Beautiful Girls, Beautiful Dresses

     On Saturday we had a backyard birthday party for Hannah and Lauren!  The Lord gave us a beautiful sunshiny day to celebrate with family and friends.  Hannah had a pink cake, and Lauren had a yellow one (their favorite colors).  Papa (Tim) grilled delicious hamburgers and hot dogs for everyone to eat.  A great time was had by all!  

     Now we have a week of packing ahead of us as we prepare for the big move to Georgia next weekend.  What an adventure!

     The beautiful and precious dresses that Hannah and Lauren are wearing in the pictures were handmade made by our wonderful neighbor, Vicky.  They are called pillow case dresses, and she even embroidered their names on the front.  If you are interested in one of her dresses, let me know because she doesn't have a website yet... but, I'll be happy to put you in touch with her.  Just a little plug there.  :)

Happy Birthday, Lauren!

   Today our precious little girl, Lauren, turns 4 years old!!  Her Papa took her out on a breakfast date to Dunkin Donuts, and they had a great time!  Then, they went to the bank together, and the ladies at the bank sang "Happy Birthday" to Lauren.  Tonight, Lauren has chosen to go out to Red Robin to celebrate her birthday.  It's a month full of birthdays in our home!  Hannah had one last week... Lauren's is April 1st... Allyson's is April 18... Tim's is April 20.  Lots to celebrate!  We are thankful for the lives the Lord has given us to praise him with and obey Him.  May we all be found faithful.  As Lauren always says (very often with a huge smile on her face), "I can't wait to go to heaven!"   :)  

Happy Birthday, Hannah!

Today our precious "baby" girl, Hannah, turned 5 years old!  As part of her special day, her Papa took her to Dunkin' Donuts on a surprise breakfast date.  She was thrilled!!!  Then, her Grandma took her out to dinner tonight at Red Robin (our whole family went), which she really enjoyed.  I praise the Lord for a beautiful daughter... who is even more beautiful inside than she is outside.  She loves Jesus, and always tries to honor her God and her Papa and Mama.  She also loves her sister and brothers to pieces!  Thank you, Lord, for our little Hannah.

Who's Who in the Spanish Flag?

     As is tradition in the Reed home, we took a picture of James laying in the hammock while wrapped in the Spanish flag, just like we did with his siblings when they were all 4 months old.

Can you guess who's who? 

James is 4 months old

James is our little cutie pie who is now 4 months old.  We all love him so much and are so glad he is a part of our family.  Timmy is now a loud little man, but he treats his brother with kindness and gentleness and still loves to kiss him. They are precious together, and I look forward to seeing them interact together in another year when James can run and play.  Yesterday I had the treat of holding James while he was sleeping.  That doesn't happen very often, so I treasure those wonderful moments.  Thank you, Lord, for 4 wonderful children!

Camo boys

Timmy, Tim, and James.  One day we hope the boys' favorite color will be camo.  :)  Our kids are so excited about moving out to the country.  Hannah and Lauren can't wait to be "farm girls."  We are thrilled about spending so much time together as a family and raising our kids with a strong work ethic.  Tim is ready for his boys to be his little helpers... but, we are enjoying them being just plain little right now.  Timmy tries to do everything Tim does already.  He loves being his Papa's little buddy.  I praise the Lord that Timmy has the best role model in the world to follow - his Papa who loves the Lord Jesus Christ with all his heart.  

James just turned 4 months, and Timmy will be 18 months soon.

To Crawfordville we move

Hey there.

Allyson and I just sent out emails to everyone on our list whom we thought might want to know about us. We attached our newsletter to the email and hope you have had the chance to read it. If you haven't received one, please let us know and if you have, please feel free to forward it to anyone you can think might be interested in knowing about our latest news. We are doing fine. In a state of chaos as we transition but always subject to an orderly God.

We are excited about our new venture. There will be much to learn and much to do. Its public news. Tim and Allyson are moving to Georgia.

Have a nice day and let us know if you still haven't seen our newsletter and we will forward one your way.

Happy Valentine's Day!

A few more

Growing Family

We think about posting far more than we actually post on this blog.I just wanted to catch you up a little bit by including some recent selected pictures. I love my growing family. It is so fun to train them up in the way they should go. No greater joy. There is only one place in the bible where it says "no greater joy" and guess what; it has to do with children.  III John 4 "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." It is true. I plead with you parents to not merely be pleased with how cute or brave or smart your kid is, but pour into them that their praise would be a direct glorifying of God in Heaven. Train them up to honor God. It is a full time job of consistence and persistence but remember that they are the ONLY thing in your life that has any eternal value. "How priceless is your Word, O God that you would give it to us to follow you by. Thank you for speaking so clearly and precisely concerning life and godliness. Help us stay true and not compromise in any area of our lives."

Enjoy these pictures of my family with me.

Fun in the Snow

Snow in Columbia is a very rare thing, indeed!  So, when it snows everyone (who is not from up north) gets excited!  Northerners just think we are crazy!  :)  Recently it snowed about 1/2 inch, and the kids were thrilled.  They ate snow, gathered up snowballs to throw, and we made strawberry snow ice cream.  This was the first time that the girls remembered seeing snow.  Timmy had a great time being outside and teetering around.  He was a bit top heavy in his big jacket, so when he fell over he needed help to get back up.  A fun time was had by all!

Cutie Pies

A Family Christmas Picture

We are so thankful for our family!  God is so good!!!

Hannah is 4 1/2, Lauren is 3 1/2, Timmy is 14 months, and James is 1 month.

All blessings from the LORD!

Timmy loves his brother, James

A little update since the last post.... Timmy was warming up to little James when I last posted pictures.  In the past week Timmy has more than warmed up to James.  Almost every time he sees James, Timmy wants to give him a kiss.  He leans into James and makes an "mmmm..." sound and then kisses his head or his face.  Timmy also likes to point at James and "talk" to him.  They are precious together!

Baby James is Born!!!

Please rejoice with us over a precious new life the Lord has given our family!  On Wednesday, November 12 at 12:51 p.m. baby James Stephen Reed was born, weighing 7 lbs. 7.5 oz., and he was 20 inches tall.  James is named after his Grandpa Jim (Tim's dad) who went to be with the Lord 14 years ago.  His middle name is after Stephen in the Bible who gave his life willingly to follow the Lord Jesus (Acts 7).  Hannah and Lauren love the story of Stephen and look forward to seeing him in heaven one day along with their Grandpa Jim.  

James was born by way of c-section due to him being breech in his mama's tummy. This was Allyson's first c-section and in some ways she felt like she was having a first baby all over again.  But, praise the Lord the delivery went great.  Recovery is also going very well.  We went into the hospital at 10:30 on Wednesday morning and were able to leave the hospital at 9:30 on Friday morning - a little under 48 hours.  

Hannah, Lauren, and Timmy are all thrilled about their new little brother.  Hannah and Lauren can't get enough of holding him.  They are great helpers with James and Mama already.  The first time they came to visit us at the hospital, Hannah and Lauren brought a poster they had made that said, "Happy Birthday James!  We love you!  Love, Hannah, Lauren, and Timmy."  Hannah wrote the whole thing by herself in different colors, and Lauren cut out shapes to paste on it and put stickers all over it as well.  Timmy likes to point at James and say some "words".  He's come close to kissing James several times but hasn't quite gotten close enough - probably tomorrow.  :)  Just this afternoon, Timmy got really close to James and was studying him when James all of a sudden spit up a little bit.  Timmy burst out in tears, not sure what had happened.  It was precious!

Tim and I are so blessed to have four precious children who we have the privilege of raising in the fear and admonition of the Lord!  Even more, we are thankful to have a wonderful marriage and to give the gift of loving parents to our children.  God is so good!  Thank you for rejoicing with us!

Happy Family of SIX!!!

Why Do We Home School? (Part 2) - Character

  "And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.  And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.  And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates."  (Deuteronomy 6:5-9)

 The Lord commands parents to teach their children to love Him with all their heart, soul, and might.  This takes place as we intentionally spend time with our children - when we sit, walk, lie down, and rise up.  This encompasses all day every day, and we are responsible for what is going in our children's hearts and minds.  We believe this to be such a blessing of home schooling - being able to pour into our children from the moment they wake up until the moment they go to bed.   When they wake up in the morning, we are able to greet them with a hug and say, "Good morning!  This is the day that the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it!"  When they go to bed we are able to pray and sing together as a family.  And as we go throughout our day together we are able to praise the Lord all day long and bring attention to His handiwork in everything they are learning.

   Above the education we can give our children - the facts and the different subjects - math, reading, history, science, etc. - the most important thing we can teach our kids is about the Lord Jesus Christ and about CHARACTER.  In teaching these two things, we really can cover all the different subjects as we go along.  It's beautiful how it works!!!  

   Character is not taught out of a book.  It is taught out of the Bible, yes, but mainly is it taught through parents just living life with their children.  Tim and I are always aware of teaching our children about character.  Recently, I was able to introduce the word "perseverance" to Hannah and Lauren as we persevered in a task together.  Just yesterday, Tim and Hannah made beef jerky together.  We have a dehydrator and especially like to made jerky and dried apples.  We can stack 10 trays high on our dehydrator, which makes for a lot of work to get the meat or the apples on the trays, and our girls love to help us do this.  Tim and Hannah worked together diligently and raced against the clock yesterday to get all the ground beef on 10 trays in less than one hour.  Having this time limit forced them to stay focused on their task and forced Hannah to persevere.  There are many details involved in jerky making - mixing the spices in the meat, loading the jerky gun and cleaning it out often during the process, squeezing the meat out of the gun onto the trays, stacking the trays, etc.  Hannah had her sleeves rolled up and was working hard to help her Papa complete a task that we then could all enjoy the benefits of later. It turned out that the clock beat Tim and Hannah by a few minutes, but they were still encouraged to have persevered through the task and enjoyed much good, meaningful conversation and Papa/daughter time during the process.  Not only did they talk about perseverance, but Tim modeled it before Hannah.  Beautiful!

   Our children can recite well the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  But, what good is it for them to recite these things if they cannot live them out?  And how can they live out these things without first seeing them lived out in their parents (Tim and me)?  And how can Tim and I live these things out without first living in complete dependence upon the Lord Jesus, which is what we really want our children to learn to do?  Quite a process, indeed... but, it is so simple.  There is no formula.  It is all about dependence on our Savior.

   Do we make mistakes as parents?  Oh, yes indeed.  But, what better way for us to teach our children about humility and forgiveness than to humble ourselves before them and admit our flaws and ask for their forgiveness, which they willingly give every time.

