Just What Have We Been Doing This Week?

Tuesday, we did our normal Chickfila. It was great as usual. There weren't any kids in the playland which meant Reed would actually go in there. The only way that he will normally go in there when there are kids there is if Britton is there.



Reed had fun though.



After we left, Reed and Abbey went over to Britton's house for a little while because I had my monthly Board meeting for the HOA. Most of the board members didn't show up, so we didn't actually meet.



We stayed over at the Batson's for a little while until the bugs started eating me and we came home. Has anyone else noticed that bugs are really biting big time this year?



We came home and watched Biggest Loser and got a few things ready for our adoption paperwork. We are hoping to send everything to the agency tomorrow.



Today, Abbey and Reed woke up and went to a local strawberry patch. I think they had a good time picking strawberries. If they didn't you wouldn't know it from the number of strawberries they picked!



I wonder how many Reed ate in the field? (PS - the pics in this post were taken with our point and shoot, not our nice camera. AND - Abbey didn't realize that the lens was blurry.)



They picked 3 pounds of strawberries. Now, why in the world would a family of 3 (temporarily) need 3 pounds of strawberries. Leave it to Miss Homemaker Extraordinaire to have a great idea.



She made freezer jam and put up several quarts of strawberries for pretzel salad, strawberry cake, and strawberry cobbler.



Strawberries fresh out of the garden are so yummy. I finally had to quit eating them!



I love that Abbey does fun and unique things with Reed. They get to have so much fun together. I am sure that it will be really interesting when she is trying to manage 3 of them, however, we are thankful for the time that she was a nanny to 4 boys to get some great experience.



Really fresh strawberries don't have dies to make them look ripe like the stores do. Fresh strawberries from the garden are red naturally!



Tomorrow Abbey and I are going over to Bethany Christian Services to get a few papers signed and to pick up our notarized homestudy. We then have to get quite a few papers notarized and then we have to go to the county clerk to get the notary verified and then we have to go to the Secretary of State to have the county certified! Crazy!





Have I made your mouth water yet?

Blessed

We are so blessed.



When I think about all of the things that God has blessed us with, it completely amazes me. We have been so blessed with our son and now our sons it is just incredible.



Three years ago, when we started our adoption journey, we were a bit frustrated at first with our homestudy agency because they kept changing staff. But, then, we got the most amazing caseworker who completed our homestudy in record time. Not only that, we were her very first homestudy.



Again, when we began this process, we got our wonderful caseworker back and she was once again, so completely on the ball. Completing our homestudy incredibly fast.



Last week, our new agency sent our caseworker the homestudy edits that were needed in order to meet their requirements, we were a little bit anxious because our homestudy agency was forced out of the office until Friday due to the Nashville floods.



But, of course, as soon as Lisa (the caseworker) got back in the office, she called and was working on the update.



And today, she sent the update back to our agency. We are so blessed to have someone like her working on our adoption. This seemingly random event of us being placed with Lisa, has turned out to be just another one of God's insurmountable blessings.

She's the best!

Stupendous Saturday

Today was Britton's Third Birthday party! It was a ball, literally.



Reed's favorite people were there like Tate Tate Roller Skate, Lake, Cooper, and of course, Britton.



Reed loved the fact that the party was full of bats and balls!



The boys hit the balls and played with bubbles.



On the adoption front, we've been working hard to get everything done. We have completed the education requirements. Our caseworker has been out of the office this week here in Nashville because of the flood. Thankfully, she was back in the office on Friday, so she's already been knocking out the stuff that we need to get done.



Abbey worked on our transition plans today and completed them. We've got TONS of papers to get notarized this week. They have to be notarized, county verified, and state certified. A bit overkill in my opinion, but then again, who asked for my opinion.



Reed continues to grow in his excitement. He has stopped calling the room formerly known as "Lucy's room" and has started calling it "Will's room."



He has been finding things to send to Nash and mentions him quite often.



Tomorrow is Mother's Day, so we know that in Taiwan there are two birthmothers who have changed our lives forever.



Their willingness to let us parent their children has allowed Abbey to realize one her greatest callings—being a mom. She's the most amazing mom. I am continually amazed at what she is able to accomplish.



We are going to eat lunch tomorrow at home and then we are going to eat at Famous Dave's for supper tomorrow night to celebrate Abbey!





I told Abbey that we could do whatever she wanted to do tomorrow. She really hasn't asked for much, just supper at FD. That's perfectly fine with me, because I love that place.



We are really excited about this coming week.



Because next Saturday, we're going to the beach with Uncle Bill. Everyone should have an Uncle Bill!



(Jodi and Adele are both expecting little girl's. Will is going to have a lot of little girlfriend's to choose from.)

We are going to the same condos that we stayed in last year with Uncle Bill. We loved the place because it is not really busy and it has 5 pools and there is hardly anyone on the beach there and because all we do is eat, sleep, rest, and lounge. Totally a vacation.





I love that kid! Even when he refuses to take a nap (like he did today!).




This post has been a bit random, I know. Sorry for all of the jumping around!

Will You Pray?

We are working through our paperwork, and things are going really well so far. We have a few prayer requests.



1. Pray that our case will be heard by the courts in a quick manner.



2. Pray that Nash will adjust well to living in the orphanage. I think that he is going to a foster home soon. Pray that God will give him a easy-transitioning heart.



3. Pray that Reed will be able to make the transition easily. We had an amazing experience with Reed, and we firmly believe that it was because of so many people praying. We need the prayers doubly this time.



4. Pray for our financial wisdom.



5. Pray for our strength as we work through the process. Pray for our understanding as there are so many papers that need to be notarized, certified, and then verified.



6. Pray that the floodwaters will recede. The floods have prevented our homestudy agency from being open and therefore our caseworker has no idea that there are papers that there are adjustments that need to be made to our homestudy. Thankfully, we have been able to get the list of adjustments and have a sheet prepared for her.



(these little toys are some goodies that Reed picked out for Nash.)

7. Pray for our agency and our workers. It is the most organized and best communicating agency we have ever been in contact with. We still love our old agency for all that they did for Reed, but this agency is amazing in terms of communication.



8. Pray for Will. Pray that he will grow, love, and attach to the people who are caring for him.



9. Pray for Nash and Will's medical records check. We have an appointment with our pediatrician on Monday.

Thanks for your prayers. We firmly believe in the strong hand of God and His ability to make seemingly insurmountable tasks just tiny little blips on the radar. We thank Him and give glory to Him for our family.