Family Day Celebration!

Last week for Family Day celebrations, we took the boys to Dave and Busters. Will loves to bowl. Well, at least he talks about bowling constantly.

The boys all enjoy throwing bowling balls really hard at wooden floors. We had a lot of fun.

The boys were excited that Mr. Brian and Uncle Bill joined us on our Family Day Celebrations. It was a special treat for them for sure. 

For dinner we went to Chuy's. The boys love Chuy's. We like taking them to Chuy's because it is loud and we are a loud family. 

Uncle Bill still has pictures on his phone from when we went to get the boys four years ago. They were very impressed to see how much they had grown since then.

After we bowled we went to the game part of Dave and Busters. It was 1/2 price games night. I bought $25 worth of credits and I was beginning to think that we would never use them up. Then Will played a game an hit the jackpot and won 500 tickets. Then I went over to another machine and hit several jackpots and won 2500 tickets. Then we hit several more big ticket wins and by the time we finally ran out of the credits we had 7700 tickets.

The boys each got to have enough tickets to get pretty decent prizes. I think that it was actually one of the best Family Day celebrations we have had. So much fun.

Will-A-Versary - 4 Years

Four years ago today, we were blessed doubly. Not only did we get our sweet Nash, but also our baby Will. Will was definitely the chunky monkey that we expected. Every picture of this little guy showed us the sweetest little round cheeks and legs. He definitely was well-fed and cared for by his Nanny. He was only 4.5 months old, but it seemed like we had waited forever to hold him.

Will and Abbey had an instant connection since they share a birthday and that connection has continued to grow for the past four years. You have never met a boy who loves his mama more than Will loves his mama. Thankfully though, Will has a HUGE heart and there is plenty of love for everyone-- and I do mean everyone. Will loves people. He loves his parents, his brothers, his grandparents, his Uncle Bill, his teachers, his church leaders, his friends, his toys, the insects, the garbage collector, the cashier at Wal-Mart, the police men, he loves everyone.

Will keeps the world laughing with his silly antics and phrases. He loves a good bag and a hat. He will do almost anything for a laugh and gets excited about the smallest of details.

 Dear Will,

I am so proud to be your Daddy. I love the way that you love life. I love the fact that you wear Rainboots on a sunny day and gloves on the hottest of days. I love that you change clothes 15 times a day and never once worry about the fact that they may not match or even be the right size. I love how you can play for hours putting together legos. I love that you give people hugs and you make them happy. Will, you are a larger than life personality and you bring lots of laughter into our home. Will you are so loved. We are are so glad that God chose us to be your parents. I love you, Will-Will!

Love, Daddy

Nash-A-Versary - 4 Years

Four years ago today, Abbey and I woke up in Taipei. We kissed our sweet little Reed goodbye and left him with Lola and Uncle Bill. We promised to bring him back some brothers. We took a taxi to the domestic airport and boarded a plane that took us to Taitung. After dropping our items off at the hotel we headed to the baby home where we met our sweet Nash for the first time. He had just woken from his nap and was told that he was about to go and meet his "mama and daddy". I am sure that he must have been as scared as we were. 

After a few minutes, Nash warmed up to us and allowed us to play some games with him. He was so small yet, so grown-up acting. He was such a smart boy. After a few hours, he was comfortable with us  and knew that he was once again experiencing a life change. In his 2.5 year life, he had lived through lots of little changes. I wished there was some way that we could have assured him that we were his mama and daddy -- forever. 

Flash-foward four years and Nash is a thriving, happy, precious, caring, loving, charming, adorable six year old. He fiercely loves his brothers. He loves to help his mom, and joke around with me (his daddy). He is a gymnast, a climber, and still has the most adorable dimples you've ever seen. He is home. He has stability. He is loved--dearly, loved.

 Dear Nash,

I am so proud to be your Daddy. I love the way you jokingly wipe my kisses off, but I know that you save just a little bit of them so that you can remember me. I love the way that you help your Mama and how you even thank God for times that you get to help her when you pray. I love the way you take care of Will and Tuck and the way you look up to Reed. I love that you smile. I love your smile. Your beautiful teeth and your dimples. You brighten a room when you enter it. I love your artistic nature and your attention to detail. Nash, you are dearly loved. We love you so much and we are so thankful that God let us be your parents. You make us happy. I love you, Fish.

