What a Blessing!

It's almost time for Baby Grady to make his arrival into our little family. I have been through every emotion  up to this point and I finally feel at ease with the direction our life will take. It is has been difficult trying to imagine what it will be like to have two children under the age of two in our house, but now I feel like the only way to see it; is as a BLESSING!
 Many people have doubts about my overwhelming sense of calmness in taking care of two children but I find that God gives me the strength and determination to do anything as long as we acknowledge that with him in our life...all things are possible.

I have been deeply invested in my first Beth Moore bible study for about a month now and let me tell you... my heart has never been touched this much!!! It is as if my entire outlook on life has changed or has evolved into something that yearns to glorify God and not the Babylonian culture that we are all surrounded by. It is amazing how much your life can change by studying God's word! I feel compelled to be a better mom through my faith. I am compassionate about being the kind wife and caregiver that not only provides for my husband and children, but that gives praise to the Most High! I feel that through my deeper connection with the bible, I have found a strength that only God could give me. A type of courage and determination to "step up" and believe that even if I fall (which I will) my convictions assure me that my Lord will be there to help dust me off and make me stronger. I finally realize that in the midst of all the trials and tribulations that I endure, God is building me stronger.  We belong to him...We are his children...We are the light...We are HIS! It is in these truths that I find the courage and strength to just be me! After all, he made me and molded me for his plan, not mine! And for once in my entire life, I can finally see the beauty in God being in control!

Therefore, this brings me back to the fact that I know my life is fixing to be chaotic and overwhelming at times. I know that I am going to have days when I just want to cry and scream. But I also know that these days go by too fast and that each moment spent with my family is a blessing regardless of the situation at hand! God has given me the greatest gift I can ever imagine. I have the promise of His Word, the love and commitment of a wonderful God-fearing husband, and the most precious daughter. My blessings will soon be added to once Grady is here and at that this exact moment in time I cannot imagine a greater gift from above.

Until next time...think of your blessings more than of your trials!!! Hug your kids and tell them how much you love them. Spend time with your husband and let him know just how much he means to you!
We can't wait to share baby Grady with you all... talk to you soon!!! PEACE, LOVE and the REESE'S!

Eight weeks to go...Nerves starting to show!!!

Reality has begun to set in! The weeks are flying by like crazy and I just now slowed down to really think about the fact that in 8 weeks our little man will be here and Kinsey will no longer be an only child!!! Two emotions run through my head constantly these days: Anticipation and Fear! I am so excited to meet the newest addition to our family and see if he has more of my good looks or my husbands. My fear is that I will not know how to make time for a new baby and my baby that depends on me sooo much! I fear that her feelings will be hurt and the last thing I would ever want is for her to feel neglected by me. We spend all of our time together and in just a short while, a new baby will change her little world forever. I know the change will be abrupt at first and then gradually she will understand, but I hate to think that I might hurt her little heart!!!!

It is unreal sometimes when I think about where my life has taken me in the last ten years. I am using ten years as a reference, due to the fact that I just attended my ten year high school reunion over the weekend. I had a great time catching up and cherishing memories with high school friends. It was wonderful to get to see the faces that made me smile and even made me angry all those years ago. It is interesting that even after ten years, we all still look and act the same. Of course there are exceptions to this statement... we have all grown up and many of us have families, but for the most part I could still the high school aura wrapped around us as we hung out together. I can still remember thinking that I would be married by 24 and have three kids by the age of 28. My how things went in a different direction, but for a good reason. In the last ten years, I have had my heart broken and possibly broke one or two hearts. I have seen friends come and go and I have often thought about the friends that I lost contact with after high school. I have struggled to pay bills and then had enough money to lend a friend. I have changed my mind about a profession numerous times and yet ended up with two degrees in Education. Through all of this, I managed to somehow marry the most amazing man. He has brought me through some of the toughest battles in my life and yet he still ceases to judge me. He makes no harsh comments about my moodiness or my insane ability to stress myself out on the most minute issues. He loved me for me from the very beginning and through all of my struggles in being a mother, a wife and a new member in a family he has always known the real me. In fact, even today as I continue to let go of guilts and grievances I have held on to for so long and find a way back to me, he is the one that helps me realize who I am and what I am not!
Being at my high school reunion, made me aware of the vast differences each of our lives contain. Some of us live in big cities, some of us in small country towns and some of us never left. There have been divorces, heart ache, joy, babies and new found love in our class as a whole. We have left our mark on our school ten years ago, but tonight as I sit here and reflect on everything I learned Saturday night, I now realize that we have gone out into the world and made a mark on people around us. We genuinely are a class that cared about each other and to this day we still do. It may be a silent nod or a simple smile that we use to communicate our respect and compassion for one another, but have doubt it's there!!!

