You might be a redneck if...

you are seriously considering raising a pig so you can have bacon :) 
And to go with that bacon, Keith is researching how to tap our sugar maple to make maple syrup!  These are truly both his ideas (well, I jokingly mentioned the pig, but he really likes the idea).
Neither of us have ever really liked the idea of pets, but a pig is short term commitment that the kids could learn some responsibility from and see that our food doesn't grow at Trader Joe's :)  And who doesn't like the idea of a pet that ends with bacon and barbecue!?
I honestly have more faith for a pig than a garden.  I don't think I'd forget about a pig like I do our tiny garden :) 
Just another installment in our transition to country life!

Isaac started school!!

Ok, I think this brings us to the present :)
Isaac started school the Tuesday after Kieran left.  He was one excited boy!!  He's going to the school at our church.  There are two kindergarten classes--one in the morning and one afternoon, both with 12 students (i think).  On Tuesdays both classes come for the whole day, but all other days are only 8-11. 
Isaac still enjoys school very much.  Excited every morning to go.  Today he was "star of the day", so he got to bring something in for "show and share", be the line leader, use the pointer to count the days with the class, and wear a sticker that says "Star of the day".  He loved it :)  He seems to be doing well and paying attention.  So far so good.  Samy is a little sad she doesn't get to go, but I'm happy to get some time with my little girl!  We've been playing Strawberry Shortcake and dollhouse and doing a little baking.
Here's Isaac on his first day--picture under the house numbers as is the tradition in this house :)

Closer to caught up: Grandma's visit

The visitors just keep coming around here!  Keith's mom came up two weeks ago.  Keith surprised me with a night away for our anniversary while she was here, more on that momentarily.  Sadly those are the only pictures I got :)  (Kieran you have to send me the one of you and the kids!)

I was quite ill with morning sickness for most of her visit but she graciously took the kids so I could rest alot!  We did make it to the orchard to pick apples and raspberries.  And she and Keith made fried shrimp one night.  We sat around talking and just having a good time :)

My mom and dad let us use a night of their time share, so we stayed at the National Harbor, very near DC.  It's a brand new area, still developing.  The resort was nice, we even got the presidential suite with three bedrooms--huge!  We went to dinner where I spent 30 minutes trying to figure out if I wanted steak or sea food :)  We walked along the water and through some shops (found a Charming Charlie's, so fun!).  Then back to the resort to play foosball and some Wii!!  It was so fun, I even got Keith to do a dance one :) My arm was sore for three days!
The next day we went into DC to see the Library of Congress and National Archives--by far our favorites in downtown.  The architecture was very impressive and lots of things to explore.  You could spend days in there.  No pics inside Archives allowed though.
God was very kind to hold off the nausea for most of our short time away.  A few fleeting moments but nothing too horrible.  Thank you kind Father!! 
So grateful for 8 wonderful, sanctifying years with you my dearest love!!  Hard to believe how much has changed in 8 years, all the places we've lived, all the jobs we've had, all the babies!  I wouldn't have it any other way :)

More catching up: Mom and Dad's visit

My mom and dad were up a month ago (yikes I'm slack).  We were able to get lots of work done, well the boys were, mom and I only got two pictures hung :)  Dad and his assistant, Keith, spent many hours in the basement pulling out OLD electric wiring and putting in new, fixing crazy wiring configuration, and freeing up some breakers on our three electrical panels :)  my dad certainly had his work cut out for him and will never be without a project when visiting!
They surprised us with a new faucet as our housewarming gift and it's beautiful!  Dad got that installed pretty quick.  He also fixed my dishwasher.  Did I miss anything Dad :) I did: the doorbells now work, our bathroom door no longer sticks, and we can shower without conking our head on the shower head now!

Mom and I played with the kids, cooked, cleaned up the boys messes, and shopped a little.  I did get my table and chairs refinished and mom got the cushions covered.  We also figured out some prettiness for our mantel using a cool old mirror that was left in the garage and finds from the tag sale.
I have yet to take pictures of the updates b/c the house is such a wreck these days!  Here are some pics from our time with them and a couple others :)

Catch up: The Fair

So blogging has been pretty far down the list lately as I spend a lot of time on the couch nauseous.  House work has definitely taken a hit.  Cooking is just unpleasant no matter what it is.  But it's good to know my body is doing what it's supposed to and baby is growing!  I had my first OB appointment today and she did a sonogram (which I guess is normal up here), so I got to see the little bean and hear their heart beat.  And I must say I was thankful there is only one little bean :)  all this sickness has made me wonder.  Oh and the due date is the end of April--20th according to the sonogram or 24th was the original.

