Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
1 Corinthians 3:17

Friday, April 9, 2010

2010 Ultimate Blog Party For Moms!

Ultimate Blog Party 2010


This is my first time participating in the Ultimate Blog Party at 5 Minutes For Moms~
Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to say hello! 
If you're a regular reader, then let me send along a giant thank you!- it's extremely gratifying for a writer to have an audience

For those who don't know me and aren't familiar with my blog...
Welcome, my name is Bethany and I've been married for 12 1/2 years
my best friend and partner in life, Bill
pardon the sweat- we love to go on hiking "dates"
and I'm a little obsessed with self portraits, ha!

We've lived in New Hampshire our whole married life (I grew up here too)
and we love to be outside

We have three terrific, fun, talented & crazy sons
Ethan, 10

Jonah, 9

Caleb, 7

And our prayers for a little girl were answered when we adopted our princesa from Guatemala in 2008

Isabelle Kate, 3

We traveled to Guatemala in June 2008 to be reunited with our Isabelle-
it was a precious but very difficult time
(for more details, click on the adoption or Guatemala labels on the sidebar)
 















We'd been in Guatemala just a few days here
Bill had already returned to the States

Caleb on his weekly horse ride after church
Ethan and Jonah had already gone back to New Hampshire
where, thankfully, our family helped take care of them while Bill went to work each day-
I missed them dreadfully!
my favorite picture of Isabelle and me
outside our second apartment in Guatemala after Caleb had gone home for school
it would be another month before I would be reunited with my sons and Bill

So now we are three sons plus one girly girl!

I adore my children and my family, and it's tempting to say that our life is perfect and easy and all that...but it isn't!   Right now we are struggling with a mood disorder with one of our sons and all the confusion and frustration that comes along with it; funding their increasingly expensive activities (and the sneakers, oh my goodness!); trying to keep a healthy balance with practices and game schedules, music lessons, Cub Scouts and ballet class; and of course the never-ending trips to the grocery store, the millions of meals to be prepared, and the massive piles of laundry to be tackled.

We are an active family, and we like to have fun!  We're often playing mini-golf, hiking, swimming, playing at the park, sometimes skiing and boarding, going for walks or bike riding, roasting marshmallows in our fire pit, fishing, sledding, shooting hoops, cooling off on hot summer nights with a good old fashioned water balloon fight, and just playing around in our backyard together. 
PROOF

See?  We really tire them out!
(I think that's the ONLY time all 4 fell asleep on the way home...and check out Isabelle's freaky half-open eye- yikes!  HaHaHa)


You will always hear music in my car, in my home- anywhere I am!- and I love to sing, play the piano and write my own songs.  I think I still want to be a musician when I grow up
I love to garden and take pictures...of everything!
  I used to teach high school English and Spanish, and I love that age group!  
I don't know if I'm brave enough to announce that I'm currently 280 pages into writing my first fiction novel...no, I'm not...never mind.     :)



I love Jesus with all my heart, and I am trying to remember to seek Him first in all that I do, to cast my burdens upon Him, as I know He is much more capable than I am!  I'm still learning to be a better wife, mother, friend, daughter, sister, and I'm so thankful that God loves me and never gives up on me!


Lastly, in honor of the spirit of PARTIES, I thought I'd include some of the cakes I've made for my children over the years- with 4 kiddos, it seems as soon as one celebration ends, another is right around the corner!
 Though of course sometimes I cheat, gasp!
One of the perks to having a Christmas birthday- Carvel snowman cakes are always available, yum!  (apparently storm troopers like cake, too!)

I hope you've enjoyed this little snapshot of my life!
Come back and visit or become a follower to stay up to date~
Happy partying!

35 comments:

Lakeshore Cottage Living said...

I wished we lived closer! You sound like so much fun. I enjoy reading about you and your sweet kids so much.

Annie said...

You have a beautiful family. God bless them.

I love the adventures spirit you have.

Hope we start a friendship no matter the distance.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home said...

Hi. You have a lovely family! Hope you enjoy yourself at the party this week!

Rockin Momma said...

Happy Friday! I'm Your newest Follower via UBP10! Visit me at http://www.rockindeals4you.com/?p=1602 and sign up for my newest giveaway!

Marcia said...

I laughed when you made the comment about the sneakers. Oh yes, always buying sneakers. Right now I'm trying to hold off in the hopes of sandals instead!! I can't believe you make your own cakes. I'm impressed. They are great!!

Pattie said...

Your family is beautiful! Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Shelly said...

Bethany, Thank you for stopping by my blog. You have a beautiful and very happy family. It is nice to "meet" you.

Kristin.... said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog! It's nice to see some New England bloggers out there!

Emily said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog! You have a beautiful family as well! It'll be so fun reading more about you and the family (when I have the time)!

Take care and God Bless!

HoosierHomemade said...

