Whew!!

What a whirlwind the past few weeks have been! It always seems to be that way right before Christmas.

Jarrod has been a working-machine lately, putting in over 40 hours most weeks with the Geek Squad. He's really enjoying his work. It brings up all sorts of interesting conversations at the grocery store, waiting in line at sears.... as soon as he mentions Geek Squad, people feel the overwhelming desire to hash through all their computer woes. To an onlooker like myself, it's quite funny.

Christmas was different this year. Jarrod and I are used to being with lots of family, waking up before dawn and a slew of other traditions. We celebrated Jesus' birth with our church family Saturday night at Sunday morning, both of which were wonderful worship services. I love hearing people sing out Christmas songs. The kiddos were perhaps the most excited on Christmas eve. Hard to believe that this time next year we'll have a crawler on our hands trying to pull things off the Christmas tree and get into presents!

Jarrod was given a series of mind puzzles. They are REALLY hard! This is him while he was still laughing about it. It soon turned to huffing, teeth grinding and walking away, haha. Maybe he'll try again soon.

Simba had a wonderful Christmas as well. He snuggled in my lap while Jarrod read the Christmas story out of Matthew and Luke, then watched while we uncluttered the presents. He had a small stocking and was mildly interested in opening presents. Then.... the present with bacon-scented treats came out. That dog went nuts! He shredded the paper and bit the bag in excitement. Afterwards, every present we picked up he wanted to help open!

They struggled with the puzzles too

Jarrod's cousins joined us for Christmas dinner (quite the feat considering none of us had ever cooked Christmas dinner on our own before...). It was such a sweet, fun time. We were able to skype with some family members and be quite jealous of them wearing t-shirts and shorts while we wore at least three layers. All in all, our beginner's dinner attempt came our quite good! We had ham, sweet potatoes, deviled eggs, green bean casserole, rolls and of course plenty of desserts. We probably had a big enough spread to feed 12 people... no denying our southern roots!

Is this the front wheel? Or the back?

A few days before Christmas we received our first baby shower gifts. My mom sent up a very generous gift, thank you! Once we got the packages opened, Simba was a bit nervous. He paced around and you could just see him thinking, "what are these things? they aren't for me.... what's going on??". As Jarrod was trying to put them together, Simba would jump up between his face and said project or lay on top of his tools. I sense a bit of sibling jealousy coming... Jarrod did a great job putting things together, even if he did neglect the directions. He said it's much more fun to build things without directions anyway.

 Pack-n-play finished product. We got it together in the living room only to them realize that it does not fit through our bedroom doorway while assembled! It was good practice on how to break it down and set it back up again.
We also figured out the stroller and took it for a test-spin around the apartment. Super easy to fold and light enough for me to carry. Thanks everyone who told me the important things to look for in a stroller!

Each year, I further understand what my grandma means when she says the years keep going by faster and faster. I can't believe 2012 is just a few days away. This year has been a whirlwind. Seems like just a few weeks ago I was doing my L&D internship, Jarrod was commuting to Lake City for work and we were really in the air about what our next step was. While I still feel up in the air about where we'll be this time next year, I realize just how blessed we've been. God has been so faithful. He is stretching us, almost to the point where I fear we might break at times, but His steadfast love (hesed, Jarrod tells me in Hebrew) continues to sustain us. Praise you Lord!

26 weeks

This week marks the end of my second trimester. Weird! In case I haven't sent the news all around, we've decided to name our little girl Eliaya Carol Reed. Eliaya means My God is the Lord and we pray that she will know this truth at a very early age. She has become quite regimented in her sleep-wake cycles, being most notably active from 6-7am, then again from 8-10pm. Jarrod enjoys seeing and feeling my stomach punch out as Eliaya practices her roundhouse kicks and flips. We cannot wait to meet this little girl in just over 3 months!

Thank you all for your continued prayers! We need them. I would like to ask for your continued prayers regarding Eliaya, for her development and us as we prepare for her arrival, and on a silly note,  for our car. We had new tires put on it after the recommendation from a mechanic who is graciously trying to get us ready for winter. Now that those are taken care of, the battery and other systems in the car are acting up. Please pray that she keeps running and gets us through the winter without any other  needed trips to the shop. The Lord is stretching our faith in many ways, and we count it a blessing. Please pray that we would not give in to worry, but by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let our requests be known to God.

We love you and pray you have a wonderful rest of 2011!
Until the next edition,
The Reeds

It's the holiday season!

Whew! Things have been crazy in the Reed household of late. Sorry for the lack of updates, feels like this is the first chance I've had to sit still and reflect on the past few weeks.

As I'm sure word has spread by now... we're having a GIRL! We were able to have another ultrasound done mid-November. It was so amazing to see how much baby Reed has developed in just a few weeks. We saw her beautiful hands and feet, saw her sucking her thumb (explains all those hiccups....), and she graciously gave an immodest pose to let us know pink was in our future!  We are so excited.

We devised to keep baby Reed's gender a secret for a few weeks until after Thanksgiving so we could reveal the news to our families when they would be all together. I was able to call my family right after Thanksgiving dinner. The twin boys are going to have a girl cousin! My mom will now have both grandsons and a granddaughter! I think everyone was very excited.  The Reed clan had a bit of a reunion with the Dawson's and Henleys (20+ people in one house, it was awesome fun!). Everyone knew we would be revealing the news after dinner one day, so nerves ran high as final bets were placed. We had the room divide into two groups (predicting boy or girl), then had everyone close their eyes. We placed a cupcake in each person's hands. The cupcakes were dyed the frosted with white icing and covered with sprinkles. When everyone opened their eyes, my favorite comment was, "There's a blue sprinkle! It must be a boy!". Upon removing the wrappers, a bright pink cake was met with much celebration.

We were perhaps most surprised to be quickly met with a pink card from Susan, wondering "wow.... was she really right in guessing?"  No... she confessed to having one of each!

