Bringing in the New Year!

So...

Here at the Reed house we are partyin' down. A full house-- with lots of fun going on. 2010 is going to be a great year-- God willing!

So, what are you doing tonight?

Any radical things in store for the coming year?

16 Years

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Thanks so much for all you guys do. We don't always show it like we should, but we appreciate you two sooooooooo times a billion much. You have had a great 16 years together and are raising a wonderful family. Mom, Sveta will comb your hair for 30 minutes while me and Andrew massage your feet. Dad, Sveta promises not to be grumpy for the rest of your anniversary and will try harder to stay happy all the time. Andrew and I will give good attitudes as well. Thank you for being awesome parents.

Love from 3 of your children,

Caleb, Andrew, and Sveta

I am the worst Mom....

I just taught my teenage boys to clean the bathroom.....

and had them do it too.

The worst part.....
they exclaimed that they shouldn't have to clean bathrooms since they have five sisters....

oh, they couldn't be more wrong.

Yet.... I Think He Was Always Beautiful

Dennis is our youngest munchkin----- and has probably been through the most. He is one amazing little guy------ God blessed me beyond measure when he allowed me to become his Mom. My little guy is coming up to another surgery on January 7th--- his second time he will be needing to stay overnight. I am concerned of course, yet I trust that he will be okay. Over time, I had forgotten what exactly he looked like when we first brought him home. His past surgeries also seemed to be a vague memory.

This was a picture of Dennis before his first surgery to remove his right eye.

This is how he looked afterwards-- happy as can be of course!

Then he had his cleft palate repaired in December 2008. In March, he had his most transforming surgery to date.

Only two short weeks later, he had to have yet another surgery.

And this is what he looked like at the end of March.

After that, he got his prosthetic eye. Wow!

Soon after, he had a minor surgery to close up his eye a bit more.

Here is how Dennis is doing today!

I think he is absolutely adorable---- blue lollipop mouth and all!

Praise God for this precious boy's life.

Christmas with Our Family

Merry Belated Christmas! Happy Birthday Jesus!

On Christmas Eve, we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner. When we asked if we could bring anything, they kindly answered, "Just bring yourselves!"

Though our family will always be loud and somewhat chaotic--- it is amazing to see precious moments like this that can't deny the love our kids have for each other. Adam is a good big brother-- and his little brothers look up to him whenever they can.

We had Grandma and Grandpa open their presents first. From cards, to chore coupons, to carpet cleaner, to closet space hangers-- it was fun seeing them open their gifts. And it was all my doing-- that carpet cleaner they got! Why? Because it is the best spot remover I have ever used!

I appreciated the gifts that my kids got because it fit them perfectly! Like Grandma and Grandpa knew exactly what each child specifically wanted---

it seems as if it would have taken them forever to find the "perfect sweater" or the "perfect pair of shoes" but they did just that!

Grandpa and Julia

The food was delicious! I think we had the best prime rib that has ever been made compliments of Grandpa!

When we got home, we went to bed-- not too late.

John was up with the kids earlier than I was---- Cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. We began our day with prayer and thanksgiving for our Saviour's birth-- and then wished him a Happy Birthday. Then we passed out gifts to each other.

Alex got this cool ABC toy truck-- which his Daddy knew he would love!

Just when the kids thought that they had opened up all of their gifts, John found a big box hiding behind the couch. He pretended to not know who it was for, and had the kids thinking that it was for me. We quickly suggested that they all just better open the gift-- and they were all ecstatic to see that inside was a Wii!

Wii are family!

Our whole family had fun playing games together.

My Mom and sister bought us two more games and Wii accessories-- so did Matt and Jenn!

My Mom baked all of the goodies---- homemade carmel, snowballs, cookies of all sorts, rice crispy treats, and her famous chocolate pies!

You are the best Mom!

Oh and Dad, you were in all of our thoughts! We miss you!

Can You Believe.......

He fell asleep like this?

We all thought it was so adorable--- even Alex was motioning us to be quiet by putting his finger up to his lips so that Dennis could sleep.

Do you have any cute "My Child Fell Asleep While...." pictures or stories?

Christmas Traditions

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

A few days before Christmas we got around to going on our traditional outing--- eating at Wendy's and then walking around a decked out part of town to look at Christmas lights! It was cold but fun! My Mom joined us for dinner.

Alex enjoyed his chicken nuggets and fries!

It was very cold out-- but as usual, the lights were beautiful and festive!

Dennis loved holding our hands (John and mine) because it kept his nice and warm!

Here is our family photo-- minus the picture taker-- me.

Since we were walking so fast to stay warm and keep up with the flow of other pedestrians, I didn't have time to put gloves on Alex the right way. So this poor boy had to wear gloves--- pink no less-- just shoved onto his hands. But hey-- they served their purpose!

And he enjoyed his first year of this wonderful tradition with us!

Bubble Brothers!

The Gift of Haircuts!

Our Christmas break is going well--- busy.... loud... rambunctious.... fun... crazy.... did I say loud... and most of all we are staying family oriented.

This December, we did the unthinkable.

