God speaks, if you listen closely!

Mandisa sings the most powerful song about God speaking!

Have you ever heard a love song that
Set your spirit free
Have you ever watched a sunrise and
Felt you could not breathe
What if it's Him
What if it's God speaking

Have you ever cried a tear that
You could not explain
Have you ever met a stranger
Who already knew your name
What if it's Him
What if it's God speaking

Who knows how He'll get a hold of us
Get our attention to prove He is enough
He'll do and He'll use
Whatever He wants to
To tell us "I love you"

Have you ever lost a loved one
Who you thought should still be here
Do you know what it feels like
To be tangled up in fear
What if He's somehow involved
What if He's speaking through it all

Who knows how He'll get a hold of us
Get our attention to prove He is enough
He'll do and He'll use
Whatever He wants to
To tell us "I love you"

His ways are higher
His ways are better
Though sometimes strange
What could be stranger
Than God in a manger

Who knows how He'll get a hold of us
Get our attention to prove He is enough
Who knows how He'll get a hold of you
Get your attention to prove He is enough
He'll do and He'll use
Whatever He wants to
To tell us "I love you"

God is speaking
"I love you"

I have lived in Chester for most of my life! It’s a small town and most everyone knows everyone or has seen them a time or two around Chester! About a year ago, my husband and I started Chester Classifieds on Facebook. A place where people would post things for great prices, you’d only post if you were local! It has been one of the biggest blessings I have ever experienced! I get messages all of the time that sound a lot like “You have no idea how much Chester Classifieds has been a blessing” …or “I would have never been able to do Christmas for my kids without Chester Classifieds” ~ We started Chester Classifieds during a hard time in our life, Joey has been out of work since 2009 because of an injury at work, been through multiple surgeries and it has just been downright financially difficult. So, we were actually selling a lot to make ends meet. But I cannot begin to tell you how much I see God in Chester Classifieds, it’s almost like He has purposed this in our story of hardship.

All of that leads into the most amazing God story, yet. Recently, I received an email from a girl asking if it’d be ok if she listed a yard sale that would be donation only at her house, on Chester classifieds. She went on to tell me about her story and the hardships she had experienced and how God has been speaking to her about a couple that she was really burdened to help – not because they were needy but just because it was something God wanted her to do. In the last year her faith had been greatly tested, she has doubted and became very discouraged. To the point where she wasn’t sure if she could even hear God speaking to her if He wanted to. Her family had recently moved to the area and were looking for a church home, so they went to visit this particular church. They were welcomed by this couple and from that moment on she just felt God leading her towards them. She found out that the couple was in an adoption process and would soon be receiving their biggest blessing yet, a baby! Spending time in prayer over the couple, she felt God was calling her to purchase the couples wish list on their baby registry. After being in a place that was so hard she knew she couldn’t ignore this opportunity to do something for God and listen to His exact words. However, she didn’t want to just go to the store and purchase everything. She wanted to work for it and really do something big for God. She also knew that this was something personal she needed to do and never wanted anyone to know it was her, she wanted to keep herself anonymous so that God would receive all of the glory.

That’s when she contacted me! Keeping in mind that I had never met her before and she had no idea I was even a Christian or how I would accept her telling me this story! However….. Being completely in love with Jesus and an in intimate relationship with Him, I saw this as a direct opportunity to involve myself in this blessing and do whatever I could to help do this for God. One reason is because I do NOT believe in accidents and I believe that when your life is Christ's, He orchestrates everything there is about it! And when God speaks, I don’t say why, I just say how! There was immediate confirmation from Him, there wasn’t ever any doubt or hesitation. It was one of those things that was actually weird because why would I be so confident and trust a complete stranger, these are the types of things we know only GOD could do. After I had already committed to helping her I wanted to learn more about her story and more about the parents to be! So, she sent me the link to their adoption story. This is where my heart started pounding and I knew it was completely God. The couple that popped up on my screen was so familiar! One of those Chester families, faces I see all over Chester. It was confirmation to me again, this wasn’t just something God was speaking to this girl about…He was speaking to me to and He sent her to me!

So, the idea we came up with was to hold a virtual action on Chester Classifieds to raise money to purchase the gifts. People would see our act of kindness and hopefully see God; it wouldn’t be a blessing from 2 but a blessing from over 200. It was announced on Chester Classifieds and a week later the auction was held. So many people donated items, crafts and services! Keep in mind that no one knew the couple and had very little details. They just trusted and acted upon what they felt was right!

The shopping for the couple is taking place this week and they'll be presented to the couple this weekend....I have been in the midst of many God moments over the past few weeks, I feel like at times He is sitting right next to me...I just want to lift my hands and praise Him! He is worthy and deserves ALL of our praise! I'll update again once they've received this blessing, I can imagine they'll be surprised and so thankful!