   So, how do we teach character?  First - dependence on the Lord to live in and through us as parents.  But, second, we are extremely intentional.  We are always looking for ways to teach about pride, humility, love, forgiveness, patience, perseverance, encouragement, etc.  Every moment is a teachable moment - whether we are sitting at a meal together, riding in the car, taking a walk, or working on a project.  

  Now that is true education that will last right into eternity!  :)

Why Do We Home School? (Part 1) - Yard Work/Garage Sale

  I get asked quite a bit, "Why have you chosen to home school your children?"  Sometimes this question is asked out of genuine curiosity and sometimes it is asked out of defensiveness.  I am always eager to share why we have made this choice as we seek to "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6).  As our kids are drawing nearer to school age, I thought I would take some time to write down all of our "whys" and will therefore share some of those reasons on our blog.  I hope you will enjoy reading my thoughts and will be able to see more of our hearts as well as a bit more into our home life.  

  As I start out with Part 1, it seems most fitting to start by describing an actual event that is a common type of day in our home and how we teach our children.  I will not seek to answer the question, "Why do we home school our children?" in this post, but you will see quite a few answers start to develop.

  Recently, Tim and the girls were working in our backyard together, and they were helping him rake leaves.  They love being great helpers, and they love to please their Papa!  When they finished in the yard for the afternoon, Tim told the girls that the next morning while he was at work he wanted them to each fill a red wagon full of sticks from our yard.  When they completed this task they would each receive $3 from him.       

   They worked hard in the yard the next morning, and we even had a little competition going to see who could finish filling a wagon first.  Hannah finished first and won a Hershey Hug as her prize.  Meanwhile, Lauren praised Hannah for her hard work (they know well the verse, "Encourage one another and build each other up").  So, instead of Lauren being disappointed that she had not won the contest, she was excited for her sister.  We have taught them not only to praise others but also to be excited for others when they win, such as in playing a board game.  After Lauren finished picking up her sticks I treated them both to a little cup of vanilla yogurt on the back steps.  But, this was only after I had "ooohed" and "ahhhed" over all the sticks they had picked up!  :)  They couldn't wait to show Tim the job they had accomplished when he got home and also to receive the money that he had promised them.   

   Then, the next morning there were quite a few garage sales in our neighborhood.  We took the girls to 5 different sales, and they had a great time shopping with the $3 they had earned. They bought baby dolls, purses, stuffed animals, a baby doll stroller, and even had money left over.  During the sales they had to interact with the sellers because if they wanted to buy something it was up to them to talk and negotiate and purchase what they wanted.  I was looking at other things and could totally trust them to do their own "business," plus we want them to know how to interact with people of all ages and not just rely on Papa and Mama to communicate for them.   In order to do business, they used their knowledge of money that we have been working on together at home.  They each had a bunch of change as well as a $1 bill that all added up to $3.  They couldn't always make exact change, but the sellers were always happy to help them.

   The last garage sale we stopped at was a sweet time because Hannah bought a rocking horse for Timmy.  We made a big deal about her using her own money to buy something special for her brother.  She worked hard to earn her money and then chose to use it to show love to someone else.  Both girls even had money left over after the garage sales.  Now that's what I call smart shopping.  :)

   Then, we came home and enjoyed looking at all the things they had purchased, and they could appreciate their hard work and the contribution they had made to our family.  They could also enjoy the rewards of their hard work and learned many things in the process.

   To Tim and me, that is what home schooling is all about.  It's not about education in a box or at a desk.  It's about teaching them in every day life situations.  They are learning so many things without even realizing they are learning.

   So, in the whole yard work/garage sale event.... what did our kids learn or have to have a working knowledge of?

1- What a tremendous and valuable asset they are to our family

2- The value of hard work

3- The fun of competition as well as being excited for someone else when they win

4- Praising others and not yourself (another thing we teach: Let other lips praise you, not your own)

5- Money: how much coins and bills are worth and how to read price tags in order to make purchases

6- How to be friendly and sociable with people of all ages and how to negotiate and then be grateful by saying things like, "Thank you for your help" and "Have a nice day."

Most of all they are learning without even realizing they are learning, and that is priceless!

Stay tuned for more thoughts on home schooling...

Jumpin' Pumpkins

One day they will be as good at coordinated jumping as their Papa and Uncle John.  :)

Pumpkin Patch Pictures

Every year around this time (for the past 3 years) we head to the "Pumpkin Patch" at my Grandparents' church.  The girls really enjoy running through the pumpkins, laughing and playing the whole time.  This year Timmy enjoyed playing with a little pumpkin and watching his sisters play.  When it's time to leave, the girls always get to pick out a little pumpkin to take home.  This year they paid for the pumpkins and then counted the change they received back from the sales lady.  Every day is a fun learning experience!

Precious Little Man

Tim reads about Nathan Hale to our girls

 Recently I bought a set of 20 American hero biographies for young readers.

They are for K-3rd grade age. Tim has started reading these books to the 

girls a few times a week, and they love them!

 Now, if you've ever heard Tim tell a Bible story... you know how into it and dramatic he can get.  

He captures the girls' attention for up to 30 minutes at a time - even Lauren.  

He doesn't sugarcoat or gloss over the hard parts.

 Now, knowing how he tells Bible stories, maybe you can imagine how he 

reads these American history hero biographies... not overly dramatic... 

but he definitely captures the girls' attention and imagination.

 Last night they were reading a book about Nathan Hale.

I was in the other room reading, but I could see them from where I was 

sitting.  As they finished the book, I saw that Lauren had her head buried in 

her hands, and Hannah was laying on Tim's lap looking down and sad.

Tim looked at me and mouthed, "She (Hannah) is crying."

I came in the office... where they were sitting on the couch... and knelt down

in front of Hannah.  She was starting to cry, and Tim assured her it was fine 

to cry. I asked her what happened.  She was able to get out the words, 

"Nathan Hale." Then, I asked, "Did you read about Nathan Hale?"  

She nodded, "Yes."  Next, with overwhelming emotion she said, 

"He died trying to save AMERICA!!"....and she burst out into tears for the next couple of minutes.

 Tim and I looked at each other and smiled... both thinking, "How precious."

My eyes filled with tears as I saw how sad my little girl was over a man who 

had lost his life to help her have freedom in our country... and she understood that.

 After a couple minutes of allowing her to cry, Tim made the comparison

of what Nathan Hale did for our country to what Jesus did on the cross... 

except Jesus' sacrifice was so much bigger b/c it was for the sin of the whole world.

 Then, Hannah wanted to share with me what had happened at the end of 

the story, so Tim went back and read the last few pages.

The book said how Nathan, shortly before he was hung, had asked for a 

Bible to read, but had been denied.

Then, it went on to say that as he awaited his death, "He could only think 

about his country, his family, and his God."

 We do not know for sure, of course, that Nathan Hale was a believer in the 

Lord Jesus Christ, but the book seems to indicate that he was devoted to 

His God. So, Tim told Hannah that we might see Nathan Hale in heaven 

one day. He said, "Maybe Grandpa Jim can introduce us to Nathan Hale."

That brought a humongous smile to her face!!!!!  :)  So precious!!

We often talk about people they want to meet in heaven.  Among their 

favorites are Abel and Stephen.  

And Hannah was happy to add Nathan Hale to that list.

 Tim suggested to the girls that today during school time that we start making

a list of the people they would like to meet in heaven since it's something we

talk about every now and then.  In fact, Lauren often says, "I can't wait to go 

to heaven."  :) They were excited about making this list this morning.

 We concluded that time together by praising the Lord for what Nathan Hale

had done so that we could live in America.

We all started chanting and clapping, "Na-than... Na-than.... Na-than......"

 Precious times with our girls!

More Fun Crawfordville Pictures

Pictures from our fun weekend in Georgia with YaYa!

Columbia Cousins at Krispy Kreme

A fun morning together with all the Columbia cousins, aunts, and YaYa!

Timmy is ONE

On Saturday, Sept. 20, Timmy turned ONE year old!!  Hard to believe our little baby is no longer a little baby.  We spent the weekend in Georgia with Tim's mom (YaYa) and had a great time!!  It was a beautiful day on Saturday - perfect weather!  We went out to a BBQ place for lunch and then had a fun photo shoot with Timmy outside on all the antique tractors and other equipment.  After lunch Timmy had his first cake.  He wasn't so sure about plunging into it as we cheered him on, but we were all glad to help him make a mess.  Notice the blue icing "T" on Timmy's chest above.  Hannah and Lauren helped me make and decorate Timmy's cake, and they sang "Happy Birthday" to him all day long!  What a fun weekend!

Papa and Son Pics.

ECA Reunion

We went to Atlanta, GA last weekend and enjoyed meeting up with some high school alumni of Evangelical Christian Academy in Madrid, Spain. The waving picture turned out great! We all had a great time. Thank you!

Good morning

   Praise the LORD!  His mercies are new every morning!  This morning Timmy and I had a fun time playing together before the girls woke up.  When they did wake up, they came downstairs together holding hands and smiling huge smiles all dressed and ready for the day.  It is such a blessing to be greeted by their joy and observing their sweet friendship as sisters.  They gave me big hugs and then joined Timmy on the floor.  Timmy loves to watch a DVD called "Baby Praise" so Hannah decided she would put it on for him.  Once the video started playing, they all sat next to each other on the floor in front of the screen (without any prompting), and I was able to capture a precious picture of them as an onlooker from behind.  Notice Lauren leaning on Hannah in the picture.  :)  The dog then started begging me to go outside, so I gave into his wishes to let him do his business.  When I was walking back toward the house from outside I was greeted by three smiling faces looking out the back door at me.  How cute!  Timmy was standing up leaning against the window/back door just grinning from ear to ear, and Hannah and Lauren were right there with him.  I couldn't get in the door because Timmy was blocking the way.  So, Hannah helped him sit down so that I could squeeze through the door with my big tummy.  :)  

   Then, it was breakfast time for the girls and nap time for Timmy.  Lauren suggested we have french toast, which was a fun treat!  When we sat down to eat breakfast both girls wanted to pray for our food.  Lauren prayed first, followed by Hannah.  Then, I asked both girls to tell me two things they are thankful for, which they did.  After that I said, "God, you are wonderful!"  Then, I was silent and without any prompting they started praising the Lord as well.  Some of the things they said were, "God, you are so strong," "God, you create light," "You provide this warm house and food for us," "You died for our sins and rose again... Hallelujah!"   Then, after we kept going for a couple of minutes we concluded with, "Gloria a Dios!"

