Sunday, October 23, 2011

The Wells Weekly!

So far, I'm doing GREAT keeping up with The Wells Weekly, and I'm quite proud of myself.  It feels like a weekly homework assignment, and I ALWAYS do my homework.  So let's start with the first assignment:  posting more adorable pictures of my nephew.

Uncle J loves his Judah......

So does Aunt K.....NOTE: adorable MSU hat in background that we picked up in Starkville....

"Raise your hand if you love Aunt K the most!" 
It was great to see Lauren & Gray.  It is amazing how natural they already are as parents.  Watching Lauren as a mother was beautiful.  Made me not ready.....but looking forward....to being a mama.  For right now, I will be happy to learn from her and spoil Judah.

So this week was pretty low key, which was fabulous.  We were exhausted from our 14 round trip to Starkville.  So here are my random thoughts from this week:

1.  Jeremie's Comment:  Come to think of it, I probably will always have a spot for Jeremie's random comments each week, because he says the most interesting things. Here's how it went down on Monday:  I had just finished a big shopping trip at Wal-Mart (which I DESPISE), had loaded the car down with 274 bags, and was worn out.  I called J to tell him to pre-heat the oven for dinner (loaded potato night-one of our favorites) and this is what he told me:  "Katie, I just want you to know how much I appreciate everything you do for our family.  I know you hate Wal-Mart, but I thank you that you go anyway and make sure our family has everything we need."  With a tear in my eye, I graciously thanked him.  But he went on to say: "In appreciation of what you do, I got you a gift today.".......Another potential tear on my part as I asked what this gift was.  He proudly says  "A Lock-On Tree Stand!"  Oh, you should have heard my cry for joy!  What I was secretly wishing for!!!!  hahahaha....NOT really.

Jeremie continues to tell me he got it for free because we had bonus dollars for Dick's Sporting Goods on our credit card.  To set the record straight, I did appreciate J's purchase because I do go hunting and he knows that I get nervous in cheaply made tree stands. This one has a bar that pulls down in front of you (to prevent you from falling out), armrests, AND a footrest.  My hubby has an eye for luxuy....right? hehehehehe....

2.  I had a fun time with friends this week.  Tuesday, I went to a 31 Event Party, Thursday, my friend Morgan came over to help me bake a cake, and Friday, a few of us hung out at my friend Tiffany's pretty new house.  Morgan is 17 and can cook circles around me.  I don't know if I'm just slow, or if I talk too much, but she had stuff thrown in the mixer before I could even crack an egg.......


The cake turned out amazing and we had a GREAT time.  I even conned her into wearing an MSU apron.  Will definitely be having more cooking sessions with Morgan.  
3. I got in touch with my crafty side and made an adorable fall wreath out of burlap.  It took me three weeks.....but I finally finished and I love it!


4. It was like Christmas at our house this week.  Jeremie sold his old bow and bought a new one.  So that came in, some more junk hunting stuff that J ordered to make him smell like dirt or deer or something came in, and of course, my very own Lock-On Tree Stand showed up at our front door another day.

5. Saturday was THE PERFECT fall day.  I love the cooler weather.  It inspired me to cook chili while I watched football.  J hunted with his new toys.  Later he built me the first fire of the year.  HAPPINESS.


6.  We really are blessed with our friends and church here in Tally.  We are starting a 1 John sermon series, which has already proved to be amazing and VERY thought provoking.  We had a prayer session this morning with our class and literally went around the room and prayed for each other's specific needs.  It was really powerful.  LOVE how God has surrounded us with these people.

7. I totally enjoyed my Sunday nap today.  If you don't know me, I take a nap EVERY SUNDAY.  Thanks, Dad, for instilling such values in me.

8.  I haven't posted a picture of the little buddy in a while.  He is still the apple of our eye.  And totally spoiled.  Our friend David actually snapped this one....


Have a wonderful week!

Sunday, October 16, 2011

The Wells Weekly.....

