Poppy's Almost 60!

 I so remember thinking that 60 was old! As I've gotten a little older, I've realize more and more just how young 60 is. Especially, now that my daddy is turning 60 in a couple of weeks. His birthday is the day before Reed's.

 When Poppy was here last week, we decided to celebrate his birthday early with a strawberry cake. My Mimi (dad's mom) used to make strawberry cakes. Daddy always said that if Mimi made a "pretty" cake, DON'T eat it. But, if it falls apart, eat it up! Abbey's cake was delicious and pretty, but when she cut into it, it started resembling Mimi's cake.

 I love my dad so much and I am thankful for his 60th year on earth!

 Yesterday, while the boys napped. Abbey and Reed tried a new "crock pot" cake recipe.

 We enjoyed it last night after eating some sloppy joes.

 Reed did the photography and I think that he did really well.

 The recipe was a chocolate pudding cake. It was really good and very rich.

Unfortunately, we forgot the final product picture. It was really good though, but we all decided it would have been good with some vanilla bean ice cream.

North Carolina

We went to North Carolina in early January. It was for VBS events that I was teaching at. I love when Abbey and the boys get to go along with me. The boys loved the mountains. Reed, Nash, and Will are great travelers. Nash and Reed play so well together. Unfortunately, while we were there, Reed came down with strep throat. It scared us to death. He complained of headaches and was nauseated. He was so listless and we were terrified. Thankfully, our friend Lauren, who lives in North Carolina told us where to go. We went to the clinic and they diagnosed Reed quickly. It was a great experience. Nash and Will were real troupers while we took care of the big boy. Thankfully we had Uncle Bill and Miss Candace there to help.

Meeting Jack Everett

I got a comment one time on the blog from a girl in Mississippi who REALLY wanted to adopt from Taiwan. She told me that she and her husband would love a baby from Taiwan, but all of the agencies were closing their programs or they were on hold. Back in May, Abbey and I started working with a friend in Taiwan to help facilitate adoptions. The first baby was a girl, who is named Amber Joy. The second baby was Jack Everett! I remembered my friends on facebook Sherra (the girl from the blog) and her husband David. I asked them if they wanted a baby boy from Taiwan and of course, they said "yes." We got to meet him over Christmas break. What adorable little boys! Sweet Nash!

First Football Game

We took the boys to their first football game on December 30. It was the Music City bowl between Mississippi State and Wake Forest.


Uncle Bobby is a huge MSU fan, so he and Aunt Aly came up for the game.




The boys had a great time.





And the bulldogs won!
The food was yummy. Well, let's just say, it was food. Not yummy. Uncle Bill came and shared in the excitement. He's not a MSU fan, but he is a little Land boy fan. Several of my aunts and uncles were at the game. This is my Uncle Robert. And my Aunt Liz and cousins. We had a good time.

Chinese New Year

Today we had our Chinese New Year local celebration with families who have adopted from Taiwan. We had Reed, Nash, Will, Amber Joy, Jack Everett, Asher, Samuel, Sammy, Morgan, LeAnna, Cheng Yo, Ehren, Harrison, and Yu Hsuan. At the last minute, two of our friends couldn't make it, but this was a great gathering of kiddos! Amber Joy will always be a special part of our family. We have a great tie to her. Will and Ehren were born about two weeks from each other and lived together at Morning Light Home. Poor Will has been sick this week. He has an ear infection. Nash loves a kitchen! Amber Joy's dad, Justin, is holding Asher. Asher is another little one we have a great bond with. We got together at the Discovery Center in Murfreesboro. It is awesome! I so wish we had a place like that closer to us. I helped the boys change a muffler. Asher's brother and sister have proven to be Reed and Nash's good friends! Our group! What a handsome crowd.