Suther Land

Switching blog sites

2006-11-29T14:16:00.002-08:00

Blogger came out with a new system that's a little easier for my non-html brain, so I'm moving my blog to http://suther-land.blogspot.com/ and hope you will come visit me there!
This blog will stay in cyberspace forever if you ever feel like coming back to visit, but all the upcoming updates will be on the new blog so please change your favorites!

PS. I took this picture for you, Lise!

2006-11-19T15:20:00.000-08:00

I'm having a hard time keeping up with the blog since we are so stinking busy around the house, but I thought I'd put up a few pictures of what we've been doing. We enjoy a very large yard with a HUGE silver maple tree, but this means lots of raking. You can see a bit in this picture of the piles of leaves. We also spent a lot of time painting our fence. The previous owner had painted it white last summer, however, there is a large wisteria bush that overhangs the fence in the summer and is gorgeous, but once it was pruned for the winter, half the fence was still brown and was a big eyesore.
Ryan's been working on an endless list of "honey-do's" which I am thankful that he actually enjoys--wiring, installing ceiling fans, garbage disposals, replacing the utility sink, cleaning the chimney. But we did run into an issue that even my Renaissance handy-man couldn't tackle and we had to have a plumber come flush the pipes--I guess it needs to be done every few years, and of course would happen to us the second week of living here!
We are enjoying some great nights by the fire and generally getting more and more settled.

New Home Living

2006-11-12T21:15:00.000-08:00

We've been in our new home for over a week now and it's beginning to really feel like we live here. Of course there are still boxes around and things piled in places, but we are able to walk around and cook meals. The upstairs is really put together, but the downstairs needs some work. My mom and my sister-in-law were life-savers when we moved in. They are both cleaning machines so they washed, scrubbed, and contact-papered everything as we put it all away. We got up Asher's crib for the first time. The boys are in the same room and looking so cute sleeping near each other. We're loving being here in Missoula and trying to meet new friends, but we miss all our old ones too. It's strange to finally be in the place/state of life that you've been "waiting" for! Praise God.

Happy 3rd Birthday Bridger!

2006-11-05T21:31:00.000-08:00

Today was Bridger's official 3rd birthday although he just got some ice cream and opened some boxes of toys he hadn't seen in awhile. Before you pity him, he's already had two parties--one with each set of grandparents complete with cakes, presents, balloons, etc.

I can't believe he's that old and he seems even older to me most of the time. We were singing him happy birthday in the car and after we finished he sighed and said "thanks everybody" like an adult. Now it's my turn to sigh...

Halloween!

2006-11-04T18:20:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed Halloween this year, even though it was the night before the big move and we'd been loading the Uhaul for several days. We slept horribly that night and Ryan ended up getting up at 3am to start driving the Uhaul (mom and I were with the kids in the Honda). Praise God we actually made it!

The art of Photography

2006-10-29T17:08:00.000-08:00

I've been a bit preoccupied packing and organizing these last weeks so I haven't posted many recent pics of the boys. Here are a few cute ones. I won't include the 25-picture slideshow from yesterday where we attempted, for yet another year, to get a good Christmas card picture. Those of you who have known us for awhile remember our card from a few years back with Ryan and I smiling and Bridger bawling his eyes out.

Why this early, you ask? Well, since we're moving we need to get something out with a new address and I thought it would be easier to get everyone to pose for a picture here on a nice day outside when my folks could try to make the kids smile. Needless to say, there is one moderately usable shot in the whole bunch. When I say usable, that means everyone is looking at the camera and has their eyes at least halfway open. The fact that the kids look like their dog just died is irrelevant. Adding another child to the mix made the difficulty increase exponentially. Stay tuned to your mailboxes (btw, just because we took a picture now, doesn't mean I'll be getting the cards out before New Years).

I love these bath shots of the kids (their first official bath together). Asher looks so suspicious...

Yellowstone trip

2006-10-22T20:13:00.000-07:00

I thought I would post a few pictures from our trip through Yellowstone at the end of September. We were in Lander, WY (where Ryan passed his licensure exams with flying colors--only two left in Jan and he'll be officially Rev.) so we drove up through the Tetons and then through Yellowstone from the south to the north entrance on our way to Missoula. It was the perfect day--clear, warm, full fall foliage, no traffic and it happened to be "public lands day" (who knew?) so we got in free!We saw a bear 10 feet off the road, and tons of buffalo, elk, antelope, and deer. The shot of the elk is in Mammoth where Ryan grew up and we stayed a night with friends.Life update: we move to Missoula in 10 days!

Homeowners!...well, in a few weeks

2006-10-14T18:19:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo of the house that we are in the process of buying (the photographer is lopsided, not the house). For more pictures, click on the link to the right entitled "view/download photos" and you'll find our house album. Much has happened since the previous post. The original house we made an offer on didn't pan out. The owners were in the middle of a divorce and things were very complicated--one party wanted to sell at a price we were happy with, but the other wouldn't budge. We felt that God definitively closed that door, so we moved on to this house, which had come in a very close second.

We are so excited about the central location--very close to all kinds of shopping (walking distance to several places), right across the street from a park, within biking distance to the Cryders and to downtown. We have plenty of room for guests, so start planning your National Park and ski trips.

House hunting

2006-10-05T14:32:00.000-07:00

So we're finally in Missoula looking for a house--in fact, we put an offer on a house yesterday and we're waiting to hear today whether or not it will be accepted. On Monday and Tuesday we looked at about 20 houses all over the place. Some were immediate no's...25 cats used to live there, only two bedrooms, etc. We narrowed it down to two and it was a really hard decision. One was a three-year-old house a stone's throw from the Cryder's house with everything we wanted--four bedrooms, unfinished basement (that we could finish), nice yard, garage, cute neighborhood, close to downtown. We also found a fabulous 1950's house that had been completely updated with beautiful character and built-ins, a great yard with a climbing tree, finished basement. We waffled back and forth forever because they were both priced about the same, but finally decided to put an offer in on the newer home, mostly because it is so close to the Cryders and it is hard to pass up that opportunity.

We sort of low-balled the offer so we're not sure what will come of all of it. If the guy won't budge we might be switching to the other house. We feel really at peace with all of this and know that God will lead us to the house and neighborhood that we should be in. It's nice not to be too emotionally attached to either house and to have a mental back-up. Plus it's such a buyers market that we are holding most of the cards since these houses have been on the market for a long time already. It's been an exciting process--being our first house purchase. Pray for us this week that the process will go smoothly and quickly and I'll keep you posted!

We've put some miles on these kids recently...

2006-09-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

August 22nd--Brookings to Minneapolis, MN 228 miles
August 23rd--Minneapolis to Chisago Lakes, MN 41 miles
August 24th--Chisago Lakes to Duluth, MN 123 miles
August 26th--Duluth to Madison, WI 331 miles
August 28th--Madison to Rochester, MN 211 miles
August 29th--Rochester to Brookings 285 miles

September 10th--Brookings to Council Bluffs, IA 232 miles
September 11th--Council Bluffs to Ankeny, IA 138 miles
September 13th--Ankeny to Brookings 348 miles

September 15th--Brookings to Bailey, CO 812 miles

This week coming up...
September 28th--Bailey to Lander, WY 409 miles
September 30th--Lander to Gardiner, MT 406 miles
October 1st--Gardiner to Bozeman, MT 78 miles
October 2nd--Bozeman to Missoula, MT 203 miles

Soon to be Missoula to Brookings: 1102 miles
TOTAL 4947 miles in 7 weeks

Of course this doesn't count the trips into Denver, Breckenridge, Boulder that we've been doing since we've been in CO, but it gives you a pretty good idea of where we've spent most of our time in the last few weeks.

