The kids

The kids

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Please Pray.....

Friends, PLEASE pray for my beautiful sister-in-law, Amber, who lost her father extremely unexpectedly this week. Amber has actually been in India at a yoga school for the past 2 weeks (and was supposed to be there for almost 4 more) and had to travel back alone as soon as she got the news. I cannot imagine the depth of the loss and shock that she feels. Please pray for her and her family as the begin to process all that has happened and as they have to move forward with life....which I am sure does not even feel possible right now. Amber has three teenage brothers, Joey, Jake, and Daniel, please please pray for them as well.

Amber I love you so much. My heart aches for you and I cannot stop thinking about you and praying for you.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Greenville....we love you

I've definitely been MIA...which is killing most of you I know. :) But, it is only because little E and I took a week long trip (that turned in to an almost 2 week trip) back home to Greenville. It was lovely to say the least. The trip started with throwing a baby shower for my friend, Kelly, who is pregnant with her first little baby. It was so much fun to celebrate her and her little girl, Harper, who will be here in October (Kell and I are due 10 days apart)!

My time in Greenville really was amazing. We spent so much time with friends and family....it was definitely what my heart needed. Our (our being me, Em, and a little bit of Garrett) time in Greenville included but definitely is not limited to:
  • A birthday cookout for our favorite 33 year old, John Childress
  • A SURPRISE baby shower thrown for us by our closest friends, they rock.
  • An abundance of time spent with the McCall family (trips to the pool and to the Greenville Children's museum were some of the highlights....well the pool not so much, our kids turned that in to more of a nightmare but the museum was great)
  • Emerson's first haircut (which was way more dramatic than I ever could have imagined)
  • Hang time with my freakishly cool artist friend Nina...check out her work here.
  • Multiple lunch dates with my mom aka GiGi....we love her
  • Lots of hang time with my amazing sister and brother-in-law
  • Not one but TWO dinners with my best friends from Middle School/High School, Lindsay, Kellan, and Brooke. Lindsay and Brooke's families were nice enough to host dinner for all of us.....It was seriously great to hang out with these ladies.
  • Dinner with my old co-workers from the church, aka some of the best friends a girl could have...Sandy, Jenn, and Leah, I miss y'all mucho.
  • Some wonderful time with my friend Shannon and her little boy Liam
  • My 10 YEAR HIGH SCHOOL REUNION....it was so great, I have no way to describe how much fun I had.
  • Watching one of my best friends from high school, Alexis, baptize her daughter Scout. I cried lots and loved it.
  • And last but definitely not least, little E and I got to spend some time with my dad who got to come home from Memphis while we were there.
See, I told you we have been busy. But man has it been great. We have officially lived in Durham for almost an entire year. I really cannot believe it. We thought we would only be here for 4 months! Quite honestly, it has been one of the loneliest years of my life. It has been so hard yet so good for me in lots of ways.

I was telling my mom while I at was home that two years ago, before we moved to Charleston, I think I had become bitter about a lot of the blessings the Lord had given to me (ridiculous I know). But, when we left Greenville, I felt over involved and over committed to the community the Lord had blessed us with...all I wanted was a little time to myself. Well, the Lord let me have what I swore I wanted...lots of time to myself. I could probably go on for the next few days about what the Lord is teaching me about my heart, but for now it will have to wait.

I just got back from a trip to California for work, on which I ended up in the hospital because I thought my water had broken at 29 weeks. Luckily, I was wrong and I am now at home with my family (and refusing to get back on a plane until this baby comes). Anyway, stay tuned because there are BIG CHANGES in the works for Team Reed. Hopefully, I will be able to share the details soon. Until then, enjoy some pics from our time in Greenville. I must have had so much fun that I forgot to take very many pics.

Em not so sure about her first hair cut.
Suddenly she is sure that she isn't feeling the hair cut.
Kristin and precious little Hannah Claire.
Em doing some serious grocery shopping at the Children's Museum.
Em pushed the cart while Bryson filled it up....they looked like and old couple.
Bryson wanted to load up on junk food and Em said, "We don't need all that syrup, get some veggies."
Water=fun and two soaking wet toddlers.
Garrett calls Bryson "the foreman" b/c he walks with authority and that combined with his little belly make him look like he should be the boss on a construction site...G this pic is for you.
My 10 year high school reunion! I got a little bored during the comedic routine so I took random pics. Here is my friend Kristen who is pregnant with twins! And the newlyweds, Kirk and Kristy Harmon. I love them all!
Garrett's face looked like this most of the evening....and I have no idea what Kellan is doing in this picture. However, I love these two so much, therefore I kind of love this pic.
Linds, this pic is especially for you. This is my BFF, Linds, she has been pictured on this blog several times before. The handsome fella with her is Jay Lee. He is pretty much one of the coolest people ever. He is a corporate attorney in NYC and lives in the East Village. He has a girlfriend but I still kind of want him and Linds to date. They would make a cute couple don't you think???
And last but most definitely not least, my friend Alexis baptized her daughter, Scout, while I was at home. Alexis has the most amazing life story and I could not hold it together watching her baptize precious Scout. I'm so thankful that they have let me be a part of their lives and that I have been able to watch the Lord do amazing things in their family. Lex, I love you and your kiddos so much!

Saturday, August 7, 2010

This Is NOT a Joke

Here are a few things that are NOT a joke.
Thing #1: On our recent trip home, Garrett and Marshall sat in this baby pool in my parents yard just like this for over an hour. It was awesome and definitely not a joke.
Thing #2: When I pulled back into our apartment complex after being gone for two weeks, I noticed that they had begun painting the buildings these colors. The pictures do not do the colors justice. I'm not sure what was wrong with the tan color they were before. Unfortunately, not a joke.

Bananas and Split Pea Soup...a true inspiration
Not feeling banana yellow and puke green??? How about burnt orange and peach??
Thing #3: Garrett and I went on a date last night. Outside of the movie theatre was this guy with his three daughters. They qued the music and ran sound while he flailed around and impersonated Elvis, for a long time. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get the flailing aka dancing on video. But you get the idea. Sadly for his daughters, this was not a joke...but still really funny.