tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54993530261358471282024-03-13T13:43:28.871-07:00Six Reeds in a BlogReed Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291241868501207315noreply@blogger.comBlogger302125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499353026135847128.post-38901923194126329002014-01-19T14:38:00.000-08:002014-01-25T14:38:40.956-08:002nd Half of December (Brandon's Birthday, Christmas & Jemma's Baptism)<div style="text-align: center;">
Here's the 2nd Half of December 2013. </div>
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A good portion of my family came from the other side of the country to make our Christmas extra special this year; the Gariety's came from New Mexico, my parents and brother Nathan traveled from California, my brother Reed came from Idaho, and sister Melanie came from Utah. It was organized chaos and tons of fun! Everyone was super great about the sleeping conditions (all kids under the age of 16 on the FLOOR) and it was a party from sun-up to sun-down.</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">December 24th</span></div>
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Christmas Eve is Brandon's birthday, (He's now 31...YIKES) so we celebrated with ice cream pie and the tradition of singing BOTH versions of Happy Birthday. :)</div>
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Later, we braved the freezing temperatures and did a little caroling, then read the story of Jesus' birth while the grandkids acted out the nativity.</div>
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Jemma was Mary, Sean was Joseph and Emmy was the baby Jesus. :)</div>
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The whole crew front to back, left to right: Sydney as the angel, Hayden, Carter and Gavin as shepherds, Daphne as a wise woman :), Jemma as Marry, Dallin as a wise man and Sean as Joseph. Such cute kids!</div>
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Afterwards, it was on to making our forts to hide from Santa on Christmas morning! (Most exciting part of Christmas...seriously.)</div>
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Above: Carter in his fort.</div>
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Below: Daphne and Jemma.</div>
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Hayden and Gavin.</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">December 25th</span></div>
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Santa came around 6:15, and we successfully hid from him while he delivered this years gifts for the kids. Gavin ended up hiding with me instead of with Hayden and he was a constant stream of whispers the ENTIRE time. I was sure Santa was going to run out...I guess it's a good thing he's hard of hearing!</div>
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Anyway! Santa out-did himself this year. He brought both the Gariety and Reed families a trip to Orlando Florida to visit Universal Studios for 3 days! He brought chocolate frogs and every flavor beans from The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and a letter explaining the gift. </div>
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Above: The kids with their Harry Potter treats.</div>
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Below: Santa's letter.</div>
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Our family name exchange this year was a little different than in the past. A friend of mine did this with her family and I thought it was genius, so we copied. :) The gifts had to be homemade! I had high hopes for this to be really cool, but I think we all waited too long to get started...I guess on the up side, it won't be hard to out-do next time around. ;) </div>
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I had Brandon and (<span style="font-size: x-small;">copied my sister Sharee)</span> by making him a monthly date coupon - she made a REALLY cool one for husband...in my defense, I had planned to made him a skinny black tie. He had been talking about how much he wanted one for a really long time, but then I found one for a STEAL at tjmax, so I bought it instead. :/ Brandon had Carter and made him paper airplanes, Jemma had Gavin and made him a picture book (<span style="font-size: x-small;">which she actually still needs to finish</span>), Carter had me and made me a nature collection (<span style="font-size: x-small;">with Jemma's help</span>) and Gavin had Jemma and made her a bracelet with her name on it. We didn't include Emmy this time around...maybe next year. </div>
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So, as you can see above, Carter and Gavin got skateboards for Christmas. Weeellll...Gavin totally face planted on the sidewalk outside and skinned up one side of his face. Ouch! After he got bandaged up, he zonked on the couch and slept through Christmas dinner. Poor kiddo. He is so super accident prone! What were we thinking getting him a dang skateboard!!!</div>
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Above: Enjoying Christmas dinner. :)</div>
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Left to right: Dad, Mom, Dallin, Reed (my brother), Arthur (brother-in-law) Sharee (sister), Nathan (brother), Melanie (sister), and Brandon.</div>
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Below: Still enjoying dinner - Melanie just swapped me so I could be in the photo. :)</div>
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So, I don't know why I didn't take more pictures after Christmas of all the kids just playing and having fun together...I guess things were just busy. But I did manage to snap a photo of Jemma and Daphne performing their concert of "Frozen" songs. :) So super cute! Should have video taped it!!!</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">December 28th</span></div>
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We were fortunate enough to have all of our family still here to be part of Jemma's baptism day. My parents (Nona and Papa) gave the talks, all the grandkids sang "If the Savior Stood Beside Me" per request of Jemma, and Brandon performed the baptism.</div>
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I made Jemma's dress, but it NEVER would have gotten finished if I hadn't had my wonderful mother and sister Sharee helping pin and press as I stitched. Thanks again you two!!! You ladies are my heroes! </div>
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Jemma was very specific about what she wanted - it had to be COMFORTABLE - so, no elastic in the sleeves, and she wanted a square neck, umpire waist and a pink ribbon. Check, check, check, and check. :)</div>
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It was such a beautifully emotional morning! Brandon and I were both crying when she entered the font to be baptized - it was hard to believe (still is actually) that our little Jemma was already 8 years old and choosing to be baptized. We are so pleased with the way Jemma is trying to live her life - especially as she continues to try to be like her Savior!</div>
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What a wonderful December it has been!</div>
Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428156855076744045noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499353026135847128.post-6281201789054880862014-01-16T18:42:00.000-08:002014-01-16T18:42:32.268-08:00December - pre Christmas :)<div style="text-align: center;">
December.</div>
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I love and loath this month.</div>
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It is already ridiculously busy with all the Christmas hustle and bustle, but we also have two birthdays to shop and plan for (Jemma on the 15th and Brandon on the 24th) every year...and then this year, it was just completely INSANE!</div>
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The first Sunday in December, we FINALLY blessed Emmy. I made her dress. With NO pattern. I'm not completely insane...I actually had one I used when I made Jemma's, but we waited so long to bless Emmy that it was too small. I figured that out<i> after</i> I had sewn the entire bodice. Typical. So, I improvised and used a dress in her closet to try to get the right size for the bodice, and just winged the rest. Eesh. So much stress over a little dress they wear ONCE!</div>
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Anyhoo - she looked darling! And, because we waited so long to bless her, she had already outgrown her baby acne and looked 10x cuter than if we had blessed her the month before. :) I'm just sayin'!</div>
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I LOVE her cheeks. So. Much.</div>
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Jemma turned 8 this year, so that compounded the birthday craze - it was a party year for her, plus we decided she could get her ears pierced, PLUS she got baptized! - And broke her wrist amid all of that. Awesome! She was pretty excited about her pink cast until it started itching...and smelling. Fun stuff.</div>
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She was super brave when she got her ears pierced and has been very responsible about cleaning and caring for her ears ever since. No tears for this girl! Brandon was the only one to tear up. hahaha! It still weirds me out to see my little girl with earrings. Makes her look so much older! </div>
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Jemma wanted a Rainbow Magic Fairy birthday party...it's a book series that Jemma LOVES. She had quite the collection. :)</div>
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The girls (and Carter - Brandon was going to take the boys to the park or to hit golf balls since the birthday was pretty girly, but it was raining...) decorated their goodie bags, made bracelets, painted nails and got fairy eye make-up. :)</div>
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Jemma made out like a little bandit and has a supply of earrings that I might have to dip into - tons of cute stuff! :)</div>
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Left: Jemma and Ri-Lee Right: Jemma and Kylie</div>
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Jemma and McKinley</div>
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Aubrey, Jemma and Courtney</div>
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Jemma really wanted a cake in the shape of a "J" - I tried to talk her into all of these other cute rainbow inspired cakes I saw on pinterest, but she just kept saying, "no thanks...I just want a "J" cake". So, a "J" cake she got. I didn't get a close-up of it. :/ Not too big a shame since cake decorating has never been a strong point for me. :)</div>
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We let Jemma open her birthday gifts from us the morning of her birthday, mostly because she was receiving something she could use that day at church - cutest, most sweet girl ever - every time I asked her for ideas for her birthday, she would tell me she just really wanted her own set of scriptures. What 8 year old child <i>asks</i> for that? I think I expected I would get them when I turned 8 because I was getting baptized, but I don't remember having them on my birthday wish list! Anyway, we did get her a personalized set of scriptures and tote to carry them in for church and her reaction when she opened them was <i>priceless!</i></div>
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Makes me cry just thinking about how GENUINELY happy she was to receive that gift. What a gem this girl is!!! So glad she's part of our family and so grateful for the example she sets for the rest of us!</div>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428156855076744045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499353026135847128.post-81000693408579127572013-11-30T07:05:00.000-08:002014-01-03T07:06:08.437-08:00November Recap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Here's a quick recap of some of the highlights from November:</div>
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Emmy and I attended Gavin's Thanksgiving Feast…so darling. Gavin was quite funny. His teachers had set up place settings for the children and their parents around tables, but Gavin wanted to sit by Turbo, the turtle, so we were antisocial and sat alone by the turtle tank…that's my boy.</div>
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Above: Gavin, wearing his turkey hat and sporting his FAVORITE shirt.</div>
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Below: Gavin and Turbo. :)</div>
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The week of Thanksgiving, the kids were out of school and the Museum of Aviation had a model train display set up, so we took the kids over to check it out. I was pretty impressed by some of the displays…so much time goes into those things!</div>
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Our favorite display was, of course, the Christmas display, but all of them were really pretty cool. It made me really want a nice train set to go around our Christmas tree...</div>
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Below: random photo from after church one Sunday. Emmy had been laying on the floor alone, and pretty soon all the other kids were laying next to her, so I snapped a pic. :) Not a very good picture of Emmy…:/</div>
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Thanksgiving day we had several families over for our afternoon feast and to play games. we all had a great time and ate WAY too much delicious food. :)</div>
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Below: the kids helping me peel 10 lbs. of potatoes! </div>
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I managed to photograph all the kids, but never did get a shot of a SINGLE adult. Pretty typical. In all, we had 11 children, 2 infants, and 10 adults…probably the largest crowd we've ever hosted. :)</div>
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And, just to round things out, here's a shot of my favorite baby smiling at her (and my) favorite man. :) She lights up when he starts talking to her. TOO cute!</div>
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Happy November!</div>
Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428156855076744045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499353026135847128.post-24738169273806792512013-11-26T12:45:00.001-08:002013-11-26T12:46:57.752-08:00October & the first week of November<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Man the months fly by! Thanksgiving is just days away and I'm just getting around to blogging about October! Eesh!</div>
