Dressed in White

 The original 7:
This is me and my family. 4 boys, and me. April 27, 2013 was a BIG day for our family. We ALL were together in the Idaho Falls LDS temple for the first time. I remember feeling nervous with so many of us traveling that something was bound to happen to one of us to prevent us from all being together.

When I was finally dressed and seated in the temple I looked around and realized we all made it. We were all there! Its one of the few times I remember feeling perfect JOY.

I felt that we had beat Satan. He has worked hard on each of us at different times and with different struggles to keep us from this day. All growing up our family motto has been "No Empty Chairs." And this day was the closest we have come to fulfilling that goal. It was a perfect day.

 And now the family has doubled in size and I love each new sister my brothers have brought to our family. They have aided us in this goal of getting us all to the temple and were truly sent from heaven and meant for each of my brothers.

Lets remember our goal of NO EMPTY CHAIRS IN OUR HOME IN HEAVEN and keep on keepin on! Love you Reed family. I'm so blessed to have all of you.

Being a Mom.....

Is one of the hardest most rewarding thing I have ever done. From sleepless nights to cleaning messes it can just about make you crazy. But its amazing how quickly you forget how hard it is when they run and give you a hug or tell you they love you.

The joy these kids give me is hard to put into words. My life would not be a life without them. They complete my world. On Mother's Day they were especially sweet by giving me lots of hugs and telling me Happy Mothers Day all day long. I am blessed!

 And I wouldnt be a mother with out this amazing man by my side. He is the reason I want to be a good mom and try my very best. He brings out the good in me.

Love you my little family! Thank you for making mother's day so special!

(this is the first post of many! so keep scrolling if you are interested!)

The Inn at Owl Hollow

My Older brother Justin turned 30 today and to celebrate it he gave us a kid free vacation!

They rented a huge house called The Inn at Owl Hollow. BEAUTIFUL! It was about 5 minutes from Lava Hot Springs. We spent friday night soaking in the wonderful hot tubs with 5 other couples and the rest of the time lounging and eating and talking!

 We brought games and volleyball and basketballs and had a pool table upstairs but most of our fun looked like this!

R-E-L-A-X-I-N-G!! This is definently one to remember! We had such a great time and glad that Justin had a birthday so we could all celebrate!

Meanwhile our kids were enjoying playing their hearts out with cousins. Chad's sister graciously took the kids for the night and they had a ball.

Cute cousins!

Families can be together forever

At the end of April the whole family got together for our baby brother, Adam's, mission farewell! The whole family was able to be in the temple together when he got his endowments and it was a joyous day because we had finally reached our family goal since we were little of "No Emty Chairs." Granted, we still have to make it to heaven, but we made it to the temple and it was no easy task! We got the awesome and unique opportunity visiting with the first counselor of the temple presidency in the presidents office while we were all dressed in white. It will be a day I will never forget the feelings of pure joy I had.

This is Adam after he got set apart as a missionary.

 Tony and Monse and their cute new little guy Ashton made the long long drive and spent the week here. The rest of the family rolled in Thursday night.

 It was spent playing games and enjoying ourselves. Love to be with my family!

The good bye was hard as they alwyas are, but I was so glad to get this kid sent off on a mission!

 And in other news, my second youngest brother Jordan proposed to his girlfriend in April and we are so excited to have Taylor join our family!

 They will be sealed on July 13!

 Adam entered the MTC on May 1. Here he is with his group.

What an awesome weekend! I am so blessed! Although 21 our of the 40-something people who came to the farewell got the flu, it still couldnt stop all of us from being so happy we were together. Families CAN be together forever!!!

Soccer Mom

I don't have a mini van, but I'm officially a soccer mom! This little guy started soccer mid April and has loved every second of it. He has made 2 or 3 goals already and gets so proud when he does. (So does his momma!)

 He played his friends team last week and they killed us but Carter got our teams only goal.

As he runs he laughs and giggles and just has so much fun. He can often be heard yelling "good job Carter!" to him self. Love this little man. It is so fun to watch his love for sports and other interests grow and to see him succeeding at things. I dont have any pictures but he also learned to ride his bike all by himself last week. He came and told me "I knew I could do it!" And he did. Good job carter!

28th Birthday

28! Seemed so old when I was young, but here it is! I was showered with gifts all weekend long! The kids were just as excited as I was!

 We went to dinner and then instead of cake I got a carmel apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate factory for dessert! Carter really wanted a candle for me to blow out, so we stuck one in it!

 Chad took me shopping on the weekend after my birthday and let me get whatever I wanted and to a nice dinner at Johnny Carinos. Yum! It was a great day despite getting older!

This wasnt a birthday gift, but I got to get eyelash extensions done from a good friend. They were so fun and I got tons of compliments. Best part? I didnt have to wear mascara for weeks! (kinda a creepy picture, but focus on the eyelashes!)

He Is Risen

We had a wonderful Easter. This year, more than others I really tried to focus on the last week of the Saviors life and think each day what was happening. I knew he atoned on Friday, but on Thursday I was overwhelmed with love for my Savior. He has done so much for me. The atonement has blessed my life in numerous ways. As I sat reading the Ensign, tears streamed down my cheeks with such comfort that the atonement was real. That the Savior lived. And that I could return to him. What a lovely message. This made such a difference in my Easter this year.

We celebrated with the kids before we headed to Idaho for more Easter festivities.

Mollie caught on really quick how to hunt for eggs. She had to because Carter would plow her over to get to any egg he could!

 Then we hopped in the car and headed to our annual egg hunt in Blackfoot with my family. This is no small egg hunt and its so fun for all the cousins to be together.
The kids ran straight for the big trees to climb.

 Carter colored one egg and was done, but Mol would have sat there all day if i would have let her coloring eggs. Did I mention I hate coloring eggs?!

 Mollie loves babies and thinks she always needs to hold them even though she isn't that much bigger than this little guy, she thought she needed to try.

 This hunt is always a little chilly, but we had a beautiful day compared to ones in the past. A little jacket and the kids were good to go!

 And as always, Grandma and her siblings didn't disappoint!

 Carter was so excited on Sunday after his class. He came running to me and said "Mom, Mom, look what I have!" As I bent down to see, he clutched an Easter egg in his tiny hands and opened it and said " Look Mom its empty. Like the tomb!"

It never ceases to amaze me what he can understand at such a young age. But at just 4 years old, he taught me a lesson about how exciting it is that the tomb was empty and what it means for all man kind. Thanks Carter for making my Easter more meaningful.