We had a great time this weekend at a six year old birthday party. Our great friends Ken, Tina and Matthew are also our neighbors, fellow Ju Jitsu parents and Ken teaches our children's T-ball team. We were excited to get invited to Matthew's Birthday party at the Ice Skating Rink in Kuwait City. We haven't been skating since we were in Michigan, so we knew the first 30 minutes of skating time would be a big learning curve. Honestly, I was dreading it and had prepared myself for large amounts of whining and frustration. I am so happy to report we had a great time and all the children didn't whine at all! Kelly and I would whine to each other on occasion about how much this was going to hurt tomorrow. After our trip to the ice rink all of our children now want skating lessons. I don't think there is an ice rink in Mali, so sadly no lessons for the next few years. Maybe we could all take up rolling blading as a family? : )

I am finding many interesting things to photograph and here in Kuwait. Some of the most interesting advice about driving can be found on the overpasses. Here is one I snapped recently. I just wish most people driving here read this and understood it. I still cringe when I see children laying on the front dashboard of a car or hoping around on the driver's lap while going 70 MPH down the motorway. you'll be glad to know I have remained "civilized". I am awfully concerned though about my driving upon returning to the states. I might need a refresher course in driving American style : )

I am really enjoying photography, I even have been dreaming about getting perfect photos. There are not many birds in Kuwait, much to my chagrin and this has become a passion of mine as well. Here is a picture of the little three at the Embassy playground on the merry go round.

I am excited to report that very quickly Kelly will return to Kuwait, YAY! It has been an extremely hard parenting journey for me and I frankly am not as nice when he is gone. I feel bled dry. I am up before the crack of dawn, getting the girls on the bus, feeding all the kids, cleaning up, buying things we need for the home because many things are still in Virgina, trying to keep all people happy and not fighting, more meals and clean up, reading a plethora of books, kissing all hurts, bathing five children, helping with homework, completing bedtime routines, making lunches for the next day, and lastly reassuring those nightmare sufferers. I am tired just typing it! We have survived and even thrived in some areas. Overall it went well, do I want to do it all again without help? NO!!!!!

We are in the process of hiring someone to live in our home to help us out. She will function as a nanny/housekeeper. She has her own room and full bath that has a separate entrance. These homes here are enormous! I'll be honest I am still, like a typical American, uncomfortable with the idea of someone I employ living in my home. I am truly fiercely independent, but God and the Foreign Service are changing that. I have had to rely on others to help.

Our host family, the "R" family, has been the best! We can't thank them enough. They have gone above and beyond the call of duty. They have shared tips, tricks and their frustrations so I can learn quickly minus the frustrations. I can't wait to become a host family as well. I know what the concerns are, I have lived them. I am excited to bless someone else as they come to post.

We have settled into a more regular routine and even made friends with the little Kuwaiti boy and his nanny next door. Some of our favorites of late are our weekly IKEA stop to get ice cream cones. The ice cream there is very good and quite reasonably priced per Kuwait standards. The other favorite is Domino's Pizza. Truly a taste of home as it is headquartered in Michigan. I am just positive the sausage on the supreme pizza is pork. Everyone reassures me that it is not. Pork you see is illegal in Kuwait, along with alcohol, and pornography. Chicken hot dogs are good, but just not the same as a juicy Koegel's dog with some mustard and kraut.

Have a great weekend~

Happy almost Birthday to our sweet daughter, Hope. She will turn two officially while we are in London. Because of being forced to travel on her birthday we decided to celebrate her day sooner. Last Friday we had a party with my mom and all the bunch. I cannot believe THIS baby is turning two!

Hope, you are truly our joy! We have been surprised by Hope since we found out she was baking in my tummy. We named you Hope because our hope is in Jesus and him alone. It is interesting to be inside the beltway and see everyone with their "Hope" bumper stickers. Without getting too partisan or political, that Hope is not at all what you are named after. I pray someday your hope will be firmly placed in our Lord and his redemption for his people.

Hope you are so cute, fun loving, funny, and full of spunk. You are a 5 year old trapped in a 2 year old body. You think you are one of the "big three" and heaven help the person who tells you that you are the youngest. You love your older siblings, each has a special game they commonly play with you. You are truly a Mommy's girl. You just adore me, and don't ever like to be farther away than a couple feet. You are very good at climbing anything, swinging on the big swings at the playground and eating black beans, which are your absolute favorite. Your father and I adore each of our children, but I think we have been the best parents to you. We are experienced parents and are much more relaxed with you. We know what will fatally wound or maim you, and everything else is fair game. You are much more free to explore and play. I have loved parenting you and I wish I could have relaxed more with Grace and Faith when they were your age.

