Carrie's New Years Resolutions

I feel like I really have some things that I would like to work on this year. It's really the first year that I feel that I am actually in control of most aspects of my life so that my resolutions might actually be achievable. In the past I have been too dictated by school, work, or simply the unknown to really set goals for myself - or so I always thought. So here it goes:

1. WORK DURING WORK HOURS - No more spending time in front of the computer rather than spending time with my family. I hope this doesn't hinder my business too much. In fact, I am hoping that by putting my family first I will be blessed in my business as well. I plan to do this by setting my work hours and being more efficient during that time so I don't have lagging work that needs to be completed last minute.
2. MAKE DINNER - I know this sounds simple, but I need to be better at planning, preparing, and serving dinner every night. It is way too expensive to go out all the time and isn't nearly as good for you. A side goal of this is to have dinner ready within about 30 mins of Justin getting home from work so our together time isn't spent with me cooking in the kitchen! I plan to do this by preparing a meal plan and shopping 2 weeks at a time, sticking to the meal plan, and starting dinner in plenty of time for it to be ready when Justin gets home.
3. KEEP AN ORGANIZED HOME - we are still in the process of getting all moved in, but I want everything to have a place in our home and to get in the habit of always putting things back where they belong. Whether it's doing the dishes or laundry, or just keeping the dining room table cleared off, I want my home to be a place that I am proud of no matter when the doorbell rings or who is behind it. I plan to do this by setting a laundry schedule, cleaning up dishes after each meal, and picking up the house during the kids nap times each and every day.
4. BE MORE SPIRITUAL - this is an area I have always struggled with. I need to do a better job of reading my scriptures, saying my prayers, having family home evening, teaching my children, attending the temple and preparing myself for church services each week. I seem to always be able to find time to check Facebook, work on work, etc. I CAN find time to dedicate to the Lord and to my own personal growth. I plan to do this by waking up before the kids each day so I can have time to read my scriptures and say personal prayer, by dedicating a night for family home evening and preparing the lesson, and by preparing myself for church each week.
5. READ FOR FUN - I am in the middle of The Work and The Glory series right now. I want to make sure that I continue to take time for myself and read just for fun. I also want to read to the kids for fun each and every day! I plan to do this by reading in my book before I go to sleep each night, by reading to the kids before nap time and bed time, and by taking time to read at random to them during the day. The books are only like 10 mins long each at most, I can do this!
6. LOSE WEIGHT - ha ha ha, I know what you are thinking. HELLO, I'm pregnant. BUT I will only be pregnant until April and I know what I weighed before I got pregnant and let me tell you - I need to lose weight. SO trying to be realistic and knowing that I will have a worse start than normal, I am setting the goal to be down 20 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight by the end of 2011. No, I'm not going to share with you what that end number is...but I know :-) I plan on doing this by going for daily walks (eventually daily runs would be nice), finding work out videos to do through Netflix, Directv, etc., and hopefully if our finances allow it I would love to get and use the Wii Fit (have the Wii - just need the Fit)

I may add to this as the year goes on but I cannot and WILL NOT delete from it. I may give updates periodically and if you feel so inclined I would LOVE your help and encouragement. Feel free to check up on me and help make me accountable for my resolutions. We all know that it's easier to stick to a task or goal when you have someone to report to. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Reed Family Christmas Cards

Mod Ornaments Holiday Card

Get custom holiday cards online at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words...

I know we've all heard that saying many many times throughout our lives. So what if a picture is worth a thousand words? Whoopty Doo! But what does that mean about a personalized greeting card? One that maybe contains a couple of pictures AND words???

I am a huge fan of personalized greeting cards, holiday cards, birthday invitations, etc. You name it, I think there should  be a picture of your family on it! The programs that you can buy to create these kinds of personalized memories can cost in the $1000's and then once it's created you still have to try to figure out how and where to get them printed, purchase the envelopes and still address and mail them! Sheesh! No wonder people just opt for the lame standard fill in the blank cards you can pick up at the grocery store!

