Jesus Is

In The Yard

2012-02-11T09:39:00.006-06:00

I havent taken any more pictures since Averys birthday party.

I dont really like doing blogs without pictures.

Thus this blog with more pictures from that party! :)

Avery was sure glad this girl stopped by. She LOVES her some Lessley! She was so sweet to go out in the yard and push!

Funny story: Last time Mark went to visit he took Avery out to swing. They were having fun until Mark suggested she get on the swing -I think it was. Unfortunately a bird had -shall we say made a deposit- on the swing. When Avery saw it, she ran screaming at the top of her lungs, inside the house yelling to Casey what was on the swing... All done swinging in the yard.

Back to the party:
These guys come with Lessley so they were at the party too. Let me tell you, when I saw them here my head was swimming with ideas for pictures. Much to their delight I am sure, I did resist the temptation to climb that fence and photograph. But I tell you what, one day we definitely will have a photo shoot out there with the Reeves or at least some of them. Maybe even some Welch kids if they allow. :)

She loves her see saw. But that thing is work for us. Unless you have another little person it is a workout for a big person. Talk about squats!

This is what Uncle Josh and Uncle Mark got her. Now mind you, it is what she told Josh she wanted. So they got it.
When she opened it she looked a little confused and kept saying, "It's a big boy toy". It reminded me of way back when Mark was 2 and I got him a "My Buddy" doll. He opened it and said loudly, "A GIRL TOY!" He immediately threw it down and never picked it up again. It became Caseys little boy doll. The difference here is Avery loves her firetruck. :)

And here is a picture of my sweetie! I sure LOVE that guy!
Okay enough blogging, I have to get busy!

4 Years Later

2012-01-26T20:35:00.006-06:00

Each January 21st we CELEBRATE!

Happy 4th Birthday to Avery!

You know she LOVES cupcakes.

She had lots of friends to share in the celebration.

They decorated cookies.This next picture is where Avery asked that sweet little girl - "You want spinkles? Okay I give you some spinkles." And then proceeded to dump QUITE A FEW sprinkles on her cookie, much to her delight.

She opened presents.It was so sweet. When Casey would tell her who the present was from, she thought that meant it was for them and would take it to them. She finally got the picture that they were all hers! The joys of a birthday party!

We sang Happy Birthday

And there was a cupcake pinata!

Avery had a wonderful time. We all did. Even this little incident didnt damper her day.

And what was this that Poppa was doing outside while all the festivities were happening inside?

Yep Nonna and Poppa got her a swing set. Every girl needs one in her new back yard!

He did a good job getting it together and enjoyed all the help!

Today I reflected back as I usually do around her birthday. Remembering. Thankful. Blessed.
I looked back and found my very first ever blog post. With --- gasp! Not one picture.
You can read it here. It tells of Averys arrival.

FIRST BIRTHDAY

SECOND BIRTHDAY

THIRD BIRTHDAY

FOURTH BIRTHDAY (And just in case you didnt notice, the first birthday without a tutu)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AVERY GRACE REEVES! WE LOVE YOU!

Christmas Morning

2012-01-02T16:33:00.006-06:00

So once again this year, we (Todd and I) ended up waking everyone up to get the Christmas Morning festivities started. These people sleep too late! We may have let them sleep in a bit more if it hadnt been a Sunday morning. We had services at 10 so we needed to make sure everyone had plenty of time to get ready for church. It was after all, His big day!

We had a good time opening gifts. Especially Avery.

This is Mark helping Josh out with his new jacket. I think Mark was impressed with it and was maybe even wishing he had asked for one himself...

This is Avery attempting to hand Mark his gift which seemed to be stuck to the floor. It was a large chain for his truck! HEAVY!! (I almost broke my foot with that heavy chain. I was getting it from the shelf in my closet to wrap. It was sliding out and down into my hands when one of the hooks which was NOT attached much to my despair, fell and landed squarely on the top of my foot which I immediately thought was broken. REAL PAIN. But other than being very colorful and painful for quite some time. THANKFULLY it was not broken.)

Once Avery opened and tried on her new rubber boots, for some reason she broke into a spontaneous dance session which we all enjoyed!

After all the gifts were opened it was time for a little cleanup. Thankfully Avery got her vacuum so she could help!

Another Christmas morning enjoyed by us all!

Oh and remember this picture?

Too bad she didnt wish that no one, especially Charlie, would have a wreck driving Todds truck on New Years Eve. Yea, too bad she didnt wish that...

Christmas Eve

2011-12-29T19:39:00.005-06:00

For years on Christmas Eve we have had the tradition of getting together with Todds parents. When the kids were little we would always go to their house on Christmas Eve and let the kids open their gifts from Mawmaw and Pawpaw. They really looked forward to it. Sometimes traditions change and when they moved to Pearl to take care of granny years ago that tradition stopped. So we have kind of changed it from year to year.

But this year again we were able to have Christmas Dinner and gifts with Mawmaw and Pawpaw on Christmas Eve. There was an early start since I had to have lunch done by noon so Mic could enjoy it with us. He had to leave for work at 1. It was certainly a busy day but so great!

I just love that family is such an important part of Christmas. It was really sweet seeing Avery in Paps lap listening to her new book. (Another tradition change, he is now Paps as opposed to Pawpaw)
Avery enjoys family time too, and took advantage of hanging out with Uncle Mark.
There was lots going on in this little house.

CookingThat was sweet potatoes which pretty soon after this was taken SPLASHED all over my shiny shirt! Yea, I hit the wrong button...

PresentsGigi did good! And I am pretty sure that money was spent within 24 hours or pretty close.

Mick did good too! And he didnt even know they would be in a new house with a black door when he bought it! Wow

Avery loves her game he got her. He did good for us too by the way. It is embarassing how badly we needed those new towels. THANKS MIC!

And as always, there is the Welch tradition of
BREAKING THE WISHBONE!

I always pull out the wishbone from the turkey and we have the contest to see who gets the largest piece. Usually it is one of the guys who enters this contest. And honestly it is usually Mark who wins this contest, but not always! This year however it was girls who did the deed.

This is me explaining how it all works to Mawmaw.
And she won!That means she gets her wish! Too bad she didnt wish for Joshuas house not to be broken into during the Christmas holidays... But thats another story

At the end of a great day the Christmas Tree is ready for the following morning.

I sincerely hope that everyone who reads this - cause I know there are millions of you...
has as Merry a Christmas as we did.

I am so thankful to God for sending his Son for us on that first Christmas morning so long ago.

THE MOVE

2011-12-26T17:09:00.007-06:00

Just before Christmas Casey, Charlie, & Avery said goodbye to their little home in West Monroe, and moved across the river to Monroe.

It was a fly by the seat of your pants decision on their part and we only knew about it Friday night. So Sunday after our church services we drove up to help. We took Mark, Josh, and Mic with us and headed that way to pack boxes, and move furniture.

Casey and I boxed up a bit (She already had most of it boxed, by the way.)while the guys were loading up boxes and furniture and heavy stuff into the big truck Charlie rented to get the job done without having to load trucks up and make several trips back and forth. (That's got to be a run on sentence. Sorry)
This is Mic helping...

This is Charlie helping...
One last little play time with Uncle Mark at the old house.
Then off we went to the new place!
And it was time to unpack everything we just packed and put here, there, and everywhere for Casey to unload and place in just the perfect spot. Bless her heart!
It was a lot of work. There were beds to be put together
Toys and clothes to organize
And landlords to call

But there was still time for Avery to take Elmo on a walk around their new home. And time to check out the new yard with the guys.
I am so happy for them to be in a great neighborhood in a great house. God is good and blesses us to no end.

What a great way to start a New Year!

Mortimer

2011-12-22T20:37:00.002-06:00

I got to spend a a few days with Avery this week. While she was here I let her open a gift a little early. Mark was sure to point out to me that I never let them open anything until Christmas Eve and then it was only Mawmaw and Pawpaws gifts. Not too sure how accurate that is but whatever...

She was excited to open this. I was excited that she didnt have a clue what it was. The size and feel of it didn't give away the fact that it was a book.
She wanted to read it right away and we did.
A lovely sweet story about Mortimer the mouse who needed a new home and took over the nativity scene. Upon hearing the father read the Christmas Story to his children, Mortimer realizes that his new home belonged to Jesus , so he gives it up so that Jesus would have his home back. Then Mortimer asks God to provide a home for him and his prayer is answered.

It is sweet to help Avery learn about God little by little. It was sweet to answer her questions throughout the story.

May her desire to know more about Gods plan grow as she grows.

---Thanking God for a wonderful and blessed Christmas Season.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christmas Weekends

2011-12-20T20:08:00.004-06:00

Our little town has had a lot of goings on lately in honor of the Christmas Season! And we are happy about that.

We had loads of fun on this particular weekend. First we went to a Christmas Breakfast and Avery had tons of fun chasing the other kids and letting them chase her. What a blast. At least thats what she thought. I dont know why I didnt get any pictures there. ????

Then we went on to a place where she could paint ornaments. She concentrated and painted and had such a good time.

Then on to the petting zoo.

