Hello All I am experimenting with a new blog template. Let me know what you think. I like this template. My favorite color is blue. If I was a template I think this would be me : ) I can change it easy enough, I will just lose some of my widgets. If you my viewing audience don't like it I will change it to something else. Please post a comment and give me your opinion.

Also I forgot to follow up with the winner of the "Guess Hope's birthweight" poll. It was our cousin Randy from California, he hit it dead on. Hope weighed 8 pounds even. Thanks Randy for guessing!!! Have a good night everybody : ) Love, Crystal

Here are the kids "Entertaining" Hope with their cool dance moves. Love you all!! Crystal

Hello All! This is a video of the kids "Entertaining" Hope. They love to teach her and show her new things : ) Which is especially nice while I make dinner. Love, Crystal

Hello All! We have a new tradition we are starting. It is "Family Movie Night". We all watch a movie together and have a snack. The kids get their pillows and blankets and lay on the family room floor. Tonight we watched Milo and Otis. It is a cute show and young family friendly. The kids look forward now to this special night as it has become rare for us to watch television at night during the school week. Grace of course loved the movie as it has cats and kittens in it. She loves all things cats : ) Luke liked that there was a waterfall in the movie. Faith loved the action as she is a women of action.

On a side note, Kelly and girls went to the Symphony today. The girls school went to a local children's symphony for a field trip. They dressed in pretty dresses and got to ride the school bus to a large auditorium were the program was performed.
The girls loved going with Daddy, he is a great date : ) But all three got car sick(or bus sick) as they were in the back of the bus for the ride. Altogether they loved it. Have a great weekend!! Love, Crystal

Hello All! I wanted to post these pictures of our house and the amount of snow covering it. Here is the front of our house. This picture was taken this morning. We have even had more snow accumulation since than.

We have a guy who plows our driveway when we get more than two inches of snow. He plows the excess snow over into our front yard. Here is a picture of our snow mound. Honestly I wish you could all see it. The pictures don't do it justice. It has become it's own sled hill.

Our driveway, notice the snow walls on the sides.

This is our side entrance into our family room. Our weather is supposed to warm up. 30 degrees would feel down right balmy right now : ) Have a good night!! Love, Crystal

Hello All! Yesterday we had a great time in the snow. The kids did great and stayed out for about 45 - 60 minutes. Grace stayed out the longest and was swinging on the swing set for about 15 minutes after the other two headed for the hot cocoa.

Notice how the snow is so deep it is up to Faith's knees. Grace is ready to throw some snow at Mommy. Luke is making a snow angel.

Who says Playground equipment can't be used in the snow?

Luke Briden staring as the Abominable Snowman, coming soon to a theatre near you : )

This picture I took in our backyard. It looks so pretty blanketed in the snow. You could even see a glimpse of blue sky and sun. A rare treat during a West Michigan winter. On a side note our friends the Petrees are doing great in Liberia. All the Visas have been approved for the children coming home to their "Forever Families". Please continue to pray for their travel home and for the Visas to be issued tomorrow or Friday. Thanks for your prayers : ) I also included alittle video of the kids outside on the swing set. I mostly included it for G-Ma and G-Dad Briden. I want them to see their special grandkids!! God Bless you all! Love, Crystal

Hello All! Well today is Grace's first "Snow Day" !! We have been getting hit with many "Lake Effect" snow showers. To learn more about the Lake Effect go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_effectI have posted some pictures of outside around our home to show you all the delightful snow we have received. The snow is delightful on days you don't have to drive in it : ) Today is one of those days, a "Snow Day", YAHOO! Later this afternoon we will head outside to play in it. We have a specific window of opportunity though. Hope has to be napping peacefully. That being said we need to have a record time as far as snow clothes application. Otherwise we may never even get out of the door before Hope wakes up. I have also promised peanut butter cookies and Cocoa for all those souls who don't complain while playing out in the snow. I will post those pictures later : )

Today the kids have been making cards for Grandma and Granddad Briden and Grandpa B. Grace loves to write and to create. Rare is the day that she doesn't ask to color a picture for Daddy. Here is a picture of the girls sitting at our bar creating masterpieces. Luke has been having fun playing with his big sisters. He is always told what he should do while playing and rarely does he disobey those two. If they decide he is a dog, he will become one, panting and all. He is a great little brother : )

