New Girl in Town

On November 17, our family welcomed it's newest member. My brother Jake, married his love, Ember McKinney Rydell.

 

 

 

It was a very sweet day and several members of my family also got to be a part of it.

 

Robert was one of Jake's groomsmen and Maia and Josie were sign carrier and flower girl. Too cute!

 

 

I'm very proud of my "little" brother, who serves our country in the United States Army. It's exciting to have a new sister, too!  I'm praying as they begin this new marriage, they'll always look to the One who brought them together by keeping Him first, and always be mold-able to His will in their marriage.

 

 

Much love and congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Jake Rydell!

 

 

My Architect

*Here is a little disclaimer about this post.  I actually wrote the bulk of it several weeks ago but needed to add a few finishing touches before posting it, and consequently it has been sitting in my draft folder ever since then.  Last week I read an article about why speaking well of your spouse is so important.  This is something I do try to do but admittedly am not great at. I don't bash him (at least I don't think) but I tend to do all my edifying in private. However, the point of the article was really about why it's important to speak well of your spouse publicly. That publicly part is what I find difficult.  Not that I don't have good things to say about my spouse.  But there are times when it seems those I know that do, are trying to overcompensate for something and it just comes off forced.  A judgemental thought, I know. But I guess there is a fear that if I'm boasting about how great my man is, then it will come off the same way. The truth is, it's not up to me to decide what the motivation is of others. I just need to worry about my own motivations and do what I'm convicted by the Spirit to do.  And so, this post has morphed a little from it's original intent, but that's okay.  Bottom line is I did catch a great one in Robert and here's some of the proof...

 

 

On Thursday, September 13, we got to celebrate a very momentous occasion in the Reed Family.  Our family and closest friends came together to celebrate Robert becoming a registered architect.

 

This was a goal Robert has been working to achieve for many years, and so deserved a proper celebration.

 

In case you are unaware of all that he had to do to become registered, here's the gist of it:  

 

Two college degrees: Bachelor of Environmental Design and Master of Architecture

Hundreds of required internship hours

Eight licensing exams totaling over 30 hours of test taking (which does not include time spent studying!)

 

Also, while he was undertaking all of this, he got married, had three children, worked a total of 19 months as interim worship pastor at our church, and began building a 400 sq ft addition onto our home!

 

 

It was so nice of everyone (minus a few due to sickness and distance) to come celebrate this huge accomplishment in Robert's life.  Even both of Robert's bosses came to help celebrate. 



SURPRISE! The party was not a surprise, but this New iPad was! A special thanks to Amy, David and Carol, Lindsey and Brandon, Janna, Sammy and Susan, Scott and Heather, and Shannon and Lorenzo for all chipping in to get him such a special gift.  This is something he never would have purchased on his own and he was so excited to receive such a gift!

 

During the party, Sammy, my dad, and Robert's boss Jim Rhotenberry, made some toasts to Robert.  Sammy began with some very sweet words and also asked if anyone wanted to say something.  I did in fact want to speak, but I guess nerves got the best of me.  However, here is what I should have said...

 

Two of my favorite qualities in a person are humility and authenticity.  These two things are a couple of the very things that I first loved about Robert.  All these years later, he is still one of the most humble persons I know.

 

He's a very creative and intelligent person, as well as gifted musically.  But you wouldn't know either of these things because he boasts about them, you have to see them in action.

 

He has been involved in at least four state and nationally award winning architectural projects and therefore has been recognized in state and national architecture magazines. But again, I only know that because I'm married to him, not because he's the least bit vocal about it.

 

Even when he found out he passed his final licensing exam, after a few days I asked if he told either of his bosses.  "Nope," came the reply.  Then another day passed and I asked if he'd told either of his parents.  His reply this time was, "You're the only one I've told."  So, I took it upon myself to enlighten them. :)

 

I am super proud of this guy for accomplishing something very few people can say they've accomplished. There are only a little over 104,000 registered architects in the entire U.S.  With a population of 311 million people, I'd say that's pretty impressive.  But, I know I'm biased!

 

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that there are plenty of reasons for which Robert could speak of his own accomplishments.  But that couldn't be more counter to who he is and so, he never does. Which is one of the many reasons I'm so crazy about him!

 

Way to go Robert!  I'm so proud of who you are and what you're about. Congratulations on such a major accomplishment! Loves to you :) 

 

Kyra's First 10 Months

Kyra - The 10 Month Old

Cute doesn't even begin to describe this little lump of sugar.  At 10 months old, she is already Miss Personality.  She smiles at anyone who pays her any bit of attention.  And you know she's excited to see you when she starts pumping her legs like nobody's business. 