After our ultrasound, Jarrod and I ventured to the chaotic realm of Babies R Us. Wow. I had no clue there was so much baby stuff. I mean really.... there had to have been more than 10 types of pacifiers, a dozen types of bottles, and don't even get me started on the different strollers/car seats.... It was crazy!  Praise the Lord we managed to spend two hours in there scanning items without losing our minds. Jarrod didn't even come close to a meltdown! It was a very good day.

The Rapid Expansion

This week BG (the affectionate nickname given over Thanksgiving to baby girl Reed) is the size of a papaya and weighs a little more than a pound (23 weeks). I can somewhat decipher her routine of sleeping and rampant kicking / flipping now. She's a mid-morning and early evening mover. We're hoping that soon Jarrod will be able to feel the movements too. Pregnancy is not quite what I expected, but I am learning so much about the Lord through it. I really praise Him for this child.... and that she's not currently smashing my bladder :)

Another HUGE praise from the Reed household is Jarrod finished this fall semester! H took his last two finals this past Tuesday. He seems to stand a few inches taller now, the weight of big papers and never-ending reading is temporarily lifted. He learned so much, and I am so glad that he was challenged in ways he didn't expect. I see God molding his character through these classes. For December, he will be picking up extra hours at Best Buy (the Geek Squad has been super busy with the holiday season) and reading for fun. It will be soooo nice to have him home and relaxing for a while!

Saw snowflakes on my way home from work the other day.... these Floridians are still unsure what this winter will hold. We're in the midst of battling our first winter colds, wearing more than two layers no longer seems odd to us, and Simba has become quite the picky dog. With all the frost on the ground, he will reluctantly go outside in the mornings, place one paw in the grass, keeping two on the sidewalk and dangling the other back leg in the air to go to the bathroom. It's actually quite a funny sight. As soon as he's done, he looks up at us, then retreats back up the stairs to the front door.

I hope you all are having a great start to the Christmas season! I've really enjoyed the song "Joseph's lullaby" by MercyMe lately. I wonder what it would have been like to be Joseph, to raise the Savior of the world as a baby, toddler.... what an awesome responsibility, to raise God's own Son.

Promise the next update will be before January... thanks for reading!
Love,
Jarrod & Megan

Igloos and Eskimos and Ice?

In a whole new way, I understand Sanka's confusion regarding the North. Florida's not quite Jamaica and Kentuky's not quite Canada... but still the Reed family felt unprepared to deal with the thick sheet of ice awaiting us on the windshield Saturday, and Sunday, mornings. All remnants of our summer clothing have vanished into storage bins while every fleece, sweatshirt, hat and gloves we can find has taken its place. So far, I've learned that old ID cards and cd cases work as great scrapers. This weekend's shopping excursions will definitely include one, probably even two, of those little ice scrapers.

Now our clothing, more so than our Florida license plates, gives us away as southerners. I took Simba our for a walk the other day, wearing pants, long sleeves, and jacket and a hat, and passed two other dog-walkers: one in shorts and a sweatshirt, the other, a child in a shirt and short sleeve shirt. What are these crazy people thinking??? Don't they know it's cold? 

Jarrod is on the home stretch of the semester, praise the Lord! He has just a few small papers, three finals, and probably 200=300 pages left to read. Yay! He has done so well managing time, learning the material and really seeking to apply it. He's always asking, 'How does this influence my Tuesday? What does this mean for a pastor?'  I am so thankful to have married a godly man. 

Work is going great for him too: we jokingly call him a 'general' of the Geek Squad. He received three bronze stars for having people write positive comments about him on the store survey. Apparently, it's been quite the cause of co-worker competition! The other guys he works with ask 'hey, where did you get those??'

We are slowly getting more settled here. Though, admittedly, we are super excited to flip the calendar to November today.... 3 weeks till we get to see family!! 

Speaking of family, today I became an aunt! Congrats to my sister and bro-in-law. The boys are adorable! Can't wait to meet them :)

Baby Reed is growing like a weed: consequently I am eating like a starved horse, haha. Went in for a quick check last week and everything is going well. Baby Reed has decided my bladder makes an excellent tap-dance surface, but hey, I'll gladly trade the sickness for this anytime! Two weeks will we find out whether pinks or blues are in order. Really, this month is just full of exciting things. I get these emails telling me "Baby Reed is the size of a ______ this week" (becoming a mango), and it hit Jarrod and I. We're going to be parents. In a few months. A real baby. Walked by a mango in the grocery store. Whoa. The Lord is so good.  

On a side note. We are so thankful for the calling God has given us to serve Him. We realize more and more how blessed we were, growing up in the churches we did. We saw awesome men and women of God who were humble servants, giving all they had for the flock they tend. 

Sorry for the short update, but I promise pictures of life in Louisville and holiday festivities are to come! Thanks for reading and praying for us. Love,

the Reeds

Fall is in the air....

Okay, so this week it's easy to see that Louisville has it perks. 

I'm not quite sure what it is exactly about fall, but the air just smells so good! It's crisp, and (for the most part, depending on our neighbors recent escapades) clean. Looking at leaves changing, sitting on a blanket with a jacket, a good book, and a firm apple... that's a good afternoon :)

Not that Jarrod and I have had time to do that the past few weeks, hence the lack of updates (sorry...). Praise the Lord, Jarrod is surviving his midterms and has made significant headway on his major papers for the semester. I think part of the reason God brought us to seminary was to teach us to pray for every ounce of strength. I've been getting used to working full time, plus wearing the nanny hat multiple days, and it's made for some desperate times of prayer and short, but deep, nights of sleep. 

Jarrod's side mission lately has been scouring for firewood. There have been a few nights where the temp dips into the 40s, and for these Floridians that's wear-your-fleece-and-thick-socks-and-bundle-on-the-blankets kind of weather. Since we actually have a wood-burning fireplace now, we're determined to make use of it. On the way home from work, Jarrod saw a pile of logs outside a home. After passing it a few times, he parked and rang the doorbell to ask if he could have some.Unfortunately, no one was home. A few days later, as we were contemplating just taking some, we saw some burly men outside cutting up the wood and loading it into a truck. Bummer. The firewood we've seen for sale is expensive! Though, I guess that just puts it like everything else in Louisville compared to back home. I'm sure there's some interesting economics at play with all that, but for us... we're back to scouring nearby woods for scraps we could use. I'm sure we look a bit ridiculous walking around with our bucket and bag full of sticks...

