Chaser

Chase is doing great - he is talking up a storm and makes us laugh a lot with the things he says. He is typical two year old - "me do it myself" is a common phrase out of his little mouth! He repeats everything he hears and tries to be just like big brother Reece. He is a funny kid - and can dance better than anyone I know!!! We are beginning to want to tackle potty training these days...he has his days when he thinks it is fun and those he doesn't care to try but we are going to have to bite the bullet. My favorite thing these days is that he now says "I love you" all on his own.

Little Pierce

I would say Piersen is the one in the family who has grown and changed the most over the past few months....here are a few visuals of our handsome baby! He is a sweet little guy and seems like he is going to have a super fun personality. He is easy to make smile and laugh...just lots of fun! He has been drooling a lot these days and a little fussier than normal, I suspect some teeth on the way! And he's still a BIG HIT with the older brothers! Contrary to popular belief "the neweness of a baby in the house" has not yet worn off! He receives more than enough kisses, hugs, and rubs on the head from his brothers!

A Good Father

My husband is a good man. I overheard him in a recent conversation with some friends.... The other person was commenting on our family and said, "you have really good kids." Benjy, without hesitation responded, "we think so. we really do - they are good boys." I was in the other room and smiled when I heard Benjy's response. Why did I smile? Because I love that he is honest about how we feel about our family. He went on to talk about how important he believes it is that our children hear us talk about them in positive ways to others because it seems much too common to reply to a compliment with something like, "well, they aren't always well behaved" or "you should see them sometimes" and on and on. I think Benjy found a pretty powerful way to communicate to our boys by communicating to others. I know they overhear a lot more than we think they do and I am proud Benjy was bold about his love for them. It reminds me of my Heavenly Father who sees all of my behavior and yet, I believe, looks at me and sees the good!

Announcing....Another Baby!

Ha! Made ya think there for a minute didn't I?!?! No - not me pregnant this time. It is my sweet sister in law - Betsy! Jared and Betsy will have their first child in February. Congratulations! We are so excited to meet this little cousin/niece/nephew! This will be the first niece or nephew born after having my own children. Caden, Tabor, Mackenzie, Kalen and Camrynne are all so very special to us and we are thankful to have another one join our family. Please pray for a healthy and safe pregnancy for Betsy. All seems to be going well and we thank God for that!

Highlights of Our Journeys...

I like to remember our trips and so thought it would help me to make a list of some of our more memorable moments...

