Reeves' Rantings

All we want for Christmas is...

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:38:00 +0000

gymnastics classes for Carter. Please!!! Starting at 3:30pm (every day!) he bounces off the walls until bedtime. No kidding!! We took a few pictures last night to document it. Sometimes he'll just run through the house in circles chasing the guys or Dan. Seriously though... can anyone recommend a local place?!!

Maplewood House for Rent

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:29:00 +0000

Ok friends... we're looking for a renter for our DARLING house in Maplewood... so I thought I would post some pictures on the blog. It's a two bedroom/one bathroom with a one and a half car garage. It has a dining room and sun room that we used as a breakfast nook. It is within walking distance to several grocery stores, great shopping, fun playgrounds and amazing restaurants in downtown Maplewood. Please pass this on if you know of anyone looking!! Thanks!

Great covered front porch with a view of Clayton.

Living Room

Dining Room

Master Bedroom

Master looking into bathroom.

Kitchen looking into dining room.

Kitchen with door leading to sun room.

The 2nd bedroom is perfect for an office or...

bedroom.

Another bonus is that we take care of the yard and a couple of the bills. We're looking for someone to sign a lease through May 2010 or longer. Thanks for your help!!!

Coming soon...

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:48:00 +0000

Has it really been 2 weeks?! I don't know why I even write coming soon anymore... because I obviously don't have it together enough to post here or on our photography site in a timely manner. I do have a good excuse though... it's because something else is coming soon (the middle of May to be exact)!! I am 14 and a half weeks along and have been so sick... which is a big reason why the posting has slowed down so much over the past 3 months. I can make it through the morning and early afternoon ok... but after that I go down hill pretty quick. This pregnancy has been so different than with Carter... and that's why we are kind of thinking girl... although we're not going to find out. I'm just hoping that real food will sound appetizing again by Thanksgiving... since it's the one holiday we have to spend with family (my parents, little sister and brother in law will be with us) this year. We don't have any plans to leave Joe's Place once this one arrives. That's probably the biggest question we've gotten besides people wanting to know if we're going to find out what we're having. This place has become our home and these boys our family... and we think adding another little one to the mix will be awesome. We moved in when Carter was 7 months old and are continually amazed at how being here has shaped him in such an incredible way.

Anyway... here are the pictures I promised 2 weeks ago. I do hope the posting will pick up really soon!! :)

The view on our drive in....

The Brouwer van...

In the post below you can see Micah pointing to Julie... this is what he was pointing at on her head!!!

They look so much alike here...

The older Brouwer kiddos heading off on a fishing trip...

The view from our cabins...

Micah was so excited about the fish he "caught"...

My favorite spot!!

What Glen and Audrey made us for dinner Saturday night! Amazing!!

A weekend away with some of our St. Louis family was just what we needed!! We are so thankful for our community here!

More from our wonderful weekend away...

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:18:00 +0000

coming soon.

Check this out...

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:18:00 +0000

There are a lot of people that make getting through the year here so much easier. I need to do a post about our front yard make-over soon. Anyway... I mentioned below that the pumpkin carving happened because of a super fun donation. Well... now you can read all about it HERE (the beginning of this Chevy story really starts here)!! So fun! Not only did the Dunham family bring us pumpkins... but they brought fall decorations, food from the pumpkin patch and some of the best homemade cookies any of us have ever eaten. It's amazing how these things make such a huge difference in the lives of these boys. We saw their faces light up in a new way. Thanks again Dunham family... for making this week so special!!

Our Artists!!

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:05:00 +0000

I promise my updating will pick up soon!! I just wanted to add a quick post tonight with a picture. Our 3 guys (4 if you count Dan) spent the night carving pumpkins (thanks to a really fun donation). They were all a little hesitant at first... but after a while really started to get into it. Not one of them had ever carved a pumpkin before. I love how we get to experience these new memories through their eyes. They all did awesome jobs... and thankfully... not one of them got hurt in the carving process!!

We miss these guys...

