I Was Suckered...

Well not really! We have the greatest dentist in the world, at least we like him! Even though, nearly every time I have a cleaning, I find out I need yet another filling. Well this last cleaning I found out that a tooth that I "killed" when I was 8 is in need of a root canal before it gets bad. I also found out that I need yet another filling. So we went ahead and scheduled the filling first. As I went in today to get the filling Dr. Lambert got word of Ryan's layoff and the fact that we have insurance just until the end of May. With that knowledge he decided we better go ahead and do the root canal as he has to do it in steps over a period of several weeks :( I was less than thrilled, but agreed to let the torture begin. As he prepared to stab me with the longest needle in the world I asked about nitrous and if I would be allowed any. He was so kind to give me some, but I began feeling light headed and decided to fore go it. So on with the torture. After the never ending stabbing into my gums he gave me time to ponder and let my jaw feel like it was a mile from my head. As I sat there I felt myself tremble with the thought of what it may be like. So I decided to pray for the Lord's strength and mercy and that he would ease my pain and anxiousness. Dr. Lambert came in and began the process of drilling, filing, roto rooting...hehe, rinsing, more filing and roto rooting, rinsing and then packing and closing off the hole. And guess what...not one ounce of pain or discomfort. I just felt the vibration, but no pain or even pressure. I am thankful now that the worst part is over and can't wait to see what my teeth will look like once I get the crown. No more yellow tooth that always stands out in every picture :)

Thomas' 3rd Birthday Was a Charm!

Thomas turned three years old on the 12th. We've always done birthday here at home or at the park, but decided we would like to do a little more this time. Since Thomas loves the water so much I searched around for an indoor pool that was cheap and would allow us to do a party with our family as guests. Finally I found a local hotel that was gracious enough to let us do it and all we had to do was get a room for one night, which I consider a bargain compared to other birthday venues. We all had a blast, but I am certain that Thomas got the most out of it. He would repeatedly jump in the pool, swim to the steps, get out and do it all again. He also got a thrill out of being thrown up in the air as high as possible and crashing into the water. I again kept of the tradition of making the cake and again enjoyed it. This was by far my easiest and probably my favorite.


Joseph's fear of the water is all but improving. He refused to get in and I eventually forced him to get wet. Aren't Mom's great?



Thomas in constant action; made it hard to get a still picture.



The adults get away from the crowd as they soak in the hot tub.



My brother, Brandon with his youngest, Hayden...how sweet!



Birthday Boy!!!



Daddy takes over for Mommy as he holds onto Joseph. Joseph actually told me he didn't love me because I made him get in the water. FYI: The water was only 3 ft. deep at that end and he is nearly 4 ft. tall.



The adults had there fill, but the kids just can't get enough :)



It actually looked a little cuter than the picture shows. I used graham cracker crumbs for sand that goofy ran around on, fruit roll ups for seaweed and a surfboard that donald road on, gummy lifesavers for..well..lifesavers :), gummy sharks and sprinkle fish.



Thomas gets a little help blowing out all those candles, thanks Mamu!!!



Little Hayden thinks the wrapping is the best part!

First of all...

Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes with Ryan's recent interview. We are praising the Lord for revealing His will to us. Ryan got the email today that told him he did not get the position. We were a little dismayed because it would have been a great job, but we are hopeful that the Lord has a wonderful plan for us. We may have a bumpy ride in getting to see His will, but none the less, it will be worth it. Please continue to keep us in your prayers in these times.

Pray for Ryan

Just a quick update on Ryan's job search. He has an interview, as I type, with US Cellular in Knoxville. This would be a great job opportunity for him. It is close to where we would like to move back to. The benefits start day one and from what we hear from other employees, the coverage is great. They also cover tuition 100%. The way he got this interview was nothing less than providential. The job would be a great fit for Ryan as it is in their customer service call center. Please pray for our hearts to be searching the Lord's will. We hope this is where the Lord would have us and hope he will make a good impression on Brandy the interviewer. Thanks, got to go, I am finally getting some of my cleaning done.