It was sooooo cold that day but we braved the cold and got to see the animals. The pig was a hit. The Llamas were so cute, and the miniature horses were so sweet. Doesnt it look like they are smiling at Avery?

There was also ice skating if you can believe that. But after all of the other- we were all a bit tuckered out so we passed on that. (It was a little pricey! hehehe) Maybe next time though.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Comparing

2011-12-12T19:47:00.003-06:00

Comparing

Last years balloon weekend pictures

With this years.

Betcha cant guess what she is doing in the next two shots...Wondering what next years pictures will look like.

Dance Like No One is Looking

2011-12-04T19:22:00.003-06:00

So I may have mentioned it before, but if not, I will tell you now. This girl loves to DANCE!
Have you ever heard the term, Dance Like Noone's Looking? Well she does get a little embarrassed sometimes, but if she wants to, she will dance it up! Whenever, where ever!
LIFE IS GOOD!

Remembering and Making Memories

2011-12-01T18:15:00.005-06:00

When my kids were little I had a daycare in my home. Thats how I made a little money to help keep our household going while still being able to be a stay at home mom. It worked for us and I enjoyed it. One thing we did from time to time was all pile up in the mini van, or whatever vehicle we had at the time and go over to Duncan Park. I would fill an ice chest full of hot dogs, cheese crackers, Kool Aid Kool Burst drinks, and Little Debbie cakes, and off we'd go. We would swing and slide, and spin around on that twirly thing they used to have there. They would ride the old train and take trips to who knows where. They would run and chase, and whatever else they could find to do for a while then pack everything up and come back home for a nap usually. Except for Emily, who always told me she was too old for a nap and her mom didnt make her take one. So I would tell her that was fine but she had to quietly watch TV while the other kids napped and then she would promptly fall asleep. hehehe

I have good memories of those days and sometimes wish I still did that for a living. (sigh)

Duncan Park looks a little different now. No twirly thing like they used to have. Different things to play on and they wont let you on the train anymore. But Avery and I still had fun there recently.

She ran,
giggled,

played in the rocks,
danced,
observed,
explored,
went through the tunnel,
and even posed for some pictures.
And I know thats a lot of pictures but just for the fun of it---- one more -- because

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!
And boy oh boy do I love that little girl.

Live The Dream Conference

2011-11-15T19:33:00.004-06:00

Recently I went with some other women from our Church to a Live The Dream Conference in Baton Rouge. We left Thursday and didnt come back home to reality until Saturday evening. I was so excited to hear Priscilla Shirer. I had never heard her speak before, however I had heard of her and knew that she sometimes got together with Beth Moore at some BIG conferences and such. So I figured it would be pretty good. I expected that and it was awesome. I loved how she shared stories from her life and her kids lives. I especially liked the story she told about how when she was a kid and shared a room with her sister there was a house fire in her neighborhood. You could see the fire engines and such all outside her bedroom window which was just above her bed. So her sister got up and opened the curtains and watched the goings ons, and her mom came in there and pulled the other side of the curtain hanging above her bed and looked out the window as well at all the police presence and happenings. All the while she slept never finding out anything about it until the morning. She then related it to how we sleep walk through life sometimes, wishing away sleepless nights, then diaper duty, then homework torture, then waiting up for them to come home... When really we should be embracing where God has us right now, seeking Him as to how to enjoy each slice of life.
Disclaimer, I certainly didnt express that as wonderfully as she did. But hopefully you got some of the point.

I also loved how she told how her little guy loves to build blocks and towers, but his attention span is, well not so much. So he builds a little and then moves on to something else. A bit later he will come back to build but never wants to build on the same tower. He always always wants to start a new tower, no matter how she encourages him to return to his first work. She then showed us how we do God like that sometimes. Starting something he shows us to do and then stopping short, moving on, and sometimes never getting back to what he showed us to do to begin with. Again, she made it sound so much more awe inspiring.
And yes we were THAT CLOSE when she was speaking here. Can you say, GOOD SEATS!

Another picture from the good seats. That is Delynn Rizzo, the Pastors wife of Healing Place Church where the event took place. She spoke at one session as well. She too was inspiring and sang a beautiful song. You know me, I am always moved by the music. She shared the testimony of how their life in the ministry began. It was very interesting and encouraging. I was glad to hear from her. I somehow thought that the biggest treat in teaching would be Priscilla, but honestly my heart was spoken to, by all, and I mean ALL the speakers!

Christine Caine is ...(bringing back a term from years ago)... THE BOMB! I could have listened to her all weekend. And not just because I love her amazing accent! I will watch out for her to be somewhere close and hopefully be able to go hear her again one day soon. She has a gift.

Craig and Amy Groeschel also each spoke. I was very interested in what Craig taught us. It was really cool how each session brought a message straight to the heart. I honestly never left one session without tears. I know, I know, thats not a biggie for me since I am, unfortunately a crier. But I was really touched at each teaching.

At one point during the weekend, I was singing, well we were all singing... Anyway, I was singing about our amazing God and really opening my heart up to Him, and I just lifted my hands and my head up towards the heavens, and as I opened my eyes --- There it was, this strategically placed, huge, beautifully lit heart. It SPOKE of Gods love to me in such a great way. I had seen it there before that moment, but I dont know-- when I opened my eyes and it filled them, (I mean it was BIG) there was just something about it. Gods Love is sooooooo amazing. I was thankful to have that experience.

Honestly I can say that this conference was much more of a production that I expected. I mean, I have been to conferences before, however, not that many. But never one like this. There were so many unexpected extras and so much involved. It was really something. And sometimes when there are so many bells and whistles, it sorta turns into the circus show or something with lots of fluff and fru fru. But the WORD that went out surpassed the bells and whistles by far! It was pretty amazing.
At the end of the conference there was even a fireworks show. I mean to tell you it was as good as any we have here in town on the Fourth of July or New Years! I am so thankful I was able to go and glad I went. I hope to have more girls go again next year. LET'S DO IT!

Calley, Jennifer, & Denae: I enjoyed our weekend very much! You girls are GREAT! :)

From the Mouths of Little Children

2011-11-13T08:33:00.002-06:00

Not too long ago there was some Christian entertainment on the Riverwalk. We went over to enjoy some of it. It was very nice hearing Praise Music outside.

Avery thought it was GREAT! Have I mentioned before that girl LOVES to dance! She was not inhibited at all that there were tons of people everywhere. She danced and sang, ( but mostly danced ). She went right up to the front so she could get a great view. She clapped and enjoyed the Praise Music.

Maybe we should all learn from her.

A Week with Nonna and Poppa

2011-11-11T20:10:00.002-06:00

Believe it or not, while we had Avery a few weeks ago for the entire week, I did not pull out my camera the entire time. Well except to take the pictures of Kaitlyn and Josh. I know its hard to believe! I cant believe it myself. What in the world was I thinking?

However I did use my "old" iphone from time to time. So here are a few iphone photos from that week. Mainly I guess I took these so I could tweet them to mommy. Ha

This was a bedtime story from Poppa one night.
And she just might hurt me for this one day, but this would be one morning! Can you all say "Bed Head"! Bahahahaha
When I looked at her and laughed and told her she had a major case of bed head, she said "Nonna, what bed head?" hehehe

One morning she and I went to the Natchez Coffee Shop for breakfast. She ate a large amount of pancakes, thats for sure. She even said her belly ached when we left. But most definitely the highlight of the breakfast was that the owner brought this huge sock monkey in a high chair over to eat breakfast with us. Avery was very pleased with that decision, and the lady for that matter. She kept asking me where the lady went. I would explain that she was working. Avery was glad the monkey wasnt working and he could stay with us. She enjoyed it so much I was a little nervous that she would be upset when we left without him. Actually she did ask if we could take him with us, but I explained that he lived there so he had to stay and she was okay with that.

After our breakfast that morning we went to Duncan Park where I used to take her mommy to play years ago. She had a good time and we stayed quite a while. Her favorite thing there...

---The rocks. She played and played in the rocks. She took off her shoes and filled them with rocks and poured them back out again, over and over. Shhhhhh dont tell her mommy I let her do that. Aww never mind tell her, it's a Nonnas right. And I cleaned the shoes up really good when we got home, so there!

So now I am going to get my camera out and make SURE that I didnt take ANY pictures that week, cause it's just too hard to believe!

Beauty & The Beast

2011-11-10T19:21:00.002-06:00

I dont know why I am showing you these...

I did think they were interesting.

Thats a spider yall!

Just for the Fun of It

2011-11-06T14:27:00.003-06:00

Here are a few photos of our sweetie. Isnt she just scrumptious.

We had a great time here in Vidalia while her mommy and daddy were in New York. This was the beginning of one little nap time during the week.
I took these after I did Kaitlyn and Josh's pictures.
Do you still get your wishes if you throw acorns in the fountain instead of quarters?