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:35:00 +0000

Steven surprised us and stopped by earlier this week. It still amazes me to see how much he's changed since we first met him as a hyper high school sophomore. He's still REALLY loud... but now I kind of miss it. :) The reason he stopped by was to show us the new car he bought that day. I love that we were one of the first stops he made... even though it had been several months since we had seen him. I also love that one of our current residents got to hear him excitedly talking about dorm life. What a great example for our current group.

I love this man!

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:31:00 +0000

Having Carter at school on Tuesday and Thursday mornings has changed my life!! I do miss him... but it's amazing how much I am able to get done in the 3 hours he is gone twice a week. This morning I've been working on getting pictures edited from 3 different shoots we've had recently. We love this new part of our life!! I found this picture of Dan as I was looking through some pictures we took early Saturday morning... I love it!! We've talked for a long time about doing a business together (again). We just never thought it would be this. It has been so fun to work through this together and to have something that is just ours. We have been married almost 8 years... and it just keeps getting better and better!

A lesson from Fred...

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:38:00 +0000

When your college closet starts to smell... it's time to head home with your laundry. :) He started the washer at 7am this morning... and he's still not done!! We're looking forward to seeing him home with many more loads this year.

Report Card to the Community

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:04:00 +0000

I know I've talked a lot about how much we love our school district and community here in Maplewood... but it's hard to really explain how amazing this place is. Recently the school district put together a "video report card" for the community. It's about 15 minutes long and is REALLY worth watching. It shows what our schools looked like 10 years ago... and what they look like today... and there's even a little bit about Joe's Place! :) You can CLICK HERE to see it!!

Carter Leaving His Recruiting Meeting

d.e.reeve@gmail.com (Dan Reeve) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:24:00 +0000

Coach K stopped by the Lindman house today to talk to Carter about playing point guard in 2024.

Too much... even for Ty

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Breakfast is a favorite dinner around here. It's actually probably the only meal that everyone will eat without any complaints. So... last night that's what we had for dinner. Ty was so ready to eat when he got home that he even pitched in and helped Dan with the eggs (he made sure I documented it with a picture).

But the main thing that needed documenting last night was this...

he actually took syrup off of his plate. I won't tell you how much... but I was so proud!!

He's really getting pretty good...

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:35:00 +0000

Getting back into the swing of things...

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:48:00 +0000

It's amazing how easy it is to forget what it's like having new kids move into the house. The "getting to know you" part of the beginning can be a very emotionally draining process for them and us. You would think we would be used to the ups and downs of it after having 11 kids transition into the house at different times these last 2 1/2 years (we have 3 now)... but each one is so unique and different. All that to say... I just haven't had the energy to blog much these past few months. Thankfully we seem to slowly be getting back into the swing of things.

I thought I would post a picture of Carter from earlier today. He's another reason our energy has been zapped! :) He moves at full speed... only slowing down to sleep at night. He did finally "give up" his paci last week (not his decision). The "giving up" of the paci also led to the "giving up" of his naps (huge bummer)... but other than that the paci thing was a breeze! He still has a 2 hour rest time in his bed... and every day I will still hope that he falls asleep. Anyway... here he is helping me bake cupcakes this morning...

If Alyssa Won't I Will

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:31:00 +0000

So here is Carter playing the roll of, in his words, "Ms. Audrey", and he is handing out m&ms at church. Before this shot he rolled up in his blue car and said, "I'm...I'm...Glen, I'm going to work. I go this way then that way. Amon...Amin...Amon...Amen...Amen." I used my father linguistic interpretive skill set and figured he went to church and then sang the doxology, as Glen of course.

It is now fall, and Carter if ready to get off the bench and into the game:

-Dan

Balloon Glow

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 15:49:00 +0000

This event has become a favorite of ours here in St. Louis. This year is the 37th anniversary of The Great Forest Park Balloon Race. We've never actually watched the race... but I'm sure it's just as amazing as the balloon glow the night before (here's my post from last year).

We met up with the Lindman family (and then the Tanner fam. a little later) for a picnic dinner at the glow before it got dark and then walked through the balloons. Here are some of our favorite pictures from the night...

Carter giving two of his favorite girls a ride...

It's amazing how one wagon can entertain three kiddos for so long!!

