Over at I Heart Faces it is week 12, and the challenge is "the pout". Can't you just feel Faith's pain? This may be more than a pout for most children. Not for Faith though. She does everything with much vigor, even her pouting! Go to their blog to see all the cute kids and a special category of animal photos this week.
Blessings to you all~ Crystal

Hello All!

Today I have been thinking about how much I have fallen in love with the area of Michigan we currently call home. Yes, the winters are rough, but we have survived 4 winters here in the "Lake Effect" snow capital! That is a victory in and of itself. I love swimming in Lake Michigan on warm summer days, we are blessed by our church home and family and I love being around people who have the same Northern accent and way of speaking. What a blessing moving into a new community can be. When we moved here 3 1/2 years ago, we knew only our real estate agent and Kelly's coworkers. We now have a network of friends and places we visit that are so special to our family. One of the biggest blessings is the Lutheran school that our kids attend. I love and respect those teachers so much. Change can be difficult, but I have really loved learning about this area of our beautiful state.

I am originally from the opposite side of the state near Saginaw, MI. I don't miss it one bit!! I miss the people and maybe at times thinking back in time to the way things used to be. I miss my "family of origin", but life does move on doesn't it. I will always have special memories of people and places in my hometown, but I am so happy for where I am today. I think after years of struggling with where I was in each day, I am able to live easier in today. There are still things I look forward to, but I don't constantly think " when X happens everything will be great!" I love West Michigan and I would lie if I said I was glad to see more snow this weekend, but today is a new day with sunshine : ) I guess what I am saying is I am learning to embrace each moment God gives me, to embrace each place I have lived. I am now becoming a mixture of Okemos, Freeland, Bolivar, MO and West Michigan. I have been blessed to see life from different locations, each one with it's positives and negatives. I am no longer only a girl from Saginaw County, these other places represent parts of me as well. For today I am thrilled that spring is just around the corner and that I can walk to the Lake : ) No, I can't swim in it quite yet! But soon, soon I splash with the Bunch on the long summer days. Today though I am so happy to be a West Michigander in Springtime!!!

13 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit."
14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.

James 4 : 13 and 14

May God Bless you today~ Crystal

Hello All! Here are some more funny quotes from today.

This morning I drove the whole bunch to school.

Faith: Mom, I loved that yogurt, thanks for making it for breakfast! I ate two whole bowls of it.

Mommy: Your welcome sweetie, I am so glad you ate it! Yogurt is very good for you and a great choice for breakfast.

Faith: I am so healthy now Mom, now you don't ever need to give me shots again!!!!!

Poor Faith, if only Polio could be prevented by eating one Yo plait yogurt!! The Third World would thank us : )

After the ride to school Luke sat on my lap to snuggle while I drank my morning coffee.

Luke: Mom, I don't like cows!

Mommy: Really, why?

Luke: Because they always MOOO at me!

Mommy: When has a cow moooed at you?

Luke: Never

Mommy: Oh, O.K........

Who knew the guy had such an extreme dislike of cows. He never would have made it in Missouri . We lived surrounded by hundreds of acres Beef cattle!

The picture is of the back of my head after Luke and Faith did my hair. They are really enjoying playing "Beauty Salon". Mommy is always ready for them to brush my hair : ) They were so thrilled with their "hair do" that they couldn't understand why later that afternoon I took them all out to go to Wal-Mart. I love those kids!!! Have a good night~ Crystal

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

Hello All! I was excited to receive a blog award from my friend, Michele, at Sweet Irie today : ) I love her wristlets that she makes by hand. They are the perfect gift for any women, but especially a busy mom. I can lose my keys quite quickly as I run to and from the car supervising all five of our bunch getting strapped in the "Briden Bus". The award is awarded to a blogger who you feel shows great attitude/gratitude. Thanks to you Michele : )

Now I get to share the award with other fabulous blog sisters!!

This is how it works:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate at least 5 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!

3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.

4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.Here are the great blogs I want to share this award with...In no particular order:

Seven Xs and a Y

A Silly Little Sparrow

Rebuild The City

Organized Chaos

Peters Peapod

and I have to do six : )

Small Things with Great Love

Blessings and Love to you all!!! You ENCOURAGE me : )

Quotes from the Bunch:

One evening we were having Chicago style pizza.

Faith asks Daddy: "Wow, did you ever have this FLUFFY pizza growing up, Daddy?"

Daddy:"No Faith we didn't have Fluffy Pizza"

Faith: "I'm sorry, Daddy"

Grace and Faith talking about the number of children in our family recently.

Faith: "So, that makes five children or seven children in our family?"

Grace: " Five, Faith. But Mommy and Daddy are children of God!"

Faith: "Can we have a Bednight snack"?

Mommy: "When? It's only 1:00 in the afternoon?"

