Christmas Letter 2023

        

        Greetings from the Watts family! We hope you’ve had a wonderful 2023!

Adam will turn 16 next month and continues to be busy with his sophomore year of high school as well as church activities. He's taking his first Advanced Placement class - AP Seminar. Adam also joined a new gaming club at school where they alternate between video games and tabletop games. He is learning to be a Dungeons & Dragons dungeon master and has enjoyed playing against his friends in variations of chess. He’s still singing baritone in the youth choir at church and is excited about welcoming our new pastor early next year.

Patrick has settled into his role as Software Development Manager for the Product Domain, working on a complete rebuild of Lifeway’s site this past year. He still works from home with occasional in-person meetings at Lifeway’s new headquarters, which is only ten minutes from our house!

In June, Patrick was asked to help staff the Lifeway booth at the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in New Orleans. It was a great time to connect with friends and meet Baptists from all over the country. If you saw Patrick in the booth there, he probably gave you a pair of Lifeway socks!

Less than two days after returning from New Orleans, Patrick and Adam left Nashville in the early morning hours to go on the church youth choir tour and mission trip to Hawaii! The action-packed week included volunteering at a food bank and school, singing at a church, singing at the Ala Moana mall, singing on the beach, and helping lead a Vacation Bible School. The group also managed to see the sights of Oahu such as the Pearl Harbor Memorial and Kualoa Ranch, which has been the filming location for many popular movies and television shows. There was also some time for one of Adam’s favorite things - the beach!

A special time for our family this year was Patrick’s participation in our church’s bi-annual Keyboards at Christmas performance, where twelve pianists play beautiful Christmas music on six grand pianos. The group consists of church members with various musical and professional backgrounds, and they practiced through the fall months to prepare for the concert on December 3. Patrick hopes to play again at the next concert in 2025. 

We are always grateful for our friends and family, especially this time of year. We love hearing from you! Please connect with us on Facebook or come by for a visit if you are in the area. We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a blessed 2024.

-Patrick, Lydia, and Adam Watts

Christmas Letter 2022

Greetings from Watts family! We hope you are well and enjoying the holiday season. 

Adam turned 14 in January and continues to enjoy playing video games and hanging out with the other boys in the neighborhood. He recently joined a Dungeons & Dragons group at the local library and looks forward to the meetings. 

Patrick’s big news this year was his new position at Lifeway. After being hired in 2006 to head up marketing, sales, and events for Lifeway Worship, he has spent the past few years on the resources team, primarily working with digital products. In April, he moved to the IT department to be a Software Development Manager for the Product Domain. He and the developers he supervises are responsible for making sure that all of the information about Lifeway’s products is accurate and dependable, and to provide governance and management over the quality of the product data wherever it goes, whether that be to Lifeway’s website, Amazon, Walmart, or any of the other outlets that sell Lifeway products.

Our busy spring continued in May when Adam wrapped up middle school. After spending his seventh grade year at home in distance learning, we were especially proud that he finished eighth grade so well and even earned a spot on the honor roll. 

In June, the Watts boys went coast to coast! Patrick and Adam went to California to visit Disneyland, Legoland, and Huntington Beach, and to attend the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting. Adam was a first-time messenger!

They came back home for a couple of days before heading to Miami to participate in the Youth Choir Tour/Mission Trip. The group sang and served at several locations including the Miami Rescue Mission and Bayside Marketplace. They also sang the national anthem at a Miami Marlins game. They managed to squeeze in some Florida fun, too - snorkeling at Key Largo and spending a day at Universal Orlando.

Adam started high school in August, where he has adjusted well despite a few challenges. We’ve all had to adapt to new routines, teachers, and classes. He’s had some busy fall weekends going to TN Maker Fest, Brick Fest, and Pigeon Forge for the youth group fall retreat.

Lydia is able to participate in Sunday School and women’s Bible study at church via Zoom. Though chronic pain and autoimmune disease limits what she can do, she still enjoys cheering on the Vols and Predators from home. 

We love to hear from our friends and family! Connect with us on Facebook or come by for a visit if you are in the area. We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a blessed new year.

- Patrick, Lydia, and Adam

Christmas Letter 2021

 

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.”

2 Timothy 1:7 (CSB)

Greetings from the Watts family! We hope your 2021 has been happy, safe, and healthy. This year has been full of changes and adjustments for our family, as I’m sure it has been for yours.

