Who You Gonna Call

Shelby: "Dad, when you need your car cleaned you no longer have to call the professionals."

Pratt: "Oh yeah, who do I call?"

Shelby: "Me."

Pratt: "Really, well how much do you charge?"

Pause

Shelby: "Half as much as the professionals."

So, when you need your car cleaned...who you gonna call?

Shelby Reed

(She only cleans the inside.  You will still need to see a professional to clean the outside or do it yourself.)

Last week I had Shelby clean out the car as part of some discipline.  She did a pretty good job of cleaning out all the trash and vacuuming.  She even wiped down much of the car.

A little more training and we've got ourselves our own little car detailer:)

My Little Evangelist

On the way to Kids Club at church on Sunday night:

JP-"Mom, will there always be people on the earth, like forever?"

Me-"Well, not really.  One day Jesus is going to come back and everyone who belongs to him; all God's children, will go on to live with Jesus forever."

JP-"Oh."

Me-"No one knows when Jesus is coming back.  We don't know what could happen tomorrow.  That's why it is important to make sure that we tell others about Jesus when we get a chance."

JP-"I do, Mom!  Everyday at school I tell my friends about Jesus. And Drew, he doesn't believe because his family doesn't believe but Daisy says that she wants to believe and when she grows up she is going to believe and go to church."

(Drew and Daisy are twins at his school)

I just had to laugh to myself and then was challenged by the fact that my 6 year old little boy is having no problem asking his classmates-"Do you believe in God?"

Earlier this year his teacher told me that whoever he sits by at lunch he asks them if they believe and tells them about God and that they should go to church.  I pray everyday that his excitment never fades.  I have a feeling God has big plans for my little guy in impacting His kingdom and sharing the gospel:)

First Day of School

Okay, so I am only a month late, but on August 20th our sweet children started school.  We had a wonderful summer and the children were great but just like everything all good things must come to an end and just like every summer, the end seems to be the hardest part of the summer.  The weather gets really hot, the pool and beach get old, and they just get to the point where they can't take not having a routine and structure to their day.

Shelby was really excited about taking the annual first day of school photos.  She was adament that Pratt photobomb the pictures and of course he is always up for fun and being funny so he jumped right in.  The funniest part was that most of the pictures I got were just the backs of their heads because they kept turing around to see what daddy was doing. 

Shelby: 3rd Grade-how is that possible??  I have a few memories from 1st and 2nd grade, but 3rd grade I have tons of memories from...oh boy!!  These days will be with her for a lifetime.

JP: 1st Grade-he was devestated all summer to be leaving kindergarten and Ms. Deborah behind.  Even the first day of first grade he was begging me to let him go back.  I told him that one of the great things about 1st grade was that there was no rest time (because what kid loves rest time......)  He said, "Oh great!  I need rest time to rest my brain!!"  I guess my kid would be the one that loves rest time.

Shelby and JP, you guys are growing up so fast!!!  I hope that you have a great year in your new classrooms with your new teachers.  You guys are prayed over everyday and I pray that you will always know how much we love you!!!



Wyoming 2013

We had a great time in Wyoming with the family this summer.  We managed to squeeze 7 adults and 2 kids into a three bedroom one and a half bath cabin.  There was a whole lot of love and a whole lot of fun!!  The kids really enjoyed getting the chance to explore the mountain and have tons of undivided attention from whomever they could find.  There was no tv, no computer, no internet, no cellphone coverage; just 100% good old fashioned family time.  What a blessing!!!!

JP and Daddy getting ready for one of many atv rides.  JP loved getting to hang with the men.

Talk about blessings!!  We were so excited to get to spend a week with our Uncle Bill from California.  This was the most time spent with him in my entire life and while I am sure some of the things we did and said probably left him shaking his head, he put up with us and Shelby really, really loved him!!

Good morning world!  The sun stays up light and rises super early in the Big Horns in the summer.  Here are the main men in my life enjoying the beautiful cool mountain morning on the deck.

My heart!

One of the children's favorite activities was to go down to the creek to play in the water and ride the zip line. 

My children and me right before they "accidentally" fell into the creek.  I don't know how they could stand it as the water was FREEZING!!!  But they loved it and a few days later they put on their swimsuits and went swimming!!

My grandpa's boots.  He loved this place and those boots have been there since the last time he visited the cabin. 