Faith: "Now"

Luke: "Mom, when people move from their house do they take the toilet with them?"

Mommy:"No, it is connected to the house."

Luke: "AHHH, I like my potty!"

Timmy: "Ball" and when asked "How are you doing" he ALWAYS answers " Goo"(Good) even if he is crying.

Hope: "Butta" (Butterfly) and When you ask her "What does a dog say?" she answers Woof, Woof : )

Blessings to you all~ Crystal

Hello All! I am excited to announce that The Briden Bunch is changing soon. Lindsey from HERE is designing a new blog for me. I am so excited as I have wanted a "professional" looking blog for a long time now. I have been blogging for over two years now, so I am treating myself (and you) to new look. I am excited for it to all come together. Watch for the changes coming soon ! Please continue to comment as I love to read all of your thoughts.

On a side note, if you need to contact us we would love to hear from you-

Email us at thebridenbunch@yahoo.com

God Bless~ 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

Faith to Daddy: "In my brain I am thinking about Great Grandpa Green and Mommy's Grandma B in Heaven."

Daddy: "What are you thinking about?"

Faith: "I wonder what they're wearing in Heaven."

Daddy: "The Bible says the people in Heaven wear robes."

Faith: "So do I have to bring my robe when I go to Heaven?"

Grace interjected: "No you came into the world with nothing and you will leave with nothing."

Daddy: "O.K., no more talking go to sleep : )"

Luke: when asked what his favorite thing in his home is " Mommy, cause you love me."

Hope: "Uh, Oh" and "Ball"

Timmy: "Ball" and "Oh, My"

Mommy: "Do we have to participate in Daylight Savings time?"

I will try to do this with funny and cute quotes again soon : ) Blessings to you~Crystal

Hello All! I stumbled upon this blog from another blog, as well all do quite commonly : ) I have really enjoyed the posts about "Living Lovely With Family" you can see the explanation HERE. Heidi shared some good ideas on her blog and I am always thankful to start new ideas and traditions for our family to connect. This week's edition is sharing how we connect with family daily or ideas we hope to start to implement to connect daily. I have already gotten some good ideas from the other families. So here is ours : )

1. We read at night, every night. We also discuss the days events. So if you cal between the hour of 6:30pm to 8:30pm we may be busy and not pick up the phone. That is our time to connect.

2. We have a "family" day and it is Sunday. On Sunday night we spend time singing while Daddy plays the guitar, we play a game, we memorize scripture, we read a bible story and we have a special snack. Because we are Christians our family time usually involves questions about God and the bible. We have slacked on this lately as we have had so much sickness in our home. This inspires me to keep faithful to it. The kids LOVE this time with our undivided attention. They also love asking us questions about our relationship with God and our beliefs about Him.

3. Lastly, I make an effort to snuggle each child for a period of time each day. As a child I loved my mom hugging me and rubbing my back. I know it makes them feel special and they can feel how loved they are. I enjoy it very much as well. They have all grown so quickly, it forces me to slow down and take a minute to savor the moments I have with them at their current age.

4. Lastly, we have times weekly for everyone to say encouraging thoughts about each family member. We go around the table at a meal and say something we really enjoy about each person. It is amazing to see each child's face light up and shine when they are "encouraged".

"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing"

1 Thessalonians 5:11

I can't wait to read what the rest of you do. Go here to see the rest of the ideas for this week. I enjoy learning from others. God Bless you all~ Crystal

I am really enjoying the I Heart Faces blog and photo contests. This weeks submission needed to be a "creative crop". I have both an adult entry and a child this week. I had so much fun doing this. It was so much fun!!!!!!!

For the Adult entry is a picture of my sister, Heather. We went to a Tea room together and we got to wear big pretty hats. This is the photo before I did anything to it.

This is her photo after. This is using Photoshop Elements 5.0. I thought the antique frame and sepia coloring made the photo that much more special.

This is a random photo of my children playing at a park in our hometown. I snap MANY photos as you never know when you will capture the sweetest expression. Children are constantly moving and changing. Sometimes it is a surprise to me when I load the photos onto my laptop to see the faces I captured. Here is the photo before.

I love my daughter's face in the lower left hand corner of the original shot. She is excitedly playing with her baby brother who is sitting up on some playground equipment. She has a look of mischief in her eyes : ) If you want to see the Week 9 creatively cropped faces go to I Heart Faces. Enjoy! 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! 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! Well it is that time of the week again. I am entering the "I Heart Faces" photography contest. This picture is of Timmy after devouring his Birthday cake last month. This was his first birthday cake, as far as we know. Needless to say, he loved it : ) What kid doesn't love refined sugar, huh? Go on over to the "I Heart Faces" blog to see more cute messy faces. Blessings to you all from the frigid north~ Crystal

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~