Adam turned thirteen in January and celebrated with a Zoom birthday party so he could play video games with his friends. Also, he was selected as “Student of the Month” by his teachers for being the student who most embodied that month’s character quality which was “joy.” Students can only receive this honor once during their whole time at Valor Voyager Academy. We are particularly proud of Adam for receiving this honor during distance learning, which was filled with new challenges, for teachers, students, and parents. 

“We” finished the rest of seventh grade in distance learning. It was certainly a team effort. In many ways, it was a sweet time for our family. We had more time with each other, and we persevered through a difficult challenge together. Our mornings were more relaxed, and we didn’t have to spend time in the car going back and forth to school. I reflected on our experience on the one year anniversary of distance learning in March, and you can read that here. Adam was able to return to in-person learning for eighth grade in August.

Also in August, Patrick’s grandfather, Col. H. A. Waggener, Jr. (Ret.), passed away after complications following a fall. He was 101 years old. We have many treasured memories of Pop, and we rejoice that he is now with his Savior, whom he loved and served so faithfully throughout his life. Pop kept a piece of paper in his cockpit during World War II with 2 Timothy 1:7 written on it. Despite the many combat and health-related challenges that he faced, Pop lived a long, full life, and we thank God on every remembrance of him. Even when a loved one so dear lives over a century, it seems there is never enough time spent together.

Patrick was able to work from Ohio during several trips there this year before and after Pop’s passing. He continues working from home, as all of Lifeway’s employees do now, with a few in-person gatherings during the year. Lifeway’s online products have remained a top priority in 2021 as churches navigate life with COVID-19. He works on several projects including Ministry Grid, events registration, Lifeway Worship, and online Bible study curriculum. He also serves on a task force that is helping the entire organization migrate to Microsoft 365.

Following my diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis last year, I (Lydia) continue to work with my doctors to slow the progression of the disease and find relief for my other chronic pain conditions. Patrick and Adam are very patient caregivers. I enjoy doing small crafting and baking projects at home when I am able and try to rest when possible. 

We hope your year has been a good one, and we are grateful to have so many wonderful friends and family members. We wish you a very merry Christmas, and a happy and healthy 2022.

-Patrick, Lydia, and Adam Watts 

Christmas Letter 2020

 When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

- Johnson Oatman, Jr.

  Greetings from the Watts family! I (Lydia) have been thinking about the hymn, “Count Your Blessings” recently and how it applies to 2020. This year has had more than its share of discouragement, and we have been trying to counter that with gratitude for our many blessings.

  In February, Patrick was able to travel to Ohio to celebrate his grandfather’s 100th birthday. Pop wanted to go to his favorite Mexican restaurant and wear the birthday sombrero while the wait staff sang to him, so that’s what they did! Pop is still in his retirement community and has wonderful caregivers - people who also cared for Patrick’s grandmother before she passed away in 2019. Pop says he’s the only person he’s ever known who has lived to be 100! He has health issues that are to be expected with someone of his age, but he remains in good spirits. We are thankful.

  Not long after Patrick returned from Ohio, the case numbers of COVID-19 started to rise both here in Tennessee and around the country. On March 11, when Patrick picked Adam up on the last day of school before spring break, Adam told him that the teachers had all the kids clean out their cubbies. Patrick said, “I don’t think they’re going back.” He was right. Adam finished his sixth grade year in distance learning and has been home for all of seventh grade so far. His teachers have adapted amazingly well and have worked hard to deal with the numerous technological challenges of online learning. Adam is making good grades and likes his teachers. We are thankful.

 

That same week, on March 13, LifeWay did an “experiment” with all employees working remotely for a day. They had had a flexible “Work from Anywhere” policy in the past, but this was the first time no employees reported to the building. The experiment was a success, and Patrick has been working from home ever since. Overall, it has worked out well. We’ve saved lots of money on gas, and Patrick has been available to help with school-related tech problems and fix lunch! We are thankful.

  As churches cancelled services and activities, LifeWay made getting “distance-worshipping” resources to churches a top priority. Patrick was part of a team tasked with getting four curriculum lines completely online as quickly as possible. It's hard to explain what a monumental task this was, but they figured out how to make it happen. I even got to preview some of it and add my input! 2020 vastly accelerated bringing "salvation to the ends of the earth" via the internet. I believe that God has Patrick at LifeWay for such a time as this. We are thankful.