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Well, the kids had crazy hair day during their homecoming week (I had no idea Elementary Schools had a "Homecoming"…maybe that's a southern thing.)</div>
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Anyway, you can't tell from the picture, but Carter's hair is sprayed orange…leftover from Gavin's Halloween costume last year as Ron Weasley. :)</div>
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And, I just noticed poor Emmy…just in a onsie and her swaddling blanket all messed up. That poor girl is definitely a 4th child!</div>
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And yes, before the time change, it was dark when we were eating breakfast! Super depressing.</div>
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The kids went with a Pirates of the Caribbean theme this year. Again, my awesome mom made their costumes! Jemma was Elizabeth Swan, Carter was Jack Sparrow, Gavin was Captain Barbosa and Emmy was a cannon ball. :)</div>
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This picture was taken before our church Halloween Party. Carter's wig hadn't come in the mail yet and I hadn't been able to find black pants for Emmy…so it was what it was. :)<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SlQCxrQQ6ZE/UpUBlLR8mAI/AAAAAAAAAnI/-OLoeVL-Mmc/s1600/IMGP6503.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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Halloween Night we had a super fun, festive dinner with our good friends, the Winwards. Unfortunately I forgot our camera, so I sent Brandon home to grab it and by the time he got back, the kids were so antsy to get out the door to trick-or-treat, that I didn't get any pictures of ALL the kids together! I'll have to steal some from Karrissa's blog when she posts them. :)</div>
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Elizabeth with her cannon ball.</div>
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Captain Jack Sparrow with his wig! </div>
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The whole crew…the boys wouldn't wear their facial hair this time…said it was too itchy. I don't blame them. :)</div>
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Trick-or-Treating really wore Emmy out. ;)</div>
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November 2, Brandon's parents and Aunt Jill and Uncle Jerry came to visit us!</div>
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We LOVED having them. They so wonderful!</div>
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While we were at church, they went antique-ing and found some really awesome stuff. Jill came back with this AMAZING old wooden box…but it wouldn't fit in her suitcase, so I inherited!!! I actually feel REALLY bad that she didn't get to take it with her! I have promised myself that when/if we move back west, I am going to give it back to her. I'll just babysit it for now. ;)</div>
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Left: The kids with their Nina and Papa.</div>
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Right: Emmy and Nina spending some one-on-one time. :)</div>
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We had the biggest bawl fest when these guys pulled out of our driveway. All the kids were besides themselves with grief. Jemma kept saying, "Life is just gonna be normal now!"…apparently she has it pretty bad. lol! We had to console them with ice-cream. :)</div>
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Thank you Zamaroni's & Betencourt's for coming to Georgia to see us!!! Thank you for doting on our children, for supplying us with gazillions of diapers, and for giving us a super fun weekend! We LOVED having you!</div>
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And just because I can't STAND that she's changing so fast, here's one of little Emmy. She's smiling and talking to us all the time now! I am yet to capture it on camera, but I'll keep trying. She is such a sweet, happy, CHUBBY baby. LOVE HER! </div>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428156855076744045noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499353026135847128.post-1100906041831861632013-10-28T11:35:00.000-07:002013-11-09T11:35:28.498-08:00Emmy's Arrival and a Visit from Mom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
So, for those of you interested, here is the story of Emmy's arrival. :)</div>
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I had a doctor's appointment on Wednesday, September 25th. I had asked <i>not</i> to be checked at my prior appointment simply because I didn't want to be disappointed. But this time, I <i>had</i> to know if I was getting closer at all. Well, I was 70% effaced and 4/almost 5 centimeters dilated! SWEET! The dr. stripped my membranes (owe) and said he expected to see me in the hospital within the next few days. Well, I headed to every store under the sun to keep on my feet and get contractions started...it worked, but nothing consistent. That was kind of the story for the next two days...I walked and walked and walked and although I was having contractions, they just weren't getting into a regular rhythm. Meanwhile, I ran kids to and from school, attended a DARLING baby brunch hosted by my sweet friend, Karrissa, prepped for Primary Sharing Time, assembled General Conference packets for 65 children, and continued to do laps around the house, up and down the stairs and around the neighborhood.</div>
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Finally, around 10:30 pm on Thursday night (September 26th), my contractions were steadily coming 7 minutes apart and I felt like it was time to head to the hospital. So, we called Karrissa who came over and stayed the night with our children and headed to Houston Medical Center.</div>
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We were admitted around 11:00 pm and after being checked in triage, they told me they wanted to monitor me for an hour because I was still at a 4, almost 5 and 70% effaced. I wanted to cry. So, I lay there for an hour hooked up to all their stupid equipment fearing they were going to send me home.</div>
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Around 12:30, Dr. Nyugen came in and checked my progress. Dilated to a 7 and 90% effaced!!! Hooray! They were going to let me stick around after all! :)</div>
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I had decided about midway through this pregnancy that I wanted to have a "natural birth"...no meds. Brandon thought I was insane, and I reserved the right to beg for an epidural and not hear a word about it later on. But the plan was NO MEDS. I really was doing fine going "all natural" until right after the dr. broke my water at 1:30 am (Friday morning). Dr. Nyugen said he was gonna head down the hall and close his eyes for a little while and our nurse said to page her if we felt like we needed her for anything. Well, it was probably 10 minutes after they had left that I felt like the contractions were so intense that I might be getting close to pushing. At this point, I was wishing for an epidural. I have never known such intense pain. So, Brandon paged the nurse, who after staying with us (and helping Brandon to keep my legs from shaking like CRAZY) for a few minutes, decided it was time to call the doctor back in. I felt like I needed to start pushing before he made it back in, so the nurse put on some gloves and three pushes later, she delivered miss Emmy at 1:58 am.</div>
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She weighed in at 8 lbs. 4 oz. - my biggest baby so far, and was 20 1/2 inches long. Her size surprised me a little, but it was her long black hair that took the cake! Where did that come from??? We love it though. It's her trademark. :)</div>
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Our super amazing friends, the Windwards, stayed with our kids during the night, got them up in the morning and even took them to school for us so Brandon could stay the night with me for the first time since Jemma was born! It was AWESOME to have him there and know that our children were in good hands.</div>
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Brandon brought the kids down later that afternoon to see her. They were SO excited!</div>
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Love the wrinkly hands!</div>
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The kids were so enamored with her. They (mostly the boys) had TONS of questions.</div>
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After coming home, we had great friends who took care of dinners for a whole week, which was amazing because that perfectly covered the time before my mom would arrive. Tender Mercy. And may I just say that every meal was DELICIOUS. So many talented women around here. :) And Brandon took time off of work so that I wouldn't have to get the three older kids out the door and off to school each day. Sigh. I wish he was still off work. ;)</div>
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Anyway, my wonderful mother came and stayed with us for 8 days and it was so, So, SO wonderful to have her here in Georgia! Man I love that lady!!! She always brings a new book with her to share with the kids. This time it was "Pete the Cat". So cute. The kids LOVE it and read it to me now. :)</div>
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While she was here, the kids had their annual Book Character Parade at school, so with my mom here, I got brave and ventured out for the first time (besides dr.'s appointments) with Emmy. Carter was Jake from the Neverland Pirates and Jemma was Hermione from Harry Potter.</div>
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We also took a trip to Jo Ann Fabrics to purchase ALL the stuff for the kids Halloween costumes - which, btw, my wonderful mother sewed entirely during her visit. THANK YOU MOM!!!</div>
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And, we visited Lanes Orchards so my mom could try their amazing peach ice-cream. I am usually a die hard chocolate fan, but truth be told, their chocolate pales in comparison to their peach! FYI. :)</div>
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My darling mother made every meal while she was here, and they were GOOD meals. No cold cereal or spaghetti during those 8 days! She made chocolate chip cookies and enough dough to freeze and store for 3 more batches. She read stories to my children, sewed their Halloween costumes, snuggled Emmy when she was fussy so I could get a shower, AND her last day here, she cleaned all my bathrooms, mopped my kitchen floor, baked brownies and STILL had time to sit down and watch Anne of Green Gables with me and Jemma. (A gift sent by my sweet sister, Julianne.) :)</div>
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She must be Wonder Woman!</div>
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Thanks again Mom for coming, and thank you Dad for always sending her!</div>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428156855076744045noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499353026135847128.post-88639808947097539652013-10-13T11:44:00.002-07:002013-10-13T11:44:46.276-07:00Welcome Emmy!<div style="text-align: center;">
So, the adapter for our camera that allows us to upload photos to our camera is broken. I discover broken things daily. It's awesome. So, on Friday, I ventured out by mylself for the first time with all four kids on a trip to Walmart. Awesome. I know. But I needed to develope some pictures and wanted to make a cd of all the pics of Emmy so I could finally blog about her coming to our family! Well, it turns out, I only put the pictures I <i>developed</i> on the cd and not <i>ALL</i> of them...lame. So these will have to do for now.</div>
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The other day my AMAZING frind, Karrissa, came and picked up Jemma, Carter and Gavin and took them on an outing to a nature trail about an hour from here. They were gone for like 5 1/2 hours! So, I gave Emmy a bath and decided to try my hand at taking nb pics. (After which, we both took a very long nap.)</div>
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These are some of my favorites.</div>
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Here's one from right after her bath...her eyes are actually open, so I had to include it in this post. She still sleeps A LOT.</div>
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I guess I'll be headed back to Walmart to make another cd, unless I find a place that carries an adapter that fits my camera. eesh. I'll include more details on her "birth story" when I finally have some pictures to go along with the narrative. ;)</div>
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Suffice it to say, we LOVE this little girl. She is so super mellow and has such a sweet spirit about her. We can't get enough of her fuzzy head. Never had a baby with so much hair before! It is just so darn cute!!! She sleeps like a champ and smells like heaven. I don't know how we ever got along without her.</div>
Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428156855076744045noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499353026135847128.post-88550232122477335592013-08-26T05:00:00.000-07:002013-08-26T05:00:09.546-07:00Summer recap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I realize I have become a less than stellar blogger. Life just never slows down and I just can't seem to fit "regular blog entries" onto my priority list these days.</div>
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I do have quite a bit of catching up though, so here is a taste of what we did over the summer. :)</div>
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We pulled Jemma out of school on the last day of school because we wanted to go to Ti-bee Island in South Carolina on a friday...hoping it would be less crowded. Well, it was PerFecT. We had a wonderful time and even got our first (seriously needed) exposure to vitamin D for the summer. :)</div>
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Allow me to back up a little though...before we pulled her out, they had an end of the year field day with all kinds of fun races and relays. Prior to the actual field day, they had all of the 1st graders race to see who would compete in a 50 yard dash. Out of all the girls in Jemma's class, she came in 2nd and the girl who beat her has unbelievably long legs, so there you go. ;) </div>
