Happy Birthday Kate!

It finally came! Kate's 6th birthday...a day we've heard A LOT about. Kate has been talking about turning six and having her birthday for months now, and was so excited that it was finally here. I feel like I say this often these days, but I can't believe how fast these last six years have flown by. And how full they've been! What a sweet gift from the Lord.

For her birthday, we wanted to surprise Kate by re-doing her room. We had a good friend of ours paint it (Josh Williams, for anyone local who is looking for a painter...he's excellent) and we got a crib set up for Mollie to move in soon. Here is Kate walking in for the very first time. A fun moment captured, especially for this mama who loves to watch all these kinds of things on HGTV.

The verdict: She loves it : )

A girl after her daddy's heart...Kate wanted a big breakfast on her birthday...scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and biscuits, fruit, etc.

Then, a special treat...George and Catherine Robinson invited us to come to the lake and ride on their boat!

Mom and Daria came in town for Kate's birthday which was a fun treat! (Mom opted out of the boat ride and stayed home with Mollie)

Kate's first time tubing. She LOVED it. Not sure which was more sore when she finished...her arms from holding on so tight, or her cheeks from smiling so big the whole time they were out there on the water!

Thanks George and Catherine!! You absolutely made Kate's day!

Per Kate's request, dinner at the local mexican restaurant. A perennial fave in our house!

Mom got Kate a book full of fun birthday cakes for kids several years ago on clearance at Barnes & Noble. She likes to look through it every now and then, and this is the cake she picked out for me to make for her this year. It's lemon cake with sherbet in the middle. On a side note, the number 6 in the middle of it is part of a set of cake toppers that Daria and I have had on all our birthday cakes since we were little. I love that my mom now brings them for me to use for my children. Just a small thing really, but special.

Beginning to read through her very own 'real' Bible that we gave her for her birthday. I can't even describe the joy it brings me to watch my girl reading the Word of God for herself. What a precious, precious gift. We're praying He will foster a deep and abiding love for it in her heart.

And, back to Jumpin' Beans. Our kids sure do like to jump! We had a few close friends and their kids come to party with us and boy, did the Team Reed kiddos have fun!!

Can you believe that Mollie slept like this throughout the entire party?!

This girl loves her Mimi!

Cupcake in hand, surrounded by friends equals one happy birthday girl : )

Love you Kate-Kate!! Happy Birthday...

My God is so BIG...

We finally got the call from the doctor's office today with the results of Hudson's bloodwork. Typically, to test for lead, they prick the finger and run the test in the office. And you have the results in a matter of minutes. But because his numbers from the fingerprick came back so high (18.9 to be exact), they drew blood to send to the lab per protocol. And then the waiting began...5 days of waaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiitttttttttiiiiiinnnnnnnggggggg.

And then the call comes, and the nurse says "Hi Mrs. Reed, everything is fine." WHAT?!?! His number is 2.5 which is within normal limits and no further treatment needed. How can that be? She says, well it's hard to say...it could be that there was too much alcohol left on his finger from where they wiped it before they stuck it, or there was too much air in the tube, or something else, there's really no way to know. But I know exactly what it is.

Ever heard that children's song that goes "My God is so BIG, so strong and so mighty; there's nothing my God cannot do"? We just experienced that first hand. And all I can do is cry right now at the sheer power of the one, true God who has healed my baby boy.

Some may say, oh it's just a coincidence. But not me. No such thing. I know the God I serve. He is omniscient, omnipotent, and sovereign over all. ALL.

And I will worship Him, because He is worthy to be praised. And praise Him for all of you who cried out to Him on our family's behalf, and brought Hudson before the throne to ask for healing. Thank you.

"Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness." Psalm 115:1

Something's wrong

Hudson had his two year physical yesterday, and I received the news that no mama ever wants to hear: "There's something wrong."

My boy has a high level of lead in his blood (it is supposed to be under 4, and his was 18.9...). With levels like that, the research I've done says the potential is there for brain damage, kidney problems, developmental delays, etc. All scary words that I never wanted to think about in the context of my child(ren). And we have no idea how it got that high. And we also have no idea what we need to do from here, except wait. Wait for the blood test to come back early next week. Wait to hear from the health department. Wait to hear where this lead exposure is coming from. Wait to see if we need to make some big changes.

I shouldn't be surprised. We live in a world that is broken. And it was never intended to be this way. But the reality is that there is pain and sickness and death in this life. And there is no hope apart from Jesus.

Hearing this news yesterday shook me, and has caused me to examine my own heart. Do I believe that in ALL things God works for the good of those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose? That even if there winds up to be long-term effects from this lead exposure, that He is good? That He is sovereign and in control of everything in the entire universe, including this particular situation? That He knows all the days ordained for Hudson before one of them even came to be?

Yes. Yes. Yes. And Yes.

So, now I have two choices. I can live in fear. Or I can walk by faith. And I'm choosing faith. Because my God is faithful, and the promises He's made in His Word are true. So whatever happens with all this, may God be glorified.

Hudson is 2!!

How can it be that Hudson is two already?! That means we've been in Wake Forest for that long...wow.

We decorated the dining room with streamers and the birthday sign to surprise him when he woke up...

