2010/02/25

Rocks and Socks!


Hmm, how many Reynolds does it take to light a cake?

The cake was heavy and very hot. Thankfully we have our very own left-handed warrior to manage it.
There was no shortage of candles to lick the frosting from.

Colby saved some cash and ordered his dad a classic surf movie, "Endless Summer." Check out our doggie/polar cub yawn..
Sweet Jack made lemon bars from scratch and wrapped them in sets of two. She stuffed a little brown bag with them and labeled it, "Treats for the best dad in the world!"
Louisa collected some local rocks and drew a lovely picture for her daddy. So dear.
And Libby, oh Libby.. she spent all week stealing various items from Jake, like socks and bibles. She packaged them in a purple party bag and carried them around with her every single day, you know to give the bag that I've been recycled and reused look. She even wacked Silas upside the head with it a couple of times. She designed a very personal, "email" for Jake as well. That's what she refers to the letters that come in the mail and the cards we give each other, emails...
Louisa designed a game called, "Pin the paper on your name." Libby was tripped out to be blind-folded. So, she didn't play with us.

There's nothing quite like a party at the Reynolds! Next month we have 2 more.. Woo Hoo!!

2010/02/24

Happy Birthday Jacob!





You are 36 years old today, I remember you as a 21 year old!!

Thank you mom and dad for realizing that life is not a choice, it's a gift from God. Your son is amazing and I love him absolutely!

In a word Jake, you are my Hero.

Not only that but, you are: The amazing father to our dear children. A defender of our nation. A righteous man of God. A friend to many, close friend to few, and best friend to me.

I praise the Lord for you every. single. day.

May you have many, many more years to blow out candles, to father children, to fight for justice, to serve your God, to befriend some, and to be my best friend.

2010/02/18

Let's Go Out for Dinner!

There is nothing quite like a cool, brisk night to roast wieners over a hot fire. Pair this with the joys of popping gooey on the inside, crisp on the outside marshmallows into your mouth and belting out your favorite hymns as a family!

2010/02/13

The Sweetness of Girlhood

Jake and the girls with corsages
Jackie looking way too grown up!
Special skirts
Yes, Libby picked out her own tights and shirt.
Jacob and his girls are out tonight for a very special celebration. It's Valentine's Day tomorrow and is there any better way for a little girl to enjoy such a holiday than with her daddy? Of course not! Our sweet church organized a Father & Daughter evening of celebration. Jake surprised the girls with corsages and I fixed their hair. I finished the last of 3 skirts just in time for the evening. All three of them were thrilled to go. Libby was so excited about the party that she insisted we put her down for her nap early so that when she woke up her daddy could take her to the party and she could wear her new skirt. After she tried on her outfit she ran to Silas and said, "Do I look pretty Silas? Say yes!" Silas seemed shocked and didn't respond.

Jake took the girls away a little bit early for a special dinner at a local bakery called The Buttery. Watching the girls loading up in the van with their little corsages and skirts was enjoyable. It was just a sweet moment of innocence and tenderness coupled with pure delight over the adventures of the evening.

Jackie just called and told me that as soon they arrived there were signs hanging on the walls at the party saying things like, "Daddy, daughter fingernail painting this way.. and Make your daughter a necklace this way..." How I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall watching Jake paint there little fingernails. I can picture him trying to thread beads on that ridiculously thin string used for making necklaces. I am looking forward to hearing more stories about the night. It sounds to me like they had lots of fun.

2010/02/11

Yesterday and Today





Libby gave herself a haircut. To be more specific she gave herself bangs on half of her head. In order to rectify the very bad hairday she was experiencing I completed the task and gave her more bangs. She began to look a bit like a misplaced Raggedy Ann doll only with the blonde hair. So, I decided to chop the rest of her hair off at the nape of the neck. She's pretty cute and looks like a school girl now. Though I miss the long hair she had yesterday morning.

Samuel is just plain sweet! Check out those man ears in the making.

2010/02/09

February Baking


Jackie's accomplishments in the kitchen have blessed the family. Here, we have her 5th recipe which was a delicious chocolate cake. She ran into a bit of difficulty mastering the frosting. She had one huge strike against her... the Kitchenaid wasn't functioning. With this minor wrench in the gears she had to use her own elbow grease and put out a lovely glaze type frosting which tasted fabulous! You can tell by the joyful look on her little face that she was proud!

2010/02/06

Take Dominion

Clearly the gears had been rubbing for a long time!
This war very early in the morning, excuse the pale, puffy face.

Over the beasts of the field and the appliances in your kitchen! I am happy to report the stripped gear has been replaced and my family is enjoying the fruits of the kitchenaid's good service to us!

2010/02/03

Rebellious Servants!



