Hello All! We are all doing much, much better today. I have been so sick since we had Vacation Bible School at our church. I am actually sleeping without coughing as of last night. I am glad to back to almost full strength. Illness is so different when you are pregnant. It feels to me as if the body has so much going on that it takes a long time to heal.

I have posted some fun pictures of assorted family times I wanted to share. First, I attached pictures of Kelly, Grace and I at the ultrasound last week. Grace as the oldest had the opportunity to go with Mommy and Daddy to see her baby sister live and on T.V. She loved it! She was naming Hope's bones as the ultrasound tech. was measuring them. I don't know why but she has quite a grasp of anatomy for a 5 1/2 year old : ) On the way into the ultrasound room she asked quite loudly in from of the Ultrasound tech. "Mommy are you going to push the baby out?" We laughed and I said " No, not today Gracie." She responded with "oh, bummer." So next is the pregnancy is 40 weeks physiology lesson.

The next photos are of the kids at one of our favorite places, the McDonalds Play Place. They are such a sweet trio and they play so well together at the play place. What a cute looking trio.

These are some pictures of us walking out to one of our local lighthouses. The kids had fun as the waves were splashing up on the pier rocks. Daddy actually got quite wet from a big splash. I love walking out by the water as it is always a way to reconnect with the awesome power of God for me. Today was no different. I am truly in awe of the creator of Lake Michigan. His works are truly wonderful and magnificent.

On Saturday we went to a place about 15 miles south of us to pick blueberries. Blueberries grow very well in this area of Michigan as the soil is quite sandy and acidic. So man y people get out to pick their own berries. We had a great time! The kids ate many more then they picked. Luke actually ended up with an empty bucket which was strange as I saw him picking the berries. I mad a pie last night with our blueberries. YUMMY!

I hope to post a pregnancy picture soon, so you can track my increasing girth. God Bless you all! Love, Crystal

Hello all! That is what little girl's are made of right? We are excited to announce we are having a little baby girl!!!! Today we had our 20 week ultrasound and we got to see the baby, so fun!! The ultrasound was even 3D and that is the first pregnancy we have had that available. In the picture you can see her head, face and arm up by her face and forehead. Also on her stomach and chest is her umbilical cord. To the right side of her arm looks like a big lump or pillow. That is the placenta. For those of you who like statistics, here is a little fact for you. The chances of having three girls in a row( biologically, of course) are 1 in 8. But that is from the beginning. Each individual pregnancy is is still 50/50. Kelly's brother Kirk and his wife Suzi have four boys that are all biological. So their odds from the beginning were 1 in 16. So out of 8 families only one would have three daughters in a row. That one is us : ) I can't wait to watch chick flicks, drink tea and shop with my girls. Don't worry about Luke, we are certain God wants us to adopt again. I think I am quite excited now for Luke to have a brother from Liberia. That will be a cool bond for them. So God has worked in his way. Let me introduce you to our third daughter, HOPE. Her middle name is still being debated between Mommy and Daddy. Our hope is in Christ and we thank him for Hope is being Fearfully and Wonderfully made!!! God Bless you all and Please pray for HOPE : ) Love, Crystal

Hello All! Well we are back home after a fun filled time in Traverse City. We had a great time!! We swam all the time, picked cherries from the trees and watched a great fireworks display over The West Bay in T.C. We all throughly enjoyed our trip, but now we are back in the hustle of summer life. This week started vacation bible school at our church. I am teaching Kindergarten. I was a good morning, but I feel like we never stopped : )

The first photo is of our all American kids on the fourth of July. We loved the fireworks! Although, Faith slept through much of it on Mommy's lap.

We had some of the most fun picking cherries at a Cherry farm on Old Mission Penninsula. the National Cherry Festival started on Saturday the 7th of July. We couldn't think of a more appropiate cherry activity. Fresh cherries sure do taste good! Luke is learning about the pits, some he does swallow. Don't worry they all come out in the end.

We hope you all enjoyed the holiday as well!! I am now even more excited now to dream about owning a cherry farm one day. Who knows, we will wait and see what God has in store for the Bridens : ) Love, Crystal