What We've Been Doing For!

The other night Abbey and Reed fixed a delicious apple pie. It was really really good. Reed loved getting to help.



I've been meaning to blog for several nights, but I can't find my new card reader and I was too lazy to go downstairs and get the camera cord.

Abbey and I worked really hard cleaning out our under stairs closet and our armoire in the living room that became more of a dumping ground for our junk that we couldn't find a place for over the past two years (hard to believe we've lived in this house almost two years!).

After we were finished cleaning out everything, we decided to move the armoire into our bedroom and rearrange in there. It looks really nice. Maybe we will take a picture. Then, we rearranged the living room. It also looks really nice. Maybe we will take a picture.

After church yesterday, we drove down to Birmingham so I could teach a conference at a church there. Reed enjoyed the hotel room.



(I included this picture, just in case you might get the idea that Reed is never unhappy! It does happen, rarely, but it does happen.)

Tonight, Reed and Britton were playing in the Batson's front yard and I saw our neighbor Jenny. Her husband has to travel a lot so we share travel stories. She was outside tonight, so she asked me if I was done traveling for a while. I was excited to tell her yes, and then I realized I have a conference at work next week, I fly to Columbia, SC on Friday after the conference ends, I fly back on Saturday and we will leave that night to drive to Dallas for LifeWay Kids Conference. Okay, so after like the 19th of October I will be conference free until the first of January.

I am hoping that I will be a better blogger in the near future!

Back in the Saddle

We're trying to get back in the saddle. Abbey traveled out of state to teach 6 times in the past month and a half. I have traveled to teach quite a few times as well. We now have to work on getting back in the groove of things. That is, until Sunday, when Abbey and Reed are going to ride with me to Birmingham so I can teach some preteen Sunday School teachers how to use the curriculum.



Then, in about two weeks we've got Writers Conference and then LifeWay Kids Conference. Wait a minute, did I tell you that we were getting back in the swing of things?



At least Reed is excited to have us both home for a little while.

Visit from Family

One of the things that we do not LOVE about living in Nashvegas is that we are SO FAR from family! It is really hard to be away from family, since Abbey and I grew up so close to our extended families. Thankfully, MSU played Vandy in Nashville and most of my family are huge MSU fans.

That meant that Uncle Bobby seized the opportunity to use an extra Vandy ticket and go to the game with Uncle Bill and me.

Joshi and Aunt Aly also came.



Oddly enough, Aunt Aly's grandmother lives just about 30 miles or so from where we live. So, they got to go and spend time with her grandmother.



Reed and Joshi spent a little time playing together and having fun.

Reed stayed with Miss Alyssa last night while we went to the game. Unfortunately, I started feeling really bad and had to leave the game before halftime. I left Uncle Bobby and Uncle Bill to finish cheering on their respective teams. In the end, MSU won.



We decided not to spread our icky germs at church today, so Reed and I have been hanging out. Abbey is headed home from Washington where she taught conferences this weekend.

Our Office Skit

CMP Video from Andy Dukes on Vimeo.

Check out this "The Office" skit we spoofed yesterday at work for the department meeting.

Hey, Check These Out

Many of you have seen these if you are our friends on Facebook or if you follow me on Twitter, but we just had to share these images of Reedy!



Recently, Abbey was contacted by photographer Jennifer Adams. Jennifer told Abbey that she was a member of a photography guild that provided free pictures of families with adopted children.



Several of our friends have used Jennifer's photography skills so we were quite familiar with them.



So, while we LOVED her photos, having them made for Reed was a little out of our reach considering we are scrimping and saving for bringing home Reed's little sister.



Having Jennifer take Reed's pics was such an AMAZING blessing to us! She did such a fabulous job! She completely, literally, caught Reed's personality on film.



She got his sweet side, his silly side, his happy side, his fishy side! And, these are just the ones that we've seen so far!



I really cannot say enough about Jennifer's photos. She is truly blessed by God with a great artistic skill.



Go to her site Jennifer Adams Reflections and see all of her photos.

Dear Son: We Think You Took Some Other Kids' Imaginations

Reed has definitely exploded in vocabulary and in imagination. He says the funniest things, like today when he was trying to get out of getting dressed and he looked at me and said "I wanna run around nekkid a few minutes."



Or the other day, when he got the baby wipe and held it in front of his face and said to Abbey and I: "Hey everybody, where did I go?"



His imagination is equally as colorful. Just give him a bowl, a spoon, and some water and he can whip you up a batch of eggs in no time.



The other day Abbey asked Reed what he was thinking. His response was simple, direct, and yet evasive at the same time: "Seven o'clock."



In the picture above, Reed decided that his Mini Elmo See and Spin needed batteries although it was working perfectly.