* we drove something like 8000 miles over the course of our furlough - from Mexico to Canada and to various places within the United States - that's a lot of car time! we shared a lot of quality conversations together - evaluating our lives, our parenting, our work in Mexico, our future plans, etc.. we read a lot of books, listened to lots of radio, and tried to be creative with our time being strapped safely in our buckles (including the very popular game of pumping our arms to get the semi-trucks to honk their loud horns - this was by far a Reece & Chase fave!) - we saw so much of God's beautiful creation and the boys noticed a whole lot of animals
* Benjy enjoyed his 1 week Master's class at ACU - very challenging
* spending time with our good friends Scott, Melissa, Cameron and Casey Smith - they shared their home with us and it was good to reconnect and pick up right where our friendships left off - they are just those kind of friends!
* little Pierce begins sleeping through the night early on the journey - great thing for me!
* we learned the hard way that one should make hotel reservations when travelling through not so populated states like Montana, Wyoming and Kansas (many extra miles were added on to already long travel days for "no vacancy" in the entire towns on 3 different occasions - the reasons: Jehovah Witness convention, rodeo, wrestling tournament, german convention)
* ok, call me biased but there is nothing like a Saskatchwan sky - I loved being home - it was so green, so pretty, so wide open! good afternoon/evening spent with good childhood friend Jenn and her husband Terris and kids Rahimay and Rohan. Benjy and I loved our walks/jogs out on the country roads, breathing fresh air - the boys loved playing outside for hours - riding tractors, quads, motorcycles with uncles, chasing cattle - they loved connecting with cousins Kenzie, Kalen and Camrynne and of course grandma! we loved our camping trip with Auntie Char and Uncle Dale and Grandma - lots and lots of fun! We ate and ate and ate - good food! We enjoyed this most relaxing part of our furlough and appreciated the time for devotionals and spiritual conversations with my Mom...and the visit with Char that lasted until 4:30am. I am blessed with a good family. Thank you!
* loved listening to the not so intelligent toddler/preschooler arguement in the car between Reece and Chase about whether the animal spotted was a donkey or a horse!
* we enjoyed Father's Day weekend with the Brednich siblings and Benjy's Dad (Gary) and Robin - this was the first time in along time that all siblings were together and it was a lot of fun - the boys loved time with cousin Caden - they loved the family afternoon at Cabella's and the highlight of the weekend....Auntie Betsy and Uncle Jared announcing their pregnancy - we are thrilled to meet this new little family member in February!!
* we learned that when travelling by plane early in the morning with 3 sleeping children and way too much luggage - it is not a good idea to cut your time close - we ended up missing our flight as there was a line at the curb-side check-in line and we spent several hours waiting to fly stand-by...amazingly all getting on a few hours later!
* contrary to my thoughts that a trip away from home is no time to begin potty training...Chase takes great interest in using the potty like a big boy - almost always telling us when he needs to go #2!
* our 2 weeks in Louisville, Ky with our partnering congregation (Westport Road Church of Christ) were wonderful - they are the nicest people - very hospitable and warm - we loved reconnecting and meeting new friends - our kids loved playing in a different back yard every night and with so many fun friends like Isaac, Elijah, Ian, Kirsten, Ian, Oliver, Makaela, Drew, etc..
* our family trip to the Newport Aquarium was a lot of fun - we enjoyed the shark tunnel, watching the deep sea divers, and racing the penguins!
* time with the mission committee and leadership team from Westport Road were special - from blueberries and ice cream with Dan and Jan, tractor rides at Jim and Sue's, playing cars at John and Debbies, bowling with Doug and Reagen, bunnies at Ken and Brenda's, or the fish pond at Larry and Dianne's - the kids made memories with people that serve our work in such a special way...and we felt the love, encouragement and support from our church family!
* Reece and Chase made a big step in life and were ready to go off to Bible class on their own (they were quite proud of this!)
* a very special baby shower put on by Gina and Stephanie for little Piersen - it was a great way to have some time together as ladies and for Pierce to laugh and smile his way into more hearts! we are grateful for their genersoity and love for our family.
* protective big brother Reece saves Chase by screaming to us that he has fallen in the pool as we let him out of our sight for a few seconds - we got a pretty big scare to see him under the water....but in typical Chase style he coughed for a second and was ready to go back and play!
* we loved the church picnic and the special fireworks - what a great way to spend our last evening with Westport Road!
*our visit to Washington DC was to see Mimi (Benjy's Mom, Mary Beth) and she made sure to fill it with lots of activity - themed around the White House - we got a tour of the White House, the West Wing and a White House lawn view of the President's departure on Air Force One (yes, we saw President Bush wave right at us!) These are interesting things to see - maybe not quite so age-appropriate to young little boys who don't understand why security guards yell at you when you are simply stepping on the White House lawn (yes this happened) or why it is inappropriate to slobber and make farting noises on the leather chair outside of the oval office (yes this happened too)...or to be told by an overzealous military person on the tour of the Pentagon that you shouldn't wander away from the group during the tour or you will get shot (yes...true - comment aimed at Reece - with a not very impressed Mom listening on)...but it was very cool to all of us to see all the sights - even where Mimi works at the Capitol building.
* the Air and Space Museum, the Natural History Museum, the water fountain at the Sculpture Garden - all very neat things to see!
* we got a chance to see the Cubs play against the Nationals - Pierce's first major league baseball game - while Reecer and Chaser stayed with Mimi! Benjy was so happy to see his Cubs (as this is "the" year according to him!)
* Mimi and Uncle Burke kept all 3 boys as Benjy and I had a few hours to ride the metro, check out a museum and most importantly just be us!
* we had an opportunity to have several significant conversations with Jason and Heather Thornton who had given us pre-marital counseling and now graciously shared their time with us - giving us a marriage check-up - time well spent.
* arriving back to our home in Mexico City at 2:30am - hoping the kids would transfer from their car seats to their beds...only to have them wake up with excitement - taking about an hour to get them back to sleep after seeing their dogs, their toys and their home after weeks of being away!

I am back!

Hi friends....

