Hello All! I wanted to post about two of Timmy's firsts. Today he went in the snow for the first time : ) We had a good snowfall last night. He wasn't too sure about it. He tried on his boots before heading out to the frozen tundra. He was walking fine in them. When he got outside he stood still, than he sat and looked around. Hope has been sick, so she didn't go out. She watched through the door : ) She wanted to be with Timmy and Luke, though.

He other first was from November 5th, 2008. He went to the park for the first time. It was a balmy 70 degrees and we went to play outside. he got to slide for the first time and play on big playground equipment. He loved it!!!!!!!!!!!! Enjoy the pictures

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 had a blast today. We all bundled up in many,many layers and went sledding on our sand dunes down the road. It was cold, but nothing compared to last weekend! It was twenty, that felt pretty good actually with three layers of clothing on. The kids did great, no they did exceptional. Grace, Faith and Luke didn't complain at all. They all sledded beautifully and I only carried Luke up the hill once at the very end. Very impressive considering it is difficult to walk up the hill in triple layers of clothing for me. Luke will be two on the 23rd of this month. Faith loved the pink saucer. Grace the round tube, because it was soft. She said" the pink one hurts my bottom." Luke liked riding by himself. In the beginning Luke would ride with Kelly or me. After awhile though he wanted to be big like his sisters and go solo. It can be exciting at the sled dunes. When we first arrived the Ambulance and Fire trucks were in the parking lot. We heard from some other sledders that a boy went way up to the top and flipped probably five times on his descent. Any way it can be dangerous. No one is supervising, there is no ski patrol. In snow skiing you have people watching and enforcing safety rules. So just like driving you must sled defensively. I imagine though that young boys, high snow covered dunes and sledding equipment often result in many injuries. I couldn't help but think about how often the Paramedics visit this park in the winter. Thank God he protected us today and don't worry we stayed on the bunny hill!! Love, Crystal