New York : Part 2
The Hotel Metro is where we stayed. It was soo New York. Right in the middle of everything, a coffee shop across the street and best of all a roof top hang out with the most amazing view of the Empire St. Building.
We really took in the moment while eating lunch in Bryant Park. A huge fashion show was in the making , so we were lucky to get to hang out before it started. I really loved this little book center for kiddos too. I loved this lunch hang out because it was strictly tables to eat lunch at. People from all walks of life were hanging out on their lunch break. This is where I had my much awaited New York hot dog and some Soy Crisp which I was so grateful to find in a little deli.
My favorite show was was The Color Purple. Fantasia ( American Idol winner) was the lead role of Celie. It was extraordinary! Very Fresh and full of talent. Fantasia was so believable as Celie. I had never read the book or seen the movie and I could go on for pages about the things I learned from this show and how it opened my mind. In a snap, I think it spurred Velvet and I to really appreciate the family we have , especially our sisters.
The pic of me and Vel is right after eating Pizza at John's which was a cathedral turned pizza restaurant.
more tomorrow.

was it real?
oh yes, it was very real, in a surreal kinda way. Velvet and I took a trip we will never forget last week to NYC.
I have been relunctant to blog, mostly because of not knowing how in the world to put in words how amazing it was or how to choose what pics to post. So I"m gonna do a little every day ,therefore stretching my memory of this trip for as long as I can. I have to say first, after 4 years of college together and then 3 babies each living in different states , Velvet and I could have been put in a cave and come out with funny pictures and lots of laughs.
These are three of my favs. Velvet our first night in Times Sqare ( a little excited?) , Me our first morning with my Starbucks in Grand Central, (which I totally dug and wanted to hop on a train and just go somewhere for fun), and my most favorite photo from Central Park.
In a word, this trip gave me Freedom for my mind. I missed my husband and children like crazy, but Kirby did such a good job of sounding positive and being loving that I couldn't be worried. The great thing is I think I have been able to bring back the Sunny of New York to my home here. Caring for my kids is a privledge again, my mind is open to new ways to show Jesus to people ( thank you Velvet) and I gained courage ( kuddos to Vel for navigating the city, you totally inspire this southern girl)
more to come!

We're Breaking up.........

well kinda. When Gwen stepped into her kindergarten this morning, it was like a small part of us separated in a very healthy way. She now has a world all her own, that I'm not part of and I'm actually psyched about this. She awoke this morning at 4:45am fully loaded with adrenaline. She quickly got out art work, while I read my bible and woke up. She wasn't needy only joyful and a complete delight. We were both so excited for her first day we could barely eat our breakfast. For those of you who might not know, Gwen and I are like magnets. We love each other with everything we have and we can push each other's buttons like no one else. I didn't realize until this morning how great this whole kindergarten thing is going to be for our relationship.
So she marched into her room with only a moments hesitation and then grinned big and said " Bye Mom." I love this girl.
By the end of the day she was telling me whose phone numbers she was going to get and all about her sweet teacher.
Claire also had her first day at the Pre-school connected to Gwen's school. She was very cooperative about going and was happy to have a uniform similar to Gwen's. Her enthusiam was a little less, as she most likely won't be as thrilled by structured environments as her older sister. Her report was less detailed but she remembered being mean to a girl in the "kishen" and then being nice again. She really enjoyed hiding in a tent ( definite mark of Kirby's daughter) and playing outside. Both the girls teachers said they did remarkable , so that was a grand way to end the first day.

Gwen's Blog

We stayed in a good big red house in New Braunfels. It was like the funnest vacation in the world. Well, one of the funnest. I played by the river with Jake, he is Meggie's boyfriend. When you see me in the front of the tree, that is me playing by the river, but the tree is in my way to see the river. I don't think I was posed yet. We baked cookies too in our little farm house, but the stairs, well there wasn't enough wood, so I had to go up there with a grown up most of the time. We played by the river and it was alot of fun. But me and Jake, and my mom and Claire and Meggie jumped in the river. But the river started like taking my mom so she had to swim with all her might. This is Whitney and her niece and nephew, me and Race. I took a picture of Race chewing on this big black string. This is me and Claire standing beside the river holding each others waist. This is a picture of Mom, she was talking to Mimi and she didn't even know I took a picture of her. This is me and mom running, doesn't my hair look crazy? Thanks Mimi and Dude for letting us come, I had a lot of fun, this was a very good trip, we loved it!