On the road...

2006-09-21T16:53:00.000-07:00

We're in Bailey, CO and enjoying it here. I haven't uploaded any pictures we've taken here yet, but here's a good one of the boys right before we left.

2006-09-13T18:02:00.000-07:00

Bridger's always asking to hold Asher. Sometimes it works well, but Asher usually ends up falling off to one side at some point. Here's a good picture of the two brothers, though.

Five Years

2006-09-02T20:14:00.000-07:00

Today marks our five-year wedding anniversary. The time has flown by, but it also seems like we've always been married--I can hardly remember life before. When I look back I really can't believe all that has happened and the Lord's incredible faithfulness through it all. In five years we have:

--Moved across the country and left our dearest friends twice, (soon to be 3 times)
--Had three wonderful boys born to us, and buried one
--Completed an MDiv
--Visited four foreign countries
--Lived in three different residences
--Worked four jobs between us

But these big things are not by any means the sum of these five years. The care for each other during times of stress and sickness, the time of fellowship together with friends and family and the ordinary kindness and love of each day is truly what makes these five years memorable.

2006-08-31T18:04:00.000-07:00

We just returned from a long car trip through Minnesota and Wisconsin seeing lots of old friends and some family. Some folks we hadn't seen in 5-10 years and maybe won't see again for that long. The kids were champs in the upwards of 1700 mile journey. Asher even began sleeping through the night, right at eight weeks like clockwork. The picture of us is in Duluth, MN at Lake Superior.

Bum Genius? Part II

2006-08-22T06:19:00.000-07:00

So, I promised an update on using cloth diapers. (You can check out my original post here) Now that Asher is 7 weeks old, I can honestly say that I am thrilled I made this choice. I can't deny that the greatest enjoyment is the lack of diaper transactions on my credit card! The Bum Genuis diapers are easy to use and I don't do a bit of toilet bending, dipping or scrubbing. The diapers run through a hot/cold cycle twice (only once with detergent) and then the terrycloth inserts go in the dryer while the outer shells hang dry. The hang-drying issue does require some thinking ahead because you need to have a few clean diapers for the lag time before the newly-washed diapers are ready to use. I originally bought 12 diapers, which I worked with for the first few weeks but ended up having to occasionally use a disposable because I couldn't keep up with the washing. I received three more as a gift and used 15 quite easily until just this week when I was given 6 more. With 15, I was still washing them every 36 hours or so (keep in mind this is a newborn who has to be changed every three hours). I'm looking forward to spreading things out a bit more now. I haven't had any problems with staining of the diapers either, though I suppose that gets worse with solids.

Asher hasn't had a bit of diaper rash and has had much fewer blowouts than I remember with Bridger. The diaper holds quite a lot of liquid with the fleece covering next to baby's skin staying dry, but at a certain point I know he feels wet. This is probably going to make for more diaper changes, even as he gets older, but it also will bring out the other benefit of cloth diapers which is early potty training.

Smiley

2006-08-21T08:27:00.000-07:00

I finally captured some smiles on film. I love these digitals, but the lag time can be frustrating!

early boyhood comparisons

2006-08-20T07:18:00.000-07:00

i know we shouldn't compare our kids but i've been telling everyone that asher is the spitting image of bridger as a baby. upon further reflection, this is quite untrue. although the resemblance between our boys at this age is pretty striking, they are actually quite different looking. You can see more comparisons by clicking here.

The Kite Runner

2006-08-14T11:40:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini last night. I've been glued to it for the past three days and its images have been in my mind when I'm not reading it. It is an amazing story on so many levels. The story is of two boys growing up in Afghanistan--one servant (Hassan) and one master (Amir)--who grew up like brothers. Hassan would do anything for his friend and ends up suffering unspeakably because of Amir's cowardice. The rest of the book is Amir's guilt and quest for redemption. In a word, this book is heartbreaking. Hassan is a pure Christ figure--servant and savior. Amir is the purely human figure--flawed, selfish and guilty. It is a story about loss and mistakes set brilliantly with the backdrop of a childhood in a stable Afghanistan which turned into a wartorn rubble just as the children's innocence disintegrated.

Of course, this is set in a Muslim context with Muslim issues permeating it--in fact the reason Amir is the master and Hassan is the servant is because of the strain of Islam their people practice. Though Allah is turned to a few times, Islam does not provide the redemption that Amir searches for. The book is so true to life in its images surrounding what Amir does with his guilt, trying to atone, trying to punish himself. Amir's mentor tells him that "redemption is when guilt turns to good" when he is trying to prompt Amir to face his demons and finally do the right thing. I thought about this a lot because I think it is the world's idea of redemption--turning the bad things you do into learning experiences and making up for them somehow. This is not a bad thing in itself, our mistakes should teach us, but when can our pennance ever be enough? Only through Christ can we truly be redeemed and guiltless.

Though the plot twists can be a bit implausible at times, this book is a must-read. Perhaps it was not the best choice post-partum as the story's poignant sadness was often overwhelming, but it is the best book I've read in a long time. Has anyone else read it? Anyone have any suggestions for my next read?

The Canadians are coming!

2006-08-10T13:31:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a wonderful visit from the Heiberts this last weekend. They live about 6 hours straight north of us in Manitoba and we so enjoyed having some friends this summer (especially friends who talk theology for Ryan!). Here we are looking a bit tired on the last morning before they left--the previous few days had included 4-wheeling, sandboxes, campfires, baseball, waterslides, parks, ice cream and much more. I'm still recovering since I wanted to stay up late with the adults, but Asher had other plans when I wanted to go to sleep!

Generations

2006-08-03T13:31:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of Asher with his great-great grandma. She turned 100 this February so they are a century apart in age. Ella is my father's father's mother and is still living on her own, playing three card games a week. Bridger was pretty amazed by her and after a few minutes of asking her questions, he looked thoughtfully at her and said, "you have a tiny head". She just chuckled and we all tried to hold in the laughter. Believe it or not, Ella's not the oldest relative I've known. On my mother's side we've had several over 100. My great-great aunt Mabel died in 2000 at the ripe old age of 111. She was born in 1889, came across to Nebraska in a covered wagon and had lived in a sod house as a child. She then lived to see cars, planes, computers--even bought herself her first microwave at the age of 90. I'm not so sure I want to spend as many years on the earth as these ladies, but if I do, I hope I can pull it off as well as them.

