70 YEARS!

On November 19, 2008 my Grandpa and Grandma (my dad's parents) celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary! Wow! What a legacy they are for their whole family! And, they are just as cute as ever.
We all went out to dinner as a family to Prime Quarter Steakhouse, our favorite "grill-your-own" steak restaurant in Madison! It is the same restaurant where Q and I had our rehearsal dinner 12 1/2 years ago the night before our wedding! So it was fun to reminisce too!
Q and I will celebrate our 70th when we are both 92 years old!
Happy Anniversary Grandpa and Grandma Blaser, and thank you for your amazing example to us. We love you!

Briar Lane

this is a picture of the street I grew up on...where my parents still live...and yes, we named our third child after it as well.
It's also the street to which our mail is being forwarded while we are in "limbo". Friends and family, please send Christmas Cards to us at:
7039 Briar Lane
Sun Prairie, WI
53590

Sorting!

Well, we have 3 different destinations for our "stuff" so when it was time to UN-load, it was quite the project. God is in control...so we give Him thanks that the snow waited until we had everything out of the truck and in an appropriately dry and safe location.
It actually worked out for us to store our possessions in my parents' basement. Everything fit perfectly snug and we were able to negotiate a more affordable monthly rate compared to a public storage unit.
As we continued the unloading process it became very apparent that my parents' house was by far the best solution to necessitate our sorting and storing needs. We had taken over the driveway and the front yard with "piles" of boxes and things designated as "needed in limbo (Wisconsin)" or "pack later for Poland" or "permanent storage in the basement" which we plan to eventually ship over on a big container on a ship assuming the business takes off and we are there for a few years! It would have been much trickier to accomplish the task of sorting through everything anywhere else.
We were very fortunate to have nice weather to get the job done!
Every time we get something accomplished and behind us and closer to the goal of moving our household overseas, there is a sigh of relief!

Packing Loading Moving

The kiddos loved this big diesel truck! Sophia and Anthony had to have a turn to ride around the block after helping us load it up! Eden, Truman and Briar liked taking turns riding with Daddy to Wisconsin too.
First and foremost I want to thank God for leading us and allowing us to sell our house when we did. We fully believe that He provided the perfect buyer at the perfect time. Praise HIM!
Special thanks to all of our friends who came and helped us pack and load the the moving truck. I don't know how we could've done it without you.
There were teams of people from HOPE International, Thank you so much! And friends from our ABF at church, Thank you so much! And, my litte sister flew out for the first weekend in November and helped a ton, thank you, Brookie! And, Dawnie helped me so much, thank you for keeping me on task, helping me pack, and for listening to all my problems, and being my shoulder to cry on...and for singing with me! Thank you to everyone who had us over for--or took us out for "one last dinner"! Thank you to Jesse and Krista for letting us crash at their house for our last weekend in Lancaster and for putting up with all our houseplants, leftover food and loads upon loads of laundry. Thank you to Dawn and Jon, Alisa, and Lauren and Jimmy for taking our kids and completely removing them from the situation so that Q and I could pack and get things done...and so they could have a break from being neglected and ignored! We are so grateful to all of our friends for all the help and support through this transition. There were many difficult goodbyes, hugs and tears. But, now we go on with special memories of our time in Lancaster and thoughts that make us smile, and friendships that will last a lifetime.

Brizee in the Backseat
Passing the Penske...smile and wave!

Best Friends

"the last supper" Marty-Dico dinner out at J.B. Dawson's in Lancaster Nov. 7th 2008




The hardest part about leaving Lancaster of course was leaving all of our special friends. Four years ago when we moved to Lancaster PA, it was an unexpected gift to live close to our friends Dawn and Jon and their two kids, Sophia and Anthony. Dawn and I have been best girlfriends since jr. high...we went to college together and met our husbands there. After both getting married, we went our separate ways...Dawn and Jon to Pennsylvania and Q and I to Minnesota. We always dreamed of living close again and our kids being best of friends but never imagined how it could possibly come true. ...until HOPE...long story short...HOPE brought us to Lancaster! One hour from Dawn and Jon.
Over these past four years we have created so many special memories. When we moved to Pennsylvania we vowed that we wouldn't let the time pass us by and end up with a bunch of "if onlys" or "we should haves". We made so much effort to not let the hour drive be a deterrent from getting together as much as we could - and it was worth every minute and every $ of gas! Our friendship as couples has grown so much over these years and it has been a dream come true to watch our kids grow into the best of friends. We have built the foundation for a life-long friendship for our families, regardless of the distance between us.

