RUNwithGOD

In the Solitude, Missing the Chaos

 

Woke up wide awake at 2am. Enjoying the solitude of the moment. Check out @miBabyGirl sleeping in her new "Big Girl Bed" for the first time. Not sure if all kids are this way, but she is a contortionist-in-training when she sleeps. This is tame compared to some of the positions I find her balled up in.

Good news is she sleeps like her mother. I was able to take this pic with iPhone 4's flash (in a pitch black room) and she didn't even flinch. Bad new is she sleeps like her mother, who is the reason I'm awake now (b/c @incompleteview decided to start muttering things loudly in her sleep.) I'm sure @miBabyGirl will be the reason behind many sleepless nights to come as well.

God, thank you for these moments of solitude. Thank you reminding me, in these quiet moments, how much the chaos of my family means to me.

Family Night @ CFPB gets @miBabyGirl #SealOfApproval

Great night at CFPB. All CFMiami campuses are celebrating Father's Day by bringing the Way Station into the Worship Center. Games, Skits, Worship and a powerful message. Fun stuff...

All 1st thru 5th graders, instead of going to the Way Station, joined the adults in the worship service. Well, don't tell anyone, but I snuck @miBabyGirl into the worship service during the games, worship and skit.

So at some point this video cue gets fired on the VJ screen, and (according to Amy) @miBabyGirl says "OOOOOHHHH WWWWOOOOOOOWWWWW really loud. Yes, the CFPB Family Night has gotten the coveted @miBabyGirl #SealOfApproval... it actually made a 21 month old say OH WOW.

What else can a Production Director ask for?

I had publicly encouraged my volunteers to make this service very Nickelodeon... they had a lot of fun doing it. Lighting schemes, different VJ cues... tight execution and good stuff. A couple of the camera operators had a little too much fun and did some shots that I wasn't expecting. After the service one of them came up to me...

"So, what did you think of the camera shots..."
"Eh, I don't know..."
"Look. You said you wanted Nickelodeon. I watched two hours of Nickelodeon on TV this morning. That was Nickelodeon."
"You're right. I love it. It's Nickelodeon. Do it."

Love volunteers that dive into the vision of what we're doing, and push us to do bigger and better. Ownership is key. Thank you, media vols, for owning this ministry.

Photos, and (maybe) videos coming tomorrow. 

I'm hyped up for the worship tomorrow at all or campuses. Get to a campus, and make sure you catch the whole service. It's awesome! Happy Fathers' Day!

PS- If you're coming to CFPB, GET THERE EARLY so you can enjoy our 20' FISH TANK in the worship center.

Clearing of the mind...

With the school year over, Amy and I took the opportunity to get away to contemplate some of life's dilemmas... like what to name @THATSmiBOY. Funny thing is, we've been struggling for months to come up with any names, and after an incredible dinner at a raw bar (that included island versions of your favorite Red Hot Chili Pepper songs) I'm proud to say we have a "frontrunner" for a name. And no, I'm not going to tell you yet.

There's something to be said about stepping back, away from the grind, and evaluating. It's amazing to me how clear the forest is when you are not in amongst the trees. God, thank you for being my purpose, my vision, my clarity.

@miBabyGirl on the beach is a BLAST. Been here 24 hours, and already we have 250 pics. I won't bore you with all of them, but feel free to check out my Facebook album.

CFMiami Media Vols, thank you for executing in my absence. Let's end the wknd strong. See you on Friday. PUMPED about Family WKND at all CFMiami campuses!

More soon...

NEW BLOG POST: @miBabyGirl's gonna be a Big Sister!

So, in case you hadn't heard through our Social Network connections, Caitlyn (aka @miBabyGirl) is going to be a big sister. 

In other words, we're pregnant... Exciting times in the Reed household...

I'll spare you much of the details, but we're due November 14th. We're still early in the process, but according to the Doc everything is okay! Details beyond that, you're better off talking to Amy.