Strong and alert are two words we've used to describe her since the day she was born.  She already pulls up on anything and everything and walks around holding on to anything and everything.  I told her daddy the other day, I thought we needed to be on the lookout because she was going to be our kid that tries to crawl out of her crib!

And watch out for any and all tiny, little things on the floor!  I literally have to sweep about 5 or 6 times a day because every thing goes straight to the mouth, which have led to a few choking scares.  I guess she's doing her part to help with the housework. :)

 I think her very favorite things right now are her two big sisters and her Daddy and Momma - which is just fine by us.  She has been labeled a "momma's baby" by several.  And I know it won't last forever, so I'll take it!

Nine months in the life of Josie

(FYI, if you click on the photo collages you can zoom in and see the photos better)

Josie - The 4 Year Old

Where do I even begin with this little stinker?  In May, Josie finished her first year of PreK and she absolutely loved it! She learned many new things, including how to write her name (or something very close to it :).  She also completed her first year in Cubbies and even got to bring home Cubbie Bear, which is a huge deal in the life of a 3 year old.

Josie is a girly-girl through and through.  Every single day when we're picking out what she's going to wear, she asks to wear a dress that twists.  And if we're not going anywhere, she quickly changes into one of her many princess dresses.  If left to her own choosing, she'd eat pacaroni (mac and cheese), a burrito or natural Cheetos every meal of every day.

.  At any given moment you can find her singing, dancing, or both.  To say this girl has spunk is an understatement of the year.  And I love every single minute of it.  I'm so blessed I get to be her momma.

Nine months in the life of Maia

I've never claimed to be a great blogger.  And the past 9+ months have proven that to be true.  To say having a third child has given me a swift kick in the behind is putting it mildly!  But I'm slowly but surely getting the swing of my new normal.  So, I'm going to play a little catch up and hopefully stay more on top of our blog and try to post more often (heard that before???) Starting with Maia, here are some brief overviews of the past nine months of our lives...

Maia - the 7 year old

 

Maia completed the first grade this year and earned the Principles Award both semesters for academic excellence.  She also completed her second book in Sparks by learning over 50 verses.  Her smile looks a bit differently now because she's lost six teeth.  And for her 7th birthday, she got her ears pierced!

Some of her very favorite things to do are crafts, swim, crafts, watch The Electric Company,  and crafts.  She also LOVES her little sisters and really loves to laugh!

My most favorite thing about Maia is that she has a genuine love for her Creator.  She's inquisitive about things of the Lord and even at this young age, you can tell she already struggles with her sin nature, trying not to give in to it and desires to live a life pleasing to the Lord.  My prayer is that this part of her will never change.

Welcome to the world, Kyra!

Better late than never, is the Reed family motto. It's not intentional. Just the way things usually work out. So, four months after her grand entrance into the world, Kyra makes her first official appearance to our blog!

Kyra Dean Reed was born September 28, 2011 at 6:20 a.m. She weighed 8 lbs 15 oz and was 21 inches long.

That happens to be the exact same weight and height as her big sister, Maia. :)

As with the birth of our other two daughters, I took one look at her and thought, "you look just like your daddy." And with that, my heart was hers. At the time of this post she is now four months old. Other then when she's really tired, or tired of being in her bed, her disposition seems to be one of calmness and contentment. Which is funny, because I feel like the Lord was teaching me much about contentment while I was expecting her. (I'll write more about that later...)

Thank you, thank you, thank you, precious Lord, for giving us another daughter to love. As always, we commit her to you and pray you will guide us each day as we attempt to teach her Your ways and point her to You. I pray she would grow to be a woman that is hungry for You, who loved her first and loves her most.

More than a diaper shower

Several weeks ago, sweet Carol offered to throw me a diaper shower. Needless to say, she out did herself! I was very reluctant to have even a diaper shower for our third daughter. But Robert kept encouraging me to let Carol do this because she wanted to be a blessing to us. All I can say is I was so overwhelmed with the turn out and was truly blessed by everyone's generosity.

Thanks so much to Carol for hosting this and to my cousin Katie and aunt Sheri for helping her. You made this night a very special one!

Thank you, Lord, for friends and family like these!



The kiddos having fun...


I was so humbled by everyone's generosity

Grammie-Maia Day

Before school started, Grammie wanted to take Maia to get a few school clothes. So these two got to spend some fun time with just the two of them, lunching and shopping. Maia had a great time and for sure will be the best dressed Kindergartner in school. Thank you Grammie!

Generations

This is a special picture indeed. At Josie's party, I noticed it was the first time that all of my grandmother's 6 great-grandchildren were in the same place as she. Not knowing when this would happen again, I seized the moment. So here is my dear
grandmother with all six of great-grandchildren and her two oldest sons, the grandpa's.