You are an interesting mixture of a happy go lucky girl with a spit fire of a will. You are uniquely your self, but I see flashes of Grace, Faith and Luke come out commonly. This picture was taken of you on our recent Capitol tour. You had been a trooper, but in this photo you have come to your end. If you were my first child I would have been horrified, but no sweet girl you are the fifth. I thought it was cute photo so I began snapping away. I am sure the gentlemen watching both you and me thought I had gone crazy. Oh well, maybe I have, I'm crazy for you!!!!!

We can't wait to see you grow and change over this next year in Kuwait. We thank God for making you and allowing us to parent you!!! You are so special to us~ Love Mommy and Daddy~

Today at the park a strange apparition appeared in one of my photos that I was taking of Hope. Is it Casper the friendly ghost? I have no idea where this face came from, spooky!!! It couldn't be our second daughter, Faith jumping in front of the camera screaming "No! Mommy, take my picture! Take MY picture." As I was downloading the photos tonight I noticed this one and couldn't help but laugh : )

Hello All! I don't like goodbyes, but it seems like this week has been one goodbye after another. Don't get me wrong I love the people we are saying goodbye to, just not the future separation.

This beautiful lady holding our youngest, Hope, is Kelly's nurse, Barb. She has been a great friend to Kelly and me, a surrogate Aunt/Grandma to our children and an amazing coworker to my husband. I truly thank God for her generosity and love for our family. The kids love her and they know when she comes to babysit they are guaranteed a fun night. Thank you Barb, we love you so much!

I have figured out this evening why this move is so hard for me. It is watching it through my children's eyes that pains me.

I don't want to sound callous, but I have moved before. It is hard, but I know you survive. My children on the other hand don't remember much beyond this home and town being our life. Luke came home at seven months in 2005, so he has no memory other then Michigan as home. Faith was turning two when we moved, now four years later she is turning six. She has friends at school she adores, she is used to the routine here, she knows what season comes next her, Autumn. Grace, our oldest, does remember Missouri. She has an amazing memory. I don't think she remembers it all, but there are things that are clear in her mind. She was very young though the last move, she still misses our friend Mr. Edge from Missouri and his claw that he would tickle her with.

This evening Faith had a play date with a close friend from her kindergarten class. As they were running through the woods I heard her say, " I love you Trevor, I will always miss you." OUCH, that made me cry! When my children hurt, I feel like someone is ripping out my heart and stepping on it. Just because they are not the deepest friendships at 4, 5, 6 or 7 it doesn't mean they don't feel the pain and the loss of these special people. I am trying to be extra sensitive to that and chat with them about it as often as I can. I want them to know that I acknowledge it as loss. I want them to know they can share with me. I want them to know I have my own losses and sadness at this time in spite of the major excitement I am feeling.

So, to all of you sweet, special people in Michigan. We will love you, we will miss you and we pray the best for you and your families always. You will always have a special place in our hearts and our memories. Goodbye for tonight~

Hello All! This post is especially for Grandma Briden. She is the founding member of the "washing babies society". The first I had heard of this is when she let Grace wash a plastic baby doll in her kitchen sink. Grace stood there on a kitchen chair with a towel under her feet for probably close to the whole play date with Grandma. Over the years "washing the babies" became a HUGE hit with the "Big Three". They would always request this when arriving at Grandma and Granddad's home for a visit. Grandma even let them apply paint to the baby so it looked dirty like it needing a good scrubbing. I cannot wait for Mom and Dad Briden to arrive in Michigan in August! I am so excited for Grandma to watch her grand babies washing their baby dolls. Here is a little preview, Vera. Needless to say, Hope loved washing the babies. We cannot wait for August and all the fun times soon to come!!!

Ten tiny little fingers that always want to play,That never stop exploring the wonder of today.Ten tiny little fingers that from the very start,Will reach out for tomorrow yet always hold your heart.-- Author Unknown

God Bless your weekend~

Hello All! Today has been a good day considering it is a Monday. I am not one to complain, but some days seem longer than others. Monday and Tuesday are consistently my long days. It is hard to start the weeks activities all again after enjoying the weekend together with My Bunch. I have to admit this past weekend was even hard as it was rainy and we were trapped in the house due to rain.

We decided to take a walk/bike ride to the "Slurpee Store" on Saturday morning. As we were walking (Kel and I were walking, the kids were riding) Kelly said " Crystal, why don't you walk back and get the van. It sounds like the thunder is getting closer and closer." I'll admit, I didn't totally agree with him. Something inside me said "go, don't question him. Just GO!" Off I went speed walking for the van as Kelly heads in the opposite direction to the slurpee store with all five kids. On my walk home I was able to pray and listen to the birds. I don't know that Kelly's walk was as relaxing as he had to listen to training wheels grinding on the pavement. I make it home, grab the van keys and head off to the slurpee store. As I pull up and hop out of the "Briden Bus" I feel drops hit my back. Kelly is in the store with the twins in their double stroller and the Big Three shopping for a snack. The timing couldn't have been more perfect, by the time the bikes were loaded and all five kids strapped in Slurpees in hand, the rain starts pouring down. Then it didn't stop for the whole weekend.

