Saturday

Well, the weekend is here and I hope that you all have a wonderful time! I am missing Marlee - yes, I am missing my TEENAGED DAUGHTER with all of her drama!!! :) But I am glad that she is gone! I am glad because she is at Acquire the Fire with the church youth group! I am excited for her. She called me this morning to let me know she was having a good time, but she was not feeling very well last night. I have had a virus all week and Sydnee now has it and Marlee is feeling some of the same symptoms. Unfortunately it spreads like wildfire in a close family who hugs all the time! :) But anyway, Marlee is having a good time in spite of feeling badly. Larry and I took Kalee out to lunch today and we went to Sweet Tomatoes. Larry LOVES that place. It is ok to me and Kalee enjoyed the mac and cheese and soup. She was not too big on salads today. It is often hard to believe that I can leave Drae to babysit and things are always fine. It is hard to believe that the little boy that came to us so "damaged" as some say is now so trustworthy! God is good and He gets all the credit for that! Drae has become an amazing pre-teen! We are very proud of him!
We have been blessed by a neighbor. He asked us if we would like to move our horses to his pasture. He said we would have to repair the fence and all, but that they could move over there and graze to cut out hay bill down! We were extremely excited and took him up on his offer. Larry and Bryce took about 3 days this week and repaired the fence and the horses were walked across the street yesterday and must have thought they were in Heaven with green grass about ankle high!!! Then we brought them back home last night. That is our plan to let them graze there during the day and bring them home at night for their nightly feeding and to sleep! We feel blessed that he has done this for us!
Update on Keara and Brianna: they are adjusting well to their new mommy and daddy! They have done great in school this past week. Their mommy - Patrice - emails me daily and calls fairly often as well. We feel blessed in that area, too. I mean they could just shut us out, but they have chosen to maintain relationship with us and that is just awesome!!! So keep them in your prayers - it is working - all is going well!
Kourtnee started her job full time this week. She missed Sydnee - of course - but she knows she is in good hands :). Meme and Pappy adore her! She likes her job. She is teaching 3 year olds. She is still waiting on a job with the school system so keep that in your prayers. Sydnee is growing like a weed as they say!!! She was 10lbs and 10 ounces today!!!! She is getting so big so fast!!! She is smiling more and more everyday and cooing so much now!!!! Love this age!
TJ and Drae won first place in First in Fitness! TJ won the 100 yard dash and Drae won the Shuttle run. So in April they will compete in the county wide competition! we are very proud of both of them!!!
Kalee is getting taller by the day and I swear she is going to be like Drae and be taller than me by her teens!!! Geesh!! Although, I am short so that doesn't say too much :)! She is doing very well in school and getting better all the time with Claire (her pony). All 3 kids are planning to audition for the talent show after Spring Break - I will be sure to let you all know how that goes.
Kristofer hasn't changed much. He is actually getting much better about his fit throwing and we are hoping he is outgrowing that stage! (Thank GOD!!) :) He is so cute with Sydnee. He loves her to pieces!! He rides in the barrel races now. He rides Superman his pony - Kristofer Reeves on Superman - kinda catchy huh :)!!
Well, Larry and I are good - enjoying are family and especially our grandbaby and grandson, too last weekend! I think I fall more in love with him everytime I see him with Sydnee!!! That is one of the reasons I fell in love with him - his love for children and how he is with them! I love my man! I love my family!!!!
Have a blessed weekend!!!!

Drae is a **star**!!!

