Since We've Been Home

 Well, we've been home since last Thursday, and boy have things changed. We have been having a ton of fun as a family of six. Nash absolutely loves Tuck. Loves him.

 Will is adjusting well to Tuck. Probably a little better than I thought that he would. He does sympathy cry and there are some obvious signs of "I need attention."

 Friday all of the grandparents were here. They enjoyed being with the boys for sure.

 Friday was such a beautiful afternoon that we did some rearranging in the backyard. It was lots of fun to get stuff rearranged.

 We moved the playset down to the other end of the yard and then moved the trampoline further over to the back of our backyard. I don't know if I have ever mentioned that our backyard is the smallest part of our yard. We have a very large front and side yard. Our backyard is SMALL! So when you put a deck, a trampoline, and playset in the backyard, it is smaller!

 Reedy has done really well with the addition of Tuck. Much better than when we added Will and Nash! He still doesn't have as much interest in Tuck as Nash does. He is a good biggest brother though!

 Nash really loves this guy!

 Lola is still here helping us with the adjustment. It is great to have an extra set of hands around as we figure out how to parent four preschoolers.

 Tuck seems to be teething because he is chewing on anything that he has get his hands on.

 Tuck is so sweet. We are still trying to get his formula adjusted. He is waking up for a bottle in the night, but sleeping fairly well. He has already been to his first photo shoot. He will be in the winter Babies - Twos leader kit for LifeWay.

 Nash is one of the most amazing big brothers. He loves Tuck. Yesterday I was holding Tuck and Nash got into my lap, looked at Tuck, and said "You're precious."

 Nash also had a photoshoot yesterday. He is going to be on the cover of the pre-K Sunday School curriculum. I think the photographer eventually got a non-posed smile.

 Reed is supremely smart and is very athletic. He has loved this weather so that he can practice baseball. While we were in Taiwan, Nash and Reed started soccer practice. I can't wait to go to their next practice.

And then there is Will! Our cute little humorist! He keeps us all on our toes. Last night we were in the kitchen and heard sort of a double thud. I went to the stairwell and saw Will halfway down laying horizontally across the step. He looked at me and said "Hep me! Hep me!" I picked him up and he said "Thank you!" I said and told him that I realized that we know he can talk, he just doesn't!

Tuck's Homecoming!

 Thursday morning in Taiwan, AKA Wednesday afternoon in America, we headed to the airport.

 We got to the airport and loaded the plane to head to Tokyo. This was a flight on a 777 which was a very nice plane. Too bad this flight was only 4 hours instead of the long flight which was on a 747-400 which was a ratty old plane!

 Tuck was a trooper and we sat next to an extremely understanding man who let us get up a thousand times and never complained. Tuck slept most of the flight except for a few times when he really wanted to stand up.

 Our layover in Detroit was 3 hours, but we were glad because we thought we needed it to get through immigration. Immigration and customs was a breeze, and because we landed early, we were at our gate three hours early!

 Tuck and I took a quick nap and then we were ready to come home. Abbey spent the time by taking a picture of me and Tuck taking our nap and posting it on FB!

 Uncle Bill had to catch a flight to Phoenix so he was already at the airport and met us at the gate. He was excited to see Tuck.

 We were so excited to see our boys. It was like I missing half of my heart for the past week. I loved the time that Abbey and I had with Tuck, but we certainly missed our boys like crazy!

 This was the second time I had ugly cry on the trip. The first time was when I left the boys and this time was when we got home to the boys! Reed kept saying "Daddy, you are silly. Why are you crying?"

 Nash was a little bit more cautious with welcoming us home. Of course, he is not one who loves big crowds and lots of attention, so that could have played a part in it. Reed and Nash both have asked several times if this "is the real Tuck."

 So many friends and family were there to greet us at the airport. We appreciate each and every one of them. It is such a blessing to be loved by so many.

 Nash immediately stepped in as big brother to Tuck. This did not surprise us at all. He has been very worried that Tuck needs his bottle and he was the first of his brothers to hold Tuck.