And, then there are his sungwasses, which he rarely closely to have the tinted part covering his eyes. Notice his choice of shoes.

If you are not blessed enough to be around Reed on a daily basis, you really miss a treat. He keeps you on your toes, like tonight when he continually asked where we were going, and I continually told him that we were going to the hospital to pick up something for Manya's kidney stone issue.

2 Years Ago

For Sept. 10, but since Taiwan is 13 hours ahead, it's sort of Family Day is really Sept 9-10ish.

Dear Reed,

I wanted to take some time to note that 2 years ago today, you came into our arms. We have loved, loved, loved being your parents and everyday we are so thankful that God chose us to be your Mommy and Daddy. I know that people probably get tired of me telling them how cool, great, and smart you are. Each day you make us laugh and you make us smile. Sometimes, you make us frustrated, but that's okay, that's just part of being parents! Reed, your smile makes each day better. When people see your sweet, spiky hair, they always smile and comment on how cute you are. You brighten the lives of everyone who knows you and people are constantly wanting to see you. You say the funniest things and you have the sweetest spirit. I hope that you know how much of an impact you have had on our lives and we hope that we are able to be half as great to you as you are to us! Reed, we love you! You are such an important person to us and everyday that we get to be your parents is a blessing. You are a miracle. You were handpicked by God. Your life is a testimony of God's great plan and goodness. You will never understand how precious you are to us! Thank you for letting us be your parents. Thank you for the impact that you have made on our lives. Each day I look forward to the lessons you will teach us! I hope you always know how much we love you!

love, daddy

Beach Vacation Day 6 - Last Day on the Beach :(

Today was our last day on the beach and we didn't get any beach photos! How sad!



We did head back to the Original Oyster House for supper. It was really yummy!



After supper, we headed to "The Wharf" in Orange Beach. It was really cool. We met up with the Meadors' Family. Shannon was our children's minister at our church before they moved to OB.



We rode in a huge Ferris Wheel. It was fun. Reed loved it.



Then we walked on the Pier and saw a lot of Yachts for sale. Do you know how much Yachts are? We saw on that was 2.9 million dollars! No offense, but I can think of a lot better things to spend a mint on!



Pop pushed Reed in the stroller. It is amazing how much he has grown since his first ride in that stroller. Lola and Pop bought that stroller when we were in Taiwan picking up Reed.



Here we are with the Meadors in front of the Ferris Wheel.



It was great to see them!



Reed and Jacob used to play together in the Nursery, but Reed is a lot younger than Jacob. It's just that when your Mom is the children's minister, you have to be at church alot, so sometimes he had to hang out in the nursery!

Beach Vacation Day 5

Pop and Lola rented a beach chair and umbrella for the week.



The weather was beautiful this morning and Reed needed his "sungwasses."



Aunt Ava watched Uncle Brookie in the water.



I'm not sure, but I would imagine that Lola is trying to cater to one of Reed's MANY requests!



Have we mentioned that Reed loves the beach?



Can you tell who gets all of the attention when we are at the beach?



Uncle Brookie helped Reed "catch water."



Reed put the contents of his net in the "big ole" hole.



Reed caught water all by himself.



"Hey Reed, where is your foot?"



"I want to catch fish."



Today there were schools of fish swimming all around us and jumping out of the water. It was pretty neat.



Reed snuck away from the paparazzi.



Aunt Ava was sad because I wasn't in the picture. Actually, I was trying to figure out the timer on our camera.



From our balcony.



Don't squint, Uncle Brookie!



Cheese!



Aunt Ava wants to be on America's Next Top Model.



Last picture before Aunt Ava and Uncle Brookie headed back to the 'Sip.



Love you Ava.



The building where our condo is.



"I not seepy."



Reed has a favorite animal. It started a couple of months ago when Enna took him to the museum and he saw "Opopuses." Well, there is a souvenir shop here called "The Purple Octopus" and Reed says, "Purple Opopus" nearly 3000 times a day.



We finally took Reed to actually get close to the opopus today.



He loved it!



We bought him a purple opopus t-shirt and a plastic purple opopus.



When we were leaving, he said, "I see purple opopus amara (tomorrow)."





Oh the joys of toddlerhood.



Reed went inside the purple opopus and immediately went to this statue and began shouting loudly, "Dat Mama! Dat Mama!" It was pretty funny. He was very impressed by her belly button.



While Reed and I napped, a storm started brewing. Pop went to rescue our stuff.



It was a pretty fierce storm.



Reed slept with his new purple opopus.



We went crab hunting again tonight. Reed was very impressed. Again.



We made an impromptu stop at the pool.



Reed demonstrated his kicking ability.