Joshua and Asher's services

2006-07-30T19:05:00.000-07:00

We committed Joshua's ashes to the ground last weekend in a small ceremony with family and friends. This picture is at his little spot in the yard with a tree that we see everytime we pull in and go out, reminding us of him. It was a good thing for us to put dirt down--something a bit final, I guess. My cousin's children each painted a rock for him and put it by his gravesite as well, which was so sweet. I like that it's a place where we can put things and go that will always be around the family.
We also had Asher's baptism, which was a great ending to the day. We sand "For all the saints" as a transition, and, for those of you who are familiar with the hymn, you can imagine there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Such a blessing to think of heaven as our final home, though, and to remember all who have gone before.
You can see lots of pictures of the baptism by clicking on the "view/download photos" link to the right. There's some other recent albums in there as well.

New Stuff

2006-07-24T21:09:00.000-07:00

I've changed some things on our links bar to the right. I've added a few other family links (like my cousin's, Kyle and his wife Melissa, blogs about the year they are spending down under) as well as some media links that you should check out. You can view more photos and download whole albums on our photo site (although I don't have a whole lot there yet - more coming soon!).

I also haven't had a chance to get any video up yet, but I hope to post Joshua's committal service as well as Asher's baptism soon. They are both pretty short and I'll try to get the file size down on those. Check back for those soon.

a year ago today...

2006-07-21T07:49:00.000-07:00

some of you may remember reading about our son joshua last year. well, it was exactly one year ago today that we watched him be born. you can read about that starting here (then here, next here, and then jump ahead in the story to here - these should at least fill you in).

i wanted to take a moment today to honor the son i'll never know. i'll never have the chance to help him bait a hook or wait patiently for that first deer to emerge from the trees. i'll never get to read stories, pray and tuck him in at night. i'll never see him do a lot of things - but i will see him again. in fact, i'll get to see him without a lot of things. without the baggage of this difficult life. without the roughness and toughness that the pain of life brings.

i'm sad today as i reflect on a full year since joshua's birth. i can't believe we have been blessed with another son, just 3 weeks ago. Asher will never know his brother joshua. tomorrow we'll be placing joshua's ashes in the earth under a beautiful tree on our south dakota paradise. we'll also be baptizing Asher and thus is the irony of this life and this upside-down kingdom that we are a part of - death is actually a gateway to life.

please pray for us today and tomorrow as we remember the little boy, joshua, who never took a breath, but changed our lives forever. god rest his soul.

Firsts

2006-07-17T07:50:00.000-07:00

It's a joy to go through all the "firsts" again with Asher--first bath, first bottle--even as we quickly approach Joshua's birthday and mourn our loss of these baby days with him. The Lord was gracious to give us Asher before the year anniversary. It is much more peaceful in my heart to have him out of the womb and healthy.

Family has started to arrive this week to see Asher and in preparation for Joshua's burial and Asher's baptism. It's going to get hectic, but so wonderful that our family is always here to support us.

2006-07-11T11:14:00.000-07:00

So here's a few more Asher pictures (I'm shameless, really). I enjoy taking black and white film pictures and was trying to get a few shots for Asher's birth announcements. I got some great shots, but unfortunately the film was heat damaged and they came back too grainy for prints. They don't look too bad on a computer, though.

Mommy's little helper

2006-07-06T15:43:00.000-07:00

Bridger is such a great big brother. He's constantly wanting to hold Asher, kiss him, hug him and give him his binky. My favorite is he'll be playing and say "I'm just going to check on Asher" and he'll go over to the swing or bouncy seat and give him a kiss. Sometimes the affection is a little rough, but it really is a blessing to have him be excited and not jealous--yet, that is.

A few more Asher shots

2006-07-02T19:27:00.000-07:00

Here's a few more pictures of Asher. He looks a lot like Bridger as a baby, but he has less hair and it's definitely lighter as you can see in the pictures. He has blue eyes, though they're dark so they may go to brown. Bridger was born with chocolate brown eyes, though, so that's another difference. Asher's eating well and letting mom get a little bit of sleep.

It's a Boy!

2006-07-01T12:04:00.000-07:00

Our third son, Asher Knox, was born Thursday, June 29th at 8:34pm. He weighed in at 7 pounds, 6 ounces, was 19 3/4 inches long and apparently had a head circumference in the 90th percentile. I could have probably guessed this as he presented the most challenge for me at the end, especially with "only the bullet for anesthesia" as the doctor put it. I can't really complain, though, because labor was a short 6 hours this time compared to 18 and 24 before. Asher has dark blue eyes and light brownish blonde hair. Both mom and baby are in good health and home today.
Bridger was able to come to see him just a few minutes after he was born and he is such a sweet big brother already. He literally giggles with joy when Asher does anything.

Thank you all for your prayers. It was a bittersweet time as we remember Joshua as well, but we are truly "blessed" as Asher's name means with this new little bundle.

Bum Genius?

2006-06-24T17:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I bit the bullet and purchased cloth diapers. I've been going back and forth about it since I was educated by our friends the Dominguez-Hultgren family. I did know that cloth was much better for the environment, but I have this distinct memory of my mom wearing a bandana, bent over the toilet washing out my brother's diapers (I was 4 1/2 when he was born). I also vividly remember thinking to myself " I will never do that". However, these days things are much easier and cleaner and involve no bending over the toilet, or so I'm told. The ones I chose BumGenius supposedly adjust to all different sizes so they grow with the baby, plus they have handy velcro. It is an initial investment, but the estimate is that with disposables, you'll spend $2000 per child so $300 is looking good. Wish me luck, I guess!

Random thoughts

2006-06-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

So, I'm less than a week from my due date and getting pretty ready for the whole thing to come to a conclusion. It's not that I'm too uncomfortable, but it just feels like life is a bit on hold. We have so much to do, but have come to a bit of a lull and it just would be convienent to have the baby soon (are you listening, God?).

We've run into several opportunities to have discussions about death with Bridger recently. We got him a beta fish the first week we were here and it died within a week. Then today on the way to check the mail (my parents have a long driveway) Bridger found a tiny baby bunny dead on the road. Thankfully it was not one that my brother or Ryan picked off with the 22 for eating my mom's plants. He was fascinated by it and, of course, every question is followed by at least three "why's" and it gets a little difficult after awhile to explain things.

Why isn't the bunny moving?
The bunny died.
Why?
God made the world so that people and animals die. (1st theological error here, God didn't exactly design it that way...)
Why are there flies around it?
That's another amazing thing that God created, some animals and insects eat dead animals so their flesh goes away. (this started out a good sentence, but then it just went downhill)
Why?
Well because it gives some animals food and then there's not dead animals all over the place.
Can I touch it?
No.
Why?
It's already started to decay and you're in the middle of your snack so your hands would get dirty.
Can I step on it?
No.
Why?
Well, because that's not a respectful thing to do (?)
Where are the bunny's mommy and daddy?

Okay, so you see how this begins to go. At some point I went into the difference between animals dying and people dying and stuck my foot in all kinds of theological errors. Seriously, I become a heritic explaining these things to a 2-year-old, but thankfully he doesn't seem to disturbed by death. According to my grandma, you get kids a dog to teach them about death. I guess living in the country will do you about the same!

