As I always say "Where does the time go?" Another month has passed since James birthday and the awesome Royal Wedding. Now it is time for planting, our yard is looking good and the mature cottage garden just grows on and on in the back yard. Today I was delivered the most beautiful box from Edwards from Mack and Paul for my birthday, it made me smile all day. Then at lunch I was relaxing in my recliner when along came James and wild Miles to deliver a flat of my fav's for the ongoing garden growth. James also brought me a great bottle of Thymes Kimono Rose bubble bath. I have the greatest kids on earth, but I know many mothers in our family who would take that argument on. We are blessed with a lot of great parents and kids in our great big family.

The past month has been busy with yard work, birthday dinner for James, elder care, cabin opening, ground clearing at the cabin and then packing the boys off to build the new deck. They finished up today in hail snow and sleet and sometimes pouring rain, only one small injury to Bear when he slip on the wet wood.......but we are decked on both ends of the cabin and I plan on chasing the sun next week-end. Morning deck out front with good reads and coffee then cocktails and conversations in the afternoon watching the sunset in the back, this will hopefully be my pattern for most week-ends this summer. James is heading out this week-end towards Fairfield Idaho for camping in a tent and some outdoor concerts, Mack and Paul heading to Portland to help Mack's friend Emily from Boston apartment hunt. Mack will be home by the 8th for about two weeks for some family time, I am again preparing the Vegan kitchen for her, can hardly wait! She is going to leave the cats with us for summer camp so they can have some outdoor time in the cottage garden.

As you can see by the photo on the left there is a new creature with Paul and Mack, a stray they have opened their hearts to. They captured him, had him neutered, got his shots and now are socializing him for adoption, secretly I think they are falling in love with the little guy. They have named him Oliver for the little street urchin he was!

We lost our dear Uncle Bobby this month to his cancer. Mom was able to travel for the day to Portland to be with family at his funeral. Alison, Joe and I took the controls on airport transportation and caring for Dad...... he did well but as usual was anxious to have his Rose home. We tracked her plane online and I bought him a .49 copy of a Japanese newspaper on the Kindle for him to read while we waited, he was fascinated with the toys........We will miss Uncle Bobby immensely but know he is in heaven with God at this time.

While Joe is at the cabin I have little Susie for a couple of nights while Megan and her Mom have some girl time, that includes an overnighter with 7 girls! I remember those days tiring but lots of laughs and fun!

Right now the entire family is waiting with bated breath for Sara to bring in the next new life to our wonderful family. Go Sara I am praying for Sunday, my birthday but that darn Aadam will probably win out.......on to June.

Deb

What a Glorius day!

James is 27 today and in Denver with his good buddies and Catherine is now HRH! I wouldn't have missed a minute of it!

Time for an update! Today is Susie's Birthday! Yea for nine, nine is fine! Talked with her briefly on the phone and she was busy playing with friends and sounded like a happy go lucky nine year old. I am on vacation currently spending a week of rest and relaxation at my good friend Marian's home in Ocean Shores Wa. Her home is on the lake with the beach about a mile away. You can hear the waves from her deck. I am here babysitting my grand kitties while Mack and Paul cycle the San Juan Islands, they are being perfect little charges to take care of. Marian and I of course spend most of our day pouring over recipes determining what gourmet delicacy that we will prepare for dinner. Right now the aroma of garlic coming from the kitchen takes me off to another land which leads me to the other thing we are pouring over and that is plans for our next trip to Italy. Tomorrow is a walk on the beach and some yard work, then off to Seaview for lunch on Thursday at a beach cafe and then a massage at a spa in the late afternoon(thanks to Marian for my early birthday present). The kids will return on Friday and we will have another beach walk, a casino trip, and a Vietnamese dining experience for the evening. Oh and of course the kids have a challenge on to beat us at Farkle, Uno or Mexican train, but watch out Mac and Paul, we have been practicing and we will knock your socks off! I left grandma Marye in good hands , she just celebrated her 94th. I miss all of the family since they are a big portion of my life back home. I have included some pictures of Stomie with the Governor and a sunset off the lake and of course by grand kittiesand Marian's buddy Roxy! Until later.......Deb

Wow! as Marye would say, what happened to January and how did half of February fly by? Just returned from visiting my sister Cathy in Denver.......ran our little socks off literally. If we weren't cooking, we were shopping or she was walking the dog and shoveling snow. It was great seeing all the great nieces and nephews and I am so proud of the way the kids acted just like they saw me yesterday! Lots of hugs and kisses! Gracie was a great little helper in the kitchen with the Super Bowl snacks, and does she love to talk, felt like we had been cooking together for years. Aaron is so tall and is a great baseball player and Mitchell is preparing for his senior year. Unbelievable! Danny plays the violin like a pro and Bella Rose is just a little princess. Emily is all girl and is cute as a "bug" which is Macs nickname by dad.

We had a couple of great snow storms and it was absolutely beautiful. The tree above is just one example of the elegant force of nature.

Home now and looking forward to my Spring Break taking care of Mac's cats at Marian's in Ocean Shores Wa while she and Paul explore and cycle the San Juan Islands. James and Esti are heading to Eugene to help Mac celebrate her 24th birthday on the 19th. Paul got her tickets to Elton John for her birthday. Then it is off to SLC in April for a baby shower for Sara. Before you know it we will be planting and building the western deck on the cabin.

Yesterday I took Mom and Stomie to meet the Governor and get a Birthday picture for Stomie. During their visit Stomie found out that the Governor's mother who also lives in Nampa would turn 96 on the same day Stomie turns 96 today! Off to the men's store for pocket hankies and then to Shige's for sushi. Joe joined us and Shige sang Happy Birthday solo and the whole restaurant applauded. Papasan loved his 96 $1.00 bills and Joe threw 4 more dollars in for "many more" A very happy occasion indeed. Thanks for everyone's help in pulling it off. I miss my little "Lucca" and his funny sayings "game on" "you win" "want to watch the hulk" he is one bright little adult in a kids body!