   While Timmy took a nap the girls and I had "school".  We have been taking a break from our normal school routine for a few days and learning about money, which has been fun.  We also read quite a few books this morning.  I really enjoy Hannah knowing how to read now.  It's so fun to share in her excitement after reading new words/books.

   After Timmy woke up from his nap, all three kids were in our room with me.  Over the weekend Marilyn (Tim's Mom, also known as YaYa) gave me a cassette tape that many of you may have heard of from many years ago.  It's called "The Friendship Company" by Sandi Patti. Tim and I both grew up listening to those songs and can sing them all from memory.  Today was the first time our kids got to listen to The Friendship Company.  Hannah and Lauren had a blast jumping on our bed while listening to the songs, and I got to take turns dancing with all three kids.  They loved it!  Timmy has so much fun "dancing" now and gets so excited about music ... giggling and laughing while moving to the music.  

   What a sweet morning.  Thank you, Lord, for these precious moments each day with our children.

Dear Woman,

   Young woman, if you are not a virtuous woman, seek to become one.  Find a virtuous woman, though they are not easy to come by, and admire her for your own sake.  Consider her ways and follow them.  I speak as the husband of a Proverbs 31 woman.  I speak as one who has found a virtuous woman, whose worth is far above that of precious stones.  My heart trusts in her and my children and I rise up and call her blessed.  

   My desire for this text is for other women to hear that there is nothing more powerful than a virtuous woman.  If you are older and have passed up on being virtuous, repent and become so.  If you are younger and bewildered by the different directions a modern woman can take, search no more.  A virtuous woman is the only thing of value you can become, of utmost value, I must add.  What is a capable woman if she is not virtuous?  Oh woman, do not settle for the vanity of self-gratification.  There is nothing less beautiful than a beautiful woman worshipping herself.  You know it is true, don't you?  My daughters sing this verse, and it is daily confirmed as true in our home..."A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones."  How often do you dry up people's bones?  Stop it!  Please!  It is nauseating to hear a woman criticize, especially when she disguises it with a fake smile.  It is putrid to hear a woman, any woman, gossip and try to exalt herself by putting others down.  This is especially repugnant when she has the audacity to preface her criticism with "I am not one to gossip, but..." or "There are not many people I don't like, but..."

   Did you know that Proverbs says, "It is better for a man to live in the corner of a rooftop than in a large house with a contentious woman"?  Yes, it is true.  A woman can be poison... yes, the very stench of death to a man or to anyone around her.  Dear lady, if you have done these things or do these things, Stop it! Repent! Quit it! Don't do it anymore! And by the way, if you really want to know how bad you get sometimes, just ask around and dare them to be honest.  Don't trust yourself.  Don't flatter yourself by comparing yourself with other "ladies".  Don't excuse yourself either; don't deceive yourself.  On the other hand, don't worry.  The woman who does these things can resurrect by the power of God unto a complete restoration of her home.  She can seek virtue and find it.  She can exchange bitterness for joy.  Don't give up, dear heart.  God loves you, and he wants this for you.  He makes provision for your virtue.  Cease it and let it not go.  Repent from your evil ways and pursue the righteousness of true, virtuous womanhood in the Lord.  Whether you marry or not, you will be blessed and will impact the world more than you can even imagine.  

   What kind of woman are you?  This is NOT a simple question.  It would be simple if I were asking the ten people closest to you.  They would know how to answer.  I ask again, what kind of woman are you?  Do you even know?  Will you be honest?  I perceive that most women haven't a clue how self-absorbed they are and how damaging they are to others.  How about this question?  How many women have you been thinking about that need to read this?  If you are less than first in line, you are already deceived.  Do not be deceived.  Your heart is deceitful above all things, so why trust in your judgment concerning yourself?  Go ask God, I pray, that he would show you how unvirtuous you are.  "Lord, do I speak too much?  Really?  That much?  Do I criticize others?  Do I lie?  Do I dishonor?  Do I disrespect?  Do I dry up bones?  Do I worship myself?  Do I worship by body?  Am I a crown of glory to my husband or to my father?  Do I watch vanity?  Do I read vanity?  Do I fantasize?  Search me O Lord, and know my deepest thoughts and see if there be in me a self-glorifying, unvirtuous, hidden agenda in me.  Expose me, Lord, gently, and allow me to start anew and afresh as a daughter of the good King.  Nail my impurity to your cross and may I fear you as God, staying low in humility and seeking virtue unto your Glory all the days of my life."

   Dear woman, Fight for it.  Don't take it lightly.  It is worth it.  It is necessary.  Shine in the Lord and spare us all from the disgust and grief.  Find a virtuous woman and  become like her.  Perhaps the greatest verse and most applicable from all of Proverbs 31 is verse 30.  "Favor is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised."

Facebook

Hello everyone,

We've been asked quite often why we are so sluggish in joining facebook (or any social network).

To this point our answers as to why we haven't joined yet have been unclear at best. There are more or less particular reasons for our inactivity on the matter but none of them as simple and as clear as the fact that we are simply not interested in joining. If you are still curious as to why we choose not to, the most honest answer you will ever get is that we are truly and definitely and entirely uninterested. 

I even googled "facebook" images to maybe find something to go along with this post but all I got was a confirmation to my thoughts. I just couldn't care any less about it.  It makes me want to read Ecclesiastes again.

I hope this note finds you well. Please be challenged by it. From an exhorting brother to you!

Go read your Bible instead of updating your facebook account, for in it are the words of life.  Maybe you won't get as many people asking to be your friend, but you will be shocked beyond your wildest dreams at how content you can be without a single one of them (friends) when you find yourself staring at the fiercely compassionate face of the living God.

Quit inviting internet 'friends' to your web page rather than inviting  lost souls to the foot of the cross. 

I hope  you are sound enough to read in my voice that I am not condemning you for using facebook. I am simply stating two things. One, that I am not interested in joining facebook. And two, I am encouraging you to search your heart today. If facebook has become your idol, then yes, you are rebuked for it, and I plead that you relinquish its hold on you - for your sake and for His glory. On the other hand, if your idol is something completely different, then my rebuke is exactly the same. Mankind can get quite creative with his idolatry, but in reality they ALL fall in to the "and they worshipped 'other gods' " category.

Friends, if you claim to know Christ but your lives don't reflect it, please shiver in despair. God is not mocked.

Don't play!   I love you so very much. Don't play!

Cry out.

Busy or Reflective

Every time we go to Crawfordville we enjoy Heavy's Barbeque.  

There's no other place like it.  

You'll have to try it with us someday!

   Someone put the following words together, "Hurry is not of the devil; it IS the devil."  I was just now writing my brother-in-law thanking him for house and dog sitting this weekend while we enjoyed a few days away in small town Crawfordville, GA.  As I wrote him, these words flowed out: "Boy we had a good time relaxing in that small Georgia town this weekend. No TV, no internet.  It was pleasant to have less 'busy' time and more 'reflective' time.  And what was interesting is that we exerted more physical activity being less 'busy' and more 'reflective'."

   I am sure that you too have heard countless times lately how noisy, busy, fast-paced, cluttered, over-saturated modern life is, but the thing is, it is really that way.  Our family watched a mini-series recently called "The Frontier House" and it was about 3 families in 2001 going back in time for a 5-month period to the 1873 Montana Territory Homesteading.  It was a fascinating account. But, one of the most tragic moments in the 6 hours of footage was when one of the men felt like he was going to lose his mind when he returned to the 21st century and was bombarded by over stimulation of the senses when he spent a night on the town.  "So many lights, so many choices, so much noise."  It was rather depressing to watch him realize the futility of his life.  Oh that man would turn to God and find purpose.  

   I am rather nostalgic at heart, but this post has nothing to do with returning to simpler times for the sake of past glories, but rather for the sake of sanity and hearing the real voice of God. Dear friend, my encouragement to you today is that you unplug your ipod and everything else that that word stands for.

   -- Tim

"Mama, What does miserable mean?"

  The conversations that Tim and I have the privilege of having with our children are priceless. I should recount them more often and will try to do a better job of sharing some of them.

   Today Hannah, Lauren, and I were sitting at our kitchen table eating lunch as we do almost everyday.  Usually after one of the girls prays for "this good family, this good food, and for Papa to come home safe" we start praising the Lord. Sometimes we praise the Lord for "a warm house, good food to eat, a little brother" and sometimes we praise Him that He is "wonderful, almighty, amazing" and things like that.  It is a fun time to just praise the Lord together.  

   After praising the Lord together today, Hannah looked at me and asked, "Mama, What does miserable mean?"  I said, "Well, it means really bad."  I said, "If I am having a miserable day, then I am having a really bad day, or if I feel miserable, then I am feeling really bad."

Without skipping a beat she asked, "Do you feel miserable when you have a baby?" (she was referring to child birth).  I was surprised by her question because I did not know she knew at this point that there was pain associated with child birth.  I responded, "Yes, I do feel miserable" (thinking of having Timmy, an 8.5 lb. baby, by way of natural birth with no numbing medication - not my choice)  :)  She asked, "Why do you feel miserable?"  "Because it hurts," I answered. Again, "Why?" she asked.

   Ah ha.  This is where we have the choice to give one of two answers - the physical answer (which she is really not interested in at this point, thankfully... because I'm not sure how great of a job I would do explaining this to a 4-year old)  or the spiritual answer.  I opted for option #2 - the spiritual answer.  :)

   So, in answer to her question about why I feel miserable when I have a baby and why it hurts, I answered.... "Hannah, do you remember what Mama told you yesterday after you had disobeyed?  I told you that you can choose your sin but not your consequence."  She remembered that from yesterday.  You see, she had chosen to disobey and have a bad attitude (that was her choice), but then Tim and I chose her consequence (how she would be disciplined).  So, this explanation of sin and consequences was fresh in her little mind.

Then, I took her back to the story of Adam and Eve.  She reminded me of what they did and how they disobeyed God. You probably see where I am going with this.... sin... consequences...

I said, "Hannah, Eve chose to sin by disobeying God, but God got to choose her consequence.  One of her consequences was that every time she had a baby it would hurt really bad."  Hannah looked at me surprised.  I went on to explain, "And guess what?  Part of the consequence of Eve's sin was that it would hurt every lady that ever had a baby forever and ever."  Her mouth dropped open.  She was shocked.  "Why?" she asked.  I said, "God gets to choose our consequences... our punishment."  "So, that is the reason it hurts when Mama has a baby and that is why I feel miserable.  It is because of Eve's sin."  She understood this in relation to her sin and consequences yesterday afternoon.  She was not confused and accepted very well that God is in control and we are accountable to Him for everything.  I think she is beginning to grasp how our sin doesn't just affect us... it also affects those around us.