Kaitlyn & Josh

2011-11-02T21:44:00.005-05:00

A while back I did some Senior pictures for our niece Kaitlyn. You can revisit those here. Recently she called me and asked me if I would take some pictures of her with her boyfriend Josh. We picked a free weekend and got the deed done.
I think some of them turned out pretty great. I hope she is happy with them. It was nice to meet Josh. He seemed very sweet and pretty smitten with our Kaitlyn.
Josh is in his Senior Year and was in need of some Senior portraits as well, so I did a few of him just by himself. I hope his mom likes them.

I got a little creative in a few shots just for the fun of it.

We had a nice time doing the pictures and then enjoyed a delicious Mexican lunch together before they headed back home to Mississippi.

Family Photographs

2011-10-28T14:51:00.003-05:00

We had a good time watching Avery dance last weekend. She had fun dancing too, and watching the other kids dance.Everyone enjoyed all the other fun things we did while we were there.

When we sat down for The Reeves to eat their lunch, we decided it would be a great spot for some family photos. I am so glad Casey got these of us. I love them.
I got these of their little family.I know Avery will be glad when that sweet couple is home from New York City. I am so glad they got to go! It wont be long now.

First Dance

2011-10-26T20:58:00.007-05:00

This last weekend was Avery's first dance that we were allowed to go and see since she started her little dance classes that she loves.
The kids had to dress in a costume of their choice to dance in. Avery chose to be a strawberry! The cutest strawberry I have ever seen thats for sure!
Before the dance there was tons of stuff for the kids to do. Avery loves slides like this. She wouldn't sit to slide though, "No Way".
We enjoyed watching her do her thing.
After it was all over we got Averys things and brought her back to Vidalia to stay with us while her Mommy and Daddy got to go to the Big Apple! Caseys DREAM! We are having a big time here in Vidalia, but I know one little girl who is having a BIG TIME herself! What a great birthday present for my little girl to be able to spend a week in New York City!

October 15

2011-10-25T06:51:00.003-05:00

October 15th was Pregnancy & Infant Loss Remembrance Day

A friend of ours lost her baby boy Myles at 40 weeks. It was very tragic and sad. We know that pain. Kelly has organized this remembrance day in our area and we went up to the riverfront to attend.

There were children there running a playing. That sure made you think about the little one who left us way too soon. I was certainly wondering myself about our little Carson and how he might be running along with them if things had gone differently.

We were all given balloons. Some wrote messages on them. The balloons were released all together. Avery had a small frown on her face at the release. I did too. Probably for different reasons. It was emotional.
We lit candles too.
It was a beautiful night and a nice point of remembrance to end the day with.

More Balloon Fun

2011-10-23T15:55:00.003-05:00

Avery ran around and burned up energy. This balloon came very close and then landed right near us. Then it deflated and deflated. I thought we were going to have to move so it wouldnt fall on us. But it didnt. It was nice to be that close. Avery got pretty brave and got real close.
She had fun!

Tilt A Whirl???

2011-10-22T07:00:00.004-05:00

Another fun thing we did last weekend was let Avery ride the rides at the fair. She was excited about riding this thing. Charlie was the one who decided to ride with her. They waited their turn in line and then climbed aboard. When Charlie sat down this thing TILTED! When it took off it tilted some more making it seem more like a Tilt -A- Whirl than a Farris Wheel! Charlie chose to move seats thinking it would even it out somewhat. :) So this thing did a little rocking and rolling. Thats when Avery hollered out ----
"DA DA, HOLD MY HANDS AND PRAY TO JESUS!!!!!!" (Oh that cracked me up!)
He did hold her hands. And they held hands for the remainder of the ride. At one point she called down to Casey, "MAMA, I don' like dis" She was one happy camper when that ride was over. The whole thing made her mama a little nervous as well. But everythings better when she with her daddy!

Flea Market Fun

2011-10-20T16:51:00.006-05:00

During the LSU game Todd, Avery and I decided to slip away from the game and head on up to the Flea Market that always takes place during Balloon Race Weekend. Avery saw the Bouncing Castle right away and asked to jump. There were actually two of them and she peered into the first one. It had no kids jumping in it and she very quickly said she wasnt getting in the one with no kids in it. She had so much fun in there that when we crossed its path again, she wanted to jump again. So she did.

She also enjoyed making her own Sand Art. She had fun doing it herself! :)
Then she got to "dig" for "treasures"
We walked through the entire Flea Market and enjoyed the Balloons that flew over and the ones that landed near us while we were there. Avery enjoyed running and running around.
We all had a good time. It was a very nice weekend!

Balloon Glow

2011-10-18T20:03:00.003-05:00

Around here it was Balloon Race Weekend.
First of the festivities was the Balloon Glow on Friday night.
There was a free Concert with some great Praise Music on the Riverfront.
Guess who enjoyed it to no end.
This girl LOVES to dance.
She has the moves!

Meeting Courtney

2011-10-10T18:17:00.004-05:00

Mark came over this weekend and introduced us to Courtney, his girlfriend. She is very sweet, down to earth, and comfortable to be around. We like her a lot and I think Mark does to.

Of course we ate. Because it seems that what I do is COOK. So yes we enjoyed food together. I made steaks and Pioneer Womans delicious Twice Baked Potatoes along with Caseys delicious Bacon wrapped green beans. Everything was great. (Sorta) Funny story here -- I was also going to use Pioneer Womans Grilled Beef Tenderloin recipe. So I went to the store and asked the Butcher if they had Beef Tenderloin since I had never really seen it there, but hadnt looked for it either. He said they did so I asked if I could see it. He brought one out to me and that is exactly what it looked like on the show where I saw the recipe. I was excited and then confused. Confused when I saw the price on the tenderloin. I did not have my glasses on so I asked the man, "Does that say $44? He said "Yes Man, it is an expensive cut." I should say so. Ribeyes it is!!!!!!!!! By the way, they normally cut it up into steaks to sell it.

When Courtney spotted the trampoline she had to go jump. What did I do? Of course, I grabbed my camera. Then I invited Josh to join us, but he opted out. :(

I got a few pictures of them enjoying the trampoline.Mark was flipping here and there but Courtney definitely showed she had SKILLS!
I was impressed.

The trampoline has not been used in a while. I dont know if that is why it was soooooo dirty but they couldnt jump too long because it was turning everything that touched it BLACK! It's never done it that bad before. I definitely need to give it a scrub.

I am glad that we got to meet Courtney and we had a great weekend.

Mammy's Cupboard

2011-09-26T19:09:00.006-05:00

The last weekend that the family was here Casey, Avery, and I had a girls day out lunch, at this little place.

It was sooooo delicious! As always!

We had been to Bark in the Park at the Indian Village running and playing. Avery was a little thirsty so when our waitress had to actually take our orders and then leave our table without leaving Avery her Sprite well, she had something to say about it, like "Hey why that lady not bring my Sprite."
Thankfully the waitress came back shortly with that important Sprite.

Shucks. I cant remember why she was saying "Pleeeeeaaasse". But I got the shot and I am sure whatever it was, with that face, she got it.

She was excited about the day. We had fun. If I hadnt waited so long to post I could probably remember what exactly she was particularly excited about in this picture. It was probably just the fact that she got to spend the day with Nonna. Yea that was probably it. I am sure. Yea.

And of course we couldn't leave without bringing Poppa a piece of thisAnd a sandwich
and soup
and potatoe salad of course.

Pretty much after we got back into the car little Miss Avery Grace was SACKED OUT!

LOST THINGS FOUND

2011-09-24T15:33:00.005-05:00

Recently one morning to my surprise as I was wiping down the windowsill in my bathroom I got to the corner of the windowsill and what to my wandering eye should appear but two shiny earrings glittering near!

Probably 6 months ago those earrings vanished. I confess I placed blame on this sweet little innocent girl!

MY APOLOGIES!
She used to love to get in my jewelry box and root around. We have since broken her from that habit but at the time that my beautiful earrings disappeared she was well into the fun of it.

So apparently Todd was opening a window in the back bedroom, formerly known-and I guess still known as Joshuas room. There in the windowsill was my shiny pair of diamond earrings! It seems when we were re-doing our bedroom and sleeping in Joshuas room while he was away at school, I took them off and placed them there, probably because I wore them to bed and they were bothering me. Never would I have looked there for them. And I didnt.

I am so happy to have them back. It was like getting new jewelry all over again!

Finding them reminded me of another time I lost a piece of jewelry. I know, I am terrible! How embarrasing. You'd think I would be much more responsible. Sorry!

Anyway, I was making biscuits and I didnt want to get the dough all in my grandmothers ring. Okay, she wasnt really my grandmother, my great Aunt I think. We called her Memaw and she was the closest thing I had to a grandmother on my daddys side as his mom died when he was little bitty. So, on with the story. For some really crazy reason, I took off my ring (that I inherited when Memaw passed away) and placed it high in the kitchen cabinet so as not to LOSE it. Then I forgot about it. By the time I missed it, silly me, I couldnt remember where I put it. Each time I placed something in the cabinet it shoved my ring further and further back. The ring was gone for a really long time. Now I cant remember how long but maybe a year or so. But eventually I decided to have a garage sale because I LOVE those things. NOT!!!!!!!! I was cleaning out the kitchen cabinets one morning to find things to sell. There in the very back of the cabinet I saw something glimmer and thought "What in the world is that?" Yep, my grandmothers antique diamond ring! I went to hollering and screaming. I jumped out of that chair and RAN outside to where Todd was. He turned around really fast to see what was wrong and why all the screaming. I was so excited to find that which had been lost.

