The Bryant Family

2011-12-23T01:00:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos to catch you up on our Holiday Season... I didn't have much time to work on this so it's just one big album. Here's what you will see...

Putting together the tree. We've always had a real tree and it was sad not to this year. However, moving Thanksgiving weekend and not wanting to spend the money we just didn't know how to make it happen. The people Jared stayed with his last couple weeks alone here (that we met in Bellingham :) ) were getting a new tree and gave us this one. They even bought lights for us! I must say it was quite convenient this year and looks great!

Visiting Santa. We have never done this before. We don't do the Santa thing but haven't talked about it really. The boys have randomly decided this year that he is real so we will figure out what we want to do with all that. Anyway, our friends, the Nordykes invited us to their neighborhood Santa thing so we went and took pictures. I didn't even think of dressing up since we hadn't done this before but it all worked out. jaden was all about it and Kylie was ok with the elves. Jackson was miserable and terrified. We did bribe him with a cookie however and he got a photo.

We went and saw a gingerbread house competition...

We went to the Charlotte motor speedway for their Christmas lights. It wasn't really worth it for the lights. But we got to drive on the race track which the boys thought was cool but they were very disappointed we weren't going fast. Then at the end of it they have a petting zoo, rides, and several other things (that cost money of course). We told the boys they could each pick one ride and then Kylie wanted to go on one so we put her on a basic train and told the boys they could ride with her so she wouldn't freak out. Jackson rode the race cars. It was hard to get him to enjoy anything else beforehand because he was so excited about riding on them. Jaden chose the carousel. When Jared went to help him get on he had Kylie and the guy told him Kylie could stay on for free. From past posts you may know of her issues with movement, though all of those issues seem to have gone away except that she won't actually sit on a swing. However, she had alot of fun. I think she got dizzy toward the end though and Jared had to pick her up. She loved the train though of course she just copied all the enthusiasm the boys had.

we went to see the lights at the Billy Graham Library with my brother and his family. We had a good time but it was smaller and different than we were all expecting. There was over an hour wait for the tour so we didn't do that.

Thanksgiving - We went to my brothers house and Emily's parents were there as well. However, Ben was very sick and we didn't see him the whole day. Emily had a cute project for the kids - they made turkeys out of rice krispy treat balls, candy corns, and a few other items. The kids loved it but those pictures are on my phone and I haven't gotten them off yet.

Something you will not see pictures of... McAddenville Christmastown lights. There was really nothing worth taking a picture of. Seriously. It was pretty and all but it was a long drive and the kids were bored out of their minds. You could get out if you wanted to but there really wasn't a reason to so the kids didn't like that either.

Enjoy the pictures!

Merry Christmas From the Bryants

2011-12-21T09:20:00.000-08:00

2011 Has been a crazy year for us as I'm sure it has been for many people. Though we have had alot of stress and uncertainty, we have also learned alot about faith, trust, and God's provision. No matter what happens we are commanded to trust God and He has always been faithful to us. This is not always easy to do but it is incredibly enriching to your relationship with God to push forward and continue pursuing Him. There is always much to be thankful for.

Here's a little recap of the past year - in bullet form because writing about it would take FOREVER....

Oct 2010 -
Jared lost his job. We were glad to be moving on but that does not diminish the stress it caused our family. We were very uncertain about our future.

Nov 2010 - Jan 2011 -
Jared picked up some odds and ends contract work as well as worship leading to bring in some cash.

Feb 2011 -
Jackson and Jaden turned FOUR!
We had to put our dog, Bob, to sleep. SOOOO hard but we knew it was the right thing to do.
We made the decision to move across the country to North Carolina (where Rachel grew up and where we met) but had no idea how or when that would happen.
In order to make the move possible we began selling off a HUGE amount of our stuff
We listed our house for sale

April 2011 -
We decided we needed to just go ahead and move and the date would be May 9
Packing, Packing, Packing, researching moving companies, getting details together, and trying to figure out where we would live

May -
Moved to NC (our house in Washington still had not sold)
Renting out our house in Washington became a possibility. Not really what we wanted to do but it seemed like the best option given our current situation.

June -
Visited my brother and his family in Charlotte, NC (a few hours from where we were living)
I (Rachel) got a job working from home part time that is PERFECT for my life and schedule. It does create a little stress for me and makes it harder to balance my schedule and get things done - but it very much needed and helpful in our current situation

July - Aug -
Really struggled with what God wants us to be doing and how we needed to best proceed in life
Jared was in Atlanta for a week pursuing an income possibility in ministry (that didn't really pan out the way we needed it to)
Our renters stopped paying us (due to a job loss supposedly)and made a plan for repayment all due at the end of Sept. We didn't feel like we had any other option.

Sept -
Jared's brother and sister came to visit for a week. We did lots of fun things including going to the beach (a REAL beach ;) )
Kylie turned TWO!
Jared starting working selling a form of insurance. Which he hated but everyone kept trying to get him to sell insurance so he thought he should try to give it a go. This lasted a couple weeks maybe and then....
Jared is offered a job in Charlotte (3 hours from where we were currently living). Seems to be a good job with benefits for our whole family. But we really didn't want to move. Then a couple days later...
Through a series of strange circumstances Jared is offered a job in Raleigh, NC (where we were living). It was a week of negotiations and in the end we knew that job probably wasn't right for him. So 2 days later....

