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 never could have imagined as a young lady reading Agatha Christie's "Death On The Nile" that I would indeed one day see the land of Egypt. All I can say is it is absolutely amazing!!

Kelly, Kenna(Kelly's older sister) and I left for Egypt last Friday afternoon. We have seen many wonderful things during our time here. I realize it is a blessing to be able to travel and see things that have been standing for many, many centuries. The Egyptian people have been gracious and kind. I am thrilled to be learning more Arabic here, but it is apparently a unique Egyptian dialect. I will go home to Kuwait and try it out on "my people". I hope they will understand me. "Mish Mooshkula" ( is No Problem ,in Egyptian Arabic)

We enjoyed two stops in Egypt, Cairo and Luxor. Luxor has been by far our favorite! The valley of the kings and the temple of Queen Hetchesphut are absolutely breathtaking. I will edit more photos and post them upon our return to Kuwait. Now I am going to enjoy my last hours listening to the incessant horn honking in Luxor, while reading "Death on The Nile" by Dame Christie a second time and sipping Turkish coffee. Life is good!!

Happy Birthday, Kelly!! My husband is now officially over the hill. Kelly is 40, wow we are getting older! When we met we were in our 20's. It feels like time is moving faster with each year that we age.

Kelly, you are my "knight in shining armor", my better half and the love of my life : ) I am so glad God made you!! We fit very well together as man and wife. Where you are very laid back, I am a little more tightly wound. We compliment each other on so many levels. You are such a special father, I am so impressed with the grace and love you show our children. They will form their image of God from your example. You are the kind of father that reflects Jesus' love to them. I praise God for you, Kelly!! Thank you for choosing me, thank you for being a man of honor and thanks for always being able to make me laugh out loud. Happy Birthday and may God continue to bless you in the years to come. With all my love and respect~

It's hard to believe that ten years ago, Kelly and I were married. It was a cold day in Michigan and we had quite a bit of snow on the ground. We were both so happy to be together, until death do us part. What a fabulous beginning!

I am so glad we are not newlyweds anymore. I love him so much more now! We are family now, we work as a team, we truly know each other. I never would have guessed on that cold day in East Lansing, that we would be living in Kuwait when we shared this anniversary. Kelly did tell me we would be living internationally at some point. I always assumed we would be in Africa doing some sort of medical mission work. Never the Middle East with my own Abaya!

I love you, Kelly! You have my undying respect. Thank you for giving me that pre-employment physical back in 1998. I praise God for bringing us together, the California dude with perfect English (HA!) and the small town Michigan gal who can at times speak through her nose : ) Our children will be such a mixture of Michigan, California, Missouri, and the world. Thank you for asking me to be your best friend, your cheerleader, the mother of your children, the lover of your soul and your travel companion! You are my hero, Kelly and you are will always be my one true love. Love you, Dude~

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~

Hello All! Can you believe it, two date nights with my cute husband in one week. It could not have happened at a better time as we have one major thing right now that is consuming most of our free waking time. This "thing" is our BIG secret and it has to stay that way for now. But you can read about the secret in my previous posts here and here.

Moving on, back to the two dates. We went with our friends Saskia and Dean Kendziera to dinner and a concert last Friday night. Saskia has become one of my best friends and I am so glad God brought us together!!! She is blessed with an amazing sense of humor and I dearly love to laugh, so we became fast friends : )

We actually had a sitter, THANKS MARY, come and babysit for our wild bunch. It was a fun time and we are so thankful for time together to laugh with our friends. We also learned some amazing dance moves that we will have to share on youtube on a later date. Or maybe not!!!

On Wednesday night we will be going "Up North" to Ludington, MI to hear my favorite Bluegrass sisters perform, The Peasall Sisters. I have loved their music for years and they are coming to Michigan, YAHOO! It is so nice to have time away, to recharge and think about how blessed I truly am. On Wednesday we have a close friend coming over to babysit. They adore "Mrs. Ambrose", she works with Kelly in his clinic, she is his nurse. She has been a blessing to our family for all the years Kelly has worked with her. Thank you so much, Barb!!!!!

I am glad summer is here, time to listen to good music, laugh with good friends and spend time with the love of my life. On July 17th Kelly and I met eleven years ago in an exam room in Lansing, MI. Eleven years later I am still praising God for that "chance" meeting and for the amazing man he blessed me with in my husband. Who knew that eleven years later we would be blessed to celebrate twice in one week!!!! I love you Kelly, my best friend~

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! Well, Luke had his tonsillectomy today. Our family used to call him 'Super Tonsil Man'. Can you still be called that when you don't have them anymore?

He is doing great, Thanks for the prayers!! He just ate two bowls of Orange Sherbet, one bowl of applesauce and one pudding cup. He has now fallen fast asleep : ) I missed him so much this morning, I can't stop kissing and hugging him! He is a trooper and he will always be Mommy's little baby boy. Tomorrow he gets soup and some real soft food. Thanks again for praying!

Today is also a big day in Kelly's life. He turns 39 years old today!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, I can't believe it! Happy Birthday to you, Kel : ) I love and respect you so much. I am so glad God made you and your parents raised you to love God. You are an amazing man and I am thrilled to have been with you now for ten of your Birthday celebrations. Thanks to Mom Briden for the pain she endured having him, thanks to Dad Briden for raising him to be a man after God's own heart, and thanks to God for sharing his wonderful creation, Kelly, with me : ) Tonight I am making Lobster tails, shrimp, and Parmesan encrusted flounder for the birthday boy. For dessert we are celebrating with cake and chocolate peanut butter ice cream. Luke is thrilled about that, he doesn't want to miss out on the celebration even with his painful throat.

