Braisted Family Updates

Crafts for the Soul

2011-11-30T12:18:00.000-08:00

a little while back i was doing some soul searching. i found myself always feeling stressed. always feeling like i was working; not only for my job but my wifely and motherly duties as well. i was really asking God what it was that was making me feel like i was drowning. i've had stress in my life before. i've had sports demands and school demands. i've been over-committed and under pressure. but hadn't felt like this too many times before. then it hit me; i had no creativity in my life.

so about two weeks ago i made it a priority to carve out 20 minutes a day to do something creative. it didn't matter what it was, it just had to be fun and require some imagination.

we've been on a pretty limited budget but we've been diligent about setting aside some money for fun things. mike recently built the kids a little wooden playhouse. and i have been wanting to do something but didn't know what. then the holidays came. and i knew what i had to do.

christmas decorations!

so here are a couple of my projects that i've worked on the last two weeks. some of them were completed in one 20-minute creative period...others over a couple days. enjoy!

no sew tree skirt

materials:
1 yd red felt ($2.10)
approx. 2 yds gold ribbon ($1.00)
hot glue gun and glue (already had them)

time: 45 minutes (i did this on a weekend, so i went over my allotted 20 minutes)
total cost: $3.10

christmas stockings

materials (for all four):
2 yds red felt ($4.20)
2 squares white felt ($.55)
2 squares brown felt ($.55)
fake greenery (approx. $.10 for all four)
buttons (already had them)
hot glue and glue (already had them)

time: 30 minutes to cut pattern and sew the stockings
10 minutes to glue white felt
30 minutes to make felt flowers/glue greenery
-------------------------------
1 hour 10 minutes (did it over 4 days)

total cost: $5.40 for four ($1.35 each)

kids "masterpieces" display

materials:
piece of scrap wood (already had it)
paint (already had it)
10 clothes pins (already had them)
hot glue gun and glue (already had them)
screws, anchors and a handy husband :) (already had all of them)

time: 20 minutes to paint the board
20 minutes to paint/glue on the clothespins
5 minutes to hang
-------------------------------
45 minutes (did this in one day, 20 minutes in the morning, 25 in the evening)

total cost: FREE!!!!

cinnamon christmas candle

materials: 1 red cinnamon scented candle ($1.85)
cannister of cinnamon sticks ($.50)
fake greenery (maybe $.03)
twine (already had it)

time: 20 minutes
total cost: $2.38

decoration wine bottle
materials:
empty wine bottle (already had it)
silver spray paint ($4.50 and used very little)
gold decorative greenery (2.10)
twine (already had it)

time: 20 minutes
total cost: $6.60 (and would have been cheaper if not for SUPER expensive spray paint here)

no sew christmas advent calendar

materials:
2 yds green felt ($4.20)
5 squares white felt ($1.37)
5 squares red felt ($1.37)
4 squares light green felt ($1.10)
gold ribbon (already had it)
paint for numbers (already had it)
glue and glue gun (already had them)

time: 4 days x 20 minutes each day = 1 hr. 20 min.
total cost: $8.04

(do you see the little paper man next to the advent calendar? landon made him and he calls him "the christmas boy." love his imagination!)

piece of heaven

2011-11-01T17:45:00.000-07:00

with our fall schedule slowing down a bit we've made weekends intentional and a priority. we try not to schedule any "work" related stuff. we stay away from our computers more. we play outside a lot. and the most recent activity the kids love...

painting.

i have to say i grin a little when the kids say they want to paint. sometimes i groan, thinking about taking out all those paints and using tons of paper for just three brushstrokes. but mostly i get excited at the possibility of my kids being artists.

look how different they each hold the brush

art has played more than a huge role in my life. it has played a ginormous role in my life. i've always said that i didn't care if my kids were ballerinas or ball players. whatever they choose, i'll support them in that. but i definitely wouldn't complain if they chose to be painters. or photographers. or cartoonists. or sidewalk chalk artists.

emi is my careful painter. i know she's not even quite two but she has a delicate hand. she never goes off the page. she always holds a paintbrush like she is touching the most sacred piece of paper. she has this super adorable focus face where she purses her lips together and her eyebrows indent inward. so cute.

landon, although my wild painter, has quite the imagination. he is always mixing pictures with the new letters and numbers he is learning. he also never forgets who the picture is of or what animal he painted. he seems to be painting a lot of caterpillars, spiders and gagas (mike's dad who passed away in 2009) lately.

in parenting, i feel like it brings out the best in me and the worst in me. my ugliness rears its head in heated arguments (yes, those happen even with toddlers) and cuddles and kisses take all of my burdens away. there is just something about watching these little ones create that makes me hope and wonder and stand in awe of these beautiful creations. my beautiful creations. mike and i's beautiful creations.

god's littlest, most beautiful creations.

Maine - Day 3

2011-09-25T18:45:00.000-07:00

...also known as the day i took, like, no photos.

we spent the entire day at the cabin. we went straight from pjs and breakfast to swimsuits and cold beverages on floaties. landon's dreams came true when our neighbor decided to take his plane out for a spin. he couldn't believe it could float on the water.

we were just as in awe when we realized some fish we'd had on the stringer suddenly disappeared. we knew something was in the water as we discovered remnants of fish guts and slashed scales floating near our dock. i was thinking the theme song from jaws but really it was just a ridiculously huge snapping turtle. and when i say huge, i mean, like, almost as big as emi. like, the kind that can rip fingers and toes off of your body. creepy.

when we were sure the monster was out of our midst, we gave the kids a green light to swim again. emi wanted to be like the girls and float around, basking in the sun and sipping iced tea. she was a natural bathing beauty, although she wasn't fond of her photo-fanatic mother ruining her sun time.

and, surprise, surprise...papa (that's what the kids call my dad) went fishing and came back with some breakfast for the next day. this time reeling in a bass and bluegill. landon was thrilled. again. this kid never got sick of our daily jaunts to the dock to see what papa had found on his trip in the boat.

and as the day was heading towards dusk, i happened to go check on a napping emi and fell upon the cutest picture ever. how on earth her pacifier stayed like that, i have not a clue.

six to go. and tomorrow i'm sure will be just as good as today. it's maine. how could it not be?

Maine - Day 2

2011-09-08T06:35:00.000-07:00

...or also known as the day i took way too many photos.

our little cabin is humble. it has no running water. no indoor plumbing. and the roof is tilting slightly inward. for most, it probably isn't considered to be a vacation without all these amenities, but for this girl, it's a dream.

as a kid, i always wanted to live in the 1800's. there was something so appealing about life so simple. long dresses and bonnets. being "courted" instead of dating. having to go to the well to fetch a pail of water. if there were ever any woods near me, i would immediately enter them, pretend to build a house made of sticks and fir branches and build a "fire" that i started with my bare hands. so you see why our cabin is right up my alley.

before breakfast even started, the kids and i had a little impromptu bubble blowing. landon is a pro...emi, not so much. but it is pretty stinkin' adorable to watch her put her little lips together and spit at the bubble wand for like two minutes.

after we got coffeed up and full the fam and emi and i took a little walk around the neighborhood. it was such a good time and emi got some really good personal lovin' from my parents and my sister and brother-in-law. she reveled in the special attention.

she thought she was so cute acting all shy for the camera. :)

and she learned she could fly.

hitchin' a ride with uncle tommy.

that is one happy, loved, little girl.

we spent the rest of the day, just as life should be. wading in water, sunning on the dock and playing in sand.

as the sun began to set and the cool air set in, our traditional maine dinner went underway. the corn was husked and placed in a pot to boil.

as we were preparing dinner, my dad came home from fishing with a good catch.

i can't tell you how many of my best memories in my life have come from fishing with my dad. us girls used to go out with him, sometimes before the sun had risen and often times as the sun was beginning to set. we used to make up songs about the number of fish we caught. "i got ten fish, oh yeah." there were years when we would literally catch hundreds of white perch. ah, the glory days. now, with all the speed boats and activity and more people moving to the pond, we're lucky to catch two per day. but sometimes catching fish isn't really what fishing is about.

hello, girly girl, in your cute little dress poking the heck out of that poor bass' eyes...

mike tried many, many times to get landon to go canoeing with him, to no avail. so mike went out a lot by himself, sometimes just rowing, other times with a pole and minnows in tow.

with corn in the pot we began to prepare our lobster for their big entrance. for as long as i can remember, we have put the lobster to sleep before putting them into steam. it was a trick my grandpa taught all of us. the lobsters are asleep, they get put in the water, they don't scream or tense up, and the meat is tender. hey, we may be carnivores, but we are humane carnivores.

in case you were wondering: you put lobsters to sleep by placing them on their heads, upside down, claws back, while rubbing the back of their shell. no joke. it works and they never know what's comin'!

landon was all about putting some lobsters to sleep.

we used to buy lobsters for like $1.15/lb and get like 30 of them. they are now more like $4.50/lb (obviously still cheaper than at a restaurant) and taste just as good.

we ended our night, and ashley and tommy's last night in maine, with a campfire and s'mores. yes, we are sentimental about our fires. no, we did not sing kum-ba-ya.

another day down, seven more to go.

Maine - Day 1

2011-09-04T10:58:00.000-07:00

emi woke me up early, kinda to say, "hey mom, we gotta get going. we don't want to miss a thing." and had it been anywhere else, i would've been grumpy, but because of where we were, i had a pretty good skip to my step. so i put the kettle on the stove, warmed up some water and poured me some coffee. hey, a girl needs coffee at 6:30am, whether she's in maine or not.

it was another half hour before anybody else woke up so emi and i slipped outside, her with her cup of milk, me with my coffee, and sat on the front porch. not long after, we heard the ziiiiiiiip from the tent out back and emi immediately knew what that meant...brother was up.

yup. mike and lando slept in a tent. some may call that torture, but for the two of them, they call it awesomeness.

can i just say that i seriously love landon's morning eyes.

swan pond was absolutely breathtaking. a slight mist over the water, the sun not completely up yet. the contrast between a bright yellow canoe and the blue-green water was something i couldn't help but admire. i seriously took my camera everywhere. if there was a swaying reed to photograph, i was going to be there.

and like each morning after, landon and mike hurried to the dock to see what they could see. several mornings some large bass swam around looking for minnows to prey on. another morning a ginormous, and i mean GINORMOUS, snapping turtle hung around devouring some left over fish we fileted. don't worry, i will put a photo of him up here. but that's another day.

and me with my camera attached to my hip was able to capture some sweet shots of papa with miss ruthie. that poor man, living his life with a house full of girls. fighting over bathroom time and music preference. but he did learn a few things about loving well even in those war zones. and it was more than rewarding to see my dad and emi bond.

around mid-morning we hiked it to the portland lighthead (otherwise known as a lighthouse, not totally sure why its name is different). every year, on one sunday of our trip, we go there to picnic and enjoy the company of some long-time friends, don and pat. there's always cold-cut sandwiches and iced tea or lemonade.

it was breezy and a little chilly but for us folk who live in 90% humidity and high 80's most of the year around, it was a welcome change.

and our attempt at a family picture was slightly ruined by landon throwing a fit because we wouldn't let him climb on the rocks and emi, well, she just didn't want to have to do anything she didn't want to do. so no smiles from the children, but at least no one is screaming. (see the group photo below...)

my sister, ashley, and her husband, tommy

don, my mom, my dad, and pat

tommy, ashley, screaming emi, shelly (my sister, abbey's, best friend and roommate, my mom, abbey, me, lando, my dad and mike

while the others went out exploring and watching the kite-flyers, our little family went back to the picnic site and dozed. well, the kids wouldn't really let us doze, but we rested just the same. and for real, i can not for the life of me figure out who took this picture.

we celebrated abbey's 23rd birthday, as we always do at the lighthouse and pat made a delicious cake. it was a pretty sweet day. and the fact that we had little-to-no child meltdowns made the day that much sweeter.

we headed back to the cabin and landon and emi ruth partook in a goodwin family tradition that their cousins, their mom, their aunts and many other relatives have all done at some point in their lives. a bath in a cooking pot.

and after being up since 6:30 and getting to bed around 11:00, the day felt long and full. i laid down and thought to myself, "i can't believe i have 8 more days like this."

