We're Home ... Let the Detox Begin!

Reed kissed Lola goodbye this morning around 11:00.



Reed got home and was a little perplexed. It seems that there was only Mommy and Daddy to watch him play!

Oh, by the way, did I remember to mention that Reed slept from Memphis all the way to about 7 miles from our home?1?!?!



"Whoa! Daddy, the grass is so tall. You better mow the yard!"



Mommy and Mrs. Megan went to stamping tonight, so we went over to Mr. Danny's for a little while.



Reed had fun playing in their backyard.



But, he began to get sleepy and he needed a clean diaper. So, we had to come home.



Knowing that I faced an uphill battle with Reed and his bedtime routine that has been completely upset for the past week, I decided to seize the opportunity to get him back on schedule.



At 8:00, he got in the bath. At 8:15 he was out and in his diaper.



I rocked him until 8:30 and put him down. He was asleep, but immediately began crying.



I went downstairs and started a load of laundry and then cleaned our bathroom.



By the time I was done cleaning our bathroom, he was snoring. Literally. I went to check on him!



I cleaned the other two bathrooms and then the kitchen so that we wouldn't have to do that in the morning. Now all I have to do is vacuum and Abbey is going to get to dust! Woo-hoo!

__________________

And now for today's edition of 7 days of Abbey.

5. Her Randomness. Seriously, Abbey is about the most random thinker I have ever met. In college, the word "random" was used rather frequently, however, I don't think Abbey ever got over it. Recently, I have decided to try to figure out Abbey's line of thought. So, whenever she hits me with a statement from way out in left-field somewhere, I ask her how she got there. Generally, she is able to explain how thinking about one thing, will lead her to the next thing, and then finally to the actual statement she made. Life with Abbey is very interesting, because you really don't know what you're going to hear or do! For someone who's ADD, that's a really cool person to be married too!

A Swingy Photoshoot

We left Enna and Poppy's today to head to Memphis for the night before returning home to middle Tennessee tomorrow. Before we left, we had to take advantage of the beautiful setting of our old porch swing which now hangs from a 200 year old tree in Enna and Poppy's backyard.



Reed was, of course, adorable as he sat on the swing, but as normal, he was not really into giving us his best smiles.



We were able to coax a couple of great smiles out of him, as evidenced in this cute one of Reed and his paternal grandparents. I bet they are missing Reed tonight. This is the first night he hasn't been at their house in 5 days!



Reed was so well-behaved on the trip from Jackson to Durant. Well, Reed was actually asleep the whole time, but he was good, none-the-less.



In Durant, we were able to see Reed's great-grandfather, Papa. We also saw Uncle Mitch and Lamar.



From Durant, we headed to Memphis. Reed decided not to nap on this leg of the trip, but he was very good. He read books, laughed, and talked the whole way. Many of you may know that we do not have a DVD player in our van. Some have said that we are crazy, and some don't understand why we don't, but that will be explained in another post.



By the time for our family photo on the swing, Reed was pretty much done posing. So, this is the best of the bunch.



Reed did enjoy standing up on the swing, though, I really don't think that is very safe.



If Poppy had been with us, we could have had a four-generations of Land Men photo, but since he wasn't, here's three generations. Papa loves his great-grandkiddos!



Reed has started putting his fingers in his mouth and we are trying to teach him not too. Any advice?



Pop and Lola were really excited that Reed got to spend the night with them. Lola kept asking us if we wanted to go see a movie or something. I think they wanted Reed to themselves!



We were too tired to go to a movie, but we did offer to watch TV upstairs so that they could have Reed's full attention!

________________________________

And now, for my 7 day tribute to Abbey:

6. Her smile. I know you've see it. Abbey has the most beautiful smile in the world. It brightens up any photo. To quote Solomon, her "teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn, coming up from the washing. Each has its twin; not one of them is alone." Okay, well, maybe that wasn't the most romantic use of a verse from the Song of Solomon, but it helped my point. Abbey has the whitest, widest, prettiest smile. You know how some people, myself included, have to practice their smile so as not to look like a baffoon in a picture, Abbey doesn't. Her smile is automatically perfectly shaped. It was easy to fall in love with such a beautiful smile.

For those of you who might be wondering, keep reading, not everything I love about Abbey is a physical attribute. You'll find out some of these things later!

Dancing With a Fish, A Dog Named Lucy, and Funny Faces

Enna has a collection of old VBS things and she found this inflatable fish from several years ago. Today, I suggested that Reed dance with the fish. Reed grabbed the fish by the fins and danced his little heart out.



He has been so sweet today. He got to go see Mrs. Emily and Mrs. Lauren at lunch and then Apple Annie! He got to experience BOPS frozen custard and even had a great nap!



Tonight, Enna had to go to a bridal show and when she came home we were still outside. When she came inside, Reed was saying "Mama" a lot. I asked him why he was saying "Mama" so much and why he wasn't saying, "Daddy." Enna said, "Reed, say 'Daddy'." Reed obliged and said, "Daddy" twise. Then we said, say "Enna." He said, "Nahnah." We nearly flipped. Then we said say, "Poppy" and guess what? Reed said, "Poppy." We were so proud of all of his words.