Pray for us. We were hoping and praying for another child. Awesome to see God make it happen!

Pray for Caitlyn. As you may know, she has struggled in recent months with her health... lots of little things have caused her to be sick almost every week since October. Colds, flu, viruses, pneumonia... it all adds up, and is taking it's tool on her (and us) physically and emotionally.

We're getting away this wknd to see Mickey & Co in Disney. Time to celebrate family, together.

God, thank You for what You brought us through, where You have us now, and what You have ahead of us.

"Jeff, I'm taking Caitlyn to Urgent Care."

What a night.

Tonight was Ministry Rally at Christ Fellowship in Miami. A great time where the leaders and volunteers of Christ Fellowship come together to celebrate what God has done, and what God is doing, at CF. It's a high energy rock fest. I really let the volunteers have fun putting this one together. I was really looking forward to seeing the service...

I get a txt from my wife around 6pm, about an hour before service time: "Jeff, I'm taking Caitlyn to Urgent Care."

Long story short (too late) @miBabyGirl is on a nebulizer, cough medicine, and shots of something or other.

I love my crew. I mean I really, really love my crew. Less than an hour away from one of the big productions of the year I gather my volunteers together in the control room: "Okay, I'm leaving in 10 minutes. Let's go over this 'cause you need to know what I know."

And, they nailed it... last minute changes and all. Thanks to you all for making it happen.

@miBabyGirl is going to be alright. Super congestion which leads to coughing, gagging, gavomitting... if you know me, you know that she is TOTALLY my daughter. Doctor follow up on Monday.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

Favorite part of tonight was meeting with the multisite leadership, discussing the volunteer pipeline on their campus. Don't know what a pipeline is, you will soon...

Answering the pager (or why Caitlyn ended up in Eric's MSG this wknd)

Let me walk you through the experience that was my "today".

For starters, I was "supposed" to be at CFPB all day today, but a string of phone calls had me campus hopping, so by the time I made it back to CFPB 12:30 service, I had actually seen four services in 24 hours...

Amy ran ProPresenter/IMAG for the 10:30am service, and I asked her to cover the 12:30pm service. She checked on Caitlyn inbetween services in the nursery. Caitlyn was sleeping and fine, so Amy started the 12:30 service for me.

At the beginning of Eric's message, I was upstairs in the control room, working on a couple other things while sitting next to Amy when it happened... the nursery pager rang... something's wrong with Caitlyn...

Amy and I stare at each other. She starts to go to the nursery to check on Caitlyn. I tell her to stay since she was familiar with the message. I'll go check on Caitlyn.

I walked into the nursery, and Caitlyn was wailing her head off. The nursery worker gives her to me. I try to calm her down inside, but it's not working. I think "hey, I'll go sit in the Infant Room in the worship center and keep tabs on the service."

Well, the Infant Room was packed, so I decided to stand out in the lobby with Caitlyn. I was sitting in a chair, watching the message on TV, when I hear Eric say something unusual: "I'm sorry. I'm very ADD, and there's something over here making a noise."

I jump up, realizing that there was a problem onstage, and try to find someone to take this baby so I can take care of the problem onstage... long story short, Caitlyn and I ended up walking the aisle towards Eric, who was flipping switches on a bass amp. While walking up there I'm trying to think through how I am going to fix a noisy bass amp while holding my four month old daughter...

By the time we got to the front of the stage, he had resolved the issue. He saw me, and was taken back by the site of me having my daughter in the service, standing at the front of the stage (mental note Jeff: don't have a burp cloth draped over your shoulder). Eric cracks some joke about how his daughter, Eden, is better looking than Caitlyn (which we all know is a lie), and he goes back into his message.

After the service I told the camera guys that next time this happens, work me in the shot. If I'm going to be in front of the worship center, I want myBabyGirl to be on the screens.

So, you ask, what's Amy up to these days?

