Reflections of 2011

Last night I drifted off to sleep while thinking about the end of last December. Last year I was anxiously counting down the days until January 1st so we could get the EP's (exit permit from Korea) rolling so Ella could come home.

I dreamed last night that I got an email saying we had an expedited EP and we were ready to leave. Ella was home with us in the dream which means it was for a different child. Needless to say I woke up with an anxiety attack. Whew! I can't imagine adding another family memeber. I can't keep up with the 4 (including Nat) that I have! You should have seen Nat's face when I told him about the dream. Lets just say he looked a little pale.

There are a lot more families this year in those same shoes. I pray for them because I know what the stress can do to you. I am still having dreams about it. CRAZY!

But the wait was so worth it! This New Year's Eve will be spent with this most precious baby girl!

This year has been one crazy emotional roller coaster ride with the tornado at my parents,  Ella coming home, and the loss of Nat's dad.  Nat's grandmother has also taken a turn for the worse. I am hoping 2012 will go a little more uneventful. I am learning that uneventful is a really good thing.

Even with the ups and downs there has been a lot to be thankful for. Of coarse Ella was the true highlight for our whole family. Thank all of you for walking with us through the adoption journey. Mostly thanks for your prayers and support. Ella keeps amazing us more everyday. God truly blessed us beyond measure!

I will never forget the phone call from my brother telling me about the tornado. SO SCARY! Thankful that God protected my parents and gave them friends and neighbors to help with the clean up. It took four months!

Another big praise is Nat's cousins Robbie and Emily. They are brother and sister and Robbie needed a kidney transplant. Emily was a perfect match and she gave him one of her kidneys. Such a blessing!!! It amazes me more every time I think about it.

 I also cannot forget our wonderful friends who have supported us through all the ups and downs this year. We are so blessed with amazing friendships here in BG. I don't know what I would do without them. I cannot imagine living anywhere else.

I am sure you have noticed that I have given my blog a little facelift. I decided it was time for a change. I originally started this blog so family and friends could follow our adoption journey.

I have debated over and over again about making this blog private. It is kinda creepy not knowing who drops in to read. After much deliberation I have decided to keep plugging along. I know how much I have enjoyed reading others blogs and my hopes would be that our story might be an encouragement to someone else. Also, it is such a great way to keep the memories flowing for my kiddos. I hope they appreciate it one day. It can be quite time consuming.

So now it is a blog about our little family doing life together.

"We might not have it all together.....But together we have it all."

So cheers from us to you and your families for a wonderful 2012! My wish is that God blesses all of you beyond belief.

Christmas at Aunt Nancy's

Get togethers at the Huston's = good food! Nathaniel said Nancy and Tim are the best cooks he knows. They truly enjoy entertaining. 

The kitchen is always the favorite spot!

We really missed seeing Nat's Cousins Blaise and Emily this year. They had to head back home before we were back in town.

With these two kiddos both being the third child they have not spent as much time together as Katy and I would have liked. They are just 6 months apart. 

These two have been together so much they are like brothers. 

Wrestling! Isn't that what boys do best!

Get him Robbie!

These are four of the most precious little girls that I know! They really enjoy each other too!

We always enjoy visiting with Robbie and Selina. We wish they lived closer.

Selina is so fun and her laugh is contagious. 

How about this precious face with that dimple! Eat him up!

Boys seriously cannot keep there hands off each other!

Christmas Night with The Reed Clan

Christmas is hard on two little boys! 

We drove to my parents for our third Christmas of the day.

Nana stockings are the BEST! We start with the youngest and work our way up. 

So Ella is 1st!

Logan had a list of everyones age in order. Mr. Organized took charge!

Ella got her first panties and the funny thing was she knew what to do with them.

I think Nathaniel could have just got some black Under Armour socks and he would have been happy.

Hence, he is dressed from head to toe Under Armour!

Ella has Logan wrapped around her finger!

Ella helped me open my stocking.