I am not sure why I have all of sudden found the need to be so long winded and emotional but for some reason it felt good to reconnect with so many friends that I have lost contact with. It made me so happy to see others in love with their life and with the one that they chose to spend it with. It is heart warming to know that we all found our place in the world and even if we aren't sure we are in the right place, we are strong enough to fight until we figure out!!

Until my next social gathering with my newly reconnected friends, I will be in my house nesting for the arrival of Mr. Grady. Think of my often and say a little prayer to help me figure it all out. Every little thought counts and I am sure my Kinsey will appreciate all of the help I can get. I apologize for any accidental omitted words or misspellings, but I am way to tired to go back and proofread, please know that I will try harder next time....Peace, Love and the Reese's!!!

Busy Bee or Lazy, HOT, Pregnant Mama?

So, it seems like I can't decide if I have been a busy bee or a tired, no energy lasting, HOT as a forest fire pregnant mother! By the end of the day, well really by 4 p.m., I am DRAINED!!!! You would think that I have been super busy getting our new house decorated, but it seems to be coming together slowly. I am not quite sure if it feels like this because I have more rooms to decorate or just because I am plum tired. But either way, I have been spending most of my time doing house stuff!!!

Justin has been in Austin the past 2 weeks doing duty at the Capitol and let me tell you I never realized just how much I depend on him during the day and night. It has been hard to get in a routine without him here and the first couple of nights were rough. Especially getting up by myself all night long to put Kinsey back to sleep! He is usually the one who gets up with her and brings her to me and I have really missed his help. He is such a great dad and sometimes he doesn't give himself enough credit, but without him letting me take a breather every now and then I couldn't be the mom that I need to be! I will be so glad when he gets home tomorrow night, but the excitement will be short lived as he leaves again on Wednesday for a much needed hunting trip in Canada for five days. Things will be chaotic again without him but I know how much he loves his duck hunting and well, he is really good at it!

Once he gets back, we have my high school reunion to attend and I can't wait! It will be great to see some of my friends from high school and hopefully find new ways to keep in touch! I just wish I wasn't the size of a beluga whale when I see everyone, but growing a small person inside of my tummy can do that to me! Now the challenge is to find shoes to wear with my dress that I still need to get hemmed! Man, the more I type about what is going on in my life, the more I realize that I am really fixing to be a busy mommy bee! And to think I only have roughly 70 days left before this little baby makes his entrance into this world! Wowzers....panic shall set in NOW!!! But I think I will take a new baby over being preggo in this heat anyday!!!!

 On a final note, Kinsey has been doing the funniest things lately. She answers every question in her sweet, tiny voice with a simple, "No!" I can ask, "Kinsey, do you want a little brother?" And She will say, "NO!" I can ask her "Kinsey, do you want to eat fruit loops or cheerios?" And She will say, "No!" Poor thing, she is a little confused with the meaning of the word, but it's still cute to me...right now! She has also started to help me feed the dogs every morning and night. The amazing thing to me is that she knows which bowl belongs to which dog! She gets her smarts from me!!! She is growing so fast and talking soooo much. We just love her to pieces and our love grows deeper each day we spend with her! I love being a MOM and even in the dog days of summer, preggo and well beyond my comfort level for weight, I have found that a sweet, innocent smile can take away all the worry and doubts in my mind. What a blessing children are to their parents.... I am pretty sure I need her more than she needs me:) I hope you all have a great weekend and a nice, long Labor day weekend with the one's you love! Until next time, the busy bee is buzzing off....PEACE, LOVE and the REESE'S!!!

Some of the decorating we have done in the living room...still more to do, but it's a start.

A little touch of baby kinsey in the Master Bedroom! love those black and white pics!!!!

My new rug from Pier One... doesn't have any purpose right now other than to lay on the floor!! It's in the breakfast room....but I do not have any furniture to put on it yet, so for now it's kinsey's play mat!!!

Sometimes you just have to slow down....Right?