There are other things I have lost in the past like debit cards---Once I left it at LaFiesta, once I dropped it in Office Depot; thankfully one of our former students worked there and when she saw it in the bottom of the cash drawer where someone had tucked it she knew that it was me and gave us a call!

Finding lost things brings a sense of relief, satisfaction, and excitement.

And THAT reminds me of a few things in Gods word. Luke tells us that Jesus was trying to make a point. The reason I say that is that He gave not one or two but three different examples.

Luke 15:4-5 "If you had a hundred sheep, and one of them strayed away and was lost in the wilderness, wouldnt you leave the ninety nine others to go and search for the lost one until you found it? And then you would joyfully carry it home on your shoulders. When you arrived you would call together your friends and neighbors to rejoice with you because your lost sheep was found."
Luke 15:8 "Or suppose a woman has ten valuable silver coins and loses one. Wont she light a lamp and look in every corner of the house and sweep every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors to rejoice with her because she has found her lost coin."

And then Jesus goes on there to tell us the story of The Prodigal Son in which the father plans a celebration upon the sons return because "He was lost, but now is found."

Luke 15:7 says of the lost sheep found "In the same way, heaven will be happier over one lost sinner who returns to God than over ninety nine others who are righteous and havent strayed away."
Luke 15:10 says of the lost coin found "In the same way, there is joy in the presence of Gods angels when even one sinner repents."

Luke 19:10 says "Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost."

LOST THINGS FOUND BRING CELEBRATION!

Tee Pees, Indian Mounds, & Pit Bulls OH MY

2011-09-17T20:58:00.005-05:00

Today was a beautiful day. Bark In The Park was happening at The Grand Village of the Natchez Indians so we took Avery over there to see the dogs and run around a little. We had a good time.

First we explored a bit.
Avery liked the Tee Pee but said she wouldn't want to live there.
The Indian Mounds were a hit. Avery gave me instructions on how to get down and held my hand.
We made it!!!
We saw lots of dogs and even puppies! Avery said she wanted one of these Pit Bulls. She didnt have $150 so we didnt bring one home.

This is my favorite photo from the day.
It's always fun to do something a little bit out of the ordinary.

Once Upon A Time

2011-09-15T19:01:00.003-05:00

Once upon a time...

Way back when, I had three littles at home...

Casey was playing ball, struggling to hit it hard enough to get to first base. I can remember the look on her face. Lips tightened together, eyes on the base, elbows out---way out, and running "her" fastest.

Mark playing T-Ball and loving every second of it. Oh and he was also running into walls, wrecking bikes, and falling off the bunk bed... (Thus the scar on his cheek in this picture). How did he survive?

Josh was into everything... Pulling bottles of ketchup out of the refrigerator and busting it all over the floor. Reaching up to grab the powdered Gain Box and dumping it all into his eyes and all down the rest of him. Dumping paint on the floor, where I was three feet away painting the wall. And we cant forget, pulling down the Christmas tree. Yes he did that two years in a row.
I know --cute, but quite a hand full. Never take your eyes off him!

I remember those days with much pleasure.

One day in particular I remember talking with Todd about how we would watch them grow; and grow old together ourselves.

And I'll be darned if we didnt do it.

A great reminder would be when Mark walked into my office today dressed to a "T" in his black slacks, shirt & tie. He looked like a man I tell you!

And I guess he is.

Casey a mom herself of a little dancer. I can hardly believe it.

And Josh a sophomore in COLLEGE no less.

Once upon a time...

Remember These?

2011-09-10T14:17:00.002-05:00

Remember these?

Casey had one of these Cabbage Patch Kids back in the day. She left it outside one day and a dog drug it off never to be seen a gain. Insert teardrop, sniff sniff...

Today some friends of ours, as a matter of fact our Pastor and his beautiful wife were having a garage sale to benefit their adoption which you can read about here. They already have three wonderful little boys but have found room for one more little orphaned girl from Peru. Hopefully their journey to Peru will come soon. Those plane tickets are not cheap though; not to mention every thing else that comes along with International Adoption. So they had this garage sale in hopes to sell lots of stuff and earn much needed funds for Peru. I made my way to the garage sale this morning and this is what I found. I thought maybe Avery wouldnt mind adopting herself. So now she is the proud new mama to a set of twins. One she has chosen to name Carson (which almost caused a tear). Still waiting on the girls name.

I brought the dolls home and cleaned them up good. I even washed the little girls hair. It looks awesome! I bought them some preemie clothes (just like Avery wore when she was three months old!!!!). I fixed them all up, waiting for Avery to get to come to Nonnas to get them.

Then I had a lightbulb idea!

I remembered that I had the cradle my daddy made when my kids were babies.
I drug it out of storage and cleaned it up. I had so much fun getting it all ready for Avery to play with her new babies in. I thought about when daddy made them. I bet he had even more fun making them for his grand daughter to play with than I did cleaning it up for mine.

I had three special things that daddy made. One was a Rocking horse. Avery has that in her room now.

I have this cradle, which will go to my next granddaughter.

And I have a "Bear Bed" too. That will go to my first grandson.

Well actually I am planning on giving one to one of Marks kids, and the other one to one of Joshuas kids. So hopefully that plays out as I intend but if not I will figure it out then.

I am so thankful to have these treasures to pass along to my grandchildren. I wish there were more things to pass along. (Especially that HUGE rocking GIRAFFE, with leather stirrups he made for me when I was 11) But they said it was too big to move with us when we moved here so they gave it away. Insert tear, sniff sniff.

Look Who's a Dancer

2011-09-05T16:42:00.002-05:00

These are her TAP SHOES!

I cant believe our little miracle is about to take DANCE

And I cant WAIT till we get to go to a recital and watch her.

All I can think about when I see her in this little outfit is that tiny beginning.

What a BLESSING!

Rain Dancing

2011-09-03T19:17:00.003-05:00

Guess what it FINALLY did today!

Yay! I drove through puddles and walked through puddles. That is something I havent done in a long time.

Avery wanted to play outside so why not?

Because I needed a new blog post

2011-08-30T20:01:00.002-05:00

This is only because I needed a new blog post and I have nothing new to report here so thats it!

Wish I could spend a few more days with these guys some time soon. Who knows???
This is the moon from my moms back yard! Cool huh?
I really really tried my hardest to get a picture of the tons of lightening bugs flying around that night. No such luck. :(

I did however get this shot of this beautiful bird. Cool huh?

And last but not least this is one of my brothers "Green Thumb" projects.He gave me a cactus while I was there which I am very proud and blessed to say has been re-potted into a bigger pot and is currently THRIVING and growing in my office!

Maybe I will have some more interesting stuff to blog about soon.

Dream Land

2011-08-19T15:20:00.005-05:00

I find this somewhat amusing so I decided to document it here. I will be doing this from time to time, just because.

My sweet, wonderful, awesome husband has one flaw. Well, if you can call it a flaw. Never mind, its not a flaw at all, but it is pretty funny. He talks in his sleep on occasion. If you know someone who talks in their sleep then you know it is so crazy how wide awake they sound. You would never know in a million years that they were sleeping, unless you do of course.

So last night was one such occasion.

This is how it went down:

Sleeping Todd: How are we gonna re-mix it?

Me: Huh?

Todd: How are we gonna re-mix it?

Me: I have no idea what you are talking about.

Todd: You know that re-mix we need. How are we gonna do that?

Me: Uh, goodnight crazy person.

I am thinking he must be a music producer in his DREAMS!

Believe me, there will be more to come.

Celebration Day

2011-08-10T17:20:00.004-05:00

Our church recently had what we called Celebration Day. We went out to a local neighborhood and did an outreach to families there. We set up a large Jumping Castle and Waterslide. There were games for the kids, Family Photos, and Prizes. There was also a great band and Supper in the form of grilled burgers, chips, and drinks. Many gave their testimonies which was pretty moving and there were definitely some skits that brought me to tears.

Everyone had a great time and it was cool to reach out to others. And by the way, that was the ONLY thing "COOL" about the 100 degree day. Just sayin. :)

Here are a few pictures of the kids sliding.

Wait! Did I say kids???????????????????????

Way Back Wednesday

2011-08-03T08:29:00.002-05:00

Party of 11

2011-07-27T15:43:00.011-05:00

My last weekend before going back to work = :(

So we made it fun:

There was splashing

And boating

Ballet Dancing

Cannon Balling

Wrestling

Swinging

Tricks

Watering

Sliding

& More sliding

This is Josh attempting to learn to do a flip

Here is Adam showing him how.

And Charlie showing him how

He concentrated and tried again

but could not quite get the hang of it.

We had homemade ice cream while we swam and then all went out for a delicious dinner.

PARTY OF 11

WORDLESS WAY BACK WEDNESDAY

2011-07-20T09:17:00.001-05:00

Kitty Kitty

2011-07-15T17:34:00.004-05:00

KITTY KITTY WHERE ARE YOU?

