One of those days

Ever have one of those days? You know, the kind where you burst into tears at the doorway of your son's classroom because it's picture day and you had no idea?

The kind of day where you cry again in the car on the way home because your daughter is trying so hard to make it better and tells you "But Mommy, he was dressed nice!" (And he was. That was not the source of the tears.)

The kind of day where your husband comes home for lunch and you cry all over again. Because it is so freeing to admit to him that you're not ok. And you're in the middle of the kitchen, wrapped up in four comforting arms, two belonging to the love of your life, and the other two to your oldest child.

The kind of day where you cry again when you pick your son up, because he is now crying over a cheap piece of plastic, known to all 3 year olds of the world as a 'treasure'.

The kind of day where you cry AGAIN at home because you realize that not only did you not know it was picture day, but it was also the first "show and tell" and you didn't know so he didn't get to bring anything. And your heart breaks when he tells you with a trembling lip that it made him sad.

The kind of day where you cry out to Jesus for help in the midst of being completely overwhelmed?

And you cry with relief when the still, small voice says "Cease striving..." And you are reminded that He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

And then later on in the evening, you find these waiting at the door...

...only because there is a friend that wants you to know that you are loved and that she is praying? And you cry because you are so grateful. For all of it...

Yup. That was Friday.

Mollie's 4 month Photo Shoot

Our friend Kaitlin Roten of 2point5d photography (http://2point5d.com) did pictures of Mollie at 4 months old. It's funny because Kaitlin and I both came away from it thinking we'd be lucky to get one good shot out of it. How glad am I to be so wrong! She got some great shots (as usual). Enjoy my doll baby, and a few of all my babies mixed in here and there : )

Mollie is 4 months old today!

Can you believe it?! 4 months have gone by?!?! Mollie is doing so good...growing well and is just a happy baby. What a blessing she is. She's working on rolling over from her back to her tummy. She is so close, just needs to make that final push over. It's funny to watch her work at it because she winds up spinning around in a complete circle on the floor. She's laughing and smiling and cooing at us, melting our hearts day by day : )

Atlantic Beach

Team Reed packed up and headed to Atlantic Beach, NC for Labor Day weekend. One of the things I really like about living up here is that there are so many beaches close-by! This one is 3 hours from Wake Forest. It actually took us a little over 4 hours which is still not bad. Here is Mollie stretching her legs a little and trying to help her daddy out with the driving at one of our stops.

And, the moment I've been waiting for. I spotted this pink tutu bathing suit at Target way back in the beginning of spring. I resisted buying it because at that point we still didn't know we were having a girl. Fast forward to now and right before we were going on this trip, I checked to see if Target still had them (they did) AND they were on clearance (even better!) And here she is...every bit as cute in it as I imagined!

My mom flew in to join us for the weekend : )

Mollie made her debut...checked out the beach for a moment and then snuggled up with Mimi for a long nap. It's so nice to finally have one that will do that. It was always a struggle with the other kids to get them to nap on the beach.

Still napping...sweet baby.

We drove over to Beaufort for dinner one night and walked on the boardwalk afterwards. The kids had so much fun checking out all the boats. And Hudson was making me so nervous. I kept waiting for him to fall in the water.

Atlantic Beach had it's own little boardwalk too. We checked it out our last night there.

Thank you so much for having us Mom! We thoroughly enjoyed it. Good-bye summer...

Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium

One of the NC Aquariums was right by where we were at Atlantic Beach, so we spent one morning there. The kids love to go to the aquarium in Atlanta, and were excited to get to go see this one. I love the way it worked out that the week leading up to our trip, Kate was learning about different sea creatures as part of her science!! With homeschooling, I have the freedom to do stuff like that, but to be honest it never even crossed my mind to be intentional and study up on sea creatures before going. I'm still learning the ropes. Glad it worked out anyway!

Check out this floor to ceiling tank full of fish!

Turtles are my fave.

See that brown blob with eyes right in the middle of the picture? It's an octopus.

Lionfish. And yes, the boys both roared at them.

Looks like Dory from Nemo.

This could be my favorite picture yet that I've taken with my new camera. Jellyfish look so cool...just wish they didn't hurt so bad when they sting.

Hudson cracks me up in this picture. I wish I knew what he was thinking right then...

Shark!

