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...

What a tease!

The other day, this Kentucky weather blessed us with temps in the 50's. So we jumped at the opportunity to get outside and play. As you can see Halle was thoroughly enjoyed to have a change of scenery(as was I!). Do you just love her piggy tails!? (Her father made me take them out when he got home, because he thought it was hurting her head. My words to him, "Beauty is pain." :))







And this is the last time I will give Halle yogurt and leave the room.





A self taken photo, since I'm always the photographer.

The gift of time

I like to run my life based on a schedule. I keep an organized calendar, I do laundry on Mondays, and cleaning on Thursdays. Halle naps at the same time each day, we eat lunch at noon, and dinner at 5:30. I run things on a pretty precise schedule. I'm not anal, however if these times fluctuate, I'm just a planner. A planner likes to think ahead, to be prepared for what is coming up next. Here's my dilemma. In approximately 4 1/2 months, we will be moving away from Kentucky. And where are we going, do you ask? Check out the map- we don't know! We could be anywhere!! This is a reality we were aware of when we moved here. And that date of June 1 seemed oh so far away. Now, it looks awfully close and we have no plan. So as a planner, how do I handle all of this uncertainty? Well to be honest, I'm doing a pretty job of not panicking- well not yet! My prayers have been the same since we got here and my little list will continue to be prayed each day for where God wants us to go next. Faith gets a little hard when reality gets in the way, doesn't it? My mind is thinking of all of the tiny details that will have to fall perfectly into place for us to move from here in 4 1/2 months. It seems nearly impossible. BUT, I know that all things are possible with GOD. So, in the meantime, I pray, I pray, and I pray some more. Please join with us in praying for clear direction for where God is calling us and the perfect place for Brian to lead in ministry.

My work here is done

It seems that Halle needs me no more- she's on her own, reading all by herself!! :)

Southern Travels

We have arrived back from all of our holiday travels. We had a great time celebrating Christmas in Louisiana with Brian's family. We were able to spend some quality time there and enjoy the holiday. We were busy visiting with different friends and family members. It seemed like we all caught a bit of the sinus cold while we were there and had a little downtime. But mostly, we felt good. Halle was so much fun this year on Christmas. She loved opening presents, especially ripping the paper off gifts- no matter whose gifts they were! Here are a few pics of all her holiday fashions!







And a few other pics of our trip...






Brian and I went to Houston with his doctorate class to visit different churches in the area. One of our highlights was visiting Joel Osteen's church and meeting him. He was so different than my perception of him. He had a rocking worship service and was so nice in person. It was pretty neat.