Body Profile

Other exciting news: we had our first ultrasound of baby Reed yesterday! It was an amazing time. As soon as the wand was placed on my stomach, we could see the top of his/her head. (And no, we don't know whether its a boy or girl yet... next month!). We saw the arms and hands, legs and feet. It was beautiful. Here are some of the pictures, I know they're not the clearest, but they're at least something :)

Profile, baby's hanging out head down

I was so glad Jarrod was able to come with me to this appointment. We both have been blessed with gracious employers. Mine has been very accommodating with my need for snack breaks, clocking out for appointments, and the like. Jarrod's boss let him off with little notice, so he could come be a part of my appointment. We praise the Lord for blessing us with great jobs. 

Hard to make out, but this is baby's feet, crossed at the ankles :)

 

Can you believe the holiday season is already on its way? Jarrod has been teasing me because I'm already thrilled about Thanksgiving and Christmas. I think part of my excitement this year is related to getting to see family. But I have always loved the winter holidays. Christmas, of course, is all about celebrating Christ's birth and the beauty of God's plan to redeem His people. And I can't think of a better way to celebrate than with music, family and friends, and of course, delicious food! Pandora is already loading with my fav holiday tunes.... come on November so I can play them all the time!

We love you all, thanks for being a part of our lives. 

-the Reeds

Beginning of Many Things

Today was a day of firsts.

First, it was a first day of work for me (Megan). (Praise the Lord!) Baptist East Hospital made the offer about a week ago, and today was the first day of orientation. Here's a quick summary:

first day look

6 hours of lecture, rather reminiscent of the first day of nursing school, during which I observed much drinking of coffee. I believe the four pitcher-like coffee containers were full when the day began at 0730, but come 1135 when I accidentally grabbed those in lieu of the hot water pitcher, they were all empty. This, perhaps, explains the 5 minute rotations of bathroom-goers throughout the morning. I, on the other hand, fully enjoyed a retreat into childhood with hot chocolate, yum. Break for lunch, free subs sweet!, where people finally started talking and coming out of their rainy-Monday-morning coma (transition related to coffee use?) and I met some interesting women. The afternoon was filled with the usual safety-emphasis, TB mask fit-testing (which I nearly failed, I think due to the fact that my taste is all sorts of unusual right now), and a trip to employee health. When visiting Jarrod later at work, he asked for a quick summary I responded with "they took my blood, gave me a shot, and fed me lunch, it was great!'.  All in all, I am so excited to be working here. Tomorrow will be another long day of lectures, but then more hands-on training starts.
Second, the beginnings of a "baby bump" are encroaching on my once-comfortably fitting pants. I have joked with Jarrod that baby Reed only made his/her presence known after 7pm with a slight "poof". Despite knowing in my head that this belly-protrusion is entirely normal and good, it's still a bit disheartening when getting dressed in the a.m. and realizing two minutes later that your pants are quite uncomfortable. Sigh... perhaps this weekend will involve the first "m" clothes purchase.
Third, and to me, probably the best: it appears Jarrod has finally reached and understanding with school and church and life and wife. Priorities are set and when there's not enough time in the day to get in all done, the once-existent meltdown has now been replaced by a sigh and a good night's sleep. Hooray! Perhaps he'll avoid that ulcer after all. He really does such a good job or making sure that I, and even Simba, know we're loved and more important than an assigned textbook. Thanks to you for continuing to lift him up to the Father concerning this. I'm sure we will revisit this from time to time; but for today, victory.

Fourth: Jarrod and I trekked our first "AT-like" trails this past weekend. Setting out early Friday morning, in the pouring rain we went to chickfila for free breakfast. Despite the rain and baby Reed not cooperating with the whole eating this, we made for the Jefferson Memorial Forest. Climbing as high as 800 feet above sea-level (oh, how I miss the sea!) and traversing 8.5 miles, we were quite proud of ourselves. Joining us on the adventure were three turtles (didn't expect to see them and as evidenced by the loud hiss I don't think they expected us either!), ginormous squirrels, daddy-long-legs the size of my fist, and quail. Anyone in the Louisville area, you really should check out this park. No fees and it was beautiful. BUT... they did not waste space. What other parks would make into a long switchbacks, they made into ridiculously steep staircases. Whew! I do wish we had pictures of this adventure to share, but we left the camera at home. Excuse to go back I guess :)

Fifth: Lastly, and sadly, my favorite pair of shoes has finally died. The sole has been thinning for quite some time. And today, when I picked them up to walk Simba today, I saw the inside of the upper part of the shoe. Very sad day. The sperrys stood the test of many hundreds of miles. Hey, even with a hole they made it for a two mile walk this afternoon. I know their era is over, but I'm just not ready to let them go. Anyone know how to repair them??  Haha, this is ridiculous, I know.

Perhaps on the news where you are you've seen Louisville on the news recently. One of their three bridges has major cracks in it and is shut down indefinitely. Not really for us, but for many, a traffic nightmare has resulted. What city, situated on a river, only has THREE BRIDGES?!?!? Jarrod and I often ponder what the city planners of this town were thinking. Just adding to the list of oddities....

Anyway, that's about all the news on our front. I pray you all are growing in your understanding of the greatness of God, being fully grounded in love. Thanks for keeping tabs on us!
We love you,
-the Reeds

2 + 1 = 3

Well, it's true. The Reed clan is growing from 2 (plus Simba of course) to 3!! Jarrod and I found out we were pregnant just before our 2 year anniversary. I had suspicions before then, but because we had had so many false alarms before, I decided to keep waiting to test.

