F-L-O-R-I-D-A!

We're back from the sunshine state! Brian, Halle, and I were able to spend a week with my parents in Florida this past week. My mom was on spring break, so Halle and I planned to fly down and meet them in Tampa. At the last minute, Brian decided he could join us after turning in the first 3 chapters of his dissertation. (Yay!) So, it was a great week of relaxation and exploring various sights. We stayed between Ft. Meyers and Tampa in a town called Englewood in a house that was given to us for the week from a family friend. It was a huge blessing and a great place for us to stay. Halle was a trooper with all of the traveling and had a great time with many new experiences.







We went to the beach...













Halle was really skeptical at first, but by the end of the week, she LOVED it! She loved playing with her bucket in the sand, and running into the water.

We also went to Busch Gardens which was a lot of fun. There were lots of neat animals to look at, rides to take, and things for Halle to play with. Busch Gardens is where I rode my first roller coaster ever! Brian and I went on a few and barely had to wait in any lines!







Overall, it was a wonderful, relaxing time. We made great memories, saw great places, and had a blast! Thanks mom and dad for a great trip!

Brother Bear Quinn

This is my big brother. He is one of Halle's favorite people in the whole world. A pretty cool thing happened last summer. Our family moved to Wilmore, KY, and my big brother moved to Wilmore, KY. It's pretty crazy that we both moved to the same small town, in the same state, for two different reasons. It had been about 10 years since we have lived in the same town with each other. So really, this year has been an awesome gift for brother and sister to live by one another and do life together. It's been a ton of fun and really special for us to be able to share this year together. We've shared many meals and many laughs together, and of course it's been great to have the world's best babysitter right down the street! With our future uncertain, we're not sure how far away we'll be from each other. But one thing is for sure, I'll never forget this time we've had to share life together and to see each other grow, and to become better friends. Thanks Quinn for all you do and we love you so much!

And thanks mom and dad for giving me a great brother bear!

The Irish!!!

Happy St. Patty's Day! We are all wearing our green today- and will have Irish Stew for dinner. Halle is in her shamrocks. She asked me what they were all over her dress and was trying to say shamrock. She definitely looks like an Irish girl with a tint of red in her hair.

On another note, here's Halle extremely unhappy with sitting on the potty. We're not seriously potty training but exploring the task. She doesn't like it!



And here she is more herself...






We babysat for our friend's baby, Jack, and Halle was fascinated by him and loved to sit right by him and give him kisses!

Drawing

Bubbles!

Chicago Adventures!

Here is Bri and I at our Marriage Retreat last weekend. While Brian went to South Korea, Halle and I traveled to Chicago to be with my parents. We've had a great time being here and have enjoyed the chance to get away. We've had lots of friends and famil to visit!






This trip to Chicago was extra special because my best friends from college came in to visit. One from California, one from West Michigan, and one from East Michigan. It was such a great reunion for us and chance for us to be together, plus we were able to celebrate the soon arrival of another Baby! Halle loved the girls being here and made the most of extra play pals. It was so special for the 4 of us to be together after 9 years of friendship.

Blah

I've not been doing that great of job lately with the blog. I feel like nothing really new is going on, but at the same time a bunch is going on. Our days are pretty much the same and not too exciting. I'm looking forward to warmer weather for a change of scenery. Halle loves playing with her friends as you can see in the pictures, Anna and Susanna live on both sides of us, and we see them almost daily. Tomorrow Brian heads to South Korea. I am so wishing he was staying here with all that seems to be going on in North Korea right now. But I guess I need to rely more on God and just pray, pray, pray. We are in the midst of trying to figure out where our future may lead us. We've got some big decisions to make and we're trying to walk through every open door at this point. We're truly trying to figure out what God wants us to do and right now, it's just not clear. So, a lot of praying is happening in our hearts and minds, and we'd love it if you'd join us in that. It's so hard when you don't have a clear answer sometimes, but that's what I keep praying for.

My loves

We woke up this morning and Halle started working on her Valentine for her daddy. Really she scribbled over her name. Then it was time to make breakfast- heart shaped pancakes and blueberries. We waited for Brian to get up and come down. Then, we all exchanged cards. It was a wonderful morning.




Brian and I agreed we wouldn't spend money on cards, flowers, or gifts for V day.- I hand wrote him a letter. But, Wednesday he came home with these! He said he didn't spend the money on Valentine's day- so he cheated! They were beautiful. He said, it's not Valentine's day without roses. I said, ok!



And here's to my Valentines...

For Halle:

I love...

-your laugh
-the way you can repeat any word I say
-when you count- sometimes to 11, sometimes, 1,2,11
-when you dance to any beat you here
-how you call music- "oggie"
-how you love your daddy
-how you know almost all of your letters
-watching you run outside
-when you pout with your lower lip
-hearing your diaper crinkle when you walk around in your jammies
-watching you play by yourself
-how much you love to read
-that you are always excited to see me
-that you are almost never without your teddy
-how easily you go to bed
-when you shout, "A-men" after every prayer
-how independent you are becoming and saying, "Halle do it!"
-how smart you are
-how you like to sing songs
-that you've given me a glimpse of the way that God loves me!

For Brian:

I love...

-how you swept me off my feet
-how smart you are
-how you love people
-you can talk to anyone anywhere
-how goofy you are with me
-how you love Halle
-how you show me love in so many ways
-your eyes
-watching you with Halle
-how you lead our family
-how you date me
-having conversations with you
-your accent
-how you dress- even though it's mostly bought by me :)
-the way you reach out to people
-how everyone that meets you, loves you
-that you are not a worrier
-how you care so much about providing for our family
-that you love sports
-that you are pro-active
-that you are my perfect partner and best friend!

How could you not love her?

I still love her even when...

She pulls on my legs when I'm making dinner screaming "hold you!"
She poops right after I just changed her
She wakes me up before 7:00
She opens the shower curtain during my entire shower, letting all the cold air in
She spits out her dinner after chewing it all up
She won't eat her veggies
We have to read the same book 765 times a day
I play the same games with her over and over again
She gets cranky in public
She pulls all of the books off her bookshelf and puts them on the floor
She won't drink any milk
She eats my breakfast and her own
She gets me up during the night and wants juice


Even though all of this may annoy me, I'm such a proud mom, and she really is a great little girl- so smart and fun. I love every minute with her. Thank you God for such a healthy, strong little girl.

A few weeks ago, Brian and I went to the UK basketball game with some friends. Kentucky was playing Auburn (where our friends went) so it was fun to be there with them. Kentucky basketball is a big deal here and it was a neat experience. Of course my favorite part was watching the cheerleaders and dance team.

A few moments of a typical night for us in the Bradford household...