Forever, for always, no matter what

So many times, things shatter around you and if you've got something or someone (or 4 others someones) to hold on to, its so much easier! Our family motto has quickly became "Forever, for always and no matter what" ~ This is around our home in various spots and it reminds us that God has given us each other and no matter what we will stick together like glue and cling to trusting our heavenly father that we are always going to be alright!

So, what better prop that to take one of our signs out to "the country" with us to capture some memories that wont allow us to forget!

Finally, our Reams family of 5 was able to be captured on camera! I have tried for a long time to find the perfect time, the perfect place and the perfect photographer! Well, patience paid off and everything was perfect about our weekend photo shoot! (Ok, except for Kaylee's meeting with the porcupine bush!!)

We went to "the country" to take our pictures, because if you know anything about me - you know thats what I like! Open fields, barns, and the beautiful scenery of "the middle of no where" I'd like to live somewhere just like that one day! (Just keeps me praying, to see pictures of my family there on the wall!)

Thank you SO much Stacey Popovich Photography!

Christmas in Disney

What an absolutely amazing Christmas that the 5 of us will never forget! Christmas Eve, we all went to sleep....VERY early! We set the alarms so that we could sleep a few hours and then hit the road! The kids were wide awake, for hours! I actually think Kaylee didn't fall asleep until we were well into NC and maybe almost out of it! She was very, very excited to get to Florida!

We weren't sure if we would travel all of the way through because it was the kids' first trip! But they did amazing and we made it all the way there! We arrived at Disney Christmas Day. I will admit, seeing Mickey and Minnie at the front gate completely teared my eyes! It was amazing.....and that wasn't even anything to jump about, it was just the big Mickey and Minnie at the front of the entrance for the resorts! lol =)

We hurried in the hotel, showered, cleaned up and hit downtown Disney! We souvenirs within the first few minutes of being there and had a fabulous dinner at Fudruckers! So fun!

The next morning we woke up early, I mean really early! About 6am! The park was opening at 8 and we knew we had to get breakfast and get into the park! We hit Hollywood Studios first! There, we saw lightening McQueen, Mater, Phineas and Ferb, Beauty and the beast and the whole crew along with lots of other fun stuff! Camden and the boys enjoyed the stunt show whereas I would have to say, Kaylee loved the Beauty and the Beast show the best!

The second day was Magic Kingdom day and wow, all I have to say is that it was surely magical! We went through the gates and stayed in the front of the park for hours....we visited with the princesses, daisy duck, snow white and MICKEY and MINNIE!!! Kinston fell in love with Minnie. We have pictures of him kissing her! We were so afraid that he would be scared of all of the characters, but I guess thats the magical part....he loved all of them!

We gave out lots of hugs and recieved many autographs! Magic Kingdom was our favorite place to be! We saw parade after parade and enjoyed the street parties. We saw lots of shows and the kids enjoyed many rides there! Camden loved the Buzz ride the MOST and Kaylee, well I think she was satisfied with hugging Cinderella =) We saw Tinkerbell fly across the sky during fireworks and we all were able to ride many rides together! It was pretty neat that Kinston could ride too.....they weren't roller coasters like I had imagined...but more like train rides with lots of things to look at! We had a little bit of rain this day! Nothing a couple of rain ponchos couldn't help us with! However, we made sure to protect our Mickey ears we had gotten at the beginning of the day (thanks to Uncle Rob, Aunt Tommie and Jarrett for the disney dollars, they were spent with great excitement!!!)

Cute story from this day: When Kaylee met Snow white, she said "Why Hello, Kaylee. So very glad you've came to visit me" Absolutely stunned and adorable Kaylee tell me. "Mommy, Snow white knew my name!!!!!!"

I will never tell her that she had her monogrammed shirt on that day with her name, Kaylee right on the front ;)


The third day, we rode the monorail to Epcot! I think that Camden fell in love with the monorail at first sight. He was so excited to ride it! This was the day Kaylee would eat with the princesses! She had no idea what she was in for but we dressed her up, did her hair and make up and were super excited. I'm not even sure if anything else mattered that day....it was so exciting. The child could not even eat her lunch...she was stuffing it down and telling us she was full so she could clean up and be ready to see them as they came and visited our table! It was her dream come true, just that...a dream come true! The boys enjoyed the Nemo ride along with the imagination ride there!

Cute story: When we entered the dining room to eat lunch with the princesses, they had a studio that you could have your portrait made with Belle. Well, Kaylee entered the room and Belle greeted her. " Well good afternoon, it seems like we have met before" Again, another moment that Kaylee will remember forever....she had certainly met Belle the day before =)

On the fourth day, we spent the entire day at Magic Kingdom. I have to admit I couldn't believe it was over already. It seemed to fly by, although I was completely exhausted!!! We did a lot of the same things we did already just because the kids really enjoyed certain parts of the park. We had silhouettes made of the kids, they're beautiful and hanging in the kitchen!

