Just 5 more minutes...

I wondered how well Callie and Ashtyn would get along. Callie has always had somewhat of a "love-hate" relationship with her little sister. On the one hand, Callie was BEYOND excited at the thought of having her very own baby at her house ALL the time...but, when that tiny little baby started moving in on her "territory," well Callie wasn't too sure about all of that.

Overall, Callie has adjusted well to having a sibling. She has enjoyed getting to help with her baby sis, and especially loves getting to hold her and give her a bottle. Callie is extremely concerned about Ashtyn, not wanting her to get hurt at all. In fact, Callie cries if she thinks that Ash is hurt. Of course, there are other times that Callie won't hesitate to knock her sis out of the way or take away a toy...

But tonight, Callie was playing a lot more with Ashtyn. She was giving her hugs and kisses. And then, when Trey came in to get Ash ready for bed, Callie asked "Can I play with Ashtyn just 5 more minutes?" :)

That has to be one of the most precious things for a parent to witness!

Let is Snow!

We are just a LITTLE excited that there is already snow on the ground...

Christmas Angels...

So...there is this album. An album that pretty much means CHRISTMAS to me. As a little girl I can remember listening to it on an old record, and then my parents recorded it onto a cassette. Then, when I was in high school I searched every store to try and find it...I finally ended up ordering it online. It was the only place I found it.

The album is...Roger Whittaker. I'm sure nobody else has ever heard of Roger Whittaker, especially not a Christmas album that he made a LONG time ago. His album is not filled with "traditional" Christmas songs, they are original...they are special. At least, they are special to ME.

There is not a single memory I have of Christmas without this music as the background. Listening to the first notes of the first song literally gives me chills. It's amazing that one album could bring back memories of EVERY Christmas.

It is always my choice to listen to when I am wrapping Christmas presents or addressing Christmas cards. And, one of the songs was the first one Callie heard, on our way home from the hospital after her birth! It's hard to believe, but Trey has learned to enjoy this music as much as I do.

There is one song on this album that is particularly special to me...I can remember being little and my mom telling me how much the song meant to her. And that when she heard it, she always thought of her children and how much she loved us and Christmas time. I can remember wrapping presents when I was in high school, listening to it and imagining having children of my own one day...

I also remember listening to it the Christmas after we lost our first baby, and were waiting for our little blessings to come. And, now that I have my own children, this song is even more special. It has even more meaning to me. I've listened to it several times already this year, but as I was listening to it yesterday...I was overwhelemed with how blessed I am with my TINY ANGELS:)

"Tiny Angels" by Roger Whittaker

Tiny angels - Christmas angels try to sleep.
Don't let Santa hear the sounds of little feet.
Now it's time to close your eyes and drift away,
Until you wake tomorrow and it's Christmas day.

Tiny angels - I have heard you every night.
Whispering with bright eyes shining in the light.
Daddy, when is it Christmas - will it soon be here?
Well my darlings, it's very, very near.

As near as you my angels - since you came to me.
Now Christmas day and every day is the same to me.
The only gifts that I could want are you, my darlings.

Tiny angels - Christmas angels sleeping tight.
May Santa bring you all the gifts you want tonight?
And some day when you have tiny angels too,
I hope you find the joy I found in you.

You changed the world, my angels - when you came to me.
Now Christmas day and every day is the same to me.
The only gifts that I could want are you.

Tiny angels - Christmas angels try to sleep.
Don't let Santa hear the sounds of little feet.
Now it's time to close your eyes and drift away,
Until you wake tomorrow and it's Christmas day.

Thankful Tuesday & Thursday

So, last week was so busy with the actual Thanksgiving holiday that I didn't have time for blogging! We left to go to Princeton to visit with Trey's family last Tuesday and were there through Thanksgiving night. We had a great time, visiting with family and seeing friends at Northside on Wednesday night. On Thanksgiving day we watched the Macy's Parade as we always do, and then had lunch with Trey's family. That night we drove to Robinson to visit with my parents. Trey had quite an experience with his first "Black Friday" and then the rest of the day we just relaxed and then had a wonderful dinner! My brother in law and the triplets came over and all the cousins had a great time together (my sister was still recovering from food poisioning). So, I am thankful that we had a wonderful holiday with family with safe travels!