Tonight was Drae's Debut on stage! He played "Chad" in High School Musical and did a great job! It was a fun little rendition of the Hit movie from Disney. The kids were in grades 3rd, 4th and 5th. It was very entertaining. We are super proud of Drae and the interests he has found! For so long he just seemed to be "looking" for something to enjoy and be committed to and now he has found 2 highly important passions: Horses and Theatre - acting, singing and dancing. He seems to be a natural at both! We knew he would find his place! We just kept putting him in anything he asked to join and now he has set his mind to these two things and we are so proud of him in both areas! His grades are up as well and he is doing an awesome job! His whole attitude has changed over the almost 5 years he has been with us! He is not even like the same child! I give the glory to God because even anything we have done is because HE has given to us. We believe 100% that you cannot give what you do not have. Most of us if we were completely honest did not receive Total Unconditional Love and Acceptance as children because truly our parents had not received that so how could they give it. Even in the best homes there is some lack in these areas. So the only way to give it is to receive it FIRST and we believe the only place to truly receive TOTAL UNCONDITIONAL LOVE AND ACCEPTANCE is through Jesus Christ! Our Heavenly Father gives it and makes it possible for us to ATTEMPT to give to our children. We still are human parents and we make huge mistakes often, but with Him we have the ability to lose our pride and say to our children that we do make mistakes and we are sorry and we talk to our children with respect and love and understanding! I believe that makes such a difference in a child's life, knowing there is someone who will love them and be here for them NO MATTER WHAT!! We often hear, "oh it is such a wonderful thing - what you do for these kids - you are such a blessing to them!" I know people only mean well with that and we know the kids are happy and blessed, too, but our response always is, "no they are such a blessing to us!!!" I was called to be a mommy and when I could not give birth to children of our own, I knew God would work it out for us to have children and now we have 7 and are hoping to adopt two other little girls who are already a part or our family right now! What a Blessing!!!! God is awesome!
Back to Drae: we could not be more proud!!!! Here is a picture of our son on stage and then after the production! He is good looking, sweet, talented and just plain wonderful!!!!!! YOU GO, DRAE!! WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!!! KEEP IT UP!!!!

I Know it has been a long time

I have actually had a few people ask me about this blog. I really did not realize many people read it, but to my surprise there are some who do :)! Thank you! We had a busy 2007 like I am sure most of you did. So I thought I would give a score card update of the year for the Reeves Bunch. Here it goes:
Adoptions - Kristofer John - Ocotber
Aiden Casey by Alex July
Engagements - Alex and Angela in April
Kourtnee Renee' and Craig in December
Weddings - Alex and Angela October 13
Pregnancies - Kourtnee Renee' due Jan. 29, 2008 - it is a girl!!!
Awards, Acheivements, etc. - Marlee - Exceptional Kid Award - a brand new saddle
from Alamo Saddlery
Drae - won the supporting role in High School Musical 1 and 2 Remix
for his school theatre department
Alex Graduated High School
TJ and Kalee and Drae all have been on Honor Roll all year!
Marlee won a bike at the Christmas party
Marlee was given a new Horse - Mystic Rayne is her name
Marlee won Most Improved at the barrel Clinic and won a beautiful
Belt Buckle
Moved out of state - Alex and Angela Dec.
Accident settled - Mine!!!! It is finally over and I got a truck!!!

