Mattox,
I can't believe 8 years ago you made me a mom. It has been the best 8 years of my life. I honestly can't believe God gave me a son like you. You are such a good boy. You are smart, kind, generous, loving, responsible, a good friend, and an excellent brother. You are also impulsive and a bit silly at times. You love to be the center of attention. You love playing with friends, Pokemon, Beyblades, and basketball. You are just an all around awesome kid. There isn't much else to write.
Dad and I could not be more proud of you. You do great in school, sports, and love Jesus. So far, you have made great friend choices. I know God has big plans for you. I pray you continue to keep your eyes on Him. I pray you learn to say, "yes" to Him like you do with us. I pray His hand will protect you and you will grow up to be a strong man of God.
Happy 8th Birthday buddy.
Love,
Mom
Sunday, June 25, 2017
Friday, June 2, 2017
Sam turns 6!
Sam,
Happy 6th Birthday. I can't believe I don't have a 5 year old anymore. Where is the time going? As you get older, I learn more and more about what is going on in that head of yours...and there is A LOT GOING ON IN THAT HEAD. This year has been an amazing year. You are completely in love with Mrs. Carlson, your Kindergarten teacher. She was amazing and gracious and pretty, so you have good taste. This year, you have grown so much. You are smart, funny, kind, sensitive, VERY TALKATIVE, happy, and creative. This year you quit gymnastics and started wrestling. You played your first season of basketball and second season of T-ball. You enjoy being around others, but you don't take sports too seriously. In fact, I think you would rather not compete. You love to perform. You just started taking piano, and you seem to like it. You love to sing and dance. I love hearing you perform. It is completely adorable.
Sam, you love Mattox. You follow him around everywhere. You quickly learn everything about what he is interested in and talk about it constantly. You both are really into Pokemon and Bayblades right now. You are best friends.
You absolutely love getting lost in stories. You fall asleep almost every night listening to an audiobook. You just listened to and watched Harry Potter for the 1st time. It was fun to watch you enjoy that.
I love you so much, Sam. You love me so well and offer me so much grace. You are going to do great things when you get older. I am not sure what, but they will be great. God has His hand on your little heart, and you seem to be growing in your walk with the Lord. I hope 6 treats you well. I hope that I soak in all the sweetness you offer me and those around you. You are a true treasure.
Love Mom.
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Looking through the clouds to see the SON.
It has been a while since I have written. I have been good about writing a note to my kids on their birthdays, but this blog use to be a place where I wrote about things God was showing me on a regular basis. It use to be a fun place to express how God was loving on me in a very personal way, and molding me into His likeliness. As a stay at home mom, this blog was a very fun and creative outlet for me as I survived the early years of having 2 babies.
A few years ago, some things happened in our marriage that were hard. The struggle was very real, and although, He was moving mountains and honoring our decision to fight for each other, I couldn't write about it. Our broken marriage tainted the way I saw everything and I simply couldn't write about what God was doing in my life, how He was restoring our marriage, without going into personal details.
Hard times change the lens by which we look at the world. Hard times seem like they will never end, and just when you begin to see the light, sometimes, there are setbacks. Hard times keep us in constant communication with the Lord, but sometimes those conversations are very raw. Sometimes we are begging Him to follow OUR plan and not HIS. Sometimes, hard times end up giving us an amazing testimony that offers others freedom. Hard times refine us and strengthen us. However, they are sometimes dark times where you feel alone and unable to be transparent.
Yesterday, it was a beautiful day outside. The sun was shining and it was hot. I was playing on the driveway with my 1 year old who is obsessed with his pointer finger and birds. He loves to point out each bird he sees to me. So, there I was, birdwatching with my baby, and saw something I had seen several times in my life. I saw a big cloud, covering the sun. Because of the cloud coverage, I could see the perfect circle in this sky, giving off light. The light was completely contained in that circle. I am sure you have seen something similar at one point or another. It was really neat. As I was looking at the sun, through the clouds, I was reminded that often times it is through our hard times and dark clouds, that we see the Son most clearly. It is often during our struggles and doubts, that God reveals Himself most clearly. Often, it is during our hard times, that God is able to reveal himself to others as well. Hard times gives us compassion, and allows us to point others to Christ. I was reminded of 2 Corinthians 12:9-11, where Paul says,
My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
My marriage hasn't always been strong. It is stronger now. We showed up weak...He made us strong...and is continuing to write our love story.
