Happy New Year

When I look back at this year, it is so hard to believe what all has happened. Some good, some bad, but all in all it has been a great year. My baby is now 1 year old, my oldest is 4 1/2 and my middle baby is almost 3!! So hard to believe.

When I look back over this year, there are so many things to be thankful for. I want to take the time to think back over this year and just recap the things that I am thankful for.

*A healthy baby born at the end of last year

*Safe travels when Bryan drove the big truck for Student Life

*Graci's dedication

*Emi getting in an advanced class in gymnastics and doing so well with it

*A fun trip to the beach with family and friends

*A fun trip to New York with my best friend

*Healthy famiy (most of the time)

*Family time

*Payton getting potty trained

*Graci's surgery for ear tubes going well

*My Bible Study group

*Friends

So many things that keep coming to mind... I just can't list them all. I just thank God daily for my husband, my children, my family and my friends. I pray that this next year will be even better and offer more and more blessings.

I have so many pictures I want to upload and will as soon as I can... so many funny ones!!! Soon...

Christmas Tradition

I can't believe that Christmas is actually only a few days away. I love this time of year and all of the traditions that take place and creating new traditions for our family. It is funny to see the things Bryan did when he was growing up and the things I did when I was growing up and how we are combining those to make this season just as special for our girls as it was for us.

We have been reading the Christmas story, Luke 2, every night since Thanksgiving to Emi and Payton. Emi calls it the Jesus story. Bryan reads from his Bible while Emi and PayPay hold their Bible open and literally repeat everything he says. It is such a beautiful thing to watch your children read the Bible (at least act like they are reading). When you ask them what Christmas is all about, Emi will be sure to tell you that it is "not all about Santa. It is all about baby Jesus being born in a "away in a manger" to Mary and Joseph." Just too precious!!

On a completely different note, Graci turned 1 the other day and that has been an emotional roller coaster for me. The 2 older girls have been in Selma with Bryan's parents so me and Graci have had some bonding time. She is taking about 10 steps at a time and laughing and carrying on. She has loved being alone and being able to crawl and walk around without being carried or pushed or pulled anywhere by her sissys. She does miss them though. She looks in their room for them all the time. Seeing how much she is changing daily is amazing to me. I look at her and can't believe a year has passed already. My little jingle bell is 1!!!!

Reed Family Christmas

Today was the Reed family Christmas and it was at my house. We honestly had a great time!!! Bryan was so nice to have the food catered in so everyone was really able to just sit around and talk and catch up and play and laugh and eat. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it and I think it went great! We only had 2 drink spills from kids, one drink poured into a cup with a hole in it, one face plant on the ground by jumping out of the swing, and 2 muddy dogs run through the house. Other than that, no problems at all. The kids had a great time and got some really cute stuff. I'll have to get the pictures loaded and posted when I can.

Thanks for praying for things to go well and for the prayers for sleep. Hopefully tonight will be a better night.

All for now...

No Sleep for the Weary

Well it is 3:45 a.m. and I am awake and have been pretty much most of the night. It is one of those nights where by my body is screaming to get some rest, but my mind just won't let me. I have prayed for everyone, I have gone through my "list" in my head, I have done just about everything I can do while sitting in my bed without waking my husband up. So I decided to give some comic relief to some people that have children like mine, that aren't good sleepers for the most part, and give you a run through of my night a couple of nights ago. I look back and think "if only I had a camera in my house to video this, I might could win some money". You know, one of those random thoughts to get something good out of a difficult situation :) . Anyway, I hope this makes someone laugh out there.

After an exhausting day, which I don't have the time to sit and write about, I finally get the kids to sit down and eat some supper after a long day, with NO nap. This is how that goes:

me: girls sit down and eat your supper. This is all you are getting, so if you don't eat now, you won't eat anything later.
girls: we aren't hungry. we don't want that. we want something else.
me: eat that or don't eat at all (mom I really am turning into you)
girls: we're full. we don't want anything else.
me: okay, go get undressed and wait for me in my bathroom to get into the shower
girls: yeah!! let's go!! shower!! (as they are running into their room)

In the meantime, I have Graci in the highchair feeding her while she is throwing everything down on the floor and on the walls. (Bryan isn't home yet from work at this point). I throw some more food on her tray to keep her happy while I go get the girls in the bath. I walk into the bathroom, they aren't there, they are still in their room playing - with no clothes on! They had obeyed the first part of my statement but didn't quite make it into the bathroom.

Me: girls, get into my bathroom now and get in the shower
girls: we're going (sassy and frassy)

I finally get them into the shower and wash their hair and run back into the kitchen to check on Graci, who is still throwing food down and now feeding our dog, Sadie. She looks at me and laughs and claps her hands. What else could I do but laugh back. Give her juice, run back to the bathroom.

