Snow, Snow, Snow, Snow, Snow! and baby..

We had snow! Such a sweet time bundling up the littles. The driveway turned into a hard and fast ice patch. Jake donned his gear, grabbed the littles, and followed by everyone in between to include the fierce white creature named Salt, he charged the hill!

My family, how I love them all so much. Despite the fact they're a bunch of sinners! (Myself included.) I am seriously wondering who number 9 could possibly be. I'm befuddled by all of my symptoms. All the girl symptoms and boy symptoms I've ever had are in full bloom. Weird.

Hazel didn't understand the necessity of all the layers.

Sweet, hairy Lou!

Cool new sled on clearance from Target just in time.

Colby and Silas look alike here.

Seriously, Samuel. Enough with the eyes already!

Pretty girls waiting in line.

H e may appear to be so white, fluffy, and sweet in this picture. Don't be fooled! Somebody put him on the sleigh and sent him down the hill. He took it out on me. Poor Mom.

Crazy, Bountiful Life

We went to Maine this past weekend and gathered around with family, old friends, and kind strangers to celebrate and remember my Grandmother. It was a beautiful time together, though emotional. I came away from the Memorial Service loving my Grandmother even more. Hearing the tales of her long life and the ups and downs helped me to recognize and see first hand how God takes our worst things and turns them into His glorious things.

The kids held up well for the long drive there, 12 hours there on Friday, a down day on Saturday for the Memorial Service, and a 12 hour return drive Sunday. It was a super fast 3 days. The trip also served as a great distraction for me. I had a Dr. appt. Monday that I was nervous for, so being full of things one must do helped me to forget about my anxieties come Monday afternoon.

The Monday appt. went well and I walked away with an ultrasound picture of another little Reynolds. We are due with our 9th baby this coming August. If you see me in the summer I will be a tanned, rounded, busy mommy. WE are so excited. The news of this life arrived in December just in time for Christmas. We told the kids and they were more excited than we were. It was awesome seeing their genuine, joyful faces. No forced smiles!

In the meantime, if you're wondering why I haven't been blogging, it's because I rarely have use of my computer. So, sometimes I Facebook as that's able to be done via my phone. I just announced there and remembered my blog and felt convicted that I should come here too, because not everyone is on Facebook.

Thank you all for your prayers. We will need them. Life is busy and I'm thinking God is going to show me that my idea of busy isn't really his idea. He always stretches me for his glory. It's so that I will lean on my Christ more. For that I'm so thankful.

Psalm 116:15

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His Saints."

My dear Grandmother died on Friday, January 18. My time with her in Maine was more than precious. I was able to sit by her bedside and hold her frail hand. Her sister and I clipped hairs from her chin and massaged her with lotion. I dampened washcloths and cooled down her forehead. I kissed her tender face and prayed with her before I left her bedside for the final time.  I didn't tell her goodbye because I know I will see her again in eternity with our Lord and all the saints. My heart was greatly comforted. Though I miss her already my heart is full.

Grammie was looking forward to her death. She knew that with its' passing she would be with Christ the Lord, her husband, Ted, her parents, Lee and Louisa and her grandparents, Christopher and Blanche. Her heart was full of faith and her eyes were lit with hope. She was beautiful. I am so blessed to have been made her granddaughter. She and my Grandfather raised 6 children one of them being my earthly Father.  Though both my grandparents are now gone, their heritage remains. Through their children, numerous Grandchildren and Great-Grandchildren the stories of their lives and of their faith will be passed on until time ceases to remember and eternity is nigh.

My Grammie

Heading to Maine for a quick two night trip to visit my Grandmother. Her life is leaving her as she battles cancer. She suffers greatly from the pain of tumors. Please pray for her comfort. Please pray for God's mercies to me as I travel. My father's family will be there to give me shelter and take me to and fro. God bless the Higgins.

Traditions

We have grown to love traditions in our home. As the kids have grown some of our traditions have evolved while others have stayed the same. One of our favorite traditions which hasn't changed at all and that has no spiritual significance, is cookie making.  Decorating cookies delights the kids and in a sense is a therapy to them. There's the mixing of the dough. Then there's the rolling of dough, cutting out of the cookies, and baking them. Then the fun of dyeing and mixing the frosting so we can smear the baked cutouts and sugar them. Such fun. From the smallest to the biggest heads are down in concentration. Creating delectable little masterpieces. Such fun.

