Our Christmas gift to each other this year was a romantic getaway to New York City for the weekend. We went Saturday night with our friends, Dawn and Jon. (Thanks to Jon's sister for letting us crash at her apartment in Hoboken, New Jersey!) We dropped our stuff off there and got on the bus to NYC! We got into the city around 8:30...walked around in Times Square...bought Gyros from a street vendor and then headed over to Rockefeller Center to see the tree and go ice skating. It truly was a magical night. So Romantic! We skated from 11 to midnight. As we were skating, we were just reminiscing about all the amazing experiences we've shared over our 11 years of marriage...we really do feel so blessed! We are grateful for a wonderful marriage. After ice skating we warmed up with some peppermint hot chocolate from Starbucks! Soooo Yummy! After 4 quick hours of sleep, we were up and at 'em Sunday morning! Off to see the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall! I have to say, every time the Rockettes lined up and kicked their legs...I cried! For 33 years I've only heard about them or seen them on t.v. and then, there they were...it was incredible! The show ended with a boy reading the story of Christ's birth right from Scripture and a beautiful live Nativity. After the show we had a nice brunch at the Marriot and then headed home to the kiddies! Merry Christmas to my Sweetheart, Quenton, I love you! Thank you for the amazing gift of time spent with you--in one of the most magical cities on earth!
Well, they didn't actually win, but we were cheering for them anyways! The final score was Navy 38, Army 3... Our very dear friends, Rob and Barb have a son, Tyler, at Westpoint so they invited us to go to the Army/Navy football game at the Raven's stadium in Baltimore, December 1st. We had so much fun! We were prepared for freezing cold but it ended up being a beautiful sunny winter day! We arrived early to see the cadets "march on". It was very cool to watch them all march in in perfect order. Then, there was so much more to see than just a football game. There were army helicopters and fighter jets, paratroopers that landed directly in the stadium...UNBELIEVABLE! The whole day was so patriotic! At half-time Lee Greenwood was there to sing, "Proud To Be An American". That song can bring tears to the eyes of any...well, me! After the game, we had dinner at Phillips Seafood Restaurant in the Inner Harbor. It was the perfect end to our fun day in Baltimore. Thanks again to Rob and Barb for treating us to such a special day with their amazing family. Their friendship is truly a gift from God.
Our trip to Wisconsin was nothing but wonderful! I'm still dreaming of all the fun we had and memories we made! We left on Friday (Nov. 16) and our first stop was Cleveland, Ohio to visit our special friends Brent and Debbie and their three kids. Thank you to them for their amazing hospitality! It's always nice to break up our long drive to the midwest with a fun stop at their house! Our kids are all the same ages so they have a lot of fun playing together! We spent all day Saturday there...Deb and I had a shopping day while the guys stayed home and watched football and the kids played. Then, on Sunday we were on the road again! When we arrived at my parents house, it was an emotional reunion! I was so happy to see them! When my older sister, Remick came, it wasn't any less emotional! I haven't seen her since last Christmas and this was the first time I met my new niece, Evyn Remick! She was born on October 10th! She's a beauty! We were able to spend time with my grampa and gramma Blaser on Monday, November 19th, which happened to be their SIXTY NINTH Wedding Anniversary! What a legacy! Happy Anniversary Grampa and Gramma Blaser! The kids love to go over to great g'ma's because she always has cookies! And, she's always "tickled" (to quote her) to see us too...she's so proud that Briar got her dark brown eyes! On Tuesday, we met my brother and his family in Wisconsin Dells. We stayed all together in a 3 bedroom suite at the Kalahari Resort. It's a huge indoor waterpark! Ryan and Cheryl have 4 kids, so it was such a special time for Eden and Truman and Briar to play with their cousins! We stayed there one night and then on Wednesday, Remick and her three girls met us up there and spent the day with us at the water park too! On Wednesday night, my little sister, Brook, came to my mom and dad's house from Milwaukee and stayed there all the way through Sunday. I can't even tell you how good it was to see her! I've missed her so so much! I really needed to just hug her...I think I hugged her like ONE MILLION times while we were there! She is definitely one of my best friends! Thanksgiving day was so relaxing. We just kinda hung out all day...Daddy took the kids sledding in the front yard, I helped my mom make the pies, we had a really special phone call with Q's family in Poland...and then, that afternoon we all went to Aunt Nancy's house for the Thanksgiving dinner! When we arrived, it was yet another "tear fest"--at least for me! I had been missing my family so much I just couldn't contain my emotions every time I saw someone new! Quenton prayed the most wonderful prayer of blessing on the food and the family and just for the meaning of Thanksgiving Day that we as American's have so much to be thankful for and that we really do have God to thank for blessing our nation. I thought this year was extra special, and the food was the best ever! Friday was our annual Blaser family bowling day! It's kinda become a tradition to go bowling the day after Thanksgiving! We had a great time as usual, and then we all went out for pizza afterwards at a really good local pizza place called Glass Nickle Pizza Co. We finished out our time in Sun Prairie with a birthday party for my niece, Dakota. She turned 13 on the 13th of November! Hard to believe the flower girl from our wedding is now a teenager!!!??? It was a great time! I had fun helping my sister make a great mexican-theme feast! Everything turned out so yummy! And, all the family was there so it was good to spend some time on our last day with all of them! Well, we had been staying up til about 2 am every morning playing cards with my parents so when we drove straight through on Sunday and got home at 3 o'clock in the morning, it wasn't any different than any other night for the past week! Just God's way of preparing us I guess! ;) And, Praise to Him for giving us a safe trip! Love you all!
