It's All Good.......

When Mom leaves the house.

Kirby had the kids for an extended amount of time for 2 days in a row. The first day I came home to a "pillow pit" in my living room and something that looked like a cupcake bomb in the playroom.
The second day was much different. He had vaccumed the rug, done laundry, swept the entire house, washed dishes and had fresh coffee waiting for my return. So, I'll end with the same saying
"It's all Good."

My Mom brought back some treasures of mine when she visited last. Stuffed in bags for over 20 years were my favorite doll, and my favorite dress. I almost teared up when Gwen came out of her room in this dress. I hung it up in her closet hoping she would find it quickly. It took about half a day and there she was prancing out of her room asking me to button it. The Doll............yes I know she is a little on the scary side..........was my friend for many years. I was kid who could play alone for hours because I had many other "make believe" friends there too. Happy, the doll, was always there and she didn't used to look so scary.

The Many Faces of Claire.

The cutest boy in the WORLD!!!
Race gets dressed up real cute at least once a day. I realize I'm changing his clothes, more than I did the girls!
Here he is in his Christmas outfit and in a pink head band Gwen decided would be cute. It's just the beginning, I know. I'm certain Claire will attack with makeup very soon.

We just had to have HOT CHOCOLATE after watching the hot chocolate scene in Polar
Express!
Such a fun movie.
Race is not so sure.

This week the chaos has died down considerably.
Its seems we have fallen into some kind of routine ( I'm positive it's not a normal one, because that would deffinintly not be Reed style)
After two days of trying I got a Mocha Bunt Cake made, which was soo good , my friend Alisa put in on her blog. She is a true baker so when she says something is good, it REALLY is! Mariah and I got Chocolate Pretzels made to hand out , while our kids ran around and ate chocolate chips for dinner. I've been able to excercise enough to actually be sore, and that feels GREAT to me. I have actually made dinner several times and have established a laundry day, so as to not do laundry all day and get nothing else done. Im sure this is a no brainer to most, but for me to establish a day for something is huge. Usually, if I tell myself I have to do something on a certain day every week , it last about week because by the second one I'm bored with it. This has been fun because I have actually seen Gwen in other clothes besides her fav. outfit, because it's not clean everyday anymore.
I've also been able to have a few phone conversations , by locking myself in the bathroom with Race on my lap and that has actually taught the girls that I'm serious when I say they need to stop talking to me , when I'm on the phone.
With all that said, my house is still relatively dirty and I haven't been able to straighten or blow dry my hair in over 2 weeks. Claire still runs around naked alot and I drink WAY too much coffee.
I owe my renewed sense of peace to God for all those times lately I can hear him saying " Your doing well , Sunny, keep it up, I love you." Sometimes this when I'm in my rocking chair with Race, sometimes it's when I'm cleaning up something Claire spilled or when I'm helping Gwen learn to write letters. He's always there. Just like He says he will be.

Merry Christmas!
love,
Kirby, Sunny, Gwen, Claire and Race

Print this up, hang it on your fridge and consider it your card from the Reeds.

She's 5! I can't believe I have been a parent for 5 years, actually having 3 by now, it feels more like 10 but anyway back to Gwendolyn. Here are some reasons I love this girl so much.

1. She is almost as curious as her Daddy 3. She really thinks about things

2. She has a HUGE imagination 4. She loves to sing with her Daddy

5. She wants to do what's Right and has a good sense of Right from Wrong

6. She knows her Maker and has the sweetest prayers to him everynight.

7. She has a really good laugh. 8. She teaches me about myself

9. She is part of me 10. I feel like she has been with me my whole life.

Can't beat that for a Christmas card, but it's missing our newest member, so it doesn't make the cut.

Gwen and Claire effectively showed their true personalites this night.
First up was Claire. As she stood with her class she decided she would take up thumb sucking for the first time and did this through her classes entire 2 songs. She had already told me before the program she would not be singing. Then Gwen. She sang the loudest was on perfect pitch and did every cute move she was suppose to. I love them both soo much and are so thankful for their different takes on life. They do have one thing in common for sure: They know how to pose for a picture!