Hope was smiling at her Daddy this morning while he was drinking his coffee. He loves to hold her and talk to her!! She loves her Daddy, Don't we all!!!! I will try to post snow pictures later : ) Love, Crystal

Hello All! I wanted to post some video of Hope and a picture of her first recorded smile. I was making dinner tonight and she was very social and full of smiles. Her smiles are coming easier and easier now. She is a happy little sweetheart. We thank God for Hope Lynn Briden!! Enjoy : ) Love, Crystal

PS- Sorry the video is sideways, I have tried to change it but I can't. Just turn your head to the side or if you have a laptop tip it up on it's side : )

Hello All! I hope you are doing great today! I am posting with a prayer request regarding my friend HollyAnn and her husband John. HollyAnn and John are the founders and directors of Addy's Hope Adoption and Child Relief Ministry (http://www.addyshope.com/) . HollyAnn and I became friends on a Yahoo group back when we had just started the process to adopt from Sierra Leone in 2004. She and her husband felt called of God to open their own agency through this process and they have been blessed by their obedience to God in this area. She and John leave for Liberia on the 19th, this Saturday. They are going in the official capacity as the Directors, but also as adoptive parents themselves. Please pray for them that all will go smoothly for them and the other families traveling to bring children home. HollyAnn and John have an amazing testimony as far as what prompted them to open Addy's Hope. Please read about it on their website. Please pray for God to be glorified through them, and all involved with Addy's Hope. Please also pray for their kids at home without Mommy or Daddy. God Bless you HollyAnn and John, you are such an encouragement to us!!! You are in our prayers!! Love, Crystal

Hello All! Today is our primary in Michigan and I voted today. We will see the outcome as far as the Republicans are concerned. The only democrat front runner on the ballot was Hillary. This is because we as a state moved our primary date up and both the national parties are penalizing us. Our state has been stripped of all our democratic delegates and half the our republican delegates as far as the parties national conventions. Sort of frustrating as a voter, but I voted all the same. One of my observations at our local polling place, I was the only person in the room under 60 years old : )









Here are some recent pictures of our family and most especially HOPE. I know my mother and father-in-law are probably excited to see her changes over just a few short weeks. She is getting so big and her face looks so much more "Chunky". I suppose this is one of the only times in life a girl can be called "Chunky" and not get offended. She is just looking so much more filled in as she adds on all that good fat. She is smiling now and loves her big brother and sisters. She smiles at them regularly, as well as her Daddy. For Mommy she commonly has squawks as she mostly associates me with food and is wondering when her next meal will come. I have also included some pictures of our family on our most recent sledding trip. Hope did sled down the hill with mommy for her first sled run. She was very bundled and sat in her car seat most of the time. I think she was the warmest of us all.

Sledding is always one of our families favorite times. The kids love it and never complain about huffing it up the hill over and over. They know we will not carry them. When they are tired they can rest at the top of the hill. When we are all done with the great outdoor exercise we all get to enjoy hot cocoa and cookies. The snow just keeps falling here today. So most likely more sledding pictures to come soon : ) Love, Crystal

Hello All! Well Monday night was wild in most of the middle of the U.S. and Michigan was no exception. We were also under a tornado warning. I didn't know this as I was driving in a pouring thunderstorm with Grace and Faith. We went to Bob Evans restaurant Monday evening for a fundraiser for their school. As we were there we saw the weather getting worse. Grace kept telling us all through dinner as she saw lightning. After we finished dinner, we started to head out the door and I herded them both back inside because the rain was coming in freaky looking sheets and I thought " We can wait for it to slow down". The rain let up slightly and we headed out to Kelly's truck running as fast as little girl legs can go in the rain and lightning. Once in the car we got on the highway and I was going 20 miles an hour as I couldn't see well at all. I then decided to get off the highway and take roads with street lights in the hopes of seeing the definition of the road. These roads were almost all flooded and I had to drive in the center turn lane. I called Kelly to tell him how bad it was, and he said " Well right now we are under a tornado warning right now in our county !" I was shocked and I said "O.K., Bye!" I then looked around and noticed not many people were on the road with me. So I started to speed and asked the girls to pray. Faith after praying for our safety said " I know Daddy is praying for us to get home safely." I love Faith's faith so much, she is certain of so many things. Grace is a mini-mommy in many ways. She is slightly prone to worrying as am I. My sister, Heather, and I joke about it now as we both are similar in this. We refer to it as our " Nervous Condition". Grace kept saying "I don't want to be struck by lightning!" After Grace prayed for us she than said "God will protect us, right Mommy?" It was crazy, but we made it home safe and immediately upon entering our garage both girls said " Thank you God for getting us home safe!" This is the part that I can sometimes forget, praising God when he has protected you and led you safely through.