There are so many other absolutely GRAND details of our trip, pictures definitely tell the story best and all of the many videos that Daddy took! But this gives you just a sneak peak into our trip!

We hope that you had a very Merry Christmas! We sure did =)

So thankful for our kids and the love they share....

I could look at these photos all day.

They exemplify a very special bond between a brother and a sister. I pray for them that they remain best friends and love each other every day....
It makes me smile because Kaylee "requested" these pictures! I count my blessings daily that I have such a compassionate, caring and loving little girl. She truly loves and know what it means to love! It makes my heart smile!
Of course I pray that the three of them stay close and love each other always! Camden and Kinston are just as close! Its exciting to see Kinston growing and finally realizing that these guys are fun to play with...sometimes Joey and I just watch them run the hallways, laughing and playing.
God is so good, we are so blessed and so thankful!

Meet Rapunzel...

Rapunzel Maddison Reams

Yeah, thats exactly what Kalee named her! Ha! =) She joined the family on Saturday night. Kaylee has done such a GREAT job being a student we thought she deserved a really special prize!

Kaylee really thinks its neat to have a new pet! She has her hermit crab too which she really loves!

Mommy's Best Friends

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
"Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.


Let me take a minute and introduce you to my best friends! On the bottom from left to right, of course Im the first one, then Liz, Christy and Rebecca and on the top left to right is Jen, Brittney, Ginny, Kat and Sarah.

As I begin to write, I feel my eyes well with tears and my heart becomes a little overwhelmed when I think about each and every one of these girls. They are my lifeline, they are my listeners, they are my encouragers and best of all, they are my sisters in Christ.

About a year ago, we decided that we should join a bible fellowship class at our church. After attending for about 7 years we decided we had better delve in and find our home. Never in a million years would I have thought that in a year I would have 8 best friends that I could never imagine my future without. God has given me these girls, each and everyone unique and so important in their own ways. When I need a laugh, there is always one to make that happen. When I need encouragement, there is always one to encourage. When I need to pray, there is always someone there to pray. When I need a verse, there is always someone there to share. When I need to cry, they'd cry with me too. When I need a push, they're right behind me. In fiftenn years, theyre the ones I imagine right beside me when my babies are graduating highschool. In twenty five years, theyre the ones I imagine right beside me as my babies begin to get married. In fourty, theyre the ones I imagine myself becomming a grandma with. In fifty years, they're the ones I imagine I'll be going through sad times with and growing old with. I pray that wherever God leads us in our lives that He always leads us together and that our heartstrings are always tied closely.

With thanksgiving coming up, I could not help but think about how important it is to tell you about my best friends. Because to God be the glory for each and everyone of them! I love them just as if they're my sisters, they are the sisters I never had. Growing up I always wished I would have one sister, waiting certainly pays off because now I have 8.

We are the family that we have chosen for ourselves. Together, we strive to be godly women with a godly purpose, through Him We are victorious, together we are victorious!

Life as a revolving door - a personal blog from Mommy

Over the past five years, I think about how many people have walked in and out of my life....just like a revolving door.

revolving door: "Used to refer to a situation in which the same events or problems recur in a continuous cycle."

I could fill a page with a list, I can't really say that its my favorite thing to think about - however when I looked at life's past experience that have been handed to me, I have learned a tremendous amount about being a:

1. daughter
2. a sister
3. a wife
4. a mother
5. an aunt
6. a sister in law
7. a daughter in law
8. a cousin
9. a neice
10. a grandaughter
11. a friend
12. and most importantly a Christian.

Its hard to believe that every single one of these relationships have been effected...some in more than one way. Some in a postive way and some in a way that if I used negatively it wouldn't even begin to accurately describe it.

From these experiences I have learned that Jesus Christ is my Rock, the only one in the entire universe that will constantly remain consistent and offer an exuberant love for me and everything about my life.

"The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies.The cords of death encompassed me,And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me. The cords of Sheol surrounded me;The snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple,And my cry for help before Him came into His ears." Psalm 18:2-6

I have to admit that this encourages me to daily strive to be more like Him. What an amazing "reputation" He has.

In the pain, the hurt and the trials of life - I praise the maker of the universe, because these times in my life is where I'm forced to trust Him, He knows that and I know that this is His purpose. He is the ONLY one who knows the true desires of hearts, sees where repair, restoration and revitalization can take place.

I'll continue to wait on Him. Knowing that each night I lay my head on the pillow, I'm at peace and in complete understanding and obedience to my Savior....because everything in life has one purpose, to bring God the greatest glory and I do not want to miss any opportunity to give God the greatest glory, what he deserves and requires of us as His children.

"but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. " Isaiah 40:31