Hello All! Tonight was another Briden family movie night : ) Tonight we watched Enchanted, it was cute. It had some adult themes for our six and under audience, but most of it went right over there heads. We have been checking all movies on Plugged In. It is very helpful when you are unsure of a movie's content. Some of our friends may say a movie was family friendly, but the kids may be much older than ours. Thank you to Uncle Rick and Aunt Kristin for the great gift of popcorn, gummy candy and a Blockbuster gift card. It all went to good use and we had a great family time.

I took Luke with me to Blockbuster to have Mommy and son bonding time. He was allowed to pick out one chocolate candy to share with his sisters. He picked out Whoppers. I told him Daddy's Granddad, Granddad Little, really loved Whoppers. So we got them in honor of Granddad Little. As we came home I told Luke, "tell Daddy that we got the Whoppers in honor of Granddad Little." he said " O.K., Mom" We made it in and he saw Daddy right away and shared with him "We got the Whoopers Daddy for Granddad Chicken Little." We all got a good laugh out of that : )

Next movie night is , Water Horse. Have good night!!!

Hello All! We are glad to be back home after traversing the state of Michigan to celebrate Easter with our family over on the "East side". We had fun swimming with cousins Matthew and Joshua, decorating Easter eggs with Grandma Nettie and Hunting for eggs outside with Grandpa B. There are times when I wish the drive was not so far to visit our family over on the "Sunrise side" of the state. But at the same time it makes the time we spend with them that much more special in many ways or at least more deliberate. We had a blessed Easter and we are so thankful for Jesus!! What an amazing gift God gave us in Jesus!! I hope your Easter was a blessed time to reflect on why we do celebrate Easter. Hint: it's not for the chocolate bunnies.

These are some random pictures of us this past weekend. The family picture is of us all after church on Sunday morning. Love, Crystal

Hello All! We had a fun afternoon today courtesy of Grandma and Granddad Briden. They had sent the kids gifts for Easter. They spent quite a bit of fun craft time decorating a large craft foam Easter egg with stickers and embellishments. They all placed the three crosses Grandma provided right next to each other. That was neat to see. I guess they already have the classic picture of the three crosses of Calvary in their mind.

I am excited to announce that Grandma and Granddad Briden will be moving back to Michigan for a few months this summer. We have such a good time with them. I can't wait till I can go over and just hang out for dinner. My mother-in-law is a great cook and she spoils me. She treats me like I am her daughter, they both do. My father-in-law spoils me as well, he is patient with "The Bunch" and such a loving , giving Granddad. I just can't wait to see them in July : ) Thanks for the fun Easter treats today Grandma and Granddad!!! We miss you and Love you so much!! XXXXXXOOOOOO Love,
The Bunch

Hello All! Well here is more video of Miss Hope. She is really talking and laughing. It is so much fun to watch them change so quickly. She is quite the sweet and pretty little girl. She laughed quite hard at Faith tonight. That made Faith work even harder for more laughs. Enjoy : )

Hello All! Last night my oldest little buddy, Gracie. Was up through the night vomiting. She told me before she went to bed that she was going to be vomiting soon. She never cries wolf when it comes to that sort of thing. So I went to the living room to watch a rented movie with Kelly. Next thing I know Grace is up and coming towards us looking like the creature from the black lagoon (all covered in pond scum, you get the idea) She had thrown up all over. She and Faith share a room and have bunk beds. Grace sleeps on the top bunk. Needless to say Grace managed to vomit everywhere, including the wall and even hit Faith's bed just barely missing her sleeping sisters head. YUCK! Grace is doing much better today, Praise God!! The picture I attached is of Helicobacter Pylori. It is a microbe that survives in our very acidic stomach. Yes, I LOVED my Microbiology class : ) I am a GERMAPHOBE, I can freely admit it. Helicobacter is a common cause of many stomach problems for us humans. He sure doesn't look like nice little guy, does he? Today I thanking God for washing machines : ) Love, Crystal

Hello All! As I write this my sister in law (Kelly's sister), Kenna, is vacationing in Peru. She loves to travel and take on new adventures. I can admit I am slightly jealous of her : ) She has the freedom to travel at this stage in her life and I applaud her. I realize I am at a different stage in my life, so I get to live vicariously through her. I love hearing of her trips and seeing all the photos. This picture I posted is of Machu Picchu, Peru. She will be seeing this live and in living color. I don't really have a strong desire to see Peru necessarily, but there are places I do dream of visiting.

In the summer of 2000 Kel and I got to travel after we were married. We went on a short term mission trip to Kislovodsk, Russia with Kelly's parents. After our time in Russia we decided to backpack through Europe. We met up with Kenna along the way and a close friend, Brian, that Kelly grew up with. It was a great time! Kenna is such a good traveler, always positive and able to flex with the situation. Some good memories I have of our trip that include Kenna are; riding on a Hot sleeping car on a train through Italy while watching fireworks out the window and strolling through the Louvre and The Palace of Versailles gazing at countless treasures.