Gone Fishin'

2006-06-14T14:29:00.000-07:00

We've been out fishing a few times this week. My folks have a camper about a hour and a half away by several lakes that we like to frequent and there's also lakes around their house. June's a great time for fishing because it's not too hot yet and the fish are still active. Bridger's repritoire now includes blue gills, small-mouth bass, large-mouth bass, perch, crappies and a sea gull. That's right, on his first cast yesterday a gull came down and swooped up his minnow and got hooked. You don't really want to hear about what had to be done to "free" it. No walleyes yet, as he is sad to remark. He's starting to catch on, though he spends a lot of time playing with the minnows and nightcrawlers. When he his paying attention to his rod, he likes to reel it in and push the button to drop the line back in. Despite his lack of prowess, a few days ago in the boat he caught five fish before the rest of us even had a bite. Must be a natural.

A few moments for hobbies...

2006-06-13T12:02:00.000-07:00

This is a quilt I made for my youngest cousin Emily's graduation this June. It's a scrap quilt, which was really fun to try. Emily is a free spirit so I felt alright going with something a little less conventional for her. Next project is a wall-hanging I've been drawing out for over a year now to celebrate Joshua's life. I also just picked fabric for Bridger's bed quilt last week. If you couldn't guess, it's going to have an animal theme.

On the Farm

2006-06-10T12:08:00.000-07:00

I wanted to throw in a few illustrative pictures of what we've been doing around here the last few weeks. My parents live on an acerage 9 miles out of town which makes the place a little boy's dream. We're outside most of the day and I am thankful not to have the busy Brooke Road to contend with anymore, though we do have some crazy UPS drivers in our driveway from time to time so Bridger doesn't quite have the run of the place.
We planted a garden and Bridger got a standing sandbox and water table. The hose and rocks have also been favorites. Ryan's been mowing the lawn and finishing my parents' basement--rugged work after all that cerebral stuff. I've been enjoying walks and sitting out on the patio swing with Bridger. Even though Ryan and I feel stressed with fundraising, ordination and a ticking uterus, life seems slower out here.

Thoughts on Leaving

2006-06-04T19:29:00.000-07:00

So, I've been meaning to post a few thoughts on leaving our home of five years, but I keep thinking I'll gain some emotional insight that will allow me to encapsulate my experience. This insight continues to allude me. What I do know is that we came to Philadelphia without knowing a soul and the first few months were very lonely as I was at an awful job and we were not yet really connected with New Life. Plus, we had entered the post-college state where the ease of meeting people grinds to the pace of a sloth, especially when everyone you know has kids and has a total of two hours per month available to hang out.
It's amazing to think that five years later we have left so many relationships that feel like they've been life-long. The last week we were here, our dear friends Lise and Heidi threw us two going-away parties, even though their schedules were packed. These were such wonderful events where we were able to say goodbye to so many people in a memorable way--there were many words spoken to us that we will never forget. And now that we're away and looking to move on to where we will be starting from scratch again (only this time with our out-going little Bridger to help us along) we are encouraged by our friends out in Philly. Keep a spare room open for us to come back and visit!

Moving

2006-05-31T20:31:00.000-07:00

So, we've moved now as you probably know. We're scheduled to get our truck-load of things tomorrow, which we are ready for as we keep feeling about half-settled with so many things still in transit. We had a rather unorthodox moving experience, at least to my knowledge. We had a company drop off a big semi trailer, which we packed and squeezed (because we paid by the linear foot), we strapped everything down and they came to pick it up and add freight to the rest of the trailer for the ride across the country. It was cheaper than UHaul and we didn't have to drive it. However, it was a little stressful trying to squeeze everthing and make sure it wasn't going to shift too much during transit. I guess we get to see tomorrow whether any belongings are ruined. Thank you to everyone who helped. We had about 20 people who helped pack, load or entertain Bridger during the two days we had the truck.

Graduation Festivities

2006-05-30T13:17:00.000-07:00

As we have decompressed a few notches here after the move, it's time to reflect on what actually happened to us in the last couple of weeks. Ryan has officially graduated Westminster Theological Seminary with an MDiv degree. He finished in three years, though the program really is designed to take four (and WTS has no summer classes so he just squeezed it all in the semesters). Although Ryan has a tendency to downplay his accomplishments, this really is a big deal and I am proud of him. The Lord was definitely with us from the beginning, giving Ryan the strength and stamina--as we look back we realize this truth even more.
Last Wednesday night WTS had a banquet for their graduates at The Presidential, which was really more upscale than we were thinking it was going to be. We arrived not dressed in formal attire, as we were supposed to. We looked nice, but not exactly suit and tie. Truth be told, we lost the invitation months ago, but regardless all of our clothes were already packed on the truck and there was nothing we could have done anyway. All the graduates were able to take the podium and say a few words about where they had been and where they were going. Ryan was able to artfully explain his attire as only a trained public speaker could, I guess. The picture is of us and the Cryders at the event.

Graduation was Thursday afternoon. Two hours before the ceremony Ryan was caked in dirt from finishing up loading the truck and all our belongings were packed away behind straps and a bulkhead. The speakers were fabulous and the ceremony was very poingent for me, though I'm not sure it hit either of us that it was really true. Here are a few pics of the graduation.

We made it!

2006-05-29T05:36:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to let everyone know that we made it safely to South Dakota. The flight was fine and no one bothered me about being 35 weeks pregnant. Ryan traveled with Mark for half of the first day and then on his own for the next 18 hours or so (over two days) and we're all here safely--thanks for your prayers. I promise there is more to come about our last week in philly...

2006-05-22T08:02:00.000-07:00

This is probably the last time in a week or two that I'll have a chance to blog. We're packing up our computer soon and I wouldn't have time anyway, I suppose. Saying goodbye is getting difficult and we're looking forward to a momentous week of even more goodbyes, graduation and watching Philadelphia go out the airplane window. This weekend was such a sweet time as we saw many friends who we will miss dearly. I can barely clear my thoughts to write about how all this is affecting us yet, but I know I tear up everytime I hear Bridger say to one of his friends "we're moving far, far away and I won't see you for a couple of days".

Moving update!

2006-05-16T05:20:00.000-07:00

After a gloriously successful yard sale last Saturday, the apartment is actually starting to look like it's being vacated. This brings me to the reality that we're leaving in 10 days. We want to see everyone we know around here in that time so we can say goodbye! Here's our schedule:

Saturday, May 20th: Ryan will be done with finals and we'll be packing up the house--stop by!

Sunday, May 21st: Going-away open house at New Life Church in Glenside from 3-5. All are welcome.

Monday, May 22nd: More packing at the apartment--come by and see us.

Tuesday, May 23rd: More packing during the day and loading up the truck in the evening--if anyone can help please let me know.

Wednesday, May 24th: More loading of the truck--still needing help and open to any visitors.

Thursday, May 25th: Ryan's graduation at 2:00 at Calvary church of Souderton. All are welcome at the commencement.

Friday, May 26th: Flying/driving out of here--we hope we didn't miss you, but keep checking the blog for family updates.

I trust in God's unfailing love.

