Blessed.

I will get to the point of the blog (yes, there is going to be one) in a minute. First, a little guessing game. Guess who this is.



Any guesses?



Plaid and a vest?



I know what you are thinking ...



Okay, if you guessed Uncle Bill, you are WRONG! It's Reed, of course.



I bought this outfit at the consignment sale a few weeks ago and Reed worked with the cuteness of the outfit to make it ultra cute.



Today is Palm Sunday. It was on Palm Sunday that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey with people praising him yelling, "Hosanna" and waving Palm Branches. A few years ago, we began having a series of "hard-to-praise" events.



On the Saturday night before Palm Sunday, 3 years ago, Abbey and I suffered our first miscarriage.



It was the next Palm Sunday, 2 years ago, that we suffered our second miscarriage.



While it was hard, Abbey and I had to make sure that we were still praising Jesus, despite how hard it was during that time.



Last year, during the week prior to Palm Sunday, we received the referral of Yang Kai Cheng, now Drake Reed Kai Land! My what a difference a couple of years make!



This morning, we all (including Mr. Happy Reed) had to be at church at 7:40 because the choir was presenting the Easter Musical in both services. Reed started playing at soon as we got to the nursery which was a blessing.



The title of our Easter Musical was "How Great Is Our God." Some of you may remember that the song by the same title is what we dubbed as our theme song for our adoption of Reed and the blessings that God has given us in Reed.



The musical was AWESOME! It was quite emotional, but I was able to hold it together for the most part. As we were singing the finale during the second service, I realized how amazing it was that Palm Sunday has taken such a deep change in our lives over the past few years.



Of course, we were also singing "How Great is Our God" at this time. I began to get a little teary eyed, because I was so in awe of the blessings that God gives us inspite of ourselves.



This evening, I was laying on the floor and asked Reed to give me a kiss. Here is an example of how Reed gives kisses. Mouth wide open and LOTS of slobber!



Reed rediscovered ABC Tad tonight and he was excited.



This is one happy kid! He has the sweetest laugh and smile.



We got to meet a new couple at church today. They are newlyweds and are visiting our church. They came to eat lunch with us at Catfish House. We were glad to see some new young people in church.



Reed thought we were hilarious tonight!

We leave you tonight with this thought, WE ARE SO BLESSED!

Saturday Fun!

"Mommy, it's Saturday! I'm weady to pway!"


"Fust, I want to pway with my twactor!"



"Uh, mommy did you notice that somebody is missing?"



"Maybe he is in here. I can't find him Mommy!"



"You did notice that Daddy was missing! He's coming home tonight?"



"I fink I'm going to stand wight here and wait for Daddy!"

____________

Here's an interruption from Daddy. Of course, Reed only stood at the window for 5 seconds to watch for my arrival. Soon, Mommy had to go to work so Miss Jennifer came over.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled pictures.

____________



"Miss Jennifer, are you twying to twick me into eating my peas?"



"I don't fink I wike these."



"Miss Jennifer, I'm frew with my peas."



"I pwomise."

______________

I think Reed had a fun Saturday even though it was rainy. I just got home from a quick trip to Virginia to teach a conference. Of course, I had to come in and hold Reed for a little while. He was supremely sweet and I missed my family dearly while I was gone.

The trip to Virginia was really great, but quick. The most interesting thing happened when I had gotten my baggage and was headed out to wait on the parking company to come and pick me up to take me to my car. I noticed a short, balding guy standing with his baggage by me. He looked exactly like Scott Hamilton. I called my MIL and asked her what his last name was because I couldn't remember. Then, he went in the little waiting area to check on his family and a lady walked up with her bag. I asked her if she thought it was Scott. She said, "I'm so glad you said that because I was thinking the same thing." We couldn't figure out why he was in Nashville. Finally the car arrived and everyone started loading in. I finally had to ask and I said, "Are you Scott Hamilton?" He said, "Sure am. Nice to meet you!" He was very attentive to his children and wife and seemed really nice.

I called Uncle Bill on the way home, and he said that he had read that Scott and his wife were looking for a place to raise their family and settled on Nashville.