  In August of this year, I was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, an autoimmune disease that affects the spine. This came after a long journey to determine the cause of my back pain. Getting this type of diagnosis during a pandemic is not ideal, but we are in close proximity to excellent medical care and God continues to provide for our needs to manage the situation. We are thankful.

  One of the greatest blessings of 2020 for our family was the safe arrival of our niece, Emma. Patrick’s sister Allison and her husband Dave welcomed her in April. Big sister Abby is almost five years old and loves spending time with baby Emma at home in Texas. Even when things are discouraging around us, seeing pictures of them always brings a smile. We are thankful.

  Like many families this year, being at home together all the time has had its share of challenges and blessings. We realize that we are fortunate to have more time with Adam during such a pivotal time in his development as a young man. He’s grown at least half a foot in 2020, and his voice has dropped at least an octave. We have been trying to make the most of this unexpected period in our family life. We have all that we need, and we have each other. We are thankful.

  We hope that you are in good health and staying safe this holiday season as we celebrate the birth of our Savior. We are so grateful for our friends and family, and we hope that we will soon be able to see you in person again. We wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!

-Patrick, Lydia, and Adam Watts

Christmas Letter 2018

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Watts family! We hope you have had a good year and hope you will have an even better 2019. We stayed close to home this year, especially when we got hit with a big snowstorm in January!

The temperature got down to the single digits, which is rare for Nashville. We enjoyed having some unscheduled family time.

Through the winter and into the spring, we toured and applied to middle schools for Adam. (Middle school starts in the fifth grade in our county.) We realized in the process that things sure have changed... we toured more middle schools than either of us did colleges for ourselves. We finally arrived at a decision to go with Valor Collegiate Academy in early May.

At the end of May, it was time to say goodbye to Granbery Elementary. The faculty and staff there loved our whole family so well for five years. Patrick’s parents were able to come to town for the graduation, and so Adam had all four of his grandparents in attendance.

Summer was busy with day camps and church activities for Adam. He went to Camp Invention, Vacation Bible School, and Music Arts Camp. Patrick’s sister, Allison, her husband Dave, and their daughter Abby came to visit in June, and Adam enjoyed showing her around the house and the neighborhood. Patrick, Adam, and the Greenes trekked up to Ohio to visit Patrick and Allison’s grandparents, who despite being in their late nineties, still are sharp as tacks and love to love on us.

In August, Adam went to two days of “Culture Camp” to learn all about his new school and get to know his new classmates. He started fifth grade on August 7th, and quickly started making friends and learning the ropes of middle school. It’s been an adjustment for all of us with new teachers, more homework, a new schedule, and no more school bus.

Adam made his own Halloween costume this year, and he was an iPhone! He made the phone out of a big cardboard box, and the charger was a small styrofoam cooler.

Lydia has been busy crafting and being the mom of a middle schooler. Some new medicine has helped her this year, but she’s still adjusting to some side effects.

Patrick’s job at LifeWay is still going well. They’ve been in

the new building for a year now, and he’s already moved from the fifth floor to the eighth floor. He’s now been trained to be a certified scrum product owner. He primarily works on web-based software for churches.

We love hearing from our friends and family at Christmastime. Please keep us with us on Facebook or email us at patrickandlydia(at)gmail.com.

Blessings,

Patrick, Lydia, and Adam

Stuck in the Middle School with You

Yesterday, for the first time since 2013, our boy's first day of school was not at Granbery Elementary. I knew this in my head, but it really hit my heart yesterday. I saw the buses coming from there as I went to middle school pickup, and I thought about all the days we put our precious cargo in the care of awesome bus drivers. (I also miss him being picked up and dropped off at the end of our driveway.) I missed the excitement of all the smiling faces we got to know and love during our years at Granbery. The faculty and staff loved our family so well, and we miss them.


We are so grateful for the elementary teachers and staff who got us this far. I feel like I have a new job learning a whole new system. Hopefully, yesterday was our last first day at a new school as this school continues through high school. The faculty and staff at the new school is amazing and have been so helpful. I've already gotten several early morning and late night texts. 


The great thing about Nashville is that there are lots of options, and we took our time figuring out which one would be the best for our boy. We looked at more middle schools for our kid than we did colleges for ourselves. We are hopeful his new school will meet his needs and nurture him as well as his elementary school did.

