Weekend Update

I was in Oklahoma this weekend, so Abbey and Reed had a great chance to spend some time together.



They made some yummy Rice Kripy Treats. It was a great time, but I really missed some good treats according to these pictures.

And ... I love Rice Krispy Treats.



The other thing is that they must have been 10 times better because they were made by my favorite little Asian chef!



I think that Reed enjoyed hanging out with his Mama!



When I got home from the airport today, Reed was snoozing.



It gave Abbey and me a chance to catch up and have a nice little uninterrupted conversation.



Next weekend, Reed and I have a chance for some Daddy and Reed time because Abbey is going to Florida to teach at a conference in Jacksonville. We have really been racking up the miles this month.



Click on the picture above to see a cute, uneventful video of Reed talking about his Rice Krispy Treats.



This is Reed this morning before church. I think Abbey must have been doting on how cute he was, because he is totally rolling his eyes.



Be sure to check out this last video:

Washington D.C.

Abbey and I spent the past weekend in the D.C. area. We were privileged to be asked to go to First Baptist Church Easton, MD to teach their children's workers and parents. It was a wonderful experience.



Since Abbey hates talking to strangers, we decided that we would self-portrait our trip around the National Mall. We must have walked at least 10 miles that day!

It was really nice weather. It was my first trip to D.C.



The Washington Monument is larger than I thought it would be.



This was our first trip to book solely on Hotwire.com and I must say I would do it again.



We got a great price on a rental car and an amazingly nice hotel room in "The Westin" for only $57.00 per night.



While we were in D.C./Maryland, Reed was at Pop's and Lola's. Sick. He had a nasty sinus infection and was running a fever and didn't feel good at all.



One night we skyped with him and he was so pitiful.



Saturday night, we ate dinner with the staff of the church and their families in Maryland. It was the most amazing crab cake dinner ever. Delicious!



Sunday morning, Abbey and I demonstration taught Sunday School and then we both taught a conference that morning. Sunday afternoon we both taught two conferences. It was a long day, but the people at the church was so kind and friendly. We loved them. They have an incredible Children's Minister who does an wonderful job and really works to meet the needs of the parents and children in her church.



Monday morning, we were blessed to speak at the MOPS group. We were able to share a little about our adoption experience.



It was a lot of fun to be able to spend some quality time with Abbey.

Late Post

I was supposed to post this the other night. I uploaded the pictures and then forgot or didn't have time to do the post.



Reed went to the zoo the other day with our little girls from Uganda and the Philippines. The girls have gone home now much to Reed's delight. He was a little (lot) jealous.



We are out of town this weekend, so Reed is staying at Pop and Lola's house.



Unfortunately, Reed doesn't feel well. It is hard to be so far away while he is sick. We have got to get him an appointment with an allergist when he comes home.



I think that Pop and Lola are enjoying a little more "cuddle" time this weekend than one normally gets from the Reedster.



Yesterday, we flew to DC for a training that Abbey and I are leading in Baltimore. We walked and walked and walked and walked and saw most of the monuments and memorials. Today we were going to go to the Holocaust museum, but the the Cherry Blossom Parade is downtown and the traffic will be atrocious. So, we decided to sleep: LATE!



Reed likes wearing other people's shoes. Anyones shoes.

Easter Cutie

Reed was looking really cute in his seersucker suit and purple polo this morning. He was actually even willing to smile for one picture.



The tulips that Uncle Bill planted last year are popping up and blooming. They are pretty.





I think he looks like a preacher in this picture.



Notice my freshly painted red door. I painted it red a couple of years ago, but it had faded from red to pinkish maroon and some kids egged it last October.



Tonight we had the most amazing group of kids at our church. They were from Uganda, Philippines, and Nepal. They were a part of the International Children's Choir with the World Help organization.



I generally support only Southern Baptist organizations, because I know that they are reputable and can be trusted, but I believe that this organization is doing a great work. I encourage you to check out their Web site and see how you can help.



Of course, I started tearing up during the first song and made to full out cry when the children were singing "Worthy Is the Lamb" and several of the children had their hands lifted in worship. It was beautiful!



Tonight, tomorrow, and tomorrow night two girls are spending the night with us. Unfortunately I cannot take pictures to put on the blog, but the girls are so sweet. One is from Uganda and one is from the Philippines. I would keep them both!