We were in Kelly's truck on Monday because our "new to us" Van is in the shop after only a couple weeks!! So we have to fix the fuel pump and other things and it is going to be very expensive. Needless to say, Mommy is hopping mad at the used car salesman that told us nothing about all these problems. So I am having to use Kelly's truck to take him to work and pick up Grace and Faith from school. Please pray that the van will be reliable after this. We need to know we can count on the van as it is our only car that can transport us all safely.

We are praying for all our friends in Missouri as we have heard you have been hit in the weird January storm the worst. I pray you are all safe and healthy!! I am not sad we left the "Show Me" state when I see the tornado warnings in Missouri. People who live outside of the northern U.S. often state I couldn't live through the winter, I don't like cold. Well I don't like Tornadoes, Mud slides, Earthquakes, Hurricanes, and Volcanoes erupting that is why I choose to live here. When it snows and snows and snows we just go outside go sledding and drink hot Chocolate. Sounds like the perfect day to me, I LOVE WINTER!!!!! People with "nervous conditions" shouldn't drive in tornado warnings!! Love you all- Crystal

Hello All! I just wanted to let you know we are all alive and well : ) I hope every one's 2008 has had a great start. We are beginning to plan the year as far as Kelly's vacation time. It is fun to look forward to a new year filled with fun family times. So far we have gone all the way between camping in Northern Michigan to taking the Amtrak train to Northern California, where Kelly is originally from. Who knows what we will use the time God has given us for, but it is fun to dream. As we get closer to paying off Kelly's medical school loans I become more excited about the medical mission opportunities in our future. I am most drawn to Kenya currently. We have missionaries from our church in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. Kenya has also been in the news recently because of the recent Presidential election and massive riots.

For now we look ahead into 2008 and plan our year. We know that only God knows what is ahead and what will be accomplished in our family this year. I look forward to seeing what direction you and your family go as well this new year. We will be praying for you and for God's will on this earth in 2008. I am so glad God has given us today!! What we do today affects tomorrow, for good or ill. Let us all remember that as we embrace God's plan for us in 2008. Love you all- Crystal

Hello All! I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas and is looking forward to celebrating 2008. I haven't posted in awhile, but life is somewhat busier now. Great, but busy!!!! Yesterday we excitedly welcomed a 2003"pre-owned" Chevy Express passenger van into our family. Yes, now we have room to spare. With the addition of Hope and all her paraphernalia we had outgrown the mini-van. So now we are blessed to have room to spare, especially since we hope to adopt again. Now if you see us on the road we will be the family stopping frequently for gasoline. We know that for many people we have a large family already. We wouldn't trade one of these guys for the world. God has been good to us and has taught us so much with each new addition to our family. Kelly and I laugh when we remember our newly married days. We often say to one another " We thought we were busy than?!" We wouldn't have it any other way. We are often tired, but laughing. What more could one want in life than a van load of God's blessings and much laughter? I'll see you on the road, please give me a wide berth ; ) Love, Crystal

Hello All! I am sorry it has been some time from my last post. We have been busy enjoying Hope and celebrating the Christmas season. I wanted to add our photo taken today for our Christmas card. Our Christmas card will be late this year : ) Better late than never, right? So here is the Briden family, now six.






We took many, many, many pictures to find the best one. Here is a picture of Mommy and her girls. I am so excited for all the "Chick Flicks" and days at the Spa. Daddy and Luke are definitely outnumbered now. God willing, it won't be long before their numbers increase as well.





