Fun at Pop and Lola's House

Last week I had to go to North Carolina so Abbey and the boys headed to Pop and Lola's house. The boys were thrilled to get to spend time with Pop and Lola.




Pop and Lola have lots of room for the boys to run and explore. Reed likes throwing balls with Pop.




They got to go to the zoo in Memphis. Memphis has a really nice zoo and the boys loved getting to see all of that animals.







Nash appointed himself to be the navigator. He had a lot of fun reading the map. He is very serious.




The boys got to ride on the carousel which is always one of their highlights of the zoo.




Abbey was looking especially beautiful in the natural light. I'm not sure who was the photographer but I think that whoever did it, did a great job.








Lola got the boys some super cute jack-o-lantern t-shirts. The boys look really good in orange.






Will believes that safety comes first so he was glad to put on his helmet. He was also super cute putting on his helmet.








At the end of the week, Aunt Ava and Baby Brooks drove up from Jackson to see everybody. The boys love their aunt Ava.




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Soccer

Reed is a soccer player for sure. This past Saturday, it was cold so Reed was wearing his hat that Mrs. Abbey (aka Tamara) gave him to wear.





I love watching Reed play soccer. He is so fast and athletic. He is really good.




Coach Cody is so good with Reed. He takes time to explain things to Reed and I am proud of how well Reed listens to him.




And then we have Nash. He is our silly soccer player. I mentioned in the last post that Nash recently got his first goal. I was so proud.




Nash's signature move in soccer is to fall down. Once he falls he sits for the remainder of the play.





Another hilarious (and a little smart) thing that Nash does is waits for the ball to come to him. And when we he sees the ball coming to him he moves into action. He will really go over to the ball and try to get it.




Will refuses to go the soccer field without wearing a soccer jersey. It is so funny. He loves "coccer."





Super Tuck was super cold, but Uncle Bill was great at keeping him warm.





Coach Todd always makes sure the players know where their goal is.


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Sweet little boys

Reed is growing up so quickly. He loves Kindergarten. He has an amazing kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Sarah. He loves her so much and is learning a lot.

Reed also loves kindergarten Sunday School. He loves Mrs. Debbie and Mrs. Julie. In fact, he wakes up many days asking if it is a Mrs. Debbie and Mrs. Julie day?

He also loves Children's choir. He has already learned most of his Christmas musical songs. Of course, I think that he deserves a solo.




Reed is also an amazing soccer player. He does so well. He hasn't gotten a goal yet this year, but this is the first time that they have played with a goalie.




Nash is doing so well in preschool this year. He is really great. He is playing soccer as well. He is more of a ham, but last Saturday he got his first goal. I'm not going to lie, I cried.

He is just such a funny kid. He says funny things and does funny things.

I love him so much. He is smart, and he loves to play video games. He loves iPhones and iPads.





Nash is a womanizer and has all the ladies in his life wrapped around his fingers. It helps that he has the most adorable dimples.




And then there is Will. OK this picture isn't really fair, so I'll post another one, but is he not the cutest thing?





Will is our child of drama. He can turn the tears on at the drop of a hat and then he can be smiling and laughing. He has the best manners and he always says "tank you."

He is our first child who has become a "blankie" kid. Now, I'm not talking a small silky, the child has decided that an ikea duvet and comforter is his blankie and he loves that thing.

He is into everything ... EVERYTHING.





But is there anything cuter?




Tuck is growing up too quickly. I can't believe that in just a few weeks, he is going to be 1 year old. He is the most amazing little boy. He smiles and is so loving. He really loves his mama and daddy. Of course, we don't mind that at all.

He is crawling a lot and has decided that he will not use a bottle much anymore. He absolutely only eats table food and only when he feeds himself. And he must be getting an entire mouth load of teeth in the same week because he is really drooly.




We are so blessed.

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Happy 2nd Family Day: Will

 

(Family Day: September 11, 2010)

Sweet Will was one of our great surprises for our 2nd adoption, because our 2nd adoption became our 2nd and 3rd adoptions. Will was born on Abbey's 30th birthday. He has always been a charmer and has always been adventurous. He fell out of his baby bed at 8 months old!

 (1st Family Day: September 11, 2011)

Will has stolen the heart of nearly every person he has every met. He has an infectious smile and a huge personality. He is definitely our strongest-WILLed child, although none of our children seem to struggle in that area of their lives. He knows what he wants and he knows how he wants it. He loves his "mama" and he says her name about 400 times everyday. 

(2nd Family Day: September 11, 2012)

Will, you are so much fun to parent. You keep me on my toes and you make me laugh. I love your cuddles and I love your ability to turn a stressful situation into a funny one. You have a bright beautiful smile and I hope that you always keep it.

You love your brothers. You want to be as big as Reed and you want to take care of Tuck. You love to do things by yourself and let us know by saying "I do!" whenever there is a task that you want to accomplish on your own.

I'm so thankful that God chose me to be your Daddy. I love coming home because you are so excited to see me. I hope you never lose your loving personality. I love you.