There are some places I haven't seen that I dream of. First is Africa, especially Liberia. Our son was born there, therefore that is a large part of his heritage. I pray God will give me the days to see Africa. Nextly, Is Ireland and Scotland. My sister and I visited England last June. Click here to see a post from that trip. It was a wild trip, we had several things working against us from the beginning of the trip, but we really enjoyed England. That is why I would love to see Ireland and Scotland. Lastly, there is much of the U.S. I still have yet to explore. Alaska comes into my mind as a state I would like to see. So what about you where would you like to go if you could go anywhere? Please leave me a comment and share. Us bloggers like comments, it keeps us writing : ) Love, Crystal

Hello All! I am so excited to share with you about our annual "Girls Weekend". My older sister, Heather, my mother and I are all headed up north to the Leelanau Peninsula Vintners~Spring Sip & Savor. It is a wine tasting event put on by the awesome wineries in northern Michigan. I love northwest Michigan, especially Traverse City. We will be staying in Traverse City and enjoying a "Girls Weekend". The winery tours are a unique experience as well. They have a wine and food pairing for you to sample. You are also free to try any other wines they produce. Heather and I fell in love with Black Star Farms when we went up in the fall of 2006 for the Harvest Stompede. So much so that Kelly and I went "up north" in February of 2007 to celebrate our anniversary there, click here to see the previous post about that. I can't wait to share this time with my mom and sister. It is fun to have time to "ooh and aah" with the girls. Hope is tagging along as well. She is still quite attached to mommy : ) Don't worry we have a designated driver and it's me. I can't wait!! I will be sure to post pictures of all our fun. Love,

Crystal has already posted about our trip, but I thought I might add my two cents.

We had a great time. I always enjoy spending time with my family. I had a medical conference at the Wisconsin Dells, which is the "Water Park Capital of the World". I don't know how you earn that designation, but a can't imagine any place with more water activities. The conference lasted a few hours each day which allowed plenty of time for us to play.

We had to get there first. It was about an eight hour drive, and on the way we stopped for the night just north of Chicago to break up the drive. It was a short drive from there to visit the Jelly Belly Factory Warehouse. We had a great time touring the warehouse in a small train and sampling the various flavors of jelly beans. The kids enjoyed the "magic beans", which I believe have some association with Harry Potter films. These jelly beans have flavors like dirt, earwax, vomit, pencil shavings, black pepper, and the family favorite - booger. I should clarify, the family favorite refers to those in the family under 7 yrs old. For the record, Faith did not think the booger jelly bean tasted like boogers, and she is a connoisseur of such things, much to her parents chagrin.

The kids travelled fantastically. We have a portable DVD player that we put in the car for long trips, and it usually keeps them focused on something other than being tired of driving for several hours.

The water parks were also great. We had several different waterparks to choose from and we went to a different one everyday. It was in the single-digit temperatures outside, but inside it felt like the middle of summer. The best thing for the 5/6th pale part of our family is that we didn't need to put on any sunscreen. This usually takes 30-45 minutes of applying goop prior to any extended sun exposure, but alas, not in an indoor water park. The kids loved the children's areas which consisted of shallow pools and things they can squirt at each other. They also enjoyed the waterslides, the "small ones and the medium ones, but not the big ones".

Physically, it was was a thrill, but exhausting. I actually heard words I've never heard uttered by my children, "I'm tired", "I'm sleepy", and my absolute favorite, "I'm ready for bed". The kids had been sick prior to leaving with a respiratory virus. Experience has taught us that public water parks are the best remedy for illness. The amount of chlorine in these pools will not only cauterize your conjunctiva, but will sterilize every mucous membrane as well. A few dunks in the water and a little aspirated pool water will cure what ails ya, not to mention the waterslide chlorine colonics.

I believe Faith consumed a bit too much chlorine. She had an upset stomach the last night we were there and on the way home. This seems to be a family tradition for us, a child getting sick on long trips. Our kids associate different states we've traveled to by who got sick where. For instance, Texas is not the land of my father's childhood, it is where Faith puked. New Mexico is not where my sister's live, but where Luke upchucked on our visit there. Grace stakes her claim on the floor of my parents old house in Missouri. So, when I reference the house that Grace and Faith spent many happy moments with my parents in Missouri, I have to clarify that it's "where Grace puked in the closet", to which Grace usually replies, "oh yeah, right after I had pudding!" You get the picture.

So, on the way home, we had the distinct scent of "illness" in the air, lofting throughout the van. Let's just say the vomit-flavored jelly beans that were enjoyed on the way to Wisconsin were left untouched on the way home. I bought the 2 1/2 hour edition of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" with Dick Van Dyke for the trip home, which occupied most of there attention.

We stopped on several occasions to stretch our legs while Crystal nursed Hope. Often we would go into a local store to walk around. The importance of articulation cannot be emphasized enough to Faith and Luke. The movie has a quite catchy tune about a car - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. However, when walking through the store with Faith and Luke, both of whom have yet to master the hard "CH" sound, and resort to the more French sounding version, the sound of them singing this song is extremely vulgar. I received several strange stares as my children's chorus rang throughout the store's aisles.

