It a Tucklebration!

On October 27, at 3:02 PM in Taitung, Taiwan a beautiful baby boy was born. He is amazing and he is ours! We are so excited that Jackson Tucker "Tuck" Kai Land will soon be joining our family.



He was born healthy and well! He is over 7 pounds and it 20 inches long. He is so amazing and he looks VERY VERY much like Will when he was newborn.

From Oct 27, 2011

Tonight we were blessed to have many friends come over for a celebration of Tuck's birth. Tuck is one really loved little boy.








I would love to keep posting, but I'm exhausted.

Please be praying:

1. Pray that the court process would move quickly.
2. Pray for Tuck's birth mom.
3. Pray that Tuck will be healthy and loved.
4. Pray for our Deana, Wuli, and Alexia, the nannies, and other staff in Taiwan who take amazing care of our babies. They are truly doing God's work and we are so thankful for them.



Currently we have a couple of fundraisers going.

The ornaments above are hand-made pottery designed by a coworker. As soon as we figure out the best shipping method, we'll let you know how to order.

Abbey's Weight Loss Journey

Abbey in December 2010 and Abbey in October 2012

I've really been wanting to post about how proud I am of Abbey and her weight loss, but one thing that I have learned about Abbey is that sometimes my idea of a good idea and her idea of a good idea are not always the same thing. So, this morning, I asked Abbey if it was okay if I posted about what all she has accomplished. She told me that she had actually just been thinking about that.

So, I guess we were in "one accord" on this thing, except for the fact that we've never owned a Honda. We have owned a camry, but I don't think it carries the same meaning.

Back in April or May, Abbey decided that it was time to do something about her weight. Actually, we both decided that it was time for us to do something about our weight. I was doing really good until vacation, Abbey has done really well the entire time.

Abbey in October 2006 just before Ava's Wedding/Abbey in September 2011 at Manya's Wedding

Abbey has struggled with weight her entire life and has tried several diets. While we were in seminary, Abbey decided to lose weight. She did a great job and lost lots of weight. Then we moved to Tennessee and several months later, we lost our first child to miscarriage. The depression and sorrow that followed lead Abbey to gain all of the weight back plus. Then there were years of infertility followed by long adoption waits.



Let me also share that I'm not one of those guys that tells my wife she needs to lose weight. In fact, I hate all talk about weight! I'm just not into the whole weight thing.

So, anyway, back in April Abbey began using "My Fitness Pal" on her iPhone to track her calories and c25k (Couch to 5 K) as an exercise regimen. For a while she had Manya's support for those morning runs, but then Manya went and got married on us.



Abbey has diligently counted calories and has been careful to only eat the allotted amount. Personally, I fall for all the gimmick diets, but Abbey has always insisted that the healthiest diet is a lifestyle change and not some pill or weight-loss shake.

Abbey has woken up every morning before I leave for work and gone running for months! After her initial 5K run, she decided that it was time to realize her dream of running a half-marathon. So, for the past couple of months she has been training for that.

Did I mention that I leave for work at 5:30 in the morning? Yeah, do the math, that means she wakes up at 4:30 and goes running!!!



This past Saturday morning, Abbey ran 11 miles in 2 hours! I cannot begin to tell you how proud or in awe of her that I am. She has definitely inspired me and the comments, emails, and facebook status updates from others have shown me that she's inspired many of you.

Abbey the day we got Reed in September 10, 2007/The day we got Nash and Will September 11, 2010/September 10, 2011

To date Abbey has lost 53.5 pounds and she looks incredible! I am so proud of her. If you are hoping that you will take her weightloss as an inspiration. She is definitely one to be proud of. A great wife, a great mom, a great role model. She's the best.

Honey Suckle Hill

Last week, Lola came to town to see the boys and help Abbey with some major projects: Nash big dentist appointment and a visit to honey suckle hill farm.



Nash has teeth like mine! The dentist said he will probably easily get cavities and have some issues. I've dealt with that all of my life. Sweet little Nash, he takes it all in stride.



Will had a great time at the farm. He is so busy!!!!



He tried convincing Lola that he was one of the big boys and that he could run and jump and climb like them. Only, he overdid it and he convinced that he could run and jump and climb better than the big boys! Especially that climb part.



The boys loved looking at the piggies.



Reed taught Nash how to milk a cow, while Will stayed back and offered a few pointers.



It was a beautiful day to go to the farm.



Guess which one is Will?



Do we have the cutest kids in the world or what?



The boys had fun on the hayride.



Nash loved his pumpkin.

Busy Little Boys

On Friday, the boys went to the Frey's home to play together. The boys always have fun when they play with one another. Mrs. Stacy planned a craft time for them.



Friday night, the boys hung out at church while Abbey worked at Parent's Night Out and I went to the Courageous movie. It's a great movie. You should go and see it.



It was a really, really late night. We were out really late and the boys were tired from having so much fun playing with their buddies.



Wesley LOVES Will!



Saturday morning we woke up way too early and drove to Chattanooga for our Tennessee Taiwanese Kiddo Reunion. It was so much fun!



Those kids were so cute!!! The little girl next to Will is named Lexie. She was in Taiwan while we were in Taiwan to get the boys. We held her and told her that her mom was coming to see her! We are not sure how it happened, but Will acted like he remembered her exactly! It was so funny and amazing!