My wife is an enabler... she says to me the other day "Jeff, I want an iPhone app that will help me track how long Caitlyn's sleeping..." I go online and find a nice little app called "Baby Log", which allows Amy to track a number of different things. Sleeping, Diapers, Feedings... good stuff.

So check it. This is what my wife was up to Friday night... Did I mention I appreciate her? She is doing a phenomenal job! Amy, thank you for everything that you do!

And to wrap up a completely sappy, sentimental blog post, I'm attaching a photo of Caitlyn having a heart to heart conversation with "Pengi the Penguin" (my favorite toy, of course).

I missed an inch

I may be a bad parent, you tell me.

A week ago at the doctor's appt, myBabyGirl weighed 7lbs, 1 oz and was 19.5" long.

Today she had another doctor appt. She's 8lbs, 1 oz and was 20.5" long.

In one week, she grew an inch. At this rate, she'll be All-Star center for the WNBA before she's out of diapers.

Here's my problem. I stopped taking pictures last week (I got too busy again)... so I don't have any documented photos of myBabyGirl when she was exactly 20"...

I'm a failure, what can I say?

Nah, I'm probably kidding. I just wanted another excuse to post a pic of myBabyGirl without making it look like my blog is becoming a "Caitlyn blog"...

Alright, enough blogging. Time to go spend some quality Daddy/Daughter time before she goes night night.

"Vacation" with myBabyGirls

Well, I'm going back to work Tuesday (a day earlier than I was anticipating). This past week by far was the best "vacation" I've ever had! It was great spending time with myBabyGirls (Amy + Caitlyn). While I don't want to turn RUNwithGOD.com into a "Caitlyn" blog, I did want to bring some closure... especially to those following me in the 2.0 world...

God, thank you.

Caitlyn is adorable. You know how some babies look like, well, aliens? Yeah, not my kid! She's healthy, great complexion, has a great hairline, and can already count to 10 (okay, so the counting is a stretch)!

Amy is in great health! She has recovered from birth and adapted to the new role of motherhood. She is doing phenomenally well! I have known Amy for 15 years, and I have seen a side of her this past week that I have NEVER seen before. I'm in awe of my wife.

Together, we've collectively gotten like 10 hrs of sleep since Wednesday. Caitlyn sleeps the day away and stays up all night. It's been a blast... We've done our first songs, first diaper changes, first feedings, first photo op, first doctor visit, first car ride... and now we get back to our "normal" lives...

To the hundreds of people that have visited, called, emailed, commented, facebook'd, txt'd, or twitter'd... thank you. Your support, your prayers, and your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

If you need a Caitlyn fix, check out my facebook photo album.

Caitlyn: Insert Caption and Win...

We had so much fun with "Guess my Baby's Release Date" Competition..." I think we should do it again...

This is a photo of my BEAUTIFUL daughter Caitlyn, during one of her rare moods.

Email, Facebook, Comment and/or Twitter Captions... Best caption wins a $40 Living Word Giftcard...

Caitlyn, World

7lbs, 1oz
19 inches
Healthy

God, seriously, thank you.

How do you feel about today?

Seriously, have no idea how my wife is doing this.

Day started with a doctor spot. We were hoping for a Friday induce date.

Here's the conversation:

Doctor: So when do you want to have this baby?
Jeff: Friday would be great.
Amy: Or Thursday.
Doctor: Let me check the schedule.

--3 min later--
Doctor: Thursday isn't going to happen. How do you feel about today?

She is a beast at handling contractions. And now, on the eve of myBabyGirl being born, I don't think I've ever loved her more.

And yes, I did totally write this post inbetween contractions while my wife slept. Welcome to World 2.0

Fatherhood Delayed

"No, Caitlyn's not here yet." If I had a dime for every time I've said that this week...

Caitlyn is further proving that she's in control by slowing the process down. That's the Reed motto... Hurry up and wait. Hurry up and wait. Hurry up and wait.