And in typical Hudson fashion, he immediately tried to pull the sign down. His mama knows him well though, and hung it just above his reach...little man was in full tippy-toe stretch here.

We took him out for a birthday breakfast at the Border. Our waitress was so sweet...she made him a special birthday pancake with a candle and everything. Look how happy Hudson is about all that FOOD!

And after...

This little guy can put away some food...he ate that whole plate all by himself! We had better start saving our money now for groceries when he and Carter are teenagers!!

Happy little guy...such a joy in our lives!!!

Special birthday treat...Josh and I took Kate, Carter and Hudson to Jumpin' Beans after their naps. Mom was up here for his birthday and kept Mollie so we could all go up there together.

Then it was back home for dinner...spaghetti, one of Hudson's faves. Then...Present time!

He's making the airplane noise as he's flying...

Time for cake. Birthday boy blew out both his candles without any help!

Hudson thinks it's more efficient to eat ice cream with his hands instead of his fork.

All-done!

So glad Mimi came up to celebrate Hudson's birthday with us!! This boy loves his Mimi.

And his daddy :)

Hudson saying he's two. Happy Birthday to our little man! Love him...

Our New "Normal"

"Adjusting" has been the buzzword in our house during the month of June. Adjusting to less sleep; adjusting to a summertime routine that has less structure than the school year routine; adjusting to being a family of SIX!

Some days I still can't believe all four of these beautiful, precious children are mine! Well, ours. You know what I mean :) What a sweet, sweet gift from the Lord.

We've spent most of the last month figuring out what life looks like now that Mollie has joined us. She gets lots of love, no doubt about that! Kate, Carter and Hudson have all welcomed her from the very beginning. We really didn't know what to expect from them...didn't know if we'd see any jealousy or regression or aggression towards the baby, but so far we've seen little to none, praise God! We're very thankful for that. It's definitely been an adjustment though...I don't mean to insinuate in any way that it's been smooth sailing or easy by any means. There is still much training that happens with all of them every day. And that has been hard, and sanctifying, especially operating on much less sleep. But God's grace has been abundant, and completely sufficient throughout, as it always is if we'll trust Him.

Here's an overview of what Mollie's been doing...

She's been sung to sleep by her big sister..."Jesus Loves Me" is Kate's go-to song, which is precious to me. And if I tell Carter to sing to Mollie, he'll choose that song too. So sweet to hear them planting those seeds in their baby sister's heart at such a young and tender age!

Mollie has definitely done her fair share of crying! It's the only way she can make herself heard, which as you can imagine, is no small task with this crew!

Just a'swingin'...

Our first Sunday back at N. Wake!! It was SO good to be back...and Mollie did great. My friend Stephanie Joyner let me borrow this baby K'tan carrier and it has been wonderful! Mollie gets all curled up in it and snoozes. She slept the entire time...including through the second hour when Josh and I teach the older 3's class! She's a champ to sleep through that.

We were so blessed to have had meals provided for us by our friends up here for over SIX WEEKS after Mollie was born!! It is incredibly humbling to be loved on by the body of Christ in such a tangible way. What an awesome way to minister to a family who is just trying to figure out what life looks like now that they've brought home a newborn baby! To not have to think through planning a menu, and getting the groceries to prepare the meals, and the actual cooking of the meals is such a gift! Everything we had was delicious, too.

I've since reopened my kitchen, and Mollie has been my little buddy in there while I'm cooking. She's seems like such a big girl now that she's in her seat and can actually be at the dinner table with us! Our table is full now. What a blessing.

Josh decided to hold off on taking summer classes (YAY!!) so we've had more time with Daddy at home. We've got a fairly ambitious list of projects we'd like to do, but are well aware that it's not as easy to get things done with a new baby in the house. Gotta get creative sometimes...

Here is Mollie 'helping' her daddy sort through and organize some piles of papers. And may I just say, I LOVE my husband! He stopped what he was doing to pose the same way Mollie was laying. Never a dull moment with him around! Kate is always saying her Daddy is fun, and she's right!

Both the boys love their baby sister. They are always wanting to hold her and are super-gentle with her. So sweet.

Here's Carter getting his daily dose of holding Mollie. So fun how much they look alike!! I love that God gave us two that look just like Josh and his side of the family, and two that look just like me and my side of the family. For someone who loves for things to be even, it's just sweet to see that even in the children I've been given.

And there is never a shortage of snuggles from big sister. Kate has such a nurturing spirit about her, and absolutely adores her baby sister. Her YEARS of earnest prayers for God to give her a little sister have been answered in abundance...

Mollie's belly button took 5 weeks to fall off (GROSS!) Waiting for that nasty stump to heal is one of the worst things about a baby to me. But she sure did look cute getting her baths all curled up in the sink!

This is her temporary bed until she learns to sleep through the night and can go down at a decent time. She's doing really well and has been sleeping through the night for several weeks now, which is awesome! Now, we're working on getting her to go down earlier in the evening. And once she can do that, she's moving in with Kate :)

Her bed also functions as somewhat of a 'safe zone' for her. Sometimes Mollie just needs a place where she can hang out for a minute, away from all the sibling love. Plus, my girl loves to watch the ceiling fan, and this spot has the perfect view of ours.

Love these kiddos so much.

Every.single.one.of.them.