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for our new church, Batesville Baptist! We have only been here a few months, but we have already been so blessed by the people in our church family. It is evident that this is the place God has for us, and I am looking forward to many years of service here!

Thankful Tuesday

Today I want to say that I am so thankful for my HUSBAND! It's funny because Trey is probably nothing like what I pictured my husband to be like...in fact in many ways he and I are total opposities! But, I guess that's why God is such a good "matchmaker." He knew exactly what and WHO I needed:) I can't imagine life without this guy...Love you!

Thankful Thursday

Today is a very special day to me...November 11. It's Veterans Day, and growing up my dad and I would have "Hannah-Daddy day" every year on Veteran's Day. We would go Christmas shopping and just have some special time together, and it was a tradition that I looked forward to. But there is another November 11th event that will forever stand out in my mind as well...November 11, 2005. It was the day that my first baby went to heaven.

I can remember each feeling and emotion as if I were experiencing them for the first time. The utter devastation I felt when I found out that the baby I had been carrying for 3 months, no longer had a heartbeat. My arms still ache to hold that baby...that I will one day get to hold in heaven.

Five years have passed and although I will say it DID get easier, it's never forgotten. It has completely influenced me and changed me forever. Five years ago I wondered if I would ever have a child to hold, and to raise... I am so unbelievably thankful for the two daughters that God has blessed me with! I don't take one second for granted.

It's funny though, even after all this time I will have moments when I look at my girls both riding in the backseat of the car, or playing together and can't help but think "one is missing."

I will never forget my first child...and I will never forget what a blessing God has given me in these two girls. I am so thankful He has entrusted me with them:)

Thankful Tuesday

I know that Veterans Day is in a couple days...but I am thankful for our soldiers. Both past and present. Especially, my favorite veteran is my dad. He fought in the Vietnam War in the army, and he is definetly my HERO:)




A picture of me and my dad

Thankful Thursday

Today I am most thankful for all the modern conveniences I enjoy each day. Very thankful to have a dishwasher, microwave, washing machine and dryer. This may seem kind of silly, but it's not when I think of what my grandma, or my mom had to do back in the day without all these short-cuts!

Very blessed to live in a time that provides all of these advances, and I choose to use the extra time I'm not spending washing dishes or clothes by hand with my wonderful family:)

Thankful Tuesday

So I know a lot of people use the month of November to tell what they are thankful for everyday. While I know I absolutely have that many things to be thankful for, I also know that I probably wouldn't get around to posting EVERY DAY. Therefore, I've decided I'm going to do "Thankful Tuesday and Thankful Thursday" every week during the month of November.

This first Tuesday I want to reflect on being thankful for staying home with my children. I didn't grow up thinking I would be a "stay at home mom (SAHM)." In fact, the idea was kinda of foreign to me...my mom worked while I was growing up, and pretty much all of my friends' moms worked too. I had always assumed that I would have some sort of career. And, I thought I might have two kids when I was older...

It wasn't until I went to college that I was introduced to the idea of a homemaker. This word truly means more than I even initially thought. As I learned about biblical examples of women who raised their children lovingly and sacrifically, I felt more and more the calling on my life. When I first met my husband and we talked about family he expressed that he wanted his wife to stay at home also. And he has been fully supportive of that the entire time we've been married.

My life has changed a lot since Trey and I got married. My role as a wife and mother has changed and evolved with each season in life and child added to our family. There are some days, or weeks that I never get out of the house. My hair is in a ponytail so that no little hands can pull on it...I often don't wear any make-up. Sometimes the only adult conversation I have is talking a few minutes with Trey or my mom on the phone. But the time I have with my children is priceless.

I remind myself that these years will go by way too fast, and soon most of the time my children will be in school. What a blessing it is to be able to spend this time with my girls! And I am so thankful for a husband that works hard for me to be able to stay at home.

Trick-or-Treat

This year was Callie's third to go trick-or-treating. She was excited all day long and couldn't wait for the time to dress up and go out! Trey and I took turns taking her to houses in our neighborhood so that one of us could stay home and hand out candy with Ashtyn.

Callie was so big this year, she even went up to the houses by herself! And I do have to say that Ashtyn was the cutest little pumpkin for her first Halloween. She wore the same costume that Callie wore for her first Halloween!