NOT ME!!! I've been using Shutterfly to purchase all sorts of items since Justin and I got married almost 4 years ago. From photo books to enlargements, we have used Shutterfly for numerous occasions. Most recently, with the birth of Ryker, we started using the Cards & Stationary options that Shutterfly offers. The first one we sent out was for Valentine's Day. Ryker was only 2 months old but had just had some really cute pictures taken. Because his birthday was so close to Christmas we had kind of missed sending out Christmas letters so we opted to send Valentine's Day cards to all of his aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins. They were SOOOOO stinking cute that most people still have them hanging on their refrigerators almost a year later! In addition to how adorable they were, they were really easy to put together. It took so little time on my part that I didn't feel like I neglected my little boy one bit to get them done! They arrived earlier than expected with envelopes and all so I just had to address and stamp! It was a great experience! You can check out all their holiday themed cards by clicking here.

We plan on using Shutterfly again this year only in an attempt to actually send out Christmas cards! Because we only have little Ryker man this year, I want to focus the photo on the card on him! We still need to go and take his picture in the snow, but click here to see the photo card I think we are going to send out! I love knowing that even though we are cutting it close on time, Shutterfly always delivers and I'll still be able to get these out before Christmas!!!!

I have used Shutterfly for numerous other projects. One of my favorites that I want to order also for the Christmas cards are the address labels. They are super cute and since we just moved I think it will be a cute way of sharing our new address with everyone in a legible manner rather than me writing it over and over. Here is a page with all of their address labels!

Seriously, if you haven't used Shutterfly before - YOU HAVE GOT TO TRY THEM OUT!!! Now is the perfect time as well since Christmas is coming and I know most of you are like me and haven't even gotten to your Christmas cards yet - they will save you time AND make you look like you were on top of things all along!!!

Let me know if you decide to use them and what your feelings are!!!!

Our little daredevil

If You're Happy And You Know It...

Hitting Axle

Swimming Lessons 3

Swinging with Daddy

Day at the park

Slipper slide

Swimming Lessons 1

Swimming Lessons 2

Ryker taking first steps

10.5 months

Swinging with Daddy

Day at the park

Slipper slide

Ryker blowing bubbles on the couch

He does this all the time over and over

Moving and Waiting and More

We are super excited! The Smith family from our ward has decided to rent our house!!! Wahoo! We are so glad that we are able to rent it to people we know and trust! And the best part is their girls won't have to switch schools or wards - which is always scary when you have kids in middle school and high school!
They are in the process of painting all the rooms - the girls wanted blue and pink bedrooms. They are also tiling the front entry, both bathrooms and the laundry room because they had tile from their old house they wanted to use! It looks GREAT so far. Because the house definitely needed it and we really like their family we are also recarpeting the entire house. That should be done on Saturday. So in other words, our house is going to look AWESOME now that we won't live there. HA HA!

Anyway, we spent last week moving out of our house and into my dad's house! We have a storage unit here in Nampa that is SO PACKED! Oh my gosh! I don't think we could fit even one more thing in there. Unfortunately, we weren't able to fit either of our TVs in there either. So get this, we are living in one bedroom at my dad's that already had a twin day bed, huge bookcase, piano, wardrobe, and dresser in it. NOW we have added our queen air mattress, Ryker's pack and play, our clothes, Sadie and Copper's kennel, our tv stand and our 52" tv. HA HA HA it is so stinking TIGHT! But hey, I am just glad that I have a dad who is willing to put up with us and let us live here until we can finally move!

So on to the status of Justin's job and the real move to Idaho Falls. The last we heard it will probably be around the middle of October before his clearance goes through but it could be as late as the middle of November! Yikes! That means that we have to try to extend our closing date on the condo and hope that the seller is willing to do that. Really the house is still technically on the market so it won't be any different and we won't be out our $500 earnest money either.

We had a tense moment with our agent late last week.