In Psalm 9:1 the psalmist wrote, “I will thank You, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.”
Truly 2007 has been a year of immense blessing. In recent years we’ve grown through life changing events such as career change, living in new surroundings, and the birth of our daughter, Briar. This year the Lord provided a season of stability for our family. We are so grateful to God for always providing our needs, no matter how small or great they seem. What a blessing from the Lord to be surrounded by so many special friends, who make us feel so at home here. Happy Thanksgiving 2007 from Us to all of our dear friends and family. We are thankful for you! With Our Love, Bethany and Q, Eden, Truman and Briar
We are excited to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family in Wisconsin this year. But, we wanted to be sure to have a special dinner with our friends, Dawn and Jon and Kim and Kyle, so we hosted our 2nd annual Marty Thanksgiving Party last Sunday! I love to choose the perfect candles and dishes and napkins, and to make the centerpiece just right, and Q's job is to grill the turkey! It tastes so good, we've decided to make this a tradition. Plus, it frees up the oven for all the yummy side dishes like sweet potatoes with marshmallows, stuffing and mashed potatoes! Our thanks to the Z's and the D's for coming and for contributing to our feast! It was such a special afternoon/evening! There's nothing like old friends and good food! It's so great that our kids all love each other so much too!
Tuesday Night, there was a Steven Curtis Chapman concert at our church! We went with our friends Dawn and J.D. and Kim and Kyle. Sanctus Real opened for SCC! As of the concert...I am a HUGE fan of Sanctus Real! They were AMAZING! The lead singer has such a great voice!!! It was a total blast! I've been to several SCC concerts over the years--I've loved him since high school--I tell ya what, he's still got it! It was so good...so much fun! I remember in the 90's he would always tell cute stories about his sons Caleb and Will Franklin, and now they are both part of his band! After the concert the crew was tearing everything down and Will Franklin, his 16 year old son (and drummer), was just hangin' out talkin' to people...literally down the aisle from us so I said to Dawnie, "let's ask to take a picture with him" he was so cool about it! So, this is Dawn and me with Will Franklin! This concert was a great reminder of how Awesome our God is! The song, "Miracle of the Moment" is about how it's not just the great big life changing moments that are from God, it's every moment...just to breathe in and out is a gift from God! He is a part of every second of our lives! Praise God!
On Monday...Briar got her first haircut! She was perfect! I think she was pretty curious what was going on but she didn't seem bothered by it at all! She just played with the big powder brush or sucked her thumb while my hairdresser, Kelly, snipped away! We saved a lock of hair for the baby book, of course, and now she just looks like such a little girl! No more "baby mullet"!!!
On November 2nd, Truman turned 6! It has been an exciting six years watching him grow and seeing his personality develop. We are so proud of him. Happy Birthday, Tru Dawg! We love you!
Everybody survived Truman's party! I say it that way because no sooner had the "little" male guests arrived at our fun-outdoorsy-themed-wear-something-camouflage-play-games-and-eat-hot dogs-outside party and they had named the tent that we set up for them to explore....er...perhaps, sit in...the "TACKLE HOOOOOUSE!!!!!!!!!!" (to get the full effect you must read that in your loudest 'sports fan' type voice)!!! Oh my goodness!!! The tent was a wrestling ring to them!!! I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I planned this party! Just based on circumstances, us living overseas, Truman never going to preschool etc., the past 5 birthdays have just been extremely low key...mostly adults...or just family. I was just completely oblivious to what little boys are capable of in large groups I guess!? So, that said, It was really fun and crazy at times, but everybody lived! The weather was everything we had hoped it would be! It was perfectly dry and sunny! So as the boys were arriving at 3 o'clock they could just play outside on the swing set or in the tent a.k.a. "tackle house" you know, run around...be boys! Then Q started them in a relay game called "bucket brigade" basically move the water in cups from one bucket to the other as fast as you can and whichever team gets the most in the allotted time wins! They loved it! Then we moved over to the neighbor's slightly bigger yard to play a "tag" game called "Mr. Bear Are you Sleeping?" you better be ready to run when Mr. Bear wakes up or you'll be one of his bear cubs!!! Then we broke into four teams for a scavenger hunt! We found bugs, sticks, feathers, tree bark, berries, assorted leaves, acorns....etc etc. Then it was into the house to open the gifts from all of Truman's buddies! Who knew something as simple as opening a present could be so wild????? We have a new found respect for Mrs. Hook (Truman's Kindergarten Teacher)!!! Truman is very excited about all of his new star wars, black spidey, legos, transformers, toys, games and airplanes!!! Then, after the gifts we had some more "free-time" which I've learned, translates to-- every 60 seconds a boy comes out of the tent crying or bleeding!!!!!!!! For supper we served Hot Dogs, Apples with Carmel Dip, and Pretzel Sticks to keep with the outdoor theme! The cake was Truman's favorite...chocolate on top of chocolate on top of chocolate! After the cake and birthday wishes there was still 20 minutes 'til the party was over! So, since it was getting a little chilly we sent them all down to the basement, far away from the "tackle house" to play safely til the parents arrived! It was a wild and crazy boy party, but it was all worth it! Truman had a blast!