Oct - Nov
Jared started work in Charlotte. We have one car so he would leave Sunday night and take our only car down, stay with a variety of wonderful people and come back Friday night leaving me with no car all week by myself with the kids. It was hard but went alot more smoothly than it could have. We could walk to the store if needed. My parents were available to help if we needed and get the kids to Awana as well as usually getting us out of the house once a week.
We thought we would never get to move. Our landlord wanted a huge amount of money to break the lease (which we had 7 months left on) plus, of course moving expenses.
We were blessed with an AMAZING gift that would allow our family to move and in God's perfect timing we found a GREAT house to rent that was far more wonderful than anything we hoped or asked God for - for a great price.
Our renters told us they filed bankruptcy (which they were lying about) and basically communicated they had no intention of leaving our home but wanted to pay us about half rent and wouldn't be paying us what they already owed. We gave them a pay or vacate and they did not comply. I will spare you all the ridiculous details but we ended up having to hire a lawyer to get them out. They were out mid-Nov without TOO much damage to our home and THEN they filed bankruptcy - so they don't have to pay us the thousands they owe us.
Our house goes up for sale AGAIN (with the help of many wonderful people)
Thanksgiving weekend we came and spent the day with my brother and his family as well as Rachel's parents and my brother's in-laws. Then we came back to Raleigh and loaded a truck - mostly by ourselves which was super hard - but we DID get some help with heavy things and last minute details which we are SO thankful for.
We move to our new place and get a bunch of help moving in (all these people we had met in Bellingham too - how weird is that?)

December -
We get completely settled in to our house
We prepare for Christmas
Rachel and the kids get a very strange sickness that knocks us out for a week. Thankfully Jared never got it and we are all better now.
We will spend Christmas ourselves here at home and Rachel's parents will come for a couple days immediately after.

There you have it. Jared's job is going just fine. It's not a good time of year for sales so it is hard to judge. He is at the top of his group that got hired together and already met his quota through Feb. However, the pressure is still on because he needs to make quite a bit more income - which he should be able to do - we just have to be patient and continue to trust God to provide.

The kids are doing well but we can see the struggle they've had with all the insanity this year. We are praying they feel settled soon and to make some friends - I'm so thankful they have each other.

We have been so incredibly blessed by so many people this year and there is no way we can ever thank them enough. It is humbling to watch people minister to us out of their love for God and us as well.

When Jared lost his job I would have told you in just a few weeks time we would no longer be able to pay our long list of bills. Then something would happen and we would realize we could probably make it through January. Then it was April...then June... Then August... and so on and so on. God has been so faithful to provide for us and it is so amazing to see!

In 2012 we will have 2 kindergardeners and start the world of school!

Some prayer needs for us would be that our house sells quickly, we will continue to trust God for our needs and obligations, for Jared to feel settled in his current job, for us to find a GREAT church and for all of us to make some friends!

We love you all and would love to hear from you and any prayer needs you may have.

You can keep up with us here at the blog to see what we are up to throughout the year - 2011 was a little hard to keep up with it all but I will hopefully do better in 2012!

Have a wonderful Christmas!

Love, Rachel, Jared, Jackson, Jaden, and Kylie

Lunch in our finally unpacked kitchen

2011-11-29T09:45:00.000-08:00

Jackson on the moving truck

2011-11-27T06:18:00.001-08:00

a Little Update

2011-11-20T14:45:00.000-08:00

I am still trying to fix posting to the blog from my phone. It keeps messing up and I don't know why.
Here's a quick update...
Jared started his new job at the beginning of October, trained for a month and is now in the full swing of regular work. He's doing well but this is a harder time of year to reach people on the phone. We are hoping it all starts coming together to be more consistant after the holidays. Please pray the sales start rolling in :)for 2 months Jared has left us home for the week with no car while he traveled to Charlotte and stayed with a variety of wonderful people. My parents helped with transportation to Awana and usually got us out of the house once a week or so.
We were feeling like we would not be able to afford to move to Charlotte to join him for a number of reasons - the main one being the fee for breaking our rental contract here. We were incredibly blessed with a wonderful, undeserved gift that is allowing us to make this happen. We a so thankful! We found a GREAT place not too far from Jared's work and got a great deal. It is very spacious with a huge fenced yard that even has little play set in it! When we were asking the boys a while back what they were hoping for they said a fenced yard and a play set. This made me sad because fewer yards are fenced here and finding something with these specifications and something we could afford was unlikely. It touches my heart that God cared about the things my kids cared about and we feel so blessed! We are moving the weekend of Thanksgiving and are looking forward to getting started with our new life.
I have mentioned before that we rented out our house in WA. Not our top choice but it presented itself at the last minute and we were feeling stuck. They moved in June 1, paid their deposit, June, July, and part of August and then we never saw another dime despite many promises. We gave them a pay or vacate notice which they did not comply with then telling us they had filed bankruptcy - but they had not. We ended up having to pay a lawyer who went through the process to the point where the sheriff posted a notice on their door to get out in 3 days or he would physically remove them. They got out quickly - moving just down the street.... They did end up filing bankruptcy which means they won't have to pay us the thousands of dollars they owe us - but we are just glad at this point that they are out. There is definitely some damage inside but it could have been much worse. Some wonderful people went over and cleaned it and took care of the yard (which included picking up literally 5gallons of dog poop). The house should go on the market this week. What a whirlwind!
Some things to pray for...
That Jared will be making sales so we can get our lives back together
That our house will sell fast. I mean SUPER fast! Not sure what the future holds as far as making payments, etc
That our transition will be smooth moving to Charlotte
That we will find a good church quickly
That God will continue to provide for us
That we will have peace and trust God with whatever happens
Thanks for your prayers and we will keep you posted!

come back and physically remove them. They got out in the nick of time and moved right down the stt

