was a tad concerned that the girls may forget it was Mother's Day. I'm not sure if Wayne was just yanking my chain or not, but he mentioned to me that the girls were old enough and had a somewhat independent source of money this year, so he was leaving it up to them to remember and do something all by themselves.  I was not disappointed however, becasue as Ginny told me ," How could we forget Mother's day? It's not like it wasn't plastered all over Walmart."    

I realized  when I woke up that morning that this is probably the last Mother's Day that Leslie would be at home as one of my baby chicks.  Gulp, another sad moment in the ride to her becoming an adult.

Wayne bought me the biggest most beautiful geranium ever and told me that morning that after church we would go eat Greek. I was happy because 1) I love Greek, and 2) It goes pretty good with this doggone bean diet I'm on.

Church was great. I love it that Andy, our pastor, mixes things up.  The service was brought to us by various mothers and the wisdom in the room was amazing.  Then he had all the mothers come forward, and the rest of the church gathered around them to pray a blessing over them. It was my favorite Mother's Day Sunday ever.

The girls and Wayne took me to Metropolis.  It was delicious, and they suffered through it.  Ginny expanded her horizons with a chicken finger and french fry basket.  And we laughed.  And we talked. And Wayne teased me which made the girls laugh even more.  And I thought, I love them, so much.  I thought, I want to always stay just like this.... but it won't.  No, it will change every year, and it will be better than the last.  I miss home made cards from little girls, but I laugh at the hilarious card they picked out for me this year. I love it that they spend their own money to buy me the prettiest spider plant you have ever seen.  I love it that even though life changes, it gets better. I love to see beautiful smart funny girls across the table and know that I am blessed....and loved. 

The rest of the day was absolute leisure.  I took a long intoxicating Mothers Day nap, and knittted a little.  The girls and Wayne piddled, and napped and watched movies.

Wayne drove me up to the corner store late that afternoon and we got a Diet Pepsi and pork skins, and that was supper. It was good.  I hugged my girlies extra hard and I think they squeezed me back just as hard, after all, it was Mother's Day

I was never supposed to get this attached

It all began with a sweet little girl named Kelli. When I started  my job at the college health center, I discovered that a perk of the university system was having student workers in your office. They did your bidding, anything you wanted done, like run across campus and get me a sandwich, to file these papers, any job you didn't feel like doing, they were more than happy to complete for you.

Kelli was so much fun. She had the cutest giggle and best of all, she was fun to tease.  Our office is like a family, and it didn't take long to spoil and mother our "baby".  And then the unthinkable happened, she graduated and left us. It hurt. She never looked back.

I was determined to never let another student worker wound my heart, and then the twins came. Courtney and Lindsey are well, our girlies. We have guided them through relationships, encouraged them to become runners, chastised them for indecent clothing. and laughed, oh how we have laughed.

They have made the separation much easier by living a year after graduation in Milly.  We have been able to see them occaisionally and even run together quite often, and suddenly, it seems as if we have become their friends instead of just their Milledgeville mamas.

When Jessica walked in our clinic two years ago, I was determined to keep her at a business distance.  I tried to avoid teasing her.  When she would giggle I would turn my chair around. I could not, I would not become attached to another student worker. It was just too painful when they leave.

She graduates on Saturday and even though she will be in the office until June, I am sad.  I did it again. I was never supposed to get attached, but I did. I will miss her. She will miss us too.  We pry into her personal life, giving unsolicited relationship advice. We warn her of the dangers of being out too late, and take care of her when she is sick. She's all grown up, and just like the others it's time for her to leave.  She is a strong beautiful woman, our work is finished.  I'll be darned if I am gonna love another student worker. I'm not even asking them their name next semster.

And somedays it sucks.....

So here's the truth, I love to run, on good days, and I hate to run on bad days.  In fact, if you are not in the mood to listen to whining, now would be a good time to log off.  It sucked, bad.

I haven't really run much since the 5K in April.   I did some last week in the woods and it was alot of fun.  So when I saw the twins in the grocery store last night and they suggested a long run I was ready. 

I love to run with the girls. They are fun. Faster than me so I have to push myself, but not so much better that we can't hang. they make me laugh, and somedays wish I had their youth. Our routine is pretty much the same.  We chat and catch up as we warm up for about 1/2 mile then we all three put on our earphones, line up in random order and go to it. I watch their ponytails whipping in the wind, I dodge Lindseys spastic arm and get lost in thought.  Once in a while one of us will point out a susnet, or sunrise.  I'll tell them to smell the gardenias blooming, or just listen to our breathing. It's a rhythm I find comforting.  When my groove is within reach I know it, my breathing becomes slower, my mind settles and I can let the days events wind their way through my brain.  Tonight started out slow, I was feeling sluggish, but the girls were in no hurry so I knew in about 10 minutes I'd be in my groove. The groove never came, or else when it came I missed it gasping  and thinking of Peanut Buster parfaits.