Reed got a new dog, Lucy. Well, Lucy sort of just wandered up today, but she is really sweet. (We named her Lucy.) Lucy seems to have had a rough life so far because she was so scared. But, she was really sweet to us. Enna doesn't want her to stick around, but we do!



Reed loves the door at Enna and Poppy's. Look at all of the marks on it! Enna says she'll never wash it again.



We had fun making funny faces in the door.



Lots of fun.


____________________

On Monday, Abbey and I will have been married 7 years! Can you believe it? So, I plan to do the 7 things I love about her for the next several days.

7. Her Smell. I have loved the way Abbey smells since our first date. Abbey wears a fragrance called "Laugh" by Brighton. I'm sure most people have heard of brighton belts, wallets, or sunglasses, but many people don't know they have 4 fragrances. Abbey should be the poster child for "Laugh" because it works incredibly with Abbey's chemistry! There have been a few times that she's worn other perfumes that I used to get for free when I worked retail, but we always have come back to "Laugh." So, remember, the next time you see Abbey, take a deep sniff. Just remember, she's mine!

Fun With Joshi

Uncle Bobby and Joshi arrived at Poppy and Enna's bright and early this morning. She has grown so much since the last time we saw her. She's so pretty.



... And happy!



Poppy and Enna took Reed and Joshi to Enna's school to show them off, I mean, work.



The kids charmed Enna's principal. I wonder if they got her a raise?


Joshi started getting sleepy after a little while, but they got to sit in a cool double chair first!



Do you think my son has a fascination with balls? He loves to play ball! It is so funny, because knowing Abbey and I, who would have thought it?



After naptime, it was time to go to the funeral home and meet Daddy's coworkers. Reed finally got to meet Uncle Rod, Mrs. Sandra, Jenny, and Mrs. Joyce. Jenny, I'll come help you with CVS before we leave, hopefully!



While the kids were being spoiled by grandparents, Bobby, Trae, and I hung out at Trae's house. Aunt Alyson had to work and Abbey went to help Aunt Ava set up her room.



We all went to Outback for supper. Reed was very clingy to his daddy. You know I didn't mind that!



Reed loves his Uncle Bobby and Uncle Trae! They are the best!



Here's a family picture sans Enna. We should have gotten someone to take the picture so that Enna could have been in it!

Mississippi: Hit & Miss

Last night, we went to Aunt Ava's and Uncle Brookie's. Lola is here in Jackson helping Aunt Ava get ready for her new classroom. Abbey is going to go and help today.

We watched Design Star last night and we are definitely hoping that Jennifer wins.

We also watched the finale` of Next Food Network Star. Can we just say that Lisa Garza got ROBBED! She totally should have one!

My mom and I went to CVS yesterday and scored some pretty good deals. I think it was the most friendly CVS I have ever been in.

Now, to the title of this email.



There are certainly some things that we love about our homestate and there are some things that we don't miss at all. Here's our list.

HITS:

1. Family and Friends: We have so many family members in friends here in Mississippi and we miss being far away from them.

2. Homes with Character: Mississippi has not gotten so much into the "cookie cutter" mode of building homes, so neighborhood have so much character and BRICK! Man, do we miss brick!!!

3. McAlister's, BOPS, Fernandos, and Old Venice: McAlister's are everywhere here, BOPS frozen custard is the best, and we've already written about Old Venice and Fernando's.



4. Traffic: There isn't any!

5. Slower Pace: Everything moves a little slower here and we love that.

6. Property Values: Bigger for less!



MISS:

1. Friends: We have some very dear friends in Tennessee and God has blessed us so abundantly with them!

2. My Job: Unlike most careers, mine is available only in Nashvegas.

3. Our Town: We love the town that we live in. Close to Nashvegas and yet you still know people everywhere you go. And, it's way more affordable!



4. Church: Every church has its problems and ours is no exception, but we definitely love it! Our friends and Sunday School kids are the best!

5. Allergens: While Tennessee certainly has it's share of sneeze producers, Mississippi drives Reed and my sinus's crazy!!!

6. Roads: I just thought they were bad in Tennessee.



Mississippi will always have a special place in our hearts, but we are so thankful for our life in Tennessee!

Fun With Enna and Poppy!

Okay, I think that Reed is making it clear that he is ready for me to set the aquarium up that he got for his birthday. He loves looking at Enna and Poppy's fish.



Today, Reed:

1. Went to Wal-Mart with Enna and then Dollar Tree. He scored not 1, but 2 balloons!

2. He played on the tractor.



3. He played with Uncle Trae.

4. He played in/with the water hose.

5. He discovered bugles (the chips).



6. He went to bed at 8:30 with no fuss (and we weren't here!).



Today, we:

1. I went to teach my conference.

2. Abbey got to get dressed all by herself with no help from Reed.

3. Abbey got to read and watch TV.

4. Reed and I took a nap.



5. We got to eat at Old Venice (another Mississippi must-go).

6. We went shopping and didn't buy a thing (not even from Target!).

7. We went by our old house in Brandon.



8. We went to McAlister's and enjoyed tea and conversation with one another without interruption. It was nice. The little things are great aren't they?



Enna got Reed one of those little ferret and ball things from Cracker Barrel. Reed was thrilled, Abbey—not so much.