A little Update

2011-10-31T16:27:00.001-07:00

Jared just finished training at his job and is begining regular work this week. Pray that he will make sales and will not be discouraged. The close rate in this type of work is WAY different than anything he's used to.
Our renters have decided not to pay us and not to move out. We were forced to hire a lawyer and begun a legal eviction process. It is ridiculous. Though we aren't responding to them our renters continue to contact us and treat us like we are being "unchristian" in not allowing them to still live there and requesting they continue to live there while paying us a significantly reduced rent. Yet even when the law has told them to get out - they don't. They told us they filed bankruptcy - but they did not (it's public record). We will see if they do before their court date this Friday. I can't believe people think it's ok to do that. I feel like my house is being stolen from me.
God continues to take care of us. We have been blessed with unexpected blessings that are getting us through.
Our van is holding out which is good. We are getting a couple repairs done.
We are hoping to move to Charlotte in the next month but we will see. We went down to Charlotte with Jared last week and got a feel for the area and were able to figure out where we do and don't want to live and what the costs are. We haven't found a place yet but can now more effectively search. The boys were able to play with several kids their age there and I could tell that was huge for them. It's been a long time...
Please pray that we will be encouraged and be able to get through the next few months and keep our sanity :) We will be listing our house for sale very soon. We wish it was listed now but having renters you can't get out of your house causes major problems so we want to get through the hearing this Friday first. So please pray it sells soon and that the renters can get out ASAP without the police having to be involved (which creates additional hassle for us)
I just discovered my mobile posting was disabled so hopefully now that that is fixed we can get to posting more regularly :)

Halloween

2011-10-31T16:14:00.000-07:00

This was actually the first time we have done Halloween. We arent a big fan of it in general but think the little kids dressing up to get candy is super cute. We intended to go to a festival on sat but didn't make it. Since I'm here today with no car I decided to walk the kids to CVS and get a cheap bag of candy. Then we came home and made outfits. Jaden wanted to be a blue monster, Jackson insisted on being a frog and I had a princess dress Kylie could wear. They were very excited and then it started pouring rain. But out we went. Only 2 places opened the door on our street and the kids were soaked and discouraged. Then we went down one other street and they got a good load :) the boys were so excited and Kylie was adorable. Too cute and totally worth it. They are now watching Charlie Brown and the great pumpkin and eating popcorn. Still no knocks on our door....

At Long Last

2011-10-03T09:35:00.001-07:00

First of all, I have to apologize for not getting many posts up here. I have really been having trouble with my blogger account and am considering making a change. I'll let you know if that happens.
The big announcement of this post is to say Jared has a job! It has been quite a year. He's picked up a few odds and end things here and there. I will spare you all the details of the insanity of trying some things that he has stepped forward in and haven't turned out to be what he expected.
He was offered a job at AT&T Advertising Solutions last Friday. The problem: It's in Charlotte - 3 hours from here. The following week was quite a rollercoaster. Another job presented itself in the city we are living in now and was pretty comparable. In the end we decided the AT&T job seemed best for us despite having to move. (again, I will spare you the details) We don't want to move but on the plus side my brother and his family live in Charlotte and we have several friends there as well. It's also more of a city and I think Jared will like that. So if we needed to move - I'm glad it's to Charlotte!
The job started today, Oct 3rd! So Jared went down last night and is staying with friends for the week which we are so thankful for.
You would think we would feel the pressures begin to melt away after Jared getting job, but we are actually still in quite a tough spot. At least we know it is temporary.
He will have paid training in Oct and we are glad about that - but obviously it is training and will not pay as much as he will be making in commissions. It may be a few months before many commissions come in. We shall see. I'm not quite sure how all that will work.
Here's our current situation in a nutshell so you know how to pray for us....
1) Our renters have also found themselves in a bad spot and are WAY behind on rent. (thousands of dollars) We have covered for them (this may not make sense to you without the full story) but gave them a deadline of Oct 1 to pay us which they haven't. This week we have to post a pay or vacate notice and list out house. (unless they miraculously pay us). Problem is we need the money they owe us. Right now. AND we can't continue to pay for the house with non-paying renters or with no renters and it listed for sale. We need either for them to catch up and continue to pay on time or for them to pay what they owe and then get our house sold by November. Please pray their situation comes through for them and we are paid - and quickly.
2) We can't get out of our current lease (which has 7 months left) for less than $3000 at this point. We may be able to get that lowered but it is still going to cost us money we don't have. Whatever happens we need to get it figured out because Jared leaving every week all week is not really going to work, not to mention not really affordable either.
3) We only have one car. Jared is driving it to Charlotte leaving me with no car. Not ideal. Fortunately, my parents live nearby and can help if I need something. I can also walk to the store. We do need another car though and as you can tell, can't afford it. In addition to this we are having some problems with the van and are just praying it holds together because it's all we've got :)
I could write pages and pages about everything going on in my mind and additional details of our lives right now but to be honest, I don't have the energy.
In addition to the things above please pray for our sanity and for us to trust God. He has provided for us so far and I hate that I struggle with trusting him to continue to do so.
More to come...

Hanging out With Jackson

2011-09-17T04:14:00.001-07:00

Kylie's Birthday

2011-09-16T06:59:00.001-07:00

2011-09-15T16:43:00.000-07:00

Part two

2011-09-15T16:33:00.000-07:00

Watching veggie tales

2011-09-15T16:32:00.000-07:00

Off to our Birthday Coffee Date!

2011-09-13T07:26:00.001-07:00

Waiting for Kylie to wake up so we can join the others on the beach

2011-09-12T10:44:00.001-07:00

On our way to the beach!