This is Sid our cat.
We got her in late 1995 or early 1996 after we found out my dad was sick.

Yes I named my cat after my daddy! John Sid Stella ----What?!

Turns out that was the name of the bad kid in Toy Story 1 so the name was fitting in that respect. Lets just say Sid is sorta anti social. Just ask my friend Penny.

See she doesnt look real happy about this does she?

Anyway, Sid is missing. She hasnt been home in over a week. From time to time she disappears for a few days and then returns, but this trip is taking longer than her normal trips do.

Sid Kitty, where are you?

Cornerstone Kids

2011-07-13T21:47:00.005-05:00

On Wednesday Nights Todd and I along with help from our friends Beaux and Beth take the Cornerstone Kids group which consists of kids Under Junior High age.

We have quite a good group of kids. We enjoy spending a little time with them each week getting the chance to teach them more about Gods word and His ways.

This week we had a little activity outside before going into the sanctuary.

I think they enjoyed our game. Maybe they even learned a little lesson from it. That was the idea anyway.

Then inside and on to a little Kids Praise! I have said it before and I will say it again I think we adults could learn a little something about praise from them. :) -Uninhibited-

Lately we have been doing a series with videos and the kids really love them. You would not believe how still and quiet they sit while the video is playing. Even the littlest. I think they are learning a lot too.So here is your look at our Wednesday Nights!!

Little Kaitlyn Grew Up

2011-07-04T17:01:00.003-05:00

Our niece used to be a little girl.

I remember summers she came to Vidalia to visit Todds parents. She was always so sweet. She still is.

She is all grown up now.

I enjoyed doing some Senior Portraits for her.

We worked hard. It was really hot outside! But we had a good time and I think they turned out pretty good.

I think this may be my favorite of the bunch. Maybe

Oh and I just had to show you THESE!

She CAN actually walk in them! WOW!!!!

Praying Gods blessings on Kaitlyn as she goes into her Senior Year and on to college! Man they grow up fast!

Wordless Wednesday Sneak Peek

2011-06-29T18:07:00.001-05:00

Sliding Board

2011-06-24T20:58:00.004-05:00

I think we need a bigger slide!

That did not keep her off of it though.

Farmers Market Creation

2011-06-23T16:55:00.003-05:00

After my visit to the Farmers Market, where Josh is also working this summer when he can,

THESEafter a little work

have becomeTHISCant wait to dive into that after supper!

Peel and slice 10 large peaches. Mix with 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 1 tsp cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Place mixture into pie crust. Place pieces of 2 tsp butter on top, cover with additional pie crust. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, lower temperature to 375 degrees and bake for 40 minutes. Cover with foil and bake 25 more minutes. -Now the hard part, allow to cool for 2 hours!

More Family Time

2011-06-21T19:02:00.004-05:00

This past weekend our whole gang was here. It was of course Fathers Day weekend but also Charlies 27th birthday weekend. So we took time to celebrate together.
Charlie is proud of his new jeep and took the doors off for the first time. (With a little help from Mark)
Avery played in the sprinkler in the back yard. Poppa hooked it up and she cut it on.
Interestingly enough there is this small hole in our yard where we (sadly) cut down my redbud tree as it was having issues. Anyway, Avery thought it was great to get right up to the edge of it and carefully jump over this hole time and time again.

We invited some friends over for Charlies birthday and had a DELICIOUS dinner complete with birthday cake for dessert!We did sing Happy Birthday to him and Avery helped him blow out his candles. She insists that he wished for Tinkerbell. Who knows maybe she was right.
We went gator hunting once again. We did see a few of these but not nearly as many as before.
It was an interesting hunt though and very nice out.
We had a great time with our family and friends and are completely blessed to have each and every one of them. Todd had a great Father's Day. The gifts he got were nice but I know that what he enjoyed the most was having everyone here.

Josh

2011-06-17T14:51:00.005-05:00

A few thoughts:

The other day I took Josh to the doctor because of some stomach issues he has been having that I was thinking needed to be checked on.
So after the initial visit with the doctor, blood work was needed.
We went in early Wednesday for that purpose.
He is a big boy now, so he went back on his own.
When he was all finished he came back out into the waiting room and closed the door behind him. He immediately said "I dont feel good." I asked him if he was going to throw up. He shook his head, I knocked on the door to get the nurse to come back out and sat him down. He said it again, "I dont feel good." and then proceeded to dive over into the chair next to him. I jumped over to him and raised him up to an upright sitting position. He was OUT COLD. NADA -- NOTHING! I had to hold his head straight because it was falling, he made horrible noises like choking, or gutteral sounds. Let me tell you that was pretty dad gum scary. About that time the nurses got there and we moved him to the floor. STILL COMPLETELY OUT COLD - COMPLETELY! When we got him to the floor he made some moaning noises and jerked around a little - AGAIN, pretty scary. Still out cold.
Lets just say everyone in that waiting room now knows what I do when trouble comes. I laid hands on him and prayed out loud for him right there in front of about 15 or more people. I cant really remember what I prayed except for God to bring healing. I know it was more though. Then finally his eyes popped open and he said "What?" lol
I told him everything was okay just to lay still. He looked real confused and just looked around. The doctor listened to his heart, talked to him a second. We got him into a wheel chair then and brought him back. They checked his blood pressure and it was REALLY low, like 57/48 or something like that. AGAIN pretty scary.
After a Dr Pepper, and a cinnamon roll, he felt better.
So it seems that Josh takes after his dad in that department.
We wont be doing any blood draws any time again soon. ONLY WHEN ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY!

After it was all over and I could collect my thoughts, I remembered back a bit to a simpler time when he felt bad and I could just pick him up in my lap, hug him, move back all that blonde hair off his forehead and kiss him, and just hold on to him for a while making things better.

I was reminded too (by a friend) of a time when he was about three years old and was sick with an ear infection and we made a visit to the doctor. We were in the waiting room and people were going back as they were called, while we were reading a book, he in my lap. Then after one more person went back, Josh said, "Mama, when all these people get done going back to see Dr. Polk and he prays for them, then I am going back for him to pray for me?" :)
It was his first visit to a doctor besides well visits. His only experience with sickness had been that when he felt bad or was sick we prayed for him. Guess he figured we needed bigger prayers for this earache! hehehe

I love those memories.

Times sure are different now.
Thankfully the blood work all came back fine. So far no more issues with the stomach. Praying God answered my bring healing prayer. :)

BLESSED

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-15T10:33:00.004-05:00

June 2009

June 2011

Look at dem gators!

2011-06-13T08:19:00.003-05:00

Since the river rising a favorite pastime of locals is to go gator looking. We went once before and saw a few. It was pretty interesting. Yesterday afternoon we decided to go again. So we drove down (the paved portion) of the levee and were on the look out. We ended up seeing several.
Probably a dozen. It is something how those guys can hide themselves. As a matter of fact this particular one was so still and near the edge that at first we thought it was just a log. But I knew the shape seemed to be more. I took a picture then looked in the camera at the close up view and there he was! So we got a little closer look and finally he started to move. Until of course he was tired of us watching him and decided to move on.

You seriously have to look close to find them. They are very good at camoflauging themselves.

Wow, to live in Louisiana!

Pool Time

2011-06-12T15:31:00.008-05:00

After our Memphis trip we decided to go see more family for a few days. So we went and had a couple of days with Casey, Charlie, Avery, Gigi, and Pap. We enjoyed swimming at Richard and Corres. We had a good time together. Last year Avery wasnt so keen on the pool thing, but this year she was all for it. She LOVED it! She wanted all of us to swim her around, unless of course she wanted to "do it my self!".

She loved throwing things into the pool.
She loved the splashes.There were lots of smiles.

We all had a good time in the pool. We played 21. Josh won! We also played HORSE. Guess who won? Yes I beat all the guys!
Okay it was a fluke, but I did it and I want it documented! :)
Charlie had definite skills!
Avery discovered the slide.
A little nervous but READY
SET ------ GO!
"I do that again!"

And again--
And again.

Todd sure needed this week of rest and relaxation. I am so glad he got it.

FAMILY & LAUGHS

2011-06-09T21:46:00.006-05:00

This is my family.
My sister, brother, and mom.
There was another brother who only lived a few hours; and we lost daddy in October of '97.
Both sets of grandparents are gone. As a matter of fact I only knew the one grandparent, Ma. The others were all gone before I was born.
We are a small family, but here we are.

It was very nice to get together with all of them recently. We enjoyed each others company. There was some very interesting conversation, much of which was about politics. This is definitely the side of the family where Casey gets her passion for politics.
We also did a good bit of eating! We went to this pretty well known place.
If you like Italian at all you should try this place when in Memphis. It was very nice. Full of all sorts of antique interesting things. Lots of the tables were actually antique things. Like this bed. There were actually several antique bed frames used as tables. And this old rail car
There were other tables inside old phone booths, and tickets booths... It was really neat. We had a good time there together with my mom and brother. This is Johnny getting inside this old safe.