Some Interesting Views

I had ran across a tag that involved interviewing my boys. At four and almost three I knew it would be trying and most interesting to see what their minds pick up on. Here goes! Joseph's is the first response and Thomas' is the second response.


1. What is something mom always says to you?
J “um, um, um…I can’t tell.”
T “ummmm, I can’t tell.”

2. What makes mom happy?
J “to say sorry to you”
T “I can’t tell, I need my new book, I need it.”

3. What makes mom sad?
J “I don’t know, hmm, swing toys like that, that makes you sad.”
T “uh, mad.”

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
J “um..to tickle.”
T “um, I can’t tell.”

5. What was your mom like as a child?
J “um, um, I can’t member”
T “uhhhm, um a girl.”

6. How old is your mom?
J “uhhhm, did you got a birthday…I can’t member, it’s hard to member”
T “ummm, I can’t tell.”

7. How tall is your mom?
J “um, BIG!”
T “ummm, um, a measuring tape.”

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
J “um, um, uh, I can’t say.”
T ”um, your computer.”

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
J “uh, ummm” (by this point he gave up.)
T “ummm, I can’t tell, I have a paci in my mouth.”

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
J “um, um”
T “um, I can’t tell.”

11. What is your mom really good at?
J “um, playing.”
T “ummm, COOK!”

12. What is your mom not very good at?
J “um, not doing cooking”
T “umm, I can’t tell.”

13. What does your mom do for a job?
J “ummm, at um, your working at, um, you work at home.”
T “ummm”

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
J “um, um fries.”
T “ummm, eggs.”

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
J “um, ummmm, um, proud of Mommy to do anything.”
T “umm, I can’t tell.”

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
J “uhhh, um, um, how ‘bout, how ‘bout…hmmm, an ambulance from cartoons?”
T “umm, hmm.”

17. What do you and your mom do together?
J “um, share.”
T “umm, I can’t say it.”

18. How are you and your mom the same?
J “umm, umm, how ‘bout…our nose the same.”
T “um, sing.”

19. How are you and your mom different?
J “I was different like me, cause…I watch tv all day.”
T “I can’t tell.”

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
J “um, because I was loving you to be a superhero.”
T (spinning in circles he says)”um, I can’t tell.”

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
J “uhhh, how bout you like Daddy playin and when you go get Daddy.”
T “um I can’t tell”

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
J “ummm, a store.”
T “um, to the park!”

Thomas 1st Tooth Cleaning Was A Blast!

Today I had to get my 6 month cleaning and decided to take Thomas in with me for his first cleaning. I was a little sceptical as to how well he would do. As we were on our way out the door Joseph thought it helpful to tell Thomas the there is a t.v. in the Dentists office (as if that was all we were going for :) I find it very helpful to treat it like it's no big deal, like we're just going to the store. I will say though, that Thomas enjoys all his Dr.'s visits and has even been known to not even whimper through shots. Tough guy you say? No not really, he can get pretty upset over little bumps and bruises. Also, to add, it may have helped that I always take the boys to my teeth cleanings and have fond memories of Thomas as an infant, resting happily on my lap while I was getting my teeth poked and prodded. So today, they called us back and he walked right in front of me with no hesitation, plopped up in that big 'ole chair and went right along with everything. I had expected that they do the usual first visit routine of counting and flossing his teeth and calling it a day. But nope, Mrs. Annette did it all! And my favorite part was when they were sitting the chair upright and Thomas remained still until his body weight slid him down the chair. He even got to get the run of the place while I got my teeth looked at. How did mine go? Well, I nearly cried when they told me that a tooth that has been dead since...uh...3rd grade, is due for a root canal to save it. What happened in third grade? The county decided to repave our neighborhood streets and after pouring the gravel, they decided to stop there. I was riding a friends bike that was way too small for me and hit a larger rock just as I was turning into their driveway. I then proceeded to flip completely over the handle bars and my top lip landed firmly onto the corner of their cement driveway. It was pretty gruesome. Needless to say it was only a week or so later that the county decided they needed to finish the job (boy is my Dad convincing!). Here are the pictures of Thomas' fun day at the Dentist:


This was his demeanor through the whole thing.