On to Spring, or so the ground hog says! I hope the ol superstition holds true. ~DW~

Merry Christmas to one and all! It has been a very very busy year for our family. This has been a year of transitions of moving into elder care. You always know it is coming but have little understanding of how it will impact you and your family. For us it was just like an express train traveling at high speed and it hit us with a bang of reality. Joe and I took it on head first and things are running smoothly now more like a choo choo train saying "I know I can, I know I can".
Joe's Family: Marye took a couple of falls this year with two trips to the hospital with minimal fractures and a short stay in a nursing home for two weeks, before Marye stated emphatically "I'm going home!" Deb worked diligently to return her to her beloved home and she is very happy to be back there. She has a great team of personal care givers that provide about 16 hours of care for her each week. Deb spends an hour each evening with her having tea and conversation.It helps in keeping her mind active and updated on the family and current events. This is in addition to cooking for her and Fred three, or more,times a week. We had a special Thanksgiving, including family movies dedicated especially for her,which she fully enjoyed. Fred is still at home with her and we are blessed to have him there. Marye turns 94 next March.

Deb's Family: Rose, Deb's mom has had some health issues recently but takes them in stride and with some assistance from Deb she is on the road to recovery and getting back to her independent energetic self. Stomie, Deb's Dad just trucks along and doesn't miss a beat. When the car starts,he is in it, no matter where it is going. He still dresses in a suit and bow tie everyday! He will turn 96 in February! Daily trips to McDonald's are his favorite time of the day. He has taken to singing hymns aloud. It is fun to hear him burst into song!

Our Family: James unbeknownst to his parents, registered and started back to school at Boise State University working towards finishing his degree in Education. We couldn't be more proud of him. He still works part time at the Flying Pie Pizzeria and will be celebrating his 10 year anniversary there next year. He recently traveled to Eugene to visit Mackie. It is a wonder to watch the closeness of our children as they mature into adulthood.

Mackie took a year off to rest the brain from Boston, and now has returned to Graduate School at the University of Oregon. She adopted and took the final two cats, Finn and Mama, we had been fostering with her. Both Joe and I hate to admit it, but we do miss them. As much as she dislikes the rain, she is adjusting to life in Eugene.

Joe and I keep plugging along in our jobs looking for the light at the end of the tunnel. It is getting brighter and we are confident we will enjoy it once we reach it! In today's turmoil in our world one needs to stay optimistic. Deb continues in her job in worker's Compensation working with the catastrophically injured doing case management, (part of the reason she may be so good with elder care).


When prodded Joe will only describe his year as "interesting....an emotional roller coaster" He is serving on a Judicial Committee concerning volunteer lawyer services and has written a chapter on adoption for a Judge's handbook, at the request of the Idaho Supreme Court. He will close out the year by finalizing five adoptions in three different towns on December 23. He will move into a new office on January 1, 2011. He whines retirement is just a figment of his imagination!

Overall, it was a year that sped by. To those of you whom who haven't heard much from the Welches this year we apologize. We will try and do better. We want to with you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

Guess it is time to get this site updated! First a picture of my two new grandchildren, acutally left overs from the fostering kitties phase, Finney and Mama. Yes, they are moving to Oregon.

Life has been busy busy busy, really not enough time in a day to spend it on this machine. March took us (Mom, Stomie, Megan, Susie and I) off to the Oregon Coast on Spring Break. Rented a van and had lots of fun, boy did we put the miles on. Saw Uncle Bobby twice and was able to have dinner with them once. Went Swimming and Hot tubbing daily. The ocean was beautiful but most of the time we were there it was angry, typical spring storms. Fun to watch and more fun to stand in the spray! Visited the Aquarium in Newport, the Portland Zoo with train ride, and the sea lion caves in Florence.

Got a quick glimpse of Eugene, Mackie's new home come August! Yes she is going to be a Duck. She will be working on her Master's in Community and Regional Planning. We are very excited for her. On the used car watch for her right now. James just finished his semester at BSU, studying Education. Just finished his finals! He and Mac were off today to Caldwell to look at a Tandem Bike for sale. Couldn't be more proud of these kids.

Grandma Marye and uncle Fred are doing well. We celebrated her 93rd birthday in March.

Uncle Doug's brother in law Mitsuro his wife Hiromi and son Takeo were here to honor and visit Uncle Doug's and Aunt Michiko's gravesite this month. I took a day off and helped Mom and Stomie with their visit to Boise. There was a little language difficulties but we had a great day and Mom and Stomie treated us to a wonderful Sushi lunch......never seen so much food, but we didn't leave a pearl of rice anywhere.

Mac and I are starting some raised flower beds, hope to plant this week-end. We still have some snow on the mountains though. Both Joe and I are well, I am riding Mom's old bike again to work and loving it. This is such a great place to live.........still looking at the light at the end of the tunnel.............or maybe just dreaming. Cathy and Mitchell were just here to celebrate Mother's Day, mom is one lucky woman to have us three angels!

My transmission went out in my beautiful BMW, I will miss her so much. She was such a great road warrior, but I got a new ride, check it out hopefully she will make many happy trips to Eugene.

Later.....

Well here it is February and I haven't posted since December! It is not because I have been sitting around in the lounger or ocean side, the business is called family, and it is wonderful to have all of them. It is late, I have been going all day so will post more later, but until then here is a picture of Stomie celebrating his 95th birthday! Happy Birthday to our Father.