2006-05-15T20:02:00.000-07:00

I have been to the women's retreat 5 times now, which seems crazy to me. This one will probably be my last, though I'm still hoping for a mother's day flight out some year to rejoin my friends (hint hint, Ryan). This year was the best one I have been to. I should start out by saying that my first year was a disaster where I didn't know anyone and somehow erroneously thought that the retreat was a time to meet people--this is not the case--the retreat is a time to deepen relationships with people you already know. Anyway, this year was a great group of women--some new friends and some old, but we all clicked very well. Plus, I got to spend time with friends I never see and might never get a chance to have a long conversation with again. The weather was beautiful--the first time in five years when it's been sunny and warm. Most of all, Andree (the speaker) was really tapping into what I needed to hear. How do we trust in God when circumstances make us freak out? This was so timely because of Bridger's illness the week before (it was so bad they were testing him for mono, liver damage and leukemia). I only hope this message will continue to penetrate my heart. Thanks to all my girlfriends who made my time at the retreat--and my time here in Philadelphia--such a blessing.

The last few weeks

2006-05-12T07:47:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks seem like a whirlwind of activity and I guess blogging has been pushed to the back burner. Here's what's been going on:

April 25-29--Ryan and Bridger fly to Denver for a presbytery meeting (Ryan) and hanging out with the grandparents (Bridger). The picture above is from his time there with nana and papa. I stayed home and finished a quilt, cleaned out the entire basement, priced a thousand items for our garage sale, and managed a little hanging with friends and sleeping too. I didn't really want to blog about this during this time because I'm always a little scared in the apartment alone and somehow I feel safer if less people know.

April 29-May 5th--Bridger returns extremely sick and we hit the ER and doctor's office four times this week. He ended up having a strep infection that necessitated steriods, antibiotics, and a week's worth of rest to kick. I took the week off and layed on the couch with Bridger and forced him to eat popcicles. Good news is he is back to his old self now and had a doctor's appointment yesterday where they pronounced him a perfectly healthy 2 1/2-year-old in the 50th percentile (we Sutherlands are usually pretty average).

May 5th-7th--Women's retreat (I'll blog more about this)

And this week has been getting back to work, packing, selling stuff on craig's list (fabulous site, by the way) and starting to get sad about all the goodbyes.

The joy of a fort

2006-04-21T12:17:00.000-07:00

Here is a great photo of Bridger sleeping in his "fort". Ryan built it for him a couple of weeks ago and it's been a constant playmate since then. It's also a pretty good hiding spot when he doesn't want to obey as well, so mom and dad have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the fort. Ryan let Bridger nap in there last week and this might give you a small taste of Bridger's sleeping habits. He has every blanket possible around him, stuffed animals underneath and around, and to top things off many animal figurines set up next to him (he plays with them until he falls asleep). Usually he's sleeping on four or five books as well.

He is Risen!

2006-04-17T09:58:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter this year with beautiful weather. After an early-morning pajama egg hunt through the house (which included wrapped candy that we didn't notice Bridger could open until he was well into his third chocolate egg), we got in our Easter finest and headed to church. Being 7 months pregnant, my Easter finest is pretty much whatever still fits that looks remotely festive, but Bridger had a brand-new outfit and was looking especially cute. New Life had an uplifting and enjoyable service during which we were tangibly aware that our church-plant probably won't have a brass band for upcoming Easter services any time soon. Bridger has begun to understand the true Easter story this year as we've been reading books about it and talking. We tried to bring it up a lot yesterday so as not to have him think Easter was completely about chocolate and bunnies. After a long nap for everyone, we headed to a friend's house for a lovely Easter dinner and the kids played and ate themselves silly. I hope you enjoy these photos from our day. I'm just thrilled that there's a few decent ones of me and Bridger. I normally go months without appearing in a single shot, but this Easter I have proven I exist for posterity.

The Tempest

2006-04-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I enjoyed The Tempest this weekend, which is part of the Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival. The tickets and babysitting were courtesy of some friends for my birthday. It was great to have a night out. The Tempest is one of my favorite Shakespearian plays and the acting on this one was superb. Ryan counts it as one of the top plays he's ever seen, and he actually has seen quite a few for those of you that might think this is a shallow complement.

Picky eater?

2006-04-10T12:21:00.000-07:00

We've been making a bit of progress with Bridger's eating habits. He became a picky eater sometime last year when instead of adding new foods, he decreased the food he would eat dramatically. Breakfast has never been a problem--he's had sausage every morning of his life since he turned one (see photo). Although he's always eaten a variety of food groups, it was getting on my nerves having to always make something different for him for dinner than what Ryan and I were eating. So, last month we started making him eat some of what we eat. First we started with making him take a bite and if he didn't like it he could spit it out (he always spit it out). Then, he had to take one bite and swallow it. Now, he has to eat a few bites of everything. It's such a beautiful thing to actually see progress in him. A few weeks ago every dinnertime lead to tears, tantrums, prayers, and usually spankings, but now he is consistently eating more and more bites, though there's still some occasional tears (and sometimes he asks us to hold his hand like he's going through a medical procedure or something). The Lord is faithful!

Wicked

2006-03-31T08:16:00.000-08:00

Ryan and I went out with my co-workers this Wednesday night to the touring Broadway show that's currently in Philly--Wicked. Several times a year my office foots the bill for the cultural advancement of its employees and their spouses (we have a 7-person office). This has been one of the main perks of my job as we have gotten to see sporting events, plays, ballets, musicals, museum exhibits and even the Cirque du Soleil--all of which we never would have been able to afford ourselves. Plus, the nights come with an expense-paid dinner at some of Philly's finest.
Anyway, I found the play to make a very interesting comment on our society. The basic plot is the "back-story" of the wicked witch of the west from the Wizard of Oz (adapted from the book of the same name). It cleverly weaves all the characters from the original movie and tries to explain why this witch was Wicked--if she even was wicked at all. The part I really liked about this was that it flushed out many of our culture's bias based on appearance (the witch was born green) and the herd mentality of believing someone is a villian based on popular opinion. The facet of this that gets under my skin just a bit is the pervasive notion that if someone is doing something wrong, it is because of something in their past that "made them that way" which tends to undermine personal responsibility. To be fair to the play, the "wicked" witch really was good and it was others around her that made her appear bad, but the idea is still there. Has anyone seen this or read the book?

The Sutherland Hotel

2006-03-24T09:42:00.000-08:00

Bridger has been entertaining family guests in his room for the past month or so. First it was Nana and Papa and next Grandma and Grandpa came in early March. While the first set of grandparents got feet of snow, the second set to visit only a few weeks later got 75-degree weather. We took them to Valley Forge for a morning stroll (neither Ryan nor I had been there yet after 5 years of living in the area...). Next came aunt Missy visiting for her spring break. We were able to hit the zoo and enjoy Spanish class. Every guest has slept in Bridger's room on a giant airbed so he's been very accomodating with his play-space. And, of course, the guests have been accomodating because they have to wake up right when he does every morning! It's been great to have visitors to help out, though we are looking forward to having a little more space to entertain guests in Missoula.