John and I decided to tell the kids the truth about Santa. This was a decision that was made in an effort to focus on Jesus-- the reason for the season. The more and more that we have thought about it, the more we see Santa being more the focus during this time of year, and we wanted to make sure that Santa didn't steal the spotlight. It sure is hard to buy wrapping paper, gift tags, etc. without some reference to Santa-- but I tried. The kids will still get a few gifts and have a wonderful Christmas nonetheless-- but this year the kids will not be up at the crack of dawn snooping around the Christmas tree to see what the old man in the red suit brought them. Instead, we will get up early, but not too early, and have Cinnamon rolls compliments of Caleb who wants to treat his family to a sweet breakfast treat. Then we will exchange gifts, and attend church in honor of Jesus. Later, we will have family over for a nice dinner.

Alex is such a little cheese! He is always so happy, despite the rigorous physical therapy I continue to do with him many times a day. His gait has improved drastically and he hardly crosses his feet when he walks. The Orthopaedic Surgeon called and said that after talking to his colleagues, he felt that Alex should not have surgery to correct his hip. He thinks Alex is doing so well that he doesn't think that the surgery will improve his mobility much more-- so he wants to see him next year to reevaluate him. As he explained things a little more over the phone, I trust his judgement-- for now.

Little by little, I am doing inexpensive decorating as I find time, so when I came across this wall quote, I couldn't resist. The price was right too.

And it is so true!

In the last few days, I have given all the girls haircuts. Rachel, Annalyn, and Julia are the most drastic-- and Sveta's I messed up with thinning shears. Sveta and I joke about it, and I did her hair all crazy because she loves when I brush and blow dry her hair.

Julia and Andrew love to play a game called Worms.

Look at Julia's hair before her haircut.

Look at her now!

I think it is so cute on her-- and to my dismay-- it makes her look older, I think.

Caleb conked out because not only did he have basketball practice today, but last night he stayed up with one of his friends way too late.

Guess who this is? Adam! Totally the opposite of his baby brother Dennis who is a total ham for the camera.

While I had the camera out, Dennis wanted me to take pictures of him with Sveta.

And then with Alex.

Doesn't Alex look like he is thinking-- Don't strangle me dude!

Shortly after this picture was taken, Dennis drove his little toy car into one of the presents. I was too lazy to rewrap it, so I just taped it the best I could. :)

Here is Alex's monkey face!

Gotta love his cuteness!

My Little Pudding Cup

My little pudding cup has such a personality. He is now three years old-- but don't tell him that-- cause he thinks he can do things like a five or six year old!

As he is developing his personality and we have gotten to know him over the past year and a half-- there are some "unique" things about him.

Like how he holds his fork. No matter how I try to correct him-- he always reverts to holding his fork or spoon like this.

I think it is so cute. Yet, I also see how awkward it is for him and how the fork doesn't fit into his mouth as well because of how Dennis has it positioned. So I wonder if I should correct him or just let him be. He is starting to hold his pencil this way too.

I think this is one I will ask the occupational therapist about.

Another thing about Dennis is that he absolutely hates being covered up or wearing warm pajamas. Anyone else have that problem? Over time, he has gotten better about tolerating a light blanket covering him because I continually go in and cover him up so he won't be cold. I also snuggle with him in bed and he will fall asleep with the covers on before pushing them off. But if my little pudding cup had his way-- he would run around in shorts and a t-shirt in the dead of winter!

Dennis has a big surgery coming up in two weeks. We will be staying overnight. He will be having his right temple worked on. And the best part----- Dennis will be getting an eye mold for his permanent eye prosthesis! We are so excited for him--- yet my heart aches for him because he now knows what to expect and gets very teary-eyed and sad when the nurse takes him
from me to the operating room.

I am also a little concerned for Alex. This will be the first time that he will see Dennis with bandages and stitches. I have no idea how he is going to react but I imagine it will be a little scary for him.

Sweet Jesus, please prepare all of our hearts for this upcoming surgery. May we all feel your loving comfort.

Nothing Warms My Heart More Than......

catching my kids looking really sweet together.

What warms your heart?

A Special Birthday

Last night we celebrated our oldest daughter Rachel's birthday. It was a very special evening. Earlier in the week, I had called her previous family who her bio-brothers live with and invited them to the party. We didn't tell her in case they couldn't come, but we knew it was something she deeply desired. She hadn't seen her oldest brother in 2 1/2 years-- so imagine her amazement when they showed up to wish her a happy birthday! The moment was priceless!

And the evening was wonderful.

Rachel has matured so much over the past two and a half years-- and she carries herself with a huge sense of contentment which shines through. John and I were proud beyond words to be the parents of the beautiful birthday girl!

Happy 14th birthday Rachel!

After she blew out the candles we had a minor dilemma--- we couldn't figure out which freezer the ice-cream was hiding in.

After cake and ice-cream, Rachel opened up presents!

Not only did Rachel get many wonderful gifts from friends and family.....

but John and I thought that this birthday was an appropriate age to give Rachel this ring.

It is a purity ring. We wrote her a letter sharing with her our desires for her life, and how much God loves her. We explained how this ring was meant to be worn as a sign of purity and wholesomeness until it was replaced with a wedding ring from her husband. I asked her if she understood its significance and if she wanted to make this vow. She indeed wants to be set apart from the rest of the world and remain pure.

Praise God!