The recipe we use is one from the More-With-Less cookbook. I'll write down the recipe for you. It's perfectly safe to eat raw too, as there is no egg product.

Oatmeal Cookies with a Purpose:

Purpose: Constructive fun for children
Requirements:
1.Cookie Dough
Cream Together:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar

Add:

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup dry milk solids
• 1/2 cup water

Beat well. Sift together:

• 2 1/4 - 2 1/2 cups flour
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt

Fold into creamed mixture and mix well. Divide into small portions and chill.
2. Clean kitchen table.
3. Pie plates and cookie pans.
4. Rolling pins from toy bake sets or small round bottles
5. Animal cookie cutters or christmas cutters
6. Aprons or old towels to protect clothing.
7. Children aged 2 and up.

Extra Requirements:
1. Patience
2. Loving kindness
3. Smiles
4. praise, given out liberally
5. Wisdom to help children share tools
6. pretend dark glasses, so you don't see the mess..

Method:
1. Sprinkle flour on table for each child.
2. Distribute dough.
3. Demonstrate how to roll pieces... or if you've been doing this long enough and the older kids know how, have them demonstrate.
4. Preheat oven to 325.
5. Put on those dark glasses and avoid seeing the trail of flour from table to flour or from table to mouth..
6. Pop pans in oven and bake 10-15 minutes.

Make icing. I use royal icing found on joyofbaking.com

Let the kids decorate their cookies and of course sprinkle with sugar and other pretty, christmasy toppings.

Results:
1. Sparkling eyes
2. Happy Faces
3. Grimy hands
4. Bulging cheeks
5. Sweet voices, saying "Mmmm, Good, yummy in my tummy."
6. Spontaneous hugs from flour-covered arms.
7. A few cookies.

16 Candles

Colby turned 16 yesterday. What a special day for the young man. We celebrated him in typical Reynolds form. You all know what that means; lots of noise, lots of messes, lots of food and cake, and the dog shredding the wrapping paper. Any differences were that this time we were hyped up because of the extremely goofy, Justin Beiber wrapping paper. Poor Colby was once told he looked like Beiber and he recently made mention of that, so of course we played the antagonists and purchased the wrapping paper on clearance, because obviously no one purchased it full price during the Christmas rush. Colby played along well and laughed in spite of himself at our choice of wrap. Even Samuel and Silas got into the fun and were nailing his package with their bows and arrows. Salt took a particular delight in shredding the paper as well. 

For a moment, I thought that was Jake!

Samuel is armed and Beiber has nowhere to hide..

Before the cake cutting ceremony the kids danced around and Colby tried to chase down his favorite dance partner, but Hazel would only dance one song with him and ran off in typical 18 month fashion.

"No more dancing, Colby!"

Silas drew pictures of the Avengers for Colby. Silas thinks Colby is an Avenger.

Colby loved his presents and was blessed by all the siblings. He had a package from Sherlock Holmes, a telescope, 5 crisp one dollar bills, a check, and a card from a Great Grandmother. How blessed he was.

What a Smile.
We topped it all off with Cooks Illustrated best yellow cake with milk chocolate frosting and 16 candles.

All of these festivities were the Birthday Eve celebrations, on his day we cleaned out the van and hired a sitter for anyone in diapers or pull ups. The rest of us went off to the local Italian Restaurant and met up with some of Colby's friends. We chased our hearty meals down with a bit of Hobbit and called it a night!

Colby, we adore you and are your biggest fans. You are blessed beyond words and have been shown such grace and favor from our precious Lord. May your 16th year be filled with new adventures and opportunities to be chiseled and shaped into an excellent man of God. Happy Birthday!

Jake = Samuel...Samuel = Jake

Jake's folks sent us their old slide projector and all kinds of slides. John and Teresa, we've had the best time looking at pics of you guys and the great grandparents from back in the day. While we giggled at the clothing styles I must admit we were completely shocked by one small detail..

Samuel looks exactly like Jake did as a little boy. It was such a blessing to see where the gene pool for that boy had come from. In a couple of pictures Jake also was reminding us of Silas, mainly in his smile. Preciousness. I wish I could find a way to get the pictures on this blog. Oh well. Perhaps in the future. 

Thanks again for sharing.