Much to my dad's satisfaction, my children may have been talked into being University of Wyoming fans.  Who knows, maybe he will get his wish and one of them will choose to go there.  He certainly couldn't convince my sister, brother or I:)

Going into this trip I must admit I was a bit nervous.  How were we all going to survive and not want to kill each other by the end of 8 days straight of being together 24 hours a day.  Don't get me wrong, I love my family to pieces but it has been a very long time since we have all been together like that and probably the last time we were there was arguing because we were all still living in the same house.  At the end, it was so wonderful and I really hope that we can make a better effort to do things like this.  It was fabulous!!!  Thank you mom and dad for a great summer vacation and tons and tons of wonderful memories!!!

JPisms

JP is coming down with a cold...atleast I think he is.  Yesterday on the way home from the pool the sniffling and coughing started; so you can imagine the long night we had last night trying to keep him propped up and medicated enough to relieve the sniffles.  Let's just say it was a long night....

This morning I expected him to sleep in a little, but not so...he was up and at 'em promptly at 7:00am and came into my room with this information....

JP: "Mommy, my stomach feels different.  But its okay because my heart is still beating like it normally does."

Then later while he was eating breakfast he was all wrapped up in a blanket and he said, "Mommy, I am cold; even my brain is cold.  I must really be sick." (imagine him sitting in the chair with the blanket wrapped around him and up over his head)

Mind you, he really isn't that sick.  Poor kid just has one of those annoying summer colds where you are well enough to do everything but kind of don't feel well enough to do anything....know what I mean?

Praying we get this out of the way before school starts in a a week!

Happy Independence Day

First and foremost we thank all the men and women and their families who have sacrificed in order for us to celebrate July 4th!!  Without your passion and willingness to protect, this day and the many fun memories we have would not exist.  So thank you from the bottom of our hearts!!

The Second Annual Reed/Shell Fourth of July party was once again a super fun time.  A little rain in the afternoon would not deter us from celebrating our freedom.  Last year we had a great dance show put on by the children and this year we had fun with sparklers and other small fireworks before heading to the big show.

Nothing says Happy 4th of July like extra long sparklers.  I have never seen sparklers this big before.  Usually the children are disappointed because the sparkler is finished real quick but these were so long that they got bored with them before they were even half way done.

After dinner and a few very stinky stink bombs we made our way to see some real fireworks.  Of course by this point we were getting giddy with excitment and anticipation.....

No, I wasn't bloated from bad food (we ate really well and the food was delicious); that ever expanding belly is because of the Pickle that is growing.

Another funny picture moment....Pratt and Shelby showing me how to act like I can't jump.  So thankful I have those two to guide me through life:)



Jumping for freedom...I feel like Toyota should be written across this picture (do you remember the old Toyota commercials where the happy people would jump at the end?)

We had a wonderful night. The fireworks show was amazing and lasted forever.  Then the children enjoyed running around for a bit.  I paid for the late night the next day with tired/crabby children, but the memories of that night with friends and family were well worth it!

Happy Birthday 'Merica!!!!

JP's First Lost Tooth

In keeping with the idea that second and third children don't get the documentation of major milestones like the first I am pleased to share with you that JP has lost his first tooth....about a month ago.  I know, bad mommy!  But better late than never.

JP had a loose tooth for quite a while and one night last month right before bed it just fell out.  The tooth was so ready to come out that there wasn't even any bleeding.  It just got pushed out by the big tooth growing in behind it.  JP was so excited and of course we had to write the tooth fairy a letter.  Shelby quickly volunteered to write it for him and the next morning we found that JP's tooth fairy's name is Jingle.

A few days later we were swimming at the pool and a friend bumped into JP while swimming knocking his second tooth out.  It was a traumatic experience for him as the tooth was completely lost.  We have no idea if it was in the pool or if he swallowed it.  As a result he got extra money from Jingle telling him that it was okay because sometimes things like that happen.

So now he is two teeth down.  My baby is really growing up...bitter sweet!

One Way to Survive

We all cope with changes in life differently.  Some live in denial, some face the change head on, others pout and complain, some try to recreate the "good old days"; me, it depends on the change as to how I respond, but in the case of my children growing up and gaining independence I have gone the route of a little bit of everything.

There are days where I live in denial and try to keep them little, there are days where I embrace the change as good and look forward to all the fun things to come with older children, sometimes I have been known to pout and complain about it (shocking, right?!?!?!) and then there is recreating the good old days and we have done just that....