A few years ago, some things happened in our marriage that were hard. The struggle was very real, and although, He was moving mountains and honoring our decision to fight for each other, I couldn't write about it. Our broken marriage tainted the way I saw everything and I simply couldn't write about what God was doing in my life, how He was restoring our marriage, without going into personal details.
Hard times change the lens by which we look at the world. Hard times seem like they will never end, and just when you begin to see the light, sometimes, there are setbacks. Hard times keep us in constant communication with the Lord, but sometimes those conversations are very raw. Sometimes we are begging Him to follow OUR plan and not HIS. Sometimes, hard times end up giving us an amazing testimony that offers others freedom. Hard times refine us and strengthen us. However, they are sometimes dark times where you feel alone and unable to be transparent.
Yesterday, it was a beautiful day outside. The sun was shining and it was hot. I was playing on the driveway with my 1 year old who is obsessed with his pointer finger and birds. He loves to point out each bird he sees to me. So, there I was, birdwatching with my baby, and saw something I had seen several times in my life. I saw a big cloud, covering the sun. Because of the cloud coverage, I could see the perfect circle in this sky, giving off light. The light was completely contained in that circle. I am sure you have seen something similar at one point or another. It was really neat. As I was looking at the sun, through the clouds, I was reminded that often times it is through our hard times and dark clouds, that we see the Son most clearly. It is often during our struggles and doubts, that God reveals Himself most clearly. Often, it is during our hard times, that God is able to reveal himself to others as well. Hard times gives us compassion, and allows us to point others to Christ. I was reminded of 2 Corinthians 12:9-11, where Paul says,
My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
My marriage hasn't always been strong. It is stronger now. We showed up weak...He made us strong...and is continuing to write our love story.
Monday, January 9, 2017
Happy 1st Birthday Elijah Kelly Reeder
Eli, Baby E, Little, E,
Those are just some of your nicknames. You just turned 1 and I can't believe how quickly the first year went by. So far, you have been a really good baby. You are very demanding and you don't like to be put down. You want to be carried around everywhere. You LOVE music and we listen to music all day together on my phone. We recently got a new dog named, Molly. She is crazy and needs a lot of exercise. You love it when we go on walks, so I try to take you every day. I put my music on speaker and we go around the neighborhood. You love it. You seem to love being outside and especially love the water.
You look so much like Sam and remind me so much of Mattox. You love books. You crawl (army crawl) around from one book to the next. You especially love books that are tactile. You love Grabby and especially get excited to see PawPaw. You can say a few words already, and you seem to be a smart little guy. This year has been so much fun. Earlier this year you were dedicated at church. This summer you went to the beach for the first time and in November, you went on a Disney Cruise.
Eli, I couldn't imagine our family without you. It has been so much fun to watch Mattox and Sam watch you grow over this year. They think everything you do is so cute. They love to try to make you laugh. You and dad have a special connection. You are constantly saying, "da da," and your face lights up when he walks into the room....as does his.
I love you so much. Happy 1st Birthday. My God's loving hand cover you and guide you this next year.
Love always,
Mom
Those are just some of your nicknames. You just turned 1 and I can't believe how quickly the first year went by. So far, you have been a really good baby. You are very demanding and you don't like to be put down. You want to be carried around everywhere. You LOVE music and we listen to music all day together on my phone. We recently got a new dog named, Molly. She is crazy and needs a lot of exercise. You love it when we go on walks, so I try to take you every day. I put my music on speaker and we go around the neighborhood. You love it. You seem to love being outside and especially love the water.
You look so much like Sam and remind me so much of Mattox. You love books. You crawl (army crawl) around from one book to the next. You especially love books that are tactile. You love Grabby and especially get excited to see PawPaw. You can say a few words already, and you seem to be a smart little guy. This year has been so much fun. Earlier this year you were dedicated at church. This summer you went to the beach for the first time and in November, you went on a Disney Cruise.
Eli, I couldn't imagine our family without you. It has been so much fun to watch Mattox and Sam watch you grow over this year. They think everything you do is so cute. They love to try to make you laugh. You and dad have a special connection. You are constantly saying, "da da," and your face lights up when he walks into the room....as does his.
I love you so much. Happy 1st Birthday. My God's loving hand cover you and guide you this next year.
Love always,
Mom
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