Don't Blink

It feels like the last post I wrote was just yesterday. But if I believed what I felt, I would be very wrong. Since the last post, we made our trip down to Louisiana, saw a beautiful friend from High School, had our Christmas with my husband's family, came home, had Christmas with my family, and now it is all over.

When I was younger my mawmaw would tell me the older you get, the faster time goes by. It was always just something she said to me until a few years ago. Now it seems by the time I get a grip on whatever season it is, it's over. And I have a sneaky little feeling once our precious Kendall gets here, it will only speed up more!

We had such a great time in Louisiana! There is never a dull moment when we are down there! Jeff has one niece and six nephews. With those boys, there is always something going on. But we enjoy it! Not only do we enjoy the kids, but I love spending time with Jeff's sister and brother and sister-in-law. And is if all of them aren't good enough, we get to stay with his amazing parents! And beyond the good company, there is also soo much good food! I am so lucky to have married into the wonderful family I did! There are no words to describe just how great they all are!

The youngest of all the nephews is Mason, who is four. Just saying he is a funny kid doesn't even begin to describe this precious kid! The first night I saw him, he pointed to my belly and said, "Is the baby in that thing?" It took all I had to keep a straight face just so I could answer him. After he realized the baby was in fact in my belly, he proceeded to tell me how the doctor would get the baby out of me.
"That doctor is gonna get a knife, and cut you open, and pull that baby out!!"
Precious! I so desperately wanted to say "I sure hope not!", but I didn't want his momma to have to explain how else the baby would get out. Then later at dinner, he asked what we were going to name the baby. After someone answered him, I heard him say, "What's a Kendall?" Then a few minutes later, I heard him repeating to someone else, "That doctor is gonna get a knife and cut aunt Jennifer open, pull the baby out and wash it and give it to her!" He was so funny!

I just can't wait to see how all the boys react to having a girl cousin around!!

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

I can't believe it is already this time of year again! I know they say the older you get the faster time goes, and I guess they are right. We leave in less than one week for our Christmas week in Louisiana! I can't believe it!

We have already had our church Christmas program. Our tree has been up for close to a month, and now there are presents piled under and around it. And on top of all that, it has been so COLD! The colder it gets, the more it feels like Christmas. There was even a little snow on the ground this morning as I drove to church. The beautiful lights are up everywhere so as soon as the sun goes down, everything looks magical as all the lights twinkle.

I've always loved this time of year. I love everything about it. I love the music. I love the red cups at Starbucks. I love buying gifts. I love wrapping gifts. I love spending time with friends and family. I love everything being decorated. I love the optimisim in everyone this time of year.

Although I love Christmas and all it brings, I find myself less excited about the holiday this year. Don't get me wrong, I am excited for Christmas and time with the family. However, I find myself more excited about the little girl dwelling in my belly. Even though it is Christmas time, my thoughts a less consumed with jingling bells, winter wonderlands, and reindeer and a lot more consumed with Kendall Marie. I long for the day when I finally get to hold my sweet little girl in my arms. I can't wait to see the gleam in her daddy's eyes when he gets to hold the little fingers he is already so tightly wound around.

I'm excited for Christmas, but not matter how much I sound like Scrooge when I say this: I'm even more excited for Christmas to be over. For when Christmas is over, I will be a few days closer to meeting our sweet Kendall Marie Welch!

Easter

I can't believe it has been almost a week, and I haven't written about my Easter!It was so busy, but so wonderful!

It was such a beautiful day! As I look back on the whole day now, I'm overwhelmed by the presence of God in my life. Not only do I attend a wonderful church, but I have a wonderful church family who I love to worship with. Not only was I able to worship with my family in one service, but I was lucky enough to worship with my family in all three services. It was such a wonderful day, with a wonderful family, worshipping a wonderful God!

And after church, I hosted my very first holiday family meal! It was so good! There were eleven people at our house. Everyone from my side of the family was here. My sisters (and my older sister's boyfriend), my niece, my parents, and my grandparents joined me, my husband, and our nephew for lunch! I was so excited to get to cook for everyone. Recently, I have discovered I love to cook, and I felt Easter would be a wonderful time for me to share all my new favorite recipes! We had grilled chicken, some plain ( and by plain I mean Jeffy mixed seasonings to marinate them in) and some bbq ( I make my own bbq sauce, and I must say it is very good!). We also had sausage grilled in bbq sauce, ranch roasted potatoes, creamy brocolli and cheese, macaroni and cheese for KayKay, and rolls. For dessert, I made blueberry cheesecake bars, lemonade pie, and my mom brought a pineapple upside down cake. If success from a dinner is measured by how many people left the table groaning because they ate too much, my first holiday meal was a definite success!

It was such a wonderful day! I hope all of you had a wonderful easter as well!