It is so beautiful to have these kinds of conversations with our kids. They truly are little sponges, and I pray that we are molding and shaping their hearts into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anniversary Addendum (by Tim)

Hello!                                  July 28th, 2008

Today is my 7 year anniversary. I celebrated this joyous event with my wife 

two days ago with our youngest son James, who is still in the womb. We love our  children to pieces, but we love each other more, so it was nice to just spend the day together. I was so honored that Allyson would take me on a man date and be such a great friend to have along. She didn't roll her eyes or criticize me when I got excited over the things we were doing. She didn't rush me nor did she tell me how much she would rather be shopping for herself. It was a very unusual date for a man to enjoy with his wife. You see, we spent the day learning about guns and shooting them at the range and then walking casually through Sportsmen's Warehouse looking at all the "grunt!, grunt!" man things to do outdoors.

I say it was unusual because, you tell me how many couples you know where the wife would ever take her husband out on a "man's date", much less on an important anniversary and even being five months pregnant. That was a royal treat for me. Not  so much the fact that the "man date" was fun, but far more so that my wife would honor me and enjoy me enough to initiate it and enjoy every moment of it herself. 

Thank you baby, for making me feel wanted, admired and respected.

Happy 7th Anniversary!

How excited we are to be celebrating 7 wonderful years of marriage today!!  I honestly never, ever imagined that marriage could be this great!  On July 28, 2001, Tim and I were married here in Columbia, SC.  Then, we moved to Charlotte, NC for three years, and now we are back in Columbia again.  In the past seven years the Lord has blessed us far beyond what we could have asked or imagined, especially with our precious children.  Most of all He continues to reveal more of Himself to us as we study His Word.  We are thankful to be growing together in the Lord!  Every year of marriage truly does get better and better. In a world where you rarely ever hear that said, we realize how truly blessed we are, and we are SO VERY THANKFUL!  The picture I have included for this post is one that was taken right before we were married.  Wow!  We look young! :) We are looking forward to the next seven years!

Common Sense?

   "Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years.  No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.  He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:  Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm; life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault.  Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

   "His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place.  Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student only worsened his condition.  Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.  It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.  Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses, and criminals received better treatment than their victims.  Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.  

   "Common Sense finally gave up the will to live after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot.  She spilled a little in her lap and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.  Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.  He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.

   "Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.  If you still remember him, pass this on.  If not, join the majority and do nothing."

-- Author Unknown

New Dishwasher and New "Home"

   Recently we went to Sears to pick out a new dishwasher because our old dishwasher stopped working.  It was going to cost $120 for delivery and installation, so Tim decided to save us some money by bringing it home in his truck and then installing it himself.  I was so impressed that he installed it without a hitch and saved us a good bit of money at the same time.  Now I have a nice new dishwasher that works beautifully.  Thank you, baby!!     The box the dishwasher came in was far too big and fun to throw away, though.  So, the girls and I decided to make a house out of it.  We cut holes on each side to make windows and a large opening in front to make a door that Hannah and Lauren could enter and exit through.  We also made window boxes and put flowers in them, which were made out of pipe cleaners.  Then, came the really fun part - painting.  The girls had a blast painting their new house on two different afternoons.  They really enjoyed getting paint all over themselves and their clothes.  

   Mama is happy to have a new dishwasher, and the girls are happy to play in their new home.  

What are our children learning/doing?

What a blessing it is to have children!  I thought I'd take a few minutes to blog about what our children are doing these days.  We have so much fun learning together at home and in everything we do.  I am SO GRATEFUL to the Lord to have the privilege to stay home with our children.

Tim and I have been encouraged by the the following verses as we strive to raise our children to fear and love the Lord.  Deuteronomy 6:5-7 says, "And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:  And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."

As excited as we are about educating our children at home, our number one focus and priority is to train their little hearts - to shepherd them and to mold them into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is fun to teach them how to read, how to write, how to add, etc.... but, oh how much more wonderful it is to teach them to hide God's Word in their hearts and to have them explain to us how it applies to their lives.  "I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you."  My heart smiles every time I hear our girls singing God's Word around our home, in the car, outside playing, or at the store.  

So, what are our kids doing these days?  

Well, Hannah and Lauren continue to memorize Scripture, and Timmy will soon be catching on.  :)  Today we started working on Colossians 3:23-24, "Whatever you do, work at with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.  Since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

Tim shared these verses with the girls the other day while they were working on their "school work."  Everything they do, we want them to do unto the Lord... and oh what a challenge that is to us as parents to do the same.

What about Hannah?  She turned 4 just over three months ago.

As of  last week she read her first book to us - and she actually read it to me, sounding out all the words by herself, instead of just having it memorized.  She has "read" books to me before after memorizing them, but she did this one on her own.  I was so proud of her!!!  It's fun because educating our children at home allows them to learn at their own pace.  When they are ready to grasp a concept, I jump all over it.  But, if they are not ready yet, then we wait a while longer.  Hannah is ready and excited to learn how to read right now.  

She has known how to write all of her capital letters for quite a while now, but she can write almost all of her lower case letters now too.  Hannah is a great teacher to Lauren.  Anything she learns, she passes on to her sister.  We have an easel/chalk board.  Hannah has been teaching Lauren how to write her letters, and they have fun working together on this.

Hannah can also write all of our names by herself (Papa, Mama, Hannah, Lauren, Timmy, and many other words), and has also mastered simple addition.

Most of all, and most importantly, she is learning to trust the Lord, to pray from her heart, and to be joyful in all things.  We work on this daily, and now she is such an encouragement to Tim and me.  Just the other day she was reminding Tim to trust the Lord and that God ("the one true God") is amazing!  :)

What about Lauren?  She turned 3 just over three months ago.

She likes to memorize books and "read" them to us.  She also can write most of her capital letters now.  Just yesterday she surprised us and wrote 4 of our names all by herself (Papa, Mama, Hannah, Lauren), and as of today she can also write Timmy.  I was shocked because we haven't been working on this.  As I mentioned above, Hannah is a great teacher, and Lauren is a good student and loves to learn.  It's fun to watch our kids teach each other.

Lauren really enjoys coloring and does an amazing job coloring in the lines, almost as good as an adult.  She also likes to do connect the dots and simple mazes and loves to build with little legos. Both of our girls love playing with their baby dolls and being little mamas.  It is precious to watch them "train" their baby dolls as we are training them.  They don't miss a beat and are paying attention to everything.  

How about Timmy?  He is now 9 months old.

He is doing the army crawl these days and saying lots of new "words".  He also really enjoys holding our hands in order to walk across the room.  He is not ready to walk on his own, but he sure appreciates the helping hand as it gets him from one place to another much quicker. Timmy is able to entertain himself very well whenever he has big lego blocks.  One of our neighbors gave us a big box of legos that are just the right size for him... and the girls really enjoy them too.  It's fun to have a set of toys that all three kids can enjoy together.

As you can see, I am blessed to be the Mama of these precious cuties!!!

May we be faithful with these that the Lord has entrusted into our care.

Timmy at the Beach

A Day at the Beach

Hannah and Lauren have been counting down the months since March for our trip to the beach over the weekend of July 4th.  Neither of them have been to the beach before, and they were super excited to experience the beach for the first time.  On Saturday we went to Folly Beach with Jessica, and it was a perfect day.  Hannah took to the water right away and loved splashing and running in it. She especially had a great time in the ocean with Tim and told him while they were in the water, "Papa, I just love you so much!!!"  Lauren took a little longer to warm up to the water, but then she loved it as well.  Timmy was content to sit on the beach, but when we tried to put his feet in the water he would pull them up underneath him to avoid it.  Jessica and I enjoyed hanging out on the beach and a relaxing day.  Thank you, Lord, for such a wonderful day!

The 4th of July

We had a great time over the 4th of July in Charleston, SC with my good friend and college roommate, Jessica Bell, or Aunt Jessica, as Hannah and Lauren call her.  We spent most of the day on Friday on a beautiful piece of property called "Peaceful Way" where there were water activities, horses to ride, lots of yummy food, a hot air balloon, and fireworks later in the evening. We left not too long before the fireworks started, but we had a wonderful day together as a family and with precious friends.

WMHK Birthday Party

Recently the local Christian radio station here in Columbia (WMHK) had a big birthday party with lots of ride for kids, a concert, and lots of free food.  Hannah and Lauren enjoyed their first little ferris wheel ride, getting their faces painted, sliding down a huge inflatable slide, and eating lots of treats they're not used to eating (cotton candy, hot dogs, popcorn, juice, chips).  We had a great time even in the super hot weather.

Cute Timmy Faces

Timmy is crawling/scooting all over now and is so much fun!  He has become quite expressive in the faces he makes, and we all like trying to match his faces and then get him to repeat them.  He is learning that we think he is funny and that makes him want to interact even more.  These are some of his little faces that Tim captured recently.

Girls, Baby dolls, and Purses

Our girls love taking care of their baby dolls and are going to be wonderful mamas one day.  They each have several dollies that they take take of - feed, change their diapers, change their clothes, etc.  Whenever they go on pretend trips, the girls will ask Tim and me to babysit their dolls and will give us quite the schedule of how to take care of them.  It is precious!  They also enjoy filling their purses and bags full of goodies to take on a "trip" with them.  They always want to make sure they are well prepared (for anything!!).  Recently, they came outside in their pajamas with one of their dolls, their diaper bags, purses, and a cute hat on.  We just had to take a picture.

Fun in the Sun

What a blast we had at the Burrows' home and pool yesterday!  It was a beautiful day outside and perfect for enjoying the pool.  Hannah and Lauren are not used to being in the water, but they took to it like two little fishies.  By the end of the day they were jumping off the pool steps into the water with their little floats on by themselves.  I realized that I definitely need to give them swimming lessons.  They are both ready, and I want them to be good little swimmers and continue to enjoy the water.  Meantime, Timmy enjoyed lounging in a baby float for the first time.  By the time we arrived home we were all sleepy but thankfully the only one who got a sunburn was me.  :)  Hannah and Lauren are already wanting to go back to the pool today.  Thank you, Lord, for such fun time with my children!

Happy Father's Day!

