christmas and coconuts

have been over to look at heather's 

Home Made Lovely christmas additions?

oh man, they are so great!

I was supposed to do one before the whole "Hawaii situation"

but i will maybe get to participate next year....

maybe mele kalikimaka style?

still.

i feel a little sad.

we do have a few decorations up.

But not the usual.

and when i see all the amazing stuff out there, it gets me inspired, but i know i need to just take a break and remember to prioritize for our particular season.

i'm just telling you that it's a tiny bit hard.

we are having some pretty awesome/crazy happenings over here at our reed house though...

1. missing reedo and then welcoming him home way more often than we are used to.

2. song writing on the kitchen table.

3. cruisin' in our rental mini van....fancy! (it has a DVD player!)

4. enjoying my last day of kids at school

5. listening to our princess "perform" by the fire.

6. christmas treat making.

7. manchild holding.

8. saying goodbye to the pathfinder while she is shipped over the big big sea.

9. reading up on manners in the big tub.

you know, the usual.

i also discovered the whole "coconut oil for your face" thing.

do you know about this already?

so, if you don't already know, it is like the most amazing product.

you can cook with it and just put it everywhere!

do you want to know 101 things you can do with it?

then read this.

I've tried a few of those things.

but being a lady, i don't have a need to mention them all here.

but i will share that my favorite use is as a face wash.

i keep the trader joes tub of it by my sink and i made a salt shaker full of baking soda to keep there too.

i just scoop out some oil(about the size of a peanut M&M) 

and do two or three shakes of the baking soda into my hand with it.

rub it together and then onto my face for like a minute or so.

then rinse and pat dry 

then re-apply just a little around my eyes and on and around my lips(my wrinkle areas)

i'm telling you.

it's not greasy.

it smells good.

the jar is like $5.99

i will say that you can adjust the amount of baking soda if you feel it's too abrasive for everyday scrubbing.

or you can just use the oil.

it removes eye make-up beautifully!

try it out and tell me what you think!

hey look! i blogged!
and it's not even 2013 yet!
and just because this was awesome...
and quite startling...

happy happy happy christmas to you 
from us reeds.

Merry Christmas

chistmas feels...different this year.

i mean, if you've read my blog for long you know that every early December i get all dramatic and sorta depressed about what christmas can be instead of the real point of what it actually is.

i'm sorta like a broken record.

i'm kinda sick of myself.

but i still do it.

this year, I'm sure there are lost of things that i can be whiney about.

not much is what i expected, this month.

so instead of taking inventory of things that are/aren't fulfilling my expectations, i am trying to look harder.

i am trying to see all God's gifts around me.

and as usual my Daddy is extravagant with me.

streaming sunlight

a christmas tree that i somehow set up all by my big girl self

one on one time with my children

awesome wrapping paper at target

great christmas music

time with my sister

sending my kids to school for two more weeks

a new car stereo from reedo that plays my iphone music

antiquing finds

cold weather

looking forward to new adventures

here and there

i feel like i am living two lives.

one where i am planning our new life in hawaii.

a life that doesn't have a home connected to it yet.

a life that is completely unfamiliar.

a life that is surrounded by beauty.

a life that is surrounded by the unknown.

 a life where i am my children's primary teacher.

(yes, i mean homeschool. i'm scared and excited.)

a life away from the family and friends that we have in california 

but then, there is still life happening here.

school reports

family celebrations

rainy day naps

play time

twirling

snuggling

singing

school gift exchanges

field trips

friends that want to say goodbye

how can i be two places at once, i ask you?

as you can see, i am doing it.

i'm living two lives.

please pray for peace.

or something.

deal.

well, us reeds are makin' time.
we are in escrow.
i am going over to hawaii to house hunt tomorrow.
we had our last holiday in this home.
my house has been loud and messy and full this last week.
my sisters have both been staying here as well as reedo's parents.
my kids are in heaven.
my kids are confused and acting out.
my kids are working the system.
things just keep moving and i can barely keep up.

i guess my whole season of waiting is over then, huh?
in less than a month we will be residents of hawaii.

i don't know how my blog will fit in. to this month.
will you still be my friend if i don't blog for a month?

how 'bout this,
i show you a very special sister time i had with my talented sisters and you promise to still be my friend even if i forget about blogging until 2013.

deal?
deal.





ps. how rad does gracie look with her head shaved?
she is the brave one.
and the pretty one.
val and i both agree.

his first turkey

i love this video of reedo cooking his first turkey last year...

Reedo's Turkey. from Marianne Bach on Vimeo.

little darlin'

the little darlin' turned five today.

(fringe boots $21at kohls. because i know you'll ask...)

she told me she decided to stop sucking her thumb.

the dentist always tries to tell her to stop.

i roll my eyes.

her brothers remind her over and over that the dentist told her to stop.

i tell the boys maybe they should try listening to the dentist for their own teeth instead of their sisters business.

her grandma sent her a wrist corsage to wear to school.

it was completely fancy and amazing for her.

i found this doll at pottery barn kids.

it was something ridiculous like $50 dollars or something.

but this was the last floor model and her head was almost completely off her neck.

so my pal lena helped me bargain her down to $14.97.

i brought her home and stitched her neck up and cleaned her up a bit.

she has blue eyes and a little pink pout and she is clearly an island girl.

sailboats on her dress and a lily in her hair.

we named her ella-lani.

i like a girl who is a little bit run down, but has a good story.

i bet a looooooot of girls played with her at PB kids before she made it to us....

today we had an on open house.

dozens of people have been through the reed home in the last two days.

that's how long its been on the market.

i'm hoping to be in escrow by the weekend.

then we will be.....homeless?

freaky and liberating at the same time.

girl without a phone

my phone got water damaged.

it was my fault.

it's not fixable.

i don't want to talk about it.

i will, however, give huge appreciation to my gracious husband.

i'm not sure if this will be considered only half a compliment, but i'd like to give reedo the award for "most improved" in the "gracious when his wife does something dumb" department.

he was not this way when i married him.

i mean he didn't yell or anything.

he was just seemingly unable to have compassion on my mistake.

but, that is CERTAINLY not the case anymore.

he doesn't high five me or anything, but he is just quiet.

the right choice, i think, since i feel ridiculous enough already.

and, in this case, he didn't say anything to me, but just researched another phone to get to replace it.

in spite of the fact that he has an incredible amount of craziness on his plate right now.

he found a phone
bought it for a sickening amount of money
and then payed a little more to have it overnighted.

honestly, as i type this i feel like crying.

its not the money or the phone or the fact that it will be more convenient if people can communicate with me or that i can go on instagram again...

it's just his simple service and grace.

that is God's love right through my reedo and into my heart.

forgiveness in all it's simplicity.

when you really accept forgiveness, even in such small things, it is heart over-flowingly beautiful.

it's hard to accept thought, huh?

with all that said, i have to tell you that i missed my phone and the social media part of it a lot less than you'd think.

in fact, the first day i felt a little sick about how many times i looked down to a phone that wasn't there.

then after i saw what a habit it is, i decided to lean into this clean break.

there is something kinda great about just being on your own.

don't get me wrong, i'll be glad when the convenience is back, but for these last days i've had a little peace in living the moments on my own. 

no photos

not texting

not emails every few minutes.

i'm considering trying to have more phone-free time after all the drama of selling our house and stuff is over.

doesn't that sound kinda rad?

phone-free in hawaii?

maybe that's what aloha is all about?