The Reynolds Nation

You know that this picture is the cutest ever seen...isn't he just so adorable? He is wearing his Handy Manny sweater (from Papa and Omi in New York) while out on the farm today. And if you call him Handy Manny he will turn and look at you. This was taken during one of his breaks today...while meandering around while the rest of us worked. Here are Will, Matt and Judah taking a break. We were really busy today. Matt rerouted some of our fencing by the new shed...to make a space for our new garden that will be planted in a few weeks. I put the rest of the sod down in the front yard...and Caleb and Bryn were raking the pine needles up in the front pasture (sorry no picture of them...) Here is Will with the shovel, while Matt was using the post hole diggers for the new fencing. He thinks he can do the same as his Dad! Esther for one brief moment...not old enough to do too much work, but she was in and out all day. She is standing in front of the rest of the wood that we had left over...

I am sitting here listening to the rain...such a sweet sound to a parched land. I am feeling back to normal...and Matt is hanging in there. So ready for the weekend...we are having a picnic on Sunday at church...what great days they are! We love the fellowship and our kids love running around with their friends. What makes you blissful this day? 1. I am thankful for the rain...and the cold temps that rain is bringing. 2. I am thankful for my kid watching the cookies baking in the oven right now (I am baking for a meeting tonight). 3. I am thankful the Sean and Michelle McKinnon...God has brought some awesome, unexpected friends in our lives. 4. I am thankful for the colds that passed by through my house this week went fast and not so furious. 5. I am thankful for all the leaders in the word that we can aspire to live our lives...particularly Daniel for me this week...so faithful, trustworthy and one who denied himself. *Here are two of my boys in matching shirts just this morning...ar...

Yes, they shared their cold with me...I started going down hill on Tuesday night...yesterday was long and now I feel like I am somewhat back to myself. The rest of the kids are back to normal...and William escaped from the virus. Poor Daddy was dragging this morning...he had to go to work because he had an appointment at nine, but he said he would be back. We have yet to see him back, so he must have other things become more important than sleeping...lol! So we had little school done yesterday...we did a gigantic space (planets) puzzle (not really me, I watched from the couch) and then the kids worked on the computer. Thankfully Bryn was able to complete almost everything. Today I am laying low...I am freezing blueberries that I found on sale to be used for later in the year. Thankfully we are going to get some rain today and then cold weather for the days to come. Oh and I have the funniest story...we are studying planets with the little kids and we were talking about rockets and spac...

It is six forty-five in the morning...I have a few minutes to spare before I get the crew up. I have been getting up early in the morning so I know that I get my word and prayer time in. It has been really awesome and rewarding...to start my time fresh with HIM is so worth it...though I really want to sleep, because this mom of five is tired!!! I am reading the book of Daniel right now and I am once again astounded by his faith. It is so awesome that he stood faithful no matter what was before him...mighty kings, and let's not forget the lions. I pray that I am faithful like Daniel and that my eyes focus on HIM. The kids are fighting colds this week...just fevers, nothing much more. My sweet Judah was yucky yesterday...so he slept a lot yesterday and his mama spoke the word over him. A few minutes ago I heard him say, "dada" in the sweetest voice. Matt had the kids last night so he was the last one Judah saw. I just love in the morning when they are so cuddly and...

The weekend is over...well, almost over. Church was awesome this morning...as usual. God is speaking loudly in our lives. Yesterday we had to fix one of our chicken pens...to keep them safe from our multiple raccoons that live around here. They are doing so well...almost all of them are laying eggs...so glad for that. We are going to order a set more in a few months, so we can have two batches laying all the time. Judah was so cute...while we were fixing the pen he was trying to feed them hands full of feed...but every time he did it was just blow back in his face. Didn't stop him though...he kept on doing it until he didn't have anymore. While Matt was at Home Depot (his store of choice, lol)...I was putting the last of the sod down over our new septic tank..that was fun, and I felt it last night. The kids of course ran around like Indians and we got some things done. Next weekend we are going to fence in the new garden area...and the following weekend Matt and I are...

What a busy week...I feel like I have been out of my blogging world. I am trying to make some changes around the house and we finished up our septic issues (with an approval from the health dept.-yahoo)...so I have been missing in action. Funny morning today...got up late because the baby kept me up during the night...so I was up an hour late, which I absolutely hate. At least we had water this morning, because yesterday our pipes froze and we didn't have water for about 3 hours. The kids are eating breakfast at the table and I decide to go outside to pick up some eggs that the are in the chicken pen. Now lets remember that I only have flip flops, shorts and a t-shirt on...I was dressed for later in the day (when it was supposed to be warm), not for the 32 degrees that it was outside. I move the chicken pen, trying to retrieve the two eggs, and the water bucket tips over....ahhhhhhh! Next thing you know I am cleaning the bucket out, since it really needed to be cleaned anyway, with...

Remember that song? Well it is happening here. For the first time this winter my heat actually clicked on last night. We keep our heat really low..about 63 degrees. I believe in putting a sweater on or sitting with a blanket rather than spending money on heating the whole house. So last night we actually hit 30 degrees outside...we haven't seen that number in a long time. Sometime in the middle of the night I heard it click on...that's all right, it may be the only time it comes on this winter. The kids were snug in the bed and I had my blanket thrown to the side because I was too warm!!! Enjoy the temps! *I am posting a picture of our car in New York...where they are having really cold temps!!!

