Christmas Parade and Grinch Green

Today was our town's Christmas parade. I think that it is a little early for a Christmas parade, but for some reason, they do it every year on the Saturday before Thanksgiving.



Nash and Reed were thrilled with the parade. Now, don't go thinking that this was the be-all, end-all parade to top all parades. It was the usual, a few convertibles, 3 high school bands, a couple of hundred shriners, several church floats, and a couple of people that we're not exactly sure why they were in the parade. However, it was enough to get them excited.



Nash was completely amazed.



Nash fell asleep on the way home, so we decided to take advantage of the time and put up two Christmas trees. We decided that we wouldn't put up our 5 Christmas trees this year, because we're not sure how the boys will be around them. Our guess is that it won't be pretty.



The cross tree went up, because it is our favorite.



We got to have a deep conversation with Reed about crosses as we decorated the tree. He has some interesting questions about God's plan for salvation from sin. We asked him if he has every done anything bad, and he said that he had and so had Britton. We took that time to remind him that he is responsible for his actions, not anyone else's.



We also put up our bedroom tree. Sorry the picture above isn't good, but for some reason that is the only picture I took.



Tonight we went to Wal-Mart and got some stuff for the boys to make some ornaments. One of those things was green paint.



Abbey was on the phone in the living room. I went upstairs for 30 seconds or less, and when I came downstairs, this is what I found.



Green paint all over my little boys.



So let me introduce you to the kids Abbey and I have dubbed Double (Nash) and Trouble (Reed). Double Trouble is sweet as can be when they are apart, but together they can be disaster. They have a lot of fun reeking havoc, but between the baby powder and the paint, it leaves me wondering what's next.

It Once Was Lost ... But Now Is Found

Great news. Well, at least it's great news for us. Lola found our camera. Well, she found the most recent of the two lost cameras.



Here are some pictures that would have been on our blog last month when we lost the camera. It was on the cereal shelf in our pantry.



We have to get back on the picture taking ball. It seems that we have gotten really bad about taking pictures over the past week. We've also been uber busy, so that really could account for a lot of the issue.



Will has has a bit of a cold that he can't seem to shake. I'm sure that it is exacerbated by the constantly changing weather.



The other night we went to our normal Tuesday night outing to Chickfila and were happy to have Lori and Mary Catherine join us. They are fun company.

Will Giggles from Jeff Land on Vimeo.

Since you all have been so patient in waiting for new posts, I decided to give you several poor quality videos. We need to get an HD camera like the one we borrowed while we were in Taiwan.

The boys from Jeff Land on Vimeo.

I will try to be better at posting since we have found the camera.

The boys from Jeff Land on Vimeo.

TG (it's almost) F

I am not going to be biased here, I'm just going to be honest.



I am fairly positive that my sons are three of the most adorable kids in the whole wide world.



Notice, I didn't say "three of the most obedient," just adorable. They can even make disobeying look cute.



Of course, I'm really talking about the older boys in the disobedient area.



Will's just cute, and occasionally grumpy when he is hungry.



This week has been pretty crazy in the area of "long!"



Today, Reed went to the dentist. He didn't have any cavities.



He also apparently hates the dentist because Abbey said that he HOWLED the entire time.



Thankfully, Miss Madrian was here to keep Will and Nash so that Nash didn't have to be terrified of the dentist too.



I was excited that Reed and Abbey got to come and eat lunch with me.



Nash has had a great week, but tonight is really funny.



He went to sleep tonight just fine.



However, he woke up again a few minutes ago.



Abbey said, "He really shouldn't be awake. He didn't take a long nap." Nash looked at her, put his index finger to his lips and said, "Mama! Shhh!" too funny.



The other night, Reed and Nash used cleaning tools to make our deck messier than it has ever been.



They did a great job making it messy.



Will was totally amused by it all.



Nash is one of the most loving little boys I've ever known. His heart just overflows with love for those around him.





Will, Nash, and Reed are so sweet.



They all are such happy little guys.





We are so blessed.

Operation Christmas Child

The other night, the boys helped Abbey put together our Operation Christmas Child boxes for this year.



It was a little bit unique because Reed and Nash seemed to want to keep everything for themselves. I think this is a good lesson in giving for the boys.



The boys were both quite interested in the slinky.



And I think that they thought that the same person needed all 5.



The puzzles were also a big hit. The boys were probably most in desire of the Skittles that were put into each box.



Or at least into box number 3.



As you can tell, after the boxes were "assembled" Abbey had to massage them a little bit!

All About Nash

Just look at it, doesn't it melt your heart? Nash's smile is one of the most beautiful sites I think I've ever beheld. He has beautiful white teeth, a create arch on his lips, but most of all, it's the dimples!



Nash is a loving little boy! He's amazing. He is very smart and is learning a LOT from his big brother. Some of those things, we probably could do without Reed teaching. Nonetheless, it's good that they have each other, because they REALLY love each other ... A LOT.



If Nash isn't around, Reed is usually looking for him and vice versa. They are quite funny to watch play. Of course, they have tiffs, but they are brothers and I expect that they will have tiffs for pretty much the next 18 years minimum.



Nash has adjusted so well to being in our family. I think that he has certainly developed a lot of comfort with being secure in our home. When we first brought him home, he cried out a lot in the night as if he was having nightmares. He hardly ever does that anymore.



He values his sleep, unlike Reed who could care less about sleep. Nash finds it nearly impossible to stay awake in the car if Reed isn't in there with him. He is also the only one of our three who will take a good nap.



He has GREAT manners. He is really good at saying "pease", "tank oo" and "skuse pease." My favorite thing that he says, however, is "lub you." It will melt your heart.



He calls us all by name:

"Mama!"

"Ree!"

"Weeuh!"

and I get to be two names. Sometimes, I am "Baba!" and sometimes I am "Daddy!"

Reed thinks it's really funny when Nash calls me "Baba" so Reed then also calls me "Baba."



He loves playing outside and playing with the trucks and trains. That reminds me, probably his most clear words to say are "Monster Trucks." See the influence that Reed has had on him?



He loves Reed and Will so much. He always gives them hugs and kisses. He tries to comfort them when they are upset. He gets really anxious to give Will his paci when Will is crying.



He takes his cues from his big brother. Reed loves having a partner in crime.



We are so blessed.