Hello All! I am loving this blog I stumbled upon. It is called "I Heart Faces". It is a Photography Blog. I am entering this photo of sweet Hope taken by me this summer into their contest. Go over and check all the other face entries at their blog, HERE. I am going to try to enter this contest each week. Blessings to you all~

Hello All! February for the Briden Bunch moves from one family holiday to the next. Today our first son, Luke turns 4 !! Happy Birthday to Luke the Duke : ) Luke, you are such a blessing to us all. I can't imagine my life without you. You are a sweet little man, patient, funny and an awesome big brother. I praise God that he made you and added you to our family!! You are a little boy that loves God and loves others. You ask to see the country of your birth, Liberia. I hope someday to take you there. You tell me daily I am beautiful, a good "cooker" and a great snuggler. I love you my son and so does your daddy, we always will. You are so much like your father in many ways and it is neat to watch you become like him. You are patient, FUNNY, gentle and love to laugh : ) My favorite thing you say lately is when playing a game you will whisper to me " Mommy, I will win this game for you!" The girls have NEVER said this to me. You are all boy, full of chivalry and honor. I love you buddy!!!!!! Love and Hugs~ Mommy

Hello All! On the 19th of February Kelly and I were married nine years ago! It is hard to believe that it has been that long. We met in the summer of 1998 and have been together ever since : ) Sometimes I forget he wasn't always in my life. He has become a part of me and I of him. If you would have told me nine years ago that we would have five kids I would not have been shocked. When we were dating and first married we decided six children was the perfect number. Over time though we have given that over to God like so many other aspects of our life. We have given him control of our family size along with everything else. So, where does our family go in the next nine years? Who knows, no one but God. He has been so good to us and I thank him everyday for Kelly!! I love and respect him so much! He is the smartest man I have ever met and I pray we will have a long life serving God together. I was drawn to Kelly almost eleven years ago because of his faith. I respect his compassion (his example is like that of Jesus) towards others, ability to make friends in ANY situation, his hard work ethic and his great sense of humor. I love you Kelly and I am so glad you asked me to be your wife!!!!! Praise God for these nine years. Please lead us in the next nine and beyond, Father God. In Him~ Crystal

Hello All! This year for Grace's seventh Birthday celebration we had a Masquerade Ball. It could be because Mommy loves the Phantom of The Opera and has always dreamed of going to a ball or the fact that these masks are everywhere right now for Mardi Gras. Anyway, Grace said it sounded like a fun idea and chose if for the party theme. Everyone dressed up in their "formal" clothes and wore their special mask they choose. The rules were while the mask was on you had to refer to the masked person by their "codename". Grace was "Peacock", Faith was "Monarch," Luke was "Grape Crush", Timmy was "Orange Crush" and Hope was "Sweet Pea". It was a great time as we danced, had a treasure hunt for Grace to find her gifts, enjoyed party games and ate some good cake. I can't believe my baby is seven!!!! Wow, she is getting too old. We joke with her often that she needs to stop becoming so smart or she will have to go off to college too soon. She often says, "I want to stay with you guys forever! I am going to miss you." I wonder if this will be her attitude in another seven years, I hope so : ) We love you Gracie Goo Goo~ XXXXXXOOOOOO Love, Your Bunch

Hello All! I can't believe it my little freckle faced girl is seven years old. Wow, I have been a mother now for seven years and nine months. Grace has been a joy from the moment she entered this world. She wouldn't cry and made the nurses slightly nervous. I will never forget the first night I spent with her in the hospital. She stayed awake and looked around most of the night. She slept next to me all bundled up in the hospital bed. Daddy slept in an uncomfortable recliner snoring peacefully. I could hardly sleep, my emotions flew from giddy with excitement to scared out of my mind. I felt a huge sense of responsibility for this little life God had given to me to raise. Would I be a good mom? Grace made parenting easy. I thought I was so good at it with her. She was calm, compliant, and happy all the time!!!! She was the reason we tried for number two so quickly. Gracie, you will always be my baby : ) No matter where you go, what decisions you make or what you do with your life I will always love and adore you!! I feel for you often that you got the "starter" Mommy. I was just learning to be a mom and let's face it, I didn't know as much as I thought I did. You have taught me so much and I thank God for you!!!!! You are beautiful Grace, on the outside and most importantly on the inside. You love God and he is so proud of you. The inside is what matters, sweet Grace : ) Happy Birthday and I love you~ Mommy
~PS~ Pictures of Grace's B-Day party soon to come, she had a Masquerade Ball party~