Dear Dawn, Jon, Sophia and Anthony,
Thank you so much for all the special memories. We miss you so much already and we've only been gone a couple weeks. We will cherish the 4 years we had with you forever in our hearts. So many things will remind us of you...You will be in our thoughts and prayers always. We love you!
Come visit us in Poland soon!!! Please?
love you,
Bethany, Q, Eden Truman and Briar
...oh yeah, and thanks for the html code for the slideshow, Dawnie, I love it!

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Iron Man, Gabriella and a Bumblebee!

We had a fun halloween this year. It was extra special because my little sister Brook was in town to visit and to help me get some serious packing done.
Eden was Gabriella from High School Musical 2
Truman was Iron Man
and Briar was a bumblebee!

POLAND!!!

Well, the roller coaster ride has come to an end in Krakow, Poland. After months of prayer and consideration, unanswered questions and uncertainty...it was 50/50 right up 'til the end...we decided to take a huge step of faith and move to Poland.
We've just been seeking God through this whole process and sometimes it seems hard to know where He is leading us, but sometimes I think our minds just get clouded by our own selfish desires. We truly felt all along that we had two really good choices. We would've been completely happy and content to move to Minnesota or Poland, but we needed to prove that our faith was in God 100%.
We needed to put our foot in the waters before they would part. So, before the final inspection received approval, before the sign flipped to OPEN and before even one cookie was sold at the cafe in Krakow, Poland...we said, "Yes, we will go!"
...A few days later the cafe passed the final health inspection! APPROVED! READY TO OPEN! A few days after that...they unlocked the door...and the first day the sweet little cookie shop was open every single cookie baked was sold! Praise God!
We are so excited about this new adventure for our family! Everyone has been so happy for us and supportive...it really makes the transition so much easier. It's going to be sad to leave HOPE, but we are only leaving physically. We are committed to support HOPE International any way we can for the rest of our lives.

HSM3GNO

...that's "High School Musical 3" Girls Night Out!
Last Friday night was opening night so Dawnie and I took Sophia and Eden to the 7:30 show! It was too much fun! The girls loved it, and it was just as fun for Dawnie and I. After the show, we went into Lancaster City to the Prince Street Cafe and had pumpkin milkshakes...the girls had chocolate. We just hung out and talked and took some silly pictures! We laughed a lot. It was a special night. Thanks to Q for staying home with the boys and Briar!

SETTLEMENT

Well, we had our closing Monday, October 20, 2008 at 9 a.m.
The pre-settlement [final] walk through for the new owner was scheduled for 8 a.m. This is very early for our family of non-morning people but we all managed to get up and ready and out the door in time. We went out to breakfast as family and then headed up the road for the closing. The new owner is a professional, single woman named Kerri. She has a daughter that she adopted from Guatemala who is exactly Briar's age and she is ADORABLE her name is Louisa and her mommy calls her Lou Lou. I love it! We felt very good about selling our house to her. She already has big plans for improvements and it sounds like she's going to make our house really great! I'm so happy for her.
It's been a really tough week. We are feeling a lot of pressure from the move and just kinda life in general. My hair is falling out in clumps...It's hard to be a grown-up. We were trying to explain this to the kids this past Sunday morning. It's comforting to see them go through this whole transition with such a "safe and secure" attitude. They are just oblivious to the incredibly HUGE decisions that Mommy and Daddy make.
We would appreciate any prayers for us from friends and family as we journey through this big transition.
We will continue to live in this house and rent from the new owner for 1 month...so, looks like I have some serious packing and cleaning to do!
love you all!
We'll keep you posted.

piggy tails

Briar's first piggy tails! She's worn a bun and pony tails and she's had piggy buns (my favorite) and I think Eden's even braided her hair a couple times...but Friday was the first time I've ever done the real-deal little girl piggy tails! She looked so cute all day! Doesn't she look like such a "big girl"? I still call her "the baby", but she's really not a baby any more. I'm always a little sad when the baby stage is over...but she's such a fun girl with a really cute funny personality. I'm just enjoying every new age, and so far, 2 has been so much fun!!!