This is an old barbers chair. My grandpa (Daddys Dad) was a barber (Joe Stella) who came to the US with his wife Eva from Italy! Todd made me laugh when he first sat in this chair and it went back on him. It was pretty funny.

Todd said something there that made me laugh. I am sure it was about that statue.
This is me inside the old confessional. (Is that what you call it? I think so.) Johnny was listening to my confession.
And this is when Todd made me laugh again!
We left the restaurant full and decided to walk downtown a while.
Johnny got me this souvenir penny. You know the kind that rolls out flat! :)

We went in this gift shop and Todd made me laugh AGAIN. ELVIS GLASSES! Do you see those side burns? hehehe
We had fun in that gift shop too. We tried on glasses
And hatsWe really had a good evening together. Todd stayed up so late! I was so proud.
It was a good time all together with my Mom, my brother, my sister, her husband, and mine.

GOOD TIMES

PERFECTLY PLEASED

2011-05-31T19:22:00.003-05:00

Here are a few more shots from Marks Graduation Day.This one was right after Mark came out and we met up with him! YAY MARK!

This was back at Marks house. Charlie was explaining how they broke into the house since they got there and no one had a key! Hmmmm

This was at the restaurant. Avery was pleased with the menu choices. She really enjoyed her salad and especially enjoyed her Daddy's Quail.

Proud of my son and blessed.

Here are the PERFECTLY PLEASED PARENTS!

He has his Masters! Thats crazy

2011-05-23T20:25:00.007-05:00

We had a wonderful celebration this past weekend. Our oldest son--

MARK CHRISTOPHER WELCH

graduated with his MBA in Business Economics!

We are very proud of all of his hard work. We pray that he will find God's path for his future.

We headed up to Ruston for the days celebrations. We made it to the University and met him in the hallway there. We visited for a few minutes before he had to go line up. Can you tell we are proud of him?

Here is when he found his name in the program.
There were lots of graduates all excited and pleased to be there.

There he is on the back row with the other Masters recipiants.We sat way up high but kept our eye on him. Avery did really well for the 3 hour process.
It was very cool and even a little emotional when he got closer as he was making his way up to get his diploma.

After graduation was over we stopped by Marks house and a few folks had to try on the cap of course.
Meanwhile Mark added to his Diploma Frame!
Then we went out for a delicious dinner to celebrate!

This is just before we left. Avery was giving her Uncle Mark a Congratulations Hug!
Have I ever mentioned how BLESSED we are?

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-18T18:34:00.002-05:00

What Do You Do?

2011-05-17T18:11:00.006-05:00

What do you do when there is all this talk about rising rivers?

What do you do when tons of your neighbors are moving all their stuff out of their homes and across the river?

What do you besides drive around looking at the water in so many places you have never seen it before?

Well trust the Lord, pray, & seek Him of course.

AND-------------

THIS
OR THIS--

Disclaimer: In no way am I making light of our situation here in our precious town. This really is what we did on the weekend. Family fun helps stressful situations. :)

Life As We Know It

2011-05-15T16:12:00.006-05:00

So far so good. Yes the water is still rising but all is well. The projected crest has been lowered a bit so thats good news. Levees are holding strong. Praise God.
The water is now almost up to the top of the flat part of the opening in the bridge supports. (Crazy!)
Life as we know it could change.

But for now we still enjoy our community, our homes, and most of all our family and our time together.

So all in all we are keeping an eye on things.

Waiting and watching and listening.

I must admit I have been one to gripe about living in this flatland, when God created such beauty other places, like mountains, and oceans...
But I do realize the blessing of this place and the beauty.

There is wonderful wildlife here. We have seen some of it lately.

We saw one of these today!

Todd even saw a bobcat on our mini adventure! I missed it, so no pictures.

Thanking God for each day!

High Waters

2011-05-13T18:05:00.005-05:00

I have been so busy at work it is taking me way to long to post pictures. Then when I tried yesterday, blogger was down. But finally today I am posting a few pictures of the high waters.

This was taken several days ago.
This one, yesterday. And today it is even higher.

This is where Mic works. Yes he is off work for a while, with pay. I dont think he is complaining too loudly. This one was taken several days ago.
This was yesterday, again, today EVEN HIGHER!

This is the old West Bank Eatery Building, or more recently known as the old Slough Daddys Building where Mark worked while in high school. This one was also taken several days ago.

This is the Riverwalk. This one was taken several days ago and we thought is was high then. Today it is past those rocks, on up well over that walkway. CRAZY!

It's definitely not too often we see much of this around here.
Or this

Or this

Thankful for them monitoring the levees and continuing to pray they hold strong!

IN JESUS NAME

2011-05-07T17:18:00.005-05:00

Here are a few more pictures from Easter Weekend.

Look at those curls. I am pretty sure my hair was like that when I was little.

She loves to make silly sounds that make no sense. Thats what she was doing here.

I love this sweet little face.

I had fun taking these that weekend. We had fun again this weekend. We went back up there on the bluff to look at the rising waters. It was up thats for sure. While lots of folks around were packing up their belongings and moving to Natchez we just went over for a visit. I am still praying for the Mississippi to hold the water within its banks and for the levees to hold. IN JESUS NAME!

Windy City & Mighty Mississippi

2011-05-05T20:48:00.004-05:00

No we didnt go to Chicago.

But here in the Natchez Vidalia area on Easter weekend, it was quite windy.

Can you tell?

Yes we had our fair share of wind.

Now it seems that we are having, and are going to have our fair share of water.

The Mississippi is threatening to swell out of its banks here. I am praying as many are that the levees hold here and that the Mississippi stays within its banks. Please pray with me. Really really pray. We are trusting God. He is good. He is mighty. Even mightier than the Mississippi.

On The Bluff

2011-04-30T16:04:00.004-05:00

On the Monday after Easter everyone got to stay around an extra day so we took advantage of it. We went to eat and after dinner we spent some time on the Bluff. It was enjoyable and something a little different for us. Avery had a great time running around. I had a great time taking pictures. Poppa had a great time with Avery. Everyone had a good time enjoying the beautiful weather, scenery, and company. Hope we get to do something like that again soon.

A Merry Heart Doeth Good Like A Medicine

2011-04-28T20:39:00.002-05:00

Sometimes our Son In Law just makes us laugh.

What a Wonderful Easter Weekend

2011-04-25T18:27:00.005-05:00

We were blessed to have Casey, Charlie, & Josh home for Easter Weekend. One of the fun things we did while they were here was dye some eggs. Avery really enjoyed it.

I found that taking pictures while dyeing eggs makes for colorful pictures.

Josh asked me today "Why do you take so many pictures?" I answered. "Its just a hobby. You know how you like to sit and watch sports on TV? Same sort of thing. Just something I enjoy".

Yes I enjoy it. Thankfully I have this blog to post some of my favorites on.

So here are a few more.

Avery also enjoyed hiding and hunting the eggs once they dried. She even enjoyed hunting the eggs that she hid herself.

Casey is such a good mommy to Avery. She plays and plays with her. They played Hide and Seek, Casey hid eggs while Avery searched for them, Avery hid eggs while Casey searched for them. They played Mommy and "Lil Girl" (guess who was the Lil Girl-Yep - Casey was). She is such a great mommy. I love watching them play together.

Arent they beautiful together?!

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday. We know we are blessed. It started off with a wonderful church service. Then a wonderful meal. Then a wonderful day with family and friends.

Good Times

Wonderful Wonderful Wonderful

One Sweet Family

2011-04-23T18:54:00.003-05:00

This weekend I got to spend about an hour with one of the sweetest families I have ever known. Our wonderful Pastor and his beautiful wife along with their three boys. I found out how much more difficult it is to photograph children. When two are smiling, the other is running away. When two are happy, one is ready to be done...

But I think in it all we got a few good shots.

This little family is expecting. They are expecting a little girl from Peru. Their adoption process is well on its way and that precious little girl should be here sometime soon. Cant wait to make some more pictures for them with their new addition. In this picture Calley is holding a map of Peru as they wait for her.

The morning went really well. I could have done a ton more. The boys would not have been too thrilled with that though, so that was that.

80th Birthday Party

2011-04-19T20:25:00.007-05:00

Last weekend we had a wonderful celebration. Todds Dad is turning 80! A bunch of us gathered together to celebrate. This, of course, was right up Todd's alley because he loves this kind of thing.

The food was wonderful.

Everyone had a good time, especially the kids.

The conversation was interesting and funny at times. This is Mickey -Todd's brother explaining politics or religion.

This is Sandra, Todd's sister with her grand daughter Courtney.This is her again with her three kids Kaitlyn, Ryan, and Donny.

We saw so many people we hadnt seen in a very long time and lots that I had never met. It was nice.

Bill seemed pleased and like he enjoyed the whole thing. I guess its always nice having people you love say nice things about you.
An extra birthday gift from Josh - Putting on the Ole Miss Hat!!!!!

This is Bill and his sister Aunt Cathy.

This is Bill and Linda with all their children. The first guy is Dale. We dont get to see him very often and it was great to see him for Bills birthday.