Baby Reed #3 will be coming sometime in early October!!  We are so excited to have this precious gift and look forward to getting to meet her very soon.  Yes, I said her!  We went against our norm and found out that we are having a baby girl. 



The children are excited.  They are asking tons of questions, some of which are easy to answer and others that aren't so easy but each question proves to be a good time for teaching them.

JP goes back and forth about whether he thinks this is a good idea or not, especially since we found out it was a girl.  One day he is hugging on my ever growing belly saying how much he loves the baby and then the next day he is upset that the baby is a girl.

Shelby is eagerly awaiting baby girl's arrival.  She is looking forward to helping, but has made it quite clear that she will not change any diapers.

Kindergarten Graduation Part 2

How can it be that my baby boy went from this....



To kindergarten graduate in the blink of an eye?????

It is truly hard to believe that next year he will begin first grade and that in 12 very quick years we will be packing up his stuff and sending him off to college.  A mother's heart can barely stand the thought.

JP, we are so proud of you and how much you have grown and learned over the years in the Sunflower Room.  We can't wait to see what amazing things God has in store for your life and are honored that we get to be your family in this great adventure!

Love you buddy!!!

HSM2

Friday night we had family night and for our special activity we went to see High School Musical 2 presented by Hilton Head Christian Academy.  Our babysitter was in the play so we were excited to get to see her and also if I am truly honest with myself, I was really excited to see the play as I love all three of those movies.

The children were excited to see Miss Emily and were also excited, when as the play started, they realized there were a few other people that they knew performing.  Shelby was on the edge of her seat the whole time completely enthralled by the singing, dancing and everything else. 

JP on the other hand quickly lost interest when the two main characters started holding hands.  He looked at Pratt and said that he was going to hide his eyes and then said, "I wish this was a sports play."

After the play was over we asked Shelby if she liked it and she said, "Yes!"  Then we asked JP the same question and he said, "NO. I mean you just sit there, you watch it and you get bored."

Well, I guess he still has a ways to go before he appreciates the finer things in life.  The funny thing is that he really enjoys music and dancing and all that stuff but I guess all that hand holding was too much for him to even be able to pay attention to the fun music.

0 Years Old

Since day-light savings time on Saturday night/Sunday morning has occurred we have all be walking in a fog.  So this morning on the way to school it was dead quiet; I mean dead quiet.  The children were even too tired to argue about something silly which tends to happen often on the way to school.  JP broke the silence with this random conversation....

JP-Mommy, is Aunt Lala older than you?

Me-No, I am older than her by 6 years.

JP-So how old is she?

Me-Aunt Lala is about to turn (I will leave blank just in case Aunt Lala wouldn't appreciate me sharing that info, but in case you are wondering it is more than 20 but less than 30).  Next Tuesday is her birthday. 

JP-And she is already out of college?? (said with awe and admiration like that is a huge accomplishment)

Me-Yes, most people typically finish with college around 22 or so.

JP-So, when you were 6, Aunt Lala was 0?

Me-Yes, that is one way to look at it.

I love conversations with my children!  It really gives you a glimpse of what their little minds are like and you can see how they are trying to navigate through life in their limited knowledge. 

I heard once on the radio that a study was done and they found that there has been a correlation between a child's behavior and how much time their parents spend on the phone in the car.  Essentially it said, "Parents, hang up the phone and spend time with your children.  Being in the car with them is one of the best places to talk because you are together in a small space and they aren't distracted by toys, tv, friends, etc. and they are more likely to talk with you about life."  I am so thankful for that nugget of information because we have had some super fun conversations!

Well Visits

Yesterday the children had their annual Well Visits with the pediatrician.  Here are their vitals:

Shelby-8 Years Old

Weight: 60lbs (63%)

Height: 53in (88%)

JP-6 Years Old

Weight: 51lbs (75%)

Height: 48in (87%)

Shelby grew 4 inches from last year and JP grew 4 inches from last year and they both gained 4 pounds since last year.  It is safe to say that they definitely got their height from their dad.  They both are doing very well and right on track developmentally in all areas.

8 is Great

On February the 18th we celebrated Shelby's 8th birthday!!!  Yes, I said 8!  Holy Cow, that is amazing!!  Only 5 more years until she turns 13 which means we are approaching the preteen years in a matter of days. 

Happy birthday sweet girl!!