We made it home after an eight hour drive and virtually collapsed. We had a great time, but to be honest, a Monday at work never looked so good!

Hello All! I have one parting story to share tonight before bed. Faith has added to our numbers as of late. I commonly say to the kids, " I love Daddy, Grace, Faith, Luke, Hope, I love our family." In the past couple weeks. Faith has tacked a new family member on the end of the current list. She says " Mommy, don't forget baby Joy, you want another baby." So now it has almost become a joke, baby Joy is with us everywhere and is being "made by God." No, this is not an announcement Grandma Briden, just a cute story : ) But, who knows maybe God has some Joy for us in store in the future : ) Have a great night!! Crystal

Hello All! We are back from Wisconsin. We had a great time : ) We stayed at America's largest indoor waterpark. The kids love to swim and swim they did. The main negative of the place we stayed was the long walks. We walked (in all inside connected hallways) conservatively a mile a day. Between our room and all three large indoor water parks we saw the hallways often. But the kids were troopers and never complained about walking until the last evening of our stay.

On our way to Wisconsin Dells we stopped of at the Jelly Belly warehouse. It was fun we took a tour and they gave us a small bag of free beans at the end. The kids loved the tour and were quite enthusiastic, at least in comparsion to the senior citizens that made up the rest of our tour group.

It is always fun to go somewhere new. But, we all thanked God when we arrived home. There is no place like home after a long trip. Kelly says I am becoming his mother. After each trip she commonly says " I am never leaving home again". I echoed that same thought last night. So glad to be home today- Crystal

Hello All! The Love of my life turns 38 tomorrow : ) I met him way back in 1998 and he was 28 years old. It seems like so long ago now. Kelly has such a zest for life!! Rarely is life dull or quite with Kelly. One of the things I love most about him is his sense of humor. I love that he doesn't take himself too seriously. Life is too short to not laugh at oneself. Kelly can make you laugh when you feel like crying, I love that!!! He is my hero, my night in shining armor, my best friend and the best husband and father I have ever met!! I love you Kel, Happy Birthday to you : )

We are off to the water park tomorrow : ) What a good gift for Daddy. Fun family times. Love, Crystal

Hello All! Wow, it has been a hard day already and as I type this it is only nine in the morning. First, Mommy is sick. That is never a good thing. The house can be thrown into chaos when I go down with anything. Last night, Kelly was on call. He got called at two in the morning with the stupidest question. So, our sleep was broken first, due to that question. Normally not a big deal, but I need to rest to recuperate. Then after sleeping through the night for a week now, Hope woke up at 4 A.M. So I got her settled and back to sleep. I was just closing my eyes when I heard the alarm at 6:00. I felt like "Death warmed over". I knew though that I had to "suck it up" and get everyone going and off to school.









We all made it to the van and were backing out when trouble struck. The temperature had risen above freezing last night. In Kelly's last post he shared about this making everything ice and slush. As I was backing our Bus out of the garage, I had to make a correction and drive forward to avoid backing in to some of our landscaping. Well, that did it, after that I was stuck trying to propel the big bus forward. Keep in mind I have everyone ready for school and the wheels are spinning, making the ice underneath worse. I try to rock it by going in reverse and then turning the wheels hard in another direction while going forward. No such luck!!! SO there I am stuck, wishing I could have went back to sleep today to rest my germ ridden body. I pray" God help me." Than a thought pops into my head. Our sweet neighbors next door may be home. In the next instant I see our neighbor, Larry, backing out of his driveway. I jump from the Van nearly slipping and falling on my backside. I wave him over and He offers to take the girls to school. What a God send!!!! He was so helpful and selfless. He knew what I needed and offered it immediately. So the girls were off to school but, I was still stuck.


I called Kel and he tells me to use the Ice-Melt salt around the rear tires and it should help you get traction. I let the Ice- Melt set for about one hour than I try again. At first, I am thinking my predicament has not improved. I of course am praying the whole time. Finally after using my rocking technique I get up enough momentum to pull forward into the garage. Praise God I am free : ) Most importantly the kids got to school. Grace was crying so hard about missing school. Her class was scheduled to sing at a local nursing home this morning and she loves to sing. Faith also didn't miss making a paper mache Dinosaur Egg in pre-school. I felt like this morning I "couldn't win for losing." But, God still provided and was faithful even when I was discouraged and powerless to do anything.





















I have posted some pictures of the kids making a snow Mommy and baby. Daddy played with them outside yeasterday for about two hours. No, not Hope, she was outside for about 20 minutes only.I am so thankful for Kel, he is a GREAT Daddy!!!! I also included a picture of an Opossum that was eating under our bird feeder yesterday afternoon. He was so much fun for the kids to watch. I can't stand them though. They are big and creepy. Not cute and cuddley like they are portrayed in children's books.




How do you like the new Blog design? I love it!!! I had Nikki make it for me. You can check out her blog at http://www.madebynikki.blogspot.com/ Well, I have a little girl crying to have a drink : ) Love, Crystal