Maine - Arrival Day

2011-09-03T11:03:00.000-07:00

when we stepped off the plane in portland, maine all my childhood memories flooded my head. although, as a child, we never flew to maine, just knowing i was there reminded me of everything i loved about it.

back then, we would all cram into our wood-sided station wagon, later to be replaced by a conversion van, none of us wearing seatbelts or sitting in carseats. (remember, these were the days when it wasn't the law, so no judging my parents please.) as we'd pull out of our driveway in pewaukee, wisconsin the absolute first thing out of all of our mouths were, "are we there yet?" followed by hysterical laughing. we'd trek the 21-odd hours of driving, stopping to pee about a million times and always stopping at this huge truck stop/overpass station in new york. it was the first sign that we were close. we'd always get breakfast at mcdonald's, use the restrooms and scour the new york souvenirs in the gift shop. i always wanted to buy something there but never did because i wanted to save my allowance money for a new maine t-shirt and, of course, homemade fudge from kennebunkport.

so as i smelled the fresh air and piled suitcases in cars i felt it, the peace that i was looking for. the rest i was needing. the feeling of no agenda.

half of us took off for the cabin while the other half booked it to Michael's to buy authentic italian sandwhiches and mom and pop pizza. i'd been waiting for its taste, anticipating how incredible all of the rich flavors would take me back. and, oh, did it deliver.

my car arrived after our stop to grab dinner and as we drove down the woodsy path i felt the urge to look at everything. take in every piece of this land. memorize it in order to store it away for a day when i needed a little reminder of how good life is.

and as we pulled up, this is what i saw...

kids already in bathing suits, splashing in the water, people lounging in american flag chairs. i stared for a minute, a bit in awe at the fact that these were my kids playing in my pond.

being grown up in this place is not much different than when i was a kid. it smelled the same, felt the same, looked the same. the only difference was, my parents. i reveled in time spent with them. fascinated by the fact that they are now watching their grandchildren play in swan pond instead of their own kids. finding a balance between watching my kids play and craving conversation and memory-fishing with them. it was so much sweeter than i imagined.

emi's been a little moody lately and quite honestly a little too clingy towards me. i know its hurt mike's feelings a little bit and i've wanted so desperately for her to cling to him again. and that's exactly what happened. she's felt some of mike and i's stress lately and just as i'd seen it so many times before, maine melted all worries and stress away in seconds. she clung to him and smiled her cheesy smile and loved on mike like he was the best thing since sliced bread.

our little ones knew this was a special place. a normally shy and reserved landon jumped into everything he could find. he was enthralled with all the critters he could finally put his hands on after weeks of talking about them. those poor minnows. they had more "love" than i think God ever intended for them.

i am not spontaneous. in fact, i am borderline obsessive compulsive. always needing to stick to routine and stay on schedule and finish my check list. my prayer, before this trip started, was that i would have no agenda. that i wouldn't stick to a plan. that i would let my kids see a side of me that they've never seen and probably longed to. god answered that prayer and then some.

as i walked into our little cabin to set down my bags, i cried. like all the tough things i've been holding onto weren't allowed to enter into that sacred place, so my body expelled of them before i had a chance to pick them up again. i'd never felt so much joy, than in that moment, when i let it all go away in tears and walked my baggage-free body back to watch my kids swim.

Maine Teaser

2011-09-02T13:23:00.000-07:00

at the end of august, mike and i loaded the kids up on an early morning flight to portland, maine. i ran across this photo and couldn't resist making a quick post. now, i just need to find time to sort through 1,000 photos and pick my favorites to put up here.

Back-tracking: Visit to Aunt Ashley's

2011-09-02T08:44:00.000-07:00

i am attempting to back-blog about some of the great things that went on, even though they were long in the past. our summer was so busy that I just didn't have time to document our family very well. so here is the first of a series of posts (not sure when they will all get up here, still) that will encompass some fun times had a little while back.

we visited one of my sisters, Ashley, and her husband, Tommy, in april. it was a quick visit and really didn't get to see much of Tommy, but me and the kids had some good quality time with Sash.

it's an interesting dynamic, being grown-up sisters, as life changes so much from childhood to adulthood. Ashley and i are polar opposites. i don't think two people could be more different. which in the world of kids usually also means, lots and lots of fighting. i don't remember many days where we didn't fight, except when on vacation to maine (which you will see posts about that soon, too.), but I'm happy to say that all that is behind us. something switched when we were in college. when we didn't compete over silly things. when we embraced our differences. when we just kinda realized, as different as we were, how incredible the other one was. i have a friend now, not just a sister.

since our lives have taken us far apart, her in north carolina in her third year of pediatric residency and me, a missionary in the dominican republic, any chance at a visit is one i grab by the horns.

we went to a park near Ash and Tom's home and the weather was just right for going down slides, playing in sand and swinging on swings. there wasn't a bit of sun and the air was crisp, but it felt beautiful and comfortable just the same.

we discovered Nohemi's deep-rooted fear of swings, only to find her life's greatest joy on the next to-and-fro. as a side note: these three pictures were literally three frames right in a row. kinda funny to see an irrational fear become something of the past...in literally two seconds.

i see you baby girl.

the kids tired of the playground and we were ready to head back but Sash and Lando discovered a secret little spot.

this boy loves him some water. if i believed in reincarnation, i'd believe he was a fish or a turtle in his past life.

there's something so energizing about your family loving on your kids. when i was a kid i could hardly wait for the day i would be a mother. and its even sweeter to be a mom and watch Ashers be an aunt.

First Day of School

2011-09-01T05:10:00.000-07:00

I am quite sure that it is not already September. I am also sure that I will NOT be turning 30 this month. And I am even more sure that it is not even remotely possible that I have a four-year-old. I can say what I want, but all these things are true. How could time have moved so quickly?

I was only gone for a minute...

2011-07-26T15:29:00.000-07:00

no joke. maybe even only 45 seconds...but their skin is super silky now :)

To Our Daddy...

2011-06-19T13:40:00.000-07:00

when us girls are little, we dream of our prince charming. we dream of the guy that will sweep us off our feet, wrap his arms around us and ride off into the sunset on a brilliant, white horse. as childish and naive as all of that sounds, its our hearts desire to find him; the one that will care for us and love us and cherish us all the days of our lives.

i found him.

and although he whisked me off in a chevy S10 pickup instead of a glistening steed, somehow i was one of the blessed ones to be swept off my feet.

our wedding day was absolute bliss. i couldn't have planned it better and certainly wouldn't change anything. it was nothing short of an incredible celebration of the uniting, not only of us, but of our families. there was laughing and dancing and glass clinking...cake smashing, booty shaking and lot of kissing. i never imagined on that day, almost six years ago, that i could love him any more than i did in those moments. its crazy how little we can imagine.

somehow as that little one grows in your belly you can't believe how much you love them without even feeling the touch of their fingers or the soft hairs on their head. but what i wasn't prepared for was how my heart would grow for Mike on the day our first child was born. there's something about a daddy and his son.

i have had the absolute pleasure of taking a center stage, first row seat, to watch how an incredible bond is formed. watching mike love landon only increased my love for him. sometimes i would sit across the room and pretend to be reading, really just watching the two of them play. mike's patience and gentle spirit, that made me fall in love with him in college, are the same characteristics that make him such an incredible dad.

there is nothing that deepens your love for another, like watching them love your babies. and to know that god not only hand-picked landon for the two of us, but also hand-picked us for landon, is a feeling we can never replace.

and as baby number two grew in my belly, i couldn't imagine loving another baby like i did landon. how was it going to be possible? but, oh, is it possible.

and to see mike be the daddy of a little girl, was more than my heart could take. somehow it grew even more, making room for emi and even more room for him.

i never understood the saying, "there's just something about a daddy and his little girl," until i witnessed it firsthand. and i can attest that there really is just something about a daddy and his little girl.

mike is the backbone of our family. he is my rock. there is no one that can calm me down or cheer me up or make me laugh, like him. there is no better fort-builder, or owie-kisser, or spiderman-avenger, than him.

the same calm demeanor and sweet spirit that swept me off my feet eight years ago, still sweeps me away today.

and even when we have to change the 46,574th diaper and watch spiderman for the 5,622nd time and we have the 456th fight over toilet paper or taking out the trash or putting laundry in the hamper...i could never imagine doing life without him.

and even though most people say that we are thousands of miles away from home, i know the real truth....

he is my home.

Happy Father's Day, Baby. We are more than blessed by how you love us.

weather forecast

2011-06-03T18:28:00.000-07:00

i've been feelin' it, ya know; the clouds, the darkness, the rain. not weather-speaking, metaphorically-speaking. just feeling the dreariness settle in. it's part of life, i've come to realize, just knowing that days, weeks, months will be amazing and full of joy and then POW, dark.

i've missed blogging. it's my outlet. it's my relief. i took a bit of a hiatus just feeling like i couldn't add one more thing to my tasks of life not realizing how much it releases such sweet aromas of my daily blessings. i'm glad to be back. and although it isn't the most pleasant or enjoyable first post back; its something.

lately, i've been feeling inadequate. specifically in the area of motherhood. like i'm not doing enough and should be doing more. i've been impatient and sometimes unkind and quick to anger. not a biblical example of a mother, anyway. i know you should never compare, to each his own, but i struggle with it a lot. reading other friends' blogs, other mom's blogs and just thinking, "man, am i really screwing my kids up? i should totally be doing more and being more for them." and the more i sit and ponder and compare i truly feel like just giving up sometimes. like its an uphill battle. like i'm not making a difference or growing our kids into godly warriors or spending enough quality time with them that they know how deeply they are loved.

my grandma ruth always said, "we are all from dysfunctional families and spend the rest of our lives trying the heal from them." she was a pretty wise lady. and the most spiritually connected person I have ever known. we may come from good families, even great families, but the fact is we are humans living in a sin-filled, broken world. we are going to make mistakes. we are going to hurt one another. we are going to be impatient and rude and quick to anger. but what gives me hope, even on my dreariest of days, is that all this is covered with jesus. he fills the gaps. he heals the wounds. he gently corrects and guides us along the way.

he covers over my inadequacies. he makes all things new. his mercies are new in the morning. and the thing that he has been reminding me of over and over is how real and tangible night and darkness, and morning and light are. what seems impossible in the dead of night seems doable with the light of morning.

and where i fail as a mom, he succeeds as a savior.

We've got waterbabies...

2011-04-06T13:56:00.000-07:00

kinda funny that the title would have the word waterbabies in it and no pictures of babies in water but that's kinda how it goes. mike and i are too busy trying to reign in our crazy babies in the water that there's no actual time for taking photos of them. but we have pictures of them in their suits. and that's pretty cute on its own.

we went to the beach for a night with last week's team and it was great. great to get away from normal life. great to give the kids something to do other than play in and around our house. great to soak up some vitamin D while doused in sunscreen and splashing in pools. sometimes traveling to the grocery store is a pain in the butt with two kids so traveling overnight is generally a monumental disaster, but this time it was quite pleasant.

landon remembered this resort had this fun little (very under equipped) play area because of our friends' jackie and alan, whose wedding was here. the kids probably played in these three tomatoes for 45 minutes to an hour while mike and i sat on the swings and talked. i love accidental conversation with my husband.

emi was a big 'ol mess at the pool. in the south, mess is a funny phrase for she was hysterically fun. she's never really swam in a big pool before and thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. she also thought it was fun to run around the pool's edge driving her mother half insane thinking she was going to inadvertently fall in and then run away as soon as i got within inches of her. yeah. super fun.

but the girl is pretty cute in a bathing suit and sun hat. so i forgave her.

landon was a riot. eating like a pig, poolside, and swimming around in the floaty that we actually bought for emi. he was in rare form adoring all the teenagers that were around and soaking in the extra attention. but mostly he clung to his daddy. thinking he was pretty cool and pretty big for being able to float around by himself.

and yes, he is standing on one foot while drinking a banana mama. the kid's got skillz.

besides a ridiculous fever, body aches and chills that took over my body that night, our trip to the beach was a huge success. i had waves of feeling ok, enough to enjoy the time with my family and marvel at the fact that our two kiddos are getting so big. i feel like i'll be handing landon our car keys soon. that's just scary.

no expectations.

2011-03-25T18:05:00.000-07:00

when i met raleigh in college, we were pretty much instant friends. lots has happened to us in the 8 years we've known each other. we've grown up. been through things. changed. she's the kind of friend that i tell the scary stuff too. like when i question things or am struggling with something. she's profoundly deep, spiritually, (although she may try and deny it) and there isn't much i can't run by her, knowing that she'll pray for it and let me know any wisdom she may come upon. so when she told me in december-ish that she decided to spend her spring break here, i was beyond excited. maybe annoyingly excited.

i was a little nervous, too. just because i like to play hostess. i like to have the house spic and span and freshly washed sheets that smell like lavender. but sometimes people don't need a hostess. and while i'm busy trying to 'create' an experience or an environment, sometimes i miss it all. so my nervousness was just about me, knowing me, and hoping to not overwhelm a friend who needed a break, needed to rest and needed time to just 'be.'

our days were filled with nothing. good nothing. unplanned nothing. sure, i had some things that maybe we could do or not do but i really was seeking for God to let our time together be whatever He wanted it to be. and the fact that both of my kids fell in love with her the second she walked in our house was pretty much all my expectations met.

we spent a lot of time outside. eating outside. reading outside. drawing outside. it was the perfect ebb and flow of spring break that kinda felt like summer as a kid. no expectations.

rals and i went to the beach. it was my first time ever driving there myself, and probably my first time ever to the public beach while not 'working' too. we drove most of the time through rain, and as i told her, i'm the worst person ever to go to the beach as i have never gone and experienced sunshine. but the morning clouds proved to just be a ruse as the sun peaked over us right after lunch.

and you can't just eat any ordinary lunch when you're on spring break in the caribbean. so i took her to our special fish and chicken place. nothing like eyeballs staring back at you to spell r-e-l-a-x-a-t-i-o-n.

i was facing away from the beach in my chair and was kinda creeped out by this fairly alive-looking tree trunk. right out of "lord of the rings", it was.

and you can't see it here but we both got ridiculously sunburnt. not totally sure how it happened. but lets just say no matter how much you tell yourself that the clouds are blocking the suns rays, you really know better.

and the day came that raleigh had to leave on an airpwane, as landon says. he was devastated that she had to leave. every morning he would wake up and ask, "is wawee awake?" without fail. every morning. he cried big 'ol crocodile tears when he realized we weren't kidding and she, indeed, had to go. he wouldn't even really give her a hug good-bye. just to show us how 'not cool' it was that she was leaving. luckily we got some smiley pictures before we told him.

and this little girl was smitten. when raleigh sat down on the couch the first night she arrived, emi crawled up on the couch, crawled over her and plopped herself right on raleigh's lap. it was the funniest thing. like even though it was the first time she'd met her, she just knew how important she was. and emi followed rals around the rest of her time here.

it was a great trip. we had great conversations about serious stuff and non-trivial things, like march madness. we had lots of chai and hot tea. like, lots. we had ample down time and no time tables. we watched tv and rested and slept (the kids slept in too, way past what they normally do). and for a trip with no expectations, they were all met. i jokingly said to her at some point, its kinda like her vacation turned into ours too. it was unusual for me to do nothing. i tried not to clean and go crazy picking up toys. i barely touched my computer. i watched the kids play a few extra minutes than maybe i normally would, just because i could. i hope it was what she needed. because it turns out...it was exactly what we needed too.