L to R bottom: Maia Jeanette Reed, Josephine Rose Reed, Margaret Josephine Penson Rydell, Maddison Kate Rydell, Dawson Jakob Rydell.
L to R top: Timothy Carl Rydell holding Hunter Timothy Robinson, David Todd Rydell holding Ella Grace Rydell.

What a blessing!!!

Hello Goodbye

In June, my mom and my sister and her crew came to stay. My mom, Janna, was here for almost a month and my sister and her family were here for a week of that month. Needless to say, we had a houseful!

My sister and her husband Brandon, both serve our country in the Army. For the past 3 years they've been stationed in Fort Polk, LA. They saved up their time and took a 30 day leave, and we were lucky enough to be one of their stops. They are now stationed in Schweinfurt, Germany. A LONG WAY AWAY! Sniff. And my mom is with them. Double sniff.

I miss them all sooooo much already. We've been able to talk several times on the phone and a couple times on Skype.

But, I'm so excited for this great opportunity and pray they make the best of it. Love you Mordens! Miss you all.

The Morden's



Sisters :)


All the girls left to right: Josie, Mar, Braelynn, Lindsey, Alise, Maia


My mom and her girls

Ella Grace Rydell

There is a new baby in town, and her name is Ella Grace...

Ella is Johnny and Amber's (Mar's brother and sis-in-law) newest little bundle. Ella was born in the afternoon of May 20, 2010. This blonde beauty is a little clone of her big brother Dawson and big sister Maddi.
We already love her so much and are looking forward to watching her grow.
Merciful Lord, thank you for giving us another child to love. Please protect her as she grows and matures, and give her a heart that will thirst for you.

Graduation Grammie

One of the best qualities you can attribute to Susan Reed, is she always puts others before herself. For years, she allowed the three most important men in her life to work and achieve their goals, while supporting them setting her's aside. She's always wanted to go back to college and get her degree. But she put her desires on hold, and over the last 20 or so years, watched as her husband and sons completed 5 college degrees between the three of them. Well she finally was able to see that dream come true on May 9th, as she walked the stage and received a Bachelor's degree in Political Science. We love sweet Grammie and are so very proud of you! Congratulations on your huge accomplishment!

Maia's Great Dad

This is one of the gifts Maia gave to her daddy when her school had Donuts with Dad. It was too cute not to share. And the title of the book is right...Maia really does have a great dad!















































So just to add a bit of clarification on some of Maia's statements about her dad:

"My daddy is 24 years old." HAAAAAA. Neither of us have seen that number in several years!
"He likes to wear work clothes." So much evidently that he even likes sleeping in them...on the sofa.
"His favorite household chore is sweeping." I can assure you, he has no favorite chore.
"His favorite TV show is Monsters vs. Aliens." No, that would be Maia's favorite show.
"When my dad shops, he likes to buy me toys." That's true. Rob loves to shop for his girls.
"If he could go on a trip, he would go to Houston and he would take me." We do love us some Houston, TX; but it's Maia who asks me literally every other day if we can go to Houston to see her cousin Lauren.
"He's the best! I love you Dad!" Both statements 100% true!!!


Thank you, sweet Robert, for being such a truly great dad to our precious girls. I love you dearly!

Donuts with Dad

Maia's class did a special thing where all the daddy's came up and ate donuts with their kiddos. Rob didn't get any pics of the actual event, but I took these before they raced out the door. In case you can't tell, Maia has developed a condition that makes her physically incapable of looking at the camera when someone is taking her picture. Doctors are still searching for a cure.

Gardening Girls

After years of intending to plant a garden, we finally were able to get it done. Robert built a couple of raised beds, surrounded them with pea gravel, and then we started digging. Maia LOVES digging in the dirt. And she's beginning to enjoy watching the things we plant take root and grow. It's turning out to be a great way to teach her patience. We are really looking forward to eating fresh veggies and herbs...in 2 or 3 months! :)


Josie mostly just dug in the gravel and kept saying "cheeeeeese" when I would grab the camera.





The finished product-- well beginning stages of the finished product. We planted tomatoes, peppers, zuchinni and yellow squash, onions, pumpkins, parsley, cilantro, basil, sage, strawberries, and seeds of corn, green beans, cucumber and okra. We plan on starting our own farmer's market in the future. (kidding!)

Weekend Getaway

Our family, along with Grammie, Granddaddy and Aunt Amy, took a little trip to the mountains of Ruidoso. It was really nice just getting away from the routine for a few days.

Maia enjoying a slice of pie from our favorite restaraunt, Cafe Rio



mini snowman