Well, the morning before our anniversary, I woke up at the crack of dawn and just couldn't wait any longer! The test seemed to take forever, but there was an undeniable "+". After recovering from my own shock and amazement, I began plotting how to break the news to hubby. Retrospect, I probably should have waited till at least 7am to break the news... but when you're excited and entirely unable to keep exciting news a secret well... sometimes you just can't :)

I found a picture frame, which I'm still not sure where it came from, but it had "Dad" written on the top. I decided I would give him that with the test and let him groggily figure it out. Here's a picture of the present:

He definitely didn't get it at first. The frame he said, "um, okay? I guess this can be for a picture of dad and I". It wasn't until I told him to look closely at the other present that the wheel started turning. "Is that a plus??" was followed by multiple tennis-watching glances and then mushy romantic stuff which I will conveniently leave out....

I think we were both really in disbelief for a while after this. We went about celebrating our anniversary, as described in a previous post, and decided to keep it just between us for a few weeks to make sure it wasn't a false alarm. THAT WAS SO HARD! Part of the reason I haven't been updating this blog very often is because I knew I was likely to spill the beans early :)

My favorite story to share, aside from telling Jarrod, is how we told his parents. We knew we wanted to do something special, since we couldn't tell them in person. So one day while at the grocery store, I saw these cute onesies that said "I heart grandma" and "I heart grandpa". They were too cute, and gender neutral!, so I got them. We then wrote a letter which said they could not open the rest of the package until we were on skype with them (oh boy... getting them hooked up to skype is a funny story to share sometime...). Then the anxious waiting began. Of course, Susan called at least 2 or 3 times while I was waiting for them to get the package, and I tried so hard to bite my lip and not let anything suspicious be said. Finally, they called us saying they had received a present from us. We got on skype, small talked for a while, then told them to simultaneously open their gifts.
Susan's reaction: gasp... tennis-match-watching between the gift and us, "no! no no no no no way! oh my gosh, are you serious?!?!?!?! Ahhhhh!!!! " tears. (the volume continuously increased throughout this dialogue, you understand). And finally a big smile.
Wayne's reaction: "oh!" and a very content grin. I believe now is precisely when he started praying for a granddaughter. haha.

We've had our first doctor's appointment, everything looks good and we've already been showered with tons of love and advice and baby necessities. There's tons more to say, but it will have to wait for another time. Promise to keep everyone posted!

We love you,
the Reeds

So I've Been A Bit Delinquent....

Oops.... so I realized this morning that it's been almost a month since I've written anything. I'll claim as my excuse I've been seeking inspiration- watched Marley and Me the other day, and while I've never had any desire to be a journalist, the movie sure did make it look like fun :) Perhaps in heaven I'll have a 'column'.
Alright, updates:
Jarrod and I celebrated our second anniversary! We each planned a day, and in the Reed way, there were dangerous adventures, inadequate maps, artistic pictures, and of course: food.
Jarrod's day, the 8th, started very early. My only clue was to pick two pairs of shoes (out of 8) that would be required. Despite my detective reasoning, I guessed wrong, so I had to go to bed not knowing anything about what the next day would hold. Before the alarm went off, I snuck off to do some prep work for my surprise to Jarrod (more to come on that later). I made  it back just as he was waking up, and he told me to grab my hiking boots and some comfy clothes. What the hey? Where were we going? We packed up some snacks and left.

In the car, I was given a sweet letter, and after some mushy moments I wont describe here, he told me we were headed on a caving adventure: to mammoth cave!
There are many tours which run through the cave system (it stretches over 300 miles! nothing like the caverns in Marianna, FL). Most of the tours are varying lengths of walking on well established trails. Not ours. We were going on the "wild cave" tour. We were given coveralls, hard hats with lamps on the front, and knee pads. I was a little nervous when they talked about how we would be squeezing through holes, doing long crawls and be scaling rock walls. What if I freak out in the middle? What if I can't do it? Jarrod was a bit nervous too, I think. But, our competitive side reared its head and we couldn't be shown up the the other people on the tour, so we took the plunge.
A few of the really intense moments: the "bare hole". It's a tunnel, probably 8 feet long, which ends in a hole that is 42" in diameter. We had to slide one arm through first then do "scissor hips" (as the army man called it) to fit through. Whew! And this was only a small indication of what we were getting into. The hardest part, in my opinion, was Kathleen's crawl. After squirming through a small hole to get into it, we had to belly crawl for about 100 feet (though it felt like a mile) with the gap between the floor and ceiling being just larger than our hard hats. This is the one I got banged up the most on. about 3/4 of the way, I was ready to give up (though, what would I have done to get out? haven't a clue) but my teammates were so encouraging!
Jarrod's favorite line throughout the tour (other than the many lord of the rings references) was when a person in front of him would grab hold of a rock and say "watch your head!". He told me later he kept thinking, 'what, watch my head smack into the rock?'. It was a great experience, we were SO tired afterwards.
Here's a few pics we were able to snap before the tour started, no cameras were allowed in the cave :(

why yes, I did shop off my hair :)

we always have this pose

one of the cave river exits

So, that was Jarrod's day for me. My surprise for him the next day entailed going to a Louisville Bats baseball game and enjoying "ballpark food" as he called it. Afterwards we went home and had chocolate fondue with strawberries, marshmallows, oranges, and the works. It was so yummy! We really liked breaking up our celebration over two days. Who knows, next year we might just celebrate for three days :)

Jarrod has started his first full semester. It's a lot. Please pray for him as he's trying to learn how to do his best work, while still keeping his priorities straight. The professors all said one the first day, 'you need to maintain a personal love and relationship with the Lord, don't neglect your family, continue to be involved and serving with the local church, and do well in school'. We're a bit perplexed on how to do this still, especially when there's so much assigned reading! I'm sure Jarrod's approaching the 800 pages a week mark, on top of assignments and working and the like. So, please lift him up to the Father for strength and focus. We've figured out now why everyone told him he was crazy for taking 5 classes at once :)
I have two more interviews this upcoming week: one at an outpatient clinic and one at a community hospital. Through this hardship of trying to find work, God's really brought me to a place where I can say (and believe), what ever you have for me Lord. We've been blown away at how He has provided up to this point. Hopefully the next time I write you all I will have some awesome news to share!