Well, the trip was AMAZING! It was so much more fun than I ever imagined! We had such a great group of girls! There were 5 of us that went on this "first ever all women's" vision trip to Dominican Republic. It is so moving to see what HOPE is doing! I love to see the joy in the faces of all of these Dominicans whose lives have been completely changed because of this opportunity that HOPE is providing for them! They are shocked that "the bank" comes to them in their extremely remote, completely hopeless situation and offers to lend them money so they can have a better life and a better situation for their family and their community and ultimately their country! They take so much pride in their work and their businesses! HOPE is teaching them be responsible and disciplined with their finances as well as their health and the health of their families. HOPE requires that all of the clients save a percentage of their profits--there is a mandatory portion for savings as well as a voluntary portion that they decide for themselves. They are also required to have regular physical examinations. HOPE's partner in D.R. has a clinic where any of the clients can bring their kids and get free vaccinations and healthcare for their children! Praise God! They all hear the gospel from the loan officer and most of them have accepted Christ and are so grateful for God's forgiveness. They are some of the most beautiful people I've ever seen! Continually praising God! It was such a blessing when we visited a school that a woman named Milan started. 7 years ago she started taking in children that had learning disabilities and/or behavioral problems, and the public school won't accept them. She loved them and fed them and taught them! She would often go without food herself in order to feed the children. Her story is incredible. The tears were pouring down my face as I listened to her telling how she came to Christ and sacraficed so much for these kids many of whom are orphaned or their parents just simply have nothing. The parents are so grateful to Milan. The children were such perfect angels sitting in the tiniest little school all packed together. They have such a special respect for her because she loves them so much! Christ's love is so powerful! Above is a picture of me with some of the kids at Milan's school. There is no way to tell in an email...or by showing pictures... or just talking endlessly....You just have to go and see it for yourselves! It is truly life changing! I am honored and humbled to be a part of God's amazing work through HOPE. Thank you so much to all of you for praying for me! It was simply PERFECT! I pray some of you can join me and Q on a trip in the future. With Love, Bethany Below top: 3 girls at one of the communities that we visited. bottom: a bank of HOPE meeting; clients making payments on their loan.
So, Wednesday night I will go to bed early, and then wake up at 3 o'clock in the morning to head to Newark, to fly to Dominican Republic! Q and I are reversing roles. This time he will stay home with the kids and I will go. I am going to be part of a Women's Vision Trip to Dominican Republic with HOPE! I will be gone Thursday through Sunday. I would appreciate it if you would keep me in your prayers...(and Q and the kids). I'm really excited to see what God has for me. I will share all about it when I return! Love you all, Bethany
I think I mentioned that Briar keeps me busy...well, I just wanted to share a special collection of photos that I've made over the last few months to commemorate all of her hard work. She's actually very good at creating jobs for me to do. I think maybe she feels bad for me when I get the whole house perfectly clean...that I don't have any thing else to clean. Somehow she feels obligated to make a new mess just for me ;)!!! It's either that or she's 1 1/2 and she's just really curious what my purse or the drawer or cupboard or laundry basket or tissue box or...or...or...you name it...looks like empty! Needless to say, not a good "sidekick" for the cleaning lady!!! Ya know what I'm sayin'??? Help! Let's just say a big "thank you" to whoever invented the "play-pen"...and, to Graco for making it portable!!!
Well, this year is a big one! Truman started Kindergarten! It was pretty exciting to pick out the new backpack, school supplies and clothes. Truman has been in school for a month already.....time goes so fast. He is doing so well. He goes full days Monday thru Thursday. At first he thought the days were long, but he has adjusted nicely. His favorite thing is recess...he's all boy! Eden has always been all about the learning. She's in 2nd grade this year. So, now I'm enjoying my days alone with Briar. She comes to work with me....she takes her nap while I clean--it has worked out perfectly.
We had an amazing beach vacation at North Topsail Island, NC with Quenton's family. This was Briar's first time at the ocean and as you can see from the photo she loved it! Eden and Truman also had such a great time with Gramma and Grampa and Aunties and Uncles. It was a very special, and very meaningful time with family including a baptism in the ocean and a baby dedication on the beach. We also had a special prayer and devotion time as a family each day we were there. This vacation was truly a gift from God. We are so blessed.