Halloween Festivities

On Wednesday night we had a "Fall Festival" at our church. We had free food, games and candy for kids. It was a great night and we were able to reach out to lots of new families and children in the community.

I only got a few pictures of Callie because I was carrying Ashtyn around everywhere. Let's just say Ash was not such a fan of it this year:)

Fall Fun

I've been so busy with our girls I've not had time to blog about all that's been going on in our lives the past month or so...Ashtyn has got crawling DOWN. She is now pulling up everywhere and walking along things, even starting to let go! She has not been sleeping well the past couple months since we moved, but we're hoping she'll be back to herself SOON...other than that, she is a pretty happy baby. Ash loves to follow her big sister around. She is eating all the baby foods (except green veggies!) and Puffs, and she has started babbling more. On Friday, October 29 Ashtyn said her FIRST word..."Mama!" I'm just a little proud:)

Callie is getting bigger, and getting more and more opinionated! Don't know where she gets that from...haha! It is a struggle at times, since she is testing her limits and questioning us all the time. Hopefully we will all survive this stage!! She is a pretty good big sister and is a big help to mommy during the day.

I guess you could say I'm pretty blessed...even though these girls keep me on my toes!

Here are some pics of us and our beautiful girls:)

Pumpkin Works

At the beginning of October we went to Robinson to visit my parents and go to the Heath Harvest Festival. This was Ashtyn's first parade, which she slept through...But we also got to take the girls to Pumpkin Works in Paris. Callie had a lot of fun looking around and playing in the straw maze.

Sitting up and on the move!

Ashtyn began sitting up on her own last month. And of course it wasn't long after that she started dragging herself everywhere, and quickly moved to crawling! As if that wasn't enough to keep up with, she is already pulling up and "walking" around furniture...she's trying to grow up way too fast!!

Catching up...

So, we've been so busy with the move and transition the past few months, I have hardly had time to blog. Here are some miscellaneous pics of Callie and Ashtyn from the summer. Enjoy:)

Callie's first car!

Can you tell that her daddy is a UK fan??? Someone from our church in Kentucky gave this to Callie and she has had so much fun "driving" it around! She calls it her "go Cats" car:)

We're Moving!!

Well...there have been a lot of things going on and changing in our lives over the last few months! I have much to catch up on in blogging, so bear with me:) The biggest news however, is that we are moving to Batesville, Indiana! Trey has accepted a position as Pastor of Batesville Baptist Church, and we are very excited about this new opportunity!!

It's funny, because I always said that I would NEVER marry a preacher....ha! We know that God has great plans for Batesville and we feel very grateful that God will be using us to accomplish His purposes there. Stay tuned for more updates on the Reid's...

Happy 4th of July!

We got take Callie to see fireworks for the first time this year. We weren't sure how she would do with all the noise...After getting to the park a little early we laid our blanket out and Trey bought her a light to play with while we waited. Then the fireworks started and they were right over us! It was really neat to watch Callie's excitement. They were a little too loud for her though, so Trey covered her ears while she watched:)

All American Girls!

The girls had matching dresses to wear to church on the 4th of July! Of course they were SO very cute:)

Such a good big sister

Callie was so excited when she found out she was going to have a little sister. She loved playing with her baby cousins so much, the idea of having a baby at our house ALL the time seemed like heaven to her! When we first brought Ashtyn home, Callie was pretty fascinated...then the "newness" wore off pretty quickly. For a while Callie really didn't want to do that much with her little sister...she didn't like to smell her "spit up."

Just recently Callie has taken a new interest in Ashtyn, I guess since Ash is much more interactive with us now:) Anyway, she's quite the little helper, playing with her sister and even giving her bottles!

An evening stroll

We really enjoy going on walks with the girls. Callie absolutely loves it! However, it has been SO HOT out that we have rarely been able to go outside with them. It finally cooled off a few weeks ago and we were able to get out a little bit. Here are some pics of our fun time:)

Bows and Painted Toes

I have to say that I absolutely LOVE having little girls!!!! I love dressing them in pink and purple and dresses...Some of the fun things you can do when you have little girls is putting bows in their hair and painting their nails:)



Little Miss Ashtyn Elizabeth

Callie wanted to have blue nail polish, so we picked this out at Wal-Mart and she sat very still for me to paint her toes!

