Happy 10th Birthday JP

Happy Birthday Buddy!

 

You have brought sunshine, joy, and happiness to this family when you entered the world 10 years ago.

 

 

Every year that passes we are amazed at the young man God is making you.  Your smile is infectious.  Your loyalty to your friends and your desire to do what is right is  is admirable.

 

You are a loving and caring little brother to Shelby and a protective, playful brother to Sadie.

 

Without you our family would be incomplete and we thank the Lord that he saw fit to bless us with you!

 

We love you and happy birthday!



Here's the Thing

Here's the thing about cancer that no one can fully explain to you or that you can prepare yourself for....

 

About 6 years ago we started on a journey of cancer with my mom.  She found out she had cancer, but fortunately at the time it was an easy fix...remove the cancer and do a few quick rounds of radiation, badda bing, badda boom-so long cancer and stay out!

 

End of story or so we thought.....

 

Early 2016-Mom develops a cough.  No big deal, people get coughs all the time.  Plus it was cold season and we were also moving into allergy season.  Easy fix...take some cold medicine...not so much, well okay-let's try the allergy medicine...still coughing-Argh!!!

 

End of July, mom has her yearly appointment with her oncologist.  Everything checked out great, but oh wait, you see, I have this cough and have tried all the usual remedies.  Dr. says that it probably is nothing but given that her previous cancer had been known to settle in the lungs next she does a chest x-ray to be sure.  Normally if this was going to happen it would happen within 2-3 years of original diagnosis so we were confident it would be clear and maybe mom just had some crazy infection.

 

August comes around and we head to Charleston for a CT scan as the x-ray did show something not quite right.  Still, trying to be optimistic we go the infection route...biopsy done on two of the nodules...results...

 

But here's the thing about cancer....

MOM'S CANCER IS BACK

 

Ok, no big deal, she beat it before and was cancer free.  Let's just take it out again.  Wait, what, no...that isn't possible.  Well, this sucks!!  Our hope is to shrink it with chemo-1 treatment every 3 weeks for 6 rounds.  Maybe it will go into remission and that would be great.

 

Mom's last chemo treatment was the Monday before Christmas.  It was timed quite nicely as she had enough time to start to feel better in order to enjoy all the family festivities of the day.

 

Two days before New Year-ct scan to see what we can see...

 

Results yesterday-all nodules have shrunk.  EVERY SINGLE ONE!  Chemo is working....

 

BUT here's the thing with cancer...

The treatment can be just as terrible as the disease itself

. 

The side effects were starting to take their toll on mom and now we wait. 

 

 We wait for three months until her next ct scan. 

 

We wait in prayer and in hope and in faith that no matter what God is in control and working out His divine plan.  These have been the hardest months-many days of tears and fears and questioning why-but through it all God is has been faithful to give us what we need with each new challenge.

 

Here's the thing about caner...

It might be the silent killer.

It does destroy lives on this earth.

It is a strong foe to contend with...

BUT-

God is bigger and we will not fear because He is Lord of All!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

I wonder what it is that makes everyone consider years past, future goals and change at the end of every year.  Maybe it is because a period of time is coming to a close according to the human calendar?  Or maybe something entirely different.  Christmas and New Year brings a lot of emotions to many different people.  For me, there is always a mixture of emotions...Joy over celebrating my saviors birth, excitement over a new year with new possibilities, frustration over goals not met, sadness over lost opportunity, wonder of what will be, comfort that no matter what God is in control...and the list goes on and on.

 

We try to hold certain traditions at Christmas to commemorate the birth of Jesus and celebrate our family.  One of the favorites is brunch with Santa.  Every year we take pictures and every year it is amazing to look back and see the growth of the children.  Shelby has finally overcome her fear of the jolly old man.  She won't sit on his lap, who can blame her...she is 12 after all, but she doesn't mind being in the same room as him. 

 

Back in the day Dove Street lights were actually on Dove Street and they were amazing!! One of my family traditions was to drive down to see the lights and every year it seemed that the lights got bigger and better.  Well, as the years have gone on the lights got to be too much for the little beach street so now they put up the "Dove Street" lights at Shelter Cove. We took the children this year and it was so much fun to see the excitement and delight in Sadie as we walked down the street.  She would skip from tree to tree and then call out the color of the lights on the tree.  It tickled us pink to watch her and listen to her.

 





 

This is another picture that has changed so much over the years.  Sadie was being camera shy Christmas Eve so she wasn't in the picture this year, but can I tell you...these children are growing up and growing up fast!!!  We have been taking Christmas Eve pictures with the Alberts since JP was in diapers. 

 

As I reflect on this past year it is amazing to think of how much things have changed.  Some changes were exciting to watch and be a part of, some changes were tough to grow through and some changes are still being played out into the new year.  Whatever happens we know that in all things God will work out His perfect plan for His glory and for that I am thankful.

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We Are Thankful

What a wonderful Thanksgiving we had last week!!  It was such a sweet time of family, laughter, food, fun and football. 

 

To kick off the festivities JP's class did a wax museum of people from the Mayflower and Early Settlers.  JP was so cute dressed as John Smith and he did an amazing job sitting extra still while waiting for someone to "push" his button to make him come to life to share his story.