 We took turns letting everyone hold Tuck at the airport.

 Ms. Cheryl was glad to see Tuck. She is my friend and office neighbor, so she gets daily update of LandLife happenings.

 Our first family photo of six (wait, I mean seven, Caleb was so sweet. He wanted to be right there with his buddies.). We love Caleb so much, we were happy to have him in our pictures.

 Reed was all over me. Of course, I loved every minute of it!

 Amber Joy and Tuck are together again. They were buds back in Taitung.

 Our children's pastor came to welcome Tuck home! So sweet.

 Uncle Bill and Reed doing "their" smile. No one else is allowed to do "their" smile.

 Love this one!

We came home and the boys "passionately discussed" who would get to fee Tuck first. Poppy had made a ham dinner. Pop and Lola came over and held Tuck while we played with the boys. Enna got here from work. I gave Nash and Will a bath. I fell asleep putting Will to bed. Nash and Reed came and woke me up and told me it was time to come to bed. Then I woke up about four. Will, Nash, and Reed slept in our bed. Enna and Poppy had Tuck duty. I think he slept good, but we will find out when they all wake up. I am about to go back to bed now!
Thank you all for your prayers. We are so happy as a family of six! We are so blessed and so thankful and even moreso in awe of God's graciousness that He would allow us the opportunity to parent four amazing little boys. I would have NEVER in a million, gazillion years ever told you that I would be dad to four of the more amazing sons God ever created, but I am forever grateful to Him for the opportunity.

Tuck's Last Day in Taiwan

 For Tuck's last day in Taiwan, we decided to head to Taipei 101. Well, first we went to IKEA because we can't stand being within a 10-mile radius of IKEA and not going. When we were almost done walking through it, we both began to wonder exactly why we felt the need to go and look at things that we couldn't fit into our luggage.

 At Taipei 101, I would a great potential for peopleofwalmart.com. This guy had on parachute pants that would have saved us all if we had fallen from 101.

 This is the damper baby, or as Reed calls him "little buddy."

 This is a beautiful coral sculpture that was on display. Coral is a gemstone that I am referring to—not coral reef.

 Abbey and I fell in love with coral on this trip. It has such a beautiful color, but we also found that it has a high price. I loved this necklace, but it stayed in Taiwan.

 I also loved this bracelet, but if you check our bags, you will not find it. IT is in Taiwan as well. We did finally find a coral bracelet that fit our pocket book, but I forgot to get a picture of it. Good thing you will get to see it on Abbey sometime. We also bought this piece of unfinished coral that had been carved into the shape of Taiwan. It became our family souvenir. I forgot to get a photo, so I'll have to put on on FB.

 Tuck slept most of the time while we were at 101, but he finally woke up.

One of our favorite photos of Taiwan with Reed is one of Abbey with Reed on this bench. See below.

I can't believe how much our Reedy has grown and how much my Abbey has shrunk!

 When Tuck finally woke up, it was time for a few photos with me. Tuck was not overly impressed with any of the photo taking while at the top of 101. I think it was because he heard me mention there was a Coldstone Creamery at the bottom of 101.

 Tuck is such a sweet little man. He is learning to get used to constant kisses from Daddy.

 I broke down and tried bubble tea while we were at the top of 101. I am not sure who the lady is that I am standing next to, but thought it might add interest to the photo. By the way, no one told me that the "bubbles" were chewy!

 When we got back to the hotel, Tuck was being uber cute, so Abbey made an impromptu photo session.

 Being uber cute, must be exhausting because Tuck literally fell asleep right in the middle of his photo session.

 A friend of mine in America, let a friend of hers in Taipei know we were in town. We got to have dinner with them at "The Diner". It was fantastic! It's a definite stop the next time we are in Taiwan.

 Our new friends have two adorable bio sons and one adorable Taiwanese son!

We were supposed to try to stay up so we could sleep on the plane. I held my end of the bargain until 2:00 AM. Some others did not!