Hiccups

2006-03-17T09:52:00.000-08:00

I felt the baby hiccup for the first time today and I couldn't help but be reminded of the first time I felt Joshua hiccup. Although most of pregnancy is filled with strange movements in your mid-section, hiccups are really the only thing that has a completely comparable outside-the-womb counterpart. Hiccups were always extremely upsetting to Bridger and I would have to nurse him everytime he had them (it would make them stop) up until about 4 months when his little self could handle it. Anyway, I remember feeling Joshua hiccup and realizing that I would never see him hiccup outside the womb. There he was, inside with his little diapragm working fine, but that was the closest I would ever get to witnessing his body in action. It made me grateful for the blessings of pregnancy and it makes me grateful today, even though I'm feeling increasingly slow and fat. God's design really is amazing--connecting mother and child for so long before birth. It was a comfort to me to have that connection when I lost Joshua and I can imagine it has been so for many women through the centuries who have lost babies.

Philadelphia

2006-03-13T12:41:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture Ryan took last month when we were downtown one evening. It's really hard to believe that we've lived here almost five years and that we're getting set to move in about two months. We'll definitely miss all our friends dearly.

Bridger's girlfriends

2006-02-28T07:43:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of Bridger with his friends Eden (mid.) and Isabel (left). Their mom is Bridger's regular care-giver while dad is at school and mom is at work. He loves going over there to play and I'm sure he will miss his good friends when we move!

Nana and Papa Visit

2006-02-20T10:26:00.000-08:00

Nana and Papa flew in from Denver last week for a visit (much easier trip than from Alaska). We had grand plans to go to the zoo, but it snowed 18 inches so we were fairly homebound the whole week. Bridger still had a wonderful time. He went to his first movie (Curious George) and made his first trip to Build a Bear, which was a huge hit. You can see his creation "Sno-Mo" in the picture here.

Get posts by Email

2006-02-17T09:55:00.000-08:00

If you're tired of checking if I've updated the blog, you can enter your email in the "subscribe" box to the right. That way, you'll get an email with the new post everytime there is one!

20-Week Ultrasound

2006-02-10T10:41:00.000-08:00

Here is a photo from our 20-week ultrasound this week. The baby was examined six ways to Sunday and pronounced absolutely right on track developmentally. Growth of all the many bones they measure calculates to the exact day of gestation he/she is supposed to be. So, we have graduated from the perinatologist and can now be considered "normal" from now on. Praise God!

Fishy Fun

2006-02-06T05:44:00.000-08:00

Some friends of ours treated us to a day at the Camden Adventure Aquarium this last Saturday. Bridger and his friend Drew had a ball watching all the fish, sharks, and even hippos in the water. Then, after a long day of sea-gazing, the kids hung out with a babysitter and the adults got to go out to dinner and play a few rounds of pool. A very fun day!

New Baby Sutherland

2006-01-26T07:25:00.000-08:00

Introducing our newest family member, who is now 18 weeks gestational age. These pictures are from the most recent of many ultrasounds where we have been assured by the doctors that the baby is in perfect health. Though this has been a difficult few months of anxiousness and fear, God has calmed us throughout the process and we are trusting in Him, not the doctors. We aren't finding out the gender so you can be surprised along with us at the end of June when he or she is due. Bridger is excited to have a new baby brother or sister, though I have a feeling he doesn't quite get the reality of it. Mom's been pregnant before and it didn't change his life much so he thinks he's got this new baby thing figured out. Of course, we don't quite get the reality of it either yet so we'll all be adjusting together.

What I've been reading lately

2006-01-20T14:40:00.000-08:00

I just finished an Isabel Allende reading kick. My office is full of former English majors so I get a lot of recommendations and books are always being passed around. My favorites of the four were Daughter of Fortune (fiction) and Paula (memoir). Portrait in Sepia and The House of Spirits were good, but maybe too much like Daughter of Fortune and I got a bit bored. I would highly recommend her writing, though. The tales are spun moving back and forth through generations and time--similar to Gabriel Garcia-Marquez. Anyone else read these?

Potty Training and other big-boy stuff

2006-01-17T07:03:00.000-08:00

Since we returned from Christmas break, Bridger has decided to make some large and grown-up strides. He is now potty- trained (he's still in a diaper at night, but sporting underoos all day). He's also into taking showers like mom and dad, though sometimes still succumbs to the joys of bath toys. And he's out of the crib (sort of) as it converts to a toddler bed. The next thing we'll tackle are those pesky binkies! With all of these transitions, he doesn't seem phased a bit, so I guess that bodes well for a church-planter's son. This is a picture of his first night in the bed. I have cute ones of him in the shower and with his underoos, but I was feeling he might be a bit old to be that exposed on the internet...

Christmas

2006-01-03T09:58:00.001-08:00

We flew to South Dakota to visit family this Christmas and we had a great time. We had tons of snow, but pretty warm weather, lots of relatives, and LOTS of food. Bridger, of course, had a great time. Here is a photo gallery of some of the things we did.

Made lots of Christmas cookies and ate them all.
Cut Bridger and Joshua a Christmas tree from the shelterbelt.

Went 4-wheeling and pulled the sled during our white, snowy week.

Spent time with the 21 family members who stayed at my parents' house for several days.

And, of course, opened lots and lots of presents!

Log Cabin Quilt

2005-12-19T17:49:00.000-08:00

I finally finished this enormous log cabin quilt I've been working on for about 9 months just the other day. It's one we actually get to keep (I'm always quilting for gifts and to sell). As you can see in the pictures, it's too big to even photograph entirely (109' x 109'). It's really a king-sized quilt and we only have a queen-sized bed, but I like quilts to almost go to the floor. I hand-quilted a ton of this thing and I am so glad to finally have it on the bed.

Christmas tree and snow!

2005-12-16T07:44:00.000-08:00

We put up our Christmas tree a few weeks ago and it's been a fun addition to the apartment. Bridger's favorite Christmas decoration is the advent calendar filled with candy. He asks for it about 20 times a day even though he knows he's already gotten the candy out for that day.We've had some great snows here in the last few weeks, though it's all gone now. Snow is rare in December here, but we love it. Bridger doesn't really like the bundling, but he loves to sled and make snowmen.

Quilting Projects

2005-11-26T19:04:00.000-08:00

I quilted several of these wallhangings as well as many different Christmas stockings like this one for the New Life Church craft show this year.

Unfortunately, there were more sellers than attendees to that craft show so not many of them moved...

I did end up selling several leftovers on Ebay, though. Maybe in Missoula I'll have better luck with craft shows.

Bridger's 2nd Birthday

2005-11-07T08:25:00.000-08:00

Bridger had his 2nd Birthday party on Saturday, November 5th complete with 8 circa 2-year-olds to join in the festivities.

Mom made a Brown Bear cake, which all the kids devoured.

The weather was unseasonably warm so we were thankful the kids had a larger place to play outside than they would have in our apartment.

This birthday was especially wonderful because we had spent the entire day before down at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia with Bridger. His pediatrician had noticed a murmur and an arrhythmia that he was concerned about. So, Bridger had an echo and an ekg and saw the cardiologist who completely cleared him of any issues. Praise the Lord!

Halloween

2005-11-01T06:21:00.000-08:00

Here's Bridger and his friend Drew at a Halloween bash down in Elfreth's Alley in the city
Here's Bridger trick-or-treating. He figured out that candy thing right away and he also noticed that the cuter he was and the longer he stayed at each place, the more candy he got!
Here's the aftermath. Two suckers and a tuckered out boy laying on his spoils.