Amy's doing incredibly well (don't you think she looks great). Caitlyn's room is completely prepared. She has more clothes than she will ever wear. She has more toys than she'll ever play with. She has more diapers than she'll ever crap in (okay, that's an over-exaggeration).

We're set and ready to do this thing... except we got no kid. And so we wait...

Did you enter in the RUNwithGOD online pool? See if you're still in the game!

Early predictions

Conversation 9/3 9:40pm

Jeff: so this baby is coming in the next 24 hours
Nurse: definitely. Baby is coming tomorrow.

UPDATE: 9/5 10:16am
yeah, the Nurse was wrong. Caitlyn still TBA

Guess myBaby's "Release Date" and win...

A CF Campus Pastor (which one I will not say) asked me if anyone was putting together a "pool" for when my daughter, Caitlyn, will be born. The answer then was "no."

That was then.

Here's the deal. Caitlyn can come at ANY TIME. Her due date is September 27th, and the doctor will induce on October 4 if she's not here by October 4th. So that's 34 days. Comment or email me which day you want and I'll put you down for that date. First one to request the date gets the date. You can only enter once. First come, first served.

What will it cost to play? Nothing. Completely on the house. My pleasure. What will you win? I'll give the winner a $100 giftcard to The Living Word or C28 (winner's choice).

So, let me know what dates you want. Comment or email me. I'll post on the list below.

We are completely booked! Thanks to everyone for participating. Believe me, if you follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Blog... you'll know when Caitlyn arrives.

CONGRATS TO KELLY MOORE, WINNER OF THE GUESS myBaby's Release Date Competition! Kelly, I'll get you your giftcard ASAP!

Monday, September 1 - John F.
Tuesday, September 2 - Jacqueline C. Tiffany D.
Wednesday, September 3 - Sharon S.
Thursday, September 4 - Jeff R.
Friday, September 5 - Nancy S.
Saturday, September 6 - Jon S.
Sunday, September 7 - Linda R.

Monday, September 8 - Deanna S.
Tuesday, September 9 - Tami P., Charlie B.
Wednesday, September 10 - Bethany B.
Thursday, September 11 - John R.
Friday, September 12 - Amy R.
Saturday, September 13 - Eddy P., Wesley C., Denise S.
Sunday, September 14 - Janis R. , Wesley C.

Monday, September 15 - Wenette C.
Tuesday, September 16 - Eric G.
Wednesday, September 17 - Denise S. Pat I.
Thursday, September 18 - Caitlin B.
Friday, September 19 - Cathy T.
Saturday, September 20 - John C.
Sunday, September 21 - Charlie B., Wesley C.

Monday, September 22 - Lori S.
Tuesday, September 23 - Kevin T.
Wednesday, September 24 - Kelly M.
Thursday, September 25 - Z$
Friday, September 26 - Ken C.
Saturday, September 27 - Chris R.
Sunday, September 28 - Jorriss

Monday, September 29 - Stacey P.
Tuesday, September 30 - Grete S.
Wednesday, October 1 - Wesley C.
Thursday, October 2 - Brandon H. Dan C., Jeff B., Steven K.
Friday, October 3 - Berchman P.
Saturday, October 4 - Krissy W.

Sunday, October 5 - Jeff B.
Monday, October 6 - Steven K.
Tuesday, October 7 - Pat I.

Saturday, October 11 - JR L. (JR's Bday)

6lb, 4oz Caitlyn

Had final sonogram pics today. Caitlyn has been in the oven 36wks, and at 6lbs, 4oz... well... we're ready for her to come out and join us! I'm putting odds on September 4th, although I think Amy's thinking more in line with September 9th.

Amy is doing incredibly well. She's been struggling the past week with a head cold that has caused her to stay up late MANY nights, but we are both ANXIOUSLY awaiting the arrival of our baby girl.

Psst... Yeah, you...

My daughter, Caitlyn, is going to be born in, like, 34 days. That's like one month. And after next Saturday (as in 5 days) if Amy has any more contractions the doctors will not stop them.