School

School is officially back in for Team Reed. Josh started his 3rd year of seminary(!!!) mid-August. Between taking 12 hours, his N. Wake internship, and working as an ambassador at SEBTS, Josh is a busy man this fall. God was gracious to give us a reprieve over the summer, and we enjoyed the slower pace as we were adjusting to being a family of six. And now we're back in the swing of things!

Last year we had planned on Kate starting Kindergarten at WF Elementary and late in the summer we found out she'd been accepted into Bay Leaf's first-ever kindergarten class and she went there instead. This year we had planned on Kate starting 1st grade at WF Elementary and very late in the summer (read: 10 days before school was to start) we totally switched gears and are now homeschooling. I'm noticing a theme here...

All I can think of is what Proverbs 16:9 says "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." Homeschool is something I honestly thought I would NEVER do. Not because I think it's a bad thing, but because I simply never considered it as a viable option for our children's education. But God, as only He can do, radically changed my heart towards this throughout the month of August. He showed me and Josh clearly that this was indeed what we needed to be doing with Kate this year. So even though our own plans were well in motion, we are now on a new trajectory. And, might I add, loving it!

Here's my new student on her first day : )

Carter is going to Bay Leaf's Little Lambs Learning Center (LLLC) this year on Tuesdays and Fridays. He is beyond excited to be going to school. I think he asked me at least twice a week last year when he was going to get to go to school. We've been gearing up all week for his first day (which was today). On Tuesday, he got to go in and meet his teachers. They gave him a bag for the year to take home and decorate. This was extra fun for me as I clearly remember doing this very same thing with Kate a few short years ago.

We had fun deciding what to do for it, and going to get supplies together. Here is Carter, working intently on his blue and green football yesterday.

Carter woke me up this morning and told me "I'm so exciting to go to school today!" Our family loves this place! It was nice to be back at a school for a second year, because Kate was in a different one for each year she's been in school. And the best news of all for us this year is that my dear dear friend Stephanie Lyon is one of Carter's teachers!! We were all thrilled when we found this out, and seeing him run into the class and give her a big hug today was such a sweet thing for this mama. We are looking forward to getting to know his lead teacher Mrs. Courtney. What we've heard about her has been wonderful!

Oh, my sweet boy. How did you grow up so fast?

I did way better than I thought I would. I still had a lump in my throat this morning, but I wasn't the puddle I expected to be when I dropped him off. The thing that did set me off was Hudson's reaction to dropping Carter off. He cried almost the whole way home, and it broke my heart because I knew he didn't understand what I was trying to explain to him. All he knew was that his big brother was not there. And he was sad about it. I love how close they are. Utterly grateful for that sweet relationship.

Smiles

I have been trying for weeks to capture one of Mollie's smiles to put up on the blog. I never have my camera with me when she starts flashing them, and the first one she does is always the biggest and the best. Those gummy grins that all babies do are my favorite. I love the way her whole body gets in on the smile too...it's almost as if she just can't smile big enough to convey the joy and excitement of the moment! Here's a pretty good one from last Sunday. Looking so pretty in her new headband from Nen...complete with one of Kate's bows. Big sis was more than happy to help accessorize her baby sister!! See what I mean about her whole body getting into the smile? Shoulders squeezed up, hands clasped up together, in mid-full-body wiggle...I could just eat her up she's so stinkin' cute.

Check out these smiles.

And this sweet smile. Cannot believe how grown up my boy is all of a sudden...

And this sweetness just makes me smile. Freshly bathed, smelling delicious. Pure delight.

This makes me smile too. Kate loves to read, and Carter loves to be read to, so it's a good match.

How could this not make anyone smile?! Just another morning at the Reed house with Dr. Kate, Pirate Carter and Super-Hudson. I'm smiling now just looking at this.

These are newly-engaged smiles!! YAY!!! Justin proposed to Rachel last week, and pulled off a big surprise engagement party afterwards. Check out the cookie cake the kids and I made for them. They're getting married this fall. They've asked Kate to be in the wedding, and she is BEYOND excited (Josh will be in it too.) Our family adores them and have been so blessed to have been a part of their journey! Great days to come!

And, the most recent and exciting news...Kate's smile changed two days ago. She lost her first tooth!!! It's been loose for several months and finally came out a few days ago. The top two are loose too, so her smile is going to keep changing!