robot

2011-03-11T11:01:00.000-08:00

landon told me he was a robot. it made me smile. i needed it. and i adore his creativity.

identity

2011-03-07T16:30:00.001-08:00

there will be no photos in this post. how boring, i know. so if you came here just to see some cute littles' photos, go ahead and 'x' out of your browser now.

for the rest of you...

today, i found myself for the first time ever in my life just saying, "my identity is in you, lord. not in my abilities as a soccer player. not in my gifts as a photographer. not in my mothering or my wifer-ing. :) not in my desire to be peacemaker. my identity is in you. as long as i stay connected to you, i feel so confident that i am making right choices and saying right things that it leaves no room for doubt."

by nature, i care what everyone around me thinks of my actions, my words, my thoughts...its exhausting trying to read people, reading me. but several times this week, when i caught myself wondering if the other person was mad at me or if i should have said something different or made myself a little more reserved even though i'm not reserved at all...god just whispered, "you and me, we're connected. you did, and said and thought the things that were in line with me and my will. don't second guess yourself because what you did, and said and thought weren't easy things to do and say and think."

i've felt so confident this week. there were at least three different occasions where i started worrying if i had done something wrong, should i try and rectify it, stroke someone's ego so they wouldn't be mad at me, sacrifice something that i shouldn't sacrifice to make someone else happy. and three times this week when i began my exhausting process of worrying, i stopped, felt god's reassuring voice in my mind and moved right along. it was so liberating. i can't even tell you. this is the connection i've been longing for, for most of my life. knowing that it was there and never quite reaching it. but this week it has overwhelmed me. knowing how close our god is. the god that people say doesn't exist. the god that people say is far away and wrathful. the god that created the universe but still longs to spend every waking moment helping me find my identity in him.

i had to write this feeling down because i know that satan hates it. hates that i realized it this week. hates that it has pulled me closer to my father. hates that its only strengthened my trust and faith in him and diminished this world's power over me.

finding your identity isn't an easy thing. knowing who your identity rests in, is very simple.

more that i love....

2011-02-27T16:46:00.000-08:00

since the last post really helped me to keep things in perspective, i'm riding the love train again. just three things that i love and am thankful for. no matter how shallow or deep they may be :)

fried plantains...um, yum. you don't even understand how good these are unless you've come to the dominican
and tried them yourself. and believe me, you'll never go back to just plain 'ol french fries again.

crazy nap hair...she woke up like this. cute, little, heart pacifier in her mouth and this crazy mess of hair. it's
the first time in my life that i have literally run to get my camera so i wouldn't miss the initial essence of something.

girls night...i wouldn't consider myself a girl's girl. i've always had more guy friends than girlfriends. but there is something
about girlfriends that is so necessary in a girl's life. this night we literally did nothing but sit at audrey's kitchen table
and talk for five hours. the three of us have been through A WHOLE LOT in the last 4-5 years, but we keep on truckin' thanks
to the encouragement of friendship.

sinking but praising

2011-02-22T12:29:00.000-08:00

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you
will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
-John 16:33

my days have been dark. in recent weeks there have been a lot people i know and have come in contact with that have lost loved ones. specifically children. whereas most people hear about children passing away and feel sad, i hear about children passing away and sink into a deep, dark hole.

everyone's got their thing. the thing that weighs them down sometimes. a chip on their shoulder. luggage being lugged around. mine is fear. unrealized fear. fear of things that have not happened and the fear that they will. my children passing away is just that fear.

almost two years ago i began drowning in depression. no one knew, of course. its not the kind of thing i talk about. not the kind of thing anyone talks about, really. but whereas most people who suffer with depression become depressed because of a trigger, an event, a happening that strikes them down...mine was/is a little harder to pinpoint.

i asked myself time and time again, "how can i feel this way? my children are not dead. my husband is here by my side. we are all safe and sound." but day in and day out i sat in my home, paralyzed with fear that if my family left my side, surely something would happen to them. i dreaded mike having to go anywhere without me. i didn't want my kids (well, landon, emi was still in my tummy) to go anywhere out of my sight. i confined myself to the house as much as i could and put on a happy smile when i went anywhere or saw anyone. i didn't sleep. waking up every hour to check and see if landon was still breathing or if he had passed away since the last time i checked on him. it was brutal. the whole time, satan taunting me in every way, shape and form he could. finding anything that could put me in a tailspin.

i give you this background only to help you better understand my last few weeks. although i have pulled out of the day-in-day-out depression, its ugliness lurks behind every shadow. waiting for when i'm weak to snake its way back into my spirit and paralyze me once again. with the deaths of two children just in the last two weeks, i am weak. i feel myself sinking. i feel myself obsessed with cleaning and making sure no sickness can enter our house. i feel myself waking up hourly to check and make sure the kids are breathing. i feel myself pulling away from my Source and trying to control my environment, instead of just living in His security. but something i'm armed with this time that i wasn't two years ago are His promises in His Word and His followers that continue to encourage me in ways they don't even realize they are. God is being very intentional about not letting me get to that place i was two years ago. i'm tasting it. i'm seeing it. i'm feeling it. but i'm not sinking into it.

my friend, raleigh, is an incredible source of inspiration. although we are so different, as our spiritual lives have grown, so has our friendship. i am constantly looking to her words as a source of encouragement and sometimes, even though we're in very different places in our lives, God teaches her exactly what i need to be taught. if there is one thing that i am learning over and over again from God it is even in our deepest valleys, turn back to him with praise and thanksgiving. not only does it bring Him glory, but it diminishes our focus on the valley.

you can't see a hole in the ground if you're staring at the sky.

so today, in photos (just like raleigh's photo diary!), i'm turning my valley back into praise. there are a ridiculous amount of things in my life that i am thankful for. and to be able to capture them, as a reminder to myself and a thank-you to God for His unfailing provisions, is a blessing beyond measure. here are some things that i love just from today.

my world...these three, i can't even tell you, how much i love these three.

our home...it is perfect for us. i never want to move. but i do want to paint it a different color :)
and yes, that is box of toys sitting on the overhang with 4 inches of rain in it. i don't even know
how long its been there. i don't want to know how long it's been there.

laundry on the line...there is something about the sun shining on freshly washed laundry that brings
out something special deep in my soul. i love hanging laundry on days like today.

our vegetable/fruit garden...squash, radishes and cantaloupe comin' right up! it more than reminds
me of my childhood and the vegetable garden my mom always had. taking bowls of sugar out and
picking tomatoes right off the vine and eating it right there in the dirt.

our plantlife...um, seriously. i love this purple flower and it is blooming like crazy. and those
bananas are soon going to make some fine banana bread.

creative last minute projects...i love creativity. i love making things with my hands. i love making
something out of nothing. can't beat an earring holder made with scrap wood and mosquito screen.

laundry baskets on freshly made beds and babies that mess up freshly made beds....ok, i don't love
when babies mess up freshly made beds but i do love the baby.

good books and sweetarts...i love this book 'soul cravings' by erwin raphael mcmanus. it is rocking my
world in a very unconventional way. and who doesn't love sweetarts? thanks audrey!

my firstborn...what is it about the firstborn child? i love that he is asleep on my office floor as i'm
typing this post.

Guess what the little one can do?

2011-01-31T07:29:00.001-08:00

Emi walking from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

my boy.

2010-12-29T17:17:00.000-08:00

i found my favorite picture of the boy. it says so much about him. my shy guy with such independence. but he needs to be covered with love and held within boundaries. even when he says, "i don't like you, mom," his eyes really say, "hug me. i really need it."

such imagination and wonder. he can play by himself for hours. literally. no need for intervention. but then a little head will peek around the corner, just to make sure we're still there, and he goes back to playing.

he acts so tough. people look on the outside and see an awnry little kid with attitude. but if you look inside, you see an incredibly sweet soul, trying to figure out just who he is.

my little guy. so complicated at the ripe little age of three. yet so simple to fall deeply in love with his complicated-ness.

happy birthday, munchkie

2010-11-23T12:58:00.000-08:00

one year. so much can happen in a year. so much has happened in a year. and we couldn't have done this year without you.

you were our healing baby. our smile-inducing baby. our tear-drying baby. i don't think you could ever know how much weight your birth carried in our family. life and death. it's apparent now how they go hand-in-hand. and your little life somehow helped us through grieving your gaga's death.

emi ruth...i hate to sound all cheese-ball-y but you seriously are such joy. i'm sure all mama's think that about their babies but you really, really are. your daddy and i sometimes race each other to your room in the morning to see who gets to see you smile at us first. its like you look at us like we were all you dreamt about all night long. like our faces were exactly the ones you wanted to see.

you take your time to do everything and you do everything your own way. you weren't in a rush to sit on your own or crawl or jabber like other babies did. you waited, until you were sure that you wanted to do it, and then just did it. almost always out of the blue. no one provoking you. no one coaxing you. just you. in your own time.

you love your brother. oh, how you love your brother. you look at him like he's a superhero. you have a little sparkle in your eye when you see him running around pretending to be spiderman. you always want to touch him. like he has magic powers and just by touching him you can be like him. i hope you always adore him like you do now. he's such a good big brother and he'll do a good job when you're older of protecting you and teaching you the wonderful world of his imagination.

my hope for you is that you love others more than they maybe deserve. that you learn from others and appreciate them for their differences. that you trust and obey your daddy and i. we've made mistakes in our lives and we, although we're still learning, want to teach you to avoid them, even if the other paths seem more fun. and above all i want you to love jesus more than life itself. to find your identity in him. to embrace the gifts and talents and personality traits that he's given you. to know that you are fearfully and wonderfully made and to never let anyone else make you feel any different. he knew you before you were even a thought in our minds and he will carry you through all situations, come rain or shine.

happy birthday, little munchkie. you have been a light in our lives and the slobbery kisses we needed. i can not wait to see the girl you will become. i know god has some incredible plans for you.

Fall Frenzy

2010-11-02T18:17:00.000-07:00

We have been having some crazy fun back in the U.S.. Scratch that. We haven't been doing anything extraordinary but maybe it just feels so good to be here. I'll admit, the weeks leading up to coming back I was really dreading it. The Dominican is just home. It feels like home. It looks like home. It is home and this girl feels like a fish out of water when she's away from it. But God has very much blessed this trip already. I've been in love with winter clothes. I've been eating up all the juicy hues of fall. Only dressing the kids in oranges, burnt umbers and olive greens. I've drank two cups of warm coffee every morning just because I know I won't sweat while doing it.

It's. just. been. good.

And seriously? I've got the cutest kids ever.

And I've totally been a head-band-making Mama again...only this time...just autumn goodness.

Landon has totally been spreading his independent wings and its been an interesting road. It's amazing this unconditional love thing. As angry and hurt as it makes me when he is SO belligerent and disobedient it somehow makes me love him a little more than before his i-hate-you-mom tantrum. But its exhausting. I just hope we are parenting him the way that will bear fruit somewhere down the road because right now, it just feels tiresome.

Then, a moment later, he can run up to me and give me the biggest hug ever and tell me how much he loves me. Then he flashes that smile. The one that he's used since he was an infant to flirt his way out of any situation. And I melt. And I'm reminded that he really is a good boy and how normal this three-year-old-attitude can be.

Little Miss Emi has taken on a new name, "Ruthie." My sister, Ashley, started it and its totally taken form. She is sooo a Ruthie. And I love it because I'm reminded of my Grandma every time I hear Mike say it. I can only pray that Ruthie will aspire to be like her Great Grandma Ruth that she never got to meet.

And in a few short weeks, this little one will be one. Craziness.

10 months old...

2010-10-10T10:17:00.000-07:00

Kinda hard to believe, but its true. Little Munchkie is 10 months old (well, almost 11 as I am clearly behind). She has changed so much in this month. She began her army crawl and has very much mastered it. It is amazing how quick she is on those knees and forearms! She puts everything in her mouth, which has caused me to be a bit of a neat freak especially in the living room where she plays the most. She clearly says "mama" "dada" "baba" and is signing "more" and "milk."

Her little personality is totally coming out these days. Our little sugar and spice. She seems so sweet and adorable and then BAM! she does something so out of the ordinary. The best example I can give is she does this thing where she sweetly, lovingly touches your face with her hand and stares into your eyes and then out of nowhere she grabs with all her might and scratches the heck out of your face. Like she totally knows she's drawing you into her sweetness just so she can do something a little mean and you'll still think she's cute. Mike and I are accustomed to her ways but I totally see new people falling for it and then ending up with a battle wound.

Either way, she's a joy. And making her presence known in our little family.

i thought our mini photoshoot was going to be a bust because this was all i got from her...

but nothing a little, purple coin purse can't fix

and then she wanted to come and eat my camera

i took this one the next day, i just think its crazy how different she looks from day-to-day

and i had to post this one from about a month ago...seriously, check out that attitude

Next Installment: The baptism

2010-09-19T15:27:00.000-07:00

i've never been baptized. i remember my younger sister getting baptized. going through the preparations. up on stage. getting dunked. i never had the desire. not really sure why. i suppose a lot of people get baptized in middle school or high school. i wasn't exactly living a holy life during that time. i was too busy leading the double life of good-youth-group-attending-girl and doing-things-i-shouldn't-girl.

i'd say i really became a christian when i accepted/re-accepted christ, august 5th, 2002. the idea of baptism never really presented itself and even after the first two years of living as a missionary it never occurred to me. but the holy spirit started moving.

we've planned to do it several times in the last two years but things have always come up. i was going to get baptized last year on september 13th, then mike's dad, joe, died on the 10th. then i planned on doing it in the spring after nohemi was born, but an earthquake decided to destroy haiti and those plans were thwarted as well.

but this summer, i went to a youth conference to help with praise and worship, and felt god say, "goody, it is well past time."

so fast forward to august 28th (the same day my godson was born!) and we made it happen. i'll try and just let the pictures speak for themselves but just know that it was an amazing day.

i love watching people love up on our kids (our great friends, will and audrey)

jackie and one of her little ones and dave schwulst (i was baptized at his family's compound)

cherry schwulst, an incredible woman of god, mentor and friend

deb, who happens to look stunning with a canopy backdrop

mike and our friend, isaias, were the ones who baptized me

i love this one...it was so amazing to have my husband baptize me

dominican tradition is to take a jump in the pool, river, lake, wherever after you're baptized. landon wanted to do it too.

i seriously could not believe how many of the people i care about came to this, i was only expecting a handful. it was so surreal.

