Our adventure......

Wow! What a trip it's been over the last few months.  Now that I have time to catch my breath, I also have time to blog.  The last three months have been filled with adventure for the Bryan family.  I could probably write a novel, but for the sake of page space and time, I'll stick to a summery of what has transpired over the last few months.  The end of December we began packing up our condo. Let me fill you in on a little of whats been going on behind the scenes.  Tim and I have been praying for the last few years about where we should move to.  A year ago we had the opportunity to move to Montana.  God showed both of us that moving to Montana was not what we should do, so it was back to square one.  Late fall, doors began to open in the direction of us moving to the Teanaway valley in central Washington.  I have dreamed of living there ever since I was a little girl.  I'm still convinced it's the prettiest valley in Washington state.  After two years of prayer and seeking the Lords will on where we should move, we made an offer on a Ranch in the Teanaway.  We stepped out in Faith and let the Lord work.  Let me just say that it's not always easy stepping out in faith.  Much of the time it's rather scary.  Not knowing the end result, not seeing what lies in front, but let me just say that God's plan for our life is so much better than our own plans.  The Lord knows us better than we know ourselves!  Stepping out in faith is hard, but so very worth every ounce of worry that comes with it.  Tim and I could never have dreamed of anything so wonderful for our future.  We took a leap of faith, trusted God with everything we had, and we couldn't be happier with what He has blessed us with.  The end of January we moved in with our very dear friends for two months.  Our friends opened their home to us for as long as we needed.  We became a family.  Let me just say when you step our in faith God not only uses your situation, but He also uses other people, and that's just what He did.  We found renters for our place in Issaquah, but had to show rental income for at least two months before making an offer on the house we wanted to purchase, which is why we had to find another place to live for a few months.  Mid-March our dream came true and we closed on our new Ranch in the Teanaway valley.  During this time, we had several friends and family members who had babies, we took a trip to Austin Texas, celebrated birthdays, and a whole lot of other stuff that I can't remember right now.  The girls have grown like crazy the last few months.  Jayda will be one at the beginning of June.  She is pulling herself up onto everything.  She says ba ba when she hungry. Every time she sees her daddy, she says da da.  She babbles constantly with her sister, and she eats just about everything we eat now.  Tessa just turned four at the end of March.  She is such a fun little girl and very independent.  She is loving all the room she has to play now.  She takes showers all by herself, she helps clean and make dinner, she sets the table, she vacuums all by herself, she gets her own snacks, and so much more.  I can't believe how fast the girls are growing.  What a journey it's been over the last few months, but here we are at the end of one adventure and onto another. I can't wait to share pictures of our new home, but for now that will have to wait because my baby just woke up. 

A fantastic big sister!

 

Tessa is a such a good big sister.  I can't say this enough.  She is a wonderful little helper and loves playing with Jayda.  She is going to make a great little mommy someday....someday far far far in the future.

 

We were down in Oregon last week. After a little shopping, we stopped at Starbucks to enjoy a snack.

Our baby is six months old

Actually, she's seven months now.  I'm writing this post a little late.  Our beautiful little Jayda Faith is growing so fast.  It feels as though she's growing at twice the rate her sister did. She is healthy and happy.

 

Her six month stats:

50th percentile for weight

75th percentile for height

 

She says; mama, dada, baba, nana, yaya....quite the talker just like her big sister.

This girl is very content so much of the time, and she likes just about anything.  The only time she really gets mad and cries is when she's hungry....I guess she takes after her mama on this one.  :-)

She watches everything her sister does with amazement.  You can almost see those little gears spinning in her head.  She's right on the verge of crawling.  You know it's funny...when Tess was this age, I was so exciting for all of those big milestones.  I could hardly wait to see the next one.  This time around, I'm wanting Jayda to stay at the stage she's at for a little longer.  I really don't want her crawling quite yet. Maybe it's because I don't know if she's our last or not, and I don't want the baby stage to pass too quickly. Maybe it's because I know what happens when they start crawling, or maybe it's a little bit of both. Whatever the reason, I'm hoping she holds off on growing up a little longer.  :-)

 

Happy half of a year you sweet little thing! We love you!

 

 

Happy 2013

Our year has gotten off to a busy start.  I know...shocking for us...right?!?!

 With the month half over already,  I thought it best to not write a book, and instead; leave you with a few pictures of what we've been up to.

 

New years Eve we spent packing and moving.  We have most everything moved to a temporary location. I'm a little sad because our last night in our house is fast approaching.  Our new tenants move in the beginning of February. This has all been such an adventure to say the least. 

 

After spending new years eve moving, new years day was spent relaxing.

 

We've been enjoying our cold, but sunny walks.  Yeah, for the sunshine!!

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoying a family lunch date at Zeeks pizza, which btw is one of our favorite places to eat. 

 

Our little beauties!!

Merry Christmas!

It is becoming more of a struggle, with the world we live in, to keep the real meaning of Christmas alive.  Tim and I really wrestled this year with how to incorporate Santa into Christmas.  How far do we go with it?  St. Nick was a real person, and the story behind the man he was and what he did is pretty special.  If you've never read the real story, I would encourage you to read it.  With all of that said, santa did visit our house this year.  He left stockings for the girls. 

Merry Christmas!!

 

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that who ever believes in him will have everlasting life.  -John 3:16

 

 

Our Two Beautiful girls on Christmas Eve

 

Christmas Eve

A few days before Christmas, we woke up to the sun glistening off of a beautiful blanket of white

A sense of childhood filled the air as our little girl sipped her hot chocolate.  Her wet snow boots by the front door drying, a chocolate mustache, and rosy red cheeks. It all kind of reminded me of those old Campbell's soup commercials.  You know...the ones where the boy comes in from playing in the cold snow and sits down to a bowl of hot soup.   

Christmas came oh so very quickly this year.  Christmas Eve we spend at home as a family.  Tim and I spend the afternoon cooking together.  I'm so thankful my husband enjoys cooking and entertaining with me. 

 

Every year after dinner we read the Christmas story, set candles in a cake, and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus.  It was a tradition of mine growing up, and now we are sharing with our children.