Cheap Entertainment

As I was drinking out of my cup this morning, I noticed that Ashtyn was totally fascinated with it...so we gave her, her very own cup to play with! If she keeps this up, toys will be very inexpensive:)

Unwanted Wake-Up "Call"

About 4:30 am this Thursday we heard loud knocking on our front door. It scared me to death and I quickly told Trey to go see what was going on. I was worried that all the noise would wake the girls up. I could hear the garbage trucks outside so the only thing I could think was maybe they needed to ask Trey something?

Trey said that he peeked out the window and could see toilet paper in our yard. Then someone on the porch yelled "Police department!" Apparently this cop was just driving down our road, happened to notice what little toilet paper was in our yard and thought we had been vandalized! Trey explained to him that he is a youth pastor and he was sure one of our students did it as a prank. The officer said he wanted to make sure it was not done out of "malicious intent."


I don't understand why he had to wake up an entire household at 4:30 in the morning to ask us that!!


Here are a few pics of the very poor TP job, if you did it, I wouldn't claim it!! (hahaha)

Baby Dedication

Ashtyn turned 5 months old yesterday, and we had her "baby dedication" at church, on Father's Day. It was a perfect time for us to reflect on re-committing ourselves to raise our girls in church. Ashtyn had fallen asleep during the music, right before we went up front...therefore, she was very good during the dedication:)

What a precious baby girl!

"Breakfast of Champions"

There is something new in town...something that has the potential to be no good for us. It's very tempting. It is...a doughnut shop! And it just happens to be right next door to my father-in-law's business:)

We went out to get some doughnuts for breakfast this morning, and I have to say that after a glazed, icing covered doughnut and a large Coke from McDonald's, I am on a SUGAR HIGH! I'm actually shaking as I'm trying to type:)

My waistline is in serious danger...

Just Chillin Out...

After Ashtyn's bath the other day we decided to let her hang out in just her diaper for a while. She looks relaxed doesn't she?

Our First Trip to the ER

Callie is three and half now...and we've officially made our first trip to the ER with her. She started coughing about two weeks ago. She followed that with a runny nose, and just generally not feeling well. After a few days of meds she seemed to be better, wasn't running a fever and was playing like normal.

Then Sunday after church she started running a temperature of 102. We gave her Tylenol and told her to rest. After a few hours her temp had gone up to 103. We decided it was time to take her in. After a few hours at the ER, the doctor diagnosed her with croup and gave her breathing treatments and steroids.

It has been difficult the past few days, because we have to keep Ashtyn and Callie completely apart. For one, we don't want Ash to get croup, and we don't want Callie to be exposed to the Rotavirus, since Ash received her vaccine on Friday. Trey is taking care of Callie, and I'm taking care of Ashtyn. It has not been easy keeping two separate households...

Callie hasn't felt well the last couple of days. The steroid made her sick to her stomach and it's been hard to get her to eat and drink. She ran a fever all day yesterday, and most of this morning. We finally have gotten her temperature down and are now working on getting her to eat more. They are still doing breathing treatments and we are hoping she can start taking the steroids again.

Overall, this is probably the sickest Callie has ever been and it is so difficult to watch her be in so much discomfort and not be able to do anything to help. Right now, we are just praying to have our spunky, happy little girl back.

Until then...we are keeping our girls apart and Trey and I meet every once and a while to check in. Hopefully life gets back to normal SOON!!!!!

4 months...

Ashtyn went for her "4 month" check-up at the doctor yesterday. Actually she is almost 5 months old, but we're just a few weeks behind on the appointments. Our little girl is growing so fast! She weighed almost 15 pounds:) Currently, she is in the 25% for height and the 88% for weight! (haha...) Who would've thought that I would have such healthy little girls! We thought that Ashtyn might take after me and be slender and petite...but those Reid genes are coming through:)

The doctor said she is just perfect, and of course we totally agree:)

I just LOVE those cheeks! I just have to kiss them all the time!!

Fairytale Princess...

Callie LOVES to play dress-up. She also loves princesses...particularly the Disney princesses. Over the last year or so she has been collecting some princess dresses to play in. She had Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Belle. The one she was "missing" was Cinderella. All the time, she would talk about how much she wanted the Cinderella dress...and of course, Nana bought it for her! She already had the gloves, purse, and shoes. As soon as she put the dress on, she started posing and dancing:)