The merry-go-round

GOSH! How does a whole month go buy so fast?! Note to self... gotta get some more structured time to write here....

I've reached a milestone this year, my so-called "golden birthday", where I turned the same age as the date. Exciting I know. Anyway, while this year is marked by many many many awesome experiences.... there is one tragic occurrence. I can no longer do the spinny rides. And I'm not talking about the teacups-of-death at Disney, I mean spinning of any type. How did I come to this conclusion? One sunny day the girls and I headed to the playground which was totally empty, allowing E1 to run rampant enjoying all aspects of the jungle  as she wanted in an even faster than usual pace. Struggling to keep up while holding E2, I coaxed her onto the small merry go round. After a lesson recapping that holding on was a good idea and jumping off a bad one, she climbed on and I spun the wheel. Much excited-little-girl giggles ensued and I was moved to join in on the fun. BIG MISTAKE. Not even a full trip around the wheel and I could feel my stomach turn. "But," I thought to myself, "I am a strong woman. I can handle this". Three more cycles past my original standing point and I had to admit defeat. My green face, dazed eyes and stomach in my throat all bared witness against me. The worst part was since I had E2 in my arms, I was nervous to just hop off (after all, the earlier lesson explained that to be a bad idea!) so I had to wait two more long turns before I could safely get off! The girls, being so easy and care-free, were not effected at all and immediately wanted to scale the next adventure. A few deep breaths and a vow to skip that ride next time, I stumbled along to the nearest bench to recover :)

While it can be sad when the end of an era comes, it is thrilling and joyous when a new one starts. Here's a quick recap of the new seasons in the Reed house:

-E1: oh, where to begin! This girl has got personality and imagination to spare. The other day while riding in the car she told me that she had "the toot-toots" (why she commonly refers to GI functions in repeated monosyllabic utterances, I have no idea). When asked if she needed to go to the bathroom, she thought for a moment and told me, "No momma, I just have toot-toots. I have toot-toots all the time, for seven years!"  Two and a half down, 4 and half more to go.....
She also has a new night-time hobby. After she's tucked in and has "read" in bed for a while, we turn out the lights and she lays down peacefully. About an hour or two later Jarrod and I will hear a loud noise. We turn off the music in our room and listen again.... now we can hear it clearly, E1 is singing, LOUDLY, in her bed. Walking to her room ready to discipline and tell her to get back in bed we were surprised to find the light was still off, and she was still neatly tucked into her bed. And singing. Her latest single reminds me much of the movie "Elf". "I'm in my bed.... I'm singing!!!..... Where's my book? fewnifoebnides (gibberish ensues)"

-E2: This little girl is almost a year old! She is working on standing and loves to be included in what ever E1 is doing. We've noticed that she wants to be near the action, but not always a part of it like E1 did. E2 is content to sit next to you while you're working on a dramatic too. Ever watch 7th Heaven? If I had to pick, I imagine E2 will be a bit like Lucy.

project and play with her own toy. But... she can be
When she is overwhelmed or gets bumped by E1 or is hungry or can't move fast enough, (you get the picture), she sits on her bottom and falls, face first, to the floor where she cries. She wont turn her head to the side but does lift up occasionally to regroup and assess if anyone is paying attention to her. She tried this manouver in the bathtub yesterday after E1 took a toy from her, and I think she learned when around water, falling face first is not the best of ideas. (Don't worry, I was right there and helped her sit up quickly and cough out all the water!)

-Jarrod: home stretch of this semester! The (hopefully) LAST FALL SEMESTER for seminary! Assuming he survives these next two and half weeks, he'll be down to just three classes (2 in the spring, 1 in summer). PRAISE THE LORD. Aside from utter dependence on God and seeking wisdom on how to divide up time for too many tasks and too little time, he is really growing and being challenged to help those who are Life group / Bible fellowship group / Sunday school teachers teach effectively and rightly. There's been a lot of sorting through perceptions and notions to uncover beliefs and helping highlight the importance of good doctrine.

Jarrod also had a big birthday recently! Thanks to the help of many people, I was able to throw him a surprise party, luau themed. Believe it or not, he really was surprised! There was a great turnout of friends and family from all over. So thankful for this man!

-Me: The biggest new chapter for me officially starts tonight: working at a crisis pregnancy center. I have been searching for an outlet for my love of working with and teaching pregnant women and talking with people pointing them to the amazing Savior. Do you know how many children are sacrificed to our self-worship every year? That's a large part of what abortion amounts to, valuing our perceived "life as it should be" more than the life of the unborn. I've heard and read stories, I know there are difficult situations... but trying to fix one wrong with another one never makes a right. Please pray for me, that I would study Scripture faithfully and soak in my training time, and mostly that God would see fit to use me, an imperfect-covered-by-grace-dependent-on-Jesus woman, to help another woman choose life.

So with the end of one season, be it school or work or playground rides, comes the beginning of another. I pray we would embrace the moment and be thankful. Know God has you right here, right now, for a purpose

till next time,
-the Reeds