Flag Football

Now we know why Truman's middle name is Q! It stands for Quarterback!!!
Truman had his first flag football game! It was totally raining but it was still so much fun to watch. Q is the coach of his team. Truman LOVES football. His favorite position is running back. I am his mom so I may be biased and I really know very little about football, but I think Tru is totally the best player on his team. He had a sweet touch-down pass his first game and he ran from like the "5 yd. line" for a touch-down!(the field is actually kid-size, but whatever) He's unstoppable!
So much fun!
Coach Daddy

Me and Brizee watchin' the game just tryin' to stay dry

It's Potty Time!!!

Briar FINALLY went potty on her potty chair for the FIRST TIME EVER!!! This is crazy to me, because Eden and Truman were both potty-trained completely...through the night...everything...by 2 1/2! Briar has thrown me for a loop with her love of the diaper and potty refusal. I will admit she's got 4 big people babying her all the time and she pretty much always gets her way, but c'mon...who wouldn't rather sit on a potty than sit in...it?

When in Lancaster...

...do as the Amish do? Yes, this is in my back yard! When we first moved back from Ukraine, my dear grandmother generously gave us her mint-condition washer/dryer set that was at the very least already 20 - 25 years old. So, after 4 years of dedicated service to our family...the dryer finally passed. With the sale of our house and possible move overseas, we find it silly to invest in a new dryer. So, here we are hanging clothes on the line outside strung between our deck and our swingset. [To say I feel Amish] This would actually be an insult to the Amish...they've got the designer clothesline with the whole rope and pulley system! I don't think they even have to leave their houses to hang out their clothes.

"I'm Lovin' It"

Every Sunday, for a month...we had an open house from 1-3...after church, the kids and I would go to McDonald's while Daddy stayed at home to show the house. We would sit at Micky-D's for like 2 hours and just keep goin' up for more...haha...usually one "course" at a time! I think by the 4th Sunday they were starting to recognize us. We had some wild and crazy adventures that I could go on and on about including, but not limited to, an extremely grouchy old lady [customer] who had some pretty nasty...and untrue I might add...things to say about sweet little me! (??????) I know!!!
...and there was the one week where I saved the McDonald's by informing them of a fire in the mulch in the drive thru! That was a close one (wink wink) ...well, I suppose it could've gotten ugly if the guy hadn't thrown the bucket of water on it.
Anyways, it was a great photo opportunity with the kids and their ice cream cones...I just had to share.

FiZBO...

a.k.a. For Sale By Owner! It's how Realtors "lovingly" refer to these listings. Well, for those of you who don't already know...we did sell our house...by owner...in this market...in one month!
It was a step of faith, and we believe God confirmed it's a step in the right direction!
There are some exciting changes in our future and we will definitely keep you posted on our blog! I've shared often that it is difficult for us to live so far away from family, so we've prayed a lot and have decided to make a move. We have family in the midwest and we have family overseas. So, the two choices are Minnesota or Poland!
As I said, we'll keep you posted!
Just as all houses have their special memories, this one is no exception! We bought it in July 2005 and completely remodeled and redecorated the entire thing! If you saw the "befores" you wouldn't even believe it's the same house.
We brought Briar home from the hospital to this house...it's in a great neighborhood with beautiful tree-lined streets great for taking a walk with the family, or going for a run! We've truly enjoyed our 3 years in this house and will miss it. We close on October 22, and plan to move out mid-November...
We covet your prayers as we seek what God has for us next!