As promised, I said I was going to unveil out annual holiday photo. I was waiting till the new year to arrive to put up. We are so excited to share with you guys. We shot this photo at our pool area where we live. The guys decided to wear black while my daughter Dootie and I decided to wear leopard print. I never really seen it done and I had PLENTY of cheetah print in my closet. It took days to try to find outfits that all coordinate but it was NOT happening. I just decided to wear something in my closet.

I feel for moms trying to put family photos together and trying to find things that look right argh! It’s a total nightmare and what do you do when you have a larger family geesh! Anyway, each year I look back on our photos from the beginning to now and I just burst into tears. There are so many memories when looking at each photo. My family has been through so much. Mostly good times and some not so good times. I’m very thankful for my husband and two wonderful kids. I pray that this year brings us much peace and joy! Happy Holidays from The Reed Family and may God bless you too! Shout out to our photographer Brian who owns Brian L Christian Photography too, he did a wonderful job! xoxo

Today I lost my dear friend and entrepreneur Stephen Gilmore who owned Schere LLC. We became fast friends and I met him a few years ago. He had a wonderful spirit! He would tell me about his many business ventures and he created and patented a product which became a huge success, the Obama shower curtain! I was one of the first people to interview him about his business and he was so grateful. I believed in him and his product and you could tell he was very passionate about his company. He suggested that I have my very first Men’s Night Out on my talk show back a few years ago, and I said, if I ever did, he would be my first guest. Well, I kept my promise and I did have that show and he was one of my guest. About a year ago, his wife Celeste told me Stephen found out he had colon cancer. At that time it was at stage 4. He still had good spirits about everything and his attitude was great. He had surgery and they thought it was gone.

Yesterday he became ill and was rushed to the hospital. They transported him to hospice this afternoon when I got word that he had taken a turn for the worse. I was in total shock! As my husband and I made our way to a hospice facility, I felt strange but walked in the door and learned that he had just passed. I didn’t get to say goodbye to my buddy! His wife Celeste wants me to tell you guys to please get checked out regularly because colon cancer is the number one killer for African American men. My heart goes out to Stephen,his wife Celeste and his family plus his 9yr old daughter Cheyenne. Today was also their wedding anniversary of two years.He was a dear friend and he will be truly missed. Words can not express how sad I am today! May you rest in peace my friend and I know God is looking over you. Here is a video I found of me interviewing him about his product on my show. As your wife said today, you have your wings now. xoxo

Today is my Pootey’s 12th birthday! Just the other day we were out shopping and he asked me why I nicknamed him Pootey? I said, “well Terrell I don’t really know”. When I first laid eyes on him thats the first thing that I thought of lol. The nurses handed him to me in my arms and he was VERY tiny. He only weighed 4 pounds and wasn’t scheduled to arrive till well after January.

I snuggled up with him and NEVER put him down. The nurses would scold me for spoiling him and to put him in the crib but I just would’t do it. I would sing to him and kiss him all over. He had the smallest feet and hands that I’d ever seen. Thats when I started calling him Pootey. I would say, “how’s my pootey doing today” and his eyes would light up. It stuck from that day on.

My hubby’s nickname is Poobie and I just kinda combined the two. I also had to say something different when both were in the house lol. My son has been a complete joy to me! He has made me smile,laugh uncontrollably,mad,happy and all of the above. I can say he is the sweetest kid with a big heart. Teachers, boy scout leaders, friends, other moms all have said my son is such a delight and has a great attitude(He got that from the mama).

I pray over my kids daily and try my best to provide for them and keep them safe. It’s so bad out here and I feel overwhelmed at times with all that happens in the world but with God in our lives I know he will protect my kids and our family. God Bless You Pootey and many more healthy years to come! WE love you! xoxo

This is going on my 3rd or 4th year having Thanksgiving with The DeShields family. My hubby is still working up North, so the three of us headed over to my girlfriend Tish house for some good eating. Her mom NeNe also helps in cooking a huge spread and they both get a kick outta watching us gobble up all that good cooking! I usually bring the beverages. I’m not a huge fan of Thanksgiving. People that know me, know I really don’t enjoy cooking that particular kind of food. It’s so heavy and family usually just sit around and do nothing but watch sports, I can’t stand it.

It’s always fun over Tish’s house though and my kids have a ball at her home. Everything was so yummy and I want to thank my buddy for inviting us over. Take a look at the pics as I prepare to try to shop during this Pink Friday weekend argh! I hope you guys had a great Thanksgiving! xoxo

It was a beautiful day out yesterday here in Hotlanta, so the family decided to grill outside. My hubby was in town and we wanted to have a big dinner before he headed back north for work. My son will be traveling with him as well, so we wanted to have a memorable going away dinner.

My hubby is a great cook. We have always shared kitchen duty since both of us like to fiddle around in the culinary world lol. He is definitely a better griller than me because I get nervous around fire lol. I marinated the meat while my daughter made her famous summer strawberry salad. I made the baked beans,freshly squeezed lemonade and the guys were outside getting the grill going and cooking the meat.

Everything was running smoothly then I remembered that Williams-Sonoma sent me over the Benidorm Melanine dinnerware collection to try. They also sent a few bbq sauces.We tried the Kansas City Cowtown Bar-B-Q-Sauce,it was tangy and yummy! It was the perfect added touch to our little going away dinner.

While eating dinner no one was really talking, so I knew it was delish lol. Later on my hubby made his famous sour cream pound cake which I still have not got the recipe for in over 13 yrs of being with him! He swears he cant give it to me and its top secret lol. It was soo good topped off with ice cream. I saw eyes getting heavy as we watched a movie together lol. It was a fun evening with my family and I would like to thank Williams-Sonoma for sending over the fabulous goodies to add to our scrumptious dinner. xoxo