After a long retreat from blogging, I am back. We returned to Mexico City after our furlough to the States and Canada. We are getting settled back into home and loving not having to live out of a suitcase. The boys felt like they had a whole bunch of new toys since the hadn't seen them in awhile! It is good to be back here. We had a very, very good time away and loved reconnecting with so many important relationships that we have with family and friends. Thank you to each of you who shared your time, homes and encouragement with our family. We are reminded how very blessed we are to be surrounded by so many special people. When I get around to finding the time and the space on my computer to dowload some hundred of pics from our journeys - I will post some. I have missed the blogging world and hope to catch up on some of yours!

Be back soon...

We are Home!

Not Mexico...we have been in Canada for a few days - it has been really good to be home! My boys are having a blast playing outside and doing farm stuff...they are worn out by the end of the day! We had a long drive up here but I just have to say how proud I am of my kids. They are really good travellers - really good....and make the trip much easier than it has the potential to be with three young ones. We don't have a portable dvd player and yet we kind of like it that way. The boys color, read, play and enjoy looking for cows and horses, and have seen great scenery along the way. It is amazing how many different things you will see from Mexico to Canada - but all very beautiful. God is truly creative! This trip has introduced the energetic attempts at getting semi truck drivers to honk their big horns. We have passed many a semi on the highways and Reece and Chase light up when they realize that by pumping their arms, the kinder drivers honk - their little eyes light up at this magical cause and effect (yes, their Mom feels a little silly since I doubt the drivers are seeing the boys through the tinted glass - but hey, anything for entertainment when you are trying to pass the miles!) It has been fun! Needless to say, it was nice to arrive and see grandma and aunts, uncles and cousins. We are taking opportunities to rest and renew ourselves. The plan is to depart here next Wednesday and head back south to see Benjy's family. We'll then fly to Louisville to spend several weeks with our partnering congregation and a drive up to DC to see Benjy's Mom. So as we have much more travel ahead of us, we continue to trust God for our safety. Thanks for your prayers.....and hey - let's meet up somewhere!!!!

Oh - I must insert this big milestone! Piersen is amazing. Several days after arriving in the States, he decided to follow the guidelines of a furlough - to rest and renew oneself! He has been sleeping through the night - usually 11pm to 7am! It has been wonderful for me...and for him. He is in the very fun stage of lots and lots of smiles, and tries to have a conversation with you with his many cooes (sp?)Pretty sweet boy!

Away We Go!

This summer is our scheduled furlough time to go home and visit our partnering congregation in Louisville, Kentucky (the Westport Road Church of Christ). We had been planning to go in late summer but due to the unexpected arrival of Piersen's passport earlier than we had anticipated....and a number of other factors, we quickly changed plans and rescheduled our travel plans to begin now. Benjy is currently in Abilene, TX taking a short course in his Master's work. Me and the boys are with our very good friends in Tulsa,Oklahoma - Scott and Melissa Smith. Our departure from Mexico was fast and furious as it was a last minute change in the plan....but we are thankful for safe travel on the roads and for good, hospitable friends to take me and the boys in for a week!

The plan from here is to leave for Canada sometime next week to visit my family! It will be a long drive but our boys are really quite good travellers and we are thankful for that! We will fly on to Louisville in mid-June and spend several weeks with them. We will vsit Benjy's Mom in DC and then begin the journey back to Texas to see more of Benjy's family on our way back to Mexico.

In all of this crazy travelling, we would love the chance to see you! Contact us for more details and hopefully something can be worked out. Please pray for our many hours on roads and in planes....for the flexibility of our sweet kids, and for great time with important people in our lives and for rest and renewal for our family.

Maybe We Should Play the Lottery!

Reece's school was recently selling raffle tickets and I was presented with the request to "help out" as the other parents are. Well, I wasn't too interested but also am not really good at saying "no" so I said I would take 3 (I didn't have money on hand but they said I could pay later). I came home and mentioned it to Benjy. The next day Benjy came home with 5 more raffle tickets because he said the prizes were great - a flat screen monitor, a portable dvd player, and a karaoke machine (and he apparently wasn't listening very well to the fact that I already spoke for 3). OK - whatever. Then a few days later, we realize after actually looking at the tickets that the raffle is not only from the school but rather a nationwide raffle! We thought, ya right - forget it.......until they called me on Friday morning and said we were the thrid prize winners in the nationwide Mother's Day raffle!!!! Ha! What are the chances!!! I have never won anything and so was quite surprised. Unfortunately our prize wasn't the portable dvd player which we would have liked most....but does anyone wanna come over and karaoke!!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you Mom's out there...and most especially my own beautiful Mom and Mother-In-Law! Here is a little message from your grandsons.