On an unrelated side note. Go over and check out this website if you would like free tea shipped to your home. I am a fan of tea as well as coffee. Coffee is first, but tea comes in a close second. I traveled to England with my sister, Heather, just to have the whole 'cream tea' experience. We didn't end up with that experience, but an adventure all the same : ) The Tropical Tea Co. has a FREE TEA CLUB and they will send you there free tea samples in the mail to sample. How cool is that? Pretty Awesome! But, making it even more special, if you buy tea from them 'every order helps give a child in Africa clean drinking water for 1 year'. Yeah, that is so neat!! I love to buy tea and help a great cause in the process. Go over and check it out if you have time. Gotta run, I need to feed to the mini man more sherbet. Blessings to you all~ Crystal

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! 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

Hello All! I had to share this idea as a fun family craft for Christmas. Kelly had the fun idea to make a nativity scene out of Crayola ~Model Magic. We had so much fun doing it. The kids, especially the oldest girls did great. We mixed up many colors and made all the main characters. We also added some characters of our own. A mouse, a blue cat and a lady bug. Kelly and I made some of the figures after the kids went to bed and that was so fun!!! We both enjoyed making it together, it was kind of like a date : ) He is the best Daddy in the whole world, he always has good ideas. We hope to continue this tradition each year after enjoying it so much. We also plan on keeping those we have made in past years as a keepsake for us to look back on. Go out and get some Model Magic, you will love it!!!! Blessings to you this Christmas season~ Crystal

Hello All! Here is is the Briden Family Christmas Photo for 2008. We do this every year for our Christmas card. It was a fun and funny time : ) I have included the outtakes as they are the funny part. Let's be honest, Mommy has a "Nervous" condition, so I am glad we got the shot yesterday. I can now relax and start thinking about posing people for next year. The Briden Bunch 2008~ Coming soon to mailbox near you!!! Love ~ Crystal

Hello All!!! Thanks for the prayers and support!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kelly and Timmy are on a plane right now over the Atlantic ocean : ) We will have an exciting homecoming this afternoon!! I will update the blog with the new family picture in a day or so : ) Thanks again~ In Awe of our Great God~ Crystal

Hello All, please keep praying!!!!!!!!!!!! God can move mountains and he has!!!!! We are praising him for that. I should know more next week and will update the blog than. Thanks for praying, God is answering and he alone is to be praised in all this, God Bless your weekend~ Crystal and The Stateside Bunch

Hello All! God is working miracles on our behalf, we praise him because he is so amazing!! Only he could have pulled together this paperwork in such a short time. Where in the world can you have a court hearing and get that in writing the same day? God is working and he alone is to be praised!!!! He is moving mountains, thank you Jesus!!! Kelly has a very important meeting tomorrow morning in Africa. We need this meeting covered in prayer. Please pray for our son to get out of the country of his birth and be added to our family!!! Please pray for the God to move in this meeting tomorrow and for all to go in the favor of Timothy getting his Visa!!! Thank you, we so appreciate the prayers of you all, I can feel that you are lifting us up. I am humbled by all the people praying for us! People are telling me God woke them up to pray or they had a dream about Timothy's adoption and our family. Please don't stop we need your prayers and we know God alone will glorified in all this. I feel we are in a spiritual battle for this little guy and Satan would like nothing more than to crush our heart for orphans and Timothy in this process. Please pray for us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

31What, then, can we say about all of this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32The one who did not spare his own Son, but offered him as a sacrifice for all of us, surely will give us all things, along with his son, won't he? 33Who shall accuse God's Elect? It is God who justifies! 34Who is the one to condemn? It is the Messiah Jesus who is interceding on our behalf. He died, and more importantly, has been raised and is seated at the right hand of God.
35Who shall separate us from the Messiah's love? Can trouble, distress, persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger, or a violent death do this? 36As it is written,
“For your sake we are being put to death all day long.
We are thought of as sheep headed for slaughter.”
37In all these things we are triumphantly victorious due to the one who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor anything above, nor anything below, nor anything else in all creation can separate us from the love of God that is ours in the Messiah Jesus, our Lord.

ROMANS 8 31-39

PLEASE DEAR LORD BRING TIMOTHY HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE WILL GIVE YOU ALL THE PRAISE AND GLORY!!! DEAR LORD SHOW ALL WATCHING AND PRAYING THAT YOU ARE AWESOME AND POWERFUL, THE FATHER TO THE FATHERLESS! IN JESUS NAME~AMEN

Hello All! God is working in a mighty way and for that we praise him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kelly, Timothy, and our friend Matt and his baby daughter, Gracia will be appearing in court tomorrow in the morning ( in Africa). That would be the middle of the night our time : ) Please pray for a miracle in that they could have the needed paperwork in their hands top apply for the Visa and be granted the visa Friday. God is moving mountains and he has reveled to me that he alone will be glorified in all this! Now we are asking him to move his mighty hand to work in a situation that is impossible for man alone. "For with God nothing shall be impossible" Luke 1 :37 . God has revealed to me Psalm 10 and 2 Chronicles 20 in this process. God has spoke to me through his word and Christian brothers and sisters. Read them if you have time. He hears the plight of the fatherless and he holds them in his hand. Please pray for God to be glorified and to bring Timothy and Gracia home to their families!!!!!