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Here's Jemma competing in a balancing relay. She didn't drop that little stuffed chicken once! I was quite impressed.</div>
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Carter also graduated from Pre-K. We really liked his preschool and were sad to see it end...especially because kindergarten is ALL day here. (LAME, LAME, LAME). He loved his teachers, especially his MUSIC teacher, Miss Tammy. She was hysterical and all the kids just LOVED her.</div>
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In the interest of conserving space on this post, here's Carter with just the boys...Michael, Collin, Howey and Owen. I heard about these guys pretty much daily...for being such a shy dude, I was grateful he managed to make a few friends. :)</div>
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For Father's Day, I had the kids all take a picture in Brandon's Air Force boots. They were just too cute not to post. :)</div>
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We also snuck into his office and I took a picture of them at Brandon's desk, then we framed the photos and put a poem about dads in a photo collage frame for him to hang in his office. :)</div>
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The kids also participated in a two week swimming lesson session at the beginning of the season. Jemma and Carter made huge progress and are now swimming across the pool confidently and going off the diving board and slides without any flotation devices! Woo-hoo! This was especially important for Jemma who later accompanied Brandon and me to Hawaii!</div>
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Gavin, on the flip side, only attended his class 3 out of the 8 times and when he did go, he sat on the edge of the pool crying and refusing to get in. The very last day, I told him that he didn't have to go over with his class, but that if he did, he was not allowed to cry and he needed to try to get in and do what his teacher asked. Well, he finally got in and one of the guy lifeguards actually spent a fair amount of time with him jumping into the deep end (with a life jacket). Sheesh! This kid. </div>
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Our 4th of July was a little sad. It was pouring rain most of the day and into the evening, so all the parades and firework shows were canceled. We decided that that was not going to ruin our celebration, so in the morning, the kids did their own parade (We watched our friends' youngest child, Greyson, while they were on a cruise...so, the little blonde on the end is not ours :), but he could have been one of ours by the end of the week. Our kids LOVED having him stay with us and he was a super easy goin' dude.) We also had several friends and their families over for a bbq in the late afternoon and the rain even stopped long enough for us to set off fireworks in the front yard! Yee-ha! </div>
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We planted a garden and ended up with more produce than I could put to use! It was exciting to go out and find things growing and ready to harvest. This picture is of ONE harvest on a Saturday morning. :)</div>
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We started off the summer with A LOT of fighting. The kids were constantly at each other's throats! But by the end, they were best buddies, always coming up with very entertaining forms of imaginative play. Here's one shot of them I got on another Saturday morning. LOVE the dress-ups.</div>
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We also made it out to California for a few weeks at the end of the summer. We got to see just about everyone we could possibly have wanted to, even our good friends, the Hamiltons. Alan and Alee Hamilton were both influences for good in Brandon and my life as teenagers and have continued to be people we care about and look forward to seeing whenever we make it back home. We had an opportunity to spend a morning with them and they had this hilarious little buggy still decorated for the 4th of July parade in their area, so they sent Brandon and the kids off for a ride. Too funny. :)</div>
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We stayed with Brandon's mom and dad most of the time (minus our 8 days in Hawaii - that trip requires it's own post). Their property is awesome and the kids played outside A LOT. Trey, our kids only cousin on that side of the family, was staying with them during that time too, so our kids had an opportunity to do a little bonding with him. Here are a few shots I took one of our last night there.</div>
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And no trip out there would be complete without quad and tractor rides out in the pistachio orchard. TOO FUN!</div>
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But all good things must come to an end, and so, after 3 weeks of AWESOMENESS we reluctantly came back home. :( Home to humidity, bugs, freaky spiders, daily rain and thunder storms, school, structure and routine. Alright, it's not all bad...I'm just feeling extra lazy here in the last trimester of this pregnancy and I sure enjoyed living a more flexible, relaxing lifestyle for 3 weeks. I'll get over it.</div>
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The boys, however, are LOVING the rain. They get to go out and play in it every time it starts pouring, to which I have no problem as long as there is NO THUNDER and LIGHTNING.</div>
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Hey, your only a kid once. </div>
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Like I said, you're only a kid once...and those are some TALENTED kids. I can't even do that!</div>
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And here are Jemma and Carter on the first day of school...BOOOOOO! I have cried almost every other day when I drop them off. I still can't bring myself to put them on the bus. Maybe next week...or when I'm finally in dire need with a newborn.</div>
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When did they get so big? Sigh...</div>
<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428156855076744045noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499353026135847128.post-70585092491636814142013-08-22T17:41:00.000-07:002013-08-22T17:41:03.700-07:00The Boys' Birthdays<div style="text-align: center;">
So it's only been three months since we celebrated the boys' birthdays, (Carter, May 14th and Gavin, May 20th) but it would be criminal not to blog about them. Just as a preface, yes, there are like four times as many pictures of Carter's birthday than Gavin's, but that is only because is was a "friend party" year for Carter...his FIRST party, to be a little more specific, and he requested a Pirate Party. It was SO RIDICULOUSLY FUN planning this thing, but boy was I tired when it was over.</div>
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Here are a few of the details. :)</div>
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Above: Gavin and Greyson enjoying some of the snacks.</div>
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Below: The battle; most of Carter and Michael's teammates defected to the other side, so I was forced to join in the fun. :)</div>
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Below: Walking the plank.</div>
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The pinyata - full of Salt Water taffy all the way from California because I couldn't find it ANYWHERE in our area...THANKS MOM for sending all of that! We sure enjoyed it. :)</div>
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Below: Opening presents with friends. Ok, so this is one of the prime reasons I LOATH friend parties. I have been to A LOT of birthdays where the kids act like rotten brats and don't say "thank you" or just chucks the gifts aside that were less than stellar in their opinion. Rude, rude, rude. We're all glad you were born, but that doesn't give you the right to be a jerk. No way. So, I made it very clear to Carter than he be gracious and grateful to each of his friends for each of their gifts. He did pretty well, and it's a good thing too, cuz I would have been mortified. </div>
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After all the friends left, the kids put on pirate tatoos...I totally thought I had purchased stickers...darn it. I'll have to check better next time I guess. :)</div>
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And that evening, we celebrated as a family.</div>
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Carter is NOT a fan of cake, so we just had ice cream cones. I was certainly not complaining. I got out of making a cake for cryin' out loud! </div>
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Happy 5th birthday Carter! You are getting so big!!! We LOVE you!</div>
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6 days later, Gavin turned THREE!</div>
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This little guy has changed SO MUCH in the last year. When he turned 2, he was barely uttering 30 words and was super low maintenance...now, he is a constant stream of words and rather lengthy, high vocab sentences, and quite frankly, is anything but low maintenance. He is a stubborn little dude with insurmountable energy. Man I envy that.</div>
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He requested taquitos, NOT the homemade ones. He specifically wanted the ones from the freezer section, with a jar of store bought salsa, chips and fruit. It doesn't get much easier than that. AND, to top it off, he wanted to choose a cake from the store. AWESOME! I totally got off the hook this year. Hey, he was happy (and so was I).</div>
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A few weeks prior when he and I were out birthday shopping for Carter, he spotted some toy yard tools and told me over and Over and OVER again that he wanted a blower and an edger for his birthday. That's pretty much all he talked about from then until his birthday. And, that lucky little dude, got what he wanted. He's completely obsessed with yard work...in fact, the lawn mower he received for his birthday last year from Nona and Papa is still one of his favorite toys. </div>
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Blowin' out his candles.</div>
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We sure love you Gavin! Hope you had a fabulous 3rd birthday!!!</div>
<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428156855076744045noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499353026135847128.post-80766765317232036922013-05-02T10:37:00.001-07:002013-05-02T10:40:28.620-07:00Semi Annual Blog Post<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I've decided that blogging has just become a last priority for me these days...which is unfortunate because I am even WORSE at keeping a personal journal. How will my posterity ever know that I did ANYTHING with my life???</div>
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Sigh.</div>
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Anyway, I have an overload of pictures for you, and I will try to keep my narratives brief. The pictures are the best part anyway, right?</div>
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Back in February, Jemma's school held a Booster-thon...(when I was in elementary school, it was called a jog-a-thon...I kept calling it that and Jemma was quick to correct me.) Her school made a super huge deal of it and Jemma kept coming home pestering me to get people to pledge her. I can NOT stand fundraisers. They drive me crazy. I would rather make a donation and call it good rather than ask people to give my child money so she can get some crummy prize. She ended up with just us pledging her $0.50 a lap. I know. I'm cheap.</div>
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The boys and I went to cheer her on and she did great! I think she ran 26 laps. </div>
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Toward the end she got tired and decided to walk with the Vice Principle and her friend Aubrey. :)</div>
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March was a busy month...we even celebrated Easter! I'm always a little sad when Easter falls in the month of March instead of April. It's like April is getting jipped out of its ONE holiday! Oh well.</div>
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My friend Karrissa organized an Easter Egg Hunt at a park for a bunch of friends. The kids had tons of fun and even the weather was cooperative! :)</div>
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Here are most of the kids that attended.</div>
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We dyed eggs the Friday before Easter. If the kids didn't LOVE this tradition, I would bypass it cuz I can't STAND the smell of boiled eggs and dislike eating them even more!</div>
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It's a messy business, but the kids LOVE it!</div>
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We were fortunate enough to have some of our favorite friends, the Skinner Family, come visit for Easter weekend. We had so much fun that I totally spaced taking any decent pictures, and the ones I did snap didn't even really turn out! Sheesh!</div>
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Kristina and I went and got pedicures on Saturday, then took the kids to play at a park while the boys talked Optometry and Brandon gave Shawn a tour of the Optometry Clinic he works at.</div>
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Sunday morning the kids woke up to find the Easter Bunny had visited! I think the Easter Bunny out-did him/herself. There was a ridiculous number of eggs full of treats and fun toys. Too fun!</div>
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Here are most of the kids (I cannot believe I never got a snap of Kennedy, the Skinner's darling baby girl!) chowing down on their Easter goodies...for breakfast! Don't worry, we had a second breakfast a little later; french toast with buttermilk syrup, bacon and juice. Mmmmm.</div>
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After church, we managed to get a quick snap of both our families...of course separately. Lame. In our defense, I had my tripod out there ready to get a group shot, but our photo shoot got rained out by a sudden downpour. (ps. Carter refused to smile and Gavin, bless his heart, just doesn't know how to fake a smile.) </div>