I would never wish to be one of the women of the bible who kept a servant/handmaiden. The accounts from the scriptures of these women are heart-wrenching.. So instead, all of my servants plug into the wall. I operate them at my own discretion and expect them to put out optimal functionality when I want it! Much to my chagrin my servants have all been very rebellious in the last 2 weeks. From my washing machine that screams when it spins, to my dryer who won't close its door, to the kitchen aid which refuses to knead bread without grinding and popping gears, to my vacuum that won't suck. I won't mention the transmission, because that's Jake's man servant.

We've had maintenance men in and out and the washer and dryer are now running obediently again. Thanks to the purchase of extended warranties it didn't cost us the $1280 it otherwise would have. The Sears man noted that the machines are wearing out faster due to the 14-21 loads of laundry that are done a week. Go figure.
The vacuum cleaner is off in some appliance repair shop, thanks also to an extended warranty we purchased. We get it back Feb 10. I hope it comes sooner as the carpets are starting look shameful.
The kitchen aid however is not yet running. The warranty expired after 1 year and the unit is 4 1/2 years old. So, I have ordered the necessary parts to repair it. Colby and I took the thing apart and discovered a lubrication malfunction.. or something to that effect.
Metal on metal isn't good and a gear had busted. We discovered just what we needed and should have it up and running again soon. What fun. The cost to do it ourself was $53.00

It's not that I'm Jealous...




but, I must say this girl has a lot going for her. I mean what other 6 year old girl can feed an 8 month old with perfection, side line her big brother at church knocking him completely over and also do a whopping 20 pull-ups (in the same session..) That's more pull ups than I've ever done in my life. Actually, I have never done one pull up - to my shame. Perhaps it's the gap where her two front teeth used to be that enables her to get a surplus of oxygen which in turn enables a deeper breath? OR perhaps our Lord, who made Louisa, which means strength, designed her this way. We don't condone the intentional side-lining of big brothers, but the rest, we so go for it!

2010/02/02

8 months and counting

Samuel is 8 months old today. He is amazing and we love him so much. Thank you Lord Jesus for this dear little boy. He makes us smile and we hold our breath with anticipation over what he might be doing next. The days have gone by quickly since he's arrived. We hope and pray that God will give us the strength to parent him well.

Here's what he's up to:
1. He sits up on his own for little bits of time.











2. He isn't crawling quite yet, but has no trouble getting where he wants to go.

3. He is like a giggle box.

4. Sometimes he sleeps through the night!

5. He is a very sweet little boy spends a lot of his time traveling in the BRV to and from Santa Cruz. That's where we go to church and where our favorite beach spots are...



6. As you can see he likes to take rides all around, whether it's in the van, the back carrier, or the bike!


(Oops, looks like Blogger isn't cooperating with my layout.)

2010/02/01

How's the Truck Coming?

Well, there's nothing like a little bit of God-Ordained interference to make you smile... or cry right??
Jake has successfully removed panels, glovebox, steering column, and so on and so forth to get to the old crusty, rusted electrical system. It's happily out of the truck and the excitement begins with replacing it all with a brand-spankin new "painless" electrical system. That has been slow, yet progressive work. Nothing like the verse,
"steady plodding reaps prosperity."
We also received the transmission. That's where the humor, sorrow begins. There's an excellent little auto shop down the road that specializes in restoring old vehicles so they agreed to receive the new transmission so that we could cut shipping costs.. They signed the dotted line on our behalf. We are thankful.
If you look at the above photograph there's a special warning that instructs the customer to open the package and inspect before receiving and signing for any transmission...

So, we weren't there, like I said, and the auto shop signed for it. When Jake picked up the transmission it was wrapped in this special black saran wrap stuff. When he cut it open the broken thing was revealed. He's been in contact with the shipper, Estes, and the supplier, Monster Transmission. They are both in an, behind the scenes to us, argument about it. Monster tells us, it's "our" transmission.. Jake's handled the ordeal very professionally with letters and phone calls and we have been giving the matter over to prayer each morning as well. Pray that the companies would be just and we'd receive the functional transmission we were expecting.








Point Lobos



We took another hike last weekend to a beautiful place called, Point Lobos. The scenes are breathtaking. Not even a fancy camera could capture the beauty that God has created here. The wind blows smoothly against your face as you wind your way through dense forest to the edge of what seems the world. Looking out over the waves pounding the rocks gives one the sense that we are indeed very, very small and our God is indeed very, very Lofty!

The kids like this particular hike because it's a bit gentler on the legs and lungs. I can't complain either;). We've been to this area 3 different times now. We seem to gravitate to this particular area. Can you blame us?

It's becoming part of our Monterey schedule to hike every Saturday as a family. It's great communion with each other. With that said, be on the lookout for more of the same type posts, but only if I can get my act together.