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