2011-09-12T04:47:00.001-07:00

Jared and evan leading worship

2011-09-11T19:54:00.001-07:00

Summitrdu.com Durham Campus

Cubbies. Year 2

2011-09-07T14:53:00.001-07:00

Mommy Daughter Date

2011-09-03T11:46:00.000-07:00

Kylie....

2011-08-31T12:08:00.000-07:00

Fell off the ottoman and hurt her arm. Waiting to hear back from the dr....

Rainy day

2011-08-27T08:57:00.000-07:00

We only are experiencing mild effects of the hurricane and decided to make cookies while dad is out for the day....

Kylie Reading her Bible to her Kitty

2011-08-20T12:08:00.001-07:00

New shirts from Uncle Evans Camp

2011-08-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

Waiting for dad at the airport

2011-08-18T17:30:00.000-07:00

Hard at Work

2011-08-13T06:21:00.001-07:00

Kylie is helping me get work done this morning

Movie Night

2011-08-09T16:01:00.001-07:00

Fun Saturday

2011-07-30T17:25:00.000-07:00

This Saturday our friends, Luke and Rockie invited us to go to the Science Museum with them downtown. Not only was the museum free, but there was lots of parking available - all of which was free - we could not believe this!
It was so fun! The boys were SO excited about everything - I was kindof surprised. They especially loved the dinosaur bones. From the outside of the building you could look up high and see a skeleton through the windows. They thought that was great. I'm sure I came here as a kid on field trips - but I think they have redone it all. We didn't get a chance to see everything so I'm sure we'll go back.
Then we went outside (into the 100+ degrees!) to eat our picnic lunch. and THEN we got to eat ice cream at McDonalds in the air conditioning :)
Such a fun day!

Getting Over Our Fears

2011-07-27T16:41:00.001-07:00

My boys are not typically afraid of things (not more than a typical kid anyway) since moving here they developed a few fears. Bugs and water. Now these are not surprising since in WA there are not very many bugs and swimming is not as common an activity. At this point they don't love bugs but they are not terrified and it's easy to walk them through a bug situation without them panicking. As for the water I'm fine with them having a healthy fear of water but they need to not be terrified. We got a large pool that is around a foot deep for the back yard and they LOVE it. I think it is a helpful transition to a real pool. We still need to have life jackets or something which are kind of scary on their own. I'll hopefully be able to do swimming lessons for them next summer.
Kylie is a different story. She's got some crazy fears (all relating to movement) and I have no idea where they came from. She's doing MUCH better though. Some have gone away completely. For instance, the sweeper - she even helps me now. Some things now we can just talk her through and she's willing to calm down. The swing is still a little iffy but she's willing to "let" others swing if we talk her through it. I'm fine with her not wanting to swing. The black chair at our house was the first thing and it looks like it will be the last. We've gotten her fine with us sitting in it but no rocking! Just tonight when she got upset I asked her to help me rock so she came and pushed me and thought that was great. I think we are on our way out of that one. She's so silly.
I will not ignore my kids fears or brush them off. Kids are aloud to be afraid. However.... We really need to work through most of them so they aren't afraid of them forever! Thankfully, we are making progress!

- Posted using BlogPress

Kylies first pony tail

2011-07-25T11:50:00.001-07:00

She is not a fan

2011-07-25T10:33:00.001-07:00

this is a test

At the Beth Moore Conference

2011-07-24T19:51:00.001-07:00

Good friends

2011-07-24T19:44:00.001-07:00

Watching veggie tales

2011-07-20T07:43:00.001-07:00

Jackson and I are working on our computers

2011-07-19T16:25:00.000-07:00

Swimming

2011-07-19T16:15:00.002-07:00

The next one was taken on Jared's phone :)

Dancing

2011-07-19T16:15:00.001-07:00

I dont' know what came over Jaden, but here he is. Terrible quality as it was taken on Jared's phone. Pardon Kylie, she got sauce on her shirt.....

A morning at Shelley Lake

2011-07-16T13:43:00.001-07:00

Cute Kylie

2011-07-10T12:24:00.000-07:00

Cars 2

2011-07-06T10:44:00.000-07:00

Boys first movie theater experience... Cars 2! Yay!

Happy Fourth of July!

2011-07-04T19:44:00.001-07:00

And.... The power is out

2011-07-04T18:18:00.001-07:00

July 4th

2011-07-04T14:45:00.001-07:00

And we used to complain about the rain in Washington on July 4th
(where it is currently beautiful) we've got buckets of rain and look
at that wind!

High school pals

2011-07-04T06:46:00.001-07:00

Love these 2! They were in their sisters wedding that night which is
why they were so matchy and I was the odd one out. Not to mention ....
Look how WHiTE I am! This was not too long after we moved here.

Friends

2011-07-03T20:51:00.000-07:00

Friends from back in the day. Fun to catch up at their sisters wedding
(which is why they match outfits). Notice how white I was. I hadn't
been here that long....

Charlotte

2011-07-03T20:12:00.000-07:00

Last week we went to visit my brother's family in Charlotte. We had a great time. Jared had never been to their current home and we haven't gotten to see them much over the years (looking forward to more of that!)

Wednesday we took our time driving down and "shopping" then spent the evening with them.

Thursday the moms and kids went to the park in the morning while Ben worked and Jared had a phone interview. Then we hung out at home and in the evening had dinner at Chris and Melody's house! Melody is one of my dearest friends from years ago and it's so great to see her again!