What a wonderful day!  This morning our children all climbed into bed with Tim and woke him up with "Happy Father's Day!" greetings and hugs.  Timmy just hit at Tim's chest and smiled and made fun noises.  He can say, "Papa, Papa" now, among several other little words that are fun to hear!  Then, they treated Tim to a yummy breakfast at Bojangle's, and later in the afternoon Tim treated all three of them to Bible story time.  Usually Hannah and Lauren are the only ones who get to enjoy Bible time, but Timmy was able to join in today too, and he was very interactive.  :)

Thank you, Lord, for a wonderful Papa!

A Fun Friday Night

Fridays have always been my favorite day of the week - particularly Friday evenings.  And especially now that I have a wonderful family of my own, I enjoy these evenings even more.  Friday evenings are time for our family to be together knowing that the next day Tim gets to stay home.  Even just this morning when Hannah woke up, the first thing she said, with great delight on her face, as she walked down the stairs to greet Lauren, Timmy, and me was, "Papa gets to stay home tomorrow!!"  :)  We celebrate the weekends around here because we get to see Papa (Tim) all weekend long.  

Tonight in Columbia was a humid 90 degree evening, and we went downtown for dinner with my Mom.  After dinner the girls played in a little fountain while we enjoyed being outside for a little while, and then once we returned home, Tim and the girls and I had a good time in our backyard on the playground.  Our children are growing way too fast, but we are also loving every minute of watching them grow.  What a privilege!

And the 4th baby is a...

Today was the big day we have been anticipating and counting down for the last few weeks.  I am now 16 weeks pregnant, and today was the day of the ultrasound to determine the sex of the baby.  What a blessing to find out that the heartbeat is still strong, the measurements look good, and we will be adding another precious little boy to our home.  Two girls and two boys.  We are so excited and can't wait to meet him in November!!  Hannah and Lauren were pleased to find out there will be another brother and are glad that Timmy will have a little best friend to play with just like they are best friends (and they proudly declare that they are best friends all the time)!  Please rejoice in the Lord with us!!  He alone is good.

** The 2nd picture above is a reflection of us in a window, in case you were wondering.  :)

Cute Lauren

Timmy is 8 months old

     Here are some of the latest pictures of our fast-growing little man.  He is definitely treated like a little king by his loving big sisters.  Hannah is now able to prepare his bottle and feed it to him as well as feeding him baby food.  Both girls like to help me give him a bath, and they constantly entertain him.  Lauren especially loves to make him laugh.  The other day in the car they all three took turns making sounds to try to sound like each other; it was so fun to listen to.  I wonder what having four will be like.  :)

A Sad Day for Two Little Girls

      Today our good friends and neighbors, the Wilson family, moved from South Carolina to Delaware.  Hannah and Lauren have known this day was coming, and for many months now almost every time we pass by their home (a few houses down from ours), Hannah will say, "Miss Kellyn is moving.  That's SO SAD!"  But, yesterday reality really hit home.  It was the day we would say our final goodbyes.  Yesterday morning I told Hannah and Lauren that later in the afternoon we would go down to Miss Kellyn's house and say goodbye to them before they left.  Both girls immediately started getting sad.  It was time for me to put Timmy down for his nap, and once I came out of his room, Hannah and Lauren were both waiting for me outside his door, and Hannah said, "Mama, we are both really sad."  So, we went in my room and climbed up on the bed and each took turns praying for the Wilson family.  Then, Hannah climbed in my arms and burst into tears for about 5 minutes while I held her and loved on her.   We talked about how it was okay to be sad and this really was going to be a sad day.  But, we were also happy that we had known Miss Kellyn and her family for the past year and half.  Both girls made cards for the Wilson's and that seemed to cheer them up a bit.  But, later in the afternoon when we went to give our final hugs, Lauren was the first one to cry and could barely give Miss Kellyn a hug because she was so sad.  Hannah was able to be happy through the goodbyes, but as soon as we got back in the car, both girls could not contain their tears.  Lauren was crying really hard and saying over and over again, "Miss Kellyn, Miss Kellyn."  Hannah also started crying really hard for the next 10 minutes.  Our girls are at the age now where they are really starting to experience deeper emotions.  Tim and I were so sad for our girls as we watched them going through this grieving process.  We just wanted to hold them and love them because we too know what those emotions feel like.  Early this morning the Wilson family left before we were even awake, but when Hannah and Lauren woke up they remembered that this was the big moving day.  They were still sad but doing much better.  It truly was a sad day yesterday for our two precious little girls.

Soon to be Family of 6

Praise the Lord!  Our family of 5 will soon be a family of 6.  New little baby Reed (#4) is due to arrive around Nov. 20, 2008.  I have just completed my first trimester of pregnancy and thankfully am feeling great!  We all went to the doctor last week to see this precious miracle on an ultrasound, and all the measurements and the heartbeat are perfect.  Hannah and Lauren were thrilled to find out the news that they were having a new little brother or sister.  Hannah even cried happy tears when she found out.  :)  We captured it all on video to enjoy for years to come. Hannah and Lauren have been the ones to announce the news to many people by singing their new version of "This is the Day... This is the Day.... This is the Day that the Lord has put a baby in Mama's tummy."  We will go back for another ultrasound in 4 weeks to hopefully find out if this baby is a boy or a girl.  We are split down the middle with our guesses.  Papa and Hannah think the baby is a girl, and Mama and Lauren think it is a boy.  We are all happy either way, and Timmy is not sure what to expect yet.  Timmy and the new baby will be 14 months apart.  We praise the Lord for the blessing of children!

Zoo and Red Robin

We recently spent the afternoon at the zoo and then had a yummy dinner at Red Robin with our friends, the Bouillions.  While we were out we took the opportunity to snap some fun pictures of Hannah, Lauren, and Timmy, and even a couple of Tim and me as well.  During this month, Timmy will turn 6 months, Hannah will turn 4, and Lauren will be 3 on April 1.  We are thankful to be Papa and Mama to such precious children!

Visit with the Bouillions

We had a great time with our friends, Dawn and Barry Bouillion, and their two precious girls, Anne-Marie and Ellie-Grace this past week.  I was so excited when I found out that they were going to stay with us for a whole week!!  Tim and I went to school with the Bouillions at CIU and have been great friends ever since.  It is fun to get together as our families are growing and to be able to share a common bond in the Lord Jesus Christ.  We are thankful to have such wonderful friends!

Blessed Beyond Measure

Allyson writes:  Growing up I always looked forward to the day I would be married and have a family of my own.  However, I honestly never imagined that marriage could be as wonderful as it is or that raising children could be this fun!  The LORD has far exceeded all my expectations with the amazing husband he has blessed me with, who fears the Lord and strives to lead our family with utmost integrity.  He has also blessed us with the most precious children who teach us and bless our hearts tremendously through their childlike faith and contagious, ongoing giggles.  Even as I write this post, Hannah and Lauren are playing and laughing together while singing Bible verses.  Music to my ears!  I am an incredibly happy wife (help meet) and mama!  :)

Reed-Prescott Reunion

On the weekend of Feb. 8-9, six out of the seven Reed and Prescott families descended upon Bethal Christian Camp in Gaston, SC.  We enjoyed some wonderful meals together, a beautiful bonfire on a chilly night as we roasted marshmallows and made smores, and treasured time together that never seems to last long enough.  We gathered from Columbia, Chicago, and China.  It was so much fun to see all the cousins together now that they are old enough to play with one another.  There are now 11 grandchildren in all - ranging from 5 months - 6 yrs.  How blessed we are to be part of a family that is serving the Lord all over the world!

Who's Who?

Camo boys

Yesterday afternoon when Tim got home he drove his truck into the backyard.  He had his blowgun and was going around with it for a while (as is the custom these days).  :) 

Then, he climbed a tree to get one of his bamboo darts.  Hannah and Lauren were both worried about him but celebrated once he reached the ground in safety.  Lauren then took a break from playing outside, and she came in the kitchen to help me make lasagna for dinner.  Hannah and Lauren both really enjoy helping me in the kitchen, and we have so much fun together!  Lauren had her apron on, and I had mine on as well.  Once we put the lasagna in the oven, Lauren returned outside to play with Hannah and Tim.  Then, Timmy woke up.  I fed him, and then dressed him in his "hunting gear" to go outside - what a cutie!

Tim was in the back of his truck with Hannah and Lauren enjoying some Papa/daughters time.  They were loving it.  He would later spend a while with just Hannah in the back of the truck talking and hanging out.  She just eats it up!

But, when Timmy and I went outside, we found Tim sharing a jar of baby food bananas with the girls.  Yes, that's right.  The girls had taken out their baby diaper bags - equipped with everything except the kitchen sink.  Tim had quite a time trying to convince them to eat the baby food (that's a whole other story), but they finally did and were having a great time when Timmy and I arrived.

So, there you have Mr. Hunter (Tim) sitting in his woodsy-colored apparel; Lauren is in her red apron from having helped me cook; I am in my red apron; Hannah is eating baby food and having a blast, and Timmy is in his camo gear.  The boys definitely look like boys, and the girls definitely look like girls.  :)

We have so much fun together as a family!

We Will Serve the Lord

We had a wonderful and quiet Christmas day at home.  The girls woke me up early on Christmas morning so that we could make cinnamon swirl muffins together.  Tim made a fire in the firepit outside, and we enjoyed singing 'Happy Birthday' to Jesus.  We put a candle in the middle of all the muffins and Hannah and Lauren blew it out together. Later in the morning Tim suggested that we cover the gifts we were going to give each other with blankets.  I had not had time to wrap any presents due to being in the hospital with Timmy.  It was a great idea, and the girls loved uncovering their gifts.  It was even more fun because they did not expect to receive any gifts.  Over the past month people kept asking them what they wanted for Christmas.  For a while they would say either, "Nothing" or "I don't know."  But, people kept asking, so one day when they were both asked, Hannah said, "Twenty carrots and a box," and Lauren said, "Five apples."  :)  We have just told them that Christmas is a time to celebrate Jesus' birthday.  Tim gave me a beautiful blanket with our family Christmas picture on it, and at the bottom it says, "We will serve the LORD."  It is very special and I will certainly treasure it.

Our neighbors (The Ross Family) had us over for a wonderful Christmas lunch, and then Tim and I were able to spend some time together around the fire while the kids were napping.  My Mom came over for a little while and sat at the fire with Timmy and me while Tim was out having fun with his blowgun.  Timmy just wouldn't stop smiling at Grandma. We finished off the day with a fun visit from our good friend, Jessica Bell.  What a wonderful day!

Merry Christmas - Timmy is Home and Healthy!

Merry Christmas!  Timmy is home from the hospital and getting stronger each day.  What wonderful Christmas gifts the Lord has given us - His Only Son, Jesus Christ, and our son, Timothy, healthy and much stronger now.