Well, since the last time I blogged I have had a crazy, fast, mind boggling life. It seems like I have been going 90 to nothing trying to get our house "home sweet home" cozy that I have forgotten to take care of myself! There is a good outcome and a bad outcome to this minor lapse of self concern. So, do you want the good or bad first? Okay, I will tell you the Bad first! It all started with a clumsy moment after dinner Thursday night that left my foot bloody. And for those who know me well, I FREAK out when I see blood. There is no middle ground when it comes to a blood oozing wound, especially on my own person! Anyway, I was clearing the dinner dishes when my clumsy preggo self tripped on the dining rug and haphazardly dropped the steak knife onto the top of my foot! OUCH and then blood! Lucky for me, my dear hubby is trained to deal with blood and guts so he took control before I lost my dinner. Thirty minutes later, a butterfly stitch and few tears....I was bandaged and only my pride hurt. The next two days were bearable, even though I walked with a slight limp ( it kind of looked more like a pregnant waddle intertwined with a ghetto fresh limp) !!! But just when things started to look rosy, things literally started to look fuzzy and black! That's right...my life is so unpredictable. I had just finished my makeup and hair for church on Sunday, when all of a sudden I began to feel hot and clammy and my vision turned to mush! I could not see a thing and I knew I was going down quickly. I managed to stumble my way to the phone to call Justin and tell him I was passing out so he could get home quick enough to help me and to be with Kinsey. It felt like eternity for him to show up, but it was only ten minutes from the time I called and he came in to find me on the floor in the kitchen and Kinsey sitting beside me. It was pretty scary and the most awful experience of my life. I was more scared for Kinsey than for me and I felt guilty thinking that as her mother I couldn't reassure her that I was okay. Anyway, I ended up going to the ER and found out that my body was dehydrated and that I had a small bladder infection. Great!!! Imagine my excitement, as they hook me up to a saline IV to replenish my body...oh have I told you all how much I despise IV's!!!! Yep....I cried like a big baby! Luckily, Justin held my hand and helped get through it. After 3 hours in the ER and a one hour trip visit in labor and delivery, we went home and the first thing I wanted to do was put my arms around my precious baby girl and never let her go! This is where the good outcomes plays out. I have learned through this experience that my family is by far the best and most precious thing in my life. Having a great husband to love and care for me is a dream come true. Our daughter is the most amazing little creation ever! I cannot adequately describe in words how much she means to me or how much meaning she brings to my life. The point through this rambling is that God brought me through this small trial to teach me how important each part of my little family is. We cannot function as a whole without each other and through this minor disaster our family is so much closer. We definitely couldn't have survived without my parents, they were here after Justin's phone call within minutes of my black out and took right over...helping fill in for me with Kinsey. I truly am blessed and sometimes I move so quickly through life that I neglect myself and the one's that mean the most to me. That is why I have decided to slow down.. what's the rush? The walls may still be bare and the floor still needs a good washing and not to mention the windows that need some sort of covering. But, it will all be in due time and it will be just the way God intended it be. I am looking forward to a positive step in the right direction. We only have 13 weeks until baby Grady is here and I plan on spending that time cherishing all the little moments that I have with Kinsey before life is once again on a two hour schedule:) Until next time, take care of yourself and love your family...PEACE, LOVE and the REESE'S!

It' Here... The Day is Finally Here!!!

We are finally starting to move into our new house and I am so excited. We have been waiting on this day for what seems like eternity, but now we are slowly moving things in and getting the house set up. It will probably take me forever to decide on decor, but hey I don't mind looking at bare walls for a little longer while I decide. I am just ecstatic for Kinsey to have room to run around and be a kid! She deserves this soooo much and it makes me happy to see her smile when she walks to her new big girl room. I really wish I had more to say, but this might be the one time that I have ever run out of things to say. Being overjoyed pretty much sums up how I feel right now! I will post pics soon to share our happiness:) Have a great day...PEACE, LOVE and the REESE'S!!!

Why worry about tomorrow?

