I'll be home for Christmas....

We came home from the movies tonight and this is what we saw as we came up the drive:

Ahhh, Christmas lights! It's been a few years since we hung any outside. In fact, since we've been out here we haven't. It didn't seem to make any sense because no one can see up our drive. Then I decided we were worth it! Everytime I come home it makes me smile and hum a Christmas song when I see the lights!

Thanks Pastor Andy

22words is asking readers to post why they appreciate their pastor and win them tickets to Desiring God conference. What a great idea! Here is why I appreciate Pastor Andy:

I love Pastor Andy because he has opened to door to world wide missions in our church. Previous to his coming, we supported missions in a very limited way. He has shown our church family through the study of God’s Word, how God desires for the nations to know Him. What’s even more significant, is how he has taught us to put feet to our words and through short term missions live it out. Our fellowship is now active and excited about spreading God’s Good News to the nations!

You might be a redneck....

If you prepare the Thanksgiving turkey in the backyard!!!

Oh yeah, it's true I'd be slightly embarassed to post this, if the fried turkey had not been so delicious!

P.S.- that's my sweet Ginger dog laying behind Craig's neck!

It's the things you don't think of....

In the spirit of 22 words, here at the Welch's we are thankful for the little things:

1)Living in the country instead of the city!
2)Hot coffee in the morning
3)A good hair day
4)A little doggie to curl up with
5)Cracker Barrel when you're on the road
6)Juju fruits
7)Parking space close to the door at Walmart
8)Big Lots and $20

Hope your Thanksgiving is filled with with a heart of gratitude for the little things!

Happy Thanksgiving from our house to yours!

Wayne injects the turkey while, everyone else watches the parade.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Welch's!

I wasn't really ready for the fun to end..

We just got home from 4 days of near bliss.
....A wedding that was beautiful, yet made me feel a little old and sad that my baby sister is now married....
....two days of sheer relaxation where I didn't move much further from the bed than to my chair on the beach, back up to the chair on the deck, then back to the couch...you get the idea.
...catching up with my sisters that I don't see that often. So glad that Heather and Geoff are bloggers so at least we connect more.

The only unblissful part
....was listening to Wayne hack and spew all over me with his newly acquired cold.
... sitting on I-75 for an hour this evening, but so glad it wasn't us in the wreck.
...realizing how large my butt is in photos that catch me from behind. Dern it I've got to diet!

Tomorrow I will grace you with photos, but let me leave one quick one for your viewing pleasure!

What a beautiful bride

It was a beautiful wedding, and she was a beautiful bride! More to come. Having a great time.

Little sis' is gettin' hitched

She's the baby, the caboose, the little one who had to grow up pretty much by herself. By the time she was in school, the rest of us where married and having our own babies. Even now it's hard to realize she is grown and been on her own for 3 years!. Liz is getting married this Saturday to such a sweet guy. We met Morgan at Christmas last year and love him! No more baby in the house. In fact, I hope that we'll have another new baby around soon . The youngest grandbaby is already eight!

Not only are we going to a wedding, we are having a family reunion! Our family hasn't all been together since summer of 2007. We are way overdue! I am so excited! Heather and I will be taking pictures galore to post on our blogs, so we'll let you in on all the fun when we return, just in time for Lynn and Craig to get here for Thanksgiving.... the fun never stops. Now that is entirely different story! Have I ever told you about shopping with Lynn and Megan the day after Thanksgiving?

Thought for Tuesday...

Though you have not seen Him,

you love Him,

and even though you do not see Him now,

you believe in Him

and are filled with inexpressible and glorious joy.

I Peter 1:8

You know it's Christmas at our house when.....

1) We go family shopping. One Saturday before Christmas we go to the city, split up and shop with the girls. They find gifts for each other and for me and Wayne. We go to lunch somewhere really good and then to see the Christmas movie.

2) We go to Aunt Lynn and Uncle Craig's for Christmas Eve. This is probably my favorite tradition. Since the first year we were married, Christmas Eve Has meant a trip to Lynn, Wayne's sister. We spend all day laughing. The kids open presents. Craig and Wayne hang out on the deck smoking cigars and grilling deer tenderloin. Lynn cooks shrimp chowder. After we eat, Wayne and I and Lynn and Craig ride around and look at lights. The night is finshed off by eating some sort of ridiculously good cake Lynn made and watching "Chevy Chase Christmas Vacation" Yes, we watch it every year!

3)we turn out the lights after the girls decorate the tree and eat Christmas cookies and hot chocolate or tea while we look at the lights glow.

4)Candle light Christmas service.... Beautiful!



What are some favorite Christmas traditions at your house?

Young Love

CMA review, or I was country when country wasn't cool

I watched the CMA's with Wayne and Virginia last night. We all agreed that:
1) Taylor Swift may be cute but she cannot sing! Her live performance made me cringe in a few places.
2) Carrie Underwood is gorgeous and can sing, but my allegiance still lies with Alison Krauss, she should have won female vocalist.
3) George Strait is one sexy man (OK Wayne didn't actually voice this opinion)

I loved country music in the days of Barbara Mandrell and Alabama. It has changed over the years and not necessarily for the better. Yeah, I was country when country wasn't cool.

Happy Birthday Mema

Last night we celebrated my mother's 65th birthday. In was a night of hot wings, bakery cake and laughter. In honor of her journey to senior citizen I want to list top 10 reasons why I love my mom.