It's Elementary, Watts

"Love is at the root of everything. 
All learning. All parenting. All relationships. 
Love, or the lack of it." 
-Fred Rogers

Kindergarten was just five years ago, but in many ways, it seems like it was a different lifetime. We've faced so many challenges along the way. I'm so glad I didn't know what was ahead when we put our tiny five-year-old on the giant school bus that morning in August of 2013.

Fast forward to last week's fourth grade graduation. Adam's wonderful fourth grade teacher got choked up as she read the names of her students. I wish every student could experience the love and concern she shows her students and their families. While I couldn't be as involved at school as I would like to be, the times I observed her interacting with students were nothing short of magical. She made each child feel important and special and created an environment where the students were excited to learn. We went up to the school to vote after classes were over on the last day, and Adam gave her a big hug. He's not a big hugger, and so this was a huge deal.

His teacher this year was just one of the fantastic staff and faculty who have loved us so well over these past five years. We truly had a team at Granbery that has walked beside us and loved us through many challenges and triumphs.

10 Years of Adam

2017 Watts Family Year Ender

Dear friends and family,

We hope you have had a great 2017 and are looking forward to the new year. We’ve had lots of ups and downs this year in the Watts family.

Patrick and Adam have made several trips to see family this year, including a Spring Break trip to Texas and three trips to Ohio to see Patrick’s grandparents, who just celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary. Their Memorial Day trip included stops at Dinosaur World in Kentucky and Kings Island near Cincinnati.

In June, they went to CentriKid camp in Campbellsville, KY. This was a new experience for both of them, and they had a blast!

We had the amazing experience of being in the “line of totality” of the solar eclipse on August 21. Patrick’s cousin, Ray, is an astronomy professor and came to observe the eclipse in our driveway. It was a fantastic learning experience for all three of us and especially for Adam, who wants to be an astronomer when he grows up.

In October, Adam came down with what we thought was a bad cold, but he was soon diagnosed with pneumonia. After a week of treatment at home, our pediatrician sent us to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital at Williamson Medical Center for an in-patient stay to get IV antibiotics. Adam responded more quickly than expected to treatment there, and we were sent home at the end of our second day. This happened during Adam’s fall break, and so he had quite the story to tell when he went back to school. Unfortunately, Patrick then came down with it... followed shortly thereafter by Lydia as well, but we both managed to avoid the hospital. We are grateful to live in Nashville with great medical care. All of October and most of November were consumed with illness, and so we got a little behind on Christmas preparations and cards.

Also in November, Patrick’s office moved to LifeWay’s new building in the Capitol View development in Nashville’s “North Gulch”. Nashville is growing by leaps and bounds, and the area around the new building is surrounded by new businesses and residential buildings. The new, high-tech building is a big change from the aging buildings on the old campus, but many of the architectural elements were incorporated into LifeWay’s new home. Patrick continues to work on web-based projects including a training site for church planters with the North American Mission Board.

Adam is a fourth grader this year, which in our school district, is the last year of elementary school. We have been looking at our options for middle school next year and are prayerfully considering what will be the best fit for him and our family.





We enjoy everyone’s Christmas cards and greetings. Even if we aren’t able to see you in person, our family and friends are always close to our hearts. We would love to hear from you. We pray you will have a happy and healthy new year.

-Patrick, Lydia, and Adam Watts

2016 Year Ender

Dear friends and family,

We hope you are having a wonderful holiday season and are looking forward to 2017. We started the year with quite a bit of snow in Tennessee, which resulted in lots of pre-empted school days for Adam and even some work days for Patrick. It was fun for a day or two, but by day seven, we were ready to get back into a routine.

A big event in our extended family actually happened right before the end of 2016, and that was the arrival of our niece and Adam’s cousin, Abby. She is the daughter of Patrick’s sister Allison and her husband, and she is named after Patrick’s grandmother. Patrick and Adam got to meet Abby during their spring break trip to Texas. Even from two states away, we enjoy watching her grow and seeing her personality start to emerge.

We were overjoyed this year when Adam professed his faith in Christ and was baptized Memorial Day weekend. Adam met with our pastor and worked through a workbook about what it means to be a Christian. He continues to be involved in lots of activities at church including Sunday School, Royal Ambassadors, and children’s choir.