Mrs. Annette is Dr. Lambert's sister. We live in such a small town that they both live just a block away from our house. She has been a great friend and hygienist :)


Dr. Lambert checkin' out all those little teeth. Lookin' Good!!!

It's moments like these that remind me that they are growing up so fast. I can't believe I don't have my little babies anymore!

The Dream to Clean

Ever since I have had a house and husband of my own I have nearly everyday dreamed and envisioned Ryan coming home to a immaculate house and having everything in its place. Come on, admit it, I'm not the only one to dream up such nonsense. I know that this can't been done day after day, but I hope to at least have my home guest ready. So that on a whim I can call up a dear friend and say hey, come on over for a meal. Well, I have never managed to make that dream reality, at least not completely. I usually only get it partially done and get too worn out to go on. The only times I have managed to get my house in such order are when I have stayed up nearly and sometimes all night to get it done. Well I am hoping that in posting this, I will have motivation to do it. That's right You all get to hold me accountable as to whether or not I fulfilled my word. There seems to be no better time than during the spring cleaning. And who knows maybe my efforts will help pull in some warmer temperatures into our area. I can't take much more of these beautifully sunny days that are miserably cold. That's just not nice. So please, hold me accountable!

Update...not so up.

Well I just got the call from Ryan. His last day before the layoff is next Thursday. I thought I was taking it all pretty well and trusting in the Lord, but somehow it all just hit me. Wow! I don't know if I was hanging on to the hope that maybe they would decide he is just too good an employee to let go or something like that, LOL. I also kinda thought he would have had a lot more offers, but still not one interview. Let me tell you all, it is bad out there. I am amazed at how devoted and hardworking Ryan is with his job search. After working 8 hours, he comes home around midnight and will be up till at least 3 am searching over the internet and sending out resumes. He can't even find jobs making half of what he used to. We loose our vision benefits by the end of the month, but thankfully get to keep our health and dental benefits for three months. I've rushed to make all the Dr.'s appointments to make sure everyone has their bodies, eyes and teeth checked out before the insurance elapses. Most all the Dr.'s have been flexible and understanding. Unfortunately our general Dr. will be gone nearly the whole month of April on a mission trip so we will have to wait till he gets back to get Thomas in for his 3 year old check up. Please pray for us and the Lord's provision for our home. As Christians there is often the misconception that we are strong enough to handle anything, but the truth is we have struggles and heartaches just like the rest. Will we let it consume us? Well I hope not. I hope that even in our despair we will look to the Lord. Could we have planned better for this? Probably not. We actually had savings when we got married, but it was washed out when we were both laid off, got pregnant and totaled our only reliable car in the first two months of marriage. From then on we began paying debt and rebuilding everything. We were actually just beginning to get a foothold when all this came about. It's easy to say, quit spending, but we still need food, clothing and shelter. My husband even is astonished at how thrifty I can be. I have never met a Goodwill or sales rack that weren't my friend :). I know we will get through all this and one day look back at this tiny glimpse of time and think, man that was nothing, but for now while we are going through it, it hurts. Hurt is good though, because it means we are living. It is only the dead who don't feel hurt.

Going Outback and Back-Home for Valentine's Day

Well actually it was more the day before Valentine's Day, but who's counting. It has again been forever (like more than 6 months) since Ryan and I have had a night out without the kiddies in tow and I don't care what anyone else says, sometimes we parents need a night to remember that we are married and have a lot to share with one another. I coaxed my parents into taking the boys for the night on Friday just so we didn't have to eat and rush back to get them. We couldn't get into some of the nicer venues, but settled happily for Outback Steakhouse. We both enjoyed a nice steak dinner. Even though we were at a busy restraunt, it seemed so quiet and still to not have two little ones to entertain and feed. We even took advantage of the time and did a little shopping and also picked up a nice bottle of wine and a box of chocolates and then headed home. It's funny that although we enjoyed our night out we were almost sad that our little boys were not to be found sleeping still in their own beds. We find that these alone times are not only good for our marriage, but also for reminding us how dear our children are to us. It was such a joyful reunion as we walked in to my parent's house to pick up the kiddies and Joseph was ready to come home (of course as soon as we got home he told us he wants to spend the night again at Mamu and Papu's real soon :) ). It was such a great time with the man I married and vowed to spend the rest of my life with through the good and the BAD!