Just a little background first. We had planned on closing with Bank of America and a lender that we know and trust here - Toni Wood. However, her underwriters require us to have Justin's first pay stubs. This is standard protocol just to assure that the amount he has been told he will make is the amount he actually will make. Anyway, so our agent in Idaho Falls asked if we would be willing to check out a lender she uses that might be able to have us close Justin's first day of work instead of waiting for his first pay stub. OF COURSE we are willing to check it out. However, I also wanted to check with our lender to see if they can do anything similar for us.

In the meantime, Justin got a phone call from our agent where she told him that she was talking with the listing agent and IF we agree to use their lender then the seller will work with us on the closing date. But if we insist of using our lender then there were no guarantees. Of course, that made Justin mad - we all know how well he likes to be told what to do, especially by the person who is supposedly working for us. He called and told me what happened so my hackle was raised. I called the broker at Group One to get her opinion on the matter. She explained that while it was in fact legal, it was not right to corner us like that and if she were her agent they would be having a serious conversation.

I spent the weekend thinking over the situation and decided that I don't think what our agent said was necessarily what she meant. I want to assume the best and as such I assume that she actually meant that the seller would want to close when Justin starts and not wait for pay stubs. So I emailed her, explained how it came across, and also explained what we hope she meant. I also told her that because it was better for us we did decide to go with their lender, but not because they told us to. I do feel better now because our agent called Justin and apologized over and over again for making him feel that way.

So hopefully things start rolling soon. We will need to paint and recarpet the condo before we can move in. Anyone interested in spending all day painting with us so we can get it done in a weekend rather than over the course of a couple weeks?

Kind of funny, I haven't actually been able to go to the doctor about the pregnancy yet because we don't have any insurance or money. (you kind of have to have a job to have either) I was able to go in to get an ultrasound just to make sure that it was a viable pregnancy, there was only one baby, etc. However, because of Justin's delayed security clearance (well it isn't delayed it just isn't in yet) I won't be able to go in to the doctor until after he starts. I am just about 12 weeks along! Wahoo done with the first trimester and hopefully the morning sickness soon as well. But with that being said, I will be 20 weeks on November 20th. Ha ha, I am thinking that my first doctors appointment will be when we find out what we are having! WAHOO! Ha ha! But really, it's all good. It should make the pregnancy go by faster, right? It's already gone by pretty quick.

Group One has asked me to come and work part time until we move. They need help around the office and it is a lot easier to bring me in then to try and train someone! Really good timing because our unemployment just ran out! It's an extra $900 - $1200 each month!

One last thought and then I'll end this rambling post! Because Justin and I are both done with school (finally) we no longer get free tickets to the football games. HOWEVER we do still have student ID cards that don't expire for another year. So we talked to some of our friends who are still in school and they gave us their student tickets to use. THANK YOU! But then when we were driving home from Twin Falls on Tuesday I received a phone call from the Boise State Athletic Department. We were selected as the American Family Insurance Family of the Game for Saturday's game! Cool, right??? So we get 4 tickets to the game. Candice and Chad had originally planned on coming but then the student tickets sold out. But now they get to come! And we gave our student tickets to some friends who are students but hadn't gotten tickets yet. They will be filming us waving at the crowd before the game and then playing it on the big screen. We are going to take Carter and Ryker on the field to wave too but then we will send them home with my mom so we can enjoy the game :)

So yeah, that's what is going on in the Reed house! Hope everything is going well for you!

Update On The Reeds!

Okay, so we really haven't been that busy this summer, but it has still been a crazy one! It's actually been pretty fun having Justin home full time.

Justin received a job offer late May to work out at the INL! We are still waiting for his security clearance to go through, but it has made this summer much less stressful!!!

We've had the opportunity to do a lot of shopping and really do whatever we want to! Well within reason, money is still pretty tight.

So what have we done with all of our time? Well we built a really cool chest to hold all of our rockband and gaming stuff. It matches our love sac that we made the summer before we got married.

We have been working on getting the house ready to rent out. It's amazing how different our standard for us to live in and for someone else to live in are so different. But I think that is really because we want to be able to get the most rent possible and the rental market is pretty tough right now!