Friday we went to a spray park. There were a billion people there (which Emily had never seen before) and kids kept coming by the busload. Ellie had fun. Kylie had fun but didn't get too wet and I was constantly terrified of her being trampled (lots of kids running top speeds not paying any attention). Jackson had fun but didn't get super wet. Jaden did not. He FINALLY got the courage to go in there and got totally knocked down by some kid immediately. So he pouted a bit. Finally he said " I wanted to go to the other one and its like, time for lunch" Shortly after we went right around the corner to a really cool playground. The kids had a great time then we all relaxed at home while the kids napped and Ben fixed yummy ribs for dinner. Saturday we were able to get free tickets to the Raptor Center (a rescue place for birds essentially) . The kids thought that was great and got up close to many birds. There was a small ant problem, but thankfully, Emily and I were the only ones that got bitten. :) And we had to play it cool really well because Jackson was analyzing us. One false move and our morning would have been over. They loved it though.

That night it was off to church and seeing where Ben works. I had been there before but I don't think Jared had. It was fun. Reminds me a little of CTK.

Left after breakfast on Sunday and took our time. We spent a long time at IKEA (where the kids got free kids meals!) and wished we could buy alot ;) Made some stops on the way home and didn't get there till dinner time. We are all tired.

We had a great time and Ben, Emily, and Eliie were great hosts! Emily is a wonderful cook and I think we ate them out of house and home!

The kids were all so cute together. Our kids loved everyone which was good and even the two girls were starting to grin at each other and interact a bit towards the end. Kylie even gave Uncle Ben a hug before we left which was very good progress!

Here are some pictures...

BBQ

2011-07-03T20:01:00.000-07:00

We had a BBQ at Umstead Park with my parents and had a great time. Despite the fact it was thunderstorming. Didn't really hardly rain though. But it was pretty dark. Here are some pictures....

2011-07-03T10:06:00.001-07:00

Free kids meals at ikea today!

Chalk

2011-06-25T11:29:00.001-07:00

Chalk video

2011-06-25T11:27:00.001-07:00

YouTube Video

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Donuts

2011-06-24T20:55:00.001-07:00

I don't know if this will link or embed video. If you don't see the
video click the link to hear the conversation the kids had at krispy
kreme

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt7aIMn_hzw&sns=em

Rachel Bryant

2011-06-24T20:52:00.001-07:00

This morning I cleaned the house.... Here's what the kids did.....

Bunk beds

2011-06-24T20:50:00.001-07:00

The boys are SO excited to get their bunk beds we have been talking
about FOR A YEAR!!!!!

Quick Update

2011-06-23T14:54:00.001-07:00

Hmmm.... I'm not finding much time for blogging lately. Or taking pictures. I know that's lame for people we don't live near so.... I'll try to do better.

We're doing well and settling in.

Jared's still looking for a job.... but has had some good meetings, etc. God has been faithful to provide and we are very thankful.

In many ways I feel like our new house is home since home is all about family. Something I love to do though it make it cozy like home... if you know what I mean. Still trying to figure that one out with white wall and no moolah :) But it's working out well. Getting the boys their bunk beds in a few days and that will give them more room for sure.

I have a new job! It's part time and from home. Seems like a perfect fit for me so are hopeful it works well. This is something I can do no matter what schedule Jared might have in the future so I'm thankful for that.

We've tried a number of churches and a couple seem to be a good fit. Jared has met with the worship pastors a couple places and enjoyed that. Not getting involved yet since it's summer and there's not much opportunity. That's a bummer for Jared. Side note: Church is very different in the South. Not in a better or worse way - it just is.

We got a couch and chair for the living room. Red which is weird for me, but I like it. Not microfiber which is super weird for me especially since I can't shampoo it (gross). BUT I kinda like the look of it and it was a grand total of $100. It was COVERED in dog hair. I cannot believe I went for it. after the first cleaning I realized I had made a terrible mistake and was prepared to relist it on Craigslist. Then I cleaned it again and it's MUCH better. It's in great shape too - so now we have furniture to sit on :)

I'm trying to implement more regular individual "dates" for the boys. Most recently Brueggers (YUM - AND cheaper than a coffee date!) so that has been fun.

The boys continue to get up around 6. yikes. I try to work in the mornings but I can't handle getting up before that.

Kylie is regularly using sentences now. She's pretty funny. I had a picture out with Bob in it. Bob comes up occasionally but not really. I showed Kylie the picture and asked her who it was and she said "That's Bob!" I thought that was cute.

The kids keep mentioning Joey. They miss him as do we. He's in a situation right now that we could get him back when we are ready. Hopefully in the not too distant future we might be able to make that decision.

The boys talk about Birch Bay all the time. Interesting to see their perspective on things.

Next week we will be visiting my brother and his family in Charlotte, so that will be fun. We'll see a couple other friends too - including some that moved here from Bellingham of all places AND they will have friends visiting from Bellingham that we also know. Small World.

There are many days that feel very discouraging. At the same time, we are often very encouraged when we think about how God has provided for us.

Thanks for all your prayers!

Side Note

2011-06-16T19:23:00.001-07:00

I really need to update the pictures at the top of this blog. Can't say when that will happen though.

More on Kylie

2011-06-16T19:14:00.000-07:00

Kylie's fears have expanded to swings at the playground (whether people are in them or not - if they are even moving, she freaks out) This makes the playground NOT fun. N.O.T. fun! (by the way, last year she LIVED to swing!)

Also - ceiling fans.

However, she IS making some progress. We are now "aloud" to sit in the black chair. But we have to be still. We cannot rock. She will even sit on our lap while we are on it. If we start rocking she glares at us and says "no rockin!" and if we stop she is fine.

We can almost always use the sweeper now without her getting upset. If she starts too and we explain what we are doing and why she is usually fine with that.

Today she and I were out with my mom and someone started sweeping. Kylie started to get upset but then started talking about (in a whiny voice) how the person was "sweepin" and she didn't freak out.