Uh, yeah. I'm sorry, but does anyone else think this is insane? Just throwing it out there. I'm going to be a daddy in like one month. Or as soon as one week.

Serious question. I don't look like a daddy. I don't feel like a daddy. I don't talk like a daddy. I don't blog like a daddy (I'm assuming this because my daddy doesn't blog). At what point do I start doing daddy stuff? When do I become, for lack of a better word, daddy? Is it like this life-changing thing where it will hit me like a ton of bricks, or is a more, gradual thing?

Musings from a soontobe Dad

Amy had some more baby photos taken this week. Caitlyn is in great shape. Amy is carrying much better than she or I had expected. Truthfully, I cannot remember the last time Amy was this healthy.

Oh, btw, we finally picked out our baby bedding... we went with Pooh. Side note: I found out why I like Pooh bedding so much. Evidently I had Pooh bedding growing up. Totally didn't remember that. Thanks for the reminder, Mom. Anyway, we went with a more pink Pooh. If you're curious what the rest of the line looks like, check it out. We'll paint the room Purple/Lavender... gotta love it!

Yeah, I'm a softie... at least where the kid's concerned.

Christian Baby Onesies Missing: 5 Finger Discount Suspected

Theft hasn't been that much of an issue lately at The Living Word... then I get a call today from my manager, Kyle.

Kyle: Hey Jeff, did you or Amy take a bunch of those baby clothes we got in earlier this week?
Jeff: I didn't. I don't know why Amy would...
Kyle: Well, we're missing like eight outfits.
Jeff: Wait, are you saying someone stole Christian Baby Onesies?

To the thief, thank you for stealing from the Living Word. I hope your baby appreciates the outfits we've provided for her at no cost to you. I hope she enjoys them! If you would like to steal a wider variety of clothing, please do not hesitate to place an order with us at the front desk. We will make sure to meet all of your kleptomaniac needs. Thank you for allowing us to serve you, and by serve I mean stand by while you break one (if not multiple) commandments on my property.

To my readers, if you would like to check out the wide variety (or what's left until the reorder shows up) of baby clothing... I'm sure you must know someone who is having a baby...

Caitlyn's Baby Registry & Dreams of Pooh

Amy and I went to Babies R Us in West Kendall last night to do the whole "Baby Registry" thing. Ugh. I hate Babies R Us. The whole experience is so overwhelming... Information Overload...

Anyway, our registry is online if you'd like to see it. There are still some major add-ons that we have not resolved yet (bedding, high chair, etc...)

It's been a pain picking out the bedding. All the bedding we love is Boy bedding... and Caitlyn is NOT SLEEPING ON BLUE BASEBALL GLOVES!

Meet Winnie the Pooh. Yeah, we're going with a Pooh theme (I love Pooh!) This is by far my favorite Pooh baby bedding. I know Pooh, but I don't know girlie! Is this Pooh theme Girlie enough? Does it matter? Does Caitlyn need to sleep on Pink Sheets? Give me some feedback!

Worrying about Boys

Props to Rob M. for telling me this old adage...

"When you have a boy you only have to worry about one boy in town. When you have a girl you have to worry about all of the boys in town."

For the record, I will be on the porch before every date. I won't be holding a shotgun, though. Baseball Bats are so much more fun...

10 Names that didn't make the cut

We didn't spend much time discussing Boy names, (since I was convinced myBaby was a Girl)... but here were the Boy names that didn't make the cut.

10. Optimus Prime Reed (after all, he's my hero)
9. Jeffrey Reed, Jr. - (aka JR, jr.)
8. Stone Forest Reed
7. Gilligan Skipper Reed (ala Scrubs)
6. Radley "Rad" Reed (upcoming career as BMX bike racer/skater/80's wannabe.)
5. Grendel Reed (didn't want Beowulf to have an immediate adversary in house.)
4. Jason Alexander Reed (wife totally didn't realize that the name was taken by this guy).
3. Ing Reed, or as written in a gradebook Reed, Ing. (Amy humor).
2. Darth Vader-Maul Reed (only if he needs an inhaler...)
1. Reid Read Reed (think Reed cubed)

With creative power like that, at least we came up with a decent girl's name. Hopefully Caitlyn will appreciate us someday (and not be upset we didn't name her Gomer).

