Hello All! I can't believe by next week this time school will be in full swing again. Summer always flies by way to fast. My days were filled with watching all four of our kids, swinging, playing and laughing the long lazy days away. I will not lie I will miss them each so much. But, I am so glad they each love school and learning so much. Grace will be in first grade, Faith a big kindergartner and LL Miniman (as he is known to us- "Ladies Love The Mini Man") is thrilled to become a "BIG" pre-schooler. He has been asking for his backpack for a whole year now. Luke is READY!!!!

Our adoption is progressing and we hope to soon be traveling to get our son. We are not able to blog about the specifics of where, when, or how. Please pray for us as we will go on airplanes and appear in court far away from home. That is very exciting for us all !!! The challenging part is to miss our kids back at home. I will be blogging about the trip and not publishing the posts until our adoption is complete. When our little man is tucked in at his new home with his new family, sharing his new room with his big brother I will publish the saved posts. Please pray specifically for traveling mercies, safety of the kids left behind at home and sanity, energy, and strength for Grandma and Granddad Briden our special live in nannies : ) There may be a time when my posts seem strange or are slow in coming, be patient, please. I will return to the blogosphere.

People have asked me recently "What are you going to do during the three afternoons a week while Luke and the girls are in school?" I answer, "We're adding another child to our family, it will help my job security." Next week I am privileged to get to see our children experience many firsts. The whole family is excited to get to see our son, baby Tim, experience many firsts real soon. I am off to bed after starting to get the house ready to run smoothly while Daddy and I are absent. Please pray for us all!!!!! Blessings to you and yours~

Hello All! These are some photos of our backyard after we did a weekend landscaping project. This was a much needed item on our "to-do" list. We have enjoyed our warmer weather and now with the landscaping we are loving sitting outside and watching the kids play, birds come to our feeders and the flowers growing. Enjoy the rest of your summer : ) Blessings~Crystal

Hello All! Here is Hope and her first "girlfriend". I can't get over how they look so similar. They could easily be sisters, but one is a year old and the other is eight months. It is so sweet to watch babies eye one another and engage the other. Let's see who can tell me is Hope on the left or the right? HINT: Scroll down and compare Hope's picture from the other day : ) Love, Crystal

Hello All! I am sorry to report that I forgot the memory card for my camera while we were away at my dad's cottage on Lake Huron. The photos of our fun there will have to wait. We had a great time in spite of the rain. We love our family from the "East side" of the state : )







Grace has become a monkey this summer. She loves swinging on the monkey bars anywhere and everywhere. This was all inspired by cousin Maddi. Maddi was so good at the monkey bars, it made Grace want to try it. Here is Miss Grace tonight on the monkey bars. She even asked as I went to get the camera, "Mommy, can you put me on the blog doing the monkey bars?" Here you are Grace at your request. You are such a sweetheart heart Gracie Goo Goo : )

















































Hope is getting too big!!! As I was snapping pictures of her I was realizing she is going to be nine months before I know it. She is a joy, with her big BLUE eyes and million dollar smile. She is so patient and flexible, as long as Mommy is there that is. We went out to eat to buffet with Grandma and Granddad Briden. She sat in her high chair the whole time and played with a napkin and a drinking straw. Thank God for the fourth child that is relaxed and pliable. She has been nursing now exclusively for 8 1/2 months. She had some rice cereal the other day she didn't spit out, so most likely more solids are in her future. For the worried "introduce solids early" crowd, don't worry!! Hope is over 20 pounds now on Mommy's milk alone : )

We are enjoying our family so much and honestly it gets easier as we grow in numbers. The kids entertain each other, help me with chores, bring me things when I am nursing and overall help me with their siblings. We can't wait to add our next son. What fun it will be to be a family of seven. But, for now we enjoy each day to the fullest as a family of six. Please pray for our adoption and specifically for some correspondence from USCIS in Detroit. Thanks and God be with you all- Crystal

Hello All! We are happily off on a mini-vacation tomorrow. We will head over to the east side of the state, the side yours truly grew up on. Growing up my father's (Grandpa B)parents had a cottage on Lake Huron. I spent the summers there, swimming like a fish, basking in the sun, enjoying my grandparents and giggling at everything. (well come on that is what little girls do : ) I am excited because tomorrow I return to a place forever cherished in my memories, our family cottage on the beaches of the "Sunrise" side of our beautiful state. Grandpa B, Uncle Rick and Aunt Kristin, Aunt Heather and her sons, The Sweebe boys will all be there. What fun we are sure to have. I'm sure there will be hot dogs on the grill, ice cream in Tawas and bonfires with sticky smores. I am so thankful that I had a place like this growing up to enjoy. I am excited to once again watch my children's reaction to literally living on the beach. I will post photos upon our return. Please pray for our adoption as an important folder of documents left in the mail today, we are asking God to give it safe passage to our new son's home country. With that I will sign out of the blogosphere for another fun family time. Blessings to you all- Crystal

Hello All! I just wanted to announce that we are paper pregnant. Frustratingly for me I can't relay any of the details in the blogosphere. But, we are able to share that we are adopting. We are so excited and can't wait to add our second son to the family. God is so good to us and we praise him for his amazing grace. Our new son's name will be Timothy . We love the name Timothy and who he was in the bible. (I also had a Tim save my life once, but I digress : ) I am sharing all this because we may going away for awhile to bring the little guy home to "The Bunch". I will let you know the moment he is in Michigan in my arms : ) Please be in prayer for us and little baby Tim. God Bless you today- Crystal

PS: If you know how and where we are adopting from and through, please do not mention that on the blog. If you want to chat email me @ thebridenbunch@yahoo.com