A Little Welch update is good for everybody

Well, since it was indeed quite some time since I update you all on how we are doing I thought you night like some cute August/September photos. Here is Mr. Titus at his 3rd birthday. Complete with swimming trunks and orange Dorito coating.

Here are Nolen Emma, Mia and Scott on their first day of school 2008. Don't they look nice? Did I mention how much I love those uniforms?

Sweet Nadia the morning of her 1st birthday enjoying her first ever birthday donut. I think she ate the filling first. That stuff was even up her nose.

And here is Emma with Mrs. Whitman giving a harp demonstration for Mia's class. Don't they look happy? The harp is such a beautiful instrament.

to funny to miss

Alright, I found this site while I was blog hopping during my 5 minutes on the computer this afternoon, and I had to put it up for all to see. I know I have had things of this strain happen to me before and you have, too, so I thought a good laugh was in order.
Enjoy!!!

Several years ago, we bought a new house. It is a nice house, and I was a little over-eager to show it off. We were having company over one evening, and I had spent most of the day throwing clutter into the back of closets, hanging "skinny" pictures in strategic places, and making sure the bed linens were crisp. I was flittering around the house, one room to the next, preparing my "image."

Abby and Ellie, sensing my eagerness, decided that they wanted to help me "decorate." They were 3 at the time, and while their intentions were good, they were really more in the way than they were helpful, so I shuffled them into a little space off of my bedroom that I use as a craft closet and I told them to work on it. They were so content to have this little space to design, and I needed to fluff things. It sounded like a good plan.

I checked in on them every few minutes, but as it started getting closer to "company" time, I had to go put on my makeup, so I slipped into the bathroom in search of the right lipstick to impress the guests.

I will look like I have it all together tonight, that's for sure.

They weren't really close friends, so there was a chance I could pull it off.

And they were going to love my style (and, in turn, love me! Isn't that the way the world works?)

Ellie comes and stands beside me, trying to get my attention.

"We made it pwetty, momma."

"Mmm-hmm. I bet you did!" I am nodding like I am listening, but I'm distracted by my own reflection.

"I can't wait to see it." Now for eyeliner.

"We did the stickers." Ellie is smiling. She is really proud of herself.

"Oh, how great! Where's Abbby?"

"She's workin' on it. Wanna see?"

"Oh, baby, I can't. I need to get ready, but thanks so much for your help."

"You don't wanna see it, momma? We were workin' on it. It's so pwetty"

"OK, honey, I'll come see it soon." I dart into the closet and leave her standing there alone in the bathroom. I get dressed and brush past her again.

They kept chasing me around the house while I lit candles and vacuumed. They just wanted my attention, but I had a one track mind. They were so proud of their work and all they wanted was to show it to me, and I was too busy to care. Too wrapped up in myself and my stupid house to listen. Well, God was about to have the last laugh.

I am taking the guests around the house and showing them the layout, kicking any semblance of normalcy under the bed, telling about this and that and who knows what else. The girls are dancing one step behind me because they know that the last stop on the grand tour is the master bedroom and I am going to show off their contribution.

I get to the little door and say something like, "And this is what I use as a craft room...." and before I can finish my sentence, I look into the room.

"We did the stickers, momma!!!" They are dancing around and clapping because they are so deliriously excited that they have thought to decorate with stickers, and the stickers are everywhere.

Only, they aren't "stickers" in the traditional sense.

They are maxi-pads.

And they are everywhere.

They are hanging from the bookshelf, from the windowsill, from my fabric, from my desk. It is a maxi-pad party and it is happening. To me.

That sticky side is no mess, people, because they are hovering from angles previously unattempted by personal products.

And I literally start laughing so hard that my children think it is a response to their genius decorating, and they are laughing and pointing and we all just fall on the ground, because really, what else can you do? You have the perfect blouse, the ideal neighbors, the gold record on the wall.....and NONE of it matters. It is completely negated by the fact that this door just opened and your whole life, your real life, the ugly side of life, just fell out and smacked you on the head.

He had to smack me on the head.

If you have been to my house since the maxi-party of '05, you will probably notice that I am more laid back with my entertaining style.

And I am thinking of adding an interior design course for the little ladies. You know I'm not one to miss a learning opportunity...

Sweet Mia day of surgery

Here is my sweet girl the morning that she had her tonsils and adenoids out. She was such a trooper before, during and after the whole thing. Our older two were in school all day and our younger two were with the amazing Kayli all day so we got to just spend our time focusing on Miss Mia and her recovery. Everyone has been so sweet to her and she is really eating it up. This weekend has been a good one that has forced us to be at home and together, our favorite place to be.

What makes life funner with kids

As Christians there are some things that are just no brainers. Bible reading being one of those. There are those of us who picture this as a quiet time in the morning with a steaming hot cup of coffee in our hands while sitting in a comfy recliner. BUT, life is sometimes funner with KIDS!!!! Tonight we had the BEST time that I have ever had while reading the Bible, and I think it just became a Welch family tradition. We acted out the verses we were reading, complete with Titus acting as Moses rod (both before and after it turned into a snake) and all of the rest of us acting as dead fish, boils and the rest of the plagues of Egypt. It was completely hilarious!! After Titus ate the snakey rods of the false prophets (the acting here was amazing people, you would have thought he was actually EATING the snakes!!) we stuffed his jammie top with a pillow and he rubbed his bulging belly. We almost died laughing. Oh, God is good! Everyone walked away happy and thrilled to be a part of our wonderful family (yes, even little Nadia).

Awash in activity

Well life is just buzzing along over here in Hedge Parke. I have been waiting for a break in activity
(and a free computer) to update my BLOG and since neither looks promising I will just go ahead any way.
We have been enjoying Nolen's first football season for almost 2 months and now we are about to go to the last game of the season. Saturday is the big game, and his coach has set up a night game under the lights at the high school field. He is going to be sad to see it go and we will miss the great influences of coach Tim and coach Gus on our dear Nolen.
Emma was home sick today and when she wasn't sleeping or resting on the couch she was perched at the table with a pair of scissors in front of the huge stack of colored paper I got at Costco yesterday. She was trying to convey the joy found in a huge stack of colored paper (and from Costco none the less) to Titus, but he was hung up on the glories of the jumbo glus stick she was using. Miss Emma is the most creative and crafty one in the house. She is als a wizz at finding anything lost. I am amazed when she so easily finds things of Scott's that have been lost forever. How does she do it??
Mia is going to be having her tonsils out of Friday and as easy as that sounds there are about a million things that have to go RIGHT for that to run smoothly. Fortunately all of the details are getting worked out.
We were just surprised by a weekend visit from my parents and sister and had a great time. They are so fun to be with and after my mom comes out I always feel energized and ready to tackle it all again. She is so good at putting it all back into a managable perspective. Somehow she manages to herd all of the cats. We went through and tried to figure out the rhyme and reason that is out life here at Hedge Parke and it all went so well. Did I mention I have an amazing MOM!?