Merry Christmas, 2012!

 Merry Christmas and thanks for stopping by to catch up! So, what have the Binghams been up to? Well, we'll tell ya!

Dan continues to work as the General Manager at Hill Threaded Products where they have been enjoying a record year despite an economy in the dumps. Praise God! He also has guitar students coming to our house on Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings. He is also playing regularly with our church’s worship team. 

Brittney is still a stay-at-home mom. She stays busy being a homemaker, cook, crafter, and hard-core couponer. You can follow her projects at her personal blog www.dahoneydesigns.blogspot.com . It gets updated much more frequently than this one does. 

Ben is now 37 inches tall, 31lbs, and about as talkative as can be....literally...he doesn’t stop talking...even in his sleep. He runs to comfort crying babies, says his own prayers in his own words, and sings “Jesus Loves Me” to his stuffed animals while lying in bed at night. He has lots of buddies, but his bestie is still little Zoe who is 1 month older and lives a few blocks away.

That’s the broad strokes, here’s what we’ve been doing month-by-month. We tend to take a lot of pictures of our little man, so we hope you’re up for seeing them and hearing a little about our 2012. You can actually watch Ben’s ringlets grow as time passes! 

January- 

We started the year hopeful, and enjoyed some much needed down time after the holidays. We started eating healthier and working out. We canceled cable and TiVo, and discovered some wonderful British television like Doctor Who and Downton Abbey that we could watch online. Sadly, only the TV shows have stuck around. ;)

February- 

Brittney and her sister, Heather, trained for and participated in the 1st Annual Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon in Pasadena to benefit Cure Mito. We made it through the 13.1 miles in just over 3 hours, which is pretty good for moms who rarely get time to train without strollers. What a feeling of accomplishment! Thank you to all our friends and family who donated. Together, our team brought in over $11,000!!!! If you aren’t familiar with my nephews (well, where have you been? I talk about them constantly), you can go here to watch a short video about their lives dealing with Mitochondrial Disease

Ben (or Benny as he is more frequently called) enjoyed playing with his best buddy, Zoe, 2-3 days a week while her mom was at work. These 2 really love each other!!

March- 

Brittney began working as a secondary care provider for Jaxen and Maddox (the above-mentioned nephews). This means traveling to Valencia once a week or so to help facilitate therapies, and pitch in around the house. Despite their difficulties, the boys are such a blessing to be around!

April-

We got to have our niece and nephew, Haley and Anthony, for a couple of days during their Spring Break. We had a blast! We did an indoor luau (it was raining). We played Minute to Win It games in the backyard when it was nice. And, we went to Murray Farms and picked peaches and berries. Ben just followed his cousins around, fascinated and completely enamored. He actually did a great job picking berries too!

We attended RiverLakes Community Church worship for Easter at the outdoor ampitheater, and we enjoyed the day at Dad & Doretha’s. Ben is finally old enough to “get” egg hunting, but since he doesn’t really care for sweets (and we don’t offer them often), he was much more fascinated with all the flowers, dirt, and bubbles in the backyard. He sure loves playing at Gogo & Papa Mustache’s house! 

May- 

Dan turned 30! So, I guess we can no longer round our “couple age” into the 20’s. Darn! We had a few friends over to celebrate.

Dan’s mom gave a great gift of tickets to see Greg Laswell! And babysitting!! If you don’t know who Greg Laswell is, check him out here and thank us later: Greg Laswell

June-
We celebrated Father’s Day at Outback with Britt’s dad, eating our weight in steak. And, as soon as it was warm enough, we started enjoying our pool.

July-
We cringed and huffed around the house as the 4th of July fireworks in our neighborhood woke the boy again...and again.... Grrr!! Someday, we’ll look forward to it all again, but for now, we take bedtimes very seriously around here!!!