It is strange how you get so used to the sunshine that you forget how rainy days can affect your mood. I am trying to think of the positive, "April Showers Bring May Flowers". I guess the take home lesson for me, in the future do not question Kelly's meteorology expertise. The photo at the top of the post of of sweet Hope from a few months back, she was just having a bad day. Doesn't she look so pathetically sweet , though. God Bless you all this Monday~

This week at I Heart Faces the challenge is NO Flash. You cannot use any flash on the camera, only natural light. The other day I captured these cute bath shots of Hope. She needed to be washed quickly and so I put her in the kitchen sink. Isn't she just a doll!! She loved her sink bath and Mommy loved having a moment to enjoy watching her splash in the natural light from the kitchen windows. If you want to see more faces lit naturally go to I Heart faces week ~ 11. Blessings to you~ Crystal

Kid Entry

Hello All! This week at I Heart Faces the challenge is Green in keeping with the spirit of St. Patrick's Day. There has to be green in the photo as well as a face. I know these two pictures most likely won't win, but I had to post them. They were both taken after our son Timothy and my husband arrived home from Uganda. First is Timmy in his cute GREEN shirt after enjoying some pie with Mommy. A first for this little man. He is such a cutie pie : )

Adult Entry

Next is a picture of my husband holding our "twins" Timmy and Hope. We adopted Timothy from Uganda and he had just arrived home to Michigan after much hard work to complete the Ugandan side of his adoption. I love my husband's face in this photo as he is thrilled to be holding his two youngest up in the air so proudly. We were separated from Daddy for 7 weeks and we are so proud of all he did to bring Timmy home! God worked miracles and it is written on my husband's excited, albeit tired face : ) He has on his Michigan State Spartans ball cap which is GREEN. Go Spartans!!!!!! To see more pictures of faces and get in the St. Paddy's Day spirit go on over to the I Heart Faces Blog. Blessings to you all~ Crystal

Hello All! I am so glad it is March, I am prepared for the Lion but really praying for the lamb to arrive quickly. We have felt pretty cooped up recently with illness sweeping through the house. Add in sub-freezing temperatures to our condition and we all need some time outside of the house (preferably in warm weather). We have been organizing our basement like crazy. It needed it so bad!! It is amazing the things you hoard after years of collecting. We are making a clean sweep and getting rid of many things we don't need anymore.

Luke turned four on us on the 23rd! I have told him he can have NO more birthdays as he is getting to old, but he does not agree with me. He is growing into a sweet little man. He is truly a big helper to me daily. I would have it much harder with the two "twins" without my helper boy. He is always there for me to grab baby wipes, set the table for a meal or play with the "babies". He had a Batman party for his birthday and he got a Spider man scooter. He has loved riding it in circles in the basement. The girls are constantly asking him to use it, so it looks like we will be searching garage sales this spring for scooters for the big girls as well.

Grace and Faith are both in Girl Scouts this year. They are "Daisies" and have really enjoyed it!! They just had a pinning ceremony a few weeks ago. They are best friends and are enjoying learning about composting and helping others. Currently they are both selling cookies, YUM! If you need any Do-Si-Dos, Thin Mints or Samoas give us a call : ) The rest of the pictures are from a morning recently. The days go quick, don't they? We truly thank God for the five kids he is allowing us to raise!! We have had a blessed winter. God has protected us from illness for most of the winter. Hope's photo at the end of this post expressed my frustration last week when we tested positive for strep throat. WAH!!! I try to focus on the positive and not be a "cry baby", but please God don't let spring be far away!!!!

Timmy's photo for his citizenship application sent into USCIS. He is now official as far as Michigan is concerned!! He is officially Timothy Briden, YAHOO!!! Now we wait for Detroit to get their job done. They have six months to get the job done. Please pray for it to move quickly, Thanks!

WAH!!!!!!

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! I know that I have been behind on my blogging, sorry! I try to keep our blog as current as I can. I love to blog, but it can be a challenge when Hope keeps trying to punch the keys on my laptop as I am typing : ) Here is our "Bunch" from New Year's Eve. The kids wanted to dress up for our party to ring in 2009. All the outfits are outfits they wear commonly to play dress up in. Luke and Timmy's suits are from a friend at Kelly's clinic, thanks to Pam !!!! We had a great party and enjoyed talking about 2008 an all the exciting times for our family. Two of the "Big Three" (Grace, Faith and Luke are the Big Three) even made it up to bang pots and pans at midnight. We added two children in a year as Hope was born on November 30th, 2007 and Timmy's gotcha day was September 7th, 2008. WOW, God is good!!!!!! Look at this bunch, we are loving ever minute of it : ) I am in awe of how only God can add children to a family. Happy New Year to you all! May you have health and safety in 2009. Love, Crystal