We have been blessed to have Jarrod's cousin live with us for a while now. She's so sweet and has been such an encouragement to us. Please pray for her that she would plant seeds of the Gospel at work and that the Lord would reveal His plan for her.

Okay, this is already a mile long, so I'll have to save my opinion on traffic lights until next time :)
We love you!
-the Reeds

Things Grow Quickly

Have you ever noticed that weeds grow substantially faster than the grass we try so hard to maintain? Weeds have no problem sprouting up, whether the place is bare or seemingly full of good grass. Spiritual lessons abound, I'm sure, but we'll delve into those later.

We were blessed to have the Rueff's come for a visit! It was so so good to see them. Silas is getting so big! We shared meals, got to catch up and pray for each other; it was just wonderful.

Jarrod imitating Silas  

Jarrod learned first-hand of a 9 month old's maniacal tendencies: walking, or crawling as the case may be, towards some forbidden object then just before making the last strike and attacking said object, he gives a quick look-around to see who's watching. The devious grin appears, and bam! The bike / fan / curtain has become Silas's new toy. Haha. Really though, he is a great baby and we so enjoyed spending time with him.




   
  
We were able to take our guests on a tour of Southern; praise the Lord for once the heat index was not quite 105! We feel so privileged to be studying here and love getting to show people around (not that we entirely know our way, mind you).  The coolest thing happened while we were in what I affectionately call my wallet's bane, the LifeWay store on campus. Matt wanted to look for a Holman Christian Standard Bible so we asked the manager (who Jarrod and I have become well acquainted with, lol) where they would be. He said to hang on just a second, turned around and picked up a box from the back counter and said, "here, have this one". Whoa! Apparently some one had come in earlier and did some kind of exchange with Josh (manager) and since Josh already had a good HCSB, he wanted to give it to some one. What a cool blessing!

Jarrod finished up his into the Biblical Counseling class, I think he really enjoyed it. It challenged him in ways he wasn't expecting. He is taking these next two weeks to finish work for that class and begin the monstrous amount of reading assigned for his fall classes. Please pray for him that he can retain information, manage time, and real bask in the Lord during this time.
I am waiting to schedule an interview with a hospital in their labor and delivery unit (super excited about that potential!) and also, praise the Lord, have an interview set up for Monday at 11am with another hospital in essentially a cardiac ICU. I could definitely see myself working there. Thank you all so much for continually lifting me up to the Father; He is at work!

Okay, back to the weeds thing: I was thinking about this yesterday while Jarrod and I were working with a group from church doing yard work in a local neighborhood. There is one garden two other ladies and myself have been plotting and attacking to free from the vice-grip of weeds all summer. Each week, we seem to make significant progress, but upon our return the following week, the weeds have regrown with a vengeance and launched new attacked on previously peaceful ground. It's a bit discouraging to be honest.

So, while somewhat-mindlessly pulling weeds,I considered how our lives are so like gardens: there are some beautiful plants with magnificent blooms that cause others to stop and smell, pondering the beauty of creation; and then, at least in my life, there are weeds. Some weeds I know about; they are ugly with stickers and through various means I try to uproot them, or (usually) at least cover them up. Other weeds creep in slowly, sometimes being so bold as to disguise themselves as desired plants.
Recorded in John 15, Jesus calls Himself the true vine and the Father the vine dresser (ESV). He says that in order to bear fruit (or blossom to continue my metaphor), we must be in Him. He says that every branch that does not bear fruit, He (the Father) takes away (see also Matt 15). This is done we so might bear more fruit. Verse 8 says, "By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples". We can't pull our own weeds, we need the Father to prune us. We submit to His work through the Holy Spirit to 'weed-eat' and 'mulch' our life gardens. The present blisters on my fingers remind me that pruning can be difficult, even painful at times. I get so focused on the here-and-now, my selfish desires, that I forget to look forward to what the garden can become, to see the work the Lord is accomplishing.

I want to have a beautiful garden that points to how good my God is. He is so faithful, and gracious, and good.

I hope this note encourages you, as writing it did for me, to enjoy beautiful gardens and to bear much fruit for the glory of the Lord.

We love you! Thanks for checking in :) and we'll update again soon, promise.
Till the next edition-
the Reeds

Well well well... where to start with the update...

This may be a little jumbled, and perhaps not in order, but here's what has happened in the Reed household over the past week.

We have joined our new home church, which I alluded to earlier. It feels so great to have a home and begin plugging in to ministry. We are so anxious to get to work with God's people and accomplish mighty things for His kingdom. Jarrod and I have been a part of a team working in a local neighborhood service project with the goal of sharing the Gospel and developing relationships. There's a man, Mr. Bobby, whom Jarrod has befriended. Please lift him up to the Father, Mr Bobby is not a believer and is facing cancer. We hope to continue this friendship and see his heart softened towards the Lord.

Simba's paw is pretty much all healed from the 4th of July incident. His dew claw is regrowing just fine. We are super excited that he seems to be growing out of the chewing stage: the other day we left for school and though Simba was in his crate, the door wasn't latched. When we came home, 8 hours later, the dog was laying on his back wiggling his tail just as happy as he could be to see us. I urged Jarrod to stay in the living room, where there was no apparent destruction, while I checked out the rest of the apartment. Very much to my surprise, not one hint of chewing/destroying was to be found!  And while he proved trustworthy that day... I'm not sure we're okay to let him roam free..... he can still be a bit tricky :)

Jarrod is liking work, he tells me funny stories about people and their technology questions.... One story included a rogue GPS that only directed the driver to the nearest police station!
This week Jarrod is taking a "J-term" class, which means he goes all day for one week and gets credit for a full semester. He's been reading non-stop, I think we calculated over a thousand pages for this class! whew! I have sat in on some of the class, and it is really awesome. Hopefully you'll get a chance to talk with Jarrod about it!