Everyone has time to BLOG, but me!!! Whaaah.
Well, to all my fellow bloggers, esp you new ones. I'm still reading everyone's just haven't found the time to do my own.
Such is my life right now. Cute Pics on the way.
for now I'm sitting in bed reading about everyone's life and hoping none of my children wakeup.

Well, the majic is wearing off in the Reed home. This has been a very trying week. I won't be fake and say, " It's great!" Kirby and I have been completely worked over by the girls. Race still is by far the easiest right now, but that's nothing new to anyone who has mulitple children.
I'm really praying for wisdom and SLEEP! I can deal with waking up to feed Race but not to console screaming and crying little girls who decide 2am is the time they need extra love and attention.














It was great to go to church today though. I put all three in "Tiny Town" ( childrens' church) and bask in an hour of sitting with Kirby and worshiping God. Some friends gave us encouragment saying " Every day gets easier." I'm so glad for a church family on days like this, when I'm literally at the end of my rope. Tonight I watched a flick with a girlfriend across the street and everyone went to bed really well. I'm praying the quiet will last until at least 6am!
The pics are of Claire feeding Race for the first time and of Race in his fav. chair.

okay, did a little better with the morning routine today and yesterday. Figured everyone with small kids did just about the same thing, but I just needed to set some limits for myself and the girls. All is well this morning. Here we are all doing our own thing.
I received some very insightful information from our good friend Paul via Kirby yesterday. Paul was explaining to him why 3 kids seem to make everything so different. Kirby and I couldn't figure out how one little baby that is relatively easy and mostly sleeps could make our family change so much. Why are we mentally and emotionally soo tired? Well, Paul being the number cruncher he is, made a math formula of this problem . Now that Race is here each of us have a new relationship, plus Race has a relationship with each of us, plus we all relate to eachother a little differently now that there is someone new to share in the mix. So there are actually 10 brand new relationships and 12 relationships that have changed due to Race.
Whew........ just wanted to jog everyone's brain this morning!

Morning Rituals.

I need some help here. My morning rituals are all screwed up because now i have a third little one who needs me. Please tell me what you do in the morning right after waking up. My girls are super needy during this time and I have realized i cater to them and their specifc needs and wants way too much. So I just need a fresh new way to do mornings. I absolutely love mornngs and i would like to see them peaceful and nice gain. Suggestions???

Everyone dressed up, except for me. Gwen and her best freind Jack were the cutest Ninga turtles.
Can you tell who the woman with Mariah is?
And Claire are Mia were were precious in Pink.

This was BEAUTIFUL day at the beach. Kirby said if he didn't get to the beach he was going to "freak out." So the whole family went and had a blast. Race hung out with me in the snuggli and we all had fun watching Daddy skim on his board.

We're still in Boy Heaven over here.
The girls adore him. Here is Claire smothering the poor child and I love the expression on Gwen's face in the pic of the three of them.

I ventured out with all three of them today, for the first time. We did the library and very briefly.
Claire insisted upon bringing her baby in it's car-seat so we were quite a scene marching in.
I am feeling very good and pretty much ready to resume my regular activities. I've had GREAT care over the past week and a half and it has really helped make the transition smooth.
Even though I could still probablly sit and stare at Race for another solid week, I've been given alot of time to do just that and I am very thankful for this special time.

journal entry from Oct 14th: 10:30am

I am overwhelmed with thankfulness and blessed beyond measure. You, God, have given me a son! A boy to grow up and become a man, like his father. I am given this gift of a son, to raise and love and enjoy. You , God, have given Kirby a follower, an apprentice. That there could be another man like Kirby is such a wonderful gift to this world in which we live. I feel as though you heard my deepest prayers and knew how much I would treasure this precious boy.
Race Samuel Reed, you have made me even more complete as a mother and you have made our family grander than we ever imagined it to be.
Praise you God, for this creation. I give Race to you for always.

