The Wells Weekly!

So I'm a little late getting this edition out....last week was fairly uneventful, other than the fabulous costume party we attended, which I'll post about later.  So just a few thoughts for now:

1. IT'S NOVEMBER!!!!  Where did this year go?  Can I get an amen???  Although, November means that Thanksgiving is around the corner, which means seeing our families and eating all my favorite holiday dishes, such as my Grammy's amazing cornbread dressing.  It also means that Christmastime is NEAR!!!  I'm ALWAYS ready for Christmas.  Before we know it, J and I will be lugging our THIRD Christmas tree up our two flights of stairs and I'll be rushing to get our photo Christmas cards out like I do every year. Can I get another amen?

2.  I started reading through the Bible in a year.....last August...Obviously, I didn't make the deadline.  So I'm trying to get back on track.  The Old Testament sure is hard to follow sometimes, especially all the genealogy.  Thank goodness for commentaries.

3.  J's Shining Moment of the Week:  Instead of a hilarious comment, I will share a dear story about what J did last Wednesday.  I had a particularly busy/stressful day last Wednesday and topped it of with a dear ole trip to Wal-Mart.  I have to admit, I was in a FOUL mood when I got home and J returned from hunting.  My first sign of "foulness" was when J asked what was for dinner.  When I dryly replied "cereal", he asked what happened to the tacos I had mentioned earlier.  I assume I gave him some sort of "foul" look, because the boy GOT BUSY making tacos while I viciously scrubbed the dishes that had overflowed in the sink. He sensed my mood and sweetly told me I should go sit on the couch, relax, and watch "The Middle".  After a few minutes of relaxing and yummy tacos, I was healed.  I love that J can tune into my needs and help me "recover".
Single ladies:  marry a man like this.

4.  More points for J this week:  He hung the hammock we bought in Nicaragua: I see a lot of books being read in this spot...

5.  Speaking of Nicaragua, we had a Nicaragua Reunion party on Friday.  It was so great to see the team again.  What a special bond we have from an amazing trip.  I still feel so blessed for having that opportunity this year.

6.  I am done with the 30 day shred and started a new Zumba Dance workout today.  I'm not a natural but I tried to shake it as much as I could and Manny said I did pretty good.  : )

7.  Since I don't have many exciting things to blog about this week, I'll end with a favorite verse of mine:  "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to HIS will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us-whatever we ask-we know that we have what we asked of him".
- 1 John 5: 14-15

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!

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!

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! 

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!

Nicaragua: The Mission

I know it's been almost 4 weeks since we got back, and I'm just now getting around to blogging about our trip.  Honestly, sometimes it feels like we got back yesterday.  It also felt like we were gone much longer than a week. It's been hard to start blogging about the trip because there is just so much to tell! I feel like I need a whole day to write enough that would do it justice.  And really it can't be expressed in words or pictures anyway, so I'll give it my best try.  It was one of the the most amazing experiences of my life.  (And I'm pretty sure Jeremie will say the same.)


First of all, I want to thank all of you for your prayers during our trip-they were definitely felt--starting with my anxiousness about flying.  If you know me, you know how much I don't like to fly, but I truly felt no anxiousness about the plane ride.  In fact, I actually enjoyed it, especially since we got bumped up to First Class from Atlanta to Nicaragua because one of our team members, Barry, is like a GOLD MEDALLION Delta member.  I suggest taking one on a mission trip if you ever go on one.  

We arrived in Managua, Nicaragua's capital, and met up with Oscar, the missionary we were staying with and another church team from Gainesville.  We hopped on a bus for a 2 hour ride to our destination, Leon.  The dramatic bus ride should have been a hint to how dramatic the rest of the week would be.  The traffic laws there are "recommended" not "necessary" so we had several potential high speed head on collisions.  We were stopped a couple times by the police, cattle crossings, and picking up a bag that had fallen off the top of the bus.  Then as we are trucking down the road, the sliding van door slings wide open, which Oscar was leaning against. Someone grabbed him for a miraculous save.  

Leon is the second largest city in Nicaragua with several old beautiful cathedrals and towering volcanoes as a backdrop.  

The first night we went to Oscar's house to eat and meet the ministry team and interpreters that we would be working with for the week. (And I have to put a plug in for the amazing cooking team that cooked for us all week....authentic Nicaraguan food, like handmade tortiallas, oh yeah.)  Then we got some much needed rest for the big week to come.  Based on Oscar's quick summary of what we'd be doing, we quickly realized the word for the week was definitely FLEXIBILITY. We'd been told this during our mission trip training; but you can't fully appreciate the word until you live it! 