God continues to be so gracious and generous to us. Though the neighborhood ministry we met a guy, Scott. He has been so generous; our best meal out was his treat! We went to this fantastic restaurant called Ramsi's Cafe, I had a yummy spinach salad (I was seriously craving some veggies!) and Jarrod had a spectacular fish sandwich. Yum! Many, many thanks to Scott, not only for the treated lunch, but the great conversation and for taking an interest in our lives.

Please pray for my potential job. I know that the Lord is working something out, and i am fully confident in Him. I pray that I will not give in the fleshly desire to worry.  Yesterday, I received a phone call from the nurse manager of a labor and delivery unit. She wants to interview me soon! Needless to say, I am stoked! This would pretty much be my dream job. I am trying to stay open to what ever job presents, but my heart desires to work with pregnant women and families. I'll keep ya posted!
The epic adventure continued yesterday, after getting the awesome phone call.... Jarrod and I decided to take Simba out for a long walk. We went, and whew was it hot (even for Floridians!), and upon returning home, realized we grabbed the wrong keys and were locked out! I started mildly freaking out (as I do best it seems), and Jarrod went into problem solving mode. Between scaling up a rickety table and guardrail, then hunting down and bribing the maintenance men.... we made it back inside to the fantastic air conditioning. Praise the Lord!

Other exciting news.... some great friends are coming to visit!! I can't wait to see them. Though it will be a short visit, it was be much welcomed. Also, thank you all for praying for me. I am really making some friends here: this week I'm not spending time alone at home but am have lunch with other women, going out to their houses, etc. It seems like such a little thing, fellowship, but the Lord has shown me through this time how essential it is within the body of Christ. So glad for friends!

Okay, time to go pick up Jarrod, but thank you all for reading this, for being part of our lives while we are here in Louisville. We covet your prayers and pray for you often.
Love,
the Reeds

Agent Reed of the CIA

Praise the Lord! Jarrod got a job!
Today Jarrod went to orientation to work at Best Buy as a member of the "Geek Squad". The title of this post is his official position name, CIA being customer information agency. I am so thankful for the ways in which God provides, but I have to admit that I have had more than one good laugh at this one :)

He is really appreciative for this job, and based on the people he's met and orientation today, thinks he will both be useful and enjoy the work. Yay!! Thank you all so much for praying. I promise that once Jarrod gets his uniform, I will post pictures. It seems that whoever created the Geek Squad watched their fair share of Saturday morning cartoons and wanted to go all out with the name geek: white shirt, black pants (a bit too short) and tie, white socks, and shoes that have "geek squad" impressions on the sole... I know you all are as anxious to see this as I am!

 <--- Here's us with the newly deemed Mr and Mrs Mills! We were blessed to join their special day. God works in mysterious ways, and sometimes obvious ones: Aaron and Lindsey sat behind us one night at church, Jarrod and Aaron started talking... and we were all instant friends. Super excited to be a part of this season in their lives, the Lord will use them mightily.
Lesson learned: do NOT try to break in new heels at a wedding with dancing.... ouch! I took pictures of my pinky toes to post, but they're a bit intense, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

For me on the job front, still nothing tangible to present. I have had some encouraging talks with a nurse recruiter; there's a big hospital where I've interviewed for one position and other units would like to interview me as well, but... this hospital is in the process of merging with another major hospital and each is going through a restructuring phase.  The recruiter has told me multiple times that the moment they know what they have available, that she'll be calling me. I'm encouraged by that, for sure. Please pray I would be faithful to do the work the Lord prepares for me. Where ever that might be.

A moment of transparency, I would ask for your prayer just for me personally. This time of transition here to Louisville has been frequented by days of intense isolation and campaigns of despair on the bruised and weary hope. The Holy Spirit is fleshing out some real idols I have of needing friendships, relying more on their faithfulness and growth to sustain me and bring joy than depending on my Savior, my Friend. So, I ask for your support in this time of repentance and pruning.

One more happy note to end it all off: Jarrod is done with Hebrew! Well, the first class at least. He did AWESOME, I can say so because I'm his wife, and he learned so much! Reading Scripture has gained immense depth. Now he's trying to catch up on all the reading for his next class, Biblical counselling (Thanks aunt Audrey for lending him the books!). I can see already that the Lord is working a large change in him through these books, through examining our motives and heart conditions for certain actions. Though these times of pruning can be tough and tearful, I am glad that He is not done with us yet :)

Again, thank you all so much for your continued support and encouragement. We love you!
-the Reeds

Some Answered Prayers

As I sit down to write this, I'm in awe of the Lord's sovereignty. As you know, Jarrod and I have been praying over which church to call home. Louisville is very interesting: there are really sound churches who preach the Word faithfully and serve the community well (these tend to have a rather large seminarian attendee base) and there are some churches we've heard of who, though they claim to be Christian, are not in accordance with the Scriptures. For any of you who are not familiar with the history of Southern, it was not always the conservative institution it is today. The 1980's-early 1990's were a time of liberal practices and theology. Some of the graduates of that time period have remained at churches in Louisville, and well... let's just say they and the current stance of Southern are not on the same page.
All that to say we've been a bit nervous regarding where to serve.  We have been to a few awesome churches. Each having their own strengths and weaknesses. We weren't sure where to call home. God knew where we needed to end up.

I think I mentioned it earlier, but when Jarrod and I drove up with the moving truck and car towed behind, we  had no idea what we were getting into. (We are so thankful for our cousins coming up and graciously helping us get our stuff in!)  While driving up, Simba in my lap and praise music playing in the car, Jarrod driving in front of me, I was able to to spill out my heart to the Lord. Telling him how nervous I was to be moving so far from home. I knew he called us to go, but the butterflies still fluttered. In the midst of my uncertainty, I received 3 phone calls from complete strangers. They heard through the grapevine that we were moving in and wanted to offer help. Whoa!! I was blown away. They were so helpful. Part of me thinks this was God's way of being merciful to Jarrod; He knew I would be useless for getting that couch up the stairs!