August-
We headed over to Morro Bay for a week! We stayed in Dan’s Grandpa’s gorgeous house overlooking Morro Rock. Brittney’s sis, Heather, along with her hubby Jeff and the boys, came up for a few days. Great cousin bonding time. We even got to see Britt’s brother, Travis, and his kids, Haley and Anthony. We celebrated Jaxen’s 5th birthday with a Math/flash-card themed cake. A little difficult without the proper tools, but it tasted awesome. Strawberry cake with watermelon frosting at the birthday boy’s request.
We visited all the parks around us, played in the water, and Benny chowed down on some fish and chips....ok, mostly chips. Look at this baby. Isn’t he just a precious gift?


Britt started attending Women’s Bible Study at church onThursdays. And Ben loves getting all the time with his friends and teachers. Apparently, he directs a lot of the playtime in his classroom. So bossy!

September-
We went to see John Mark McMillan in concert here in Bakersfield. Again, thanks to Gogo (grandma) babysitting. So great even though he was sick and there was a poor turnout. If you don’t know who John Mark McMillan is, go here and thank us later: John Mark McMillan

We also celebrated Ben’s 2nd birthday!! We had a 
Gentleman’s Soiree sort of Downton Abbey themed. The kids got stick horses and trophy cups as favors. Not a lot of great pictures, but it was overcast, and hey! we were busy having fun!! We can’t believe how fast he’s growing. His catch-phrases now are, “Oh yeah,” “Hi, whatchu doing?”, and “Please, want more...” Oh! And he likes to sing, “Who can it be now?” and “Oh, oh, it’s magic, you know...never believe it’s not so...” Ha! What are we teaching him?

October-
Britt celebrated her 32nd birthday....wait, can I just make that 30? I think that’s fair. We went to dinner with our friends the Smiths at the hoighty-toighty Belvedere Room at the Padre Hotel. So schmancy!
We hit up the pumpkin patch scene all over southern California. Once with Dan’s family, and once with Britt’s. It was weeks before Ben stopped asking to go to the pumpkin patch. I’m talking Christmas trees in those lots before he stopped asking. Now, he keeps asking to go to the tree lot, but that’s a different problem. 

Ben dressed up as the 11th Doctor from Doctor Who for Halloween. He had his first Trick or Treating experience. He was far more interested in pushing the “ring bell” than getting candy. Though at the first house, the neighbor bent down to hold the bowl out and let him chose his own and he tried to take the whole bowl from her! Ha!

 November-

We hosted a blend of our 2 families at our house for Thanksgiving. We even had a few friends for a total of 17! Busting at the seams, but lots of food to go around. Thankfully, Dan was able to set up our new big-ol’ TV so the guys could watch the games. Wouldn’t want to miss that, now would we? ;)

Our church hosted an awesome Christmas concert featuring Lincoln Brewster. It melted our faces off. We took a couple of Dan’s students with us. They thought it was a bit churchy. Hello! That’s the point, guys. So, we’re looking forward to growing those relationships in 2013.

December-

We’ve got our house decked out for the season, and are preparing to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary this month. Wow! Time flies. We are looking forward to spending some time with family and friends throughout the rest of the year. We hope that you will do the same. May God bless you richly in 2013!

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:14

Merry Christmas 2011!

Merry Christmas to all our loved ones! We hope that this year has been one filled with love, laughter, growth, and peace!

The Bingham clan has been up to our usual tricks. We haven’t done much traveling this year, but, thanks to the grandparents’ babysitting, we have sneaked away to see U2, Switchfoot, and the Civil Wars in concert, and even got a couple of days in Las Vegas for the annual Fasteners Show.

Dan continues to work as the GM for Hill Threaded Products where, despite a down economy, they are experiencing growth! We know we have God to thank for that. Also, after a bit of a break due to baby-busyness, Dan has begun playing with our church’s worship team on Sundays again on a semi-regular basis. I know approximately 1200 people who are happy about that.