I find the girls jumping up and down, spraying water everywhere, slapping each other with washcloths, and just being extremely loud. That's enough shower for me... Out I pull them.

me: get your towel on, dry off, go to your bedroom, sit on your floor, and wait for me (i know a lot of commands, but simple ones right?)
girls: yes, ma'am. (wow!, no arguing)

I run back to clean Graci up and bring her into the room with us to finish the "getting ready for bed" process.
When I get back to their bedroom, the older girls are running down the hall, with no clothes on again, and playing their new favorite game, Cannonball, on their bed. You guessed it, they run and jump onto their mattresses on the floor and act like it is a pool. Pretty funny except for the fact they are soaking wet and now their bed is too.

me: I told you girls to dry off and sit down. now do it!
girls: can we have some lotion
me: sit down and you can

After lotion, pajamas, hair brushing, and a slight drying of the hair, we are finally ready to go and lay down with chocolate milk, watch a little tv and get in the bed. Now this is how they fall asleep. So after milk, comes potty, teeth brushing, the "Jesus Story" (as they call the Christmas story), prayers and then lay back down. Daddy is finally home to do all this - yeah!

The next part goes pretty good. They fall asleep pretty quick because they are so exhausted. Daddy does the big girls while I go and get baby down. 7:45 by this point.

All is quiet and daddy and I are finally getting to eat and sit down ourselves. It's 8:30 now.

9:30 - daddy and I off to bed. Ahhh! sleep at last!
And the night begins

10:15 - I feel a presence next to my bed and then a slight tap on my shoulder
Payton: "mommy, I can't find my paci". So I go into her room and help her find it, take her potty and back in the bed.

Sleep

11:00 - Screaming - it's Payton in her sleep. Daddy handles this one. Emi has already walked in our room telling us that Payton is up.

Sleep

11:30 - I feel a presence next to my bed again and then a tap again.
Payton: "mommy, I need a hug and need you to tuck me back in". So off I go to her room again

Sleep

1:00 - Screaming.. this time it's Graci. Off to her for a bottle and rocking. Normally this doesn't take too long. This night for some reason, we were up for about 1 1/2 hours.

2:30 - Sleep again

3:30 - I feel a presence next to my bed again and then a tap again.
Emi: "mommy, I am itching and need some medicine."
me: "emi, it is very early in the morning and you can't have your itch medicine b/c you have school in a few hours and it makes you sleepy. Let's just put some lotion on.
So here it is at 3:30 while I am putting lotion on her legs and then finally tucking her back in

5:00 - alarm goes off for Bryan to get up and simultaneously Graci is back up again Back to her room to rock and some more milk
(I know people are saying she should be sleeping, but I am too tired to try and break the habit right now.)

5:30 - back down to sleep again

7:00 - up for the day

And I wonder why I am so tired all the time. So tell me why it is 4:15 in the morning and I am wide awake???

Hope you enjoyed or at least I made you laugh.

Off to try and sleep a little while before my day starts again.....

Random

The last couple of weeks have seemed to go by in a blur. So much happening and so many things going on, that literally I just feel like I am going through the motions of life. Anyone else feel this way? This season is supposed to be about family and thanking God for the gift that He gave us, His Son, and blessing others. I just feel like everyone is so worried about going and doing things, that we rarely stop to just thank the Lord for what he has given to us. I know that I am so blessed with the life he has given to me.
I was talking to someone yesterday and was saying how much my life has changed since Bryan and I got married in 2000. I never in a million years thought that I would be a stay at home mom to 3 beautiful girls, living in the house I am living in, driving the car I am driving and just living the way i am living today. I am by no means rich in material things, but I am so rich in the blessings God has given to me.
My husband has worked so hard over the last 7 years to establish the business he has and to be able to provide for us the way he does. He is the most unselfish person I have ever met and has the most generous and giving heart of anyone I have ever met, besides my father (but that is for a later blog).
Life is grand, even in the midst of my chaos at home. Trying to talk to anyone about anything on the phone is comical. Most of you know exactly what I am talking about. I am constantly correcting children and constantly yelling and constantly just "doing" things in my house, that I am forgetting to thank God for the children I am yelling at. I feel like such a failure sometimes but then I realize that God's grace is sufficient for me and that he knows I have NO idea what I am doing, but that I am a work in progress and He is not done with me yet. What a relief!!!
I just needed a reminder from God today about these random thoughts and I needed to put them down. So....
Dear God,
Thank you so much for the husband and children you have blessed me with. Help me to remember that the girls are "on loan" from you and I am molding and making them into children that will love and serve you with all their heart one day. Help me to look to you everyday in every situation, good or bad, and to not give up. Help me to love and serve my husband and the girls the way you intend for me to. Thank you for always being there for me and for listening to my ramblings and chaos. I love you God and I thank you for your blessings in my life.
Amen

I know this is random and chaotic... .but that is the way my life is now. Random and chaotic and a work in progress....

Finally some pictures

Well I know it has been a while since I actually got back from NYC, but I finally have uploaded most of the pictures and posted them below for all to see. We really did have a great time. Everything from eating Italian food served by people from Romania, to a horse and carriage ride through Central Park with George Clooney (it was actually a guy named Georgio, but look below, I swear it is his twin), the only thing that would have made it even better was if Bryan would have been with me and if would have actually enjoyed going :) Other than that, it was perfect!! I want to go back again next year and stay a little longer... girls and moms... it should be fun!!! Enjoy the pics and I will post again soon as far as everything else that has been going on. Feeling convicted lately about writing when I have things that need to be done around my house and with my girls, but I am trying to find the time.