You know I think that pretty much covers the score card :)! There was so much that happened I thought that maybe doing it that way would make it easier, but guess what - it didn't! :)
We did have a busy but blessed year. Going into 2008 we now have 6 horses (4 horses and 2 ponies to be exact). We have returned to RCC permanently now. We miss Higher Call, but this was the right move for us! We love the people at both churches and will maintain relationships, but God has shown us where we are to be planted. The kids truly enjoy the Wednesday night classes at RCC and the youth group for Marlee and Drae is phenomonal! Larry did lose his job, but God is still blessing! The only bad thing is that he is getting used to being home and I am getting used to having him home! The honey do list keeps him busy! :) We have had some rough spots this year, but honestly not even enough to mention and I choose not to mention them. i do not see Larry losing his job as a bad thing, because I know that God is in control and He has a plan!
2007 brought a grandson - Aiden, into our lives and he is absolutely adorable! He is no longer living here, they moved to Virginia, but he is still our heart! Kristofer's adoption came through in October and his name is now legally Kristofer John Reeves - and he rides a pony named Superman! :) Get it - Kristofer Reeves on Superman!!! :) Love it! The kids are growing like weeds! Drae is taller than Marlee and as tall as me now. Kalee has passed TJ and Kristofer is getting very close to TJ! :) TJ will grow!!! We keep telling him that! We lost a pet - Kodee our Yellow Lab / Golden Ret. mix. But we were blessed because before he was killed he got Kenzee our Black Lab pregnant and we now have 10 little puppies!!! They are so cute and most of them already have homes waiting for them when they are old enough!!!
Storm, our little momma cat has given us about 7 kittens this past year. They all have homes! Larry tried raising turkeys and will try again next year - it is a trial and error thing and he made more errors lol!!! His chickens have stopped laying eggs (they only lay until they are about 2 years old) so he kept telling us that he was going to put them in the freezer and we would be eating them. Thank goodness he has not done that yet. I know, I know it would be much healthier to raise our own food, but it is really hard to do that for me. I have to see the little ladies as he calls them and then think of killing them. Just to hard!!! Maybe I will get over that! Our goat, Oreo, is doing well! He loves to play with the kids!! He has cleared a lot of our property. ALl of the horses are doing well! I have been riding lately quite a bit! I am so thankful that the wreck did not do anymore damage to my back then it did! I love riding my horse with the kids!!! Well I hope that I have given you something that you enjoyed reading! I will do better in 2008 with this blog especially now that I know that I have readers! Thanks to those who added their names to my reader's list, those who email me comments and even those who talk to me at church about the blog (wink, wink - you know who you are!) :) The Reeves Bunch came through 2007 Blessed and we plan to be great in 2008! Elevate in 2008! The number 8 is new beginnings! I will blog soon about some new things happening in our lives! Love to you all!

Wild Wednesday

It was so wild I cannot even go into it! We had a family crisis to day - with a family of our size that is not that rare, but it can get wild! I will just leave it at that! No one is physically injured or anything like that! :) Church was good tonight as usual! May have to use some of it for Spirit Sunday's blog! Kris decided to stay home with mommy, daddy and Shelby today and we had Aiden today as well - that in itself was wild - the 3 of them! They are all so cute together! Aiden is almost 1 (next week), Shelby 2 and Kris just turned 4. It was a fun day! I love having them home. I love having my husband home, too, but he really does need a job so please keep praying for him to get a job! It would be nice if we could afford for both of us to stay home! We are now "used to" each other enough that I really do not even think we would want to kill each other after a time of being together 24 /7! :) Love you baby!!!
well, anyway that is it for tonight - sleep awaits and it is calling my name tonight!!!
Good night all! Have a wonderfully blessed Thursday!!!!!

Thanksgiving Night - Thankful Thursday

Well today at dinner as always we held hands in a circle and went around and said what we were thankful for. Most of us said family and togetherness and for this great country we live in - the reason we celebrate this day. It was a nice day. Even the weather was nice. We were all in shorts and t-shirts! Wild for November in North Carolina. We had so much food as always! The kids did so much of the cooking this year it was great! It is nice to pass on the torch - so to speak! Even Drae got into the cooking action. I make a Corn Bread Casserole that he just loves and this year I gave him the recipe - told him we have to make more than it calls for so he has to multiply everything by 4. He did it and TJ helped a little and it turned out great!!! Kourtnee baked a turkey because Larry fries a turkey and some like it baked and some fried. So she made that and mashed potatoes - Real with the skin on! Then she made her famous Baked Squash casserole and Sweet Pot. Cass. They were awesome as always! Only this year she made all of these things at her own house and brought them over!!! Angela made banana pudding, something my mom has always made, but as of today Angela took over that tradition - everyone loved her desert! Alex baked cookies and they brought the rolls. Marlee made the Broccoli rice casserole all by herself and helped out with pretty much everything else. She and Kalee made the stuffing all alone! Even Kris was helping = he was out trash boy taking trash to the can for us as we opened packages and cans, etc. Definitely a family affair. After dinner we went outside and "played" we rode the horses and played ball and other stuff - fun, fun! I think a good time was had by all. Later after Kourtnee took Alex, Angela and Aiden home, she and Craig came back over, we ate some more food and then cleaned it all up and the kids and Grandpa, Uncle RObert and Craig watched The Incredibles, while Larry was on the computer. Vicky, Grandma, Kourtnee and I were all in my room talking and looking at stuff on the laptop - pictures and things for Sydnee. Then Kourtnee was pushing on her stomach by her ribs and I asked if Sydnee was movin ( I have not gotten to feel her move yet - she always stops) and Kourtnee said she was just up by her ribs and putting pressure on her ribs. So I put my hand on her stomach and pressed and could feel her little body! It was so awesome and then she moved!!!!! I was so excited and then Larry jumped up and came over to the bed and was feeling her belly. He could feel her, but she didn't move until he took his hand off and then we all SAW her move across Kourtnee's belly and we all laughed and "screamed" with excitement! It was very cool! It is going to be hard to wait for her these next 2 months! She is already so loved!!!! If you have Myspace and are on my friends list you will be able to see pictures soon of our day, if not email me or comment here that you wnat to see them and I will email them to you. I may put one up on here later - if I can choose one! :)
Happy Thanksgivng to you all!