Timothy is now 13 weeks old, but for the past couple of months he has been spitting up LOTS and LOTS.  He was born weighing 8 lbs. 5 oz.  At 3 weeks old he weighed 11 lbs.  But, at almost 3 months old (when I took him to the doctor a week ago) he only weighed 11 lbs. 5 oz.  So, he has not been gaining weight accordingly or growing properly.

I have tried various formulas to no avail.  He just could not seem to tolerate any type of food for long - it would always come back up.  So, I recently took him to the doctor after a very hard night, thinking he might have reflux.  His pediatrician started him on two reflux medications.  After three days on these meds. he had not gotten any better.  So, his meds. were increased, and I was told to watch him for three days, but if he was not completely better then I needed to bring him back into the pediatrician to be re-evaluated.  After three days he was the same - spitting up in large volumes and looking much weaker and even dehydrated.  

On Friday morning (Dec. 21) I took Timmy into the doc. again, and he thought there may be a slight chance that Timmy had a condition called pyloric stenosis.  However, most babies who have this condition are diagnosed much earlier (around 6 weeks of age).  We were then sent immediately to Palmetto Richland Hospital for Timmy to have an ultrasound.  Tears filled my eyes as I placed my little baby on a large hospital bed for him to have his ultrasound.  He had the same type of ultrasound I had just a few short months earlier when he was in my tummy.

After two sonographers and a radiologist took turns looking inside his tummy on the ultrasound machine, the radiologist halfway concluded that he might have pyloric stenosis; however, he was not completely convinced.   I waited alone with Timmy in the ultrasound room at the hospital for over an hour and was then told that Timmy did indeed have pyloric stenosis and was going to be admitted to the hospital and have surgery that afternoon.  My heart sunk, and I was also confused.  You see, usually this condition is very easy to diagnose by ultrasound.  Babies either have it or they don't - it's black and white.  But, with Timmy, the radiologist had said he was on the fence as to whether or not he had it.  So, I was a bit concerned that they were ready to jump into surgery when he was certainly not a typical case of this condition.

So, what is pyloric stenosis, you may be asking?  The pylorus is a muscle that connects the stomach to the small intestine.  When a baby has pyloric stenosis, their pylorus muscle has grown too large and cannot allow food to pass through to the small intestine.  Therefore, since the food cannot go down, it must come back up.  Timmy's pylorus was basically like a donut that was closing up in the middle.

By 2:30 Friday afternoon, we were admitted to Room 934 in the Children's Hospital in Palmetto Richland.   Tim arrived shortly after that, and I was so happy to see him.  We loved on our little boy together, prayed for him, and sang with him, as we would continue to do throughout our time at the hospital.  Even as I waited with Timmy alone in the ultrasound room and throughout our time at the hospital, the song that I sang over and over again was Proverbs 3:5-6.  "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding.  In all of your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."   Another common song around our home that we sang quite a bit at the hospital was "Give thanks to the Lord for He is good.  His love endures forever." Amen!!

Timmy was taken from us a little later in the afternoon so they could start his IV and also draw blood from him.  My heart was sad as my baby was brought back to the room attached to an IV machine.  As Tim and I sat and prayed and waited, we were a bit troubled that Timmy was going to be taken into surgery later in the evening when there did not seem to be a clear diagnosis.  We called several people and asked them to begin spreading the word and praying for Timmy as well as for his doctors to have wisdom.  As evening approached, we finally were able to meet with the pediatric surgeon, Dr. James Glasser.  He spent a long time with us, and we quickly grew to love him and felt confident placing our little boy in his hands.  After feeling Timmy's tummy for 15 minutes, Dr. Glasser was not convinced that Timmy had pyloric stenosis.  He reiterated what we had heard, that this condition was easy to diagnose, but it was not clear with Timmy.  So, instead of rushing into surgery he had us try Timmy on a special hypo-allergenic formula through the night, and ordered that Timmy have an Upper G.I. test done on Saturday that would certainly confirm what was going on in his little body.  

Timmy did very well throughout Friday night.  He as taken off of IV fluids, and I woke him up every three hours to eat three ounces of this specialized formula.  He was able to keep it down - all 12 ounces that I had given him.  However, when he was weighed on Saturday morning, he weighed 12 ounces more than he had the night before.  That started to clue me in that the milk wasn't going anywhere and that it was still in his little tummy.  Another symptom of this condition is that babies do not have many wet diapers since the milk is not being digested properly.  This was true with Timmy.  I had only been changing about 4 diapers in a 24-hour period with him for quite a while.

Saturday afternoon Tim and I bundled up our little baby in just a blanket and headed down to the 2nd floor of the hospital for his Upper G.I. test.  We were able to watch on a screen what was happening in his little body.  As he was strapped to a machine, they started feeding him a bottle of barium and watching where it went.  We watched it travel into his stomach, but when it tried to leave the stomach and go into the small intestine, it was rejected.  Several times over the 5 minutes he had the test, the fluids would try to squeeze through, but could never make it out of the stomach.  The radiologist as well as the pediatric surgeon were certain that Timmy did indeed have pyloric stenosis.  Tim and I were also now convinced after what we had seen on the screen.  

Timmy was once again prepped for surgery, and Tim and I headed down to the 3rd floor to meet with the pediatric anesthesiologists.  They were wonderful, just like Timmy's surgeon.  They put our minds at ease that our baby was in good hands.  We were really impressed and thankful that everyone we came into contact with took lots of time to explain to us everything that was going on.  There was never any rush.  We were treated as people and not as numbers.

At 5:00 Saturday evening, we kissed our baby and handed him over to the anesthesiologists and surgeon.  We watched them disappear between double doors and were told we would hear some news in about an hour and a half.   Our hearts were not heavy or anxious in the least.  We were completely at peace and knew that our Mighty God was and is completely in control. Whatever happened was in his hands, and whatever happened we would certainly always declare that He alone is good.

At 6:30 p.m., one of the anesthesiologists came out to speak with us and let us know that all was well.  Praise the LORD!! Timmy had done great and was recovering nicely.  Before surgery they had to find a new site for his IV and said that was a bit difficult because Timmy was so dehydrated.  They also had to empty the contents of his stomach before giving his anesthesia, and said that he threw up 12 ounces of fluid!  But, all went well.  Dr. Glasser made an incision just above Timmy's belly button that was about 1.5 inches long, and went in and cut a hole in the pylorus muscle to allow food to be able to start passing through.  The muscle will never grow back together and food will always be able to pass through from here on out. Dr. Glasser told us, "This is wonderful disease to have if you have to have a disease.  It is life-threatening, but it is also 100% curable, and you never struggle with it again."  Praise the LORD again!

Around 7:00 p.m. we were able to go back to the recovery room and hold our baby, who was still asleep.  Precious little boy!!!  We could just eat him up!!

We were then taken back to room 934 where we would stay until Monday afternoon, when we were discharged to go home.  Timmy is allowed to eat 2-3 ounces every 2-3 hours and will gradually build up from there.  So, for a little while we will be on a newborn schedule where I wake him up to eat during the night.  He is able to hold his food down now and is having many more wet and dirty diapers.  I have never loved changing dirty diapers so much!!  :)

Timmy already looks so much better.  Those who have seen him have even commented how different he looks.  He is smiling much more and able to focus and interact so much better.  God is good no matter what, but we certainly are delighted and grateful to be home now with three healthy children.

Pictures above:

1 - Timmy in his carseat after his IV had been taken out and he was only connected to the heart monitor.  What a precious, happy baby.

2 - Timmy in his 5-star hotel room.  :)

1- Hannah enjoys talking on the phone.

2- Lauren enjoys eating yogurt with her new hairstyle.

3 - Timmy is learning to sit up (assisted).

4 - All three kids watching Psalty together.

5 - Hanging out on the couch - precious cuties.

Christmas Dresses

Asheville, NC

    On Tuesday morning, Tim, Allyson, Hannah, Lauren, Timmy, and Grandma packed the van full and headed to the mountains in Asheville, NC for the week.  It was a great time to go to the mountains since it wasn't prime time for tourists to be in town.  Several pictures above describe our wonderful trip.  1) Tim showing little Tim around.  2) Our three cuties in a rocking chair at the Grove Park Inn (beautiful!!).  3) Hannah and Lauren enjoying lollipops as Mama and Grandma look around the fun Cabbage Rose shop.  4) Tim, Hannah, and Lauren swimming at the hotel.  Hannah loved it!! 5) Allyson holding Timmy on the trolley ride.

   

Indian Girls at Lake Junaluska

Hannah and Lauren had a blast with their new drums and tomahawks at Lake Junaluska, or as Lauren called it, "Lake Alaska."  Lauren used her tomahawk as a cane most of the time, and Hannah used her tomahawk as a blowgun to shoot "darts" at Tim.  They also enjoyed playing their drums together and running around being silly.  It was a beautiful, chilly afternoon at Lake Junaluska.

Tim Reed Family of 5

It's hard to believe that 6 1/2 years ago Tim and I were just beginning our lives together.  Oh how things have changed over those past six years, and we realize more and more all the time just how blessed we truly are.  We are grateful to the Lord for the wonderful marriage He has given us, which just keeps getting better all the time!!  :)  And we absolutely love being parents and training our children in the Lord.  Hannah, Lauren, and Timmy are all precious gifts that we treasure.  Psalm 127:3, "Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD and the fruit of the womb is his reward." We do not know what tomorrow may bring, but we do know that our hope and our faith are fixed on the Lord Jesus Christ.  He alone may we always trust and obey.

Timmy is 9 weeks old

Oh how fast our little boy is growing.  He is smiling and cooing a lot now and can follow us with his eyes.  He is looking more and more like his Daddy all the time, which makes me very happy.  

When mom's away...