Jeremie and I are on the LONG trip back from Starkville after another sad loss slipped through the Bulldawgs' hands....literally....we had a slight issue with catching the ball yesterday. And kicking field goals. And scoring when we're on the 7 yard line.  But ANYWAY...we still had a great time being in Starkville, seeing friends and family, and eating at our favorite restaurant of all time, Anthony's, in West Point, MS.  A little tailgating and a traditional trip to the sidewalk sale at The Lodge (MSU store) completed our trip and now we're on our way to see our baby nephew Judah!  Jeremie and I are already arguing and threatening on who gets to hold him first.....will update with who comes out on top with that one.

Here's some other highlights from this week:

1. Mom & Dad visited last weekend on their way back from their vacation to Charleston, which I was totally jealous about.  We had a great visit with them; Mom and I talked non stop, and Jeremie showed off all his food plots to Dad.  Manly bonding time at its best.

2. We had chocolate fondue with Melissa & David @ The Melting Pot.  If you know me, you know how I feel about chocolate; it was amazing.  I managed to compose myself and not embarrass Jeremie & our friends by licking the remaining chocolate out of the bowl.

3. Jeremie and I sited in the rifle I'll be hunting with this on Wednesday.  I did pretty good after J noticed that I was closing my eyes right before I pulled the trigger (anticipating the kick.)  Shooting guns is fun; I don't know why some people are so afraid of guns.  A person properly trained in gun safety is 1,000 times more safe than a 16 year old with a new driver's license.

4. Jeremie concerned me with a comment he made this week.  I've been working on a fall wreath I saw on Pinterest.  I finished one of the flowers the other night and while J was putting supper in the oven and held it up and asked him how it looked.  He said:  "It's looks good!  Came out great!"  So I set the flower down on the table and continued cutting some more burlap on the floor.  About an hour later, Jeremie walked by the table and said "Hey, that flower looks GREAT!  You did a good job!"  When I gave him a confused look and reminded him he had already seen & commented on the flower, he said "Really?  Hmm...don't remember that; it's like I just saw it for the first time."  We laughed so hard that he actually responded properly earlier to me asking him about it, but really was paying no attention at all.  Really makes me worry about all those times I ask him if my outfit looks good........

5. Thursday night we went to a benefit for the Pregnancy Help & Information center, which offers counseling, classes, and other types of assistance during pregnancy for mothers & fathers.  They also use this service as a ministry to spread the gospel and we were amazed at some of the stories.  They have assisted over 1,700 new mothers and provided 2,500 parenting classes in Tallahassee in this past year.  We were really impressed with their organization.  They had a comedian at the benefit named Mike Williams, who literally had us in stitches the entire time.

6. My new favorite show on TV is Revenge.  Thank you, ABC for coming up with a new show that is not reality show and has a story line with a twist.

7. On the way to Starkville on Friday night, J and I got past Montogomery (about 5 hours down the road) and realize we forgot our football tickets.  My heart skipped a beat.  Luckily, we had a friend with some extras, and were able to attend the game.

8.  Did I mention we get to see Judah today?

That's all for this week....until next!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Meet the Newest Family Member......

As most of you know, J and I became an aunt & uncle two weeks ago! Labor Day weekend we showered our little nephew, so I thought some before & after pics would be fun......

All the baby clothes were SO ADORABLE. Judah will definitely be stylin'!  

But the most stylish of all was the onesie I found that says "My Aunt is Awesome".....I think it'll be his favorite.  

Lil' Mama twenty days before Judah arrived.  

Judah Wells Strickland arrived September 23rd, 2011 at 4:51 p.m.  He was 7 pounds 2 ounces and the cutest thing I've ever seen.  Truly had tears the first time I laid eyes on him. It was amazing to finally hold the little person we've been praying about the last 9 months.  He is perfect!  