This Is What We Expected

The day after we found out about Ryan's upcoming layoff I texted my brother to tell him the news. His response, "so did I"! Yep you heard it. They both found out the same day that they were being laid off. My brother has a Bachelor's Degree in something computers so he shouldn't have too hard a time finding work. We all knew this year would be rough and really God has been good even through all of these trials. Ryan and I are somewhat relieved that he is getting laid off because we know that all those who aren't laid off face a bumpy road ahead with a company not doing so well. It is a little disappointed that they are going to be bringing them back to 40 hrs., but we just have to look ahead for what the Lord has in store. As of right now Ryan has not been called for one interview and he was shocked. I explained that it's not him it's that fact that there are so many people looking for work. We'll keep plugging away and hope for some improvement.

Kremey and Krispy...Yum Yum!

We took our boys to Krispy Kreme (one of our favorite past time hang outs) and got to enjoy our donuts while watching more being made. Of course Daddy finishes his first and begins begging for bites of everyone elses donuts. Second best thing to the donuts were the nifty little hats the boys got.

The ultimate guy spot!



Joseph chose the first donut he saw, lemon creme filled.



Thomas chose sprinkles after Mommy and Daddy talked him out of anything filled. His name is To-mess after all :)



Joseph checking out the process and hoping he can hand pick one coming off the line.



This is the after-affects of all that yummy Krispy Kreme:






So would you hire this man?...I'm pretty sure he will work for donuts :)

In Need of Prayers

Well it wasn't that many posts ago that I was wondering what the year would bring with all the economic hardships. I thought things would drag on the way they were for awhile, but again I didn't know God's plan. Ryan's work has announced a layoff of 150 workers. Ryan is number 70-something unless they have enough volunteers or early retirements. It is looking like Ryan will be in the cut and we will know for sure on the 16th and from there the layoff will happen 2-4 weeks later. This is a testing time for us. We kind of have experience with this sort of thing, so there is one side of me that knows we can get through it, but there is still the sinful worrying side that wonders how? In the meantime we have to put our trust upon the Lord and wait for Him. Please pray for us as we are weak and in the flesh. I know these things can put strains on marriages and can be a way for the devil to drive a wedge between us. Please pray that, that won't happen and the Lord will use this for His good. I will keep you all posted on what happens (unless we have to cut out the internet). We will contirue to lift up our friends and family who are experiencing the same struggles.

OOOOOOWWWWWWIIIIIIIIEEEEE!

It was a normal Sunday of rushing around and getting everyone ready. Boys were clean, clothed and shooed (similar to shoeing a horse). Ryan was dressed and just about done making the perfect cup of coffee and snatching up a breakfast bar from the pantry. I am in our bedroom finishing up getting ready. Just as I was doing one of the easiest of my tasks, it happened! I had one heel on and as I hovered over the other one, like a flamingo, my shooed foot gave out and I came down with one solid bang followed by screams and dying cow noises. I had nearly knocked the breath out of myself and my back felt like it was compressed 5 inches shorter. The worst though was the throbbing pain from my left ankle. I thought for sure I broke something. My great husband rushed in as soon as he could but not as soon as he would have liked. All I could do is scream and yell and moan...OOOOOWWWWW....OOOOHHHHH.....OOOOOWWWWW! It was the most horrible pain I have ever felt and out of my dozen or so ankle giveouts, this was by far the worst! I laid there until my back pain subsided to make sure nothing broke and then I hobbled up to the bed to tend to my ankle. The pain stabilized somewhat through the day, but we decided to get it checked out early this morning. NO BREAKS!!! Praise God!!! Just a horribly bad sprain and if I keep it up I will more than likely face physical therapy. My ankles are like toothpicks in comparison to my upper body, so they just giveout at any given time, I MEAN, ANY GIVEN TIME!!! We unfortunately missed church again, but worshipped in Mommy and Daddy's bed :) The brace the Dr. suggested has helped greatly and almost makes my ankle feel normal. He reminded me however, that it takes a sprain 6 weeks to heel no matter how good it starts to feel.

