Photography by LLFC Media Team
When three generations of the Welch family gather at Laity Lodge Family Camp, they embody the multigenerational ties that bind.
On the morning of their tenth anniversary, Rebecca Welch watched as her husband, Jamin, climbed down from a bunkbed with their kids nearby. When they first married, this wasn’t exactly how Rebecca imagined spending her wedding anniversary, but these days, she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Rebecca and Jamin’s wedding anniversary often falls during their annual summer trip to Laity Lodge Family Camp (LLFC). For them, Family Camp has become the highlight of the summer because it’s when they spend five fun-filled days with the entire, extended Welch family.
That’s what Melissa, Jamin’s mom and the Welch family matriarch, always prayed for.
Years ago, when the whole Welch crew began coming to LLFC together, four families shared three casitas, which meant some creative bunking combinations. Today, the Welch family includes Melissa and Ray Welch, mom and dad to three adult children and their spouses: Charlie and Rachel, Jamin and Rebecca, and Jennie and Kevin. Ray and Melissa are also Mimi and Pop to 11 grandkids.
Melissa and Ray believe there’s nothing like spending intentional time with their children and grandchildren. Research supports this sentiment.
In 2017, Advances in Life Course Research, a scientific journal, found that grandparents who spend time with their grandkids live longer and happier lives. Moreover, time with other generations can help provide a sense of purpose, improve outlooks on aging, and offer opportunities for mentor-like relationships.
Plenty of families seem to be embracing these upsides—in the last two years, about 15% of Family Camp guests have included multigenerational families, with grandparents incorporated in their groups.
For the Welches, time together as a family has long been a priority, and choosing the Canyon as the backdrop for some of that intentional time was no coincidence. The Welch family’s Canyon roots run deep.
“My parents were at the first retreat at Laity Lodge,” Melissa said. When Melissa and Ray married in 1972, they began attending Laity Lodge retreats together. They also helped bring a Corpus Christi youth group to Foundation Camp. Later, the third Welch generation, Charlie, Jamin, and Jennie, attended Laity Lodge Youth Camp (LLYC) and worked as crew and counselors.
As Melissa and Ray’s children married and had children of their own, Family Camp seemed like the perfect opportunity to gather everyone once a year and introduce generation four to the Frio River Canyon.
What does it look like to spend five days with multiple generations of family? Mimi and Pop snuggling with littles as they nap. Cabin time questions all together under the stars. Early morning fishing trips with Pop. Mimi bringing snacks for the kids to share on the lawn. Standup paddle boarding with the littlest cousins seated at the big cousins’ feet.
It looks like love—modeled and lived out in beauty. Like memories made and held close.
What does it look like to spend five days
with multiple generations of family?
“I think the best part is the unplugging part. … Just being together, versus the rush to do something different or to perform in some way, form, or fashion,” Rachel shared. The Welches try to take the slower pace home with them.
When the family slows down, they learn together about prioritizing family, peace, and faith. Charlie, Jamin, and Jennie’s experiences in LLYC helped each of them grow in their relationship with God. Now, Family Camp is helping their kids grow spiritually even before they are old enough for Youth Camp.
The youngest Welches are stretching their wings in new ways each year. “They’re overcoming fears … climbing a wall or jumping off the cliff,” Charlie said. “They get independence with safety,” Rachel echoed. She shared that because the Canyon feels like home, the kids feel safe to take risks that stretch them in healthy ways. One year they’re too afraid to jump into Blue Hole, and the next, they jump with confidence.
Rebecca recalled her favorite memory, saying, “My oldest signed up for a Roundup talent show, and I was petrified. She wanted to dance to a song, and we weren’t familiar with the song, and I didn’t know what to expect. As a mom, you’re on pins and needles. [Thinking], is she going to be okay? But the cousins got up there and danced with her, and Charlie and Rachel stood by us, and Mimi and Pop were behind us, and I was so proud.”
For Mimi, the opportunity to watch her own children with their children is a true gift. “I mean, it’s the simple things,” she said. “It’s hearing they went down to the river and caught a fish. Or watching them kayak off down the river together in those really quiet times. It’s just watching them enjoy life together.”
“I want my kids—not just my own children, but my grandchildren—to have faith that’s so solid that they can take it with them wherever they go. That’s important to me.”
As the years pass, the Welch family is committed to continuing their nontraditional family reunion. Jamin said that as the kids get older, then go off to college, and as family members get pulled in different directions, they’ll still prioritize family. Rebecca agreed, saying, “We’ll always figure out how to keep what Mimi and Pop have started— keeping everyone together, making it a priority even when we’re not in the Canyon. I think that’s probably one of the main things that [the grandparents] do.”
Mimi took some of the kids to Austin to see their cousins in a play. “There‘s always something like that. [Mimi and Pop‘s] priority is to keep the family together,“ Rebecca said. “And as someone who married in, it’s never pushy. They’re such a gift. They do it in such a kind way that we’re so lucky to get to watch it happen.”
For Melissa “Mimi” Welch, the blessing of time spent with family and all that comes with it is never lost on her. “I want my kids, not just my own children, but my grandchildren, to have faith that’s so solid that they can take it with them wherever they go. That’s important to me.”
She and Ray see the beginnings of that future, full of solid faith and clear priorities, when they’re together in the Canyon. With every catfish kiss and Blue Hole swim. With every quiet walk and yearly family photo session. With every shared meal and memorable devo—they realize they’re living out their answered prayers— across three beautiful generations.
Hope and generosity always start somewhere. For Mrs. Butt, it was often the place where her family gathered to share meals.