Happy 2nd Family Day: Nash

 

(Family Day: September 11, 2010)

 

I can hardly believe that two years ago today we were hugging our son Nash for the first time. He came to us as a complete surprise. We were sort of waiting on a baby girl, and all of a sudden we were getting two more sweet boys. Thank goodness that God's plan is better than ours. I wouldn't change a thing. Looking back, it is hard for us to remember that we didn't have Nash from the time he was a baby. He fits into our lives so perfectly. He was so timid and scared that first day that we met him.

(1st Family Day: September 11, 2011)

 

One year later, Nash was perfectly assimilated into our family. He knew who we were and we knew him. He was our son and we were his family. Nash is a brilliant child. He picked up the language quick, potty trained himself, and constantly amazed us with his ability to try new things. He has one of the most beautiful smiles ever.

(2nd Family Day: September 11, 2012)

My loving Nash. I cannot help but think about how our lives would be different if roadblocks had not come into our adoption. At one point we thought that we would not be able to adopt from Taiwan again and then God opened such great doors that led us to you. You are one special boy. You are my son.

You are so silly. I love how you always want to make people laugh. There is a joy in your heart that is contagious. Your dimples light up the room.

Nash, every day I pray that God will use your life as a testimony of His greatness. I pray that you will always have the loving and caring spirit that you have shown us for the past two years. I am so thankful that you are my little boy.

Our Fifth Family Day with Reed

(Family Day: September 10, 2007)

 I'll never forget the day. We had waited so long to become parents. We arrived in Taipei earlier in the week and did some sightseeing all the while thinking that we were finally in the same country as our son. Abbey and I walked up the small alleyway with my in-laws close behind. We came to a door where there was a lady waiting, we walked through the door and in the stroller before us was the most amazing, wonderful, beautiful, breath-taking sight we had ever seen. Our son, Reed. We were already in love with his photos, but the ability to finally hold this treasure in which God had entrusted us, was completely amazing.

(1st Family Day: September 10, 2008)

The first year of parenthood was completely amazing. We absolutely loved taking Reed everywhere and showing him to anyone that would look. He was truly the most amazing little boy we had ever known. Our hearts were totally full of love for him.

(2nd Family Day: September 10, 2009)

As Reed grew, so did his personality. He was a little shy in the early years, but when he loved somebody you knew it. He and his best friend Britton were always together and still top each other's lists today. Reed's smile and round cheeks were breathtaking. 

(3rd Family Day: September 10, 2010)

We spent Reed's third family day in the airport and finished it in Taiwan. We were traveling to get our two newest loves, Nash and Will. Reed was a trooper on the airplane, but had some crazy jet-lag. By this year, Reed's chubby baby cheeks had given way to big boy face. Reed grew taller and we fell more in love with him.

(4th Family Day: September 10, 2011)

Reed's fourth family day was spent at Manya's wedding. By now, Reed was certainly a big boy and had the looks to prove it. Reed proved to be athletic, musical, and quite the comedian.

(5th Family Day: September 10, 2012)

Reed is in Kindergarten. How did time fly by so quickly? He is loving, stubborn, sweet, funny, inquisitive, and genuine. He makes sure that he takes care of his three little brothers and knows exactly when to tell us he loves us.

My Amazing Reed, words escape me as I try to type what you mean to us. You are kind, you are smart, you are loving. You have brought so much love into our home. You have filled out hearts with joy. 

You are a special boy, who was chosen specifically by God to be our son. I thank God for EVERY trial, every painful diagnosis, every moment of time wondering would we ever become parents. For if we had not had tht struggle, we would not have you. You are completely worth every tear.

As you travel through life, I hope you always remember that nothing you can ever do will take away our love for you.We love you. You are our son. Thank you for being you.

Demolition Derby

We have lived in Tennessee for almost 8 full years and we have yet to go to our local County Fair. We are not really big fair people, but we decided that it was time to take the boys this year.





Uncle Bill and Ms. Candace decided that they wanted to join us in the fun. On the way to the gate Reed recognized a little girl from his class. That turned out to be a great encounter because they gave us to free passes to get in the fair. Who knew that the cost for admission was $10? That's crazy.





To get the full experience, we decided to go for some fair food. The boys had corn dogs. Abbey, Candace, and Bill had barbeque. And I had the worst chicken on a stick ever. We split a side of fried pickles. Then we went for funnel cakes and fried cookie dough.




Will was overwhelmed by all of the greasy goodness.




People ask us all the time who is our most curious child. I would definitely say that would be Will. He is into everything, but he is always so cute while doing it.





Our biggest motivation for going to the fair was to fulfill something that I've always dreamed of attending. A demolition derby. I knew the boys would love it and I've seen them on TV thinking they would be so cool.




The boys patiently waited for the derby to begin.




We saw lots of people that we knew. It was a good reminder that we live in a great community.




The derby was lots of fun. The boys really liked it and talked a ton about it.



We got lots of mud slung at us, but we definitely made a memory. We will definitely be back.

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