She has also stopped crying when I give her a bath. Doesn't even freak out when she knows she's about to get one. Most importantly, she does not think I'm actually trying to drown her when I rinse her hair.

Baby steps.

In addition she HATES it when Jared (or anyone) swats flies. So what you here is... "LOUD SMACK (of Jared smacking a fly with the swatter)" Kylie: "NOOOOOOOOOOO" (then screaming and many tears). Today she only half way freaked out and talked about how dad was getting flies. Again, baby steps. I'm still waiting for someone to call CPS though after hearing that. I'm sure it sounds terrible.

Sigh.

At least she's making progress. I'm sure she'll soon get over these fears.

2011-06-08T21:06:00.001-07:00

2011-06-08T21:01:00.001-07:00

Some pics of the unfinished home for those who wanted to see

2011-06-08T20:55:00.001-07:00

Kylie's Irrational Fears

2011-06-08T13:46:00.000-07:00

Kylie does not like our black gliding chair. My grandparents bought this for me when the boys were born. I rocked Kylie to sleep in it every night until she decided she was done. But it was for quite a while. The last couple months we were in WA she seemed to be upset when someone would sit in the chair. It wasn't ridiculous but it was weird. Currently she completely freaks out. If someone sits in it she SCREAMS (the really high pitched kind) and stomps her feet and says "no chair! no chair! I go nite nite!" Typically, if you just stay in the chair and distract her with something else for a minute or two she gets mostly over it and "allows" you to continue sitting in it. SO weird.

She has also developed a huge fear of brooms. It includes vaccums and the sweeper but is far worse with the broom. I swept ALL the time, multiple times a day in our other house. We came here and after a meal my mom swept around the table. Normal broom. Normal Sweeping. Small mess to clean up. And Kylie lost it. We thought it was weird and random. However, it has continued. No matter who it is or where we are she SCREAMS if someone starts sweeping as if just the sight of the broom might kill her and runs for "protection" to her nearest trusted person.

Kylie is not a fan of men. I remember it took her some time to warm up to Jared's dad. Not too long and she obviously got completely over it. It definately took some time for her to warm up to my dad. She's still not completely there. She will now appreciate him from a distance and occasionally give him five. Less occasionally she will give him a hug. At the end of my brother's visit she would consider giving him five. Guys we meet/old friends we see she is not a fan of if they are men. Jared took her to nursery the other day and a man was in charge. She cried (which is normal but always very brief) when he dropped her off to a female teacher. The man came over to help (since he was in charge) and it took her quite some time from what I hear to settle down. This past week at nursery she cried when I dropped her off and a male helper picked her up. As I walked down the hall she continued to cry. I snuck back down there so she couldn't see me and told the woman there that she was weird with men and may just calm down if a woman held her instead. Worked like a charm. SO weird.

Fun in the water

2011-06-06T22:48:00.001-07:00

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_StEd7blwQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Rachel Bryant

Surfing

2011-06-06T22:45:00.001-07:00

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS2lvFtYVM8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Rachel Bryant

Video

2011-06-06T22:44:00.001-07:00

Busy lately. I'll send some links to a few of our videos....

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qx-3wgESNA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Rachel Bryant

Family Visits

2011-06-06T11:28:00.000-07:00

My brother and his family came up to visit for several days last week. We hadn't seen them in a year so it was lots of fun to hang out. Their daughter (Ellie) is a couple months younger than Kylie so that was fun despite the fact that the two girls really didn't care to have anything to do with each other :)

We shared many meals together, had them over to our house to hang out one evening after the kids were in bed, went to Marbles Kids Museum (which the kids LOVED), and played in the water alot outside! We had a great time and look forward to seeing them down in Charlotte in a few weeks!

Here are a TON of pictures!

Fun in the water

2011-06-02T11:27:00.000-07:00

Cousins Playing

2011-06-01T20:59:00.001-07:00

Random Recent Pictures

2011-06-01T20:58:00.000-07:00

Kylies first sucker.

2011-06-01T20:57:00.002-07:00

Couldn't get her to understand she could hold the stick

Me and Daughter/Me and Neice

2011-06-01T20:57:00.001-07:00

Ellie loves cousin Jaden (and vice versa!)

2011-06-01T20:56:00.001-07:00

Random Kiddos (while in Washington)

2011-05-31T21:07:00.001-07:00

These were taken only about a month ago - to me, the kids are SO much bigger and older now. I feel like they have all grown up a ton - so weird....

Jackson loves the red van

2011-05-31T11:14:00.000-07:00

Friends

2011-05-28T20:16:00.001-07:00

Random Kylie

2011-05-25T13:16:00.001-07:00

2011-05-24T19:09:00.001-07:00

Not really a fan of all this on the fridge. Never been able to do it before but now we can and the kids are loving it - so it will stay :)

Recent pics 1 - retry

2011-05-23T22:12:00.000-07:00

Recent pics 4

2011-05-23T22:11:00.000-07:00

Recent pics 3

2011-05-23T22:10:00.001-07:00

Recent pics 2

2011-05-23T22:09:00.001-07:00

Catching Up

2011-05-23T09:03:00.000-07:00

I have not REALLY posted in AWHILE! Sadly, I don't have a ton of pictures of this transition in our lives, but I do have some :)

The past month has been a WHIRLWIND. In 3.5 weeks we sold a TON on Craigslist, had a yardsale, took a ton to goodwill, arranged to have our things shipped across the country, found a place in NC to live, packed EVERYTHING, got our house set to go, had job interviews, lots of extra visits with friends, PLUS normal life! It. was. crazy! Friends and family helped us alot and the kids really did well though I'm sure it was weird for them.