The anxiously awaited water bottle........

arrived!!! At least I could count on one thing to come in a matter of days. I have been obsessively waiting for the door bell to ring and my fancy RED water bottle to be on the doorstep. I have had water bottle issues for about 6 months, and with the prompting of a friend I finally ordered an expensive one ($10.95.....Gasp!) It is not suppose to crack when I drop it, leak when I put in my back pack and my ice cubes fit in it. All very big deals for a water bottle carrier arounder , like myself. I have included the picture of Gwen with the bottle also, because she was totally excited for me and knew all the specifications this purchase had to meet. Kirby too, was happy for me and okay with me spending $10.95 on such a thing.(Double Gasp!)

yes, Mariah is eating out of a diaper!
Our friend, Jen, had her baby shower this weekend. Alisa and Christina did a great job hosting it and Jen was the perfect "mother to be." She was so excited about each gift, it was fun to watch her experience all of this for the first ime. This is her first baby and we are so excited to meet her little girl. Jen, you are going to be FANTASTIC Mom and you are already such a precious friend to so many of us.

Word Meaning Meme:

I was just tagged by Susie for this word meaning meme. Looks fun so here goes!

oh and the picture attatched has nothing to do with anything, just thought everyone might want to see my jewled flower on my toe!

Friend: The first thing that pops in my mind is , " I could not function with out them!" I am a person with many many friends all of them playing a huge part in my life. I have my sisters, college friends, highschool friends, Corpus friends, Church friends, mentor friends, friends at the grocery store, friends down the street and the list goes on and on. I am very thankful for the friends that have invested in me and sorry to say, but you will never get rid of me, because once your my friend your a lifer!

Vacation: I want to go on one! Living here close to the beach has been like a 2 yr vacation, but now I'm ready to save some money and go away to a place that is not hot. Just for a little while, different scenery no agendas , just our family experiencing something different together. I'm dreaming of something on the E. coast right this minute.

Church: I love mine! My whole life I've wanted to be part of a church like Bay Area. A place where meeting the unreached is the top priority, a place where I'm continually encouraged in my walk and given the opportunity to do things I never though imaginable. Our pastor seeks to obtain the unreachable because of his conviction and steadfast commitment to the vison God has given him. My spirit comes alive in our worship hour and most importantly my spirit feels on fire when I see the amount of visitors we have every week that have never stepped foot in church, or have been gone for a long time. I love being part of a body that has strong leadership and I can trust the leadership because of the fruit they are producing. God has taught me and my husband a tremendous amount during our 2 years at Bay Area, and we are so excited to see what the future holds for us.

Mountain: After I give birth, I always feel like I just climbed a huge mountain. It is the best feeling and I can't wait to hurry up and experience it again!




Okay here's my bloggin friends that I'm taggin next: Mariah, Crissy, Kori, Christina and Amy. Here's your words:
Relaxation, Morning, neighborhood, and night stand

Saturday Stuff:


There was about a half hour period today where everyone in our house was completely in their own world. We were all free to do our thing and it felt nice. Kirby by far, got the raw end of the deal, but at least he wasn't interrupted during this very important job.
He had to completely disassemble our toilet because part of the toilet paper holder had slipped from my hand while I was changing the role and jumped right down the flusher. I actually even stuck my hand downt there to catch it, (while it was flushing) and it slipped out and went down anyway. Well, because of this we've had a messed up toilet for about 4 days and Kirby and I have had to use the kids'. Talk about never getting any privacy! Thanks Kirby, not just anyone can disassemble a toilet and put it back in 30min time!
In the pic of Gwen and Claire, they are playing "puppy." If you've been in my house over the last month, you know all about this. Wel,l this morning Claire was a sick puppy and Gwen was the loving nursing owner.
The last pic is of what I got to spend my 30min doing. Yes, I listen to Gwen Stafani and love it! I lasted longer on my excercise machine because of no interruptions and my good read. The JANES Granola Bar devotional was written and edited by the Writers Bevy in our women's ministry. My good friend Alisa heads it up and it as been a HUGE success around our church. If' you'd like your own copy, I will personally mail you one. I've very proud of what they have done.