Pumpkin Patch

2005-10-31T09:19:00.000-08:00

Bridger and mom hit Linvilla orchard's pumpkin patch and orchard last week. It was a great fall outing.

A few pics

2005-10-11T09:36:00.000-07:00

I don't really need an excuse to post cute pictures of Bridger, do I?

I love the one where he's looking up at me--it's what I see all day.

Wedding fun

2005-09-30T11:33:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was the wedding of some close friends of ours: Lino and Julie. We trekked up to Jamestown, NY for the festivities. Ryan was preaching (his first wedding) and Bridger was the ring-bearer so we were busy and doing lots of dressing up. The highlight for Bridger was jumping into the hotel pool about 100 times. He wasn't too excited about getting into his tuxedo, but he received lots of attention in it so I think he grew to like it. Here's Bridger nervously waiting for his turn down the aisle. He got scared about half-way up and ran back to mom, but he made up for it with some dancing moves at the reception. He flirted incessently with the flower girl and ran around like a maniac.

Nova Scotia/PEI trip

2005-09-27T09:25:00.000-07:00

I've been intimidated a bit by this vacation post because it's hard to condense it into something short so it's taken me awhile, but I finally decided just to bite the bullet and post something. We had a great nine days driving around Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island at the end of August. We flew into Halifax and then stayed at various B&B's as we traveled. It was really what we needed in terms of a vacation--lots of outdoors and scenery and not many tourists.
These first two pictures are of Hall's Harbour on the north shore of Nova Scotia where we marked our first evening with a lobster dinner and throwing rocks in the ocean (this will be a recurring theme). This next picture is of Cape Split, a rock formation we hiked out to. We were told the hike was 10k's but it ended up being 10 miles with Bridger in the backpack. It was exhausting, but worth it. We drove across a long bridge over to PEI on the way over, but on the way back we took a ferry and saw a few whales and seals even though it was rainy and foggy. This last photo is of the three of us after we had hiked into a waterfall. This hike was not nearly as long and Bridger got to walk a bit of it himself. All in all it was a full, but relaxing vacation.

We are creating a new blog dedicated entirely to our vacation at http://tourpei.blogspot.com. Check it out.

Madison, WI

2005-08-25T10:34:00.000-07:00

On our way home from South Dakota, we stopped in at our cousin's place in Madison, WI. They just moved from out east and we were so glad to be able to see them. Here's a few pictures of the cute kiddies eating outside and heading into the zoo:

Joshua's birth announcement

2005-08-24T11:37:00.000-07:00

We just sent out these birth announcements for Joshua. We wanted to celebrate his birth just as we did with Bridger and especially wanted people far away to be able to see pictures and have something tangible to remember him by.

I guess we like long car trips...

2005-08-23T13:01:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago we decided at the spur of the moment to take off and drive to Brookings, South Dakota, where Rachel's parents live. We really felt like we were entering life again too quickly after Joshua's death and we needed time as a family. Well we had 24 hours in the car together in two days and then a wonderful time together relaxing with family in Brookings. Bridger had run of the farm and we spent time reflecting, reading, putting together Joshua's baby book. The grandparents loved it, of course. Here's a picture of them with Bridger eating ice cream (Bridger barely came up for air, as you can see).
Here's one of Bridger as an enthusiastic fisherman (he didn't catch anything, but he loved being in the boat):We made it home in 22 driving hours and Bridger entertained himself pretty well. His favorite toys are his animals:

Joshua Ryan Sutherland

2005-08-07T12:44:00.000-07:00

Our son Joshua was born at 10:53 on July 21st, 2005. We did not hear him cry or see him open his clear-blue eyes because the Lord had already taken Joshua to be with Him. Many of you who are in the area attended his memorial service on July 24th, but for those of you who were not able to attend, you can watch a tape of the service by clicking here.

Both sets of Joshua's grandparents as well as his brother Bridger came up to see him in the hospital, to hold his broken body. It was a strange mix of joy and sadness to see the face of our son, knowing that he is now perfected in heaven, but still missing him dearly on earth.
Below is a picture of Bridger giving Joshua "fist". He still talks about his brother and loves to kiss his pictures. Joshua's face appears dark because he was badly bruised through labor and delivery. You canstill tell how beautiful he is, though.

We thank you all for your prayers and encouragement during the past few months. The life of Joshua has made us yearn very deeply to have Christ make all things new. Heaven becomes more real to us as it is populated by our loved ones.

4th of July

2005-07-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

We had a crazy and fun 4th of July weekend. Bridger and mom hit the pool Saturday while Ryan helped some of our friends jack-hammer their front porch and steps for the day. Sunday after church we all went to the pool again and then Bridger had a sleep-over at his friend's house while Ryan and I went to the evening Phillies game with some friends. Monday morning we got up early and headed to the zoo. This was Ryan's idea and, admittedly, I was skeptical that it would be packed, but it was completely empty and we had beautiful morning weather. That evening we met several friends for a picnic in the park and the kids played until dusk. We skipped both the parade and the fireworks, but it was a great 4th. Here's a picture of Ryan and Bridger at the zoo watching the polar bear and also the slough of kids at the park:

June musings

2005-07-07T07:04:00.000-07:00

We have had lots of fun in June this year as the weather has been glorious. I honestly cannot remember a better spring/summer than this--especially in Philly. There's been hardly any rain and actually only a few heat waves with major humidity. Bugs are few and sunsets are beautiful. Bridger has been hitting the pool often and getting more and more comfortable with "swimming" (ie. kicking his legs while we hold his hands and swirl him all around). Now that Bridger's a big boy, he gets regular haircuts and he sits pretty still for them:

We also hit the Jersey shore again with beautiful beach weather:

On Father's Day we had a picnic and went, for lack of a better word, hiking, although it was mostly walking on a trail by a creek. Bridger could have thrown rocks in the water forever. Here's a picnic picture and a cute sleeping Bridger on the ride home from all the fun:

3D Ultrasound Pictures of Joshua

2005-06-11T12:59:00.000-07:00

Some friends of ours gave us a gift certificate to a place called A Womb with a View which offers parents a 3D ultrasound view of their child. We enjoyed our visit, though Joshua's positioning never was perfect for a face picture. You can see the best shot we have of him (half covered by my pelvis) below--it's a close-up of his face with his eye to the left, you can see nose, lips, chin, and then his arm is up to his face on the far right. Then we've got a picture of his legs and feet, and one of his hand.

We have scheduled Joshua's birth for July 21st and would appreciate prayer for our hearts leading up to that date and also for the delivery and the time the Lord will give us with him. We are also tentatively planning a memorial service for Sunday evening the 24th. Thank you for your continued support and we will keep you updated.

Trips to the zoo and beach

2005-06-05T15:08:00.000-07:00

Grandma Carla came out for a week in May to visit and we hit the zoo. Bridger's really into animals so it was exciting for him. He had lots of fun that week playing with grandma. Here's a few pictures of us at the zoo:

We also hit the beach for Memorial Day weekend with some friends. Bridger loved the sand and water and especially the beach house where the entire lawn was rocks (he thought he died and went to heaven). Here is a picture of him hanging with his friend Drew at the beach and also out on the dock (if you look closely, you'll see the rocks clutched in his grip):

Spring semester almost over!