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We had a ham dinner with the Skinner's and the Rich's and all in all just enjoyed a beautiful Easter Sunday with people we love!</div>
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I am so thankful for this holiday and the opportunity it provides for me and my family to reflect on the merciful Atonement of our Savior and of his miraculous Resurrection. I know He lives and that I will someday have the opportunity to be with Him again.</div>
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In April, Carter's school took a field trip to a local strawberry farm. It was SO FUN! They had the biggest, juiciest, most delicious Strawberries I think I have EVER had. It was hard not to eat them all up in one day!</div>
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The boys had a great time and I am planning to go back next year to do it again, field trip or no field trip! :)</div>
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I also had a birthday...kind of a milestone birthday of sorts...I turned the BIG 3-0. Yikes. I'm feeling old. But you know what, I'm really ok with turning 30 because now when people look at me with my three kids (and protruding pregnant belly) and say things like "Gosh, you look so young! How can you have three, almost four children?" I can respond with, "I'm actually, older than I look...I'm THIRTY!" :) I had a great birthday. The kids were on Spring Break and fed me breakfast in bed, all on their own! Eggo-waffles with orange juice and strawberries. SOOO CUTE! I got a sitter for a few hours in the afternoon so I could meet Brandon for lunch and do a little shopping. Then we went out to dinner and came home for cake and icecream, after which Brandon helped me re-pot my hydrangea bushes...I got some nice big/tall pots to put them in on either side of the front door. :)</div>
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Thanks everyone for making my birthday special!</div>
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And no post would be complete without showing you a project...I have completed several, but only had a picture of one on my camera, so here you go; a floating shelf. It looks really little in this picture cuz the wall is so massive, but in real life, it actually fits the space quite well. And, btw, I should tell you that little green chair was a birthday gift from Brandon. Love it!</div>
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And here's a cute picture of Carter. :)</div>
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Phew! </div>
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Well, until next time! (Probably 6 months from now. Ha ha ha!)</div>
Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428156855076744045noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499353026135847128.post-62358439589530499212013-02-01T07:26:00.002-08:002013-02-01T07:26:12.242-08:00Holy Hannah Catch-Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> I have a pretty darn good excuse...again...for falling so far behind on the blogging thing; pretty sure our desktop has a virus and won't let us on the internet anymore, <i>and </i>our laptop battery completely died and wouldn't turn on. So, we just replaced the laptop battery and we are back in business!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Jemma turns 7!</span></div>
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December 15, 2012</div>
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We had a simple celebration with just our family this year. She requested Hawaiian Haystacks for her birthday dinner with a chocolate cake and chocolate ice cream for dessert. Her big gift was a new 20 in. bike. This baby is big enough for me to ride around! We played boola-boola (aka "hot and cold") for her to find it...we originally had it in the attic, but ended up re-placing it in the guest bathroom. :)</div>
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<u>Seven Facts About Jemma</u>: </div>
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She loves all things girly; accessories, make-up, sparkles/glitter and pink.</div>
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Her favorite movie is pretty much ANY movie, but she says she likes the Barbie movies most.</div>
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She loves to play games with her family and has recently learned Skippo.</div>
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Her favorite thing about school is recess.</div>
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She is a good little singer and likes to get her groove on. ;)</div>
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She tells me one of her favorite places to visit is the Library because it is quiet and peaceful there. (We might be lacking in those two things at home because we have a couple of rowdy boys!)</div>
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Her favorite dessert is chocolate ice cream.</div>
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We LOVE you Jemma!!!</div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-large;">Brandon turns 30!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">December 24, 2012</span></div>
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Look at<i> all </i>those CANDLES! Just kidding. Thirty really isn't that old...Brandon just thinks so (and I will too in a few more months :/ ). </div>
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Brandon requested Bow Tie Pasta with rolls, steamed green beans and strawberries for his birthday dinner and a chocolate cream pie...and chocolate ice cream (of course) for dessert. </div>
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We celebrated a day early so it could be ALL about him. :)</div>
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Just a few things we love about this man:</div>
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He is a hard worker.</div>
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He knows how to goof off and have FUN.</div>
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He is unselfish.</div>
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He is an outstanding example.</div>
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He makes a killer smoothie. :)</div>
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He makes us laugh and keeps things from getting dull at the Reed residence.</div>
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He is a good listener.</div>
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He is unashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and lives it.</div>
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He makes us want to be better.</div>
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And...</div>
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we have NO DOUBT that he loves us back!</div>
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Happy 30th Birthday Brandon!</div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Christmas Eve</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We spent Christmas Eve at home...for the first time EVER since Brandon and I were married. We read the Christmas story from the scriptures, the kids acted out the Nativity, then we opened new pj's, took quick baths and built our forts/hiding places to watch Santa from the next morning. I don't know why I didn't photograph the kids in their hiding spots!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I did get the kids to pose for me in their new jammies...</span></div>
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...and when I say pose, I mean they really "posed".</div>
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Silly kids. :)</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Christmas</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This was also our first Christmas at home. The morning was quite nice...to wake up in our own beds and then stay in our pajamas playing with new toys and snacking on stocking goods was pretty awesome. I really was fine, until we face timed with family...then I lost it. Things felt entirely too quiet and I wanted in on the game playing, carol singing, chit-chatting, baking, cooking, NOISY Christmas we've become accustomed to. Sigh.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's a good thing we had the Bair family to help keep us busy that afternoon. We went and saw a movie at the $2 theater...practically had the whole place to ourselves...then had Christmas dinner at our place and topped it off with games.</span></div>
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But before I get too far ahead of myself...</div>
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Santa brought Jemma a doll house for her little dolls, Carter a new bike,</div>
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and Gavin a race track.</div>
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A few more present opening pics:</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-large;">New Years Eve</span></div>
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Our former next-door-neighbors and some of our dearest family friends live just 6 hours from us!!! So, lucky us, we got to spend all of New Years Eve with them!!! We met in Charleston, South Carolina and spent the day exploring Charles Town Landing.</div>
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This place was awesome and the company was even better, so it made for a perfect day!</div>
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Here are an array of photos for the day. The kids played great all day long, Brandon and Shawn got to chat about optometry for hours and Kristina and I talked about everything else under the sun...man I miss sharing a wall with you guys! </div>
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In the stalks...</div>
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On the ship...</div>
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I want to live here!!!</div>
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...minus the gators in the backyard...</div>
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There were so many things to see and do there. It was AWESOME, but the best thing I saw all day was this gal!</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Spending the day with Kristina and her family made it feel like we still shared a wall and I could peek through her kitchen window to see what magnificent sewing project she was working on, or peek over the back fence to be inspired by her thrift re-makes. The good ol' days! Meeting up with them was the best way to finish out 2012!</span><br />
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So, there are some of the highlights from the end of LAST YEAR. Still can't believe 2012 is OVER and we're already a month into the new year. Time moves too fast.</div>
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428156855076744045noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499353026135847128.post-10949655256585670932012-12-14T18:04:00.001-08:002012-12-14T18:04:37.194-08:00Projects<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
It's been a while since I posted any projects on the blog. (Actually, it's been a while since I posted anything <i>at all</i>!)</div>
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Moving into a larger home has left me thrifting more than my dear husband would like, but once the projects are finished, he's much less apt to object to my slight addiction. :)</div>
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There are several things I forgot to take photos of; Jemma's new darling vanity/dresser and a cute little chair I intended to use in my sewing room, but seems to have made it's home in the family room, but other than that, I think these are it so far.</div>
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I gave this little nightstand a new look for our guest room. It's painted a pale aqua and I added the applique on the top drawer and replaced the knobs. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rIn5_eAZfe4/UMvOb8SkwOI/AAAAAAAAAMA/rqeRmh66MM8/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rIn5_eAZfe4/UMvOb8SkwOI/AAAAAAAAAMA/rqeRmh66MM8/s320/003.JPG" width="212" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BeKHoMQNltA/UMvOQJP-dmI/AAAAAAAAAL4/kuc3HAie6VA/s1600/007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BeKHoMQNltA/UMvOQJP-dmI/AAAAAAAAAL4/kuc3HAie6VA/s320/007.JPG" width="319" /></a></div>
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This next project was a big one. </div>
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That's a complete understatement. </div>
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It took me MONTHS to complete. </div>
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We found this table and chairs on craigslist and paid $150 for the table and 6 chairs. Booya! I know! Smokin' deal. Two of the legs were a <strike>little</strike> lot mauled from the previous owner's dogs, so I had to patch those up, sand and paint six chairs, reupholster them (which, by the way, I only finished the day<i> before</i> Thanksgiving because I had the help of my amazing father-in-law. THANKS BEN!) And after sanding down half of the table top, I decided I wanted to just build a new top and only keep the legs. <i>So</i>, after a couple of trips to Home Depot and disassembling the original table, Brandon and I built a new top, stained it, painted the legs, built a new apron and painted it, assembled it all and got it in the house the week before Thanksgiving.</div>
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phew. </div>
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I am so glad that is all done and that I don't have a garage full of furniture anymore or an empty dining room for that matter! </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kTrc-SxY-xY/UMvOg9MzhdI/AAAAAAAAAMI/b9UYL4Yyefo/s1600/IMG_2012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="356" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kTrc-SxY-xY/UMvOg9MzhdI/AAAAAAAAAMI/b9UYL4Yyefo/s640/IMG_2012.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Before and After</div>