After a winter with lots of snow days, Adam enjoyed a full summer of activities. Our science-loving kid started with Camp Invention at his school where he made some unique creations with household objects. Vacation Bible School at church was a hit as always with fun field trips in the afternoons to destinations around Nashville.

Adam got to get out of his (and Mommy’s) comfort zone during Lego Camp at Camp Widjiwagan. In addition to the Lego time, he got to swim in the awesome pool, play on the “beach”, and ride in a speedboat. Adam got to do more science with Mr. Bond and the Science Guys at another day camp which included “Spy Camp” in the afternoons. The last day camp of the summer was Music Arts Camp at church, where Adam got to be a puppeteer. 

August brought the beginning of third grade. Not surprisingly, Adam’s favorite subject is science. He says his favorite thing about his classroom is the nautical themed decor. He also likes that the lunch line moves quickly. Adam went on a day-long field trip to the children’s museum in Chattanooga with his Encore class. They got to do experiments, and it was “awesome.”

Patrick and Adam had a fantastic fall break trip to Walt Disney World that included getting grazed by a hurricane! They ended up having a fun, lazy day at their resort while Matthew passed. Orlando missed the worst of it, but their flight out was cancelled before the storm hit. So, they had two more days at Disney and came home Monday morning.

All of Pop and Polly’s great-grandchildren gathered in Ohio for Thanksgiving this year. Patrick’s grandparents were thrilled that their grandchildren from Idaho, Texas, and Tennessee all came to visit and especially enjoyed spending time with their three great-granddaughters and one great-grandson.

Patrick continues to enjoy his work at LifeWay. He has been working on a project for church planters with the North American Mission Board. Earlier this year, he was given the quarterly division Value Award in recognition of his work on various projects with  the Publishing and Event Technology department. LifeWay plans to move to a new campus in the Capitol View development late next year.

We love all our friends and family and enjoy hearing from you at Christmas and all throughout the year. We wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

Love,

Patrick, Lydia, and Adam

“I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you…”

-Philippians 1:3

Eight is great

This kid turned eight years old today! The picture on the left is from our attempt at a one month photo shoot. He wasn't that excited about the preemie outfit I bought on eBay. I'm glad I kept it for comparison. I hope I don't have any grandsons who are small enough for it.

This year's big birthday gift was a WiiU. He is enjoying playing Super Mario Maker. We gave it to him a few days ago when we were snowed in. He is planning to have a party with his friends at BounceU on Sunday. I guess this birthday is brought to you by the letter "u".

2015 Year in Review

Well, it's been a year since I've posted, so I've not kept up with my promise to myself to blog more, but I will try harder in 2016.

Adam
Adam will be eight years old in January. He is in second grade and enjoys science and reading. He did several day camps over the summer including two at the Adventure Science Center and Music Arts Camp at church.

Patrick
Patrick is preparing to move his office to a temporary location while LifeWay's new headquarters is built. The new building will be located in the "North Gulch" area of downtown Nashville and will be finished sometime in 2017. He is working on several projects at LifeWay including an app for a new series of Veggie Tales books and MinistryGrid. He played keyboard for Oak Hill School's production of Jungle Book in November. He continues to help with the streaming video ministry at church.

Lydia
Due to my health issues, most of my time is spent at home. I enjoy craft projects when I am able, especially for our new niece who is due to arrive anytime. I love staying connected with friends via Facebook and would welcome visitors if you are ever in the area. Check out our Facebook pages for videos and pictures!

2014 Watts Year Ender

• Adam turned six in January and got glasses!
• We survived kindergarten!
• Adam’s summer activities included Robot Camp at the Adventure Science Center, Art Camp at the Y, Vacation Bible School, the Waggener family reunion, and a week with his grandparents in Texas.
• Adam is doing well in first grade at Granbery Elementary.
• We took Adam to Legoland Florida and Disney World for the first time this year along with Patrick’s parents. (We did Disneyland last year.)
• 
  Patrick is busy with his job at LifeWay. He is working on several projects, including a devotional app and online training for churches.
• Lydia is serving on the planning committee for our church’s women’s retreat scheduled for October 2015.
• Patrick is in a Christian Leadership Concepts with other men at church that meets on Friday mornings.
• Adam got to see his cousins from Idaho when they all visited Texas for Thanksgiving.