Uncle Bill's Beach House 2013- Day 3

Unfortunately, it is still cool and Windy here at the Beach. In fact it is record lows here in Fort Morgan. However, tomorrow things are supposed to be looking up. Especially the temperature.




The cooler temperatures didn't keep us off the beach, but we did decide to go into Foley for our traditional lunches at Lamberts. It was yummy. I also had to go to the doctor today where I was diagnosed with pink eye. I'll be wearing my ugly glasses for much of the week.




Will was very proud of himself for catching his first roll.




He, of course, dominated his "MaMa" throughout the meal. That boy loves his mama.




Sweet Nash loves his Uncle Bill.




Silly Reed wanted to ride in the motorized car. He was determined that we would have $.50 so he could ride multiple times.




After lunch, the boys loved playing on the wooden train.








After we got back home, we went to the beach for a couple of hours.




So, here we are tonight hoping that the weather is warmer tomorrow. It's still been a fun relaxing time. Tonight we spent some time dreaming about owning our own condo!

Location:Ponce de Leon Ct,Gulf Shores,United States

Uncle Bill's Beach House 2013 - Day 2

The boys woke up rip roaring and ready to hit the beach. They love the sand and they are finally getting old enough that they can play in the "backsand" by themselves. We can leave the door open on the porch and hear them.




Uncle Bill bought the boys some sunglasses and Reed is definitely into wearing them. Ms. Candace is amazed at how many times the boys have changed swim trunks. We always like to rent a house with washer and dryer.




Will is very much into the beach. He really likes everything about it. It is still windy and cool but not unbearable. Later in the week it is supposed to be warmer.




Will decided that it was time to fly a kite ... Or three. That caused a bird's nest of an issue, so Uncle Bill declared that only one kite would be flown at a time. Since Ms. Candace had to untangle the nest, she was happy about the new rule.







Will sort of dances as he holds his kite.




Tuck finally found some love for the sand. It was definitely a gradual thing and not love at first sight.




Will is showing love to Ms. Candace. She spoils him.




Reed is growing up so much. I have a special post planned for when we do our pictures this year at the beach where you can see how much he has grown up.




Abbey fixed a wonderful Taco meal for us since it was Cinco de Mayo.




She also made yummy fried ice cream.

Location:Ponce de Leon Ct,Gulf Shores,United States

We started our beach trip this year, the way we always do. We first headed to Greenville, Alabama for an overnight stay at the Hampton Inn. After we left the hotel, we headed straight to Foley, AL where we ate our traditional Japanese meal at Ichiban.




The boys were very ready to get to the beach. They couldn't wait to get the sand between their toes. But, they were amazing travelers. Even little Tuck did great.




Tuck enjoyed the mushroom soup. It was really good.




This is our 5th trip to Uncle Bill's beach house. As I have explained before, it's really in perception, as Uncle Bill unfortunately does not own his own beach house, but we like to call it his house, so the boys don't incorrectly assume that we own one.




Unfortunately, it was really cool when we got here. That meant the adults were not quite ready to hit the water, but that didn't stop the boys. The couldn't help themselves.




This is our second year in this beach house. We have stayed in condos, a townhouse, and this beach house. We love the condo for the pools, but the convenience of the house is amazing. We literally are right on the beach.




Will thinks the sand is amazing. He really loves it.




We had sloppy joes for our first meal in the house this year.

Location:Uncle Bill's Beach House 2013 - Day 1

Party Like an Animal (Zoo Party for 4!)

Since Reed's birthday is in February, Nash's is in March, and Will's is n February it made great sense for us to do a combined birthday party. Tuck's birthday party is October so it was his half-birthday party.




Abbey planned a fantastic zoo party at the Nashville zoo. She scoured the Internet for super cute cupcake ideas so we had five animals represented.




The Nashville zoo has an incredible play area and the weather was beautiful Saturday evening for the party. It was a wonderful time and we were so happy that about 100 of our friends came out to help us celebrate.




My parents and Abbey's parents and sister came into town for the big party. On Saturday, my dad and I grilled 160 hot dogs. Abbey and Michelle worked hard on Friday decorating cupcakes.




Mr. Dan the fantastic face-painter came out for some animal printed paintings.




The party was not nearly as stressful as our other parties have been. Even though Abbey is always a great planner, her parties are usually stressful because of all the decorations. This one didn't have any decorations and I was so thankful.




Nash was thrilled to have some of his favorite buddies there with him.




Reed was also excited to have some of his buddies at his party.




Will was, of course, his typical funny self.




Christopher always makes me laugh with his funny faces.




In the end we sang happy birthday to each boy individually and I think that everyone had a blast. It was our favorite birthday party yet!

One Year Tuckerversary

It has been one year since we brought Tuck home from Taiwan. I can't believe that the time has moved so quickly. It seems like only last week in so many ways. In other ways, it can feel like years have passed

We were totally not expecting to have anymore children. Abbey says that she always wanted to have four, but I couldn't imagine adding another child to our already energetic brood of three.

God knew that we needed Tuck though and we tried to be obedient to
His will to bring Tuck into our lives. We cannot imagine our lives without him. He is so sweet and so cute and so not like his brothers.

Tuck definitely has a voice. He is so loud sometimes that you wouldn't believe that he is 16 months old. Unlike his other brothers, when he sleeps he really sleeps. He has been our first sleep-through-the-nighter. Well, that is when he sleeps. When he decides to have his midnight rendezvous he can stay awake for hours. That will drive you nuts!

He loves to give kisses and say "bye bye". He says "daddy" a lot but I think that he uses it interchangeably for me and Abbey. It does my heart good though.

Tuck has brought a unique light to our house that only he could bring. We love him so much and are so thankful that he is a part of our family.

Sweet Nash is 5!

It's hard to believe that our little Nash is 5 years old. I remember the day that we got our referral for him and how excited we were that God had surprised us with a toddler and a baby. I loved Nashy's sweet eyes. Sunday after church, Abbey and I took Nash out to eat to the place of his choice. Demos' Restaurant because it had spaghetti. Again, a boy after my own heart.




The waiter brought Nash a piece of cake with a candle. Nash loved all of the attention. He was very much into getting one on one attention.




We also had to go to Target so that Nash could pick out his birthday presents. He had a lot of fun going down the toy aisles, but his concept of money isn't quite refined yet. We stopped for yogurt and then had to head back home. It was a great day getting to hang out with our favorite five year old.




That first day that we met him I think that we were all scared to death. Sweet Nash only knew Chinese and we didn't know any. He was timid and reluctant to come to us at first. I remember that he had a little black car and that provided our first inroad as father and son.




Those first few months were tough as Nash learned to love and trust us. He and Reed were immediately brothers though. They still are best friends (most of the time) and love each other so much. By the time Nash turned 3, six months after we came home with him, he was fully assimilated into the LandLife. He knew English and loved his family.




Nash's fourth birthday came just before we left last year to go get Tuck. Wow! Our lives have changed, but definitely for the better. I can't imagine life without Nash. He is kind and compassionate. He is so thoughtful and loving. And he still has the cutest dimples in the world.




And now our Nash is five. His fifth birthday was special to Abbey and me because we got him on the day he turned 2.5 years old. I've never actually discussed this with other adoptive parents, but I've always kept up with when we had our kids longer than anyone else had. So, when Reed was 13 months old, it meant he had been ours the longer than he was in Taiwan. Same thing when Will and Tuck turned 9 months old. But for Nash, it has taken 2.5 years for us to be able to say he has been ours the longest!

Although he has been fully ours since the day we first knew he existed, it's special to know that we now had him longer than he was in
Taiwan! We love that boy and thank God for him.