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I cannot tell you how pleased I am with how it all turned out. The table is 8 feet long now and can easily seat 8-10 people. Bring on the guests!!! (Hint, hint.)</div>
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I definitely think I need to sew a larger Christmas runner for this baby. That runner looks so teeny on there!</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c2kJpeaY0gc/UMvPRe4KrRI/AAAAAAAAANc/H_sLunJlSyU/s1600/dining+room+table.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c2kJpeaY0gc/UMvPRe4KrRI/AAAAAAAAANc/H_sLunJlSyU/s640/dining+room+table.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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My most recent project was a pair of nightstands for me and Brandon's room. I found these matching nightstands at our local goodwill for $19 a piece and just used the leftover paint and stain from the table, so it was a grand total of $38 for the pair. AWESOME. They have a funky smell still...I need to spray them down with lysol or something. For now, they have dryer sheets inside...any ideas???</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-in5myGKSzHI/UMvO-7Rl2lI/AAAAAAAAAM8/IYnbTZc2QPE/s1600/IMG_2036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-in5myGKSzHI/UMvO-7Rl2lI/AAAAAAAAAM8/IYnbTZc2QPE/s400/IMG_2036.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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I swear one of them was burned or something...one whole side was almost completely black. Maybe that's where the weird smell is from...</div>
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Anyway, here are the after shots.</div>
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I actually did have to buy some black spray paint for the drawer pulls, so I guess that tacks on a couple dollars...still pretty inexpensive for large nightstands.</div>
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It is SO nice to have our lamps off the floor and somewhere to set our alarm clocks!</div>
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And, I built this car. lol! Just kidding, duh.</div>
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We just FINALLY got a second vehicle. JOY to the WORLD! It's a 2011 Toyota Corolla and we love it.</div>
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So there you are...the last 5 months worth of projecting. </div>
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I have to admit that while I'm working on a project, I can be a little cranky. </div>
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It really is not all that fun.</div>
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It's mostly really hard work and going to bed with super sore muscles from sanding and lifting more than you should have in one day!</div>
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But, it's also giving new life to something possibly abused and neglected that's fun.</div>
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It's the satisfaction that comes when the project is <i>complete</i> that's awesome. </div>
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So, I'm sure there will be many more projects in the future...sorry Brandon! ;)</div>
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Let the happy times roll!</div>
Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428156855076744045noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499353026135847128.post-9526704297058468622012-12-14T13:35:00.001-08:002012-12-14T13:35:29.865-08:00Thanksgiving<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We were fortunate enough to have FAMILY come visit for the Thanksgiving holiday. Brandon's parents and Grandma Ruth came and spent 4 days with us and we had a blast!</div>
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Their first full day with us we trecked over to the historical city of Savannah. I say "trecked" because we had to take a semi-long detour due to traffic and then Jemma had to stop like 3 times to go potty. Next time, she cannot keep her thermos with her. Sheesh!</div>
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When we arrived, we had a picnic lunch at a sketchy park (we had NO idea where we were going or where to start...the city was MUCH bigger than we had anticipated and, frankly, Brandon and I had not done enough research/planning before going. We then decided it might be best to take a guided tour. Best idea ever. We rode a trolley and the driver was a wealth of information. Next time we go we know exactly what we want to do, thanks to his knowledge.</div>
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On the trolley. :)</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thanksgiving</span></div>
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We spent Thanksgiving Day primarily at home. We had a full-fledged-feast with tons of leftovers. I guess three additional adults do not eat as much as I anticipated ;)</div>
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The weather was gorgeous, so we spent a good amount of time outside riding bikes and drawing with sidewalk chalk. :)</div>
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...And taking pictures...</div>
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which, believe it or not, I did not take enough of! (Our SLR was and still is in the shop...it got dropped and now we get to fork over $*** big ones to get it repaired. Merry Christmas to us!)</div>
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We were SO grateful to have family here for our first major holiday. </div>
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THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU</div>
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Ben, Tina and Ruth for flying across the country to spend it with us!</div>
Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428156855076744045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499353026135847128.post-29170269584121783402012-11-05T13:58:00.003-08:002012-11-05T13:58:55.473-08:00Halloween<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The kids decided on a Harry Potter theme this year. Carter was Harry, Gavin was Ron and Jemma was Hermione. Cute little Hogwarts students, huh. :)</div>
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Here they are before the ward Trunk-or-Treat</div>
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And here they are at the Trunk-or-Treat. Gavin kept putting his bag on his head...I kinda looks like Frankenstein. ;)</div>
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We carved pumpkins for Family Home Evening the Monday before Halloween. Brandon informed me that no one looks very good in this photo, and he's right, but this is the ONLY picture I have been in since we moved to Georgia. I just wanted you all to know that I am still a member of this family. </div>
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We had a spiderweb dip with chips for dinner before Trick-or-Treating on Halloween. I know it doesn't sound like much of a dinner, but my kids LOVE 7 layer dip and I wanted them FULL before they went off to collect MORE candy.</div>
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Ready to Trick-or-Treat. </div>
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(Gavin would not cooperate with me, so I didn't get a picture of him alone.) Another side note, we are quite aware that Harry's glasses were not taped together on the side, nor did they use duck tape. Those glasses really were broken...five minutes after we got them they were broken and I was not going to try to find another pair. </div>
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Some friends from church came over and joined Brandon and the kids trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. They were gone for a little over an hour and I sat in utter silence at home (aside from the occasional trick-or-treater) and it was complete bliss. I think we could make that a Halloween tradition. :)</div>
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Left to right, back to front: Brad and Brandon in their awesome bird hats, Aubrey, Jemma, Courtney, Carter and Gavin.</div>
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When they got back, I met everyone at the door, but quickly noticed Gavin was missing. After a brief look around, we found him in the dining room, sitting on the floor surrounded by his loot. He wasted NO time digging into his treats.</div>
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These kids got more candy than we will probably EVER eat. They're wittlin' away at it...(And I am not opposed to sneaking a piece of chocolate or two from their bags daily.) :)</div>
Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428156855076744045noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499353026135847128.post-26810947448477201532012-11-05T13:34:00.001-08:002012-11-05T13:34:08.804-08:00Speed Entry #2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I am ready to get up-to-date. So, here goes:</div>
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the seasons are finally changing and the lawn mowing is tapering off...I still had to throw this picture in cuz Gavin LOVES when Brandon mows the lawn.</div>
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The boys ventured out in the sprinklers one morning after Jem had already gone to school. It was still relatively humid then and the water felt REALLY GOOD. I was even in it. :) </div>
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Gavin has been attempting to potty train himself. No, I didn't phrase that wrong. I have been doing very little to encourage him to use the toilet. I am just not ready for all the wet/poopy underwear/pants/floors/etc. He, however thinks he's just as big as Jemma and Carter and wants to use the potty AND wipe himself. Very. Messy. I'm sure I should be encouraging him and just goin' for it full-throttle. I just can't seem to get motivated...maybe next week. ;)</div>
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And, the boys continue to use our bed as bouncy house. Who cares if there's a trampoline in the backyard...</div>
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Bad parenting moment...Gavin took a razor to his head in the shower. Luckily, he did not draw blood; he just ended up with a SUPER SHORT hair cut afterwards. (Don't worry, we have since remembered to remove the razor if he decides he wants a shower instead of a bath.)</div>
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Brandon was gone to Ohio for a week for some training. We all missed him, and this pictures pretty much sums up how we all felt when he got back! :)</div>
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The kids were off of school for a week for Fall Break and we stayed BUSY. One of our outings was to a cute little nature preserve. I don't know why I didn't take pictures of animals, but here is the best I got of the three together...WHY WON'T JEMMA LOOK AT THE CAMERA!!!</div>
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Jemma's school did a book character parade last month. Very cute. </div>
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We visited the Georgia State Fair...very impressive. We only went on two rides (cuz they are CRAZY EXPENSIVE), but thoroughly enjoyed the exotic animal petting zoo, complete with a giraffe named Melman, and the racing pigs. SOOOO cute!</div>
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The base also hosted a family fun day of sorts so we hit that up and the kids played on bouncy houses, ate icees and went home exhausted. </div>
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Carter's school had a fall festival the week before Halloween. They went on a hayride, shucked corn, had their faces painted, tasted pumpkin muffins and picked out a pumpkin to take home. </div>
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This is Carter with his sweet friend, Kylie.</div>
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I'm sure I'm leaving something out...I'll put it in the next post if I come across anything. :)</div>
Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428156855076744045noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499353026135847128.post-53688774664156198572012-10-11T18:36:00.001-07:002012-10-11T18:36:37.737-07:00Speed entry...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I was talking to my sister Sharee on the phone the other day and mentioned that I had become SO FAR behind on blogging that I didn't even want to do it anymore. There was just no way I was ever going to unburry myself from the ridiculous number of blog posts I had neatly sitting in files on the desktop. She, being a very wise sister, suggested I do a "speed entry" where-in I choose one picture from each outing from the past month+, post them, and call it good. So here goes.</div>
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Brandon's grandma came to visit us in August and was a trooper with these guys...even got on the trampoline with them. :)</div>
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During her visit, we spent a day at Stone Mountain. (Could've done a fully blown post with like 20+ pictures of this trip...but for the sake of catching up, I'll spare you all the nitty-gritty.) Suffice it to say, it was a super fun place and we could have easily spent more than just a day there. Jemma even did a full blown ropes course for the first time. Very cool place!</div>
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We visited Andersonville, an old Confederate prison. Very sobering experience. Again, I wish I were more on top of things so I could say more about this experience. Made me so sad for all the lives lost unnecessarily during war.</div>
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Spent a day at Six Flags with new friends, the Winward family. SO FUN!</div>
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The dads took the older kids on a rafting ride and they all came back drenched. Kinda glad I stayed behind with Gavin. ;)</div>
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Gavin has managed to acquire a few more facial injuries...we need to wrap that poor boy in bubble wrap and make him wear a helmet all. day. long.</div>