Ok, so onto some catching up :)  We went to the county fair last month with the kids and had a good ol' time!  It just adds to feeling like country bumpkins to go pet livestock and sit on tractors.  The pig races and magician Steve Trash (he used lots of trash as props, supposed to encourage recycling I guess) were definitely the highlights!  They had a little corral with giant stuffed horses for the kids to sit on, and dozens of tractors.  There were even camel rides!  Enjoy the pictures :)  oh and a cutie pic from a visit from a friend from the PC class before last :)

Baby Number 3!

I would guess you've all heard by now that little Welton number 3 is on the way!  I waited to take the pregnancy test until last Wednesday because that was the day my parents were coming and I knew I couldn't keep it a secret :)  Keith was in utter disbelief that I had warned him a couple days in advance that it was very likely!  He says I say that every month :)
So mom and dad arrived and we gave them the tour and unloaded stuff and when Keith got home he put Samy in her "I'm the big sister" shirt.  He sent her down to Grammy.  Samy said, "Look at my big girl shirt."  Grammy read it and said, "Well, I guess one day you will be a big sister."  I started laughing, "No, that's supposed to be a hint, Mom!"  Then we went up to Papaw, who reacted with even less recognition of Samy's announcement, but the look on his face was priceless when we said, "No, Samy is going to be a big sister!"  I wish we had recorded that!!  We got the kids on tape...oh my.  Isaac's face was so funny!  We told them we had a surprise for them.  We were getting something new.  So Keith says, "A new baby brother or sister!"  Isaac makes this face of confusion and then exclaims, "I wanted a toy!!"  Figures :)  and upon a little further discussion he asks, "Today?" 

We let Samy get on the phone with Keith's parents and tell them she was going to be a big sister, they were very excited and surprised!

So, I'm feeling pregnant :)  no doubt about that.  Monday as I was chopping up fixin's for guacamole the nausea hit me (the smell of dinner cooking next to me wasn't helping either).  It was coming in waves for the first couple days and the last two days has been pretty much constant.  So far this one is more difficult than the first two, but at least I know everything is working!  I love being pregnant...at least I remember loving it, though Keith says I seem to forget all the difficulties of it :)  I love feeling baby move most of all!  I love how God knits together a little person inside my womb--it is just so astounding that I continue on with everyday life and then there's this new little person!!  I do, as I candidly confessed to my care group ladies, love having a new wardrobe for a few months :)  If it weren't for Meghann Roberts I wouldn't love that part so much!

Will we find out what we're having?  Jury is still out on that.  I'm not good at waiting for surprises, but it does seem like it would heighten the excitement and anticipation, so we'll see :)

More on Mom and Dad's visit shortly...

Photo tour of our new home

Well since the house was relatively clean from having our dear friend Melissa over last night (I'm almost certain she was the reason I cleaned the last time we moved and i finally posted pictures) I took some pictures this morning for all you too far away to come visit us. And I thought I'd give you some commentary with it :)

So some of my very favorite things:
original doors in the bedrooms (including a skeleton key that works, and the fabulous knobs)
the huge mantel (though I don't know what to put on it yet--it is currently home to everything pretty that comes out of a box)
the etched glass doors on the book shelves (so maybe I should just include the entire fireplace wall!)
the molding all over the house--it's so big
the front porch--oh those swings are just wonderful
kitchen cabinets with those pull-out drawers and built in spice rack
the giant exposed wood beams in the basement that are actually holding our house up :)
the many nooks and crannies that come with an old house

We only painted one room so far, the master bedroom, but my head is full of ideas! Those will be taking a backseat to the long list of practical projects.
The basement is currently in shambles (not that it was super nice before) b/c Keith is trying to make sure the floor and walls are all sealed so we can suck the radon out. We're hoping we'll be able to get it fixed up and have someone live with us. We bought a wood-burning stove to replace the very inefficient fire place and heat this big ol' place. We need a new chimney liner anyway. My parents will be up in less than two weeks to help with radon, electrical stuff (don't know if you can see the mess of wires in the basement), and mom will help me with the pretty stuff :)

Oh, so the video store in the basement was from the previous owners. He works for the Boys and Girls Club and spoke at some video distributors or producers thing way back. Someone found out he had kids and started sending him videos. He said they would frequently get movies before they were even in the theaters (we've watched one and it frequently reminds you "This film is for screening and not to be sold or copied" or something like that). There is definitely alot of junk but lots of good films in there too (many still in shrink wrap--like 8 copies of Return of the Jedi).

I didn't make it to the backyard and out buildings, that will have to be another day and another post. Hope you can all come to the "Welton Country Resort" (this is what Melissa has deemed it) and stay a while :)