We went to the church those unexpected helpers came from, and were so welcomed. We first came on a Sunday night, a couple we met moving in introduced us like we were celebrities. People genuinely, happily met us. The next Sunday, we made our way to BFG (I still chuckle when I call it that..) and instantly people wanted to befriend us. After a few emotionally hard days that week, it was a welcomed blessing. Through these past few weeks, we've made friends with couples from the church who live close to us, Jarrod's learned to play euchre in one couple's kitchen (this is a big deal here, euchre is what separates the kids and adult table at Thanksgiving, haha), and glimpses of that 'home sweet home' feeling appeared. A special blessing to me has been a like-minded friend / mentor, that's been a prayer for a long, long time.  Jarrod met with the pastor and some of the staff members, all great meetings. I think it's safe to say that Ninth & O is home :)

Blessings are flowing from the home front too. Family is loving on us by calling multiple times a week, praying often, and just being supportive. We love you!  Grandma and Grandpa Henley, thank you.

On the next edition of Reed All About It, I hope to be able to tell you about both mine and Jarrod's jobs... things are in the final stages of working out in that department! Praise God!
Blessings of me having all this time off:
1) my kitchen skills are rapidly increasing, even made mini-pot pies & scratch chocolate chip cookies!
2) getting back to a good workout routine
3) done a LOT of reading. I really recommend you all read this:
http://www.sbts.edu/resources/files/2010/09/boy-to-man.pdf

Okay, this has become super long... so I'll save the rest of the news for next time! Have a wonderful 4th!
Love, the Reeds

The Lord is so faithful

Jarrod and I have been having a seemingly repetitive conversation lately; "wow, can you believe how God worked this out? He is so good!' is the gist of it.

We have finally started meeting our neighbors. Sounds like an odd statement, especially for those of you who live in the south.... but let me tell you: Louisville is a 'northern' city in many respects.(Jarrod says the final straw in declaring this statement is the sweet tea. Apparently the tea here doesn't make your teeth grit, poor boy) Sadly, the pervasive attitude among many people around us is everyone has their own life and it's very consuming. Tunnel vision. We've been plotting on how we can make ourselves available to meet and talk with those who live near us and well... let's just say Simba has been well walked :)

A praise! We had a good conversation with our downstairs neighbors (Tammy, Chuck and their daughter Piper). Us coming to them with a gift seemed to help lower their guard a bit. Please pray for them, they are not believers, and pray that we would be faithful in bringing the Gospel into all we do and say.

The Lord has been so faithful to provide. We are in the midst of praying over which church to settle in and serve and not having a quick "home" has been unusual for Jarrod and I. But God has provided some awesome friends who have just reached out and loved on us. I am so thankful for them!

The Lord is faithful in work. I have made a few more contacts regarding an RN position in a hospital and am very hopeful that in the next few weeks it will be settled. Jarrod has an interview tomorrow afternoon thanks to a new friend from a church here. He and his wife moved just around the corner from us; we are so excited to have fellowship so close! Please pray for Alex and Kelli, they're expecting their first child.

The Lord is faithful to grow us. Yesterday in BFG (Sunday school), we were studying 1 John 3. The Word says "For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another" (v11, ESV). The whole of the Gospel is to bring us back to right relationship with the Lord so that we can glorify Him by loving. I was really convicted by the call to have genuine love for the family of God. It's easy enough to be nice, but to grow in righteousness to the point where I have a genuine affection for a person and want the best for them, that's hard. If you're like me, there's a few people who come to mind as being "that person" who you just don't like. I want to see others the way the Lord sees them, the way He sees me. He had a genuine affection for me when I was a wretch; He pursued me when I wanted nothing to do with Him. Please pray for me, and Jarrod, as we grow in "love for the brothers" as Scripture puts it. I pray that He might challenge you the same way.

Thank you all so much for lifting us up to the Father; we need you!

Love, the Reeds

First Family Outing

So, as is Jarrod's way, one of our first discoveries in the area was a state park. The E.P. "Tom Sawyer" State Park, to be precise. It's really convienent, maybe a 10 minute drive away. We took Simba, a water bottle, (and snacks of course!), and embarked on the journey.

It's a beautiful park, very similar in layout to Kanapaha park for all of

you from Gainesville. Lots of soccer fields, lacross is big here, playground and covered picnic tables. There's a mile long fitness trail that encircles the main park and a few trials offshoot from it into the woods. Jarrod in the lead, we left the well marked trial in search of adventure.

The Japanese honeysuckle was blooming everywhere... mmm it smelled so good! We were really enjoying the scenery and just being out in the Lord's creation. At one point, in the heart of the woods, there was a small.. very faintly marked, trial. Jarrod and Simba started down it with excitement and as a good wife.. I followed. By the time I caught up the them, Jarrod was forging a creek and the dog was anxiously waiting on the bank. It was a pretty stream, and quick moving. I looked around for other crossings when suddenly Jarrod yells, "oh no! my shoe!". The old navy flip flop was racing downstream, bumping into rocks along the way. Jarrod trudged through the water to get to it, I ran down the bank, head-on into the most intricate spider web ever... yuck! All this for a shoe that cost 50 cents...

Long story short, the shoe was recovered and Simba learned water isn't so bad. Though the bath he got after this incident was not quite so enjoyed.

There is also a designated "dog park" area which we explored another day. You can learn a lot at a dog park... here are some lessons we learned:

1) There is a certain type of person who routinely goes to the dog park

2) It is considered very rude to introduce yourself to a person and not to their dog

3) People willingly admit they will remember your dog by name, but wont be able to pick you out of a line-up

4) Failing to "do your duty" (as the sign calls it) and pick up after your dog results in doggie detention-> no one talks to you or lets their dog play with your dog.

All joking aside, the dog park was a great place for us to meet people. Jarrod was able to talk about God's goodness to a woman who openly shared her life's story with us. We hope to go back and have more witnessing opportunities with these people.