Deb and Tim Visit the Dominican

2010-09-04T17:20:00.000-07:00

i think it was the fastest week in the history of time. i prayed and prayed for God to slow it down but to no avail. but besides the fact that it went fast - it was a great, great visit. super relaxing. we had no agenda. we literally woke up and asked, "so what do we want to do today?" and sometimes the answer was, "nothing." and man did that feel good.

now, in order to thoroughly document their trip in the blog world, it is going to require a couple installments. i didn't even start taking pictures until friday of their trip (they came tuesday) and somehow still ended up with like 300 photos. so this is the first installment.

friday.

we have these good, no, great friends that live in the mountains. dave and cherry are seriously an incredible couple. and they are incredibly generous with what they have. our purpose for visiting them was 1) to see them, cause we rarely ever do, 2) go swimming, eat until our tummies hurt and relax, and 3) baptize me. (photos of the baptism will be in a separate installment)

imagine, if you will, a place that takes you away. reminds you of god's incredible artistic abilities. helps you forget all your worries and focus on the important things in life. heaven on earth. that is the Schwulst Compound.

where fruit straight from the garden of eden dangle from every tree. where kids get bronzed by the sun in the pool. where the smell of food and the sound of laughter ring through the mountain landscapes.

i loved every second of it. just being with our family and friends in a place like that. we are totally going back sometime in the near future for a family vacation. we're not really beach-and-hotel, kind of people. but we are natural-river-fed-pool-and-brats-on-the-grill, kind of people.

landon was a fish. at first he was a little unsure if he wanted anything to do with the pool, but once he took that first plunge, we couldn't get him out. and there's just something that illuminates children's skin, contrasted with a mossy waterfall.

uncle timmy (or uncle bimmy, as landon calls him) was landon's hero. there is something about people coming to the dominican that solidifies their relationship with landon. don't get me wrong, he loves his family back in the states. but if you want him to love you more, you have to come into his territory.

and there's something really cool about airplane floaties.

(this one is especially cool because Gaga, mike's dad who passed away a year ago, gave this to landon when he was a year old)

mike is a different person when all his family is around. he thrives on family. he loves when family is here; in the dominican with us. i think he had this amazing smile on his face the whole week. i heart him.

i realized that i went this whole post without a single picture of me in it. which i actually kinda like. i loved just capturing life that day. watching them breathe it all in. loving each other. feeling stresses disappear. and honestly, i don't know how it all works, the whole angels in heaven thing. but if joe was able to, i know he was hanging out that day, watching his family enjoy life together.

and family can make any normal friday, pretty special.

9 Months!

2010-08-21T08:14:00.000-07:00

whelp. another month has flown by.

our baby girl is 9 months old today. i fully intended on just taking like 5 pictures, just to get a good shot of what she looks like this month. and actually she was not cooperating. only wanted to play with the grass and eat leaves. but then, i got the novel idea to throw her (not actually throw her, but gently place her...) in the hammock. so glad i did.

got this idea to pair a photo with a block of color from another blog. i kinda like it. what do you think?

9 amazing months, little nohemi. i love you so very much.

8 Months!

2010-07-21T18:44:00.000-07:00

little miss thang is 8 months old. life is flashing before our eyes. i'm still trying to figure out how we can slow it down a bit...but to no avail.

i fully intended on only putting, like, one or two photos up but i absolutely could not decide. she was especially photogenic this day or something. although she would never give me a real toothy grin until someone special entered the scene...

yep. this girl loves her brother. its crazy. and beautiful. and so so fun to watch. he adores her and she wants to be doing whatever he is doing, every second of the day.

nothing especially new in month eight. seems there are a few teeth up top wanting to poke through but are taking their grand 'ol time doing so. she does really really really want to crawl but can not figure out how to get those chubby legs going.

did i mention she melts my heart.

she is such a joy. so laid back. so easy going. everything i'm not. which is probably why we are such kindred spirits.

and i love the look on her face in this one.

it was fitting that she wore yellow because she is my sunshine.

How long has it been?

2010-07-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

Just like I can't believe I have a son that is three, it's even harder for me to believe that Mike and I have been married for five years. Even crazier is that we've been together for 7 1/2!

I remember our wedding day so clearly. Getting ready in the morning, I filled up the jacuzzi tub in the hotel room just so I could shave my legs with the best lighting, not to miss any. I went and had my nails done and had fake eyelashes put on. I went to get my hair done and it was so fun chatting with all the women in the salon about my big day. Showing up to the church with butterflies all up in my stomach. Slipping into my dress that I had spent hours and hours looking for with my mom. Putting in the veil and looking at myself in the mirror. I just remember thinking, "this is seriously the best day ever." Even though it was raining and it was probably the most humid Indiana day I had ever remembered, none of that mattered. I was about to walk down the aisle and meet the man I had fallen in love with, grown to absolutely adore and dreamed about spending the rest of my life with. It was really going to happen. My wedding day.

Fast forward five years, two kids, a move to the Dominican Republic and we've got today. Although my wedding day was the most beautiful day of my life, our everyday life is just as beautiful. Even with Handy Manny dominoes strewn across the living room floor, 18 juice cups hidden beneath the couch, a gazillion rattles that i trip on and nearly break my ankle every time, and maybe more than one conversation between the hubs and I that could have been said with a little less, um, snippy-ness...even with all of that, it is beautiful.

Our life together has turned out nothing like I thought it would. I figured we'd have a house with property, maybe even horses. I'd run my photo studio out of our home. Mike would be working with some Parks and Recreation department running and scheduling all of their activities. And even though sometimes I daydream of that life that I had planned out so long ago, what God has done is much bigger. We've made our home in the Dominican, and it feels like home. So much so that when we are in the States it feels a little foreign. God had blessed us beyond measure and beyond what we could have ever imagined. We are grateful for this season of life, with all of its sippy cup disasters and beautiful Sunday morning family time on our bed. I couldn't count the number of times that I've felt this unexplainable surrounding of God's peace as I sit and think about where our family is. And to think...it all began because two people fell in love.

* * *

Because our anniversary is in the middle of our busy season here in the Dominican we can't do anything extravagant until after summer is over. But we always make sure and do a nice dinner. This year, they opened a Chili's about five minutes from our house. All I have to say is YUM-O!

He's three....

2010-06-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

i'm going to try and pretend that three years haven't passed by so quickly. that i soaked up every memory, every ounce of our son's life and stored it, only to pull the mental album out on a rainy day. that i was the most loving, most god-fearing, most perfect mother to our little boy. but none of that is true. sure, i remember when he got his first teeth and when he began walking and the first time we cut his hair. i definitely had some awful parenting moments and, unfortunately, being the first born i didn't have previous experience to keep me from making mistakes.

but...

we have laughed, a lot. we have danced, a lot. we have marveled, a lot.

i look at little landon, although not-so-little these days, and think, "mike and i made him. he is made from our very cells." sometimes its so much that i am just overwhelmed by the amazingness of it all.

landon, you have grown into an amazing little man. you are so incredibly caring and sensitive. you test all your boundaries. sometimes to your demise. but i love that about you. you don't just stop, you do what you think you can do. i know it has caused some strife between you and i because i am trying to teach you discipline and obedience. but i have to sit back sometimes and applaud you for your persistence and independence.

you adore your sister and care for her so gently. its like you knew, before you really even knew what babies were, that you had to be careful with her. that you cared for her. that she was yours. the bond you have with her is so beautiful to be a part of, i can only pray that as you get older you feel the same way as you do now. loving your differences and appreciating your uniqueness.

you know you need alone time. i remember the first time that i was working in the living room and all of a sudden realized you weren't around. as i searched the house looking for a mess or something broken, i found you; playing in your room with a circle of toys scattered around you.

there are times when you throw tantrums and scream at me and have a temper beyond what a three-year-old should be capable of, and in the moment i get so frustrated. but as i think of it now, it just reminds me of your passion. your determination. your desire to do things your own way.

god has designed you so intricately. through being your mama you have taught me to be patient and consistent and intentional. and through watching your little mind process things and some of the phrases that come out of your mouth, i know that our creator has a sense of humor.

over the past three years, i have loved you more than i ever knew was possible to love someone. you have solidified my faith in god, my faith in family, my faith in motherhood. you were created to be my baby, my first born. god designed us: you for me and me for you. i love you, bubba. i'm so happy you were born.

7 Months

2010-06-21T15:15:00.000-07:00

It happened. Another month flew by. I just can't believe it. Emi is now 7 months old and somehow in a month she looks different, acts different...is different.

She has totally mastered feeding herself her bottle, sitting up and rolling over both ways. Lightyears ahead of her brother. Landon didn't roll over until he was eight months old and she's been rolling over since 4 months. She is eating every kind of baby food you can imagine but LOVES sweet potatoes and mangos.

This little girl brings us so much joy. You can just see in her pictures the sweetness that oozes out of her. My favorite part of the day is first thing in the morning when I go in to get her. She flashes me this huge grin as if saying, "Mommy, I haven't seen you in twelve whole hours and I'm so happy to see your face." I don't have a care in the world when I hold her.

One thing that puzzles us still. Her eyes. We can not for the life of us tell what color her eyes are. They literally change from day to day. They are not like mine where they are more blue if I wear something blue or more green if I wear something green. They are a shade of their own. Sometimes blue, sometimes gray, sometimes hazel, sometimes green. It's the craziest thing. Sometimes I look at her and I'm like, "Whoa, hello blue eyes!" and then the next day there isn't an ounce of blue in them. I like to think she has a little bit of all of us in her eyes. Brown like her Daddy and Gaga. Gray like her A-ma. And blue like my entire family. She's an awfully special little girl.

6 months!

2010-06-03T11:20:00.000-07:00

this little beauty is six months old. i'm a little late in posting a picture, but life has been a little hectic. and considering i had to go two weeks without seeing her beautiful little face in person.

she is a rolling-over-fool. she sits up pretty well on her own but hasn't totally mastered the art of catching herself before falling over. then, of course, she kinda looks at me like, "mom, i'm still a little rolly polly, you think you could help a girl out here?"

she got her first two teeth last month and i didn't even blog about it. the breaks of being second-born, i guess. mom doesn't have time to document your firsts. oh yeah, and she eats everything. you thought she was chubby before...we are going to have to watch this girl. it is almost as if she didn't come with the chemical in her brain that tells her when she's full.

emi ruth is an absolute joy. there isn't a single time that i see her that i am not immediately filled with happiness. that's her gift, i think. we should have named her happy. she's happy and she always makes everyone around her happy. but there is one person that can make her the happiest...her big brother. she giggles and laughs and smiles whenever he is around. no matter what he's doing or not doing, if he's paying attention to her or not. she follows him around the room. you can just see the love in her little eyes. i hope that never goes away. i hope she always adores her big brother and he always adores her.

[photo heavy]

2010-04-09T14:30:00.000-07:00

it was one of those times when everything was perfect. the weather was perfect. the company was perfect. the timing was perfect. everything was perfect.

easter is that time of year that brings me back to childhood. new dresses with matching hats and sometimes even gloves. white, shiny, pleather shoes. my mom ready with her camera to photograph three of the cutest girls ever. my older sister had grown out of the new dress phase. baskets of candy. hearing "he is risen" over and over all day. he is risen indeed.

well, this easter was one of the most perfect easter's ever. no new dresses. no pleather shoes. no picture-crazy mother anywhere in sight...wait, i was the picture-crazy mother. weird. but there was a sister, an aunt, that made her way to the dominican republic to see us. that beats easter hats any day.

it was seriously a magical visit.

ashley and tommy's first stop was to feed kids in a place called "the hole." literally, a hole in the center of santiago. it is an inactive trash dump where more than 600 families have made their homes. poverty. abuse. addiction. prostitution. doesn't sound like easter festivities, does it? or maybe it does...i seem to remember a certain man who surrounded himself with people like that some 2,000 years ago. the hole is very easter.

then, for the second time in four years, ashley celebrated her birthday with us on our incredible island. the last time was in 2007, minus a couple kids. well, a little boy was cookin' anyway. so we made a grand night of it. grand meaning: relaxing with drinks in hand, watching final four and eating nachos grande...taco bell doesn't even get close to how good they were.

for some reason people seem to glow in the dominican.

we even had an impromptu "happy birthday chorus" with mom, dad and abbers via skype. what would we do without skype.

and just like those mornings of being a kid with the anticipation of putting on the easter dress that has been hanging in my closet for weeks just WAITING to be put on...easter morning came.

we spent the morning at our house with the jimenez family. the kids played in the pool. mike, ash and tom lounged drinking coffee and eating mangos from our tree. and yajaira and i made a dominican lunch. it was a delicious morning.

and easter morning turned into easter afternoon and that means an easter egg hunt in the back yard. landon makes it look easy. he had a blast with little or no help from any of the adults who were beaming just as much as landon. there's just something about watching a kid find that little egg that makes us happy. especially since he discovered the new found gift of pesos. 7 to be exact.

after the easter egg hunt we relaxed for a bit and i had the chance opportunity to catch mike in his favorite place, the hammock. at different times throughout the early afternoon, i caught him with both the kids, swinging away. totally easter.

and then the festivities began. the easter egg coloring. it was glorious.

landon concentrated so hard. he was so excited. but would barely show it because he wanted those eggs to be brilliant. he watched as aunt ashley mixed colors and he totally loved purple. he used the white crayon and etched his careful designs and mostly used his fingers to dip them in colors. landon was so proud of his eggs. and his mama was so proud of him.

we tried to "marbleize" our eggs too, but someone put a little too much oil in. still kinda worked.

aunt ashy and bubba were bff's all week.

and we miss aunt ashy and uncle "bommy" (not to be confused with Obama).

and it wouldn't be a goodwin easter egg coloring without the cross-egg.

and look who loves me....

