Where your heart is.....

There your treasure will be also.

What is treasure? When I was 6 it was my beanie baby bear collection. My grandma and mom would go hunting for the new bears when they came out and bring them home to add to my collection. I was meticulous about keeping their tags straight and not letting them get roughed up. I thought for sure those things were going to make me rich. At 16, the car and a duffle bag packed with clothes were my priced possessions because they represented my freedom. At 18 it was my dream of blazing through medical school  and working to find a cure for pancreatic cancer.

What is my treasure now? Well, it's no longer much of a what, but a who. It may sound cheesy, but in reality Jesus has become my treasure, and He's promised me great things. I was reflecting in church today about His words and how they impact my life and well... here's just one, very big, example.

Taking off from my treasure at age 18, it's easy to see that things like marriage and family were not really part of my picture. Sure, if some one asked, I would say that I wanted to get married someday and then many years later, after conquering my dreams and developing a successful career and having at least two major publications in popular medical journals as well as owning the perfect home, then maybe I would think about having a kid. Two max. I mean, how could I possibly achieve all those awesome things with little clumsy feet waltzing around me? There was just so much I was equipped to do! High expectations had been placed on me and I had increased them on myself, to do something great with my life and the only definition of that included career prominence.

It's funny how God places people in your life at just the right time for a very particular purpose. I remember one evening, not too long after getting married, Jarrod was confronted by an older friend who asked him when we were going to have children. After describing our plan to wait a few years so I would achieve my great things.... this man challenged us that our definitions of great were wrong. And that, if we looked into the Word, we would find what we were missing. (well, to be honest he was much more frank than that. Men can do that, ya know. It's an odd phenomenon I most definitely do not understand... but that's another post)

playing peek-a-boo

Fast forward. We took our friend's advice and really started searching Scripture for what God considers "great" and "worthy". Among a myriad of other things, we found that parenthood is great. Becoming parents was part of the initial command for Adam and Eve (Gen 1:28). Children are declared to be a gift from the Lord (Ps 127:3). The role of mother is highly praised. It's never said that it's an easy job, or something one should only undertake if they're unable to do anything else. No, it's a very important job (Prov 6). Slowly it all began to sink it. The Lord treasures children. He loves them (Matt 19:13). I want to love what God loves. God doesn't love me to puff up my pride and believe I am this mighty gift to creation, but rather to teach me to serve and to be gentle. To teach me about His steadfast love which endures, and discipline that loves. The most sanctifying experience of my life so far has been taking care of a raising E day in and day out. I fail, often, but I see His hands at work. I'm thankful for how He has moved my heart to treasure the little girl upstairs, and the little bean growing in me. I know having 2 under 2 will not be easy, it may be a very difficult season; it will root out even more of my own selfishness and idol of comfort, but what a great example of the Gospel to the world! Forsaking my own wants to serve others, being a family that though not perfect, seeks to love the Lord and others wholeheartedly, together.

I write this, not to throw stones and condemn anyone who doesn't have a bazillion kids. I understand there can be a season to wait. I also understand that for some, they're arms are open and willing, but the Lord has not blessed them with children yet. No, I write this mostly to recommit myself to not turning up my nose at what God calls a blessing, and to encourage those who think they have to have everything figured out, accomplished, pretty and the world in perfect order before they want children to reconsider.  For those who have embraced the biblical call to raise children in the training and instruction of the Lord (Eph 6:4), thank you. Thank you for being a role model for me and not caving under the public opinion that what you're doing is crazy! (well, it may be crazy, but it's not wrong)

 Alright, gonna try and finish laundry before nap time is over. Have a blessed day!



-the Reeds

oh, p.s: those beanie babies.... definitely still under my bed in a box, secretly hoping they'll be worth something.... someday :)

Birthday!

So awhile ago I caved and joined in on the pinterest craze. Obsessive hardly covers it. With ideas abounding, the 1st birthday party planning went into high gear. Now, on this side of all the festivities- I'm glad we went with the goldfish theme. I think it all turned out really well :)

Here's some of my favorite moments:

 The cake and dessert table. After 3 failed attempts at making my own cake icing (it was soo runny, but still delicious) and a midnight run to the grocery for premade icing... everything was ready!

 The finished cake! Ok, so I didn't dye the second batch of orange icing quite the same... but for this being my first make-it-yourself cake... not bad :)

And it tasted pretty darn good too, if I do say so myself. 2 batches of cake mix in a 13x9 pan, take a bread knife once cooled and angle off your corners. Take two to make the tail fins. I used the other two to make E's smash cake

 Playing with cousin Anna in the ball pit! This was so much fun. The kids could crawl in and out and throwing the balls was a huge hit Bday buds!