Nana got a big kick out of watching us put on our hats! Love my Sister in law! 

Gotta love Nat's facial expressions! He got his own manicure set because he is always taking mine. 

Now I can take his!

Logan wanted to try on his dads new underwear. Can you tell Nana loves her grandkids!

Ella has been needing her own suitcase. We put a little hint into Nana for this one. Yay!

Pop got all the boys remote control Corvettes. 

Ella loved her ballerina puzzle. She would pick her tutu for the puzzle and she would twirl around like she was dancing. LOVE IT!

Pop and Nana always give the kids money. This year he folded it special and he made shirts and boots out of it. Too fun! Maybe he should work on  a cruise ship.

Ella is pretty fond of Pop these days!

Yes, the Reed Christmas is a little chaotic with all six kids running around like wild indians. 

We spent the night and were there less than 24 hours and then we packed up. Pop was more than willing to help us carry everything out as quickly as possible! We cannot live with each other and we cannot live without each other. Isn't that how family works?

We are so BLESSED!

Christmas With Nat's Family

To me Christmas is about Jesus, family, and giving.

This Christmas is bittersweet. There has been dreaded anticipation this year since Nat's dad is spending Christmas in heaven.  This was also the first year for Mimi to miss Christmas morning with us too. She is spending Christmas in the nursing home.

I have certainly thought of everyone who have lost loved ones this year. It is never the same. 

"When someone you love becomes a memory the memory becomes a treasure"

These are two of my favorite beautiful. girls. I said earlier that my niece, Leah, rocks! 

Nolan is still strutting his stuff in these boots. 

I wish I would have gotten more pictures but I videoed a lot instead. 

All five of the kids love their Mommy Doris!

Christmas Morning

I gave the boys a rule that they could not get up until seven the next morning. At 6:55am I hear little feet and whispers coming down the stairs. I know I had the biggest smile listening to them. They quickly ran to our room to get us up. They were beside themselves with excitement.

The kids get three gifts because Jesus received three gifts from the Wisemen. They get one from Santa                        and two from us. Here are their Santa gifts!

I bet there were not many 8 year olds that asked for chest waders for duck hunting. I cannot count how many times he put these on that day.

The only thing Nolan asked for this year was "Rock and roll drums."

If you are coming to visit us anytime soon you may want to bring some ear plugs! He asked for these last year too so Santa had to make them this year.

Ella loves her kitchen! The picture with the apron is my favorite!!!!! 

Our first Christmas with Ella has been AMAZING!

She had some dress up shoes in her stocking!

Nathaniel also got a new Bible and Bible cover. He has been asking for a "Real" Bible this year instead of a kiddy one. He has also been asking for black tennis shoes and socks because that is the "cool" thing to wear these days. I guess I am getting old because I still think the other tennis shoes with white socks look better. I cannot count how many times he hugged me and thanked me.

Nathaniel said, "We hit the jackpot!"

Like I said earlier Nolan only asked for drums so he was more of a challenge to buy for. We were in Walmart one day and he spotted this float plane and he yelled with excitement, " That is a plane like Grandaddy flew on in Alaska!" There was only one so while he was looking at something else I hid it behind some other toys and came back for it. Thank goodness it was still there!

Grandaddy is very missed this year. 

Nolan also got a Rip Rider Razor trike but for some reason I missed a picture of it. I think I was videoing. 

Nolan said, "His dream came true!"

I was so excited to find the asian Cabbage Patch Big sister little sister dolls. 

Ella is all about some Dora these days. She was singing us a tune!

Nat is so hard to surprise. But I got him this year! I had a quilt made from all his fraternity and college tshirts that had been sitting in the attic for years. He liked it a lot!

Nat got me this cute little hat and a sweater. I had given him some good hints. 

All the presents are great and all but I have to say I got all I wanted and that was Ella's adoption finalized. 

One of my favorite things about Christmas is sharing Jesus with the kids. To hear your one year old say Jesus for the first time is just AWESOME!

Merry Christmas!