...and look who loves tom.

and did i mention that i LOVE this man. and i think this may be my favorite picture of him, ever.

and i LOVE this boy.

and it was such a lovely day, even the puppies felt the same way we did by late afternoon as most of us snuggled in for an easter nap.

and that my friends, is what i call "photo heavy." but totally worth it.

There's just somethin' about a daddy and his girl...

2010-04-05T13:09:00.000-07:00

there are times when i can forget about bills and stress and concerns.

this picture is one of them.

mike is such an incredible father. he always has been with landon, but with the addition of our new little one, it seems as though his capacity for being an extraordinary father has doubled.

i love catching special moments with the two of them. its like being a part of something totally beautiful without having to orchestrate anything. she smiles at him like she's known him forever. like she knows the loving, tender care he will always provide for her. like she knows she's his special girl. like she knows he will never love another little girl like he loves her.

he smiles at her with eyes that usually glisten with a tear (although never wants to admit it). like she's some exceptional miracle he doesn't deserve. like he's not sure how he's gonna do it, but he's going to try and make her as happy as she can possibly be.

our lives are pretty chaotic at times. as i'm sure most people's lives are with two kids. sometimes, i'm just ready to throw in the towel, climb into bed, cry a little and sleep until all the tough things have been taken care of. but sometimes...sometimes....i get to witness this extraordinary bond between a little one and her father. it gives me a lot of hope for tomorrow. it changes my mood. it softens my heart.

there's just somethin' about a daddy and his girl...

a sunday morning

2010-03-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

When I was a little kid, Sundays were my favorite. We would all sleep in and then one by one, us four girls would wake and run into my parents bedroom, jump on their bed and have a tickle-fest. My dad would always win because his stinkin' morning scruff was just about the most ticklish thing there was. Sometimes my mom would make bacon or pancakes or on special occasions this amazing breakfast egg casserole. There was just something totally special about Sundays. I almost always think of those fun Sunday mornings every Sunday when I wake up. It is imprinted in my mind. How awesome those times were.

Today, was the first Sunday that our family woke up and knew we were all going to be around each other all day. Mike has been working tireless hours at the airport for the last seven weeks on Haiti Relief and yesterday was the last airplane run. He and Landon had a "camp-out" on a mattress in the living room last night and we all woke up with incredible enthusiasm just knowing our daddy would be home all day. I got that Sunday morning feeling that had been missing for quite awhile.

So as Landon and Daddy were working in the backyard, building Landon a new sandbox, I thought about some great photos I had from the last few days. And since most of our photos these days have revolved around a growing little girl, this post is mostly about Lando.

Landon has these friends. Siblings, more like. My best friend Yajaira's kids. Yesika, Nehemias and Hanani. It's amazing the friendship these four kids have. Language barrier and all. The other day it was hot. We had just gotten a sprinkler and invited the kids over for some spring-time fun. It was captivating. Watching their imaginations run. Watching them care for Landon. Watching them play. I got goosebumps just standing there soaking in the fun you can have with a little water.

Yajaira is always teaching me Dominican things. Things a Dominican wife does. Things a Dominican mother makes. Something very Dominican is this chocolate drink that is coffee-based. Landon and I decided to make a project of it and turned our kitchen into Starbucks. We made the coffe/chocolate drink, added a little ice, blended it in a blender, topped it off with whipped cream and sprinkled nutmeg...and vooahlah...Frappuccino Dominicano. Eat your heart our Starbucks. Our drink was WAY better than anything you have to offer.

And without leaving a cute little girl out of our fun the last few days, I took this picture of her first halter-top dress. It just amazes me how different she looks from photo to photo. Sometimes I feel like I have four daughters all with the name Nohemi.

So with the post completed, I'm going to go start some lunch. Maybe something a little more special than usual. Or maybe something easy so I can have more time with my family. It doesn't matter either way. It's Sunday morning, and the possibilities are endless.

4 months old!

2010-03-22T09:25:00.001-07:00

I can't imagine that another month has flown by, but it has. Our little Emi girl is 4 months old! And look at me...I'm only 1 day late in posting pictures!

She's 24 inches long (up 5 inches from birth) and about 14 pounds (up 6 pounds from birth). We weighed her on a scale at the airport so who knows if its dead on or not.

Sister wants to sit up ALL the time. (Sister is what Landon calls her) She can't do it on her own yet, but she wants to be propped up whenever possible so she can look around at the world. Emi is still super quiet. She doesn't talk much but she coos at you like she's having a conversation. Always flashing her adorable little smile when your face does something funny. Oh, but she's a thinker. Always pondering, and crinkling her little forehead as if she is concentrating to take in the world around her. She absolutely LOVES cartoons. I know, I know, people say, "Don't let the TV raise your children..." I'm not...but...its so fun to see her face light up when she sees all the colors in Dora and her little legs and arms go crazy in her bouncy seat. Love it.

She has totally expanded my heart's capability to love.

3 months old!

2010-03-01T14:39:00.000-08:00

Nohemi is unbelievably 3 months old already!!! I know I said that time flew when Landon was little but this is ridiculous. I just blink and another month has passed. Crazy.

Emi is such a sweet little girl. Her personality seems to be a lot like her Daddy. Calm demeanor, always smiley. And did I mention she sleeps an average of 12 hours a night!?! I mean seriously, I love this baby! She is doing so many new things. We've discovered lately that she loves being on the floor and she just scoots herself around on her back. She's even attempted to roll over a couple times. Her brother didn't roll over until he was 8 months old...we may have a baby genius on our hands :)

She has these super dark, blue eyes. They just stare into your soul. I don't know how this littler girl does it but she just instantly makes you happy when you're around her. You just drop the cares of the world off at the door and melt into her little grin. I love her for that. I love that I feel better when I'm with my little girl. I love that she makes me feel, already, like I'm the best mommy ever (even though I'm clearly not).

I often feel totally guilty, though. I feel like she is WAY more neglected than her big brother was. She spends way too much time in her bouncy seat as I'm attending to her demanding brother, or editing photos or staring blankly at my messy house wondering when it's going to start cleaning itself. But when I feel the guilt sink in, I look over at her and almost immediately she flashes me a little smile. Almost telling me that she totally understands and that she's content right where she is. What an incredible little baby. I can't wait to be apart of her journey. I'm so blessed for the three months we've already had.

Nursing Nine

2010-03-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

I just had to take these pictures of our sweet little Finley today. Poor thing. That's all I can say when I see these cantankerous nine puppies thrusting themselves at her, fighting over which "one" is theirs....ugh. I only have to nurse one and there are days when I want to quit. Can you imagine nine?

I seriously can empathize with this poor little lady.

Hungry pups!

Look at this face, it says, "Help me!"

2 months!

2010-02-15T19:14:00.000-08:00

I remember with Landon I was SO on top of things. Every month, on the day he was one month older, I had a new pic up. Here we are and Nohemi is almost three months old and I'm just now getting her two month pictures up. Oh well.

Man, is she a joy! She is so laid back and smiley (as you can tell!). She is so cuddly and she just brightens a room. You can already tell that she's really curious about stuff but that she has a lot of focus. Something on the ceiling will catch her eye and you can not do a thing to get her to look away from it. It's so fun to watch her interact with her big brother too. She just adores him! If he's in the room and talking she just watches him and listens. Really cool.

Cute photo

2010-02-13T12:54:00.001-08:00

Had this idea today and just had to do it....Lando's hands, our wedding rings, Nohemi's feet...

One Month

2010-01-08T14:13:00.000-08:00

Ok, she's really 6 weeks but this picture was taken when she was a month old! She is SO beautiful and we are absolutely in love with her. At her one month checkup she was 10 lbs 10 oz (up 2 lbs 2 oz) and 21 1/2 inches (up 2 1/2 inches)! She is SUPER chubby too! We love all her little rolls all over her body. Landon was NEVER a chubby newborn, he didn't get his chunk until he was about 5 months old.

She is smiling so much now and it just makes her little face even more beautiful. She is especially smiley in the morning or after waking up from naps. And the most incredible part is...she has slept 9 hours straight for the past four nights! Incredible! She is such an easy baby and is totally laid back. I keep praying and crossing my fingers that she'll have Mike's "chill" personality instead of my crazy, high-strung one!

We adore this little girl and big brother is still totally in awe of her. He checks on her first thing when he wakes up in the morning, tells me "baby cry" if she is fussy and puts her pacifier back in her mouth if it falls out. It is SO awesome to watch the two of them interact. She follows him around the room when he's jabbering and pretending to be Spiderman. She definitely knows her brother's voice!

On a side note: I just HAD to post this pic of Landon...is it totally horrible of me that I think he's adorable when he cries???

The Diedrich's House

2009-12-17T12:27:00.001-08:00

The Diedrich family has such a special place in our hearts. They are not only great friends but they are also supporters of our ministry in the Dominican. They have been so generous and gracious and they really just mean the world to us. When I think of Christmas, I think of the Diedrich's house. It's so cozy. Fireplaces, a barn with horses, homemade cookies...I get excited just thinking about going to their house. (I'll have to post some pics of their family later!)

But this afternoon, we were just relaxing by the fireplace and I had to snap some shots of my little family. What an incredible blessing this time in the states have been. Although we came home under some undesirable circumstances, God has definitely blessed us while we've been here. Enjoy a few pics of our little family!

Content little Emi

There is just SOMETHING so adorable about a little baby's cry...for a short time anyway :)

The "bobo" that she only likes sometimes...not like her brother who had it attached at all times!

I just love, love, love this picture. Landon and his lizards, Dad hanging out and Emi passed out without a clue!

Our little guy plays so well by himself...definitely like his Daddy in that sense.

Such an imagination (he gets THAT from his Mama!)

A Daddy and his Girl

2009-12-17T12:15:00.000-08:00

Had to post this picture. So adorable.

2 Weeks!

2009-12-08T11:13:00.001-08:00

Our little girl is two weeks old!

One Week Old

2009-11-28T16:35:00.000-08:00

What a quick week it has been.

Nohemi is a week old already! She is eating well, sleeping about 23 hours a day and fitting in so perfectly with our little family.

Nohemi Ruth Braisted

2009-11-21T11:06:00.000-08:00

Our little Emi is here!!!! And she couldn't be more beautiful. She arrived by C-section at 8:09am. She weighs 8 pounds, 1 ounce and is 19 inches long. Everything today went beautifully and the staff here at Lewis-Gale Hospital in Roanoke, Virginia are taking incredible care of us! Thank you for all of your prayers. This day couldn't have gone more smoothly.

36 weeks

2009-11-01T14:30:00.000-08:00

And the countdown begins...the waiting game is here. She could really come any day but I do have the benefit of knowing she won't come any later than November 21st. So we have 20 days left. And believe me, I am ready!!!!! I have loved this pregnancy so much and being pregnant with a little girl made it that much sweeter but I am ready to have a normal body again and hold my baby girl. I am SOOOOO uncomfortable. It feels like she gains a pound a day. Back pain, heartburn, 18 trips to the bathroom, tossing and turning at night, leg numbness, contractions that lead to nothing.....nothing fun about the last month of pregnancy. Some women just exude loveliness through their pregnancy, I just am not one of those people, I guess. Maybe it is partly because of having a toddler as well. Trying to work through all those pregnancy issues while still attending to a very energetic little boy who needs my attention. THANK GOODNESS I have Mike. He has been such a huge help these last few weeks. Letting me take naps when I'm exhausted, taking over the night shift if Landon wakes up crying, playing with Landon and wearing him out so he's not so much to handle....I have thought so many times, I have more and more respect for single mothers who do such an amazing job raising their children without that second person there.

Not much news to report other than at our last visit we had an ultrasound and she was already 6 pounds and very healthy. I had gained another 5 lbs in 2 weeks (ugh!) and am up to 20 lbs gained so far. She was also in the head down position (which I already knew from the constant pressure on my pelvis).

My belly is just all baby. When she moves you can see her little foot or butt change the entire shape of my belly. If I've been sleeping on my side, you can see this huge bump of her body on that side and the other side is flat. It looks a little creepy.

This will probably be the last photo I'll post of the belly until Nohemi is here. How sad and exciting all at once! We can not WAIT until she is here. Thanks for taking this journey with us.

32 weeks!

2009-10-17T04:16:00.000-07:00

So technically, I'm 34 weeks today but the picture was taken when I was 32 weeks pregnant! Seriously??? Are we really that close? My little counter at the top of our blog says we have 37 days left. That is just insane. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone. Pretty soon we will be the parents of two. But I don't want to start thinking about that yet....I'll feel too overwhelmed.