 

 

One of my most favorite Thanksgiving traditions we do is our thankful turkey.  Every night from November 1 until Thanksgiving Day we write on a feather what we are thankful for and fill in our turkey.  It is so fun to see what people are thankful for each day.  Sometimes they were silly and sometimes they were serious, but it just goes to show that no matter what there is always something to be thankful for.

 

Sadie, little miss independent 3 year old, decided she didn't want help writing what she was thankful for on her feathers so hers are the ones with the lovely scribbles.  Each night, as we were putting up the feathers and reading off what each person wrote, we would ask her what she was thankful for and she would reply with either "My crossfit friends" or "Crossfit".  It cracked us up! 

 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!



Shelby Graduates 5th Grade

Just like everything in life with children-time flies way to fast...and yet sometimes it has the uncanny ability to creep by ever so slowly as if it is almost standing still.  Looking back over the years as a whole leaves you feeling like you missed out on so much and that is how I felt in May when I watched our oldest child get honored for completing her elementary career.  Words cannot describe the joy and thankfulness I felt as I watched her teachers honor her and pray over her and encourage her.  What an amazing blessing to be a part of a school that not only cares about our children's academic achievement, but deeply cares about their spiritual development.

 

 

Shelby receiving her recognition from her two teachers-Mrs. Lehman and Mrs. Robinson

 

 

Yay!  We made it! 

Shelby, Bridget and Lilly celebrate.

 

One of my favorite talents of Shelby is her photography.  I mean, this girl can take some amazing pictures!!  She definitely didn't get that knack from her mother.  These are just two samplings of some pictures she has taken.  I think this year for Sadie's grandparent picture I am going to use one that she took of her as Sadie was less then thrilled to participate in school pictures.  She might be the only girl in the history of May River Montessori to refuse a picture.

 

Red Shoes

Well-if I was titling this picture that is what I would call it

 

Shrimp Boats on a Cloudy Day

And this picture was taken with my cell phone.  I mean, seriously!! This girl has some pretty good talent if you ask me.



Did I mention We had a Baby

So did I ever mention we had a baby???  Yes, we did and it has been almost 9 months since the beautiful day that our sweet Sadie entered the world.  She was born on October 1, 2013 at 3:15pm.  She weighed 7lbs 4 oz and was 18 in long.  While starting all over with a baby has been challenging plus we moved twice we have loved and adored her.

Shelby and JP have taken very nicely to being big sister and big brother to Sadie and she loves them to pieces.  It is so much fun to watch Sadie light up and smile when she sees them walk into a room.

So now next week she will be 9 months old!!!  NINE MONTHS!!!  Where does the time go?!?!?!  I vowed when I was pregnant with her to enjoy every minute as I knew it would be the last time I would go through the pregnancy stage, the labor stage, the newborn stage, etc.  And I am doing exactly that. 

Sadie, you are a precious gift from God and we are so honored that He gave you to us. 

We love you!



The Things Out of A Child's Mouth

Yesterday on the way to a party Shelby, JP and I were discussing Shelby's upcoming root canal and somehow we got on the subject of Pratt and how many times he has had surgery and been sedated for various procedures.  Here is JP's take on it:

"Daddy has had a lot of things done to his body.  He had this shoulder and his knee and that one where he had to put frozen peas on his privates."

I almost crashed into a tree!!!  The best part was that he just said it so matter of fact.  He wasn't trying to be funny or make a joke.  He just was listing out all the things that daddy has had to have done to him.

First Soccer Season

I can now officially claim the title of Soccer Mom.  We just completed our first soccer season in this house and it was an amazing success.  I can't tell you it was a success necessarily by our teams record as I have no idea in the end what the official record was, but I can tell you it was a success in fun!

JP took the plunge this year into soccer. After spending many, many days on the playground at school kicking the ball around with friends he decided that he wanted to give it a shot and we are sure glad he did.  He had the time of his life.  It was such a joy to watch him run around on the field and every game he had the biggest smile on his face at the end.  He had Coach G and what a blessing he was.  You could tell he truly enjoyed all the children on the team and loved getting the opportunity to encourage them and coach them.

This is JP before his first game.  He was so excited to discover that on almost every team we played he had a little buddy and he would spend some of the time socializing with them and a couple of times got distracted by planes and birds flying overhead.  We also got quite the kick out of his tendency to run parallel to the ball and give the appearance that he was making a move for the ball but in actuality it appeared that he was just trying to stay away from harms way.  Towards the end he finally started to get more aggressive and go for the ball more.  A couple of times he would catch a hard kicked ball in the belly but he would bounce back and keep going at it.  His game and confidence really grew with each game and we are so excited to see what next season will be like.



Congratulations JP!  You were great!!

Music

Today I decided to take a detour from our usual music choices and put on some music that would take me back to a day where times were easier as I was a meer child unaware of all the resposibilities adulthood carried.  That's right....it was time to put on New Kids on the Block.  Immediately I was transported back to a time of roller skating until all hours of the night at a friend's house and hours of dancing and dreaming of meeting NKOTB at another friend's.

As I was singing and dancing my little and not nearly as young heart out Shelby walks into the room and the following conversation insued:

Shelby: "What kind of music is this mom?"

Me: "This is the music that kids listened to when I was younger; around 11-14."

Shelby: "I like it. It's groovy." (insert shoulder shake)



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!