I won't give a day by day play of what we did, mainly because it would take twenty pages; we stayed so busy.  One of the days we went to a soccer/baseball field as there were several tournaments going on.  We mingled through the crowds with our interpreters to minister, which I have to say was quite intimidating.  This was the first time I'd come across a culture where I was the minority.....and it was rare to speak English.  So it was even that  much harder that I was trying to talk about Christ.  But we relaxed a little bit and ended up playing with the kids, which was a ministry in itself.  I'm not sure who had more fun-them or me.  They were SO EXCITED to play with us, and would throw a frisbee back and forth for hours if they could have.  

The first Sunday we were all looking forward to going to the church that Oscar works with.  On the way, Oscar  informed us that he needed 2 people to give their testimony in church, and by the way, while the preaching was going on, we were going to be teaching a few Sunday school classes.  Audible gasps were heard throughout the bus, and only 1 person volunteered a public testimony.  Jeremie had been told he was to give his on Monday evening, so he wasn't feeling quite prepared yet.  But he bravely spoke up and immediately started sweating profusely.  (While I prayed for him the rest of the ride there.)  


We parked the bus and had to walk a few blocks through an open market to get to the church which was really amazing.  I've never had to dodge pigs and donkeys on my way to church, except for experiences with live nativities.  As we are walking, the interpreter tells Jeremie there'd probably be around 50-100 people there, that's including kids.  Well, when we walked in, we quickly realized it was closer to 300 people.  (More sweating.) But God definitely worked through Jeremie as he calmly and courageously proclaimed his testimony through an interpreter. As you could imagine, I was holding back tears.  (Or maybe that was sweat.) Worship there was amazing; not only were the Latino sounds awesome, but it was SO JOYFUL. Some of the songs we did recognize, so J and I just sang along in English. While the preacher was praying, all around us people would be praying aloud, and even though I didn't know what they were saying, it was amazing to  know we were all glorifying the same God.  I do know that I heard "Gracias" over and over again, thanking God for so much.  I was already convicted, being that my prayers are rarely a lot of thanking, but mostly asking.  There were a lot of people that were saved during the service and we even got to see a few baptisms.  I love watching baptisms. 

Teaching the Sunday school classes was definitely a challenge, but again, God just worked through us.  We weren't as prepared as we could have been because we didn't have specific activities in mind.  So we ended up going off the cuff and teaching them Jesus Loves Me in English and doing simple skits, like David and Goliath and The Lost Sheep.  

Walking through the market to church

A Nicaraguan home in the country

We did several feeding programs, which usually consisted of going out (to the middle of nowhere) to and feeding 80-100 children. The ministry that we worked with has over 50 pastors that work do similar feeding stations daily to feed a total of almost 10,000 childern PER DAY. That is amazing and something only God could accomplish! We would take the food with us, which consisted of lots of vegetables and potatoes and cut up everything when we got there. The ladies with the ministry team just kept piling up stuff on the tables and we just kept cutting.....but stopped in our tracks when they threw the bowl of chicken heads and chicken feet on the table.  At first I thought they were just playing a joke on the poor Americans, but quickly realized these parts were seriously included in the soup.  They use EVERYTHING except the beak, comb and trachea.  So I took a deep breath and let them teach me how to cut it properly and went to choppin!  Jeremie couldn't believe I did it; he was proud.  The funny thing is that the chicken was a treat to the kids that day, because they typically just get a rice type soup.  the soup was cooked in a HUGE bowl over a fire. The kids had to bring their own bowl for the soup, many of which we would consider throw away Gladware.  Definitely made me think about the TWO sets of china I had at home.  Seeing the kids line up behind the big iron pot with their tattered plastic bowls made me just choke back tears. While the soup was cooking,we would play with the kids.  We played ball, blew bubbles, painted faces, fingernails, etc. We also told a story from the Bible, sang songs, made salvation bracelets, and prayed together. Another tear-jerking moment was at one station while I was painting a little girl's fingernails. I noticed she was wearing a bracelet, so I pointed to it and told her "Muy Bonita" (very pretty) just to give her a compliment.  Later she came up to me and put the bracelet around my wrist.  I tried to tell her no, but she was so joyful and proud to be giving me something.  Another one of my favorite feeding stations actually had a small church on the site. We did our usually routine of cutting up veggies and chicken heads for the soup and played with the kids.  One little boy I played with would copy everything I would do.  We were playing with a nerf football and I'd through it under my legs, over my head, or spin and throw it, and he'd attempt the same move.  So cute.  We also blasted some awesome Latino music and one little boy would just bounce to the music; so of course I had to join in and we shook it to the Latino worship music together.  Jeremie also had QUITE the following after teaching the boys how to play American football and taking pictures of them doing the Heisman pose.  After eating, we piled into the church complete with pews made by 2x4's, and many of the family dogs joining us in the church to hear the Word. (So adorable)  Doug, the leader of our group, preached with an interpreter and there was more worship music and dancing.  These people were ALL ABOUT incorporating dancing into their worship, which I was totally down with.  I have never sweat so much in my life, but it was so much fun to be glorying God without refrain.  Another feeding station was located inside the city dump, which is the home for over 200 families.  This place really made my jaw drop, as it was definitely the most poverish area that we went to.  The landfill was really unbelievable and we learned that the people that live there actually fight to determine who gets to go through the first trash delivery of the week.  They dig for anything with any value; for example 22 pounds of plastic earns the $1.  It was really unbelievable.  Unfortunately, I got pretty sick to my stomach at the dump and spent the rest of the time on the bus while everyone cooked and played with the kids.