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Carter started Pre-K. (That's what they call preschool out here...but it's NOT preschool. They expect these little guys to be reading by the end of the year. Whatever. That is SO not a priority for me.) We finally found a school that wasn't ALL DAY. I know! Is that not the weirdest thing ever??? All day pre-k??? I cried the first day I dropped him off and he's still adjusting to leaving home for 3 hours each day, but I'd say it's all for the best. Otherwise all day kindergarten would come as a real shock for this homebody!</div>
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Carter and Jemma in school each morning has given me some much needed one-on-one time with this little tyke who I am realizing is not so little anymore. :( He is such a happy, easy-going kid. SO FUN! He will do anything with me. Yard work, projects, errands, baking, you name it, he's down. And if he gets bored, he just snags a bin of toys and plays contently while I finish up whatever needs finishing.</div>
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I might have to do one more of these "speed entries" to get me current, but that gets us through the middle of September for now.</div>
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I'm feeling better already! :) </div>
Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09428156855076744045noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499353026135847128.post-28837774776842592772012-09-06T06:52:00.003-07:002012-09-06T06:54:29.642-07:00Teeth: The Good - The Bad - and The Gray<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
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We've had a lot of tooth business goin' on around this house during the last month.</div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Good:</span></strong></div>
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Jemma lost her two top front teeth. They were both just dangling from her mouth in their final days One she allowed me to remove...the 2nd, however, she decided she didn't want anyone to touch. So, she went to bed with it hanging by a thread and awoke the next morning with it gone...and I mean GONE. We're pretty sure she swallowed it cuz there was no sign of it anywhere...no dried blood and no tooth.</div>
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Her toothless grin sure is cute!</div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Bad:</span></strong></div>
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About a week and a half after we moved in, Gavin was jumping on the couch (which he does incessantly despite our constant reminders that we do not jump on the furniture). He decided he would take a flying leap off the couch and landed on the coffee table...with his mouth. Blood everywhere. When I pulled his lip back to get a look at the damage, one front tooth was shoved backward and the other forward...both VERY loose. I was without a car (ya, and we still just have one car. It's awful!) and could tell he need immediate attention. So, I called and called and called Brandon's cell phone. No answer. All the while holding a screaming 2 year old. I had no phone number for the clinic he works at (he'd only been there a couple days)...looked online - couldn't find anything...finally, 45 minutes later, he walks in the door. His squadron had PT that afternoon and was playing ULTIMATE FRISBEE! I was a wreck. Thankfully, Brandon knew who to call and we were able to get Gavin into the dentist on base. Unfortunately, there was really nothing they could do...just wait; hope they tighten back up without any infection.</div>
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Here's a profile and front shot a couple days after the incident. He was so swollen for a good week.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong>The <span style="color: #999999;">Gray</span>:</strong></span></div>
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Fortunately, his teeth have tightened back up and he didn't end up with any infection. <em>Unfortunately</em>, those two teeth are turning gray. I guess that's a small price to pay though. He's lucky to still <em>have</em> those teeth!</div>
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You would think that after a traumatic experience like that, he would stop jumping on and off of furniture. He is at this very moment flying off my bed into a giant pile of pillows and he still jumps on the couches. Crazy kid!</div>
Reed Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291241868501207315noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499353026135847128.post-19388818530678940102012-09-02T12:05:00.000-07:002012-09-02T12:05:24.040-07:00Visit to Lane Southern Orchards<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
We've made it a goal to do a little sight-seeing during our time here in Georgia in an attempt to get a feel for what Southern Living and "The South" really <em>is</em>. Our first venture, albeit a small one, was to Lane Southern Orchards. They specialize in fresh peaches, strawberries and pecans, have a darling gift shop complete with fresh peach ice cream, a pretty stellar play area with full-size tractors for the kids to play on, and...wait for it...U-Pick Zinnias for 10 cents a stem. You better believe I picked TONS and had fresh flowers all over my house for the week following our excursion. :)</div>
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We didn't stay for long cuz it was brutally hot and (dare I say) miserably humid, so embarrassing as it is to confess, we skipped the peach ice cream (we knew our kids would waste it) and topped off the outing with a trip to McDonalds for <strike>cheap</strike> ice cream and an air conditioned play area. :)</div>
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Gavin and Carter on the tractors.</div>
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The kids playin' with the merry-go-round. </div>
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Carter, Jemma (and Gavin's hand...he refused to be photographed with the flowers) in the Zinnias.</div>
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I am determined to plant and grow these myself next summer...I might just do half veggies, half cutting flowers in our massive backyard to replace the monstrous <strike>weed patch</strike> lawn. Wouldn't that be AWESOME! Now all I need to do is convince my sweet husband to help me rototill (<--spelling?) it all up. :)~</div>
Reed Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291241868501207315noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499353026135847128.post-9992408751215935382012-08-27T10:54:00.001-07:002012-08-27T10:54:19.651-07:001st Grader...and broken glass<h2 class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Part 1: 1st Grader</h2>
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Jemma started 1st grade on August 1st. What a crazy day that was. I am still getting used to the idea that she is primarily educated outside the home. The house seems so quiet 8:00-3:30 and her brothers really miss her when she's gone. If I'm completely honest, I am <em>still</em> adjusting...and having a harder time of it than I imagined I would.</div>
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She is, however, enjoying public school. She's only mentioned a handful of times missing home and primarily talks about all the cool things she gets to do while she's gone. She seems to be making friends...she mentions a boy by the name of Audi (I have NO idea how you would spell that...pronounced Odd-ee) frequently and has taken the time to clarify that he is a friend that is a boy, not her "boyfriend" (sigh of relief), and also that she really likes when he chases her on the playground (<em>no</em> sigh of relief).</div>
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Above: Here she is with her brothers on the first day of school.<br />Below: Here she is the 1st day she rode the bus...didn't even look back that day. :( She seems to really like riding the bus. She just rides it to school cuz we get her home sooner if we just go pick her up. ;)</div>
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Part 2: Broken Glass</h2>
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This has nothing to do with Jemma starting school. A couple weeks ago, Brandon and I were awakened in the middle of the night (2am approximately) to what sounded like a distant gunshot...only it came from our bathroom...in a COMPLETE FREAK accident, one of our shower doors had completely shattered. We have <em>no</em> idea how it happened. Went to bed with a solid, in-tact shower door, and had it explode in the middle of the night. Awesome.</div>
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That's a lot of glass.</div>
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I guess we can be grateful for the other two functioning showers in this house.</div>
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Reed Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291241868501207315noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499353026135847128.post-60185463399381557732012-08-01T10:58:00.002-07:002012-08-01T10:58:57.963-07:00Still Alive<div align="center">
I know. I havn't posted a darn thing on this blog for a month now. No, it's not because we didn't have the internet. Thankfully, we had that set up almost 2 weeks ago. Yes, it's because we moved across the whole stinkin' country (coast to coast), I've been busy with more important stuff, and honestly, I just havn't been motivated to go through all the pictures, organize them and start posting all that has happened in the last month. But, I think I am finally ready, so stay tuned. I plan to post things cronologically and with (semi) applicable dates, so you'll have to scroll down to see them. :)</div>Reed Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291241868501207315noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499353026135847128.post-982246161941040592012-07-16T11:06:00.000-07:002012-08-19T11:07:05.371-07:00Traveling to Georgia<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
I know this happened over a month ago, but I have become perpetually late at posting things on this blog...who knows if I will <em>ever</em> recover from this move and be current in posting anything. I'm just patting myself on the back for posting <em>at all</em>.</div>
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We spent approximately 40 hours in the car.</div>
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Stayed in 4 different hotels and went swimming every night in their pools to get rid of car kinks (it would have been more if we hadn't had family to host us in New Mexico).</div>
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Ate entirely too much fast food.</div>
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Drove through 10 states.</div>
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And almost cried when we finally crossed the state line into Georgia.</div>
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I have never been SO happy to be out of the car.</div>
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Our children were exceptionally good during all of our traveling. Brandon's Aunt Sheryl had some great ideas to keep the kids (especially Gavin) occupied during the long drive. Tape and post-its. That's it. Why didn't I ever think of that?!? They were marvelous. Draw a picture, tape it to the window, color on a post-it, stick it on the wall, or just play with the tape. Gavin LOVED it. So did Jemma and Carter, but they are generally good travelers. THANK YOU SHERYL!</div>
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The kids watched their fair share of movies too. Jemma is in a trance whenever something is playing and Carter is getting that way too. It's pretty awesome when we're in the car.</div>
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Above: Jemma in a movie trance and the best shot I could muster of the bridge that crossed the Mississippi River.</div>
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The reason we stopped and did so little on our drive. There was NO WAY we were gonna sight see in 100+ degree weather...especially when there was exessive humidty added into the equation. (Still adjusting to that...and the large bugs.)</div>
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Pretty view from the window.</div>
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And, after driving clear across the country, we finally made it to Georgia!!!</div>
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The top left picture is Brandon driving by part of Robins AFB where he now works, and the top right picture is our street sign. :) We were SO giddy about finally pulling onto the street that our new home was on!</div>
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And, there she is! Woo-hoo!</div>
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The kiddos could not WAIT to get out and go inside.</div>
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And here is the family eating a HOME COOKED MEAL for the first time it what felt like much longer than 4 days. "Eating out" in <em>excess </em>is NOT my cup of tea.</div>
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We were limited on space in our van, so we sat on the floor for a week while we waited for all our furniture to arrive. I'd never realized how much I like to sit until there was no where comfortable <em>to</em> sit. (Note to self for next move...pack camping chairs in the car.)</div>
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<br />And finally, here are <em>most</em> of the significant signs we pasted during our journey. (We missed Oklahoma...and <em>almost </em>missed Alabama.)</div>
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Still so glad all of that is behind us!</div>
Reed Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291241868501207315noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499353026135847128.post-5727177246837856202012-07-13T18:19:00.000-07:002012-08-18T18:26:15.174-07:00Oklahoma City National Memorial<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
On our drive from California to Georgia, we made relatively few exciting stops. It was just too darn hot to be outside for very long. We did, however make it a point to visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial. That was an experience I will never forget.</div>
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There was far too much to photograph, and too much to relay verbally, so I will just hit a few of the significants.</div>