Judah has already been told that Uncle J and Aunt KT will be spoiling him to to pieces. 
Papa Mitch & Nona Cate are PROUD of their new grandbaby.
I hope to have  updated pictures next week!  In the meantime, Aunt Jen did an amazing slideshow of some more pictures taken during Judah's first week of his new life:   Judah Week One

Looking so forward to watching Judah grow and fulfilling my duties as an aunt! 

Saturday, October 8, 2011

The Wells Weekly

Fall time has proved itself to be busy as usual!  I'm going to try to do better at updating the blog more often.  I love how several of my friends have a weekly themed blog like "Thoughts for Thursdays" or "Wordless Wednesdays, but I could never come up with a catchy little title like that till this week.  I was driving down the road one morning and it hit me:  The Wells Weekly!  So here's my first attempt at a giving a "nutshell" version of our lives within the last week.

1. Last Friday J and I finally took time to go out on a date, by ourselves!  We went to Liam's in Thomasville.  It was very good, great atmosphere and great service. Probably gets a 6.5 out of 10.  Entrees were just okay. J got tuna, which just confirmed that you should only order tuna when you are at the beach.  I got snapper, which had a lot of bacon flavor.  Can't go wrong with bacon.  But our favorite thing was the cheese expert.  That's right, they have a cheese adviser that asks you what you like and brings you those types of cheeses. If you know us well, you know what big cheese nerds we are.  But the best thing was the quality time with my hubby.
2. Monday I had a coffee date with my dear friend Hannah Webster, who went to Nicaragua with us.  She is 16 years old and such a jewel.  If we have a daughter, I hope she'll be like Hannah.  She is at such an exciting time in her life; I love hearing about her thought process about all the future decisions she will be making.  Somehow a midst all her activities, she makes sure she is serving a leadership role in the youth group at church.
3. We had a sword swallower come to our church on Wednesday.  It was incredible.  He actually appeared on America's Got Talent a couple years ago. Made my stomach say "thank you" for never trying anything that crazy. AND he had an amazing way of communicating the gospel through his swallowing....think "Sword of the Spirit...Ephesians 6:17....Everyone has a ministry, right?
4. I am on day 27 of the 30 Day Shred workout program.  Haven't lost much weight, but definitely feel better.  The goal is my 10 year reunion in June.  Yes, that is FAR away, but let's be honest ladies- at your 10 year reunion, you want to be one of two things:  1) Adorably pregnant so your weight doesn't matter anyway 2) So fabulous and in amazingly better shape than you were 10 years ago.  Since we are waiting on Option 1 for another 2.5 years, Option 2 is my only choice.
5. It is almost hunting season and Jeremie couldn't be any happier. He has been working on all types of hunting "arts and crafts" and vigilantly preparing his food plots with the tractor.  (Which really should be a whole blog post in itself-the tractor work has including hitting the satellite with the tractor, getting the bush hog stuck between two trees, and losing his keys for an entire week due to the fact they fell into the engine of the tractor.) This week, I came home to random groceries on the counter:  syrup, apple juice, apple sauce, black eyed peas, raisins, and other un-identifiables. Sure that he did not eat all these things for lunch, I asked him the purpose of the random groceries and he gets a sparkle in his eye and pulls out a gallon sized ziploc bag of a mixture that he says is essentially a trail mix recipe for deer that he found online.  Emphasized that it was much cheaper to make than to buy.  He was so proud of himself.  But hey-I make wreaths-he makes deer snack packs.  To each his own.
6. I've been praying about what type of study I need to get myself into next. Well, God answered when my friend Tiffany asked me this week if I wanted to join her in a T-Group (or Transformation Group) which is a study focused on Discipleship.  It's a year long study; looking very forward to it! Tiff and I have surveyed our husbands if they think we can be transformed.......the verdict is still out.  : )
7.  If you are looking for something extra to put on your prayer list this week, pray for a team from our church that is in Ethiopia serving on a mission trip this week.
8.  The Bulldawgs won today.

And this concludes the Wells Weekly!  Happy Saturday!