Visiting the feeding stations was so eye opening.  Of course, it made me realize how MUCH we have and take for granted. I know this sounds so cliche, but you really don't know how much we have until you see how much others don't have. But in contrast to their poverty and lack of "stuff" they were gracious, and full of hope.  They were ecstatic just to be loved on and would literally hang on us all the way to the bus when we would leave. 

One of the churches and feeding stations we attended

Cuttin chicken heads! 

Little boy who lives in the dump

Jeremie's fan club

My little buddies....the one in the blue shirt stole my heart, cause he liked to dance!

The newest load of trash coming into the dump

Another day we went to visit a couple high schools and by donating 4 soccer balls, we were allowed to go to several classrooms and share the Gospel.   I thought it was amazing and such a blessing that it is actually "allowed" for the teachers to stop class and let a mission team talk about Christ---can you imagine asking permission in America to walk around the school and talk about God?  This was another flexible moment as we were quickly teamed up into small groups and asked to share our testimony with the students. I don't think I've ever even shared my testimony in front of a large group, so the fact that my first time was in front of a large Nicaraguan group was a quite intimidating.  But again, God provided the words, and after a few times, I got more comfortable with it.  During our visit, we invited the students to attend a youth service that night, and a few actually came and accepted Christ that night!

That day we also visited the hospital, which was quite a sobering experience.  It was far from the white, clean, pristine hospitals we are used to.  If there was air conditioning, I didn't know it, and there was no such thing as a private room.  We went to several rooms and prayed with people there and handed out clothes and toothbrushes, which were a HOT item.  The nurses were thrilled to get them. 

Our last day, we took the day off and went shopping in the market and to the beach, which was absolutely beautiful and a great way to kind of decompress and reflect on the week before we came back to America.  The beach was beautiful, and of course, J and I had to represent MSU on the Pacific.  Taking it to the People. 

I don't know who was more blessed on this trip, the people we came across, or ourselves.  I learned so much.  There were a few main realizations to me though: one was that God is glorified to the ends of the Earth; you can't stop it.  A majority of the time, it felt like we were out in the middle of nowhere---but communities were still worshiping Him.  The other main thing I took away was that joy cannot be suppressed or defined by circumstances.  It is not an emotion; it's a decision and a skill that God teaches us, like Paul talks about contentment in Philippians. The people we came across had next to nothing but were still thankful for anything. 
 I also was absolutely amazed at God's power on this trip.  There were so many things I was so anxious about: the traveling itself, staying healthy, giving my testimony, and sharing the plan of salvation to people that didn't even speak my language.  And before this trip, I wasn't even sure I was ready to go on a mission trip, because I didn't feel like I was an adequate or an "experienced" enough Christian to do this. But WE weren't the ones doing the work anyway-God was.  I realized that God WILL use you-everyone has a different skill set that He will empower.  His Word will not return void. 

I know this post was long, and I really feel like I am just skimming the top of the trip.  We literally have over 2,000 pictures, so these are just a select few. I'm sure I'll be posting more with stories I left out!  But I'll wrap up with a verse that I use to help communicate my testimony, and one that really came alive to me on this trip:

Romans 5:1-2  "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God."

The Miracle at Lake Wells

Sunday I tagged along with Jeremie, David, and Ron for an afternoon of fishing. I would brag about the 7 fish I caught, or the 3.5 pounders that David & Ron caught. But Jeremie really stole the show when he got out of the boat and stood on an underwater log to hand grab the fish he caught that was tangled up in the log. We realized it eerily appeared like Jeremie was walking on water.  (What a show off.)  David The Photographer caught the moment, and thought of the appropriate verse from Matthew for a little biblical fun.