2005-05-17T18:27:00.000-07:00

Ryan finishes finals tomorrow morning, thankfully, and then we have somewhat of a break, though he'll have to be working full-time from now on. Bridger is saying new words daily--our favorite new one is turtle because he says it so cute! Joshua is kicking up a storm and mom is feeling fairly well, though getting cramped. Here are a few new pictures of Bridger.

Baby boy

2005-04-20T13:03:00.000-07:00

We had our 24 week ultrasound today and found out that we are having a boy. We have named him Joshua Ryan and you can see some pictures of him below. The first one is his arms crossed in front of his face (always camera-shy) and the second is his footprint.

Happy Easter

2005-04-04T12:48:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed the celebration of Easter here in Glenside with some friends. Even though it was still a little cold outside, we managed an egg hunt and Bridger got the idea pretty well.

Bridger's joy

2005-03-07T12:07:00.000-08:00

Bridger has been a sweet boy lately and I wanted to post a few new photos of his antics. He loves to be outside in the snow, though it doesn't last long here. He now refuses to eat anything that he doesn't put into his mouth himself so we have lots of messes with the spoon, but he's getting better and he has to learn somehow.

Child of God

2005-02-25T17:19:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of the newest Sutherland child. Most of you who come to this page will know that this baby has been diagnosed with a severe birth defect which the doctors say is not compatible with life outside the womb. However, our baby is still very much alive and we love it as much as we do Bridger. We are willing to let our child go directly to heaven if that is God's will, but we are also praying for a miracle. Please join us.

Winter fun

2005-02-08T08:49:00.000-08:00

Our family has been busier than ever this Christmas "break" with flight trips and driving trips all over the place. Now the Spring semester has started and we are back a bit to the grind, though it seems almost like a break! We have found some time to enjoy the winter weather.

Christmas

2005-01-13T07:59:00.000-08:00

We have had a busy last few months as the Dieter family joined us for the week of Christmas and then we flew out to Denver for the week of New Years to spend time with the Sutherland side. Bridger also learned to walk in December, so he's a regular toddler now.

Thanksgiving

2004-12-09T12:11:00.000-08:00

We traveled home for Thanksgiving and for a little surprise birthday party for Carla. Bridger's getting to be a big boy--walking like a pro now and eating all sorts of new things as you can see below.

Time with the 6 Bohrers

2004-11-18T20:08:00.000-08:00

Bridger and Rachel flew up to New Hampshire last weekend to see Noah, the newest addition to the Bohrer family, as well as the rest of the crew. Anna followed Bridger around trying to kiss him constantly. He would give her a few kisses and then run away.

FIRST BIRTHDAY

2004-11-15T05:58:00.000-08:00

Bridger's 1st birthday was November 5th and we had a party with 7 other kids his age so it was a bit chaotic. We didn't try any games but had lots of cake, even though Bridger wasn't much intrested in eating his. Here are some photos:

looking for bread...?

2004-11-10T19:17:00.000-08:00

ryan has a new blog with this title. he will try to use it to post things in his head as well as provide resources for you to check out. we will keep suther land to keep you updated about the family and bridger, but ryan may also include his personal thoughts about the family too, so check him out often at http://lookingforbread.blogspot.com or click the link to the right.

Halloween!

2004-11-02T05:41:00.000-08:00

Bridger dressed up as a smashing little tiger and played with some friends of his for halloween. We did let him have some tastes of candy. I can tell you right now he's going to love chocolate like his parents!

Travels to Bozeman

2004-11-01T06:35:00.000-08:00

The Sutherland family enjoyed a trip to Bozeman and Gardiner this month as we saw many old friends and Ryan met with church leaders there about planting churches in Montana. Bridger loved the mountains, especially his own mountain range.

Here we are outside of Bozeman Here's Bridger with aunt Missy who drove from CO

Pumpkin time

2004-10-18T05:17:00.000-07:00

While Grandma was visiting we went to play at a pumpkin farm. Bridger looked all around and kept saying "ball, ball" as he saw each of the pumpkins. Everything's a ball in his world!

Grandma Carla comes to play

2004-10-14T05:41:00.000-07:00

Grandma came for almost a week this month to hang out with all of us, but mostly Bridger. She did some great babysitting for us and Bridger loved it! We visited the pumpkin patch and shopped at Peddler's Village (a quaint little shopping area in Bucks County near our house). It was wonderful to see her.

Tooth finally breaks through!

2004-10-05T05:48:00.000-07:00

Bridger's first tooth broke through today--actually two of them at once. His front top two are now crunching on his food and he wasn't bothered by it at all (although he's been "teething" for about six months now).

What will we do when winter comes?

2004-10-04T11:44:00.000-07:00

Big Boy

2004-09-26T08:05:00.000-07:00

Bridger is doing lots of fun new things like giving good "fives", riding on his toys, even walking behind his rolling contraptions. His new words are "hi" and "ball"

Enjoying the outdoors

2004-09-23T06:02:00.000-07:00

We have been having wonderful early fall weather and Bridger is loving getting outside. We don't know how the winter will be because Bridger is such an outdoor boy, but for now we're getting outside as much as possible!

Nana and Papa visit

2004-09-09T08:44:00.000-07:00

Nana and Papa Sutherland came all the way from Alaska to visit for the week last week. Bridger was very entertaining, as usual. Ryan and Rachel took advantage of the babysitting and went away for a day for our 3rd anniversary. It was a great visit.

Squeezed into the car ---------------Outdoors enjoying the end of summer

Playing ball with Nana -------------------Boys Taking a break from Shopping

Away at the Bed and Breakfast -----------Swimming with mom

Enjoying Food

2004-08-30T07:12:00.000-07:00

Bridger is now eating an array of table food. Spaghetti is one of his new favorites, especially since he can get it all over his face!

First big scrape

2004-08-16T06:08:00.000-07:00

Now that Bridger's crawling, mom and dad have to change our mindset a little bit as we forget how quickly he moves. This weekend Ryan was outside talking to someone and had left our door open. Soon Bridger had crawled out to the outside door and took a dive right off the step. He scraped up his face pretty good, but he was fine. He's a born daredevil--always trying to dive off things. Here are a few pictures of him trying to be a big boy.

Bridger weighs in

2004-08-12T06:03:00.000-07:00

At Bridger's nine month appointment, we discovered that he is a good 20 1/2 pounds, though we'd swear he weighs more when we're carrying him around. He's also grown a couple of inches of height. Here are a few pictures:

Old friend visits

2004-08-11T15:05:00.000-07:00

Seth Neal, a very old friend of Ryans and a moderately old friend of Rachel's visited this week. He got to see a little of what it was like to have a baby around the house and I'm sure will be grateful to go back to a little peace and quiet. Bridger loved having a new playmate, though.

Nine months old

2004-08-05T11:40:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
Bridger had his 9-month pictures yesterday and they are online to view. Don't worry, you'll probably get some hard copies, but those aren't ready for a few weeks so here's a preview:
https://www.searsphotos.com/?shareid=S201859447l25Z4D5B957