Hello All!! I have a cool giveaway to share with you. Michele and her friends over at Sweet Irie are having a great February giveaway. I have Michele's wristlet that she made currently on my key chain, I LOVE IT!!!! It keeps my hands free and I am not loosing my keys all the time. With five little ones to get out of the car it is a must have!!!! So go HERE and check out the Cupcake Love Giveaway : ) Have a Happy Valentine's Weekend!!!!!!! Love, Crystal

Hello All! When you adopt trans racially sometimes you have questions in your mind that rattle around in there for years. Will he be a well adjusted adult? How will he grieve the loss of his birth parents? Will he identify with his Daddy despite the fact that they do not resemble each other in physical appearance? I am excited to report one of the questions was answered for me today. Luke was asked at pre-school what he would like to do when he grows up. He then had to draw a picture of his future dream profession.

He said I when I grow up "I want to become a Doctor". YAHOO!!! This means he is strongly identifying with his same gender parent, Daddy : ) In the picture he drew it had me in it as a sick patient and he was "helping Mommy get better". I am always thrilled to hear Luke's dreams and thoughts he shares. On a lighter note I am thrilled that I may have a future connection in the medical profession as I have gotten used to free medical advice for years now. I know Luke would make a good physician if God calls him to become one. He is kind, tender hearted, will fight for what he believes is right and is an awesome helper!!!!!! Luke, is also named after Dr. Luke in the bible and after his Daddy in a way. I am so glad Luke is my son, I can't wait to see what he will do with the life God has gifted him : ) Love you all~ Crystal

I was tagged by friend Nicole here, she has been an amazing encouragement to me and I thank God for bringing us together even if it is only in the Blogosphere : ) Here goes Nicole ~

You are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 3 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you. Don't forget to link it back to my blog..Have FUN!! HAPPY READING!

1. I am the second of four children I have one older sister and two younger brothers. I love them all dearly!!!!!!

2. I was born in Michigan's lower peninsula, but lived in the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) for some years before I started Kindergarten. It was neat time, I have many good early memories from Ontonagon, MI. Most include the snow on some level.

3. I am currently reading 'Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass'. I know I read some of his accounts in school, but it is unreal that people did enslave other human beings. The sad thing is slavery continues around the world. I would highly recommend reading this or Harriet Tubman's biography.

4. I was not a "reader" growing up. My siblings were gifted with the ability to consume large quantities of Science Fiction. I was to active for sitting for that long. Now during free time I rarely have my face out of a book.

5. I love Chocolate and Dessert, especially berry pie.

6. Tonight I had mother/son bonding time with my boys while Kelly went to the "Snowflake Dance" at our girl's school. I can't wait to hear about Daddy's dance moves.

7. Luke, Timmy and I ate dinner late, made hot cocoa, ate peppermint patties, played a game of Sorry, wrestled and snuggled. That was our bonding time : )

8. I struggle the most with people who are pretentious and only see people's outward worldly value.

9. I am a Gestational Diabetic. I did the best job control my blood sugar level with Hope. It was my BEST pregnancy, I had hardly any weight to lose after her birth.

10. Some days I want more children, some days I don't think I can take care of more. I am leaving it up to God. See previous post, here. I am a decreasing, He is INCREASING.

10. When the house gets to cluttered/messy I can't concentrate. I actually say to my husband, "Kel, my mind is getting weird" or "Honey, I am getting weird." He knows now after nine years that is his cue to get everyone cleaning ASAP.