Mom, you know how much I love and respect you. There is always the return of a very comfortable feeling when we get to be around each other...I love that. I always sense your unconditional love and a mother's pride from you - and I need that in my life. As I have often said before, I do thank you for my childhood - we all have very special childhood memories. Thank you for your example as a woman of faith that you have modelled for us, as your kids, and now to your grandchildren. I appreciate you for always making the effort to keep in touch and to express your love for me & my little family. You are wonderful and I love you.


Mothers's Day really has become a two sided thing for me. Yes, a chance to reflect on my Mom and other great women who have been examples to me but now, thanks to God's grace, a chance to realize what an honor it is to have children (not like I only do this once a year, but...)

As I think about the blessing of being a Mom, I have a pretty big smile on my face. To be honest, at this stage of the weekend I am also thinking how much the blessing of being a Mom coincides with the blessing of having a loving and helpful husband who likes being a Dad too (Benjy left early Friday morning to suprise his Mom in DC for her birthday and Mother's Day.....he gets back tomorrow - we have missed him and I have realized how much he does around here with the kids...wwhheewww). But, really - I love what it means to be a Mom. Yes, with three very young boys, life can be crazy - and it is best not to think too hard about the tremendous responsibility to raise your kids (that can be overwhelming!). But the night time wakings from bad dreams or a hungry baby, the constant request for snacks, the never ending laundry, lots of saying "no","be nice","share","say you're sorry", trying to be consistent with boundaries and discipline, and on and on don't matter much in comparison to looking into the eyes of your little ones and understanding that they are yours - something so incredibly significant that you were part of in creating. Their little precious lives and personalities are amazing and I really feel thankful that I have the opportunity to experience all of this thing called "being a Mom". My boys are very sweet and affectionate and I love each of them more than I ever imagined possible.

5 Times in 1 Day!

I believe we just might be the only family that can say they were stopped by the police 5 times in 1 day......yes, that is right - 5 times! Mexico City has a law that prevents cars from driving on certain days, based on the last number in your license plates, as an attempt to cut down on car pollution (no comment on the effectiveness of this law!) Our "no drive day" is a Monday BUT Mexico City also has a law that allows you to buy a permission sticker that permits you to circulate your car every day of the week if your vehicle passes the emission test. Months ago we passed the test and purchased the permission sticker and have been driving on Mondays ever since (occasinally getting stopped by the police with the reputation for corruption and going through the hassle of proving that we are "ok"). Today we had to drive way up north in the city and it was a special day I guess as we got pulled over 5 different times! It was unbelievable because although they see the sticker on our windshield I guess they think they might get a little heftier bribe when they see our white faces and so they try and try and try to convince us that our sticker is expired. Frustrating but such is the life at times in Mexico City! Thankfully we drove away from each encounter in the right - even though we saw many looks of disappointed on the officer's faces.

My Cutie Patooties

 

Ok, so they are cute...but it doesn't stop there! Look at their amazing talent! (they know how to make breakfast fun!)

 

Family Photos

When Reece was 6 weeks old we had some family pictures made and we really liked one in particular so we ordered it. When Chase was 6 weeks old we tried to replicate the picture - and Chaser wore the same clothes and lay on the same blanket that had been in the picture with baby Reece. So...now that Piersen is 6 weeks old it was time to take "the" picutre again. I threw out all good parenting skills and, knowing how uncooperative Chase can be with smiling for the camera, I bribed the boys with a special surprise if they would help Mommy out (and then prepared myself to expect the worst). Well, I was wrong - both of them were really good and we got some great pictures!

Below - Reece and Chase are "in position" for the pose! Pretty cute!

 

Below: the progression of our growing family! By the looks of things, the only ones who have changed much are the boys!

 

 

 

Father,
I thank You today for 3 beautiful, healthy children and for the family I have been given. I am reminded of the honor and joy it is to participate in raising them, alongside the love of my life, to become men of God. I don't think we ever imagined how rich this experience would be - and we ask for wisdom and guidance in our decisions and the way we teach, discipline, and direct their precious lives. Thank You for my incredible husband - for the good father he is to Reece, Chase and Pierce. I give all 4 of them to You today and ask You to give us a long life together as a family.
Amen.

Growin' Fast!

These pics are for Gramma and Mimi to see how big this little boy has grown since you left!

