Flat Reed: Cleaning the Pantry

There's certainly a reason why they call it a "work at home mom" instead of "stay at home mom" these days. Abbey has done nothing but work since she has started staying home with Flat Reed. Of course, she's yet to actually "stay" home much since she has started.

Today, Flat Reed and Abbey cleaned up the pantry. Cabinets tend to get really messy in the Landlife house, so Abbey and Flat Reed decided to take care of one of the messy ones today.



They did a really great job straightening out everything. Now onto the kitchen cabinets. Once they are straight, Abbey and I are thinking about painting the cabinets an antique white with a chocolate glaze. We are going to start with the bathroom.



Coming this week: "Dinner and Watermelon, My New Glider, and Some More Stuff for by Bedroom."

Have You Ever Noticed?

As more and more people (besides Jeff and I) get travel dates, it's been pretty rough around here. And, it got me thinking. Have you ever noticed how much we're willing to sing God's praises when everything is great? People can't say enough about God and his goodness when things are going their way. Yet, when things seem to be different than we've planned, or wanted it to be, we aren't so quick to reference God. However, when I look back over my life, it's not at the top of the mountain when I find myself learning the most from God. Most of my lessons are on the way up the mountain or down in the valley below...I think I'm in a valley now...

Sometimes, people think those who have hope in the Lord always have things go their way or exactly like they want it to be. It isn't always true, but I do know how God can work in our lives and give me the patience to endure this trial.

"He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6

Flat Reed: Sunday School Shower

Last weekend when I left for New Mexico, our Sunday School class had a shower for us. Unfortunately, even though it was a couples' shower, I was not there. Ms. Sheila, Raleigh's grandmother was able to make it though.



Jacob thought that Flat Reed was really cool!



I think that they had a blast playing with each other.



Flat Reed says that on a hot July day, you should drink plenty of water! He's a smart little guy.



Flat Reed loves Mrs. Grace. She's alot of fun! She will eventually be Reed's piano teacher.



I'm not sure what was in the card, but it must have been great. In the background you can see Mrs. Jillian holding Britton while Flat Reed looks on.



It's fuzzy, but I had to put a picture of Mr. Brandon holding Flat Reed.



Mommy was impressed by all that she got. Flat Reed was really excited as he surveyed all that he had gotten. He keeps forgetting that he is going to be framed as soon as the real boy gets here.

Flat Reed: Surprise Visitors

We got a call today from some friends from our old church. Tessa did not get to make it to the shower the other night, so she, her brother, and her dad came over to personally deliver a gift for Reed. They also met Flat Reed for the first time. I think that Mr. Chris and Tessa were more impressed with Flat Reed than Gus was.



Gus did have a good time giving Tessa some bunny ears.

Tessa knitted this cute little hat for Reed. Flat Reed enjoyed getting to wear it.

After they left, we went over to Britton's house. We were planning on going over around 5:00ish because that is what time they said they wanted to eat. But, Brandon called and wanted me to go ahead and come because they were wanting to play basketball. They HAVE seen me play basketball mind you, yet they did want me to come. I think they really needed a fourth, at any rate I played 4 games and scored 3 points! I think I was more of a defense kind of person!

Flat Reed: Flat Daddy

Since Daddy has been on the road the past week, it was quite a surprise to walk in the house and see a life-size flat version of myself sitting on the couch. I knew that Abbey had been quite homesick for me to be home and vice versa, so I first thought the creation was from her own boredom.



Little did I know that our friends Jeff, Holly (+ Raleigh), and their daughters Hannah and Ashlyn had built Flat Daddy. Ashlyn made sure that Flat Daddy even had on a wedding band. There were a few stipulations that Abbey had to comply with. One of which was the infamous green on green shirt and pants. She was also supposed to put a face on Flat Daddy, but it hasn't made it yet.



It looks like Flat Reed and Flat Daddy are going to have a lot of fun the next time I have to go on the road, which isn't for several weeks and is only an overnight trip.

Reed's Adventure

Check out Reed's ABC Adventure! Thanks Lee Lee for making it for him! It's too cute!

Flat Reed: High Chair and Pack-n-Play

Flat Reed was excited to finally have a high chair. It is really great! We've wanted this particular high chair since we first decided to have a child. We didn't want a plastic one, so when we found this wooden Eddie Bauer one at Target, that is the one that we registered for it.



Our stroller and pack-n-play are put together and are a matching blue and brown. That doesn't surprise anyone, I am sure.

Flat Reed had fun playing on the PnP. We are trying to teach him that he needs to play IN the PnP.



We kept trying to get Flat Reed to not play on the diaper station, but he wouldn't hear of it. He started to fall.



Thankfully, he landed face up. I think that he learned his lesson.

We're leaving for Nashville soon!!! Notice the ticker above, it's been 4 months since our referral. Let's pray we don't have to wait much longer.

Flat Reed: Ceiling Fans

Since, we've lived in our house, Flat Reed's mother has complained about two hot spots (and I'm not talking Wi-Fi). 1 is the kitchen and the other one is our bathroom. So, this past weekend, Flat Reed set out to change all of that.



He carefully climbed up the steps of the ladder to begin the light extraction process. Mr. Roy (fil), was there to supervise all of the electrical wire cutting.



Then he took the two fixtures down. The one in the masterbathroom was hard since it was only a 6 foot ladder, Flat Reed is 19 inches and the ceiling is 12 foot high vault. He must have used his go-go gadget extenders.



This photo is blurry because the ceiling fan is on. This one is in the kitchen. Now, Mommy can cook some yummy cookies for me and Reed without breaking a sweat.



He was especially proud of the one in the bathroom, because it was so high and there is no way humanly possible he could have put it up, but since Flat Reed has not been recognized by the American government as an actual human, I guess it's possible.

