Fall is Here!

Watching the news this morning I saw freeze warnings in New England. While others are bracing for winter Floridians are celebrating the long awaited arrival of FALL!!!!

Favorite fall things:
- you can eat pumpkin and apples at every meal
- going for a walk to get the mail with the girls does not result in copious sweating and a bath for everyone afterwards.
- As much as I enjoy the smell of fresh flowers, nothing beats the crisp air outside and cinnamon candles!
- Trips to the park are now limited by how much energy the girls have, not the temperature of the slide
- Pumpkin patch! ...pics to follow....
- Maybe it's just me, but there's something about a cool morning that urges me to sit in the rocking chair with my Bible and a cup of coffee.

I could go on and on, but to say they least, the Reed house loves fall. Here are a few pictures from our adventures so far.

Painting pumpkins. E1 was soooo excited, she ended painting 3-4 layers before putting her handprint on it.

 E2's side of the pumpkin. Life lesson learned....
Getting smooth footprints off a (now 10 MONTHS OLD!!) baby is difficult, extremely so when she's ridiculously ticklish!

finished product

this little girl is 10 MONTHS OLD

Throwing hay at the pumpkin patch

Daddy helping E1 up to "Noah's Ark"

Happy with Friends!

Ah! Be still my heart! Love these two little girls!!!

Family Driven Faith

At the encouragement of my hubby, who is all too familiar with my brain's propensity to learn something then quickly "misplace" that info upon the arrival of something new.... here's a few thoughts from a book I recently finished.......

Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham Jr.

This book was a perfectly timed read for me; it gives Scriptural encouragement for my season in life. Perhaps the biggest take-away was a strong charge to parents that it is our God-given responsibility and task to to disciple our children. This is not a single chat to be had casually one afternoon, an osmosis-effect our children will experience simply because they are around ample Christian books / music / people, nor is it a chore to be handed off to "the trained professionals " (aka church staff). Disciplining our kids is a day-in, day-out, when you wake up, when you eat, when you walk, when you lie down task (see Deuteronomy 6). There isn't a shortcut. This effort must be bathed in prayer, built on Scripture and woven into the very fabric of family life. While this sounds intimidating and beyond my abilities, Baucham shows the same God who charges me with this task also enables me for it. I can pray, I can read and study the Bible, I can discuss big truths and work out the implications for my life because God has given His Spirit to Christians. I can genuinely worship God in front of and with my family.

Pairing with this great encouragement and charge to "bring them up in training and instruction of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4), Baucham brings a glimpse of the current reality showing the vast number, majority even, of kids raised in the church today will no longer be involved in church by the end of their freshman year of college. Why? Baucham writes about the lack of discipleship in the home, the absence of understanding that how we act / what we do is derived from what we believe, and the battle of priorities (our children's spiritual growth vs academics / athletics /etc). He says, when others remark that the limits he places on his children will drive them to 'go wild' when they leave the nest, "The question is not whether our children sin later in life. The question is, do we have a biblical obligation to train them before they leave the home? Is there any biblical validity to the idea that Christian parents should allow their children to experiment with ungodliness? ... We look at the biblical mandate and compare it to societal norms, ... we believe somehow we are depriving our children of experiences that will make them more liked, more respected, more normal. Hence we trade in the biblical standard for a cultural norm that hovers just below mediocrity." The world around me doesn't know what's ultimately best for me / my kids / my family, God does.

Though E1 is only 2 years old, this book really impressed upon me the need to have a family game plan for her (and E2's) spiritual development. We need to be a family that is worshiping together at home and at church. I need to take every opportunity, even now, to talk about God with her and to share the beautiful truths of the Gospel. We need to guard our home from the ever-growing, constantly-changing, never-enough to-do list of what the world says every child needs in order to become a godly man/woman and go to the Creator for wisdom and guidance on how to fulfill this HUGE and AWESOME task of raising a family of faith.

Notes of the Firsts

Oops. Life happened and I totally forgot / didn't make time for this. I don't regret what I gave my attention to, but do wonder what funny stories and life lessons I've experienced but neglected to make note of and over time.... will probably forget.

Well, better late than never!

Starting with E1. At two and half, she is as busy as ever! We went to the park the other day and the any help! I turned around and her feet were eye level for me. With a big grin and proclaimed "look momma! I did it!"
immense changes she's gone through this year really hit me. I used to have to hold her hand to go up the winding stairs to the slide, to hop on the teeter-totter, to walk on the balance beam. Now, not only can she do those things, she scaled a rock climbing boulder without

I can see her heart developing too. She has compassion on her sister when she cries. She'll hold E2's hand and gently say "it's okay sissy, it's okay". But, mind you, the strong will is ever present too: "mine!" is atop the bad word list in our house right now. We want to teach her that all things are God's, He made them so they belong to Him and He is so kind to let us use them for a time, and therefore we should gladly share what we've been given. Pray for her, that's a big lesson for a little girl.

On a funny note, we are learning about inside voice vs outside voice and while she understands that concept... this child is the loudest whisperer ever!  So life lesson.... never tell her something you don't want repeated very loudly :)

A few weeks ago E1 was given the privilege to be the flower girl for Jarrod's brother's wedding. She had been looking forward to this day for MONTHS. No joke. Daily I was asked "momma, I wear my tutu for the wedding??" When the day finally arrived I thought she might just die of joy. She couldn't wait to head down the aisle.... until the doors opened that is. When she saw the 150+ people making eyes at her... it was all over! I somewhat gently coaxed her to take two or three steps and drop a few flowers, then once she saw Jarrod standing at the end of the aisle she made a break for it! Everyone chuckled and commented how cute she was. What impressed me the most was this little girls danced her heart out for two hours at the reception! Non-stop movement, and she only wanted to be a solo act, a cousin came to hold her hands and dance together and she wouldn't have it ;)





And E2, it's been a huge period of growth for her too! I feel like daily she's conquering a new feat andeverything (both food and non-food substances....) and is finally starting to sleep better at night.

more and more adventurous. Today she's 9 months old and can stand up, crawl up small stairs, eats pretty much everything (both food and non-food items)
First word: dada
Then momma and we're pretty sure the third is "whoa". At first we thought it was just a baby sound... but she says it every time E1 does something wild. Perhaps she thinks that's her sissy's name? Just one more piece of evidence that E1 will be our ER child.
E2 also got to wear a pretty tutu for the wedding. I'm sure a billion pictures of it will be posted soon.

I am continually impressed that the Lord saw fit to bless us with these two little ones. While some moments, and even days, can be hard... they're a blessing. Jarrod and I comment daily on how thankful we are for family! The Bible really is true that marriage is a gift and children are a blessing from the Lord. Treasure them!