11. I love the Veggie tales, we just got the newest one last night. "Abe and the amazing Promise". It was very funny!!!

12. I love the Fox News Channel, especially Bill O'Reilly.

13. I love my in-laws, unlike many people's stories of horrific relationships with their in-laws. I love and adore them. We lived within miles of each other for 5 years. I still miss them.

14. I want to live in Africa someday.

15. I believe in the One True God named and explained this way, the Trinity(God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit), I AM (Jehovah), the creator of Heaven and Earth. I have given him the only thing I have to give, myself. I know he loves me and wants his best for me. I strive to live each day for his Eternal Glory!

16. When Kelly and I got married we told each other we wanted 6 kids. Again, we shall see what God's will is for our family.

17. I love Yankee Candles, I have many and burn them often.

18. I am an R.N. and a Lactation Counselor.

19. I have thoroughly enjoyed breastfeeding my babies. Hope is now 14 months old and I dread the day when she doesn't nurse anymore. Although if I am honest I was slightly looking forward to that day in a moment of weakness tonight after she bit me, OUCH!

20. I am amazed by people who home school! WOW,You are gifted indeed!!

21. I am ready for spring. I am not a complainer, but we have had alot of snow this season. I can't wait for the crocuses to break through our huge icy piles of frozen water.

22. People do react to me differently when I have my sons with me than when I have just the girls with me. I am getting used to it now(it's been over three years since Luke's "Gotcha" Day), sometimes I even forget all about it. Most often I give people the benefit of the doubt that they are just curious, but come on people, some of you need to get out more often.

23. God has used adoption to grow me in tremendous ways, it has blessed me probably more than my sons by far. I am sometimes in awe that a little boys from Liberia and Uganda who most likely would have never met me, let alone eachother, in this life are my sons. It gives me goosebumps! God is that BIG!!!!

24. I love to play 'Hidden object' games on the computer.

25. The best thing God ever prompted me to do? Marry my husband, we are different and similar in many ways. It is neat to see how God brings people together to be a part of his body. In the body of Christ there are many members, not everyone can be the head or the eye. Sometimes I feel like I am just the "Chief cook and dish washer", but Christ has shown me there is no shame in those jobs. I have to take on the mundane and sacrifice for all so God can be glorified.

I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it : ) God Bless you~Crystal

Lastly, I tag Saskia, Jessica and Jena.

Hello All! Lately, I wake up each morning excited to see what will happen each day. Today was no different I woke up at 5:15 am when Luke came into our room to see if anyone was awake. No, I wasn't awake Luke, but thanks now I am wide awake. After tucking in Lukey I stumbled downstairs to make the coffee~SWEET ELIXIR OF LIFE!!! I am finally figuring out that I have to have some quite time with the Lord before the big rush of the morning. I was having some quiet time later in the morning, but that was falling after one of the hardest times of the day. I need the peace and encouragement before the hungry, tired "Bunch" awakes.

God is really revealing to me many big truths over the last years. First, I am a drink offering being poured out over the lives of my children and husband. This is my purpose, why he created me. I am to thank and praise him constantly for the opportunity to serve a HOLY God. Next, he is teaching me that He must increase in my life and I must decrease. I commonly chant in my head "You must increase and I must decrease, come Lord Jesus." I am realizing though that this process can be painful. Change is commonly painful.

I think in the past I have always given lip service to wanting "God's will" in my life. I saw the good in it. I would also try to use it in many ways to get MY own will. God is teaching me to surrender everything and allow him to increase in my life. This means surrendering when I think someone has wronged me, forgiving, relinquishing what I think would be justice, and giving the situation over to God. It can be hard to allow God all control and let him INCREASE in your life, spirit, desires and will. There are times when my will cries out for things to go my way. But His grace is sufficient for the moment and each day. I have also found new freedom in this on many levels. I know God is faithful and he will change me, my heart, my desires, my life to reflect him. I praise God for so many things, but that he loves me sometimes is shocking to me. I have nothing to give him, nothing good in me, but he still wants to come in and love the me he created. He must INCREASE, I must decrease. My old self is dying day by day and HE is making me new. God is so good to me and to us all!!!!! Today I again surrender to the process of decreasing. May God bless you today~