 E loved opening presents, especially taking the tissue paper out and holding cards.

 Mmmmmm!! Favorite treat ever!

I bet, if left unchecked, she could eat her weight in these fish

 I think all the kiddos had a good time, what an awesome day to celebrate Eliaya's birth!

Turning 1 is a big deal. We really want to teach E that giving is better than receiving, so with that she wants to share some big news:

She's gonna be a big sister!

We're super excited the Lord is blessing us with another peanut, debut to be early December :)
-the Reeds

Springing to a new season

Whew! What a crazy busy 2 weeks!

I started my new job, went through and very.... thorough orientation. Most days I drove to the downtown campus. Mix my disdain for driving + big city rush hour traffic + never quite leaving "on time" = stressed adrenal glands and a (slight) overcomsumption of chocolate covered almonds.

Did my first 12 yesterday, and aside from achy feet, I surivived! Seeing has how the last 12 I did was back before Eliaya, I saw this as quite the accomplishment. The phrase "the calm before the storm" takes on new significance in labor & delivery. The board looks great on a Monday morning... uh oh, you know craziness is about to ensue. But kudos to the team, we made it out alive. Shout out to BHE L&D.... miss you guys!

Jarrod and I have been, well, honestly it's been a very rough past few weeks spiritually. While in seminary-land, and even before really, we heard of problematic theology and the rise of "liberal" thinking in the church, but had not experienced it firsthand. It's been a bit of a reality check, and to prevent becoming one of those bloggers who rants-on-the-verge-of-gossips-online-instead-of-addressing-problems, I'll leave the details out. The Lord is using this to stir passion in us to search out His Word and find answers and work on clearly communicating them. I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY (caps intentional) recommend Mark Dever's book The Church: the Gospel Made Visible. He draws out false thinking, ie if something is not essential for salvation it is then unimportant and dissmissable, and works through why we should care about the practices in the church. Paring Scripture with every point, he speaks plainly and unapologetically  I have learned so much, and I'm only 1/2 way through. Read it.

This kid is almost 1 year old!!! Holy smokes. When did that happen?? She's been a busy-bee, here's a list of new accomplishments:

- now we can climb... everything.
The stairs, on the coffee table, and her favorite, the rocking chair -->
She pushes it up to just below the window, climbs up and just laughs and laughs as it wiggles back and forth. I'm sure at some point she'll come tumbling backwards and I'll don the cape and rush to the rescue, vowing that she'll never do it again (first time mom after all) and we'll snuggle till she's better. But for now, I'll enjoy as she enjoys and be thankful.

- we're making the jump to regular milk (praise the Lord the pumping days are done!). She didn't seem to mind.... too much, so long as the milk was warmed. We're learning she's quite particular, not about taste or texture, but the temperature of her food.

 - She LOVES books. They probably fall second on the list only to goldfish. She'll pull one out, open it in her lap and start reading "bah bah da bah ba" -turn page- "da ba ma ma bah". Precious. Then when she's done she will come find your lap and give you the book to read. It's neat to see her attention span increase day by day. A month ago we could read maybe 2 pages in a kids cardboard book before she would lose interest. Now she'll watch and listen through 2-3 pages of the Jesus storybook Bible!


Perhaps the most exciting update... drum roll please........
She can walk! She took her first steps last Monday (11th). Standing next to me, I threw her paci onto Jarrod's chest (he was reading on the floor), she looked at me, then step-step-step, crouched down to pick it up, then stood up and looked back gleaming "look mom, I can get that!". Once she realized what she accomplished, she promptly fell down. Such has been the case since. If motivated by paci, milk or the dog, she'll waddle around, but once cognizant of the situation, quickly returns to crawling. Awesome.

We're in the midst of birthday preparations, tons of pictures to come. It's a "goldfish" theme (how appropriate, I know) and it is single-handedly responsible for me caving in and joining pinterest! Here's the first creation ------>

Straw wreath (14"), 170 7" balloons, 200 floral pins, 2-3 feet of ribbon, cardboard for the hat and a picture of baby girl. Took about 3 hours for this uncrafty lady to finish it all. I really like it!

Alright friends, nap time is just about over. I hope you have a wonderful day and to my Christian brothers and sisters, I pray that you would seek the Lord steadfastly and would stand firm in Truth, unswerving in the throws of popular opinion. Our God is true, mighty and so worthy of praise. Romans 11:33-36 says "Oh the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor? Or who has given a gift to Him that he might be repaid? For from Him and to Him and through Him are all things. To Him be glory forever, amen."

with love,
-the Reeds