1)She is BY FAR the world's BEST grandmother (or MeMa as the girls call her)
2)She neither coddled or spoiled any of her daughters, and as a result she raised 5 strong women.
3)She taught us to LOVE books. Oh the places I have traveled through reading!
4)She has endured suffering in her life, buried a daughter,and both parents, raised 5 kids on little money but was never given to complaining and many times I heard her say "this too shall pass."
5)Married at 17, she was determined that her daughters would go to college, and we all did. She placed a high value on education.
6)She speaks her mind, at times that has caused lots of friction, but you never doubt where you stand even if you don't agree.
7)She is my dad's soulmate, they are truly the best of friends.
8)Birthdays were a huge celebration. Even now, when I turn 40, she'll make my favorite meal---lasagna and chocolate cake!
9)She sewed all our clothes, and one of my favorite memories was the fabric store, where we'd pick out fabric and patterns for Easter dresses!
10)She showed all of us the way to Jesus. She has lived out a faith that has been at times hard, but genuine.

This and many reasons more are why I say I love you Mom! Happy Birthday!

Ginny-girl

Virginia Lee is the youngest in the family. That can be good,or bad, depending on the situation. I love this girl for lots of different reasons. It's true, she gets away with alot. I have hardly ever spanked her, but the reason is she is seldom bad. She is compassionate and always looks for ways to help me and make me happy. We abuse this by always picking her to help find missing keys, feed the cats, or help bake cookies. She loves to talk when it's just me and her. I am enjoying every minute, knowing that all too soon, adolescence will steal those precious moments from me. One of my favorite things about Ginny is that she has a great sense of humor. She can really enjoy the funny things in life, and is not scared to laugh at herself! One of the best parts of motherhood is those moments of just hanging out with your kids and enjoying them!

What are you doing right this very minute?

I am
1)smelling bacon fry while Wayne cooks his Sunday night special: pancakes and bacon
2)enjoying Virginia giving me a back rub (I hurt my back playing racquetball this week. It really sucks to hit 40)
3)listening to the familiar sounds of Nascar from the TV. Wayne's favorite Sunday night viewing, hey I have to let him watch it... he's cooking!
4)thinking about how much I enjoyed worship this morning. We sang my favorite song "Jesus Messiah" Love it! Love it! I got to see my favorite friend Lauren.
5)hoping Leslie's ear infection and croupy cough get better by tomorrow.

What are you doing? besides reading this post?!?

My world view

When I met Wayne, he told me that one day, when he had a family, they would live in the country. I was very interested in being that family he spoke of, and sure enough after 17 years, that's exactly where we live. We moved out in the country 3 years ago. I love it! I don't know that I could ever live with someone right up next to me again.

This is the view from my front porch- my favorite spot!
This is where I drink coffee, Relax after runs, spend quiet time with Wayne or one of the girls.

These two warriors are very valuable in keeping mice and snakes at bay!

This is the tract of land next door that we are in the process of buying. Wayne saw an big buck in it this morning! To the far left is two huge oak trees, under them is a cemetery from the Civil War. A little boy and his mama are buried there.

My closest neighbor


Only sign of spring left


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AGHHHHHHH

This is how I feel.

Maybe it's PMS.

Maybe it's from not being able to say NO!

Maybe I'm focused on the wrong things

Maybe I let people take advantage of me.

Maybe there's not enough hours in the day.

Maybe I'm too scared to make changes that will make others mad or disappointed.

Maybe if I don't change something my head is going to explode!

Maybe I should just be glad it is Friday!

Red dress

I think Reese Witherspoon is precious!

I love this red dress... If I had somewhere I could wear it,

I'd buy it!

How could you not feel beautiful wearing it?

Tidbits

Happy 2 month birthday my fat little buddy. Gage is 2 months old, tube free and eating like a little piggy!

While the rest of the world eagerly watches the evening news to find out who the next president will be, Leslie dedicates her brain cells to studying biology.

Virginia avoids her mother with camera in hand. She is hiding in the bathroom, under the guise of washing her hair, but is actually eating Laffy Taffy, the deadly sin of braces!

And Wayne, well Wayne is working late. Yeah,he'll be doing alot of that when you-know-who is elected and destroys the small business man with his tax increases!

A Preacher Man

Christopher Bagley is my niece's boyfriend and he is a preacher man. He just recently informed his family and friends that God has called him to be a preacher. Pretty big responsibility, and growing up a preachers kid, I can testify that his life is forever changed.

Last night was his first official sermon. It was quite an event. The service was really cool because it felt like the entire church family was just enveloping him in love. It was quite a celebration with laughter, tears, singing, shouting, hugging and finally we all settled down to hear from the preacher man. Let me just say, in my churchgoing years, I've heard lots of first timers, and we waited with nervous expectation. Preacher Bagley brought it! From Romans, 8 he preached on the importance of prayer in our lives. His presentation was flawless, he never stuttered or lost his place. None of that really matters however, because time and experience will smooth any preacher. No, what really impressed me was to see this shy quiet boy, transform into a steady confident preacher man. His words were sure, not from experience, but from conviction that he was God's messenger.

I'll remember Christopher's first sermon when he is a big time preacher. He is now responsible to marry and bury all of us. God has big plans for him.
At any rate, it'll be lots of fun watching my Lynn grandparent preachers kids!