A note of praise: I passed my nursing boards!! I am so thankful to have such a vast prayer base, it was definitely your prayers and God's power that got me through that exam! I am still waiting to hear on work, but He is faithful to provide and we are fully trusting Him.

Okay, I've been rambling for a bit and it's time to go.. thanks for reading!

Trials

Well, we've been here for 3 weeks now.... just a few boxes left to be emptied, we've figured out what all the light switches connect to, and Simba is entirely back to himself. Those are some of the good things.

Another great thing, Jarrod is loving his seminary class. He's doing absolutely amazing in it, I can say that being his wife and all :) , and he really enjoys it. He even called me the other day after class got out to excitedly tell me "I made a friend!" He took his first exam today and felt confident. It's been a really cool thing looking at the original Hebrew in Scripture to get a glimpse of how difficult translation can be!

Please pray for us, that we might make some good friends while we're here. We really miss everyone from Gainesville and Jacksonville... you all are great friends.

On the church front: we are still praying and really trying to see where the Lord has for us to serve. It's an interesting situation because there are two potential places of service, and they are somewhat opposite of each other. Both are solidly founded on Scripture, so that's awesome. Please pray for wisdom and discernment as we continue to make this decision.

I had a great interview this past Monday. In case you hadn't heard, the job I had with the small pediatric office didn't work out because I need a 120 hour internship before I can be licensed here and during that time it's required for me to be under another RN. So... I am trusting God that He has a great opportunity for me... and trying not to worry.

I take my board exams this Sunday at 2pm, wish me luck! I have been putting in some good time studying; our table is not covered with dishes of decorations... but school books, haha. I so look forward to really being done with school after this exam, already have 4 books I plan to read for FUN!

There are some funny stories to tell about misguided hiking trips (would we be Reeds without them?) and cookies, so look for those this next week!

love you all and pray for you often

Looks Like We Live Here

Here are some pictures of the work in progress!

As of last night, there are pictures on the wall... most of the level :)

Simba has adjusted. For those of you who know him... he is back to zooming. His parents are relieved.

Other big notes to mention: I, Megan, can officially drive to Ginny Lou's (cousin), starbucks, and Target without getting lost! Jarrod got us to church without using the GPS. Before long, we'll be pros at navigating Lville's crazy roads.

Did you know that geese hiss?? We walked up to a gaggle today, with Simba, and the momma goose first guided all the baby geese into the water, then turned and hissed at us! Simba is still determined to catch one. Not sure what he would do if he did.

We had a meeting today with a local pastor. We asked him questions about the area and were really seeking to find an internship for Jarrod. With this particular church, the doors were closed. Please pray that the Lord would provide us with this opportunity somewhere. We are anxious to serve.

One HUGE praise... I am gainfully employed!! Starting Tuesday I will be the nurse for The Best Kids Pediatrics. It's a small office near the seminary, focusing most of their care on young children. I am really excited, the staff there seems great. Thank you all so much for praying!

Post again soon about our first days :)

Big Trucks Will Grow Your Faith

Well, we made it! We are in our new apartment, which I was pleasantly surprised with to be honest. I had set myself up to expect the worst, never having seen the place prior to signing the lease, but it's going to work out great.

Okay, so the title of this post....I have to give kudos to Jarrod for driving the truck up here. Lessons learned: when towing a car, lefts are easier than right. the repetitious bangs you hear (despite the nagging feeling) do not indicate that the towed car is falling away. semis are deadly and Atlanta is not nearly as scary as middle of no-where Tennessee. We stayed on the phone with each other for as much of the journey as possible.. but there were many occasions where Jarrod would yell out, "hill! gotta go!". The truck would slow down from 60-65 to 50... sometimes 40... and on some of the mountains 35. I have new compassion for truck drivers on inclines, but only then. There were many instances where a big semi would drive by on the downhills of the mountains, and all I could do was pray as I saw the moving truck sway from edge to edge of the lane forced by the wind current of the semi.

In spite of all the drama, we made it! Thank you all so much for your prayers, they carried us.

The Lord provides: we pulled up and found our way to the office to sign paperwork, then realizing the checkbook had not been set aside to pay for said apartment. oops! The manager was so kind and took our word, gave us the keys and when we got back to the apartment for the "tour", the cousins showed up! Thank you thank you thank you! God also sent us new friends from two local churches to unload. Total of 10 people, took us only an hour and a half to unload the truck and put everything at least in the right room! Ginnie Lou, Joy, Brooke and I were mighty women and set up the beds and reattached mirrors; quite the accomplishment. All in all, we felt so blessed by our welcoming crew. Thank you all again!

So we're here in our new home; it doesn't quite feel like home, but it will. Missing friends and family, but Jarrod and I are so excited to be where we know God has called us.

Boxes

Well.... we've spent the past two weeks packing up everything we own. This process has led me to the conclusion that even at 22 and 26 years old, one can have way too much stuff. I mean really, where does it come from?? I have a washing machine that eats socks and a closet that mass produces odds and ends and gains joy from hiding them from me until now. Sheesh!


It's been a good lesson in communication for Jarrod and I; daily I'm reminded that God has a sense of humor. So, cleaning out our kitchen drawers I find our silverware has rebelled against its organizer and is strewn all over. Trying to be super organized, I start separating all the dinner forks, salad forks, knives..... the piles keep growing and growing! Total: 5 different style utensils, 18 "sets", and approximately 12 extra forks. When I presented this situation to my husband, secretly desiring to purge all the misfits, he responded with "oh wow! those are my favorite forks! we have to keep those!". Defeated, I walked away to regroup - plotting my next attack on the renegade forks.


I'm not the only one who has had a difficult time with the boxes. Simba, our 10 pound miniature poodle, lives in fear of the mighty box-wall. I imagine it's a bit like the scene in The Mummy where Evie is putting books away at the library and ladder starts slowly tipping backwards: fear of imminent crushing. Poor dog. Jarrod has placed empty containers on his head and chased the dog around... promise pics to come later :)

In the end, there's just a bit left to pack! Now if only I could find the tape.....