Tomorrow they are going to the zoo and then when I get off we are going to go to the Y to swim. The girls are really excited.



Our Easter picture. We all wore a little purple.



We forgot to get Reed's Easter basket ready for him to have this morning, so he didn't get it until after lunch. We didn't go really crazy with it, because Easter is so not about baskets and eggs and bunnies, but we did get him a few items from dollar spot at Target. Thankful for the Curious George selection!

Welcome Sunshine

The sunshiny weather has been amazing over the past several days. It's supposed to rain on Saturday and judging from how windy it is tonight, I am guessing that's pretty accurate.



Reed loves the beautiful weather and is almost constantly asking to go to "my backyard to play." I am so thankful that we have a fenced backyard because it makes me feel safer because Reed tends to get too close to the road for my comfort when we are in the front yard.




Reed loves to blow bubbles, but he also loves spilling his "bubble juice" and then doesn't understand why he can't blow them anymore.



He does a very good job though at controlling his breath in order to blow lots of bubbles.



He has definitely been a lot of fun to watch play outside this spring. He goes from one thing to the next. Right now our backyard is littered with balls, blocks, chalk, and so forth. He loves playing baseball and has learned to pitch pretty decently for me to hit the ball. I like playing this game because it helps to burn a little energy. He pitches, I hit it to the fence, he runs and gets it. The run to get it usually involves a flip along the way. He likes to combine a little tumbling routine with baseball. It's sort of Cirque meets MLB.



Notice the bubble juice marks all over his clothes!



Thursday he got to take his Easter basket to school for an egg hunt. He has several Easter baskets, but he wanted to take his monkey one. Notice his amazing hairstyle. This is what his "up" hair looks like in the morning. It's hard to get it to do anything without washing it, so pretty much the only day Reed has a decent style is on Sunday mornings because we wash it in the AM instead of the PM.



The other night the Batson's came over to eat supper with us and the boys had a great time playing on the swingset. Reed loves the two little "sandboxes" Lola made for him. She was actually just filling two holes in our backyard from Reed's old swing. Reed likes finding worms in the sand. Yesterday Reed found a worm and was sure that the worm wanted to kiss Abbey. She wouldn't let him, so the worm had to kiss me.



This one is really for the cute little Asian smile, than the Caucasian sinister smile.



Reed thinks slides are really opportunities to climb. Britton follows closely behind!



The boys enjoyed a picnic on the little picnic table on the swingset.

Thankful

First of all, I decided that tonight I would post about some of the things for which I am thankful. The pictures are from Reed helping me clean the bathroom. I came to realize tonight that Reed is probably going to be a manager, because most of the time he pointed to things that I needed to clean.



1. I am thankful for salvation and that every time I ask Him to forgive me, he does.
2. I am thankful for my wife and the fact that not only supports my calling but shares it.
3. I am thankful that God chose Reed to be a part of our family.



4. I am thankful that even though I would never choose for us to have suffered miscarriages, without them we would never have found Reed.
5. I am thankful for God's timing: 5 years ago this week we suffered our first miscarriage, 4 years ago this week we suffered our second miscarriage, and 3 years ago this week we got our first glimpse of Reed.
6. I am thankful for family. I love that they are always there for us.



7. I am thankful for our friends who are more like family. It's nice to know that even though our families are far away we have friends who love us like family.
8. I am thankful for my house, even though it might not be the most fancy one in the neighborhood, it feels like home to me!
9. I am thankful for laughter.



10. I am thankful for gmail chat. It's a lot of fun and very helpful.
11. I am thankful for Spring. I'm love seeing new life.
12. I am thankful for bedtime. It's always nice to get sleep.



13. I am thankful for Encores and More North Consignment Sale. It is the most amazing way for us to get Reed awesome clothes.
14. I am thankful for laundry. It means I have clothes.
15. I am thankful for my Jeep. It's 10 years old, has high miles, but I still love to drive it. Back in my less "financially smart" days, I would never have kept a car for so long.



16. I am thankful for my Sunday School class. I love those kids.
17. I am thankful for Facebook. It takes up too much of my time, but it is really cool to stay connected to people.
18. I am thankful for my team at work. They are awesome, creative, capable, confident, and totally dependable!
19. I am thankful for my job. I love it.
20. I am thankful for Dave Ramsey. He's helped change our lives.

We have SO much to be thankful for. I hope that you are thankful today.