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