the reed kids help their auntie move...

a super happy thing for us this last month has been that my little sister moved back to california!

we've missed her so much and now she is back within an hour car ride!

drove up to see her cute new little place and attempt to help her get settled.

help as much as three little children can...

and when we were done "helping" we made her take us on a tour of her new town.

they had a fancy bridal shoppe where ella and aunt val window shopped while the boys made annoying comments and complaints...

and we found a cheesecake factory for a "grown up dinner"

aunt val set up her keyboard and played a little james taylor for a sing-a-long

it was a day of fun and tantrums

but the bottom line is that she's back

and we are happy

welcome home valley girl!

sometimes...

...sometimes i feel like all i do is help my kids with homework and pick up after them and then snap at them.

i walk from one side of my house to the other as crumbs from breakfast stick to my bare feet and i feel like i wanta scream. 

then i remember who i am and that i have a safe home and freedom and a healthy family and i feel bad for being such a baby.

good things

there are some stressful things happening over here these days.

big choices.

life changing choices.

things that i can't share quite yet.

and i could eeeeeeeasily get pulled under.

you know what i mean?

i just stand teetering on the edge of loosing it lots of the time.

 so you know what sometimes just makes me take a deep breath and calm down?

  reading my own blog.

it's like i forget about what i think and how i can get my thoughts organized enough to blog every so often.

looking back at myself, my pictures and words really helps sometimes.

do you do that?

i guess its taking a minute to look at the the over all good instead of getting buried by the details that are just a bit overwhelming at times.

so tonight i blog about the good.

i breath deep and slow.

she's around me now, a lot more than before

we "helped" her move in

my little muse

amy found this tablecloth with pictures of ella and i baking!
she knows me so well

he ran for office
good try little buddy, ya can't win um all

i've watched um all so far, have you?

i almost cried when i realized that the video camera button was NOT pushed during jake's campaign speech

i canot, for the life of me, find those blue shoes.  they are lost. i hate lost shoes.

a family walk resulted in this special picture.  i wished i lived in it.

he took a walk with me
stayed by my side the whole way

who doesn't appreciate a good target purchase?

we have loved waiting for her brothers at the park after school.
i thought she want to go play, but she usually stays by me and wants to talk about rainbow sparkly things.
fine by me lil sis.


finding peace and goodness in the waiting.
i can easily forget to do that.
i can easily get obsessive about the future and trying to understand and control everything.
so, here i am trying to just look at what i have today.
not forward or back, just now.
trusting Him for my future.

im eating a huge piece of apple pie

today was our annual apple picking day

i didn't get as many pictures as i have in the past

but i did drink a lot of cider

and had some bbq

and now, i'm having a huge piece of pie.

and when i look at this picture i think, "maybe all ya need is one"

(just kidding, i'll edit the rest and post um soon)

ten moments in my day.

eating alone
 listening to my music
thinking my own thoughts

neverending piles

antique browsing with "no heat curls"

finally just went for it
i've had my eye on it for months

she liked it
this was her picture idea

we meet at the park after school
today i brought their guys

i am not a supporter of homework
nothing you say can make me change my mind

a box of sunshine all packed up
just in time for the thunder storm tomorrow?

counseling session after being excluded
she really wants a "best sister friend like jake and ty have"
she's not getting one
i told her i'd be her best friend.

jar pies are going pumpkin tonight
i'll let you know how it goes...

these days..

these days,

we have gotten into the swing of school days.

we have a good routine that is helping us NOT be late all the time.

it is busy and i go back and forth to the school four times a day, but it has really been working for us.

our secret to not being late is hitting the a-joining park for 10-20 before school.

this has helped relieve the sting of the reed bros. not sharing the same recess times this year as well as helps get some wiggles out of my little reedos.

plus that motivation to get to the park is a lot higher than it might be to get to class.

hmmmm. interesting huh?

it works for us.

we hit the park,

we drop off the boys

 and then ella and i head back home for a little snuggling.

we do hair and watch cartoons and we've even baked cookies in that 90 minutes or so.
i really love that time.
it sorta takes the place of that old snacktime together.
last year, we had so many awkward 45 minute times of waiting around and it was in places that were too faraway to make sense to come home.
but this year we have way more usable time.

then.....i drop her off!

and i have 4 whole hours by myself!!

i'm telling you, people, i can think again!

i can have my own ideas and thoughts and i can just breathe with out people all over me asking questions and needing help.

it's the best thing to happen to me since i actually birthed these kids.

some of you may be shocked at this kind of talk, but don't fret. 

we are all different and i don't gasp in amazement that you sleep with your children in your bed or cry when they leave or feel incomplete if you have a few hours away from them.

this is just my thing.

i NEED time by myself.

NEEEEEEED IT.

and then

i come back and pick her up.

i bring a picnic blanket and a snack.

i've missed her.

she hugs and kisses me all i want.

she's missed me.

and the world is as it should be

then come our boys darting over to our picnic

it's a good routine.

these days,

i have a sister in the same state again!

we are all so happy about that!
it just feels right to be close.

these days,

we've been collecting our halloween costumes early.

because we didn't want them to run out of the muscle-y ones before october again!

ella doesn't have hers together yet.
she's going to be the less well known "firestar".
from the original cartoons called spiderman and his amazing friends.
i have to make that one.
but she doesn't lack costumes, i can guarantee you that....

and here she is being a "ballerina photog" 

what else?

these days we are plugging right along

bein' a family.

how about you?
what are you up to these days?