Grandma and Granddad Briden have come to visit us. I asked them to come and help us all out during the transition after Hope's birth. They are a huge blessing and I thank God for them both. My mother-in-law has cooked for us and my father-in-law has entertained the kids while I'm nursing baby Hope. They took a picture today with the Briden four as well. What special grandparents our children have. Thanks for everything Grandma and Granddad : )



May God bless you all during this Christmas season. Don't worry our Christmas card is coming :) Love, Crystal

Hello All! I am sorry this has taken so long to post and we so appreciate all the prayers and thoughts for our family! All is going great in the Briden household : ) Hope Lynn Briden was born at 02:15 am on November 3oth. She weighed in at 8 pounds even and is 20 inches long. Labor went great, not as I had pictured in my mind. But it was the outcome I was most focused on in my mind. A Healthy baby and Mommy, God provided that and so much more. First is a picture of Hope immediately after birth in the warmer. Here is a picture of Hope, Daddy and Mommy right after delivery. I know Mommy is looking kind of exposed, sorry that is one of the best shots we have. Once again Daddy got to deliver his baby girl. He is an amazing doctor and man!! I am so thankful for him and his calmness during times of stress. He has an amazing way of relaxing and encouraging me. I can't imagine you not being at that end of the bed, Kelly, you are so awesome!! I thank and praise God for you as my husband. We make a great team!!
It was also an added blessing to have my sister in the delivery room with us. She was a great encouragement to me!! Hope Lynn Briden was named after her Aunt Heather. Heather's middle name is Lynn as well and they both shared the same initials at birth HLB. We love you Heather, you are the best sister in the whole wide world!! Not mention the best Cotswolds traveling buddy, ever :)






















Here are the Briden four pictured just today. The kids can't get enough of baby Hope. She is so much fun to hold and look at, irresistible to a five , four and two year old. The three older Briden kids were taken care of by Grandpa Burmeister (Grandpa B), my dad. He did a wonderful job with them and we are so grateful to him. The kids love their Grandpa B, he is fun and funny guy. So thank you Grandpa B for all your work and care for the three eldest Bridens.







Thank you again for all the prayers!! we had hoped to have this up sooner, but as I am sure you can imagine we were and are busy with life and our special new addition Hope. She is such a gift and we truly thank God for her safe arrival. God is good to us and we praise him for our little Hope Lynn. More pictures to come soon : ) But for now mommy has two girls that want a snack and one that needs to be nursed. All our thanks again! Love- Crystal

Hello All! This my first video on Blogger : ) Luke loves the song Holly Jolly Christmas. Here is the little man singing with our animated snowman Grandpa B and his wife, Brenda, gave the kids. Merry Christmas to you all! Love, Crystal

Hello All! Well today I am getting so excited to meet Hope that I have to write about one of my favorite things about having a new baby, Breastfeeding!! The image I included with this post is from Babytalk magazine the August 2006 issue. It sparked much controversy when it was received in homes by subscribers. The image of a child nursing at his mother's breast is what offended some readers. You can read an article regarding the scandal at
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14065706/
This will be my third child to breastfeed and I can't wait : ) It is hard work at times in the beginning. Then there is a time when for me it is pure joy. It forces me to sit down, relax and enjoy the gift of nurturing this little life for this season. In June of 2006 I took a class to become a Certified Lactation Counselor. I would love to teach breastfeeding education classes in a hospital someday in the future. But my true dream is to be a Lactation Consultant which would require many more hours of training to be internationally board certified.

This post is not to bash women who have chosen or who have tried very hard and have not been able to breastfeed. It is funny though in our culture that the breastfeeding infant and mother make us uncomfortable. We are bombarded with sexually explicit images on television nightly, but a women breastfeeding can make most in our culture quite unsettled. I think even our puritan ancestors would find that aspect of our culture double minded. Can one truly be comfortable with the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders but turn with disgust away from a nursing mother/baby pair? We rarely watch football with the children anymore because of all the women exposed in the advertisements. For those of you that know Kelly that is quite a sacrifice, he loves football!!!

