I have a three year old?!?

As of tomorrow, Riley will be three! On one hand it's hard to believe that she has already been in our life for three years.  On the other hand, it's hard to imagine life without her because it seems like she has always been here and been a part of our lives.
From her first days, Riley has proven herself to be an amazing little girl. To know Riley is to love her! My girl is spunky, loving, creative, funny, smart, opinionated, and beautiful.  She is full of life to say the least!  She does everything with enthusiasm and passion, especially dancing :)  She genuinely loves the important people in her life and is the best big sister to Logan.  If you need a kiss or a hug, Riley is your girl!  Riley's imagination is beyong what I could have ever dreamed it could be ~ to hear her stories and listen to her playing keeps me amazed at what she comes up with. Her wit and humor keep me smiling on a daily basis.  She really is hilarious! Riley is one of the smartest kids I know.  She enjoys learning and is very proud of what she is already able to do and explain.  I have no doubt that her strong mind will help her accomplish many things in life and will lead to many successes in her future. God has blessed her and kept His hands on her and I know she will continue to learn to love and trust Him in return.  Some of her favorites right now include Dora and Tinkerbell, dancing, playing dress up, being Mommy to her dolls, and doing the Hokey Pokey.
I feel honored that I was chosen to be her Mommy and blessed to be able to spend the rest of my life loving Riley and watching her grow.
So, Happy Birthday Riley Pearl, Mommy and Daddy love you so much and we are so proud of you!

Christmas 2011

WOW!  We just got back from Charleston and I have to say that our girls were extremely blessed; not only with gifts from loved ones and, of course, Santa ~ but by the amount of love, time, attention, hugs, kisses, tickles, and laughs that were shared with them during our trip.  Logan got some very practical gifts (diapers, wipes, formula, pajamas, pacis...) and Riley got the begged-for rain boots, lots of Tinkerbell/Fairy goodies, games, dress-up, and some "just-for-fun" items that she will enjoy playing with!  My Aunt Cindy got Riley a subscription to Highlights magazine, I thought that was so thoughtful since Riley loves to read, loves stickers, and really loves to get mail - a gift that covers all three!  Our family also sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus and talked about the ultimate gift that was given on the original Christmas morning.  We got to spend time with so many family members and friends and it was so nice to be able to laugh, catch up, and spend a lot of time just enjoying each other's company and relaxing.  A big shout out to my parents who let Jason and I sleep in and take naps to refresh ourselves!!  Nanny and Poppa know how to be great hosts and really know how to spoil their grandchildren.  I love Christmas for so many reasons: the decorations, the food, the songs, the memories of Christmases in the past, giving, receiving, and being surrounded by loved ones.  It's tough when Christmas is over and the decorations come down and everything returns to "normal" but at least for us the end of Christmas leads to a celebration a few days later! 
I hope that your family had a wonderful Christmas too and are now preparing to reflect on the blessings of this year and what memories will be made in 2012! 
(I wanted to add a great family picture we took by the Christmas tree but for some reason my computer still won't let me! I'll keep working on it....)

God's Favor

Do you ever stop, take a look around, and really notice how blessed you are?  I have been in a very reflective/grateful/humbled mindset since Logan was added to our family in October.  Christmas and all that surrounds it - both secularly and religiously - has me in a frame of mind that I am just completely blessed and have always been.  I in no way intend that to sound cocky or overly proud, I mean it in a way of being humbled by the assurance that God has been in my life, on my side, and showing me His favor from my earliest memories.  I have found myself looking around at my family and friends and just being in awe of all that we have been given. My life has had one step after another where it was obvious that God was there and working on my behalf. Just this year we were blessed with a surprise pregnancy that was safe and healthy, I was chosen to take on a new teaching position that I've been looking forward to for awhile, a diagnosis of a benign goiter, found a preschool and caregiver for our girls that we love, trust, and can afford, Jason has had some positive opportunities and changes at work, a successful c-section and recovery, and I was able to take a much longer maternity leave than I was able to do when Riley was born.  Isn't God amazing!?!  With much faith, love, support, and fun we made it through what could have been a very rough year.  Our Christmas Eve service at church (which please let me know if you ever want to join us at Elevation Church, I can assure you that you will not leave disappointed that you did!) was focused on the God who was, is, and is to come.  When your life perspective is that the God who has been with you all along is still with you and will continue to be with you no matter your circumstance, nothing can come along and shake you.  I hope you have that kind of promise in your life and can stand on that faith, I simple cannot imagine surviving without it!
So to everyone who is a part of my life now or has been in my past, I consider you a blessing and pray that you have a wonderful Christmas season with your family!

Yay, I made a blog!

Here's a confession - I stalk the internet for my friends' blogs (and their friends that I can click on and read too) and give them a hard time when they don't update them frequently enough.  Why? Because I LOVE to read about other people's families; even if I know the people and keep up with them often, it's nice to read what they are thinking/feeling - words are so powerful, don't you think?  Add in pictures of memorable events and I'm hooked!  So I wanted to share about my own family too, have a way for people to keep up with us and know what we have going on around here.  Right now I'm still learning how to add pictures, make a fancy background, I might even be able to add music to this thing one day...but for now, I'm just happy that I can write my first blog post and check off another item from my "I don't HAVE to do it, but I WANT to" list!  Look out blogworld, the Reynolds have arrived :)