Finally posting about Christmas!

I was going through the pictures on my computer and trying to figure out what I can and can't delete and why all my pictures dates are so off. I guess my camera went insane with the new year and decided it was again 2007...huh? Anywho, I ran across some great pics of Ryan's family and mine who I rarely have pictures of and thought I'd share in our crazy weekend end that started off will illnesses and ended that way too!

Christmas Eve with the Hixson's (Megan's Family)


At first glance, one's impression of this picture is that we were playing cherades and mom was up, but nope...she's just enthusiatically talking with her hands!


My brother's daughter, Riley checks out what Joseph got.


Mom and Dad opening the gift that their three children pulled off. We got together all 8 grandchildren and had their picture made and framed it for our parents. I did not expect my mom to cry, but then again it's mom.

Christmas Morning at our house!

This was our first year of doing stockings. We don't celebrate Santa, but liked the concept of getting little nick-naks and candy. In years past I used gift bags and cans, but we decided that stockings would be just fine for us. I found some great ones from Pottery barn on Ebay and got iron-on embroidered name tags.
They were a hit! I should tell you though, that the name tags didn't come till after Christmas so for the mean time we were Quinn, Kathy and some other name :)


We got the boys a nice easel that I found on craigslist really cheap. The picture wouldn't stay turned for me so please don't hurt your necks :) The boys really like it and it is saving my walls. Now I have to get these walls painted, hopefully come tax return season.


Ryan liked his new P.J. pants, but felt a large was too big so exchanged them for a medium only to find out he needed the large for length.


The boys received an overly generous amount of gift money from grandparents and great-grandparents and they got a jungle among many other things.


Ryan was thrilled with his Tractor Supply water bottle and enjoyed it for a few weeks until it fell and cracked :(


Joseph enjoying searching through his stocking of goodies!


Done with the craziness I start the clean-up to prepare for my parent's coming over in a couple of hours. See the names on the stockings...hehehehe!


And the boys enjoy all their new toys!


Mom and Dad arrived and so did more presents! Wow, are we spoiled! A suprise for me was a neat Hawkeye memorabilia book that my parents gave me. This book was newly released and was written by my aunt's long time boyfriend, Mike, who had asked my Dad for feedback and input throughout he whole book. He even mentioned my Dad in the book as part of the History of Iowa Football. NEAT!


More fun with Mamu and Papu, they are affectionately called.

The Day After Christmas with the Reed's!

We finally got to meet the new addition to the family. Savannah, Ryan's great-niece! Yes we are officially great aunt and uncle :) Ryan's nephew is serving in Afghanistan, and Cindy decided to make the long trip from TX to GA for Christmas. We enjoyed seeing them and holding Savannah for the first time.


Dad and five kiddos that range in age from 19 to 42! Wowzer! From Left to Right and in order of age: John, Kerry, Ryan, Stephanie & Jennifer


Those crazy Reed girls can't hold still for one picture!

Um...I think this qualifies as snow!?

Well we finally got a "real" snow that stuck and almost covered everything. [Enter laughs from all our family in Iowa and New York]. One would think that living this close to the mountains we would have more snow than this, but we are practically in a hole and the only places that get a good snow is the plateau to our west and the mountains to our east. This was Thomas first sight and feel of snow at nearly three years old. We had to rush out early and play fast, as the snow was melting fast! The highlight was throwing snowballs at Daddy, who was staked out inside and kept peeking out the window :) It was just enough to get a taste; sure hope we get some more before the end of winter.