I can't emphasize how different this pregnancy has been compared to Landon. I was uncomfortable with Landon for much different reasons (i.e. still throwing up) than with Emi. I've gained a total of 15 pounds so far, which I couldn't be more thrilled about. I've done so much better with this pregnancy about not just eating to eat and choosing better options. Now, I sometimes have had days where all I want are ice cream, candy and caffeinated soda...but for the most part, I have been pretty healthy.

I also attribute my overall well-being to chasing around a two-year old. I always used to think it was such a crock when mother's said they kept skinny from chasing their kids around. I CERTAINLY did not stay skinny taking care of Landon. But now that he's almost 2 1/2, I literally will look at my watch at 2pm and go, "oh man, I didn't even eat lunch yet." For those of you who know me well...those words would have never come out of my mouth before!

I have been having an INSANE amount of Braxton Hicks contractions. I don't remember them at all with Landon. Maybe just because this time around I'm more in tune with my body. But I literally get them everyday, several times a day. And they aren't the most comfortable things in the world. I don't know what those stupid books are talking about, painless tightenings of the uterus...bah!

I am in full on nesting mode and have had to refrain from wanting to buy everything under the sun! A missionary's salary helps to reign me in :) But girls' stuff is SO much cuter than boys' stuff and I have just found myself (yes, the tomboy that I am!) looking at anything and everything pink that I can find!

We have a scheduled C-section planned for November 21st at 7:30am but I am secretly really wanting her to come a bit earlier. As wonderful as this pregnancy has been, I am really feeling quite done with being pregnant. I still have five weeks to go and I just don't feel like I have room in there for her anymore. I think she feels the same way (she lets me know by frequent jabs to the ribs and hips).

But we are just around the corner from holding our little girl. You can be praying for this whole process, obviously for health and safety of Nohemi and I, but because as happy as this occasion is going to be...it is also going to be so bittersweet without Joe here to be part of it all. Just yesterday, Debbie played the song that Joe picked out for Emi's dedication and it had all three of us bauling and hurting and missing him all over again (not that we need a reminder, we are constantly reminded of how much we miss him). It's just so painful still and I imagine it will be for a while. So I covet your prayers that God will reign over this whole season in our lives. Filling us with nothing but joy and love and gratefulness for all the blessings that He pours on us daily.

The Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-11T16:52:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we took Landon to his first pumpkin patch. What a great place. It had a petting farm, hay ride, corn maze and pumpkin patch. Lando was in heaven! Priceless memories that will have to be repeated every year, I think.

Little Man

2009-10-08T12:45:00.000-07:00

I just had to post this picture. He's just such a little man now. Not my little baby. I'm experimenting with a new lens and don't have it down yet so most of my photos are a little blurry but this one I just loved despite a little blurryness.

Life of Joe

2009-09-16T05:52:00.001-07:00

Life of Joe from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

I put together a video of Joe for the funeral yesterday. It was so therapeutic to look through photographs, old and new, and remember what a special man he was.

No Words

2009-09-10T20:35:00.001-07:00

Just ask that you lift Mike's family up as we just found out that his dad, Joe, passed away today. Mike will be flying to the US tomorrow and Landon and I on Sunday.

28 Weeks!

2009-09-06T19:13:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we are at 28 weeks!!!! It's so crazy. Although these last four weeks have gone much slower since we haven't had teams here and I haven't been constantly busy. Other than moving, of course! But I seriously feel AWESOME. If I knew I would have pregnancies like this, I could probably do this ten more times! (Don't worry, I'm not going to) My belly has appeared out of nowhere. I definitely grew this month. I'm interested to go to the doctor again on the 10th to get weighed. I think I may have gained 10 pounds since our last visit.

I've started to have some pretty serious achy legs. Lots of numbness and tingling. Last night, I went to roll over and change positions and got a MAJOR calf cramp out of nowhere. I screamed out loud immediately and scared Mike half to death. Oh man, that pain was wretched. He was a great husband and rubbed my calf until my muscle chilled out and then I had to do calf stretches for about 10 minutes after. Awful. I hope that doesn't happen very often, if ever again.

Nohemi is a mover. Man, oh, man. She must be having a good time in there. With Landon he had a very predictable schedule. And surprisingly kept it pretty similar for a couple weeks after birth. If Nohemi keeps this up after birth, she will be the most alert baby ever born I think. Landon slept like 20 hours a day...Nohemi, not so much. I have to be careful when I go to the bathroom in the middle of the night because if it is between 3am-5am she wakes up and kicks around and keeps me awake. So I try and keep bathroom visits to a minimum. I'm sure it won't be long before I won't be able to control that.

Our time here is winding down as Landon and I will be flying to Wisconsin September 19th for two weeks. Then off to Virginia until our little girl is born! We are getting so excited...AND...I'm getting so excited to get back to the US and start looking for little girly stuff! Woo hoo!!!!!

New House

2009-09-03T09:33:00.001-07:00

I know, I know...you are waiting for some house photos...but in the meantime I wanted just to post this one. Never in this whole process of possibly getting this house did we doubt that we felt God was leading us here. But if there was ever a hint of doubt, this picture describes the blessings you receive when you listen closely to the quiet voice of God. I've never seen this little boy so happy.

Fisherman

2009-08-17T13:34:00.001-07:00

I had to post just a quick picture from this morning. My parents sent Landon this shirt and although it just looks like an ordinary shirt it has quite the sentimental meaning.

Fishing is a way of life for the Goodwin gang. All of us girls have grown up loving to fish and the grandkids adopted the same love through the years. Every year (except for one) before Mike and I moved to the mission field I went to Maine with my family to stay at our cabin. Countless and I mean COUNTLESS hours have been spent on that lake fishing for bass, trout and white perch. One year we LITERALLY caught hundreds of fish in a two week trip. Landon had the opportunity to go to Maine when he wasn't quite two months old but unfortunately hasn't been able to go since. He's at the age when my nephew Seth started fishing with my dad (who is by all definitions of the word a professional fisherman). But the funny thing is is that through the years of daughters and grandchildren fishing with my dad (who has spent thousands more hours on that lake than any of us) somehow we always ended up with the bigger fish. So when my parents sent us this T-shirt it just made my heart happy. Continuing the tradition with Landon. I truly hope he has future opportunities to fish in Maine with "Papa."

24 weeks!

2009-08-11T18:21:00.000-07:00

Time is ZOOMING!!! Our summer of teams is complete and now we have some time for rest.

Saturday marked 24 weeks of pregnancy. I feel wonderful. Much different than with Landon. I can go a week without getting sick, which is such a God-send. We had a doctor's appointment today which confirmed that our little one is definitely a girl! We are so excited. Bring on the pink, frilly stuff!!! I've gained a total of 2 pounds so far during this pregnancy (only because I dropped some weight that I needed to drop) and the doctor says that both Nohemi and I are healthy. She's measuring a little small on some of her measurements, only by about a week, but her head circumference is right at 24 weeks. My fundal measurement (the measurement from pubic bone to top of the uterus) is measuring 25 weeks...which is weird cause I feel like my belly is barely growing! I should put on at least 1 lb. a week for the next 16 weeks (or if it's like Landon, 7 pounds of water weight the week before she's born!) which would put my weight gain at about 18 pounds. But who knows, going back to the states and eating all my mother-in-law's delicious food and it may be more like 2 lbs. a week!

Thanks for going on this journey with us so far. We couldn't be happier to add a little girl to our family. I'll finally have someone on my side!!!!

Watermelon

2009-08-04T10:28:00.000-07:00

Just had to share some cute pics of the boy.

4 Years!!!!

2009-07-26T06:24:00.000-07:00

July 15th was Mike and I's 4 year anniversary! We couldn't even believe it. Time has flown by so fast and we've really just fallen more in love with each other every year! We don't generally do gifts (usually because of lack of time given that our anniversary falls in the middle of our busiest time) but I was home not feeling very well and I got a little knock on our door. And who was there but a man holding a ridiculously beautiful bouquet of Lillies. Oh my goodness they were so beautiful and they smelled so wonderful. I was so surprised. What an awesome husband!!!!

I ended up having the worst migraine of my entire life that night and ruined Mike's plans to take me to dinner. He had found a babysitter and covered all of my bases with work! But we did end up getting to go to dinner that Friday and we went to TGIFridays!!!! It is my favorite restaurant in the states and it doesn't disappoint here in the Dominican Republic either! It was so wonderful to have this time together and to celebrate four amazing years of marriage.

We started dating in 2003, we got married in 2005, we had Landon in 2007 and Nohemi will be born in 2009. Six great years of life together!!!!! I love you, Mike! (I'll post a couple pictures from dinner when I have time)

21 weeks

2009-07-20T18:02:00.001-07:00

I am officially pregnant! 21 weeks to be exact. If I just looked a little chubby before, I now have a definite baby belly. And man am I uncomfortable. I am carrying so differently with this little one and I can feel the difference in my back. My neck and back are aching quite a bit. But I am just ALL belly. Luckily, I haven't seen much of a difference in my behind or my thighs which actually got pretty large during my pregnancy with Landon. And the funny thing is, I look less pregnant in the mornings. How does that happen?

She's a bit more active and her kicks are stronger but it is nothing like Landon was. She is for sure a lot calmer. I felt like I had a little soccer player in my tummy with Landon.

We have also decided on a name....Nohemi Ruth!!!!! Woo hoo!!!! We love, love, love it. Nohemi is a latina name which we really wanted this time around (and is also the name of one of Mike's Mom's good friends from Peru) and Ruth was my grandma's name who passed away this spring. In case you're not Latino you pronounce it No-em-EE. The accent is on the last syllable. But for all of you Spanish-challenged folks out there, we are going to call her Emi for short.

We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow so I'll probably update more later.

It's a What?

2009-07-07T12:45:00.000-07:00

We went to the 3-D Sonogram place today with the sole purpose in mind of finding out what this baby actually is. Quite honestly, I am sick of calling it "it." The baby barely moved the whole time except for a few little adjustments and I was getting worried that we weren't going to be able to see anything. Not another disappointing trip. ugh. So I started eating some chocolate (wives tale here in the Dominican) and sure enough a few minutes later, little baby Braisted started bouncing around. The doctor looked and looked and looked and couldn't find a little boy part. I moved to different sides to get different angles, she moved that little stick all over my belly and no matter what angle, there was no "pee pee" (as Landon likes to call it). So she finally said, "Now I can't be totally sure but I really think its a girl. Where I can see that there should be a penis, there is no penis." I teared up immediately. Seriously, a girl? Could this really be happening? A girl born from a Braisted?????

But it was true, we could see between the legs and what was clearly visible at 14 weeks with Lando was definitely not there. We are going to go back in a couple weeks when I'm somewhere between 22 and 24 weeks to get a 100% confirmation but honestly "the lack there of" was enough confirmation for me. So I'm calling it "her." Even, if the verdict gets changed in a couple weeks....she'll be a she for a couple weeks anyway. But no worries, I'm not rushing out and buying anything pink just yet.

Happy Birthday, Little Man

2009-06-27T18:11:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe but our little guy is two. Every hour of today I was running through my head what I was doing and where I was two years ago. What an exciting day it was. Finally, at 5:15 our little guy came into this world, only to make us the happiest people on Earth. Two years ago, he was 19 inches long and 8 pounds. Today he is 33 1/2 inches tall and weighs 28 pounds. He speaks and understands two languages and has lived in a foreign country for his entire life. Pretty incredible.

I'm pretty tired, so I only have the energy to post one picture from tonight's "party." Party meaning Landon, Mike, the dogs and I...some balloons, cake and presents. But I promise there will be more, including video.

We love you, little Landon, you make every day just a little bit brighter (and a little bit more challenging!). :)

16 weeks

2009-06-19T07:11:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe it but I am already 4 months pregnant. The belly hasn't changed too much, a little more round maybe. The baby is moving, not a ton, but enough so I don't worry. We have an appointment on Tuesday and hopefully we will be able to see what the sex of the baby is! The Dominican women ALL say its a girl (the way I'm carrying, how I'm so sick, the way my body looks...) and they also say I need to eat two chocolate bars before we go to have the ultrasound so the baby will have lots of energy and move so we can see what "part" it has! So funny.

"dink" "dink"

2009-06-19T07:05:00.000-07:00

"dink" translated means sink.

Landon's new favorite INDOOR activity. He sits there and fills up a container and dumps it out and fills it up and dumps it out and repeats this forever and ever. Well, until he decides to dump one out all over the bathroom floor, then mommy says all done.

Water Boy

2009-06-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

I was just looking through some photos deleting and clearing space and what-not....and came across these photos of Lando and just had to post them. They instantly made me smile. There is no happier boy than Landon in water. What an incredible blessing children are.

You Can Dance, You can Jive

2009-05-27T18:49:00.000-07:00

Yep. Our son is a dancing fool. At my sister's wedding this month, the music started and he just kinda watched as people filled the dance floor. But sure enough, as soon as Michael Jackson came on, a new little boy emerged. He danced like this for literally an hour and a half. I might be his mother, but I SERIOUSLY think that he's got moves. I hope I can find a break dancing class for toddlers in the Dominican.

Dance Maniac from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Bun In The Oven

2009-05-26T10:47:00.000-07:00

That's right, we will be adding to our little Braisted clan. I should be having a scheduled C-section on November 23rd, home in time for Thanksgiving Day! What a great thing to be thankful for.

I'm "sick" pretty much every morning but it is not nearly as intense as it was with Landon. And I've even had a few days here and there where I don't get sick at all. We will see as I get more into my second trimester if the nauseousness will waver.

First sonogram, 10 weeks

First belly Pic, 13 weeks

Landon and the "Beep Beep"

2009-04-07T16:10:00.000-07:00

We bought Landon this new "beep beep" because he would always go over to our friends' house and play on their son's. He is getting pretty fast on it. The other morning, Landon and Daddy were chasing each other around and I just had to pick up the video camera and record it. It was too precious. The two of them have so much fun together. Enjoy!