Some friends were gracious enough to throw us a going away party which was nice. I kindof assumed I would be a basket case then and when saying goodbye to other friends and family. I did not cry one single time which was weird. I think it's because I was saying goodbye to so many people, places, and things I couldn't wrap my mind around the reality of it. I was also so busy my mind didn't have alot of time to dwell on it. I did cry as we left our house. Yes, I was sad about the house, but the tears were more for the memories and the entirety of leaving our home, friends, and family.

My friend Kayli, and I did alot of packing together and did well if I do say so myself. Jared and his helpers were able to pack our 21 foot moving quote into 13 feet of space which saved us around $1300! Yay!

On Mother's Day I worked HARD (as did Jared's mom) . We got up and busted our tails until probably at least 7:00 and then headed to Jared's parents house.

The kids did AWESOME on flying day (May 9). I DREADED it SO MUCH! We spent the night at Jared's parents and then got up SUPER early on Monday morning and Jared's dad drove us to Seattle (about an hour and a half). We got all checked in at the airport and everyone did so well going through security (which is quite the ordeal with 3 backpacks, a purse, 2 computers, a stroller and 3 kids - walking through getting computers out, putting things in the bins and getting everyone's shoes off and on). We had plenty of time and got loaded on our first plane which was a widebody. We were in the middle section. Kylie cried a bit. Jared took her and she calmed a bit. Before takeoff the stewardess came and told Jared the entire back row was empty and he and Kylie could go there if they wanted. So they did. Then there was only one person in the row in front of that and he switched with me and the boys. We felt like we had tons of space (which is wonderful on a 5 hour flight). Kylie got her own seat and all the kids ate a billion snacks. The boys colored a bit and watched movies. When we landed we had to RUN to get to our next gate. Kylie didn't get a chance to walk but the boys got some energy out. Bathroom breaks, got Kylie changed, grabbed some dinner to eat on the plane (since we really hadn't had a real meal yet) and got on just in time. It was CRAZY. That plane was MUCH smaller and there was ANOTHER lap child next to me. The kids were DONE but overall had good attitudes. That flight was only an hour so we got through it.

We stayed at my parents the first two nights and then "moved in" to our new place. We all slept on air mattresses. The boys have been fine but I would like to say that I don't think air mattresses are meant to be shared :) The townhome is about half the size of our previous home so it's quite an adjustment but it is going well. Overall, I like it. I definitely like the location. We are within 5 minutes of practically everything we could want to be and then some. The kids like the home and the adjustment there has been easier than I expected. What I'm still not used to is the TINY (as in so small you have to shut the door to fit inside it) master bath and the fact that the "yard" isn't fenced. I'm sure I'll get used to that too!

Our things arrived here a week and a half after we did and we were able to round up one friend available to help us that night so we could get the truck out of here :) Without Luke I'm not sure how we would have made that happen! VERY Quickly our home was PACKED to the gills. I'm not sure how. We sold SO much stuff and began feeling like we should get rid of more but as we have been unpacking it's gotten much better. Working on the garage (which we are so thankful to be able to store our other stuff in for now!) today so we will see if that is packed or not :) Alot of the unpacking has been finished but we still have a ways to go. I'm overly anxious to get settled :) So far we've only had a few liquid food items spill in the boxes (but they were bagged so it wasn't a problem) and a few furniture scratches - which is lame but it could have been much worse. When you send your stuff on a truck across the country it definitely gets DIRTY and your stuff ages by like 10 years :) My advice... don't take it if you don't have to unless you REALLY want to or it would cost you a fortune to replace :)

The kids have had a bit of a rough transition but are doing well overall. Definitely some behaviour and sleep problems but that has been improving over the last few days.

Kylie is turning into a kid instead of a baby. Her vocabulary has improved at a crazy rate. It's super cute. Her new thing to say is "ot!" all the time (Hot) She ALWAYS says it when we get in the car. And she is drinking a ridiculous amount of water.

Jackson seems to have abandoned his frog. Super weird. My mom had gotten a bunny and frog (for kylie really) for their house. But Jackson and Jaden got SUPER attached to them and brought them to our house. For a while Jackson was more into the new frog but kept his old one around. Now he doesn't really pay attention to either of them. Very weird. And kindof sad. We'll see what happens as we get more settled.

Got internet on Sunday which is awesome!

Still looking for a vehicle which is harder than I expected. Our car up in WA has sold, but our Van has not.

Our house did not sell. Strangely we have decided to rent it out. It wasn't really what we wanted to do or expected but we feel God arranged the whole thing. They are a nice, Christian family that came our way “randomly”. We will be able to make our mortgage payment with the rent which is a blessing. They may choose to purchase it later. I'm pretty nervous about the whole thing but know God is providing. We needed it sold or something right about now and I'm thankful to not have to have that payment anymore

I miss our house but it already seems a distant memory. Being in a smaller and different place that is not our own will bring to mind the things I miss about it throughout the day but it's more of a fondness and not a disappointment. My family and friends, however, do not seem distant. I think, in my mind, because I can email/call/text/whatever with them and so my brain just thinks I will see them soon. It's all so strange.