I (Britt) am loving being a stay-at-home mommy. Benny and I spend a lot of time taking neighborhood walks, playing with his best friend Zoe who comes to our house 2-3 days a week while her mommy’s at work, and trying to keep a clean house with a thousand toys underfoot. We are truly blessed to have this time together! I have also recently taken up Extreme Couponing. Before you get concerned that I have a garage full of air fresheners and mustard bottles, consider this...we have no garage...it’s a music studio, so I can’t get too crazy. Ha! But in all seriousness, it has been so much fun to watch how God is using this little hobby to help cut our grocery bills and make my stay-at-home existence a little more doable. Ben and I also meet with a New Mom Group almost every Friday where we fellowship with first time moms and their little ones who are all between 1-18 months. It’s so sweet to see our little guy learn to share, be gentle, and play with others.

Benny continues to grow like a weed. In September, we celebrated his first birthday with a Beatles-themed BennyMania bash! He loves to dance to the Beatles, and since he’s not old enough to request anything specific, we jumped at the chance to have a rock-and-roll inspired party. He is walking and half-speed running now, climbing on everything, singing to himself in bed, and saying a few words. “Dada”, “Mama”, “Cheese”, and “Cracka” (cracker) give you a glimpse into his priorities. He also knows many signs like “Please”, “Water”, “Bath”, “Help”, and “Bird”. He is a Daddy’s boy who loves to give kisses, wave to strangers, point to all the balloons in the store (“Ba-oon”), and hide Cheerios in the couch cushions just in case you forget to give him a snacky-cup later.

So what’s on the horizon in 2012? Well, Dan will be turning 30, Ben will turn 2, and Brittney (who has refused to age anymore) will throw them parties paid for with coupons! We hope to make more music, spend time with our friends and family, enjoy our little man, and find ways to serve our Lord.

In February, Brittney will be joining her sister Heather in completing the Rock ‘n’ Roll Pasadena 1/2 Marathon. The funds raised will go directly to Cure Mito which supports the research of Dr. Boles at CHLA. He is the doctor who treats Heather’s kiddos- Jaxen and Maddox, who both suffer from Mitochondrial Disease. As the boys' doctor, what he learns directly affects their treatment. To view a video of the boys and their struggles, go to http://youtu.be/fCsJLBrChkQ or browse You Tube for the Cure Mito Montage.wmv. And to donate to our team, visit www.active.com/donate/curemito/hudgins. Anything you could contribute will help bring us closer to a cure for these precious angels.

May God bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon, and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

Merry Christmas

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas! We hope that you are having a pleasant holiday season and are looking forward to the new year. If you have a moment, you can read the following update on the Bingham household and take a gander at a few pictures from our year.....

Let's just get the big news out first....we had a baby!!!!

Benjamin Linus Bingham was born at 11:35pm on September 28, 2010. He was 7 lbs, 14 oz, and 21 inches long. We want to tell you all about him, show you lots of pictures, and share our joy, but first, let's recap the year leading up to his arrival....

After the sad loss of our first pregnancy last year, we began 2010 eagerly awaiting the doctor's "ok" to try again. We were blessed and thrilled to find out in late January that we were expecting again! This time, everything went along swimmingly. Our doctor gave us frequent ultrasounds and kept Brittney on partial bed-rest to help allay our fears. Each little picture brought us more and more excitement.

Just a few weeks after finding out that we were expecting, we welcomed our new little nephew Beckam Andrew Davis who was born to Dan's sister Dallas in February. He is such a cutie! It has been so fun to watch his first several months of life and take copious notes so that we would know what to expect.

In April, we welcomed another new little nephew, Maddox Cruz Hudgins, who was born to Britt's

sister Heather and her husband Jeff. The little guy has had some serious health issues this year as has his big brother, Jaxen,but they are unfailingly resilliant, adorable angels.

Britt's belly continued to grow through the Spring, andwe began preparing for the changes we expected when the baby arrived. But, more on that later...

Dan resigned from his position as Field Consultant for Subway Restaurants in May in order to take a position working for Hill Threaded Products. Hill Threaded is a nuts and bolts company owned and operated by Dan's family. As General Manager, Dan is excited to be able to put his skills and knowledge to work growing the business. Finally! All his hard work is actually benefiting a business he cares about. And, the change has made our home more peaceful- less traveling, more job security, and a paycheck that enabled us to look towards a one-income home when the baby arrived.