Mommy just completed a 6-week women's Bible study on Monday nights.
This past Monday she stayed later than usual, and when she finally called home to say that she was on her way it was 10:18 PM and it was a 40 minute ride home. She certainly didn't expect to hear what she did when I picked up the phone. You see, I had taken advantage of the sun going down earlier these days to put the kids down to bed at an early hour - 6:45, very early considering they usually go down after 8:00. They went down without a fuss. Lauren, however, had been developing a stuffy nose and cold, likely from the nursery at church the previous day. By 10:00 PM and many visits later, to Lauren, that is, she finally broke down and wept openly.
I went to find her, hold her and pray with her. Hannah was awake, and while she got up to go potty Lauren sat crying on the bathroom counter while I put vapor rub on her. Lauren crying in my ear wasn't enough noise so little Timmy decided to join the fun and announce his awakening.
I told Hannah that she definitely needed to go to sleep because she had skipped her nap and... "Hannah, sweetie, you really need to go to sleep because you know what happens when you don't sleep enough?.... yeah! that's right... you get "crampies" in your legs.  So she obediently got in bed.
Lauren needed me so I told her she could come with me but..."Lauren, baby doll, you can come with me but as you can hear, Timmy needs me to get him and feed him, so you can sit next to me OK?" She understood and cam along.
Walking out of the room with Lauren's little hand in mind, I looked back into the girls' dimly lit room and I saw Hannah sitting up waiting for us to leave and I thought 'why not?' "Hannah.. you wanna come join us?" Certainly she did and came along.
We rescued Timmy from his crib. He had taken a really long nap. We marched downstairs and while he ate we talked. We conversed and extensively explored the concept of Lauren being sick and how it was important for her to cover her mouth and not to "bless you" (sneeze) on Timmy or Papa or Hannah. We also explained how her "sickies" were contagious and that they couldn't play with the same toys for the next few days because Lauren might give her "sickies" to Hannah. It was priceless to watch their little minds ponder, grasp, comprehend and interact with the concept at hand.
That is when Mama called and heard more than just me. We all took turns talking to her but we "of course" determined that Lauren was to be the last person to use Papa's cell phone so that she wouldn't pass her "sickies" on to someone else. She would then be responsible to wipe Papa's phone down with a wipe (they love being assigned meaningful tasks). So after we all talked to Mama I took the phone from Lauren to close and they both yelled "Nooooo!" They were genuinely worried about me and I picked it up by its antenna and said "see ya soon!" To reassure them I demonstrated how I was holding the phone by the antenna and they were relieved.
So, while we waited for Mama to get home we just stayed up and had a good time as you can see in the pictures :)

Lauren sings on stage (Age 2/half)

How fun!
I (Tim) sing on the worship team at church every other Sunday (approx.). This past Sunday, while we were finishing up the morning practice before the service I invited Lauren to come with me. She is usually quite shy with anyone she doesn't know, especially men. I held her up to a microphone and told her to quote a verse. She did and enjoyed hearing herself through the monitor. Perhaps 15 people began to pay attention to the little girl on stage quote scripture verses and sing songs. For those of you who haven't met Lauren or at least seen her lately, she can speak really well for her age and she has the cutest little lisp in her speech. She liked it so much that I eventually put her down on the floor and brought the microphone down to her level. She quoted a verse or sang a song and then walked a few steps toward me and said "can I do another one?"
I would say about 30+ people ended up hearing her.
"I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you"
"A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones"
"Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it"
"Do everything without complaining and arguing so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God"
"Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right"
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"
"The Joy of the Lord is my strength"
"God is Love"
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
All of these, by the way, are spoken. They know these and many more in song form.
I brought a mic. down to Hannah's level too but she decided to wait till another time. Anyway, the pastor came by and said: "That is so precious, do you think she could do it during the preaching?" I told him I'd try. When the worship part of the service was over I went back to the nursery in search for Lauren. She agreed to do it so I brought her before the congregation. She was very cool about it but when our actual moment came, she froze in the silence and stage lights. She was brave to try :) It was a lot of fun while it lasted and Hannah was an excellent sport about it too, being very proud (and not jealous) of her little sister.

Cowboys and Cowgirls

All five of us now have cowboy hats. So, though we do not celebrate Halloween, we did dress our cuties up in their cowboy and cowgirl attire for a little parade in our neighborhood. Now we can dress appropriately for all of our fires at our backyard fire pit that we are enjoying so much!

Hello the Fire

I recently purchased some concrete blocks for the purpose of building a fire pit in our backyard. I don't know if any of you own or have seen any of those convenient, pre-manufactured fire pit bowls that are available at Home Depot and such places. Well, I'm sure they meet some people's needs and wants but they seemed too pricey and too small for my liking. So, the Reed family now enjoys a rugged concrete block fire pit that has already been used 4 times in just a week. What a joy! We have enjoyed 'smores' with neighbors and friends, we've shared Bible stories with the girls, and I've had one of my most rewarding photo shoots in recent memory. I took in plenty of smoke to get some very satisfying shots. I hope the selections posted on this blog give it justice. All to say, just like I have said with the Lentil Soup (thank you for the votes thus far) you are invited to join us at the fire as well. I should also comment that on your way in from the outer darkness, "do holler 'hello the fire' so I don't up'n shoot ya wit ma shotgun" (or newfound weapons:), thinking you're a beast threatening my territory.

Ruth and Naomi

What a privilege it is to teach our children about God's Holy Word and to train them up in the Lord! Hannah and Lauren's favorite time of day is after dinner when they have "Bible time with Papa." Every night after dinner Hannah says something like, "Can we go brush our teeth and then have a Bible story?" As you can imagine, that is music to our ears as parents. Tim is an amazing teacher and is a master at explaining things. It blesses my heart to watch Hannah's eyes fixed upon her Papa's eyes as he shares with her about stories from the Bible. Many times tears of joy fill my eyes and a huge smile covers my face as I observe what is going on. The girls are learning about the love of their heavenly Father through the love of their Papa.
During the days, the girls and I do a variety of learning activities in preparation for official homeschooling one day, and I tell them Bible stories some days. They are also learning Bible verses. They have memorized many verses that are put to song, and we are now working on saying the verses without the music. Last week they learned the following verses: 1) "Do everything without complaining and arguing so that you may become blameless and pure children of God" and 2) "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones." At one point last week, Hannah said, "When we fight (referring to when she and Lauren don't share sometimes) our bones dry up. I want to have a joyful heart." :)
One of our recent Bible stories was about Ruth and Naomi. The picture you see for this post is Hannah dressed up as Ruth and Lauren dressed up as Naomi. It is so much fun to have precious children and to train them up in the Lord! We are blessed, indeed!

More SC State Fair Pics.

SC State Fair

We had a great time at the South Carolina State Fair with Grandma. The weather was actually pretty warm, even hot, not like the usual chilly fair weather. We watched a pig race, a horse show, ate an elephant ear,cotton candy, turkey leg, and fiske fries, rode the fun rides, and enjoyed some good music. Hannah and Lauren loved cheering on the pigs during the race, and Lauren had a great time riding a pony. They both enjoyed watching the miniature horses during the horse show and getting on a tractor. A great time was had by all!!

Pumpkin Patch

The girls have been looking forward to going to the Pumpkin Patch for weeks now. They ran and played among the pumpkins and finally got to choose a mini pumpkin to take home with them. I had lots of fun doing a photo shoot with my three precious cuties and now know how hard Tim works to get good shots - it's a lot of work but well worth it. We had a blast!!

Mama and Babies in the Hammock

These hammock pictures are becoming "classics" in the Reed home. One of my favorite things to do with my babies after they are born is to relax in the hammock in our backyard with them. Pictured above in order is Hannah (2004), Lauren (2005), and Timothy (2007).

Handsome Reed Boys

Of course, I (Allyson), the happy wife and proud Mama came up with the title of this post. :) Just had to show off the handsome men in my life. Timothy is now 3 1/2 weeks old and growing so fast. He was 8 lbs. 5 oz. when he was born, and he now weighs 11 lbs. He is such a sweet baby, and we are so happy to have him in our lives. Hannah and Lauren love helping us take care of him too.

We love Timmy

New Jr. Cowboy pictures

Pop's Lentejas (Lentils)

My one and only claim to fame in the kitchen is my belly warming lentil stew. It had been a classic dish in the Jim Reed home since we were little boys. It was a favorite for dad to cook when it was his turn to cook for the boys. It was a cheap and healthy recipe, and a filling satisfaction for a growing group of boys. After all, “Beans, beans are good for your heart...” It consisted of a plate or wide bowl of white rice and a generous covering of lentils often smothered in ketchup. Spanish sausage (chorizo) was often included, making it all the more satisfying.
Back to the present, Allyson will admit that her tastes had never been challenged until she met me. In fact, she was downright simple in her culinary experience and would never stray from the “chicken Caesar salad, or chicken sandwich” when we went out to eat. That said, please don’t get the impression that I consider myself a culinary expert either, but I guess I was conditioned, where she was not, to taste and for the most part enjoy whatsoever was set before me. And as you know, I’ve been around. So, when it was time to tempt, or rather convince Allyson to taste the ‘brown mush’ that was set before her just a few weeks into our marriage, it was a sight to behold. Indeed, her declination to taste and much less partake of what I had excitedly cooked was not even acknowledged. That cute little bride was not only going to taste but was even going to like what she saw as nearly repulsive. She finally consented and was pleasantly surprised. Ever since, her appetite has broadened to include many more delicious dishes and she has become an accomplished cook in our own growing home. Maybe some other time she can expound on the fact that what she feared most about getting married was ‘cooking’.
My lentil soup has since become a favorite in our home, more often than not, it is suggested by Allyson and cheered for by the children. It has also become our favorite recipe to enjoy with big table of guests and thankfully we have enjoyed nothing but positive feedback. In fact, in many cases it has been exalted to ‘favorite’ status and at least half of those who have dined with us have asked for the recipe.
I was going to start this phrase by saying “Well, for some reason…” but now I guess the reason is clear. “… I have found myself wanting to exalt the recipe from a ‘classic’ status to a ‘legendary’ status, and I have thus found myself adding spicy and hearty ingredients to make it so.” I suppose the ultimate success of the recipe is the overall experience. It is eaten at home, among family, among friends. It is the perfect ‘hungry man’ stew, it is warm and dreamy on a cold or rainy day, but best of all it brings people together, most of whom want second or third helpings and all end up with a feeling of satisfaction, a feeling of “we did not just eat here today, we have ‘shared a meal together’ and have lingered to retire from it.” For those of you who have tried it before, do come sit with us again. And for you who have not tried it before, do come hungry.
I cannot conclude without including you in my quest for a worthy name for this (Classic, hopefully someday legendary) dish. You see, I am very dissatisfied with what I have been calling it all of this time. Names as generic or simplistic as “Spanish Lentils”, “Lentils”, “Lentejas and rice”, “Lentil stew”, “Lentil soup”, and even “Spanish gumbo”. But I want to call it something more unique and intriguing. Could you help me? Maybe I can make a few suggestions and you can help me narrow it down. For instance I can’t stop thinking of the idea that this might have been the stew that Essau sold his birthright to Jacob for. Alas! I just found the passage( GENESIS 25: 29-34) and have so pleasantly confirmed that it not only mentioned a red pottage (stew?) but in fact it specifies that it was actual LENTILS (ha ha ha, laugh at me or with me, but I am so thrilled) Yes, my friends, the name of this dish has definitely taken a specific direction. Please refer to the poll to help me narrow the name down to its worthy acclamation. Shall it be “Jacob’s Stew” or “Birthright Stew” or “Essau’s demise” or “Birthright Lentils” or “Feed me for I am faint-Lentils” or “Hunter’s grub” or “Lentejas a la Jacobo” or “Lentejas primojenitas”. Have you any other suggestions? Growl, people! It is lunchtime and I have no “Lentejas” to speak of. How about “Genesis 25 Lentils” “Birthright Lentil Soup” “Birthright Lentil Stew” “Essaw’s Lentils” “Inheritance Lentils” “Red’s Lentils” (Essau was redheaded) “Reed’s Red Lentils”...

