God has blessed Bryan and I with two special children.  From the day that Ty was born Blakely has loved him so fiercely!  She has been gentle, patient, affectionate, and protective.   I was so worried that Blakely would have to grow up too fast with another baby so close to her age.  Our pediatrician told me that she would never remember life without Ty.  After watching them interact with each other over the past 10 months I would not change that for the world.  Blakely told me today that "Brother" is her best friend.  I can't wait to watch them grow into this special relationship that they have with each other.

For all of you that know Blakely this will not come as any surprise.  For Halloween this year Blakely was going to be a bumble bee and Ty was Pooh.  Her bumble bee costume was very cute and all girl!  She thought it was great also, until she saw that her brother was going to be Winnie the Pooh.  Then it was all over!  I had bought Ty a costume on ebay and it was huge.  So I found another Pooh costume that was smaller.  So I had an extra Pooh costume sitting around.  Blakely was determined that if she couldn't be Pooh than neither could her brother.  So she attempted to remove him from his costume several times.  After a battle and much consideration we decided we would have two Pooh bears.  So Blakely wore a 6-12 month costume and was very excited that she and brother were bears together.  So much for the cute tutu and tights.  My child is the definition of strong willed.  I think at times that there is no possible way she could have been born into this.  It is so deeply rooted in her that it must be hereditary. 

My precious husband and babies!  

Okay, so I know that some of these pictures are really old.  I just wanted to share some of my favorites from the past.  I will post some more recent ones soon.  

LIVING THE DREAM

Our new family motto is "Living the Dream."  God is good.  He has blessed our family in amazing ways this year.  It has been a year full of change.  God has literally moved our family and set us in a new direction.  Bryan is the new East Campus Pastor at Journey Church and I am co-owner of a property management company with one of my dearest friends.  Our first priority and most important and rewarding job is as parents.  We have two children who are full of life.  God blessed us with a boy and a girl.  Blakely is 2 years and 5 months and Ty Lawson is 10 months old.  

Just to summarize our 2008. . . . We lost my Grandmother in February and Bryan's Grandfather in August.  Our son was born in March.  Blakely turned 2 years old in August.  I went back to work building a business in July.  We celebrated 5 years of marriage with a trip to Mexico in October.  We moved across town and out of our comfort zone in November.  Bryan accepted a new job at Journey Church in December.  Then we rang in the New Year with old and new friends.

I was going to send out a Christmas letter this year.  However, plans changed when I was sick over Christmas.  After an emergency room trip and two route canals.  I decided that a Christmas letter was not a priority this year.  So instead I have decided to start blogging.  My friends have inspired me through their blogs.  I love reading about all of their families and looking at pictures.  I am constantly being asked for pictures of our children.  So here it is, a Waldenville family update.  I hope I can keep this going!    

We are at a wonderful place in our lives.  Our family is complete and we are feeling God's direction for our lives.  Bryan and I are in a small group at Journey Church.  It is a new experience for us both.  We have never been able to attend Sunday School together in our adult life.  It has given us a community of believers who we can "do life with."  It has been a constant joy and something that we look forward to every week.  It has encouraged us to take our spiritual lives to the next level.  We are both pressing into the intimate relationship that the Lord desires from us.  He continues to pour out his blessings on us. 

We love you all!  I hope you enjoy our updates.  Please let us know what is going on in all of your lives.  We really enjoy pictures and watching other families grow. 

Blessings,  

Bryan, Zan, Blakely, and Ty Waldenville