We spent most of the summer trying to stay out of the heat. It was our first summer in our new house, and we had not tried our 30-year-old air conditioner since the home inspection. No surprise, it did not work. If you think being in Bakersfield in the summer is bad, try it 7 months pregnant! Thank the Lord for home warranties! We spent a couple of weeks living in the pool, but eventually we got a new unit. God truly provided.

In July, Dan got to play at Spirit West Coast in Monterey with the Boasting Weak. They got to play on the Main Stage! We were a bit bummed that the attendance was a bit lower than in previous years, but it's always fun to play big venues. The trip also served as a little getaway for us in anticipation of being home bound for a while.

Late in the summer, we suffered a hard loss when Dan's Grandma Judi passed away. She was an incredibly generous, sincere, and loving woman of God. We were so upset to lose her. We can only find comfort in knowing that she was finally healed of cancer when she went to meet our savior Jesus Christ.

Throughout the pregnancy, Britt continued to work as the Assistant Director of Service Ministries at RiverLakes Community Church. They were exceptionally accommodating of morning sickness, doctor appointments, and fatigue. No work/church family could have been more supportive. And, as the time drew near to welcome our little one, Britt reluctantly handed over her job and joyfully became a full-time homemaker.

Brittney's sister Heather organized an incredible baby shower for us at the end of August. We were blessed beyond belief with every kind of baby gear. The theme was "Rock the Cradle." There were mocktails, tasty appetizers, and a candy bar. There was even a guitar shaped caked that gave a little nod to our favorite band, U2.

The whole family served, decorated, and made it an event to remember.

And then it happened.....

All year, the doctor had been watching Britt's blood pressure escalate under the stress of pregnancy. When we got within 2 weeks of our due date, she decided it would be best for Mommy and Baby to induce. We will spare you the play-by-play, but suffice it to say that after 2 days of labor and 2 hours of pushing, the doctor decided to due a C-section and we were relieved! Is there anything better than an epidural and IV pain meds? No. There isn't. An hour later...we had our little boy!

We named him Benjamin Linus Bingham. Benjamin is a family

name on Brittney's side (the middle name of her grandfather, brother, and nephew). It is also the name of a childhood friend of hers that passed away in a tragic accident. We have known we wanted a "Ben" since our honeymoon 6 years ago. As for Linus....yes, we got the name combo from LOST, our favorite TV show, but don't think we are too crazy yet. Isn't Linus everyone's favorite Peanuts character? He is always the child with the most faith.

Unfortunately, the day we were supposed to come home, Britt started convulsing and we discovered she had acquired a serious blood infection which would keep us there a few more days. Oh! Did we mention the intensely itchy and painful PUPPS rash that developed during labor covering about 70% of her body? Or that the nurses messed up the IV meds multiple times during our stay? Overall, giving birth was not the fantasy evening portrayed in Father of the Bride 2, but when we look at his little face, it's all worth it. We could not have made it through without our family taking turns at the hospital taking care of Mommy and Baby. Heather even stayed several nights while Jeff had their boys as home. Talk about sacrifice. Thanks guys.

Britt is recovering well despite several sleepless weeks. For her 30th birthday, she got a nap...and it was awesome! For a while there, it was all we could do to keep up with diapers, bottles, and doctor appointments. (When you have extra complications, the docs like to keep you coming and going for weeks afterward.) Now, however, the baby is sleeping in 5-8 hour stretches at night and laughing and cooing which will just melt your heart.

And, of course, we are having fun with all the "firsts".

Ben's first Halloween....

Ben's first Thanksgiving...

We'll have to post the pictures later, but we are super excited to experience Ben's first Christmas!

Next year, we look forward watching our son grow and learn, continuing to work on our house, and maybe even working on some creative projects. Hopefully, we will get to spend time with each of you, our loved ones and friends.

Our prayer for you is that you would spend time reconnecting with the One who sent his Son to live and die for you. May God bless you and keep you in 2011!

Love,

Dan, Brittney and Ben Bingham