Twofer Tuesday

Today was a nice day! The weather and all! I had Aiden all day so that is one of the wonderful things of today! He is such a blessing to our family! He is getting so big and is so full of laughter and joy! He is always smiling! Being a MEME is so awesome! Another great thing happened today, but I feel that I cannot really post it until it ACTUALLLY HAPPENS - it was a phone call about something happening on Sunday. SO I think I will wait until Sunday to post it. SO for my second wonderful thing today I am going to say chatting a few minutes with my neighbor today! She is so sweet and just an all around wonderful person! We are so blessed to have her and her husband as neighbors! This is a busy time of year, I know, but remember to be thankful for all the "little blessings" in your life! DO not take anything for granted! Thank God daily for your health, your family, your friends, your home, the fact that you can pray to Him. All these things are daily blessings that we all too often take for granted!
Good night!
Love to you all,
Melissa

Kristofer John Reeves

Well, it is official! We received the finalized decree of adoption! No more foster children in our home as of this week - they are all adopted. I told Kris the other morning after we got the decree- "Kris, you know what?" He said, "what?". I said, "You are now Kristofer John Reeves and I am your mommy and daddy is your daddy!" He looked at me like I was totally crazy and said, "yeah Mommy OK"! Larry and I just cracked up at his face. He must have been thinking "my mommy has lost her mind!" LOL. He will be 4 on Tuesday! I cannot believe it! Today was something just as cute. Larry came home early and picked him up early. He ran into my room when he got home and said, "Mommy (very excited) today is a TREAT DAY!" I said, "Well Hey bubba what are you doing home already?" and he said, "that is what I said it is a treat day! I got a lollipop and my daddy picked me up early!" It was so cute!!!! He was home with just daddy and mommy for a little while. He came running in a little while later and the look on his little face was purely priceless! He said, "Mommy, Daddy fixed Kourtnee's car - ALREADY!!!!" The already was so dramatic - I guess he thought it would take him a long time. Hmmmm what does that mean daddy??? lol maybe that he thinks you are slow??? Just playing! Kris is riot. He is such a cute kid and so full of energy and life! And as of October 31, 2007 he is legally and officially our son, Kristofer John Reeves! Adoption is Awesome!!!!
Stay tuned for more adventures of the Reeves Family! There is always something going on here!

Why blogging

Here is another blog in the same night! I just wanted to give a brief explaination of why I have decided to blog. Actually, I love to write and have been putting bulletins and blogs on My space since I started my account there. This is just another and different way to post things on my mind, things going on in the family, devotions, and my opinions on different things going on in general. I also read my step - daughter's blog and saw that she is getting paid to blog and thought "why not?" I have been told so many times by so many people that I should write a book. Maybe this will be a beginning to that or not? Who knows? I do know that I have a lot of great things to share. I have been through so many things and have always prayed that God would allow me to use the trials and tests to help others. I hope that you as readers will be blessed in some way as I blog and I hope that you will comment and ask questions if you feel the need. I am excited about this new opportunity! I will be back tomorrow for the latest in our adventure of family and farm life! :)