We are working on relandscaping our flower beds some. I think Justin and Adam have pulled the weeds out front like 5 or 6 times this summer already. Justin finally got the weeds pulled and put the weed barrier down so hopefully we can just put the bark in and plant a few cute plants to finish it up.

We got to go camping just about every weekend in July, that was fun. And I got to witness the birth of my niece Cadence, Ariel and Anthony's little one!

Oh and I guess the most important thing that happened this summer is we found out that we are expecting...again. Ha ha ha! Whoops! We are really excited about this new little baby that will be joining us early April!

So here we go again! Our little family is expanding, we are moving, and we are simply loving life and loving being with each other!!!!!

Ryker and a lemon

 
Look at that face!!! But he kept at it!

What Is The Plan?

I'm sure most of you already know this, but even though I am a mostly scattered and random person, I am in fact a control freak! Whoops! I don't think it's the bad over-controlling psycho kind, well maybe it is. But I like to have a plan. I like to know what is going to happen at least somewhat in the future. And while I may seem random to many, I do usually have a plan.

Yet here we are, no plan in sight. It's an interesting and somewhat frightening feeling that I am sure most of you have gone through at some time or another. You may even be experiencing it right now! For the past 19 years I have gone to school full time, I have worked full time since graduating high school, and as long as Justin and I have been married life has really been pretty easy on us.

Next Friday is Justin's last day of work. He had planned on joining the Air Force and going to training the end of June. However, the officer training classes have been canceled until further notice. So he is still looking for a job and really needs one soon.

I graduate from college on the 15th of May and stay home with Ryker. While that in and of itself is a full-time job, it is not something I am used to.

I am very nervous about not having a plan. But I guess we will just take whatever we can get.

Keep praying and know that there is a plan, it just isn't one that I can see right now!

Aaaaah! :-)

Swim Time

I have been going to Zumba with my mom the last couple of weeks. That has been a lot of fun! In addition to this, we took Ryker swimming for the first time. He loves taking baths in the regular bathtub and floating on his back. However, the colder swimming pool with echoing children screaming was a whole different ball game. Ryker screamed and cried for the first 15 minutes. He finally calmed down and realized he liked it. By then he was getting pretty blue colored so we had to call it quits. But it was a good experience. We are hoping to go back every week so he will be ready for summer swimming!
Here is our little swimming stud :)

Happy Easter

Our Easter was pretty low key this year. Even though it was Ryker's first Easter, we spent the day watching General Conference and then went to Grandma and Grandpa Hobdey's for a light dinner. It was overall a really great day to just sit back, enjoy the family, and reflect on the true meaning of what Easter represents.

However, once Grandma and Grandpa DeGiulio got home from California, we had a nice big Easter Egg Hunt and Aunt Joe and Uncle Al's house with all the cousins! It was a ton of fun and Ryker was so funny with all the Easter Eggs.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!

Gratitude

For those of you who don't already know, things have been kind of tough for us lately. Mostly financially speaking. With the birth of Ryker, we made the decision that it would be best for me to stay home with him, which meant giving up my wonderful, good paying job. I have still been able to work from home some, but that is taking a bit longer to get up and running than originally expected and of course the job hunt for Justin has been all but exciting. While things are really tight right now, it has made me stop and ponder what it is I am doing. Is it really worth the sacrifice to be able to be home with my baby all day? I have to admit, I am not the best house wife around just yet. I struggle getting the house cleaned and taking care of other household chores on a daily basis. It's something I am working on improving. So does it really matter that I am home with my son all day each and every day when I could, in fact, be out working my full-time job making more than enough money to make ends meet?

YES! It really does matter! And I know that it matters.

Ryker may not know now, and he may not ever know, how much of a sacrifice we really are giving in order for his mommy to be home with him to hold him when he is sad, to feed him when he is hungry, to put him down for naps, to clean his dirty diapers, and to read and play with him. However, it does make a difference.
I can tell by the way that he recognizes us that he knows that we love him.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that mothers who are unable to stay home with their children or who chose not to love their children any less than I love Ryker. However, I am saying that it is worth the sacrifice. It is worth the struggles and some of the humbling that is required in order to be here with him.