This baby was stinky! Claire could not believe he was her age, upon telling her he was 3 like her, she took a second look and said " No he's not." very matter afactly.
The S.A Zoo was really cool and really hot! We sweat our guts out saving the Lions for last and played in the chlorinated kid beach to cool off. Claire and Keegan stole Crissy and I's Cokes but the picture was soo cute we couldn't get mad. More pics later on.

Take us to the Hooks Game!


Us and the Wags had a great relaxing night last week at the game. It felt soo good after the sun set. The kids had a ball dancing and cheering . Alisa and I had a ball eating our way through the game. We had, hot dogs, popcorn, cokes, cottoncandy, and nachos. Whew.. we were stuffed through the next day. Thanks for sharing in the fun Wagners.

Blog for my Mama.

This is my pretty Mama. We got to celebrate her Birthday a couple of weeks ago with a grand ol' fiesta.
My mom is the most colorful, strong, and smart woman I know. She has taught me there is no limit to what one can do, if only we will believe it can be done. She inspires all those around her to reach for more and be more. I love her more deeply than I can even understand.
love to you mama, for all you are and all you help us be!

My visit with April was awesome! We hadn't seen each other for over 4 years, but we picked back up right where we left off. Our kids had never met and it was crazy seeing how big our whole gang was, compared to our college days of just her and I.
We did all the things we always did, drank coffee ( way too late ) , laughed, talked about our hair, and solved the problems of the world. It was refreshing. April is an inspiring Godly woman and mother. I was awed at her easy going manner and gentle spirit with her girls. My favorite memory of her from last weekend is her frog impression. I 'll leave that for you girls who know her to imagine!

Just whats on my mind...

Feeling a strong sense of God telling me to Seek Him. Our pastor gave an interpretation of the Lord's Prayer last weekend and it has stayed with me. When Jesus said "pray like this", and he began to say the Lord's prayer the part about " your kingdom come your will be done " has changed my days. Pastor Bil interpreted that particular part as " What can I do for you God, to further your kingdom and your will" WOW. I have incorporated this question into my prayer time and it is amazing. He really will bring stuff to mind that I should do or that I should focus on. One day it was " show others love so they will know I love them." Another it was " heed my instructions " That one made me read my bible carefully , wondering what I was suppose to do. Today it was " Laugh with your children." I couldn't make this stuff up, it's totally God and I'm totally digging it. Mostly because at the end of every day, I wonder if I spent my time wisely, if I made a difference? Did I have purpose to my activities? My worse fear is that I'll just "get by" and not realize it. Anyway, this week I have had such peace going to bed, knowing I did what God wanted for that day. Now I know I might not always receive such straight forward answers but for now I'm enjoying being close with my Savior trying to let him prioritize my day. He is much better at it than me anyway!
more on the last part of the prayer " Lead me not into temptation" later.

I like my Peeps

Kirby got a new board and he's sharing it with kiddos the first day he used it. Claire is making one of her many faces. Race is kicking it at the beach with his adorable red hair. Gwen is soo cute and proud in her Acting camp tee shirt.
These are my peeps , and I like em.

Bragging on
my Kirb.

My gifted and talented husband spent about 4 days during his free time staining these furniture pieces. I'm completely thrilled about how they turned out, so I just wanted to throw a little love and bragging out to my favorite guy in the whole wide world.

It feels so Great...................

To get organized. I was just telling God that my house was feeling very cluttered and crazy and could he please help me get it together. Well, a suppose to be playdate with my friend Terry and her 3 kids turned into an all day Reorganize the Reeds day. Terry decided we should stop talking about all the cool ways to fix up certain areas and just do it. So we put down our coffee cups and got to work. She kept me moving and with six kids running through the house we stayed focus. We de-cluttered several book cases, completely organized my kitchen closet, and a number of other little things I just needed a push to do. She informed me that the shelf you see a picture of, was not a bookcase but rather a kick nack shelf and not a good place for all Kirby's huge medical books. So while it may look simple, getting that thing de-cluttered and moved to the living room took alot of work.
I love when God answers a prayer in such an outright "here ya go" way. Terry is not only a friend to me but a woman I greatly admire and glean tons of wisdom from. So not only did I de-clutter my house but being around her always de-clutters my mind as well.

Now and Then..

Here is a Pic of my 16th B-day with my friend Kori. I'm the brown head.

So, I'll take the hair I have at 31 but the legs I had at 16!

31st Birthday Spread.