Okay, so I know I have had a two month hiatus from my blog post, but I have had a hard time thinking about what I want to post next. This is crazy because anyone that knows me understands that I have a knack for making a 10 minute conversation into a two hour discussion. It's a gift from above, I do believe!!! Anyway, I have had so much on my mind lately that emotions have been here and there and well all over the place (possibly related to being pregnant again, but who knows!!!) I decided that instead of writing about all of the negativity that negative people try to bring into our family, I would wait until I was at peace with the situations to write about the blessings we do have and boy there are many! Isn't interesting though how many of us go around and see the glass as half empty? I am guilty of this and have lived my life in this self depressing attitude for WAY TOOO LONG! It has finally taken my faith, my family and my true friends to help me realize that life is exactly what you make it. We have had to make hard decisions for our family that some people do not agree with and to be honest it hurts that the people you use to lean on for support are no longer there by their own choice. But as a husband and a wife raising a delightful daughter with a son on the way, we have realized that being parents is more about protecting your children than about doing what others deem acceptable. After all, WE are the parents in our OWN little family and we have a great support system of family and friends that accepts our decisions and stands by us even in the darkest of moments. These last two months have been trying, really the last two years since we were married, but we are making it..side by side... hand in hand... heart to heart! We have come to accept that maybe those who we thought would always be there have come to let us down and have chosen to lose sight of the beautiful blessings that children bring into a family. We have decided to not let this hold us down because in hindsight we know that we can't change anyone's perception or attitude. That change must come from inside one's self and our life continues to thrive with or without them. With this being said I have come to realize the importance of all the small things that make life so good. I could narrate them all but once again that would turn a ten minute list into an all day event! Here are the blessings in my life that make me smile once again....maybe you share the same one's...if not, I hope you enjoy reading them anyway!
1. Waking up!!!
2. Waking up to a sleepy little smile that immediately begins talking as if she had been up for hours!
3. Waking up together and cuddling with that sleepy little smile of ours!
4. Hearing the sweet voice of someone who cares and just calls to check up on things.
5. Having a family that enjoys seeing you raise your children and takes advantage of every opportunity to spend time with the little one!
6. Hearing a random stranger tell you "good morning" on one of those days when you should have just stayed in bed.
7. Finding crayola markings on the wall, door and my cell phone:)
8. Laughing together!
9. Making a new friend unexpectedly and knowing that they are the type of friend to never get tired of your repeated phone calls asking about which paint color to get:)
10. Being just the way to Lord intended for me to be and knowing that in all circumstances he is more than willing to carry my burdens for me!
11. Being able to LOVE someone with everything and feeling the same LOVE in return.
12. Being teenager silly with my husband...yes, he still laughs at my insanely immature jokes!
13. Dancing in the living room with my love!
14. Dancing anywhere just to hear my Kinsey giggle.
15. Having your parents say they are proud of you...it still sounds so refreshing at 28 years of age!
16. Knowing that God is in control.

So I could go on and on... but these are the things that popped into my head as I was writing this morning. I have faith that my family is safe and protected by God's grace. I have faith that no matter what happens today or tomorrow or ten years from now that it will be taken care of. Sunday at church our pastor reminded us that if you are one of those people who worry about everything, then good news is in store for you. He said there is no point in worrying about tomorrow, it has already been taken care of!!! I felt like he was talking straight to me and I wholeheartedly believe that he was because I am always worrying about something. According to my husband, I worry enough for an entire army. But not anymore..... my new goal in life is to see the glass half full. I can't always worry about how someone else feels or why they do not come around. They are in control of themselves and they make their own choices that they must live with. It will do me no good to worry about the things that I cannot change. Instead I am going to focus on the blessings I have today because that is all I am guaranteed and I would much rather spend my time watching my children grow, holding hands with my husband and appreciating those that are always there! I am blessed beyond what words can describe, my heart is full and my soul is nourished with God's word. I wish the same for all of you and hope that whenever you begin to worry you turn that glass the other direction and realize it is ALWAYS half full.
Until next time......PEACE, LOVE and the REESE'S!

Family of four on the way!

So....the exciting news is out and we are pregnant! Our new bundle of joy will be arriving in November and Kinsey will be 20 months old! It is hard to imagine that she will almost be two years old and new sister in such a short time. Nevertheless, we are thrilled, nervous and extremely blessed with the pending addition to our family. I think I am most apprehensive about how my precious Kinsey will handle it...she is the queen of the Reese family at this point! I have already had my moments when I break down and cry because I know she won't be the baby anymore ( i blame it on the pregnancy hormones but deep down I know it is a real concern)! My hubby thinks I am thinking about it too much but I have spent so much time with just her in her first year of life that I am scared she will resent me for taking care of a new baby. Sounds silly... because I know she is still young and probably not too aware that she is the only baby, but I like to think that she is a baby genius and understands it all. I mean just the other day at my 10 week appt. I swear she told the nurse "Thank you"! Anyway, underneath all this babbling is a mother who is excited to again be given the greatest gift from above. I may be over thinking it and I may be under thinking it....but what I do know is that when I see the ultrasound of our new baby my heart is full of love and my life feels so complete. With that being said I will sign off with a picture of our lil one and wish you all a blessed week. Until next time, PEACE, LOVE and the REESE'S!