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Across the street from the actual place of the bombing was this statue of the Savior facing away from the memorial. This depiction of our Redeemer in sorrow really struck me. </div>
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Next to it was the plaque pictured below. In case you can't read it, it said the following:</div>
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And Jesus Wept</div>
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John 11</div>
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On April 19, 1995 at 9:02 a.m., a bomb exploded just a few hundred feet east of here. In that instant and the ensuing calamity, 168 people were known to be killed. Devastation covered this area. The parish house which stood on this corner was demolished and Saint Joseph Old Cathedral was severely damaged.</div>
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In the Sacred Scriptures, Jesus is seen as weeping over Jerusalem, soon to be destroyed. He wept for those whose lives would be lost. In the shortest verse of the Bible, Jesus weeps over the death of His friend Lazarus. Here we depict that same Jesus weeping and turning away from the bombing destruction. He stands facing the niches in our granite wall that represent each of the victims of the bombing.</div>
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Yes, the watchful eye of God is always on His People. The compassion of Christ is always waiting for His people. These were His people who died in the bombing but now can live in Him Who said: "I am the Resurrection. I am the Life. Whoever believes in Me, even if he die, will live forever." We believe in Jesus and trust that His merciful love has brought our brothers and sisters, victims of the tragedy, to life everlasting.</div>
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Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.</div>
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This tragic event occurred when I was only 12 years old, so my memory of the details were minimal. I did not recall, for instance, that there was a daycare facility within the Murray Building and that none of those innocent babies survived. There was a picture inside the memorial of a Firefighter carrying a severely injured little girl...I couldn't bring myself to photograph it, but it became very real to me, the horror of that mornings' events, when I thought of losing one of my children. They also had a room that held a picture of each victim in a glass case with some of their personal belongings...pacifiers, stuffed animals, small shoes, to name just a few, were among those of the children's things. Each of those individuals became REAL to me in those moments of seeing their faces and physical possessions they treasured during mortality. </div>
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Most of the areas I photographed had a plaque with an explanation. I have included pictures of those plaques...they do a better job of explaining than I ever could. <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1PBqzJLk67Q/UCP6FNBS4XI/AAAAAAAAFZ8/zH3IyJVQ5io/s1600/1092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" kda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1PBqzJLk67Q/UCP6FNBS4XI/AAAAAAAAFZ8/zH3IyJVQ5io/s640/1092.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Near the tiles that were displayed, there large chalkboard slabs on the ground for children to draw or leave notes on. Carter drew his version of the state of Oklahoma and Gavin likewise left his sentiments. :)</div>
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The Alfred P. Murrah Building.</div>
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There were two things that I left the memorial feeling that day; first, a deep sorrow for the violence that seems to be ever-resilient in our world and the lives that are destroyed because of it, but second and more importantly, an abiding hope for a better future and gratitude to those who refuse to be silenced, stopped, or permanently discouraged when darkness <em>attempts</em> to prevail. There will always be light above the ashes, if we will but look up. </div>
Reed Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291241868501207315noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499353026135847128.post-77815205971534527512012-07-06T19:22:00.000-07:002012-08-04T19:23:11.139-07:004th of July Festivites 2012<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;">
On our trek out east, we stopped and stayed 3 nights in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Two of my darling sisters, Sharee and Julianne live there with their wonderful families and another sister, Emma flew down from Idaho to spend a few days, so it was one rockin' party! We timed our visit just right so we could be with family on the 4th of July and it was one of the funnest Fourths I've had a in <em>long</em> time. (Possibly because it's been so long since we spent that holiday with family.)</div>
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It was a party from start to finish. The boys (Brandon, Eric and Arthur) started out the day by running a 5k while the girls ate a delicious breakfast casserol with fresh fruit and juice. (That is a much better start in my opinion.) We then headed off to join in the neighborhood bike/wagon/scooter parade. My kids were so darn excited about this. We've watched a lot of parades on the 4th, but this was the first time our kids were <em>in</em> one.</div>
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Left: Carter rockin' Daphne's scooter. Right: Dallin, Hayden and Daphne on their bikes. </div>
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Left: Sydney is Sharee and Arthur's youngest and I just adore her curles. I have to resist playing with her hair everytime I'm near her!</div>
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Right: Poor Jemma fell on the way to the parade and skinned up her knees pretty good, but Sharee had a friend who lived close by, so they bandaged her up and ran most of the parade route to catch up. Thanks again Sharee for taking care of her!</div>
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Left to right; Emma, Jewel, me and Sharee</div>
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The parade ended at a park where the real festivities ensued. Above, the whole clan. :)</div>
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Left to right (back row): Carter. Sharee, Arthur, me, Brandon, Jemma, Daphne, Dallin, Emma, Jewel and Eric.</div>
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Left to right (front row): Gain, Lily (turned around in the wagon), Sydney, Hayden, Sean, and Caleb.</div>
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Jemma with cousins Dallin and Daphne.</div>
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They had a massive ice chest chuck ful with popsicles and ice cream sandwiches. Every time I turned around, my kids had a new one in their mouth.</div>
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There were all kinds of contests, of which one was a watermelon eating contest. None of my children wanted to participate, but Dallin and Daphne had a go and did pretty darn well!</div>
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The Anderson clan enjoying popsicles and ice cream sandwiches. :)</div>
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They also had three leged races and gunny-sack races. Jemma, despite her injured legs, wanted to participate. She raced with this cute little toe head...I can't remember his name - I did ask after they finished...and they finished somewhere in the middle. :)</div>
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Brandon and Eric teamed up and took 1st. Crazy boys busted their leg band after they crossed the finish line...if you look at the center photo above, you can clearly see why. ;)</div>
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I'm am generally not the out-going type...I don't like to be in the spot light. However, Sharee and Emma encouraged me and Jewel to participate in the three legged race (in which we didn't do so bad)...and I even participated in the gunny sack race...in which I did HORRIBLY! It was embarrassing really. I think I came in 3rd to last place. And you know, it probably wouldn't have been that bad, except my sister Sharee is a pro in the gunny sack. I swear she practices with pillow cases cuz she won 1st by a WIDE margine. Ok, so she doesn't practice. She is just super talented.</div>
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Here we are at the start...and there are no pics of us in between <em>together</em>, cuz both Sharee and Emma left me in the dust. I was just glad I didn't fall.</div>
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Emma, Sharee (with her major award) and me after the race.</div>
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Random picture of Emma on Dallin's bike...or maybe it's Sean's, or even Daphne's...anyway, she rocks.</div>
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Later that evening, we had an awesomely delicious bbq at the Gariety's (I think that may have been after naps...which were heavenly) and then Arthur treated us to a firework show in the front yard. It was superb.</div>
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A little sparkler fun. I. Love. Sparklers. Brings back GREAT memories. :)</div>
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Most of the clan watching the show. All the nieces and nephews wanted to sit with Aunt Emma. She is pretty darn awesome! And, I love that Lily looks like she's praying in this picture. Too cute.</div>
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Left: Arthur, prepping for the action. Right: one of the entertaining fireworks. (He set off A LOT...and there were some big ones.)</div>
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Hayden and Carter.</div>
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Brandon and Gavin.</div>
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In addition to a fabulous 4th of July, Brandon and Arthur went golfing on the 5th while all the sisters got pedicures, went out to lunch and shopped for a "project" (which I still need to finish...have any of you ladies completed yours???). The kids played their hearts out, ate a ton of popsicles, and had a down right too-fun time. (Carter keeps asking when Hayden and Sean are coming to see us cuz he misses them so much.) We ate amazing food (I still need to get your Orange Chicken recipe, Jewel), celebrated Lily's birthday, complete with a pinyata, and had a glow-stick dance party our last night there. It. Was. Awesome.</div>
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We had so much stinkin' fun with those guys in Albuquerque. I really wished that had been our final destination and had to give myself a serious pep talk when it came time to leave.</div>
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Thanks again you guys for all the fun! We love you to pieces!!!</div>
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</div>Reed Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291241868501207315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499353026135847128.post-77522359509930010502012-07-05T09:03:00.000-07:002012-08-03T09:03:43.037-07:00Stockton Children's Museum<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We (me and the kids, my mom, brother Nathan ((good sport - he's 15)), sister Natalie and her daughter Kyrie) went to the Stockton Children's Museum during our 2nd to last week in California. Natalie and Kyrie came up from the San Diego area to visit, so we thought it an opportune time to go see something new. :)</div>
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We went to the Portland Children's Museum A LOT when we lived in Oregon and it was insanely huge and packed with crazy cool stuff, so I tried not to have high expectations for this one...just didn't want to be disappointed, but truthfully, although it was smaller, they had some great stuff and a lot of things the Portland version didn't! Like, a real fire engine, police motorcycle, ambulance, city bus and police car that the kids could go inside and explore. Carter and Gavin could have stayed there the whole time.</div>
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I think even Nathan liked the motorcycle. :)</div>
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They had an art room with playdough, collage supplies, a chalk board and water painting. Can you name the character Nathan was painting here???</div>
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They had a little section all about magnents; Mom and Natalie got this magnetic track set up just right so the ball would travel all the way down without falling off or getting stuck. Nicely done ladies. :)</div>
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They also had a mini grocery store that was a huge hit with the kids. Kyrie ran the cash register for a while and Jemma took care of the deli/bakery while the boys shopped their hearts out. (Not pictured are the adults restocking all the shelves with their discarded purchases.)</div>
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In the art room:</div>
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Kyrie and Jemma getting creative...</div>
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...and Gavin with playdough. What do you think of the snake he made? J/K. Nathan did that. He also made a pretty impressive cobra but I didn't snap a picture before Gavin smashed it up. :(</div>
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That was a fun morning! Thanks for treating us Mom! (MISS YOU!!!)</div>
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</div>Reed Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291241868501207315noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499353026135847128.post-38936093524134450112012-07-04T08:30:00.000-07:002012-07-04T08:30:02.966-07:00Jacob<div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: center;">
The week before we moved, I had the honor of taking some pictures of my brother, Jacob for his upcoming Senior Year. Jacob loves the coast and all things associated with the beach, so it would have been cool to take his pictures near the ocean...however, the closest beach is 2 1/2 hours away and we had a time constraint. But, my sister, Natalie had the brilliant idea to take them at Knights Ferry. <span style="font-size: x-large;">Wow!</span> It had been a long time since I'd last been there...at least 11 years, and that place is a photographer's heaven! River, rocks, ruins, bridge, you name, they've got it.</div>