UPDATE: Couldn't resist putting in my 2nd favorite Girl Name: Apple MacKenzie Reed...

myBabyGirl... Caitlyn Elizabeth Reed

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Caitlyn Elizabeth Reed. And we couldn't be happier! myBabyGirl is healthy, strong, and evidently likes doing the funky chicken dance in the womb. She's quite the hyper kid... didn't want to cooperate at all!

But after a long time of shifting, manipulating, and prodding... our stubborn, modest little girl gave us a peak. BTW, the coolest thing I've ever seen is that heart beating... unbelievable...

Caitlyn is growing. Amy is not. She's been losing weight, but not at the cost of the kid. Caitlyn is a healthy vegetarian, causing Amy to eat more healthy... who knew pregnancy was a killer diet?

The record will show that I predicted that Caitlyn would be a girl. From the day we found out we were pregnant, I knew in my heart it was a girl. Perfectly happy with that, too! Deep down I just knew... Why? Well, honestly, that's just the way we roll...

Now that we know, I'm happy to announce that there is no way that my kid will end up marrying his daughter, or his daughter. [Insert sigh of relief]

Caitlyn, can't wait to meet you! Already love you!

Parental Fears

There was a rumor floating around that we were going to find out the sex of myBaby yesterday... well, I actually started the rumor...

Nope. Not yet. In a couple weeks, maybe...

Meanwhile, I suddenly find myself questioning my ability to be a parent... Then I see this You Tube Video...

Yeah, that is SO going to be my kid...

Ten Things I Look Forward To When I Meet myBaby

I've had a couple people email/facebook/comment for more info on myBaby. Honestly, I got nothing. Tomorrow is 11 weeks, so we're over a quarter of the way there. Woohoo! Next appointment is in a couple weeks. We should know boy or girl in a month or so (still a ways away).

In lieu of solid info on myBaby, I'm just going to vamp...

Ten Things I Look Forward To When I Meet myBaby
10. Cool new toys. Saw a baby stroller with a builtin iPod hookup.
9. Beowulf as a watchdog. I'm wagering Beo is not going to let anyone near myBaby.
8. Late night feedings. I'm up at 2am anyway. Might as well be feeding myBaby.
7. Having another reasonable excuse for pulling my hair out.
6. Give my parents the grandbaby they always wanted.
5. Counting 10 fingers, 10 toes.
4. New baby smell. Don't know what it smells like, but I can't wait!
3. Seeing Amy as a mother. It's a role she will be awesome in.
2. Hearing a cry, and seeing a smile.
1. Having the rest of my life changed in ways that I haven't even imagined.

Meet myBaby

myBaby, meet my blog readers. Blog readers, meet myBaby...

Oh, wait, did I neglect to tell you that Amy's pregnant?

Yep, we're on the road to having a kid. Remember that vacation Amy and I took back at the beginning of the year? Yeah, the kid is Canadian! God bless our continental brothers to the north.

Enough of the embarrassing stuff.

We're almost nine weeks pregnant. Had extremely positive doctor visit today. Heard the heartbeat (162 bpm if you're curious). Saw this picture. myBaby actually moved while we were looking. myBaby is quite the showoff. myBaby is healthy and growing. A couple weeks ago myBaby was a speck, now myBaby is about the size of a jumbo cashew (1 1/2 inches).

myWife is doing excellent. She's been carrying fine, and other than the physical symptoms of being pregnant she's doing fabulous. The fibromyalgia has been a non-issue and we both are looking forward to meeting myBaby.

myBaby should be making her global debut on September 27. Stay tuned for more info...