Gwen Skims!

Kirby's new skim board doubles as a ride for Gwen. She holds on and he runs as fast as he can, down the beach. Looks fun to me, but i think I 'll wait til I'm without child to try it.
For those who don't know, a skim board is something like a skateboard for the beach. It enables the rider to "skim" down the beach on just inches of flat water. I really enjoy watching Kirby doing this. I get that funny, "there's my boyfriend" feeling when I seem him on that thing.

Surprise!

I was given a surprise shower at my JANES leaders meeting last Tuesday. I was completely surprised when some of my girlfriends walked out with an adorable cake, shaped likes blocks . Following that was an amazing diaper cake, which I had never even heard of. These girls are SO creative! I also received a bag full of baby goodies , which was so fun to look through because it made it actually real to me that another little person is coming.
I am very blessed with friends like these women.

As the baby arrival gets closer and closer I'm realizing how much our little girl club is going to change. Rather we have another princess or prince , the Reed girl club as of now is going to take on some changes. I'm trying to love on my girls as much as I can and reinforce unconditional love. I know that things don't have to change too much between me and them , but the first few weeks will be different. Thankfully, since they have begun to share a room they have gotten a lot closer, caring for one another and playing better together. Claire receives from Gwen what she was getting solely from me. Even though it seems crazy, I'm still glad I'm having all these munchkins so close together. I love seeing them bond and become an entity all by themselves. Claire and Gwen have something that is separate from me and my prayer is that this baby will find it's nitch also.
The pics are just random shots from the last week. Notice Claire's attire. (There isn't one most of the time!)
Gwen took the pic of her Bear and Claire. She specifically ask that it be put on my blog.

Majic girl

is what I'm calling my friend Jana who spent this last week with us. She took vacation time to help me out due to my early contractions and docs orders to "keep the baby in another week." Well that week is over now and we are trying to remember life without Jana. ( She's been gone about 7 hours) I cannot begin to list the many wonderful acts of service Jana did for our family. However, I will do my best. Moms out there, please don't burn up with jealously!
First she arrived with a bag of tricks for the girls, ( disney movies, bath toys and matching tees), fresh veges to add to dinners, an array of nail polish for peticures, and a belated b-day present for me ( brownsugar fig lotion and body spray from Bath and Body Works.)
She went grocery shopping, made awesome dinners, cleaned my kitchen, did laundry, took the girls on daily outings, gave baths, dressed and brushed the girls' hair, put the girls down for naps, made cookies with the girls, let me sleep in, gave me a peticure, plucked my eyebrows, drew me a bath, ironed my clothes, sewed an infant car seat cover from scratch ( the one I had was looking pretty bad) and many more I can't remember now.
Jana truly has the gift of service. She was amazing and I could see how God was giving me good gifts through her. I will never be able to repay Jana for the restful, peaceful , pampered week she gave me. She is going to have made my transition into mother of 3 much easier by the break i was able to enjoy and peace that set in on my house as she served. God is truly at work in her and I pray she is blessed 10 fold at everything she puts her hands to work at.
Thank you Jana, thank you thank you thank you. You did Majic in our home!

Eating my own words

A while ago I blogged about Dove Chocolate and how annoyed I was at the cheesy messages inside. In the blog I stated some messages I thought would be better. Well, yesterday I received a late birthday gift from a good friend in Austin in which she had hand wrapped tons of Dove chocolate and inside each had a message. So awesome I thought. Up until this morning , yes I had some Dove after breakfast, all the messages had been beautiful scriptures, "Brillant" I thought of my friend. Then after my cereal when I decided to eat two or three I came upon upon messages such as "Get over yourself" and " You should work out after you eat this" Not quite the most feel good words to read as I stuff my mouth with chocolate at 9am! These quotes ended with the saying " a message from yourself."
So I guess some sweet friends of mine are really reading my blog and I better watch what I say or else I'll be eating them.
Julie, you are the only person I know who would hand wrap chocolate and hand write messages in them. Very clever!