A Gift from a Daughter and a Father to a Mother and a Daughter

My mom's father past away about a month before our wedding. He suffered a stroke and died just over a week later. I was given many of his old clothes for any crafts or projects. As he was an Iowa Hawkeye fan, he had many Iowa sweatshirts. My parent's are still Iowa fans even after 25 years of living in TN. I have wanted for several years to make a quilt with all those sweatshirts and finally got the nerve up to give it a try. It is far from perfect and just maybe the last quilt I EVER make. I found some really cute Iowa argyle fleece for the backing. After many months of work I finished just days before christmas. The tag read: To a Mother and a Daughter, From a Daughter and a Father. Even though she had no clue of my project, she was in tears before she even opened it. She was very confused by the tag and kept thinking she was reading it wrong without her glasses on. Here is the outcome:




This was special to make this for my mom. Grandpa's smell was still in the sweatshirts and it was neat to remember him as I made it. There are still coffee stains and collar stains from his oily skin. I am so glad to give something to my mom that brings good memories of her father after having bad memories of watching him in the hospital.

The Reed's Gettin' Down for Christmas!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

A friend and fellow blogger had done this on her blog and I couldn't resist!

AAAAHHHH, So Much Better!

Wow, what a good night's rest can do. My neck is feeling 80% better. I'm still trying to be ginger with it, but a far cry from yesterday! Grandma came out of surgery well. The Dr. said it was a really bad break. It took them a couple of hours to set in a rod and pins. She is in much more pain, especially when they get her up to walk. I couldn't believe it either that they would get her up to walk with no cast, nothing. I'm sure she uses a walker, but wow, walk on a broken leg. She is really down about the whole thing especially when there are no visitors. I hate to say it, but I dread calling her cause I know she will a)talk for an hour or two, b)she'll again ask about the boys and what preschool they are in, to which I will reply that we are homeschooling, to which she will reply with disgust. With that said, I know I should call her, but I am waiting for the time and courage to do so. I did send flowers and an email to her though. I couldn't believe it. You can send emails to patients now. The hospital prints them out onto cards or something and gives them to the patient, how cool! Best part is, the service was free!!! Well, I am going to get more cleaning done.

Cleaning with a Crick in my Neck

I absolutely hate it when I wake up with a sore elbow or knee. Even more so when I wake up with a crick in my neck. Since Ryan is working 1st shift till Christmas I am able to get a lot more housework done, but boy is it tough with a sore neck. Even worse is when I forget that it is sore and I turn it just a little too far and get a stabbing pain shooting down my spine! OWWWWW! I can't wait to go to bed and wake up to a better feeling neck. That usually does the trick for me. I am getting a lot done though. A little bit in each room. The boys have clean beds, I have a clean bed, almost all the laundry is DONE, almost all the dishes are DONE, most of the toys are picked (still a few stragglers), and I have a my decorations up. Left on the list is the bathroom, vacuuming, picking up all the stuff & putting away all that laundry. I can't wait to start the weekend off with a clean home! Gabe and Brandi if you are reading this, we'd love to have you over anytime!!! Let me know when you have a meal open :)

Urgent Prayer!

My grandmother (Grandma Cheyney) who lives in Washington, IA, fell yesterday in the McDonald's parking lot around 8pm. She was transported in ambulance to the local hospital. They discovered that she had broken her leg bone near the hip and it was a bad break. She was in a tremendous amount of pain! They then transported her further to Iowa City, IA's Mercy Hospital where she was doped up on morphine till this mornings surgery. She should be out of surgery now, but I haven't heard yet how it went. She is nearly 85 and was, till yesterday working fulltime at the local walmart. The family has erged her to retire, but she wouldn't. I think this will force her to. She will probably spend some time in Iowa City recovering and then be transported to a nursing home in her area that has a rehabilitation wing. Ryan is off till the 12th of January and my mom wants to go up to see her mom. We are looking into the possibility of taking her up there and staying a few days. Please pray for my grandmother's quick healing. It is very difficult for bones to mend at her age and condition. Also pray that she would have peace with the situation as she will not be home for Christmas.