We had some of the best seats (same as last year... away from the big crowds)!! It was amazing as it began to get dark... the balloons started to pop up in the middle of all the crowds. I think I read that there are 70 balloons!!! Here we are watching the balloons rise up.

Our view from near our seats...

Heading into the bunch of balloons...

Getting a little comfort from Dan's mom... it took him a little while to warm up. It's really loud (and hot) when they fire up the burners.

It's really amazing how many there are!

The energizer bunny (celebrating 20 years) will lead the race this afternoon.

Fireworks behind the trees on our way out. Such a fun night! I do have to mention Dan... he led us out of Forest Park without having to sit in any of the traffic that the hundreds of other cars were waiting in. Thanks, Dan!!

Waiting for the Balloon Glow

d.e.reeve@gmail.com (Dan Reeve) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 23:39:00 +0000

Feeding the Goats

d.e.reeve@gmail.com (Dan Reeve) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:57:00 +0000

These little moments....

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:15:00 +0000

make me smile. I have a lot to update from our busy week... but I couldn't resist putting up this picture I was able to snap this morning after breakfast. It's just one of the many reasons we are so glad Carter is growing up here...

Our College Boys!!

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 13:25:00 +0000

Wow!! I can't believe it's been a week since I last posted! We've kind of had a lot going on... but kind of not. This year has been so different than any other since we started Joe's Place. So calm! Although I think anything would feel calm after graduating 3 seniors! I haven't mentioned our newest resident yet... but he's great! He's been with us for 3 weeks now and has been a great addition to the house. It seems that there is always one personality that really sets the tone for the house... whether it's positive or negative... that one person can make a huge difference. Our newest guy (A) is really quiet... and has a great attitude... and that's really helped with the calmness. One of the very cool things about living here as long as we have is the history that we've established at the house... and the history that Dan has with kids at school. Dan had A in the middle school for two years... so he wasn't moving in with complete strangers... just his teacher. :)

Our college guys are doing awesome!! We actually saw all the 3 of them at different times on Friday!! I love that they stop by and walk in without knocking! Fred is in town for the 3 day weekend... so we had the chance to have dinner with him yesterday as well. I still can't believe how much they've all changed since we first met them! I made them each stand in for a quick picture...

A little plug for Fred... he's been invited home next weekend to take part in a Family Fun Run/Walk for Mosaic Services. He'll start the race as our local celebrity and lead the children's races. Mosaic Services is a non profit organization that works with at-risk kids in our school district. You can click here to read more about it... or here to sign up for the run/walk (there are stay at home passes you can purchase :))!!

Happy Birthday, Glen!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 04:41:00 +0000

There's nothing like ending the week with some of our favorite people... especially when we're celebrating Glen's birthday!!! Happy Birthday, Glen... we love you!!

We said we were going to do it...

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 19:44:00 +0000

and we did!! Our PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS is open for... well... business!! After several months of putting together our website... we are up and running. We still have some more sessions to update to the blog... but other than that it's done!!! My husband is AMAZING... he did the entire website on his own and a lot of the research into the equipment we purchased! So... hop on over to our other site: www.2reevesphotography.com and check it out!! Be sure to let us know what you think!!

Not feeling so good...

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 21:15:00 +0000

So... last night Ty're spent part of his evening building an awesome lego garage for Carter to wake up to. It took me all day... but I finally realized Ty're built the garage specially to house the cars that his big brother Fred gave to Carter. Too sweet!

There's nothing like ending the evening...

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:01:00 +0000

with a little skate session!

More to come...

And... he's off!!

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:03:00 +0000

I can't believe it! Carter just started his first day of preschool! I love that his school is close enough to walk. Dan can actually see part of our walk from his 4th floor classroom window across the street. So fun! So... this morning we enjoyed a slow walk to his school (past the police and fire station... which is always exciting). When we got to his classroom he asked me to read one book to him and then after the book stood up and told me goodbye (I think every other kid still had at least one parent there)! So I left... I watched him through the window for a bit and he went and sat down on a pillow at a little table to build a tower. He didn't even look back! We are so excited for this amazing opportunity!

Our good friend, Julie, got him this backpack. It couldn't be more perfect!!