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So, stellar setting + stud (aka Jacob) = Fun photo shoot. :) </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gMdeJBR0GHs/T-lROu0iS2I/AAAAAAAAFMw/T3759FQHHdI/s1600/157.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" rca="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gMdeJBR0GHs/T-lROu0iS2I/AAAAAAAAFMw/T3759FQHHdI/s640/157.JPG" width="398" /></a></div>
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Above: My personal favorite.</div>
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And, a whole bunch of others. This guy is photogenic.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dIys-CeTres/T-lRuHAvspI/AAAAAAAAFNA/O6VKaURpKd8/s1600/200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" rca="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dIys-CeTres/T-lRuHAvspI/AAAAAAAAFNA/O6VKaURpKd8/s400/200.JPG" width="265" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jx_Nob34UP8/T-lRe2dwDnI/AAAAAAAAFM4/hE_ox_ZkGxo/s1600/166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" rca="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jx_Nob34UP8/T-lRe2dwDnI/AAAAAAAAFM4/hE_ox_ZkGxo/s400/166.JPG" width="263" /></a></div>
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The Candid:</h3>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wk_fbHOz3ec/T-lQ2MLYquI/AAAAAAAAFMo/MH1CapWsjkQ/s1600/Jen's+Favorites+Jacob1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" rca="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wk_fbHOz3ec/T-lQ2MLYquI/AAAAAAAAFMo/MH1CapWsjkQ/s640/Jen's+Favorites+Jacob1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I love the way Jacob smiles when he looks down. He is one of the most gentle, sweet, kind boys a person could know and something about those shots (and, mind you, they were all candid) captures the humility that opitimizes his nature.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7xt8mGBTXBI/T-lR8MwU89I/AAAAAAAAFNI/i0rzbrtRP8Y/s1600/248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" rca="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7xt8mGBTXBI/T-lR8MwU89I/AAAAAAAAFNI/i0rzbrtRP8Y/s640/248.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hm9TXtYO568/T-lSIRL8ilI/AAAAAAAAFNQ/ip_NsToWbrg/s1600/260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" rca="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hm9TXtYO568/T-lSIRL8ilI/AAAAAAAAFNQ/ip_NsToWbrg/s400/260.JPG" width="265" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gww7dvlRjZ8/T-lSXNTSmgI/AAAAAAAAFNY/0i_OGJ8iQMU/s1600/278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" rca="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gww7dvlRjZ8/T-lSXNTSmgI/AAAAAAAAFNY/0i_OGJ8iQMU/s400/278.JPG" width="265" /></a></div>
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Jacob has the most beautiful eyes and when he smiles, you can't really see them, so I made him take some "eye shots". </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PyRGUHbhAck/T-lTDeEE42I/AAAAAAAAFNg/UmTyMKSBxy8/s1600/299-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" rca="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PyRGUHbhAck/T-lTDeEE42I/AAAAAAAAFNg/UmTyMKSBxy8/s640/299-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The Silly & The Random:</h3>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sSV5ezZylLQ/T-lV2_ICs7I/AAAAAAAAFNs/HGAbAQHg5Ig/s1600/2012-06-231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div>
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It was a real treat to spend some one-on-one time with my "little" brother. He. is. awesome. Such a fun guy (as I'm sure you can see from the above colage). :D </div>
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Love you Jake and thanks for letting me spend the afternoon/evening taking your picture. :)</div>
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<img border="0" height="640" rca="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sSV5ezZylLQ/T-lV2_ICs7I/AAAAAAAAFNs/HGAbAQHg5Ig/s640/2012-06-231.jpg" width="640" /></div>Reed Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291241868501207315noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499353026135847128.post-84799648777505920912012-06-28T08:30:00.000-07:002012-06-28T08:30:03.181-07:00Projects<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
In order to keep the time moving quickly during Brandon's time in Alabama, I decided to take on a few projects. (As if the "honey-do" list he left me wasn't long enough.) Anyway, here are a few before and after shots for you. :)</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3a9vMI2_NjQ/T-jsQ5RZtII/AAAAAAAAFKM/MjgY06Q5nlU/s1600/034-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" rca="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3a9vMI2_NjQ/T-jsQ5RZtII/AAAAAAAAFKM/MjgY06Q5nlU/s400/034-1.JPG" width="265" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QASjfBPRpk4/T-jtL5a_OpI/AAAAAAAAFK0/3smNCCTRlYY/s1600/046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" rca="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QASjfBPRpk4/T-jtL5a_OpI/AAAAAAAAFK0/3smNCCTRlYY/s400/046.JPG" width="265" /></a></div>
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$7 chair</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8ALA8P2jOnc/T-jtDSNPysI/AAAAAAAAFKs/EKLjv6cXVH0/s1600/006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" rca="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8ALA8P2jOnc/T-jtDSNPysI/AAAAAAAAFKs/EKLjv6cXVH0/s640/006.JPG" width="424" /></a></div>
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This project was not originally planned, but a dear family friend has been sick and unable to leave her hospital room even for just a short walk in the sunshine. So, after visiting her one afternoon, my mom and I decided we were going to bring some color and sunshine to her. :) We made this quilt for her, start to finish, in less than 48 hours and she told us that the first night she slept with it was the first night in 3 weeks that she had been able to sleep through the night. Best reason to sew for 48 hours (almost) straight EVER.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mnzeHE03Blc/T-jsmzID2SI/AAAAAAAAFKc/jUjD6dgc3tI/s1600/025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" rca="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mnzeHE03Blc/T-jsmzID2SI/AAAAAAAAFKc/jUjD6dgc3tI/s400/025.JPG" width="265" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h-Gsh048urw/T-jswmToOUI/AAAAAAAAFKk/_k-8p68BeTA/s1600/035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" rca="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h-Gsh048urw/T-jswmToOUI/AAAAAAAAFKk/_k-8p68BeTA/s400/035.JPG" width="265" /></a></div>
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Free chair. </div>
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You can't really tell in the before photo, but it was COVERED in cat hair. So Gross. But the green called to me, so I vacuumed and used my upholstery cleaner and scrubbed that baby cleaner than clean. I also sanded down and stained the legs, fixed the torn piping, re-attatched the broken leg and added a small piece of wood to the bottom of one of the back legs cuz before it wasn't sitting evenly (probably the cause for it losing the front leg). It is super comfy...and the color is more emerald green in real life. Love it. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rLaBcywInZ0/T-jtWxcNSWI/AAAAAAAAFK8/rkj1HDpa7t0/s1600/061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" rca="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rLaBcywInZ0/T-jtWxcNSWI/AAAAAAAAFK8/rkj1HDpa7t0/s400/061.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a8PRTmncyms/T-jtiLhoCRI/AAAAAAAAFLE/a75C25DSb-w/s1600/064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" rca="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a8PRTmncyms/T-jtiLhoCRI/AAAAAAAAFLE/a75C25DSb-w/s400/064.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Had I taken a picture of these benches before, they would have been a pile of 2x4s at Home Depot. That's right, I built these babies. Allow me to rephrase, I made all the cuts (according to Ana White's free providence bench plans) with my Grandfather-in-law's miter saw (I want one SOOOO bad...thanks Frank for lending me your tools!). My amazing, talented, handy-man brother, Reed (for those who don't know, I have a brother named "Reed"...yes, just like my last name) helped me assemble them. I am still not super confident doing things like that on my own, and he could do it blind folded! After they were put together, I painted, distressed, glazed and polyurithaned the daylights out of them. I couldn't be happier. They are incredibly sturdy, they seat 3-4 bums across them comfortably, and the color makes me down-right happy. Thanks again for your help, Reed!</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TbaJz3L356E/T-jsYIW4X1I/AAAAAAAAFKU/9X04YC5U9jw/s1600/035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" rca="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TbaJz3L356E/T-jsYIW4X1I/AAAAAAAAFKU/9X04YC5U9jw/s400/035.JPG" width="265" /></a></div>
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$10 door...it started out with only 5 glass panes - just so you know. :)</div>
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I almost gave up on this project many, Many, <em>MANY</em> times. I took this old door completely apart, washed all the boards and glass panes, broke a pane of glass in the process of trying to stencil it, had my son accidently break another pane of glass once I had it reassembled and liquid nails drying, then had the darndest time getting wood panes to fit in where the glass panes no longer were. I had to walk away several times, and truthfully, I would have chucked it in the garbage altogether had it not been for two things: 1st, my Father-in-law said there was no way that rotted-out-door could be made into a headboard (Ya Ben, I know about what you said ;) ) and 2nd, when I was ready to give up, my mom asked me, and I am <em>completely</em> paraphrasing "would you feel better right now if you just threw it away, or if you gave it one more try and then if it didn't work, threw it away?" - so, I gave it one more try, and things worked out...but not before my brother Reed came over and helped me frame the backside and put the legs on. What am I gonna do in Georgia when I can't call Reed over every time I need help on a project? Sad. :( </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bgSEESYCUH0/T-juHYWeM4I/AAAAAAAAFLM/f8MBda131zU/s1600/072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" rca="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bgSEESYCUH0/T-juHYWeM4I/AAAAAAAAFLM/f8MBda131zU/s640/072.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I didn't paint the middle leg cuz I ran out of paint, and no one is going to see it anyway. :)</div>
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I used the frosted glass spray paint to give it the etched look. (Got the idea from the Idea Room! Fancy that?)</div>
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I'm glad I gave it one more try, and think it will look darn cute in our new home in Georgia, especially since the master bedroom has gray walls! :)</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h1pJ9mjIA7I/T-juPAZcRsI/AAAAAAAAFLU/26Mnqt3HPXM/s1600/075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rca="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h1pJ9mjIA7I/T-juPAZcRsI/AAAAAAAAFLU/26Mnqt3HPXM/s400/075.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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This last project I truly did NOTHING on, but I had to post about it cuz my siblings who do not live close by would like to see my mom's latest and greatest desire brought to fruition.</div>
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For some time now, Mom has wanted a chicken coope. She asked for it for Christmas. Didn't happen. Then again for her birthday. Didn't happen...at least not right away. Then, earlier this month, Mom put Reed in charge of it all, sent Dad with him to Home Depot as the source of cash, and the project began.</div>
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Reed is crazy awesome. He didn't draw up plans or use anyone elses...he just visualized it in his head and got crackin'. My other brother Nathan worked along side Reed quite a bit and my brother Jacob and even Mom did some assisting so that it could get finished.</div>
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It is now complete with chickens inside. We have affectionately been referring to the coope as the "Chicken Palace" - and it is just that. These chickens have never had it so good.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y3Ya5aKSV8c/T-lAtcyglnI/AAAAAAAAFLg/OAwFbosfGbk/s1600/082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" rca="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y3Ya5aKSV8c/T-lAtcyglnI/AAAAAAAAFLg/OAwFbosfGbk/s400/082.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Above: The day mom brought the chickens home and a front view of the Chicken Palace.</div>
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Side view of the Chicken Palace.</div>
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Mom bought 5 chickens: 2 browm and 3 white. I think the brown hens are quite pretty acutally.</div>
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The grand staircase. :)</div>
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Once the chickens were in their new home, we just couldn't stop watching them. They are so cute! And when the kids aren't watching them, they're digging in the dirt right next to the coope and getting completely filthy. :)</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PJ1VjJp9KHg/T-lDA6TTKHI/AAAAAAAAFMM/D4tj9cLqNKE/s1600/2012-06-25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" rca="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PJ1VjJp9KHg/T-lDA6TTKHI/AAAAAAAAFMM/D4tj9cLqNKE/s640/2012-06-25.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Glad you finally got your chicken coope Mom!</div>
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And that's it for project-ing...for now.</div>Reed Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291241868501207315noreply@blogger.com3