For her 8th birthday Shelby just wanted a few friends and to do something fun so we loaded up the car with three of her friends and made the trek to the island for The Art Cafe.  Much to my dismay, it was closed!!!  Seriously!  I know we are "out of season" down here but what business like that closes on a Saturday, especially a rainy one???  I felt so bad and the disappointment was written all over Shelby's face:(  Epic fail on my part!  Lucky for us, the Island Playground (which is now closed) was open for it's last weekend so the party was saved and the girls had a great time running around.

After that we went to Lovin Spoons where Shelby got to get an adult bowl and put as many toppings as she would like on her fro-yo.  I think in the end she had a great time and I sure enjoyed watching her, soaking up every moment. 

Shelby, you light up our world!  You are funny, loving, and kind.  We love you to pieces and look forward to seeing what God has in store for your life!

Happy Birthday Sweet pea!!!

Super Bowl

You know you are getting old when you would rather watch the Super Bowl at home with your family then go out to a party or something....and that is exactly what we did.  I wouldn't have had it any other way.

You know you are getting old when nearly every commercial during the super bowl makes you squirm in disbelief over the inappropriateness of the content....and that is exactly what I did!  In my mind it was supposed to be a nice family bonding time.  When I was growing up, Super Bowl Sunday was always a super fun day family day in our house.  Mom would make the world's best chili and cornbread and we would all gather in the living room to eat, watch the game, and enjoy the commercials; so you can imagine my excitement and expectation for the night when Pratt and I decided to let Shelby stay up and watch some of it......

Well, that excitement turned to horror as one of the first commercials of the game was that GoDaddy.com commercial where the super model and the nerd share a very long and very awkward kiss.  I was horrified and scrambling in my mind how to handle that situation with Shelby when she piped in.."Mom, why are they biting each other like that?"

So I did what any mom would do..."I don't know honey, but it is strange; isn't it?"

Shortly after that we put her to bed to spare her precious innocent mind and I am so glad we did!!!  The commercials didn't get any better and the half time show was anything but family friendly!!!

At this rate I am pretty sure my children will be watching Disney Jr and Nick Jr until they are 30!!!

Happy 6th Birthday JP!

Happy Birthday to our sweet son!!!  You are a blessing to our family and we thank the Lord everyday for allowing us the privilege of being your parents.  Your sweet smile always bring joy to our days.

For your special day we had breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts, lunch at Moe's and dinner at Five Guys followed up with dessert from Lovin' Spoons.

When I asked you what you wanted to be when you grow up you said you wanted to be what daddy does.

Your favorite color is orange.

Your favorite activity is playing outside with the neighborhood kids.

You brighten my life!  I love you so much!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Well, here I sit ready to blog about all of our fun activities over Christmas and New Year and I am unable to upload any pictures-Boo!!!  That really stinks!  Well, here is what we did without the pictures and hopefully soon I will figure this out.

Patrico, Suzy, Sebastian, Sienna and Sawyer got in town-Yay!  We are so glad to see you!
Shelby had a school performance-super cute!
JP had a school performance-super cute!
Shelby and JP sang in church-major super cute!
Children's Choir Happy Birthday Jesus Party-so fun!
Pratt's Bible study family party at our house-fun fellowship!
Pratt's work party at John and Sandi's-great time of food and fun!
Annual Chinese Take out Christmas dinner-we usually do this on Christmas Eve but since there was so much family in town we did it early and it was a special treat to have my brother join us!
Matt and Lauren visited for the night-I love my brother and sister!
Made our annual gingerbread houses-messy and yummy; I think this year the children ate more candy then they put on the houses!
Christmas Eve Candlelight Service-one of my favorite services all year!
Christmas Eve Reed Family dinner-Crazy time: lots of food, fun, and family!
Christmas morning at our house-Happy Birthday Jesus!!!
Christmas with Cynthia-can you say Monkey Bread and Ham Biscuits-Yes Please!!!
Christmas with John and Sandi-food, fun and presents!!
Christmas with my family-more food, more fun, and fighting over the leftover stuffing in the turkey: I'll get you next time Matt!
Finally Home and crash into bed!!

We had so much fun this Christmas with all of our family!!  What a blessed life we live!  Thank you Lord for your provision over 2012 and we eagerly await all that You will do in 2013!  Nothing we have and nothing we do would be possible with You, Lord!  We give all glory, honor and praise to You!