I knew it was a washout when I realized mile two was making my legs feel like lead, and my knees were beginning to feel wobbly.   I lookedup and saw both girls wiping sweat. Y"eah, it's hard becasue it's awful hot this afternoon, my groove is just around the corner.", I tell myself.   I topped 2 1/2 by turning up Lakeport.  Now my lungs were burning. Screw it! I'm walking, and so I did. As usual, the girls see me and slow down.  They begin to walk too. They say they are tired, but I know better, they feel sorry for me.  As I finally catch up they tell me how awesome we did. Blah blah blah, we  all know we all wanted to quit. It sucked.
But we don't quit, we muster up a little more umph and top the hill of mile 3 at a slow jog.  Is my groove here at the end?  No, legs still shakey, mind still begging me to stop. I hang it out for the last 1/2 mile then declare to the girls I think I'm gonna stop running, and maybe take up gardening.  They laugh. they know I'm just tired and cranky. They know that I will run again, probably tomorrow,  and maybe tomorrow I'll find my groove early on.  The beauty of running, for every bad run, there's always tomorrow.

My take on Bin Laden

Twitter and Facebook have been electric with the news that Bin Laden is dead.  There is wide range of opinions.  I have read comments that range from praise for our military and thankfulness that this mad man has been silenced, to others who condemn any taking of a life.  Some have used scripture to back up opinions while others have posted crude and even offensive reponses.

Here's my take on Bin Laden-

I did not personally lose a friend or family member in 9/11, but I watched  a widow that is probably about my age this morning on the Today show.  She held a photo of her husband while tears streamed down her face.  For anyone who has been a victim of terror, there is comfort in knowing that God, while full of love and slow to wrath, is also full of justice.  He is longsuffering and calls all men to repentance, but he also defends the widows and orphans.  He makes all things right.

I just finished reading through Deuteronomy and Joshua.  Astounding to me how God repeatedly instructed the children of Israel to obliterate, completely destroy the inhabitants of Canaan. Over and over He told Joshua to destroy every man, woman and child.  Where is love in that?  Is it a contradiction in His character to value life, yet demolish an entire people group?

The soverignty of God is a concept that I am just now beginning to study. It has opened my spiritual eyes to a side of His character that I previously never appreciated.  Funny how opinionated humans try to understand and explain the mind of God. He is God, we are dust. His thoughts are not our thoughts, His ways not our ways.

He is altogether just when he commands an entire nation be destroyed, yes even the children.  He retains his holiness when an island nation is drowned in a tsunami and  people are washed out to sea.  He is God when cancer kills, when spouses walk out, when babies are aborted.

Will Osama's death cause terrorism to cease?  No. Will it increase terroristic activity against Americans? Maybe.  Will it bring back the dead who were lost on 9/11? We know it won't.

But this we do know, God will not be mocked or ignored.  He is patient not wanting anyone to perish. He gives new mercies every morning, but He is soverign in every thing He does and everything He allows.  He uses simple people like you and me.  He uses earthquakes and tsunami's.  He uses kings and orphans.  He can even use Navy Seals.

Craziness

that is how I would describe the last month of my life.  I just got through reading my friend Roxanne's blog. She has had a horrific month but has managed to see God's hand in it all and has even been able to celebrate in the middle of sadness.  While my life is not in the middle of crisis, I share her sentiments that it has been a whirlwind.  Thus the reason my posts have been scarce,  that, and I seem to have a form of writers block. Maybe there is too much going on anyways.......here's a summary of the last mind numbing 2 weeks....

My church hosted a 5K for the Compassionate Care Clinic where I volunteer.  I helped to organize it and despite the fact that a tornado came barreling through town and hour before the race was scheduled to start, it was a great success! We had over 75 runners. We raised over $4500 for the clinic, and look, my sweet running buddy Courtney and I both placed!

Maybe the best part of the Run for Compassion was seeing my two girls get out there and run it too!

The next week we left to go camping at my favorite spot in the entire world, Moccasin Creek in Clayton. We had a blast!  We spent about 4 days in the peace and quiet. We celebrated Ginny's 15th birthday, we hiked, we read, I knitted. It was a little slice of heaven.  We have discovered that camping with kids is so much fun, especially when they are not yours. I love it. Our friends the Parkers have three boys that make me laugh so hard!  Tina kept me motivated to run while we were gone and we both decided that cross country through the woods was actually easy on the knees and we loved it. 



Leslie stayed at home to job hunt. (Well that was the excuse she gave us)  She found out that she passed her ACT and was accepted to University of West Georgia.  Happy times in the Welch house! We are super excited! So we find ourselves in the middle of graduation invitations, party planning and college forms.

Today was a day of celebration, We traveled to Florida to see my two sweet nieces who were born yesterday.  They are fresh from heaven and have that new baby smell, tiny cupid lips, and the sweetest toes ever.  They deserve a post all their own but for now, I'll leave you with this...........

Kate and Rose Oliff