Why is his mouth crooked?

crook·ed   
–adjective
1.not straight; bending; curved: a crooked path.
2.askew; awry: The picture on the wall seems to be crooked.
3.deformed: a man with a crooked back.
4.not straightforward; dishonest.
5.bent and often raised or moved to one side, as a finger or neck.
6.(of a coin) polygonal: a crooked sixpence.

This is the question I was faced with as I held Reed in my lap for children's church on Sunday. He's still not comfortable in church without mama but he is doing great with preschool. He asks in the mornings if he is going to "Ms Nikki's". The first couple weeks were very hard and we cut him back to 3 days a week, but he seems to enjoy going now.
So- how would you answer this question? I feel like I let him down because it caught me off guard (always does) and I simply said "he had surgery" and I FELT EMBARRASSED. Why? Why in the world would I feel this way, and why was I not expecting that kind of question?

Bath time fun!

 

Happy Birthday little man!

Hard to believe you're already 3. I love you more than words can say.

Family Day

One year ago today, God placed the most precious little boy in our lives and made a forever family.
We are sitting in a hotel room this morning and it brings back vivid memories of being in China just like it was yesterday. One year ago today we watched our son walk through our hotel room door and our lives changed forever. He was a brave little guy and showed no emotion. Tim and I sat in the floor and were in awe at such an amazing little man, he was young in years but seemed old and wise in so many ways. He was very watchful of all things and wanted to imitate everything. He quickly learned to stack the cups and throw the ball to Baba. When the nannies left there was nothing on his face. No sadness, no fear, no love- nothing.
Who ever would have thought that one sweet little boy would enter our lives and teach us so much about life and love. God is so good, He knows our every fear, catches our every tear and sees our every smile. He had plans for our family long before we knew.
Today Reed is still that same inquisitive little boy, but he is also full of love, laughter, playfulness and resilience. Such a small little soul has touched so many people and I can't wait to see what the future holds. We love you so much Reed and we want to raise you to love Jesus and to always be thankful for our blessings we promise to always be there for you, to love you, to hold you when you cry, to laugh with you, to be silly with you, to show you new things, to learn with you and to always be YOUR FAMILY/

CNY Celebration

Last Saturday night we celebrated Chinese New Year with our favorite kiddos. Take a look at all the good-looking kids! It was so great to see everyone again and it makes me realize how much Reed misses being around other kids. He had a blast and it felt great to see him having so much fun.

Last one

Today we had our last meeting with the social worker for our 1 year post placement report. I can't even begin to put into words the emotions that were running through my mind as we talked about the last year and all the changes Reed has gone through.
It's so hard to believe it has almost been a year. It is true when everyone says your bond and love will grow stronger as time goes by. A year ago I never imagined that I could love this little guy and more than I did, but I DO. I love you to the moon William Reed Hammond- you are my sunshine and you make my life shine!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Isn't this the sweetest Valentine you've ever seen??

How about this one??

Oh how I love my boy!!!

Hope your day is filled with Love, Hugs and Kisses!!


Help blog experts---how do I edit my template so it doesn't cut off the pictures??

Where has the time gone???

I find myself being really emotional lately and I know it's because our family day (aka gotcha day) anniversary and Reed's 3rd birthday are right around the corner. I feel like I missed the first 2 years of his life and now I'm missing so much more by working full time. My baby is growing up and I don't want to miss a single moment.
Reed had a check-up visit with the cleft team last week and everything looks good. We go back in 6 months. This Friday he is having his ear tubes replaced. He has really done well with them and they have been in for 10 months before we had any problems. He has had some drainage and they are blocked so it's time to for replacements.
I'm thinking about going out of town to celebrate our family day, just the three of us spending time together. I'm sure our families want to share Reed's birthday with him so I'm not sure what we will do yet. The days are going by so fast it's hard to believe it's almost been a year since we were blessed with the most precious baby boy in the entire world. :) God is good.