Only one more night here in Glorieta. I am so ready to be home with my wife and then we are collectively ready to be home with our baby boy! Come home soon baby Reed! We love you so much!

Flat Reed: My Exersaucer

This weekend, while Pop Rox, Lola, and Auntie Ava were visiting, a lot got done in the way of setting up some of the "goodies" Reed will enjoy when he arrives home. Pop Rox, Aunt Ava, and Flat Reed set out to put together the exersaucer early Saturday morning.



Flat Reed had to show his aunt what a phillips head screwdriver was.



We didn't know it, but this exersaucer has more bells and whistles on it than most luxury vehicles. If you would like to compare it, think of it this way. Most exersaucers I have seen would be like a Ford Taurus, comfortable, spacious, some perks, but not luxury. Well, this thing is kind of like a Rolls Royce. There are 3, yes 3, different parts that required batteries, and probably ten additional toys that wrap completely around the exersaucer.



Notice that Abbey, Lola, and I stayed away from the construction site. It was pretty intense as there had to have been at least a hundred parts.



When it all came together, everyone celebrated the successful endeavor. Flat Reed was most impressed.

Flat Reed: Another Shower

We had a shower the other night at FBC Joelton. The church where Abbey and I served. It was very nice to see some of the people who we got to minister to while we served there. It was very kind of them to host a shower for us.

This picture above is of Flat Reed's caretaker for the evening Makayla. She will definitely be one of the real Reed's babysitters. She is very sweet and responsible! I just love her. Flat Reed did too!



Here's the family in front of the gigantic cake with 96 bootys. I'm not even going to tell you what I thought when one of the Hines' twins ran up and said, "There are 96 bootys on the cake."



This one is fuzzy, but as you can see, the girls cared very well for Flat Reed, making sure that he was safely secured in a bouncy seat.

We got some very nice and well-needed gifts for the shower. It was good to see old friends.

Abbey and I are pretty homesick for each other right now. I'm having a good trip to Glorieta. I had an excellent turnout for my conferences today and they are so responsive. Abbey got incredible tips tonight at work, but we both would really like to be together! I love you babe!

Flat Reed: Mia Came to Visit

Most of you know that one of the most beautiful little girls in the entire world is our next door neighbor. She came over to visit Flat Reed this weekend and well, the pictures speak for themselves. The battery on the computer is close to dead, so not much text tonight (hold the applause!).

Flat Reed: Going to Work With Daddy

Flat Reed got to go to work with me on Friday because he was originally going to get to meet Mandisa. He didn't actually get to go down to chapel though. Anyway, he had a lot of fun getting to spend some time with Mrs. Kay and Mrs. Betty Kay.



This is Mrs. Andrea, the greatest copy editor! She helps keep our preteen products on schedule and grammatically correct. I am sure any of you who follow this blog realize that "grammatically" correct doesn't really fit well into my editor in chief title!

I am in Glorieta, New Mexico now for another round of teaching Sunday School conferences. Unfortunately, Abbey couldn't come with me. I left the camera and Flat Reed at home, so we'll see what all he does next week. Until then, I have stored up a cache of great photos from this weekend that you will be seeing this week. Tomorrow "Mia Comes for a Visit." You'll definitely want to check back because Mia has got to be one of the cutest little girls in the world!

Because I am a nerdy kind of person, I took the average wait time from first hearing to first ruling for the people who are on our Taiwan database. It "was" 47 days. Our 47 days is up tomorrow, so we are really hoping to hear something this week about possibly going to pick up that beautiful baby boy that we love so much. I said "was" 47 days because many of the people who have received referrals at the same time as us had hearings after us and have already received their hearings, so that messes up the average. We have begun to pray "Lord, help us to trust Your timing. We know that we are not missing anything in Reed's life that you want us to be a part of." I think that is a very appropriate prayer. I never realized waiting would be this hard!

Flat Reed: Mandisa

We had a great treat this morning in Chapel. Mandisa of American Idol who is now a Christian recording artist sang. It was wonderful. She is excellent.



Sorry, the Flat Reed in this picture is his photo! Mandisa thought he was cute, but was that a really a surprise?



It was a great concert! She should have won American Idol. She is really a great performer and an excellent vocalist.

Flat Reed: Clean Cars

One thing is for certain, the Landlife cars needed to be cleaned! So, when I came home from work today, Flat Reed and I got to work! First he vacuumed my Jeep.



Mr. Jeff (or Hannah, Ashlyn, and Raleigh's Daddy as he is better known) let me borrown his pressure washer, so I thought that might be helpful to get some of the stuff off the car.

I was little worried about letting my flat child work the pressure washer as I have seen them do some pretty severe damage to people before, but Flat Reed was able to hold his own.



I know what you are thinking, "There is no way that Flat Reed was working this pressure washer." But, he really was. You would not believe the support that his backbone AKA "Lowe's paint stirring sticks" gives him.

Flat Reed and I began to wonder if dinosaurs really were extinct because we were pretty sure that we were washing some terradactyl poo on the hoods of our cars. That or either, there are some REALLY big birds in Tennessee.



If I haven't said it enough, I love my baby boy. He is so much like me that he also was obsessed with making sure that the wheels were nice and shiny. Flat Reed said, "Daddy, if the tires are really shiny than the car isn't really clean." I couldn't have said it better myself baby boy.



Next, we went to the Catfish House to get mommy's van so that we could wash it. Flat Reed was great at vacuuming.



Another shiny wheel!



Mommy's van is now nice and clean. It's also free of terradactyl poo!

Flat Reed is excited because Lola, Pop Rox, and Aunt Ava are coming tomorrow. Abbey is also going to come to work tomorrow and go to chapel with me. Our favorite American Idol ever, Mandisa is going to be there!