Missing Ingredient

Allyson and I have been weighted down with a mutual desire to not only govern our house well but to help others do the same with theirs. At this point we are gathering wisdom and resources to better assist ourselves and others in this important task. In a world where the concept of home and certainly the concept of family is being challenged, we desire to establish and run our household in the fear and admonition of the Lord. Home is where the heart is.
Our consuming thoughts really do focus on parenting. We consider the fallenness of our world. How 37% of children are born without a father in the home, how 50% of all marriages end up in divorce. How the homes that do have two parents are merely drifting along. We dwell on what the Lord would have us do considering these things: Homeschooling, child training, divorce and remarriage counseling.
Just today we were both having a very difficult time with the children. They were being ‘kids’ and we were finding ourselves to be overwhelmed by the noise, the chaos, the delayed obedience. At one point, far into the day, I expressed my frustration to Allyson and she admitted that it was the same with her. Thankfully we were on very good terms with each other at the time, but nevertheless we found ourselves overwhelmed with the lack of peace, order and joy within our home. Allyson suggested that we pray, and I responded by saying “what a humbling shot, huh?, to be so ‘on top of things’ with child training and then finding ourselves in trouble” She laughed in shame and we immediately convened the children. We sat in a circle on the floor holding hands and we confessed our sins to our children.
“Hannah and Lauren,
Mama and papa want to confess something to you. We have not been very consistent with you today and we are very sorry. We have allowed ourselves to get frustrated and irritated and instead of spanking you when we should have, we yelled at you instead. Mama and Papa want us to have a happy home. We love you with all our hearts and we want to obey Jesus most of all. We know what we ‘ought’ to do most of the time, but we have left out the most important ingredient of all: prayer.” We then proceeded to confess our utter need for the Lord to be our wisdom, our strength, and our peace. We admitted our inadequacies and we acknowledged our dependence upon Him.
Such a pleasant turnaround.

To my brothers

Hi Jamie, Matthew, John,
I think of our dad often. I always have. I think of him concerning the past, what I knew of him, what he did, what he was like. I think of him concerning the things he is missing out on, our wives, our children, our accomplishments. I most certainly think of how I miss his heart-felt hugs. I'm sure we could all write lots of things along these lines but what I would really like to mention in this post is his refusal to compromise. I suppose you could call it his integrity.
Now, I know that I think incredibly fondly of him and one could easily say that I am making him out to be better than he was; exalting his good side and neglecting his bad one. But that is why I am addressing you guys. You know exactly what I mean, and you also know who he was.
I am both sad and honored to say that I have hardly met anyone like him. Sad in that I wish there were more people as "integro" as he was, and honored because I had the privilege of not only knowing him but also of being his son. His refusal to compromise was never accompanied by pride or stubbornness but rather grace and compassion. He must have settled in his heart at a younger age that he would not compromise his testimony nor the Word of God. He trusted God with his life. He trusted God with his family, his ministry, his belongings. He trusted God with his reputation. He believed, understood and lived the Scriptures stating "do it unto the Lord and not unto man."
Brothers, do you truly remember what a remarkable man he was? I ask this as an adult. More than anything, this post is meant to be a challenge more than a remembrance. As four adults that we are, as heads of household, are we holding true to the biblical principles we were raised with? Are we being men of integrity in our journey through life? We all have different jobs, callings, personalities, occupations. But are we refusing to compromise the Word of God in everything we do?
I have had the amazing privilege of interacting with Pastor Joe Webb over the past 2 and 1/2 years. In that time I have slowly realized that most of what he teaches, much of the way he talks and much of what he holds dear has been achingly familiar to me. It is vague in that many years have passed, but it is also familiar because it was what our dear parents taught us since tots, that the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
I have shared this with Pastor Joe and he has reminded me that he was dad's youth pastor and a VERY close friend of his over the years. I have told Allyson that he is one of the painfully few people I know who have such a respect for God and a desire to honor Him above any man. Mom has also told me, or maybe I read it, that Grandpa Reed was the sweetest man she ever knew and I have a feeling that would include his fear and integrity before the Lord.
Brothers, although I praise these men, I acknowledge that without the grace of Christ in their lives, they are as filthy as the worst of men. I certainly praise and glorify God above them. May they simply be examples as men who came and went before us who followed HARD after the GOD who IS and that we would refuse to compromise even in the smallest of matters. That we would accept, believe and obey the Scriptures which are graciously given to us. The WORD will judge us someday and it is here for us to read, let us NOT be caught in slumber. Have your lamps ready my fellow 'virgins' (Matthew 25:1-13) and govern your house well. In Jesus' Name. I love you.

10 Days Old and Oh So Cute

Having two little girls, I wondered what it would be like to have a little boy. Of course I am still new at being a "boy Mama", but I am loving every minute of it! I am learning how to master the task of changing a boy's diaper and doing quite well so far. :) We are still trying to decide who little Timmy looks like. What do you think?

Making Pineapple Pizza

Two cute girls and a handsome little baby boy.... home alone with Mama for the first time. The girls and Mama decide to make pizza together. We gathered all the ingredients, mixed them together, kneaded the dough, spread the pizza sauce, sprinkled the cheese, and topped it off with pineapple. Then, it was into the oven for 20 minutes before we sat down to a yummy pizza dinner. We sure did have fun! It's wonderful having three little ones now.

Girls in Green

Family in Blue

Timothy Paul Reed Jr. was born on Sept. 20th, 2007

Timothy Paul Reed Jr. was born a hefty 8 lbs. and 5 oz. He wore a nice head of dark hair and measured 21 inches.
His newborn features favored Hannah's but we could definitely see both of his sisters reflected.
His original due date was Sept. 28th but mommy and Dr. decided that an induction on the 20th would be perfect.
We (parents) were set to start the day early, arriving at the hospital around 5:00 a.m to begin inducing and maybe having the baby by 12:00 noon. Well, God and Timmy had other plans. By 3:00 a.m Allyson purposefully wakes me up and says, "we have to go to the hospital now!" (having contractions every 3 minutes for the past hour). Our babysitter, uncle John, was spending the night in the other room so we quietly stepped out of the house and rushed to the hospital. I enjoyed having an excuse to speed in my Honda Ridgeline and we got there in no time.
We were buzzed in through the maternity entrance and were escorted to the room where we would have come to anyway a few hours later in the morning.
Things progressed quickly. Her Dr. wasn't scheduled to come in until 7:00 a.m so they called the 'on-call' Dr. and he never made it. By 3:30 she was in gown, in bed and in pain. The nurse checked and wide-eyed explained that Allyson was 7cm dialated and would not have time for her beloved epidural. Allyson was devastated and couldn't believe this was happening. I encouraged her as best I could and we braced for the following drama. Two nurses, a sleepless father and a brave mother witnessed the natural and laborious birth of Tim and Allyson Reed's first boy and third child. 10 fingers, 10 toes, healthy in every way. Praise the Lord for blessing us with yet another child.
Allyson and I were honored to dedicate him the the Lord right away. Rejoice with us, for unto us a child is born :)
Welcome home little man! May you grow in wisdom and stature and favor with your God and may you humbly pursue His righteousness.

Sodom and Gomorrah to my 2 and 3 year olds.

Wow,
I just read the story of Sodom and Gomorrah to my 3 and half and 2 and a half little girls (Hannah and Lauren) out of "A Family Treasury: Classic Bible Stories". Each story's text is written on the left page while a full size painting is displayed on the right page. I dramatized the story and exchanged God's pouring buring sulfur with burning coffee so they could visualize the effect. By the end of the story I was probably more shocked than they were because I allowed the story to minister to me too. I'm posting this about an hour later and I still am awed at the drama of the whole thing. The fact that this is NOT just a sci-fi story but a true tale of what literally happened to a wicked city.

Sodom and Gomorrah
Genesis 13,18,19

Abraham and his nephew Lot separated when their flocks became too big for them to stay in the same land together. Lot chose to settle in the plain of the Jordan River, near Sodom. Sodom was a wicked city; the people who lived there did evil in the sight of God. Even so, Lot and his family moved inside of the city walls.
When the Lord visited Abraham, he said, " I will go down to Sodom and to Gomorrah, and see if the people there are truly wicked. If so, I will destroy the two cities."
Now Abraham knew that Lot lived in Sodom. He pleaded with God, saying, "If there are fifty good people there, please don't destroy the city.""For the sake of fifty, I will spare the city," said the Lord.
But Abraham was afraid that God would not find fifty good people. What if there were only forty-five? or thirty? or twenty? At last the Lord promised Abraham that he would spare the city for the sake of ten good people, but ten could not be found.
So the Lord sent angels to Sodom to warn Lot, his wife, and his daughters. Lot took the visitors into his home. The men of Sodom were so wicked that they were about to attack his guests, but the angels struck the men blind.
"If you have anyone to take with you," one angel said, "gather them and run from this city." Lot went to tell some other men, but they laughed at his warnings. "Hurry!" the angels said. "Take your wife and daughters and get out of here!" Lot hesitated, so the angels grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and daughters and led them out of Sodom. "Run to the mountains!" one angel said. "Don't look back."
Lot asked if they could go to a town nearby, and the angels agreed. "But run quickly!" When Lot reached the town, the Lord rained burning sulfur from the heavens, destroying Sodom and Gomorrah. But Lot's wive looked back at Sodom, and she became a pillar of salt.------

Did you know that the same God who did that to Sodom and Gomorrah is seething with anger aching to do the same to our cities? Not only is He willing to but He will in fact do it. Our days on earth are numbered. Christ is gathering those who will humble themselves under His Lordship and everyone else will melt amidst a lake of scorching sulfur. How many righteous men and women will He find to spare from your town? To him who has ears, let him hear.