Landon and His Beep Beep from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Changing House

2009-03-18T07:55:00.001-07:00

I like new changes...generally, only if I am the initiator! One thing I always have loved is revamping homes. I always walk into a house and think about what I could do differently in there to make it look just a little more awesome. I think we've finally settled on the general "look" of our house. Landon's room is still going to be re-painted at some point (to go with our Finding Nemo/Sports theme) and we still have some major furniture purchases that we need to make (i.e. Night tables, couches, patio furniture). But we are super happy with our home and it is just a great place for our family to relax, eat and play in! I just wanted to post some before and after pictures of right before we moved in and the rooms now! Enjoy.

Guest Bath - BEFORE

Guest Bath - AFTER

Kitchen - BEFORE

Kitchen - AFTER

Landon's Room - BEFORE

Landon's Room - AFTER

Master Bath - BEFORE

Master Bath - AFTER

Master Bedroom - BEFORE

Master Bedroom - AFTER

Third Bedroom/Office - BEFORE

Third Bedroom/Office - AFTER

Living Room/Dining Room - BEFORE

Living Room/Dining Room - AFTER

I haven't been totally inspired yet with what to paint on these canvases!

Our family portrait collage that I love!!! (Christmas gift from Mike)

Eye Update

2009-03-06T06:12:00.001-08:00

The bump on Landon's head has completely gone away but the black eye remains. It is a beautiful mixture of blue, purple, and yellow. The swelling has gone completely down and it seems as though Landon has escaped any serious repercussions of his tumbling act.

Pobrecito :(

2009-03-04T05:05:00.001-08:00

Well, it finally happened. Our little guy had a big-time spill.

Unfortunately, Lando is a monkey. He climbs on everything. And apparently, no amounts of "pow-pows" or "time-outs" are going to keep him from doing dangerous stunts. Recently, one of his favorite things to climb on is the back of our futon. He'll climb up the mattress and almost sit on the back of the futon. We'll rush over and tell him no and give him a time-out but as soon as we turn our backs, he does it again. Well, yesterday, our worst nightmare happened. He was climbing the futon and sure enough before anyone could get to him, he came crashing down over the back of the futon onto our tile floors. Thank goodness, I was not there because if I had seen it, the image probably would have haunted me for a long time. And thank goodness, Mike, who is pretty calm in stressful situations, was there to comfort him. He landed right on his head and we think his hand because he has a black eye where we think his hand hit him. We called the doctor and kept a close eye on him.

He was pretty cuddly and didn't want to be put down for about the first two hours as we watched Shrek 2, but after that, he grabbed his cars and played "beep beep" all over the house. So we knew that he was ok. But we did manage to get a couple pictures this morning of his wonderful, developing, black eye. This may be the first but I have a feeling it is NOT the last.

Landon on the Porch

2009-03-03T23:44:00.001-08:00

Just another day in the little life of Lando. We were out on the porch doing laundry and playing in the water. He so loves water. I actually got him jabbering on video, finally. He is a talking machine. Most of it doesn't make sense, yet, but I know it will soon. Enjoy! I've watched this video at least three times cause it just makes my heart happy. Awnry little boy. :)

Landon on the Porch from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

Not a Baby Anymore

2009-02-24T13:09:00.001-08:00

We did it! We buzzed Lando's hair. And I hate it (only because it makes him look too grown up!) But he does look really, really cute. I took these pictures quick this morning because he was in a really crabby mood (see pic 1) and just wanted to show everyone that he's not a little baby anymore! :(

Sad Day

2009-02-18T05:29:00.000-08:00

Our little guy, in fact our family, seems to not be able to be healthy since we've been back to the Dominican. We've had everything from colds, to chest colds, strep throat, migraines, double ear infections and NOW our little Lando has croup. We went to the doctor yesterday and she described it as "like" bronchitis, but to me I just know they don't have a word for croup. I only know of it because I got it quite a bit when I was young and so did my younger sister Abbey. So now Landon is on an antibiotic regiment, tylenol for fever, a "chest pounding" regiment where we have to loosen up the junk in his lungs, AND we have to do a nebulizer treatment three times a day. When we started his treatment this morning, I had to snap a pic. It made me so sad to see just this little mask on his face. I now have a VERY small glimpse into what the moms out there have to see when they have preemies or sick babies. I have more respect and sympathy for you now, more than ever.

Fun in the Sun

2009-02-03T10:32:00.001-08:00

Back by popular demand...photos of Landon playing in water! We had a beautiful day a couple days ago so we whipped out Landon's frog pool (compliments of GaGa and Ma Braisted) and several new bathtoys (thanks to the Goodwin/Bickett clan) and played for a long time. Don't worry, Aunt Ashley, he was donned with SPF 50 and a sun hat! He is much more interested in putting water in containers and pouring it OUTSIDE of the pool than actually playing with the water inside the pool. Still cute nonetheless. Enjoy!

Ruth Cloninger 1/15/09

2009-01-17T18:25:00.001-08:00

She was more than a Grandma. She was my mentor. She was the woman who led me to Christ. She was my shoulder to cry on. She was my counselor. She was the epitome of what a Godly woman should be.

I keep saying to myself that I didn't even get to see her to say goodbye. I didn't go see her at Christmas and I even said "well, I will stop in when we're home for Ashley's wedding in April." I surely didn't know I wouldn't get to see her again. I've cried, at kind of random times. I'm a little bit numb but I'm still very much hurting. Maybe it's because I'm here and all that is going on there. It doesn't quite seem real.

I'm trying to keep Satan from creeping in and laying on the guilt of not seeing her before we returned home but he's a creeper, and I'm a little weak. This is the culmination of my absolute biggest fear in life...losing people I love. I told God he wasn't allowed to take away my loved ones because I'm not strong enough to take it. He didn't exactly listen. Or maybe I'm stronger than I think.

Regardless, there's a hole. There's some pain. Major heart burn, emotionally and physically. It's been spewing up my esophagus since yesterday. I didn't know emotional pain caused physical pain.

It's weird. I'm usually the first to go running to people, telling them what has happened...but I can't right now. It's like if I tell someone else, then it makes it real. I don't want it to be real.

I actually have always been kind of desensitized to people who lose their grandparents. When people tell me their grandparents died I secretly thought, "It's not a big deal. It's not your parents. They are old. They've lived their life. Now they are in heaven. What are you so upset about?" I suppose its just because my grandparents all died before I was even 12. Hardly enough time to be bonded to people you barely knew.

I think I never thought that Grandma Ruth would ever die. She was 92. She was healthy. She had nothing wrong with her. She couldn't die. Too many people depended on her. Or at least I thought God knew that. But here it is. A day I thought wouldn't come and of course I feel a way I never thought I would feel. Hurt.

The only joy I feel right now is 1) I know for absolutely SURE that she is in heaven. No doubt. They are having a huge party because she came home. She might even be sitting on the right hand of God, right next to Jesus. And 2) She got to meet Landon. And he adored her. And she adored him. I remembered that in May I got some pictures of the two of them together. And it's really the first thing to make me smile in two days. I guess I'll just focus on that.

First Time in the Snow

2008-12-17T15:53:00.000-08:00

We let Lando go outside today for the first time since visiting Hama and Papa in Wisconsin. The temperatures have been in the -degrees so it wasn't very good for a little baby to be out there. But today it was pretty good. It was funny to watch him go from not knowing what the heck that white, fluffy stuff was to playing non-stop with so much joy.

Mozart or maybe Beyonce?

2008-12-17T15:50:00.001-08:00

Had to post this little video of Lando. He LOVES music. Especially his Uncle Timmy's music. But this day he decided to play a little piano and started dancing like crazy. It was like the music just all of sudden jumped into his bones!

Indiana+The Diedrichs+Beautiful Farm=Fall Fun

2008-11-13T09:21:00.000-08:00

We had the chance to go see the Diedrich family on our visit to Indiana. This family means so much to us and it is always so much fun to be around them. Sevgi and Dan have taken Mike and I in as their own kids and Lando as their grandchild (although they are awfully young to have a grandchild!) And their three kids Taylor, Mitchell and Sam are just like our younger siblings. The farm they live on is SOOOOO beautiful and I of course took advantage of that as soon as we got there. The environment alone makes the photos so beautiful! Enjoy!

Landon was VERY fascinated with the horses...the horses just liked nipping his fingers :)

Staring at water...his favorite thing in the whole world

Lando was NOT a fan of the leaf pile

My sweet boys

The baby and his Momma

The Diedrich Farm, how serene

Cruiser the Horse

Chief

Back in the States

2008-10-30T08:52:00.000-07:00

We arrived safe and sound in the U.S. and are at our home base in Virginia! It has been so nice staying with Mike's parents and the best part is...they have a GREAT yard for Lando. Of course, we already did a little photo shoot and our little boy just doesn't seem that little anymore.

Miscellaneous Randoms

2008-10-21T18:36:00.000-07:00

Lando is growing up before our eyes and is so ridiculously cute. Just a couple quick shots of him this last week.

Our washing machine had some issues...Landon had to take a look

One of Landon's favorite places to play...the bottom shelf

These two are definitely "brother" and "sister"...they fight and bug each other but still like to cuddle together at the end of the day

Yes, we torture our child for cute pictures

"What am I supposed to do with these things?"

Not really sure what to call this one other than "hahahahahahahaha"

"Mom, I can't do anything with these stupid things on."

Now he's sick of all the stuff he has on...hey, we do what we can. In a country where all the little boys dream of being Professional Baseball Players and making millions of dollars...we have to plant some seeds of being a Professional Soccer Player and making a couple hundred bucks just because you love the sport :)

I got tagged!

2008-10-21T17:14:00.000-07:00

While delightfully reading my friend Raleigh's blog enjoying hearing about 6 things that I knew/didn't know about her...there it was, all of a sudden "Amanda Goodwin." If you don't know the whole story, you can go to her blog, but the shortened version is I now need to tell you 6 things about myself and tag a couple of other people (which may be hard because I don't even know if anyone but our mom's and raleigh read our blog). But here it is, my six things.

1 - I secretly love teeny-bopper movies. High School Musical, Mean Girls, 10 Things I hate about you...etc. you get the point. I seriously get goosebumps every time the main characters (the ridiculously good-looking popular boy and the strangely-intriguing not-so-popular girl) kiss for the first time. When the movies are all about teaching a good lesson in not forming cliques in high school, or being who you really are instead of what the world wants you to be, makes me all happy inside. If there is a teeny bopper movie on the disney channel or on nickelodeon, I don't move until its over (but i do change the channel sometimes depending on who comes in the room and the level of embarrassment I may feel if they see me watching it).

2 - My biggest regret, maybe in my whole life, is not working harder at playing basketball. I am PASSIONATE about basketball. Yes, I even like basketball probably 30% more than soccer. When I was growing up soccer was natural for me, I didn't have to try very hard. Basketball I had to work at. I told everybody that I didn't want to play basketball in college because I wanted to have a life (soccer and basketball in college would have taken up the entire year) but the real reason was I didn't want to risk having to sit on the bench in case I wasn't good enough to start.

3 - I could eat sushi every meal, every day. It is my favorite food by far and I am never more excited than if I know I'm going to eat at a sushi restaurant. No need for further elaboration.

4 - My favorite place in the entire world is my family's little cabin in Maine. There's no running water, we have a port-o-potty for a bathroom, most days I don't even bathe...it's heaven. Growing up it felt like my sisters and I were always fighting but for some reason, the two weeks every summer we spent in Maine it was as if someone put a spell on us and we were best friends. I don't even remember if we even had a single fight in the 20 some odd years I have gone there with them. Almost all of my best memories are from there.

5 - I have a really bad temper. You probably wouldn't know it because I'm really pretty good at suppressing it. But if its just the right week and I'm really overwhelmed and nothing I'm doing or trying to do is working out I blow up like a volcano. Not for very long. Maybe just for 5 seconds, then I feel immediate guilt, then start crying, then apologize like crazy if anyone (usually Mike) happens to witness it. Not my finest moments.

6 - My favorite book of all time is The Shack. I hate books, I hate reading and I especially hate self-help Christian books....but for some reason because it is Fiction and the crazy truths you find when God is a large, African-American woman...I couldn't put it down and it truly answered a ton of questions I have always had about faith and Christianity and how to get past a crippling fear or sadness.

I tag Shelly Valentine, Chachi and Benji Zimmerman.

Trip to the Beach

2008-10-20T17:49:00.000-07:00

We were able to go to the beach with the Sports crew a couple weeks ago (I like to think I'm part of the sports crew, even though I'm just a plain old photographer...Hey, washed up athletes count, right?) Anyway, of course I took my camera and had to capture a few of Landon's first "real" time at the beach. The other time he was too young to really know what was going on and the time before that he was still in my uterus. So here are the shots. It was a great day and a lot of fun.

Starting the day out with a little nap...

He always has this look on his face...do you think he's a deep thinker?

I love this one...and he LOVES his daddy.

Love this one too...we're all three in it, I'm just a little more inconspicuous

Haha...look at his face when the water rushed over him

CHEEEESEE!!!!

Kisses for daddy

Kisses for Mommy

Family!

And we end the day the same way we started it!

This is For You Mom!

2008-10-09T13:31:00.000-07:00

My whole family has been losing weight in preparation for my sister, Ashley's, wedding coming up in May. I, actually, had it pretty easy as all the natural food we eat and our busy schedule with teams this summer assisted me in losing 15 pounds. I've gained a couple back but I ran across a photo from March of this year and another one from this week. I didn't realize how much weight I can carry in my face. Woo. But this is for you, Mamma. I can only post this because I don't look like it anymore but the first thing I thought was, "Where on Earth are my eyes?" Haha. Anyway, if no one else, my mom will enjoy these pics.