Just so you know I have always been modest as I nurse and I respect others comfort levels as well. I have purchased a "hootie hider" nursing cover for when Hope demands being feed in a more public place. I rarely side with my European ancestors on much. This is one area though were I say Americans need to relax. Don't be looking to be offended in all things and most likely you won't : )

My opinion is that anybody offended by breastfeeding is staring to hard.- David Allen


Just some food for thought : ) Love, Crystal

Hello All! I thought I would post some pictures of our Christmas decorating this weekend before I am too busy to think about blogging : ) The first picture is of the kids after decorating our Christmas tree. They really enjoy decorating and with shatter proof ornaments, mommy and daddy enjoy it too!



Lastly is a picture of me from Saturday. I am scheduled to be induced in three days : ) I am so excited to meet Hope. Please pray for us as we head to the hospital at 7:30 am. We covet your prayers for our safety and for God's will to be done. We hope to have pictures of her on the blog quite quickly. Make sure to check back for updates on Thursday and beyond : )




I can't help but think of Mary at this time of year, especially this year. I can't imagine riding a donkey and making that journey to Bethlehem this pregnant. I wonder how she felt after Jesus' birth. For each of the childbirths I have experienced I am in awe of the creator and his magnificent creation. Imagine holding the Lord in you arms as a newborn. What awe and joy she must have felt. She was truly blessed to be chosen of God to mother his son!! May God bless you all this Christmas!! Love, Crystal

Hello All! This past weekend we braved the crowds of Rivertown Crossings Mall in Grand Rapids, Michigan to build a special Bear for Hope. It has become a tradition in our family that the older sibling/s build a bear for the newest Briden addition. Grace built her own bear at about 15 months in Kansas City. Upon Faith's arrival Grace built her a bear in Springfield, Missouri. Faith was only days old at this point and the pictures are adorable. Before we moved back to Michigan both girls built a bear (actually it is a monkey) for Luke complete with a baseball uniform. They presented it to him upon his arrival. He has loved Max the monkey ever since. So it was only right that they all got to help celebrate Hope. We waited in line for about 45 minutes to build the bear and all three showed amazing amounts of patience. I was ready to turn around after I spied the line, but they would have never stood for that : ) So I have included the photos of them getting ready to build the bear as well as kissing the hearts that they each carefully placed in Hope's bear. Our newest addition to our family is a pink and white bear with Hello Kitty pajamas and pink bows on her ears named "Sparkle".

After the bear building went to ride on the neat carousel inside the mall. I was sitting watching them ride with Daddy. Mommy can't do carousels at his point for many reasons. Luke kept looking for me and yelling "Mom". It was sweet he really wanted me to see him ride the horse up and down. Next was a stop at the food court for ice cream, Yummy! We truly thank God for these fun family times : ) Love you all! Enjoy- Crystal (Nine days and counting to scheduled induction, we will post pictures as soon as we can)

Hello All! I am excited to share my induction date. Due to my gestational Diabetes the doctor only wants me to go into my 39th week. The concern is always the size of the baby. With Diabetes the baby can get very big and it can be hard to deliver vaginally. The date the induction of my labor will most likely take place is the 29th of November. That is a week after Thanksgiving. Yeah!! I am excited to have a date. It doesn't mean that it will work and Hope will be born. I have had three failed inductions in the past. Those were with Grace though, and that was before my body was aware what labor was. So I am hopeful it will work well and that ultimately God's will is done. Please pray for us as the time nears. Pray especially for the health of baby Hope and Mommy, please.

I got a kick out of this cartoon today and thought I would include it on the blog. It is interesting to me now having three kids under six (soon to be four) how much I have learned about being a mother. I love each one of our kids, but in some ways I appreciate what the lady in the blue coat is sharing. This is the hardest I have ever worked at anything in my life. It is extremely rewarding and fun most of the time : ) But, there are those times when you wish you could "clock out" and take a break. I do take breaks, but rarely do I stop thinking as a mommy. I am always thinking things like " I hope Faith got her medicine." and "Is Grace getting enough one on one attention with me?" or " Does Luke need new pants for fall? I don't think capris are in style for little boys." So even in my break time I am never truly checked out. This is my calling, I love it and I love each one of my charges. Each on so special, unique and a gift from God!! I can't wait to see who Hope will be, what fun!!! God Bless you all- Crystal