I haven't had a gratitude Friday in a few weeks. Between Christmas, our vacation and getting back to normal life I haven't blogged as much as I would like. Tonight Matt and his dad are going camping on one of the islands with Caleb and William...it's a boys night (little Judah feels slightly left out, but he is a bit young) and the girls are hanging out and going to the mall. A busy day ahead after a busy week. 1. I am thankful that Tinkerbelle, our cat, is safe after being shot at by accident by a neighbor. 2. I am thankful for quiet evenings... 3. I am thankful for the wonderful grandfathers in the lives of my kids. 4. I am thankful that I am blessed in my job. 5. I am thankful that the Lord is so awesome in my life. Have a great weekend!!! The weather is so nice out...finally a bit of winter!

We really haven't had a slow week...I just thought I would proclaim it in faith, lol. We are in the process of getting our septic approved...we just had to make a few changes, but it should be approved the beginning of the week. So that has consumed our time this week...lots of calls and planning. After that we will be ready to submit for our permit for the addition that we are putting on. And we started back to school this week...that has been a bit slow. It is so hard to come back after such a long break. So that's all for now. We are sodding this morning and Matt is getting ready for his camping trip with the boys and his dad. Talk to you tomorrow. *I am posting a picture of my love overlooking Central New York during our trip.

We decided to have a picnic today after church...78 degrees, no humidity and a gentle breeze....perfect weather to be outside. Though we love the cold weather, we might as well take advantage of this beautiful weather while it is here. So we were eating on a blanket, talking with the kids and then letting them run around. Afterwards we walked along the river and they spent a few minutes running around the playground...a perfect afternoon. I was mad when we got there that I hadn't brought my camera...but then I thought you can't record everything that you do with the kids...I was just living life...to the fullest!

Let me introduce you to the newest member of our family...this is Morgan! I hinted about Morgan several posts ago...and this is a quick shot of her. She is tired out from a day outside with us, so I got her to peak her head up for one moment. She is now sleeping under my feet! Morgan came to us in a mysterious way...but we truly believe it was the Lord. You all know that my mom lost three dogs in our fire in October...two of them were golden retrievers. My mom has owned a golden for the past 18 years...they are her favorite. She bred her goldens for years, but until the fire was just enjoying her dogs. We thought about getting my mom a puppy for Christmas, but since we were leaving on vacation we couldn't leave her here alone because she is still not steady on her feet. So we put it on hold. When we were in Pleasant Valley New York visiting my old stomping grounds we stopped by the house of an old friend...the Mueller family. Her daughter and I were friends from Kindergarten until ...

This has to be my favorite picture of the week. Here is Judah staring out the window...not to sure about the snowy weather. He is still in his jammies...and he is checking the situation out! Here is Bryn...looking so sweet in her winter gear. This is her second time in the snow, and she really had a great time. There is Matt at the top of the hill pushing Caleb down on the sled. You can barely tell it is Matt's face...it was about 15 degrees outside. Here is Will going up the hill to go back down again...He loved the snow, until he had ice and snow all over his face after a trip down. But not much later he was back out again. Snow Princess! Esther looked super cute in her pink. She looked so delighted to be out there. She went down the hill so many times and was the first to make a snow angel. Okay, so Judah wasn't too excited. I took this picture while I was holding him. When we first went outside he just stood there and after a few minutes he just started to cry. ...

Did I ever tell you that I love being a New Yorker...no matter how long I live in Florida I still will feel a bond to New York. We had such a great time there...so worth the long ride up there. I loved that my kids saw a different part of the country...they were amazed that there weren't any palm trees around...yes, kids, there is life beyond palm trees. Here is a snapshot of the deer that Omi (my dad's wife) feed every day. Bryn was her official helper while we were there. Here is a picture of the house I grew up in. Matt drove us 3 hours to see my old house and town. It was so awesome seeing the house...with a bit of changes, but still the same. The windows on top were my parents bedroom windows...and one time during the winter our dog Baretta saw something out in the field and he jumped out the window and slid all the way down to the yard. Memories. Here I am with Judah and my dad on the swing by the pond on their property. It was so peaceful to sit out there and s...

Here are all the cousins a few days before Christmas. They came over to open presents. Don't they look adorable. Cohen, Josh, Bryn, Brianna, Judah, Caleb, Zachary, Esther, William and Xavier. The next generation...so much hope for them to do greater than us! William at Grandma's house in his sweet sock monkey pajamas...he has such a special place in my heart. The next morning he got a robe to match his pajamas. Caleb hanging out at Grandma's...waiting so patiently to open his presents. He looks extra cool in his Spiderman pajamas. Bryn...bright smile, sitting on the bar stools at Grandmas. Matt sat on those same stools years ago when he was young...and now she does the same. Judah, Judah....my new rock climber. He has learned to climb and he has been everywhere! He was extra fun that night...so much older than the little baby of last year. All the kids on Christmas morning before they opened their presents. They were sleepy from the late night before, but very r...

So that was one of the longest trips that I have ever been on...10 days gone, 3600 miles all together...five loud children...and a thousands hours of movies played on the DVD player (LOL). I missed blogging often...keeping you up to date with our trip. So for the next few days I am going to post pictures from the past two weeks! Here is a picture of the expedition...packed to the brim...and with the x-cargo on top full! Here are the kids and I at Lee University in Cleveland Tennessee. I graduated from Lee 10 years ago...my where has the time gone? We passed through Tennessee on the way back to visit our old hometown, old friends and to do a lot of reminiscing. The kids walking through the campus..a typical day in Cleveland...cold and foggy! William standing under the clock tower. I used to walk under this almost every day to class or to see Matt in his dorm room. Seems weird that one of our kids is standing there...who ever knew? The kids and Matt sitting under the gazebo on camp...