March 2008

October 2008

alright, alright

2008-10-04T19:30:00.001-07:00

Ok so its been like two weeks. Apparently I'm supposed to get more photos up of Lando.

Landon is now 15 months old! Hard to believe. He is somethin' else too. Quite the little ball of energy, and he sleeps a lot to make up for it. He is still sleeping about 11 or 12 hours a night and takes two, two hour naps during the day. With the exception of today in which he wasn't interested in sleeping at all. He is wearing about a size 5 shoe, weighs probably 25 pounds or so and 16 teeth! Yes, 16. 4 molars and 12 teefers. It's crazy. He looks like a baby shark. We have completely gotten rid of bottles and he has decided he wants to drink all his milk for the day in the morning. It's pretty cute. As soon as you carry him out of his room, he points at the couch and then the TV. He's come up with this routine for himself where he has to watch 1-2 baby einsteins or praise baby DVDs while drinks anywhere from 8-16 ounces of milk. Then he doesn't want milk the rest of the day. If we try and take him anywhere else before he gets to sit on the couch and drink his milk he literally cries until we take him there.

He is saying "mama" (sometimes mami), "dada" (but actually prefers to call him "Ma" or Mike as we've figured out), Gracias (or "Gra"), mas (which is more in spanish), some new one which is "ee" which I'm not sure what it is...and several other sounds and words. He is still signing but because we've kinda slacked on keeping it regimented he confuses his signs a bit and actually has made up new ones for "more" "milk" "juice" and "eat". They all kinda look the same with a slight variation. Still, super cute.

Lando's favorite food of all time are BANANAS. If he even SEES a banana anywhere he will scream his head off unless he has one. And its awful too because here they have yellow plantains that look like bananas but you can't eat them without cooking them so when he sees the plantain he goes crazy. Again, still super cute. But yes, Landon has learned the temper tantrum very well. I do my best to not react too much to it and be as calm as I can be, but somtimes...man, oh, man...Especially at the supermarket. Woo. Exhausting.

Anyway, just updating a little bit about the little guy so here are some pics. Enjoy!

Lando with the bandana on for 5 seconds and wanting it off

I love this one cause he is looking so sweetly at Mike

Seriously, how did he get so cute?

My bandana boys

Remember when your mom said, "no playing baseball in the house."

Well, this is what happens when Mom plays baseball in the house.

Luckily it was with a wiffle ball. Please don't call child services. :)

All the girls in my family have a picture of them taking a bath in the

sink in Maine. We didn't get to do that with Lando so we decided to

try it in the Dominican instead.

Washing the dishes for mommy.

Our sweet little boy.

Our Little Switch-hitter

2008-09-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

Had to post this video. Mike, Lando and I have been playing A LOT of baseball in our house these past few days and apparently it has sunk in with the little guy. Today when Mike was playing with him he just started hitting the balls all by himself. Amazing part, he was doing it with both hands. Got some video of one lefty and one righty. Pretty cool. More coordination than his mom, that's for sure.

www.yearbookyourself.com

2008-09-20T07:32:00.000-07:00

So this morning I had a bit too much fun and apparently too much time on my hands. I am an avid facebooker (www.facebook.com) and one of my friends had posted some pictures and they were so AWESOME!!! I've always thought I was born in the wrong era and www.yearbookyourself.com gave me the opportunity to see if I was right. :) All you do is upload a picture of yourself and they do the rest. You can see what you'd look like from 1950-2000. It was an absolute blast. Then, I thought, maybe I should do Mike too! Then blast, turned to riot. Wow. So I decided to put the two of us together in a couple of the "years" and see if we'd look compatible. Pretty funny. Enjoy the pics.

1950

1952

1958

1962

1966

1968

1996

2000

And, yes, I did Landon too...my favorite one of our little love child...1976

Giggle Box

2008-09-10T07:49:00.000-07:00

Haven't posted video in a while. So here are some random giggles by our little guy. He is seriously just the joy of our lives. So, so fun.

Mom and Dad in the DR!

2008-09-07T18:58:00.001-07:00

Mike's parents came to the Dominican this past week for 10 days! It was seriously the best time EVER! We took them to several of our ministry sites, visited restaurants, played with Lando (A LOT!!!) and went to the beach. It was so good to have them here. And it gave us a little "family time" to help us not be homesick for the ones we love. Here are some pictures of their trip. To see more go to our ministry blog.

Front balcony...Joe and Lando's favorite hangout (especially for eating bananas for breakfast!)

Daddy and Lando (kissing is Landon's new favorite thing!)

Debbie and Lando looking at the view from the hotel at the beach

Our cute little boy

Lando in his new frog pool that he got from Grandma and Grandpa...he likes it more if one of us go in it with him :)

Joe and Mike got to steal away for a morning of golf

Landon reading in a box...kids seriously find the funniest things to do

Mommy and Lando sleeping on the way to the beach

Of course we have a bucket bath picture!!!

Family Photo

2008-08-23T18:04:00.001-07:00

We had a wedding today and got a family photo taken. Lando's not smiling but he's still adorable!

Ode to the Bottle

2008-08-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

Oh, bottle, so good and cozy

Many nights I needed you to keep me calm

To see you being prepared was such excitement

To have you in my hand was like bliss

For thirteen months I have obsessed over you

Sometimes six times a day

When nothing else could make me feel better

You knew just what to do

Although our time together has been good

Our time together has passed

I don't need you anymore

I have found another

And sippie cup makes me happy now

But I will always remember you

And I'm sure when a new little baby comes along

I will want you again

But for now, I'm saying goodbye to my dear 'ol bottle.

-Landon

Yep, that's right. No more bottles. Landon has decided this week that he wants his milk cold, in a sippie cup. I shouldn't be surprised. He was the one that decided to stop nursing and now he is the one that decided bottles are not what he wants. Let's hope the bobo will go soon too. (Although I fear that may be a civil war)

Van Gogh

2008-08-02T13:04:00.000-07:00

I've been an artist my whole life. I've loved art. I've loved all art forms. I've never so much been into the modern art where people paint a red circle on a blue canvas or cut a cow in thin pieces and display it. But apparently, my son is very much into modern art. What is his medium...poop.

I woke up this morning to the fresh smell of doody. I was thinking, "those darn dogs..." and began searching for a pile somewhere. As I passed Lando's room a foul smell hit my nose. I opened the door and thought maybe it was his diaper pale. Then with a huge grin Lando holds his hands up high...absolutely covered in poop. Hands, feet, hair, sheets, pillow, blanky...the whole shabang. He had figured out how to take his diaper off and had a little too much time to paint, I guess. So here are a couple quick photos that I could take before I wanted to gag by the smell. Warning: may induce vomiting.

(had to cover the wee-wee...he's a year old now, ya know!)

Finally a girl in the Braisted Clan

2008-07-26T17:20:00.001-07:00

Nope. I'm not pregnant. But I am a new mother of two new puppies. Sisters.

We've been praying about and looking for a new puppy to give us some added security and a play friend for Landon. Plus, Mike and I love dogs. Ever since we had to give our dog, Simba, away when we moved down here...we've been thinking about having one again.

Well, we were working on one of our churches in Brisas de Ocampo and I spotted these black puppies that looked SO cute from far away. There were three large dogs chained up in a garage and the two puppies were asleep. Every day for about two weeks, I passed the garage and wanted to jump out and ask if I could take one. It wouldn't have been a good idea. Mike and I had two stipulations about a puppy. We didn't want to pay for one and we wanted it to be a rescue situation. Because the puppies actually had owners and the mama dog was around I figured it wasn't really a rescue. So I didn't think it would happen.

Well, Mike told our friend Luis about how I was in love with the puppies (from far away) and Thursday Luis went right in and asked for them. Mike surprised me as I was having coffee with my friend Yajaira. I was MORE than ecstatic. Well we didn't have to pay for it at least...it wasn't a rescue though. Or so we thought.

When Mike showed me the little girl there were some awful news. He lifted her ear up and inside each ear were MORE THAN 100 ticks! In between her toes, on her neck, under her arms, her stomach...just everywhere. It was the most horrific thing I had ever seen. The moment I saw her, I knew she was ours and we weren't going to let her be miserable like that. So we jumped in a car and drove to the vet.

The vet removed all of the huge ticks and treated her for ticks/fleas, gave her a vaccination, and anti-parasite meds. We were happy that it didn't cost very much as it would have been a FORTUNE in the states. So her recovery began.

The other puppy was left in our "almacen" or area where they store vehicles and equipment. I thought about her all night just wondering if she was getting something to eat or if she was cold. Then Michael said something I never thought I'd hear..."I think if no one wants her we should just take her too." I about died! But was so excited.

So the next morning, I went looking for her. She wasn't there. OH NO. Someone wanted her. But long story short...I found her. We took her to the vet too. We reunited the sisters and they slept through the entire night until 6:30 this morning. (well, with a couple presents on our bedroom floor...oh well, they'll learn!) The two puppy thing is still on a trial basis. If it gets in the way of our jobs or is too much to handle, we will find a home for one of them.

Landon's not sure what to think. Sometimes he laughs hysterically. Sometimes he tugs on their ears or hits them in the face.

So here they are...our little girls, Frankie and Finley.

Sisters

Finley

Frankie

We figured it out....

2008-07-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

We've been trying to figure out (now that Landon is older) who he looks like. Then today, Mike was scrolling through some of Landon's birth pictures and we found this one of his mom, Debbie, holding Landon the day after he was born. I knew where I had seen that face before. And then we found the matching photograph. If she were crinkling her nose they could be Irish twins :) Pretty amazing, huh?

Mid-Summer Fun

2008-07-19T10:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been several weeks since I posted anything about Lando but we have been on the go quite a bit lately. Some of our favorite times is with Lando and his bucket baths and this time was no exception. Man do we love this little boy! Enjoy!

Our Very Own Neil Armstrong

2008-07-02T15:57:00.001-07:00

That's right...he just up and decided that today was the day he was going to be a walking fool. He's a little wabbly but our lives are definitely going to be a bit more busy. One small step for Landon...one giant leap forward from life as we know it.

A year has passed...

2008-06-27T18:47:00.000-07:00

It is BEYOND hard to believe that our little boy is one year old today. It's weird to think that a year ago this morning I was taking a shower wondering if these cramps were worth waking Mike up at 7:00 in the morning. Turns out, they were! I want to put together a little slide show of Landon's first year but haven't had the time. I still plan on doing that but for now, here are some pictures of Landon a year old and eating his first birthday cake! Enjoy...before we know it he'll be having kids of his own!!!

His new favorite thing...brushing his teeth

Un-enthused

Look at that beautiful cake! :)

Mad because we were taking pictures and not giving it to him

Clapping for Mommy and Daddy's pretty birthday song

And....he dug right in

Can you please just check out Lando's face!!!!!!!

Ok, mom, I'm ready to be cleaned up!!!!

Thank you!

2008-06-24T06:40:00.000-07:00

We just wanted to say thank you to several of our friends and supporters who gave us some money for Landon's 1st birthday. We have had a huge need for a nice crib for Landon since we moved here and we used some of his birthday money to buy it! And let me tell you...he slept like a LOG!!!! He didn't wake up once last night. I got an incredible night of sleep. It is the gift that keeps on giving! I know, it's a little unorthodox to buy a crib for a first birthday but we know that it is something he will use everyday for at least the next year and we are also planning on at least one more baby in the future that will be able to use it. Not to mention, at this stage in Landon's life he'd rather play with a plastic bottle than a fancy toy anyway! So here are a couple pictures of the almost-finished nursery (I want to paint a mural in the future when I have time). Enjoy and THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Bucket Bath

2008-06-22T11:44:00.000-07:00

Some of Landon's cutest stuff comes when he is in water. He is such a little fishy! So I couldn't help but post this couple minutes he had with his Daddy. I sure love my boys!

First Steps

2008-06-18T17:57:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that Lando took his first steps, solo, today. He took three steps about three times and then cried his eyes out because Yajaira, the kids and I screamed so loud. I'm not sure if he'll do it again anytime soon because we scared him so badly! But if he does, I will get it on video.

If only I had wheels....

2008-06-15T08:45:00.000-07:00

In Landon's attempt to feel independent even though he can't walk solo yet, he has taken up a friend in Mr. Stroller! He will literally go round and round for several minutes without stopping or getting bored. It's pretty funny to watch. So here it is.

11 months old!

2008-05-31T11:38:00.000-07:00

Our little Lando is 11 months old now, just a month away from a full year of life. Kinda hard to believe. We had his checkup right before we left for the DR and he was about 27 1/4 inches long and 20 lbs 14 oz. He is walking using one hand for balance and cruises all over furniture. He doesn't seem to be interested yet in trying to walk by himself but I'm sure it is in his near future. He says "ma ma" and "da da" pretty consistently but "da da" is definitely his favorite to say. He also this week started to say "pa pa" which could be his interpretation of Papi (the dominican name for a dad). He drinks out of a sippie cup but its not his favorite yet and we have switched his "bobo" (pacifier) and blanky time to only when he is getting ready to sleep. We hope to have him weined of his bobo by a year or a little after and his bottle by 15 months. We'll see how that goes.

He is such an incredible baby and we enjoy him so much everyday. This summer will be a little weird as we will see him less throughout the day because we'll be working with teams...but my best friend Yajaira will be watching him 8-5pm Monday-Friday and that's just as good, in my eyes, as us being with him. She's an incredible woman.

Anyway, enjoy the photos of our growing little man.

Chillin' on our balcony

Lando and his "cheesy" smile

Doin' his new trick, feeding himself (thanks to Grandma Braisted)