Stopping by from the Blog Party! Thanks for visiting my blog!
Your kids are just adorable! I bet "big brothers" just love their little sis!
~Liz@HoosierHomemade

Amanda said...

I loved reading about your family. With only two little ones I feel like I stay busy. I can't imagine trying to keep up with all that you do with four kids.

Have a great weekend!!

Sarah said...

3 boys and a girly girl, and i thought two was tough! just wanted to say hi from UBP!

Jackie said...

I love all of the pictures of your family. Thanks for stopping by my blog. You are right about having things in common, only your little girl is the youngest and mine is the oldest. :-) Have a great weekend.

The Fischer Family said...

Hi Bethany! Thanks for stopping by my blog. Your Jonah is adorable (it must be the name!!!) and your adoption story is amazing! It was so nice to meet you!

Momstart said...

You have such a cute family, I need to be better about wearing my kids out every day. Look at them.

Happy Blog Hopping

Kristi {at} Live and Love...Out Loud said...

It's wonderful to meet you. You have a beautiful family and blog. Thanks so much for stopping by. Happy UBP 2010. Have fun blog hopping!

Kristi, Live and Love...Out Loud
@TweetingMama

Unknown said...

It looks like you and you're beautiful family are really enjoying living life! You all look like you'd be a blast to know :D

Thanks for stopping by my blog for a visit and I hope that you have a great week!

Tina said...

Wow, I learned alot that I didn't know from this post. And I learned that you are an excellent birthday cake artist!! :)

Tracey said...

Visiting from UBP2010; so nice to meet you! You have a precious family and those are some awesome-looking cakes!

Unknown said...

Stopping from the UBP! Loved visiting your site! I love the sleep picture!

Carrie said...

Would you believe that I also have 3 bio boys (one with the Lord) and an adopted daughter (China), ... AND I have an Ethan and seriously considered the names Jonah and Caleb with more than one pregnancy?!

Your family is just precious! I look forward to following your journey! ;)

joeandbridge said...

Hi there! Just popping in from the UBP to be your newest Google Follower! Hooray! Hope you had a great weekend and have a great week! Swing by my blog when you get a chance!

Bridgette Groschen
The Groschen Goblins
www.groschengoblins.com

Tamara B. said...

Such a beautiful family! Cruising by from UBP to say hi :)

Maria said...

Hopping over from UBP. What a beautiful family you have! And your cakes are incredible. I wish I had the talent.

Anonymous said...

Hi! Saw you on The Queen of My House and I'm also in the blog party!

I also have 3 sons. No girls, except dogs. :) Your children are beautiful.

Feel free to come by and see me.

Unknown said...

What a lovely family. I loved your family photos and the way that you expressed your love for them. You are truly blessed.
I'm just listening to some classic Chicago while doing some blog visiting and enjoying ice water. Yes, no alcholic beverages here.
Love your blog and really enjoyed my visit.
I think this is my 3rd year. Not sure but really enjoy meeting new bloggers.
Great prizes this year! I hope you win one..or two.
I was late too but fashionable late for the UBP 2010.

Hannah said...

Hi, thanks for stopping by my blog! You have such a lovely family! I also really enjoy gardening, and have had fun decorating cakes for my kids' birthdays. So fun to see the cakes you've made!
Happy UBP!

Katharine said...

Hi! what a wonderful blog! I am mom to three girls and a boy!! It is busy and wonderful! Enjoy the party(my first too) Blessings on your day~

whitsend6 said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment! It was good reading about you as well. Glad to 'meet' you on the party hop!

Tyra

Lori said...

Stopping by via UBP. You have a beautiful family! I just love the peacefulness in your blog! I just love your cakes too!
Blessings~

http://enjoytheprocess.blogspot.com/2010/04/ultimate-blog-party-2010.html

Jenny said...

オッス!

Nice to meet you! :D Just stopping by from the party to say howdy. Love your blog.

Have a great week and happy UBP! :D And hope to see you stop by sometime!!

さようなら!

Unknown said...

Thanks for visiting me at my blog. It is nice to meet you.

Theresa said...

Hi Bethany. I enjoyed visiting your blog. Your family is beautiful and I love your children's names. New Hampshire is gorgeous. My husband and I went there on our honeymoon and we took a family vacation there a few years ago.
~Theresa
www.beingrefinedassilver.blogspot.com

@RestoreMyFamily said...

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and introducing yourself to me! What a beautiful family you have. Thanks for sharing.
Blessings to you,

Jenn said...

What a beautiful family! And such a blessing to be able to adopt! Thanks for sharing your story! Hope you had fun at the Ultimate Blog Party! I know its over but I'm still partying and visiting some new blogs! :)

Jenni ("Miss Tutu")
My UBP blog post: How to Make a Tutu blog - hope you will stop by, say hi, and grab a free tutu making lesson! :) and Mom Blogger $100 Cash Contest

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