This is Bill and Linda with all their grandchildren and great grandchildren that were there. Oh and by the way, we REALLY MISSED STEPHANIE AND ZACH, Mics kids. :(
Here is the whole group of us minus a few who left a little early.
Also a big THANK YOU to Bill and Lindafor raising such a wonderful son! I am blessed to be his wife.

OK here is one more HAPPY 80th BIRTHDAY BILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gentleness

2011-04-18T18:29:00.002-05:00

Todd and I have been teaching a series to the childrens group at our church on The Fruits of the Spirit. It has gone really well and we have enjoyed it. I think the kids have too. Last week was the week we learned about gentleness.

Every week we like to have an "activity" pertaining to the particular "Fruit of the Spirit" we have discussed. For example for "Love" we created a gift bag that they decorated and gave it to someone they love, or someone they thought needed a little extra love. For "Kindness" we put together a treat bag for the teachers at my school and the next day I delivered a little kindness to them. So for "Gentleness" I decided to go by the local farm supply and pick up a few baby chicks. I thought they would have some since Easter was pretty close. I was right. They did. So Todd and I went by and picked up three of them. Now of course I have no where to house chickens. But I did not go to buy them until I knew they would have a good home after my use of them. I checked with Brother Paul who has his own mini farm at his house where they have Chickens, Turkeys, Peacocks, and Guineas. He gladly agreed to adopt my chicks when we were through with them. So we taught our lesson on gentleness and then after our lesson all of the children each got a chance to hold a baby chick. Actually they all took a couple of turns at it and seemed very excited and pleased. And for the most part were very gentle. :)

Now Avery Grace is not here during the week and was not at church on Wednesday night. I really wanted her to be able to be gentle with the chick and enjoy it too. So we sent two of the little chicks to live with Brother Paul after church on Wednesday night, but the last little one stayed with us through the weekend so that Avery could have a little fun with it. I was glad we decided to do that because she really enjoyed chasing the little chick which we never came up with a name for. She loved holding him and feeding him.She wasnt too thrilled when I told her it would go to live at Brother Pauls with its other chick friends. She said "No -my chick". But it was time for the little chick to go live over there. Those things grow crazy fast. I think this thing doubled in size in the almost week we had it.

We enjoyed having the chick for a few days. It slept in the kitchen. hehehe I had a basket it stayed in unless we took it outside for a bit. I thought it might drive me crazy chirping all night. But around 8 pm it decided it was bed time and quietly slept all night each night. I am glad we did this. It was good all the way around.

Galatians 5:22 & 23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; against such things there is no law.

Memories Old and New

2011-04-09T20:18:00.003-05:00

I remember playing dress up in my moms dresses when I was little. For some reason I remember this black sorta chiffon dress. It would be so cool to still have it. Oh well, I know thats crazy talk. Last weekend when I was able to get those lovely shots by the azalea, I was also able to get some of a different sort.
I was looking for something in the closet when I noticed that box. The one that has been in a closet somewhere since 1983. Um yea thats almost 28 years! Thus the yellowing. But Avery didnt seem to mind.
I remember when she was little and I thought some day Casey might wear my gown in her wedding. Again, Crazy talk. Of course she didnt wear it. It was way outdated. By the way if you watch the Duggars and saw the Renewal of Vows Episode they showed pictures of their wedding. Yes my dress looks very similar to hers. I guess I was the modest sort. Ha! Well I will tell you this. I tried on several gowns and when I put this one on, I KNEW it was the dress. I did have that experience lots of people hope for when trying on wedding gowns. I remember thinking how beautiful it was. :)

Anyway, when I saw the box in the top of the closet I KNEW Avery would want to play dress up in it. So I pulled the box down and asked her if she wanted to dress like a real princess in Nonnas Wedding Dress. I was right, she did. I mean WHY NOT? It was just sitting there. ALL THOSE YEARS. So thats what we did.
She seemed very happy to be putting it on. Her daddy thought it was somehow "creepy". I didnt think so though.

We of course went outside for pictures. It was fun watching her prance around. Although it was hard for her to move much in the dress. She kept telling Casey "You be the King mama, I be the princess" And would take Caseys hand and dance. So sweet!

Being a "real" princess is a little tiring though. Thank goodness for the Queen "Mum"
At some point we shook it out and folded it back up.
Back into the box it went.
Until next time.
Thank God for these great memories.
I love our little princess.

Azaleas in Bloom

2011-04-09T09:46:00.004-05:00

I LOVE it when the azaleas are in bloom.

The sad thing is that the wonderful blessing from God of the gorgeous colorful blooms is certainly short lived.

Once it is fully in bloom really there is only a few days of it at its best. But what a beautiful few days.

I love taking the great opportunity to make picture in front of my azalea each year. If I remember correctly last year Casey and her little family didnt make it here during the right few weeks and we didnt get any pictures in front of it. BUT

THIS YEAR........................

Of course once Avery saw this little critter, that was that.

"CHEESE"

2011-04-06T22:03:00.001-05:00

Guess what she is saying in each of these pictures!

OH MY WORD

2011-04-05T18:53:00.004-05:00

Man I am full!

I am about to tell you why.

These ingredients

Became this.
Disclaimer: The above pictures were taken with my Iphone and not my "real" camera. Just so you know.

Believe me its better than it looks, however it looks pretty good to me.

Have you ever eaten the White Chicken Chili from Ruby Tuesdays? That is pretty much this! It tastes very similar but mine is even better! Seriously!

So today is your lucky day because I am about to give you my recipe. My recipe came from my new Southern Living Homestyle Cookbook which I LOVE! I have already made three recipes from this book and I don't think I have had it a week yet. It's great! This particular recipe was tweaked and this is my version of their recipe! You should really try it if you like this kind of thing.

So here goes: You will need a Deli Chicken, Small Can of Green Chilis, 1/2 an onion chopped, EVOO, 2/3 a box of Chicken Stock, clove of Garlic (Charlie, this means one small section of Garlic-not the entire head of Garlic-Just a reminder), 2 Cans of Northern Beans, Monterey Jack Cheese, Salt, Pepper, Cumin - a good amount (to taste), and Oregano.

Begin by chopping onion and add to EVOO in dutch oven or in my case a Large Emeril Skillet that I got at Christmas. While that is cooking remove chicken from bone and chop. When onion has cooked down a bit add can of green chilis, mix well, add crushed garlic clove, simmer for 5 minutes. Add 2 cans of beans, and seasonings. Mix well. Add Chicken stock. Mix well and allow to boil. Add Chopped Chicken. Add 1/4 cup of grated Monterey Jack Cheese. Ccok on medium to low for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, Slice end off a tomatoe and squeeze excess juice/seeds out. Then chop tomatoe. Finely dice a quarter of an onion and add to tomatoes. Chop a teaspoon or two of fresh cilantro. Add to tomatoe mixture. Cut about a half-dollar sized amount of a fresh jalapeno pepper that has been seeded, and finely chop. Add to tomatoe mixture. Squeeze juice of half a lemon onto that. Allow that to sit while your White Chicken Chili cooks.

When you can wait no longer and your kitchen smells amazing, serve up a bowl of this deliciousness! Top with a spoonfull of sour cream, more fresh cilantro, the homemade salsa you created, and grated Monterey Jack Cheese.

Grab a cracker and OH MY WORD!!!!!!!!!!

Wanna Win Something?

2011-04-05T17:26:00.001-05:00

Wanna win something??????????????????

Follow this link:

FOR THE ORPHANS

Comment there on that blog and you may win!

The Juggler

2011-03-29T19:23:00.003-05:00

Before we got to see the Princess, we got to see the Juggler!! Oh wait that's my sweetie. He loves to show his skills whenever possible. So after we all drank our Coca Colas from the Coca Cola Museum that only cost a nickel, Todd offered (of course) to hold our empty bottles. Thus the juggling!

The faces he makes when he is concentrating really hard on something crack me up.

Avery enjoyed watching her Poppa juggle. So did Nonna!

Princess of Biedenharn

2011-03-28T19:57:00.002-05:00

Saturday we went up to Casey and Charlies and all of us went out to Beidenharn Gardens since they were all in bloom and beautiful. Or so we heard, and we heard right. We went through the garden taking pictures which I will post more of here later. At the end of our outing a group of high school Seniors showed up to take pictures before their prom. Thus this little story.

I saw the pretty girl standing out having her picture made. Avery hadnt seen her yet. I knew she would love to see her so I called her over and said Avery look! What is that? Is that a princess? She immediately took off running toward her. I caught up with her and directed her over to the side so we didnt end up in the prom pictures. She sat down to watch, amazed. I asked her if she would one day be a princess like that. Then a solemn face. "I dont have pink shoes" I said "Well your mommy can get you some." Then with the same sad face, "I dont have a princess outfit." I replied, "You can get one." Then with the same countenance "I dont have pretty earrings." I assured her it would be okay and she would be able to get all the things she needed. Then she said "Can I go touch her?" As we left she was happy to see there were other princesses there as well.