I love love love Birthdays. Especially mine! Here's my layout so far. Aren't these the most awesome coasters and handtowels, ( check out anthropologie.com for similar cool stuff)
The Reefs are from my Kirbster, I didn't even pick them out, didn't he do good.
I actually began celebrating last Tues when my girlfriend in hometeam surprised me with a cake . Today we'll go to the beach, and then tonight Kirb and I are going to the opening night of Okalahoma at our local theatre. My friend Jen offered to watch all 3 kiddos along with her own baby, so pray for her!
more pics of fun stuff to come.

My baby girl is 3!

Claire's b-day was tons of fun, mainly because she is tons of fun. She is so easy going and funny, it's an absolute blast to do special stuff just for her. We did the beach, camping in the back yard, cupcakes, and I planned for special visitors just for her. The visitors were my sister Meg and her boyfriend Jake. Claire adores both of them and was so psyched when they got here, she didn't even care about opening presents. After cupcakes with icing so bright it looked plastic, we played outside with all Claire's new toys.
Claire baby, I know you can't read but I want you to know how crazy I am about you. You bring peace and laughter to me, like no one else does. When I hold your little body close, everything is right in the world.

Swimming lessons rule at Port "A". After much convincing and proding and praying we finally did swimming lessons. Gwen prayed for a nice teacher that wouldn't make her stick her head under and I prayed she would be brave and stick her head under. We got both. Our teacher is layed back and they have a lot of fun. Gwen has attempted things she wouldn't otherwise simply because "the teacher said we had to follow directions." Gotta love that Mama's girl! We won't have to worry about peer pressure later on. Claire is a little fish and spends the majority of her lessons underwater, swimming to her own beat........not the teachers!
We've been going to the lessons with our neighbors and great friends Jen, Kaden and baby Jolie. Jolie and Race kick it in the shade while the big kids get their swim on.

Happy Daddy's Day......................

Sending love to Kirby for making our family ROCK.
And props to my Dad for praying for a) me to always know Jesus is my best friend and b) for the husband I would have one day.

When I think of Fathers I think of Protection. What would life be like without knowing your Daddy has your back? I'm glad I don't have to know.

So I stumbled upon this article about playing with your kids in this magazine. The author said she made a toy parade with all her kids' toys and that her kids totally got into it and it made for a great memory. Well, it worked for me to. The girls went from bored and getting into my desk drawers to completely immersed in PARADE. We made the parade, hand made tickets to the parade, sold food at the parade and had music. Gwen was in charge of the entire parade, Claire was the care taker of th animals/ ticket maker and food passer outer. She spent alot of time putting her lions in time out for scratching each other too much. We called her "Security." Gwen thought that was hilarious. I was the custodian at the parade and was able to help with food. Race was a " parade watcher " but he was not allowed too close as he kept knocking the characters out of line.
Good stuff....

Slime and the Pool.

Gwen requested two things last Saturday and I said "yes" to both. She wanted to go to the Pool in Port "A" and to make SLIME that afternoon. I love it when I can say "yes" because I feel as though ( and am told ) that I am always having to say "We'll see", or " That sounds like a great idea.......but not today." Gwen even told me she had a dream that a monster was chasing her around the house and while she screamed " Mom come here now!" I said, " Hold on just a minute" over and over and over. HOw many times a day do we say these phrases that we think are buying us time. Sometimes we have to say them, but I'm realizing most of the time looking at a picture , finding a baby, or listening to a question is really more entertaining than whatever "chore" I'm doing.
I'm in a major relaxation mode right now. Which has a total different look than it did say in college. But what it has bought me is a whole lot of more fun with my kids. Tonight I sat in Gwen's club house (AKA some chairs covered in blankets)
looking at books with her until my bones ached from laying flat on a hard floor. Usually I would have told her we would do that in the morning because it was past her bed time or I would have said , "Hold on , let me finish the dinner dishes and find my water bottle and then I'll be there." I just jumped right in and her smile was pricless.

I had a request for Race's "strawberry head" in the Hair blog. So here is a good one. And for those asking, my camara is a Lumix Panasonic. It has 10x zoom which I love and a bunch of scene and color options. I really love it. We had our other one for like 6 years and it finally busted when Kirb dropped it in excitment over killing a gopher he had been hunting for over a year. (This animal had destroyed tons of beautiful garden work)
Back to Race, COME ON HE'S SO CUTE!! He is always up for a smile or a laugh. He sleeps easily, eats good and is completely lovable.