Rainy Day Activities

Reed and I woke up to a rainy day with no plans until late afternoon. What better to do than hang out in our pajamas in a tunnel?



When I asked Reed what he thought about the zoo yesterday, he had a lot to say. He's very passionate in his discussions on life. It often causes him to close his eyes during an especially informative conversation.



I promise I could take a hundred pictures of him just sleeping. He wears the sweetest expressions of complete peace.


Reed has several books from Target that have pull out pieces. He enjoys pulling them out a little too far, then carrying the pieces around. I'm not sure why, but he really wanted me to take it from him.



Reed also used this rainy day to practice his walking. His bloggy buddy Kobi gave him some great Weeboks that are really helping him to gain some ground. Lately, circles are his favorite way of using his newly found freedom.



Reed was really excited when he saw Ms. Candace pull up in the driveway. Okay, so I lied. He was actually asleep with Ms. Candace showed up to spend the night with us. If it helps any, he was looking out the window quite a bit around the time I expected her to arrive. Unfortunately, he was more focused on the boys across the street who were playing basketball. Tonight, after experiencing the frustration of living in a town that can't support enough restaurants without a long wait on busy nights, we headed to Cracker Barrel for dinner, where we still had to wait for a table. Reed was a trooper with the wait and enjoyed a good bit of biscuit, pancake, and pretty much anything I'd let him put in his mouth. I'm waiting to see him grow a foot or two overnight. He's definitely downing a major amount of food! It still amazes me that at this point a year ago, we had no idea our son even existed. We are so blessed!

Reed's First Visit to the Zoo!

Reed got to go to the zoo today for the first time. Reed's best friend Britton even got to come and go to the zoo. Reed definitely had a favorite animal.



The not-so-cute and definitely not cuddly Meer Kats. I am not sure if I spelled that right. I am guessing not since the spell check is saying not so much!



His not so favorite animal would be this MEAN camel! The camel came over to see Reed, but Reed did not like that at all!



Reed did touch the goat.

And ... well, apparently in two hours at the zoo, that's all you can see, or at least all that we have pictures of. When Reed and I go to the zoo, we're going to see the GIRAFFES!



Reed came home and literally HAD A BALL!



Notice, the drooling factory has moved back into Reed's mouth. We're pretty sure he is getting another tooth.



Reed was moving so fast, that every picture is blurred!



This boy is definitely on the move.



Sorry the above picture is blurry, but is this not the cutest little guy? He is so funny the way he sits in "big boy" positions.

Grass Stains!

Reed woke up this morning with a serious case of bedhead. It was pretty wild, but the odd thing is, I have seen some people in concerts that pay BIG money for this exact same HAIRSTYLE!



Today was beautiful, so Abbey took Reed to the park and the greenway. Reed enjoyed the walk.



But he was really interested in the wheels on the stroller. That's right buddy, just like the bus, the wheels go round and round!



Reed thought that the water was pretty cool as well.



Reed ate a bit of Cheerios during his walk. It was a refreshing snack.



Daddy was jealous that Mommy and Reed got to go on a walk today, so we all went on a stroll in the wagon that Nana and Putty gave Reed when we very first found out about him. When we came home from our trip to tell our parents about our referral, it was in front of our garage door with a sign that said, "Reed's First Ride!"



The sun was bright! The weather was amazing. Tomorrow, Reed and Britton are going to go to the zoo.



The last time that we tried to let Reed go down the slide, he HATED it! It was probably because he was sick, but he didn't like it a bit!



This time he thought that the slide was a blast!



"Mommy, that was the funnest thing ever!"



Then, Reed wanted to get down and Mommy began to cringe. Each step he took, she cringed a little more. I had to remind Mommy that Reed was a little boy and grass stains would be in her future. She claims that it was just because she wanted him to wear that outfit to church tonight, but it was really bothering her that he was getting stains on his pants.



I assured her that "Spray and Wash" would come in handy and to just enjoy the moment!

And now, because you all have been behaving very well, here's a video of the sliding.