My sons despise bugs. Seriously hate them. There just aren't many bugs in Washington and they are EVERYWHERE here. We were at some friends for dinner and ate outside. It was fine at first but then my kids started FREAKING out (embarrassing) so they went inside to eat :) Then when we left we sent them on the porch to put their shoes on and after a minute the started screaming and pounding on the door to come in. Shortly after that though they saw lightning bugs and they thought that was cool. They went in our "back yard" one day for about 2 seconds and came back in because "there was too much bugs" (I'm sure they only saw one) At my parents house Jackson stepped on an anthill or something and ants crawled all over his foot and bit him. I do not blame him one bit for freaking out (I probably would have too) but you would have thought the world was ending. He was screaming like he was mortally wounded. It was insane. Just this afternoon Jared went out front with the boys because they were leaving then he came in for a second to grab something but shut the door behind him. They saw a bug and started screaming and pounding on our (unlocked) door (wonder what the neighbors think.... :) ) Sigh. I'm sure they will get used to it.

We are blessed to allready know a few people in the area. Luke and Jared (or Big Country back in the day) were good friends in high school and I became good friends with both of them. They seem to have the kind of relationship where they might not even talk for years (sadly) but when they reunite it almost as if they didn't skip a beat. We met Rockie (Luke's wife) once before and I had dinner with them once myself but she is wonderful and I can't wait to get to know her better. None of us had met all the kids yet (they have 2 young boys) and I'm looking forward to playdates in the future! Luke helped us unload the truck and we would have had big problems if he wasn't here :) I look forward to reconnecting with others in this area and in the Charlotte area soon!

I'm sure there are many more stories I could tell but my brain is operating on half capacity. I wanted to go ahead and give an update before TOO much time had gone by. Forgive the haphazardness.

I've already posted a few pictures but here are a few more... some may be repeats....

hot

Cuteness

2011-05-21T04:17:00.000-07:00

Seriously some of my favorite photos of all time! LOVE and MISS this family! Can you believe they all smiled and looked at the camera? Josh and Luke are twins (can you tell? :)) who are just 2 weeks older than our boys. Though we didn't know each other then, (just briefly met) all 4 boys were in the NICU together. They have become very dear to us and we miss them a bunch!

:)

2011-05-21T04:12:00.001-07:00

Ready for the sun

2011-05-10T08:59:00.000-07:00

Thankful for Netflix as I pack

2011-05-02T20:25:00.001-07:00

Playing with the baby toys we are selling at the yard sale

2011-05-01T11:28:00.001-07:00

2011-04-29T12:36:00.001-07:00

Hide And Seek

2011-04-26T15:36:00.000-07:00

Push play button to view

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-26T15:34:00.001-07:00

Push the play button to play video

Excited about their backpacks for the plane ride

2011-04-26T14:57:00.000-07:00

Parts of our Easter in Pictures

2011-04-24T22:08:00.001-07:00

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A boy and his frog 5....?

2011-04-24T21:58:00.001-07:00

When my frog went to class someone tried to cut his hands with the
scissors. But when I went to pick him up I got there before that
happened.

Rachel Bryant

Ahhhhhh!

2011-04-20T12:19:00.001-07:00

Moving Date Set

2011-04-16T00:22:00.000-07:00

We are moving May 9 to Raleigh, NC

That's only about 3 weeks away.

Our house has not sold yet.

Our stuff is selling like hotcakes which is good. Still alot to sell. We are currently without any lamps or tables in the LR and no table, chairs, stools, or anything to eat on for 3 weeks :) That's ok.

In making this decision, among other things, one that pushed us in this direction was a book Jared read saying something about stepping out in faith and afterwards God beginning to put the pieces together rather than waiting for Him to put the pieces together first. That's what we're seeing in several areas and are thankful. Still alot to do though.

I'm really struggling with leaving my house right now (I know it's just a house, and I'm way MORE sad about leaving friends and family, it's just on my mind alot as I pack it up). We chose all the options, colors, etc in this house. It was brand new. We started our family. It's an AMAZING house. I do not yet know exactly where I'm living when I get there but I'm nearly certain it will be older, not as nice, and half the size or less. I'm not complaining, I'm just frustrated that I'm struggling with it. Even so, I know that once we are wherever we are going to be it will immediately become home to me and my "need" for the house I'm in now will quickly fade....

Prayer needs....

Continue to pray for Jared's job situation. This may sound weird - but it's all the details I will give for the moment.

Pray for a house/apt for us in our price range (though who even really knows what our price range is :)) that we like, has just enough room or even more, is clean, not scary, and works well for our family.

For our stuff to sell. Specifically I'm thinking of our playset, couch, adjustable bed, and cars. Those are the big ones.

I'm thankful to report that we might have sold enough to pay for our move. If not, we're REALLY close. We MAY have extra. Everything else sold we will need to get new cars, beds for the boys, a kitchen table and couch (and potentially replace a few other things we've sold)

For wisdom about when/how to get our stuff to NC. Not sure we can get it sent before we leave. It will take 6 days to arrive and we have to have a place for it to arrive. This is quite stressful to me, but should be figured out next week.

I'm tired and need some sleep so I can work more on this tomorrow :)

thanks for all your prayers and love.

Our new eating arrangements apparently

2011-04-15T20:51:00.001-07:00

Fell Asleep Reading

2011-04-15T12:55:00.001-07:00

Pretty flower

2011-04-15T12:54:00.001-07:00

This week's favorite pictures

2011-04-11T00:51:00.000-07:00

Kylie's First Real Complete Sentance

2011-04-08T22:56:00.001-07:00

"I want pizza! I want pizza! I want pizza!"

Said in tears as we exited the pizza place.

*sigh*

Rachel Bryant

Recent Favorites

2011-04-05T21:33:00.001-07:00

Cool sunglasses and pretty pink toes

2011-04-02T19:19:00.000-07:00

A Boy and his Frog part 4

2011-04-02T16:58:00.001-07:00

"my frog has trees in his back yard and they don't knock down when you
kick a soccer ball on them."

"My frog had a dad and he is a boy and this is my frog's dad" (toy dinosaur)