Awwwww

2011-03-19T19:09:00.003-05:00

I saw a friends baby today. Little Aubree is 5 months old now and such a cutie. They asked me how big Avery was at 5 months old and I couldnt remember so I decided to look back at the pictures this evening. I couldnt find any pictures from 5 months. I guess I have them put up on discs in the filing cabinet. I did however have some pictures from when she was 6 months old. It was her one and only very brief "chubby" time. :)

Awwwwww

Wordless Colorless Wednesday

2011-03-16T17:38:00.004-05:00

Spring Break

2011-03-14T17:42:00.003-05:00

During my Spring Break my sweet little girl, I mean, beautiful adult daughter came down with the flu. :(

So off Todd went to pick up Miss Avery in hopes that she would not come down with it as well. We kept her for several days while Casey recuperated.

We had a good time together. Avery did miss her mommy though. Maybe more this time than usual. But she did stay longer than usual too so maybe that was it. She kept asking me where her mommy was. Then I began to answer her back with the same question and she would say, "She home, she sick flu"

During our visit we had a girls day out. This time we went searching for a pink cupcake. Again her idea not mine. We went looking for some shoes for her. (No success). Well once again I thought we were there looking for shoes, but she asked the girl behind the counter if they had pink cupcakes. They did not. Then we went to the Natchez Coffee Shop. I was in hopes that they would have pink cupcakes there, or at least cupcakes at all. They did not. I talked Avery into settling on an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie instead. She enjoyed every bite of that large cookie! Then we went to a bookstore nearby and picked out a book. Wanna guess the title? "What Happens When you Give a Cat A Cupcake?" I love reading to her. When she was smaller she would start out okay with a book and then want to shut the whole thing and be done with it before you could get a few pages into it. But now you read the whole story and then she says "Read it again Nonna". Of course I oblige.
We also played outside. (I sure wish this picture were in focus!)She is getting better at navigating that Barbie Car although not a great driver yet. She was so excited when the little guy from down the street came to play. This is Hay. Thats what Avery calls him. I couldnt resist posting this photo. hehehe
She loved watching him jump on the trampoline. She loved throwing the ball with him. She pretty much just enjoys it when he comes down here to hang out. I think he likes it too.

Who needs Beaches for Spring Break when you got this?

Random Old Stuff

2011-03-07T19:12:00.004-06:00

Where Is The Mermaid?

2011-03-05T14:04:00.005-06:00

Last weekend we got to spend a little alone time with Avery Grace. It was such a pretty day I decided to go down to the Riverwalk for a mini photo shoot. The reason for this was that someone who I dont see often came by my office the week before and wanted to see a recent picture of Avery. I pulled up my blog since I didnt have any at my office to show her. But oddly enough I had no recent pictures of Avery there (here) either. I shocked my own self by this fact and it put my gears in motion.

So Saturday morning I was getting ready and Avery was watching a little TV. A commercial came on for a Disney Cruise. Avery insisted I rewind that commercial and she watched it about 10 times I think. She saw the Mermaid and was mesmerized and fascinated. We moved on from there and continued getting ready. When it was time I said Okay Avery lets go. She then said. Okay we go find Mermaid. I laughed and wondered why she thought I was taking her to find the mermaid but went with it and decided I would get her a mermaid at Wal Mart which was our first stop for a memory card for my camera. When we got to Wal Mart Avery began looking for the mermaid. When I got to it we went to the toy section and I began looking for a mermaid myself. When I showed Avery the few they had she insisted she did not want that mermaid. She wanted the "REAL MERMAID" --- :Uh Oh! Yes she was still looking and when she was convinced that the Mermaid wasnt there we were on with our search. Next stop was the Photo shoot at the Riverwalk. She looked high and low. Believe me all of this was her with no encouragement from Nonna. She called the Mermaid and thought she was swimming in that water. "The Mississippi River" Um, dont think so. But Avery did. So she called and called for her. She looked in the Gazebo. She looked under the bridge. She sang to her hoping she would come. She danced for her hoping she would come. Nothing seemed to work.

We had a good time looking for the mermaid. She also, after at first being a little hesitant decided she LOVED the water fountain. She had a great time running through there trying not to get splashed by the shooting fountains. She did get a little wet. Okay a lot wet, but it was fun and thats what Nonnas are for right?

So finally we left the Riverwalk and no we did not find the mermaid. We made a quick stop by Picket Fence to see if there was a cute little outfit we could change into since she was soaked. They had the cutest little watermelon dress so we got it. She looks adorable in it and it was much more comfortable since it was dry. Now of course to me, the dress was the purpose for the visit to Picket Fence. But Avery was still searching for "The Real Mermaid" She asked Joanie who was working that day if she was there but she wasnt.

Back in the car we went and finished our errands. When we got home and I was pulling into the driveway, Avery realized we were home and we had NOT ACCOMPLISHED our mission, or rather her mission. NO MERMAID. Let me tell you it was no small deal. Let's just say

REAL TEARS!

The tears were short lived, thankfully and we went on with our fun time together.

Life is GOOD!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-02T20:27:00.001-06:00

Beginnings

2011-02-27T14:57:00.003-06:00

1983

That was the beginning for Todd and I as we married in June and began our life together. We have been married 27 years.

Back in our day you didnt go and get "Engagement Pictures" done. The brides usually got a picture made for the paper and that was about the extent of it unless you were financially well off. These days however it is the thing to do. I sure wish it had been what was done then because I would love to have them now.

This sweet little couple will be married in a few short months. She asked me if I would take a few pictures of her and her fiance so they would have some engagement photos. I was happy to do it!

The fact that I am not a professional did show itself. I agreed to take the pictures right in the middle of the day when the sun was at its shiniest! That did make for some lighting issues. ~Live and Learn~ But all in all I think I got enough pictures for them to have something to be able to work with.

Of course I got permission to put their pictures here. She said yes. So here is a look at
Shelby and Andy!

I pray God will bless their marriage and that they will serve God with all their hearts as they live their lives together.

And by the way, Andy did GOOD in the ring department!

Why not do Another?

2011-02-25T21:05:00.004-06:00

I know I have already done a post with pictures from our day at the playground but I decided since I had so many pictures from that day -

Why not do another?

The big kids had as much fun as the little kid did.

At first Avery was all for this see saw idea. It was short lived though.

Slides are where its at!

The weather has been so pretty the last few days. I am thinking we may have to make a playground run again tomorrow. I promise not to take pictures. Ok I cannot make such a promise so I take that back.

I dont remember going to a park or playground when I was a kid. Maybe we did but I dont remember it. I do remember taking my kids to Duncan Park. We did that a good bit. So nice to be able to go now with sweet little Avery Grace.
Oh and that tree had lots of pine cones! Just sayin.

The Birds of the Air

2011-02-10T19:44:00.003-06:00

Last week we had an unusually cold couple of days threatening ice and snow that wonderfully led to school getting out a little bit early and the next day off.

Now we are not big pet people but we do have a cat. Her name is Sid. Sid is far from a kitten. She is 13 years old. We have had her since she was a tiny kitten. She started out as an inside cat but after quite some time she decided to start pretending my carpet behind my couch was her litter box. After leaving me a few surprises there she became an outside cat and has remained that way since. Todd however is so softhearted that when it is really cold outside he insists that she come in. I, although not as softhearted as him where that is concerned, still am not a cruel person so when it is REALLY REALLY cold, I agree with him and we let her in. Last week was one such instance.

She slept on each bed and enjoyed the warmth. I did not enjoy being wakened as with a newborn several times during the night. Todd got up to feed her at each meowing session. (As if she normally gets fed each night all during the night.)
Anyway this is not a complaining fest so I will move on.

The next morning I woke up and made coffee. I was looking out the window at the trees across the way that were beginning to look white with ice. I love the look of the trees and the sound of the trees covered in ice. I was wondering how much of it we would get and just reflecting. I saw the birds there under our magnolia tree in the back yard. Several of them were all scurrying around searching for breakfast. Sipping my coffee I looked down at my cat all warm and cozy in the kitchen, almost smiling at me. The birds though, were still out in the elements.

No scarves
No sweaters
Not even any fur
Just a few feathers

I thought about that scripture in Matthew 6:26 "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth more than they?"

There they were.
Those birds outside in the cold
Gathering their food
God providing

My cat was nice and warm inside because we gathered her up from the cold and brought her inside. But the birds had noone to gather them into a warmer place. God however provided for them, their need. Am I not worth much more than they?

Yes I am. The Bible tells me so!

The birds did fine in the cold. God provided their need.
However He did allow the cold to come.
He did allow that snow to fall.
He did allow that ice to form on the trees.
Yet in it all He did provide. Just like He will do for me and for you.
Everything in our lives will not always be sunshine.
There will be cold times. Snowfall. Or even ICE.
But God will be our warmth.
He will be our comfort.
Our Provider

I found that soothing, even inspiring.

Thank you God for your great love

A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

2011-02-04T21:13:00.002-06:00

So here's Three Thousand Words! :)

PRAYING FOR KATE

2011-02-01T19:11:00.002-06:00

PRAYING FOR KATE MCRAE

PLEASE JOIN ME

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mcraekate