Love, Daddy

Reed-A-Versary - 7 Years

 This guy. I remember parts of the trip vividly and some of them seem like distant memories. I remember the nerves. How would we be as parents? Were we really ready for this? How would he react to us? Are we really do this? I remember those thoughts racing through my head, but didn't fear them because I knew one thing for sure. The boy in the picture that I had held onto for so long of that little boy in Taiwan had my heart. I loved him. I love him so much.

 

All of the waiting. All of the tears. All of the paperwork. It all just melted when they put him in our arms. Our joy overflowed from our hearts and out our eyes. It was one of the greatest moments of my life. We became parents. Abbey was a "mama" and I was a "daddy." It was surreal and real at the same time.

 Flash forward seven years and it's hard to remember a time when Reed wasn't a part of our life. How is it possible that this kid isn't of our own flesh? He's so much like both of us. He loves us dearly and our love for him is incomprehensible. He is our son. He has been from the beginning.

 Dear Reed,

You make me so proud to be your dad. Your witty sense of humor and your adult sounding phrases make me laugh daily. Your fierce loyalty to your brothers and the gentle (and sometimes not so gentle) ways of letting them know you love them make me proud. You are a great big brother and brothers look up to you. You are fast. You hurry at everything ready to make it to the next thing. I understand. I'm the same way. Slow down, my son. Slow down. You are growing up too quickly and I want to hold you longer. I want you to still call me "Daddy" and not "Dad". I want you to sit in my lap and beam with excitement when I come home from work. Being your dad is one of my greatest joys. I love you, buddy.

Love, Dad(dy)

An Evening Of Culture

PHOTO CREDIT: Megan Comeaux

This is unusual post here on LandLife, because the pictures are of only me. 

I recently revived my role as Delbert Fink, pig farmer and handyman, in the FBC Joelton's rendition of "An Evening of Culture" for our dinner theater.

I played this role about 8 years ago in our first rendition of this performance. It was a lot of fun to do some acting again.

One of my character's trademarks was my gross misuse of duct tape.

And super bad timing.

It was a lot of fun. The cast was great. Several of the cast members were the same members that were in the play last time, but we added some new ones as well.

It was a lot of work and I think the week of the performance nearly wore Abbey out, because I was gone every night.

In the end we all had a good laugh!

Our Life On Instagram: Late May thru Father's Day

Nash was excited to see his BFF Luke at Will's preschool graduation. Sweet boys.

The boys have a lot of fun in our new living room. Somehow, we thought they would spend more time in the basement, but that doesn't seem to be the case. We are thankful they want to be near us.

Connor got to come spend the night which the boys loved. They love Connor.

Reed is growing up too quickly. He is so smart.

Our first breakfast on the new porch. We love our new screened in porch. It is perfect for the Spring and the Fall.

Nash and Reed got to "star" in a VBS video this year. Look for them in the recreation training video.

For the first time in 10 years, we live REALLY close to the Davidsons. It is great that they are so convenient now.

Will now lives in the SAME neighborhood as one of his good buddies, Sawyer. Will and Sawyer were born on the exact same day.

I loved my Father's Day gift this year. A new stepping stone with the boys handprints. Notice the snowman. The boys were really into Frozen when this was created.

We don't have a pool, but that didn't stop the boys from trying to make their own pool.

Our Moving Announcement

A sweet friend and talented designer made us our awesome moving announcements that we mailed out. Of course I covered up all of our personal information before putting this out on the World Wide Web.

Our Life on Instagram April 2014-Beach

Will enjoyed Sawyer's Birthday Party back in April. It was a lot of fun and he really liked his sno-cone.

Then it was time for us to move to our new house. It took two UHAULs and multiple trips and many great friends.

The boys love our new backyard and spend lots of time back there. They have had a blast playing.

I mentioned before that the boys were really thrilled with the beach this year because of all of the starfish.

Tuck seemed to enjoy the beach more this year than before. That is great because it helped us all enjoy the beach more.

We went to the usuals: Lamberts, DeSotos, and tried our Lulu's this year.

The water was cold so the boys loved the hot pools.

We went down to the beach first thing one morning. The boys had a blast.

Will is not cautious at all. He goes right for the water.

Nash enjoyed the Japanese soup!