 

 

The Oddest Baby Gift

Okay, our friend Whitney sent this little "hillbilly pacifier" to Piersen as a baby gift - I gotta say it is the oddest one we have received for all 3 kids - I had to take a picture! Thanks Whit!

Surprise, Surprise!

 

My friends threw me and little Pierce a surprise baby shower this morning. I was completely in the dark! I had been told that we were getting together as women to watch a parenting video and then to discuss it together as we all have young kids - and who can't use a little support from other mom's?!? When I walked into the house I first saw a table with cake, balloons, and gifts but I didn't catch on at first - and then it dawned on me. It just felt really nice for all of them to do this for us- we have been blessed with good friends here in Mexico. Today I was reminded of that. Yes, it was nice to receive cute clothes and things for my baby - but much more importantly was the chance to be around many of the good people that surround our family. This thing called parenting is a huge responsibility and we continue to see how important it is to have a strong support system of family and friends. Thank you ladies for your love, friendship and for the time spent showering us this morning!

 

Little Piersen slept through most of the shower - always taking advantage of a few more arms to cradle him. I love this picture of Chaser holding him.

Happy Birthday Char

 

My big sister Charlotte is celebrating her birthday today! I have always looked up to her - she is an amazing, gifted, strong woman of God. I really consider her a friend and a sister which is a really neat thing. I remember when we were kids, it must have driven her crazy but I wanted to be like her - to the point of holding off on eating my candy bar if she wasn't yet eating hers. We have now grown beyond childhood squabbles and sharing clothes (although I wouldn't mind doing that still!) and I consider her a person of character whom I respect alot. Benjy often teases me and refers to her as "Dr. Char" because I value her parenting advice and example so much. She is a very good Mom and I am thankful to have her as a role model - and my boys are very lucky to have her as an aunty.

I love you Char and I miss you a lot. I am proud to be your sister - thank you for all you mean to me. I hope your day was great and that your year is filled with joy, growth and God's goodness. Happy birthday!

Celebrating 4 Years With Reecer!

 

Reece turned 4 years old on the 16th - and boy, was he excited about it!! We have been teasing him for weeks that we weren't going to let the 16th come and that he would have to stay our little 3 year old forever. After praying for him one night while tucking him in for bed I asked God to allow Reece to grow to be a good man who loved God with all of his heart, soul, mind and strength. The moment my prayer ended, Reece quickly responded..."Mom, if you want me to grow old and be a man then you have to let me have my birthday!"

He wanted to celebrate with his classmates so I made a cake and we shared it with him and his school friends. When it came right down to it, he was pretty shy about it (quite obvious by his stance in the picture below...everyone is singing to him and he is thinking, "I am not here, I can't hear you or see you!")

 

We had a small and simple party this year at home - and we were once again blessed with a visit from Aunty Betsy! This has been the third party in a row that she she has been here to share in Reece's birthday - it is pretty special to have family here to celebrate these important occasions!

 

 

Our countdown to a sparkly blast off and eating cake was fun with Reece's choice of a rocket ship cake....although the biggest hit with the kids was not cake and ice cream but the jello stars that were gobbled up before I could return from the kitchen with the ice cream!

 

 

Reece had a lot of fun playing with all of his best buddies - the other missionary kids who really have become like cousins to our kids.

We are really amazed at how quickly 4 years has seemed to pass. Reece is such a great little boy who has filled our home with laughter and good times. He is a bright kid who loves to ask questions and marvel at all sorts of things. We love his caring heart and his zest for life. He loves his brothers and his friends and it is neat to see how that plays out...and he loves God - very clear in his desire to hear stories from his Bible and to sing and pray. What a kid! At times he says and does things that make it hard to believe he is only 4 - and at the same time it is hard to believe he is that old already! We are most thankful to God for his life and for the priviledge it is to be his parents - for the role he plays in our lives as our son and a caring and loving big brother to Chase and Piersen. Thank you Reece for who you are.. we love you Reecer!

Guess Who!

The birth of a baby seems to bring on the common question of "so, who does he look like?" I went back to look through pictures of all my boys in the first 6 or so weeks of life. I was pretty suprised at the similarities between all three - no, not identical...but definitely brothers. The challenge for you: see if you can correctly name these baby pics - who is who?

 

 

 

Blue Eyed Blue

 

Reece has affectionately nick-named Piersen "blue eyed blue" for his blue eyes. Hard to believe the sweet little guy has been with us for 4 weeks already. He is doing great and man, we love him!