I love this quote from The Proclamation to the World about our role as mothers

"By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children."

I love my husband and all that he does for us. I love my dear, sweet little boy and the amazing kid he already is. I love my extended family for helping us and supporting us as we struggle to get on with the real world now that college is over.

I am deeply grateful to everyone that has supported us throughout the years. Thank you for everything and for continuing to be there for us. 

High Fives

Ryker is such a fun little guy! I can't believe how much he has already learned and knows at just 4 months old! He just started giving high fives! We had him doing it over and over again, so finally decided it was time to catch it in action. He is best with his right hand and it is super slow motion. But hey, what can you say, he's a little guy!

Food Anyone

Ryker was so funny. He has this new fascination with adult food. Sometimes we catch him looking back and forth between the food and us. When he sees us looking at him, he smiles and tilts his head, batting his eyes and flirting a little to try to get us to feed him. Occasionally that works, when it doesn't he starts throwing a fit. Here is a video of him crying in between each of my bites.

Ryker and Grandpa Waite

It's funny how different people have opinions on who Ryker looks the most like. However, I think across the board most people think he looks somewhat like my dad, Charles Waite. This is especially true when they are wearing the same color of shirt. However, I do still think he has a lot of Justin's features as well. I think it's really just his eyes and his coloring right now that make him look so much like his Grandpa Waite.
When we were at Grandma and Grandpa Hobdey's for dinner one Sunday, my dad was holding Ryker and kept growling at him. Poor Ryker kept pouting and crying in response. It was too funny! We tried to get it on camera, but of course once we pulled the camera out he stopped being so funny. At any rate, here is a video of Ryker with his Grandpa Waite.

Silly Baby

Ryker has this new thing where he likes to run his feet under the running water in the tub. He wiggles his little toes around and just smiles ear to ear. Here's a little video of his tiny feet!

Ryker Rolling Over

Our little baby is sure growing up fast! He started rolling over from his tummy to his back and just a few weeks old. Here he is rolling from his back to his tummy just a few days before turning 3 months old.

Grandma and Grandpa Celebrate 50 Years!!!

We had the opportunity to celebrate Grandma and Grandpa Waite's 50th weddin anniversary! In celebration, the family all went to McGrath's Fish House. I was a little sad because Great Grandma had originally said that she wanted to surprise them for their anniversary by coming up, but she passed away on December 18th :( Anyway, we took a moment to look at Grandma and Grandpa's family, here is a list of everyone to date:

Laura Kay, Noelani & Josh, Braden, Kalea, Kylee, Kehaulani, Charles & Lynda, Brandon & Julie, Justin & Carrie, Ryker, Ariel & Anthony, (Cadence), Mike & Micaela, Adam, LeAnna & Randy, Elizabeth & James, Abigail, Nathan & Amber, Viola, Katy & Derek, baby boy, Rebecca, Brian & Holly, Dominic, Julian, Josie, Jimmy, Jake, Megan, & Josh. That's 41 kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids! That's almost 1 per year! :) Anyway, I just wany my grandparents to know how much I love them and I am so thankful to have them in my life!!!

3 Years

Justin and I have been married now for 3 years! It's been so much fun already! We have grown up a ton already and I am loving every minute of it! Since we got married, we have: 1) bought a house, 2) purchased 2 new rigs and a motorcycle, 3) graduated from college, 4) had a 3 litters of puppies, 5) visited Taiwan, and 6) had a baby! Okay, so that is really only highlighting a few of the things we have done. It has been a wonderful three years! To celebrate, my parents watched Ryker and we went and saw Avatar at the movies. I truly am in love with Justin and couldn't have asked for a better husband, father, and best friend!!!

LAME-O

We did absolutely NOTHING for New Years Eve. And guess what, it was WONDERFUL!!! Just the five of us at home watching movies - Justin, Ryker, Sadie, Copper, and me :) This is a short post, but I just wanted to let you know that sometimes it is the simplest things in life that are the most satisfying! I love my family!