Having Fun with Family from Near & Far - April 2013

Giving God Glory

God faithfully gives wisdom when we ask! - If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.  James 1:5  We have loved ones who are in the process of adopting - which we are super excited about! :) - and recently they received news that they had the potential to be matched with a child.  They were given a week to decide if this was the child God had for them, and there were various factors that made this decision unclear and challenging to discern God's will.  Several days went by, and the decision became even more confusing due to certain aspects.  They began to wonder if God was going to give them the wisdom and clarity that they had been praying for with this decision, yet continued to surrender this decision to Him, to wait upon Him, and to trust He would.  About 24 hours before the decision needed to be made, the Lord answered their prayers and gave them a clear answer through certain circumstances.  God is always faithful to give us wisdom when we ask for it, even if it may not be as quickly as we want - which would be asap. ;)  In His perfect timing and ways, the Lord always gives wisdom generously when we ask!

What's on the Harrisons' Hearts

"I can do it all / have it all."  Truth or myth? - I recently read the book The Life Ready Woman: Thriving in a Do-It-All World, and it was a very beneficial read as a wife, mother, and woman of God.  Some of the principles were not necessary new to me, but Feldhahn & Lewis did an excellent job of presenting big-picture principles of how to (as women) live biblically and keep our God-given priorities as God's designed so that we can glorify God, live purposefully, and have fewer regrets.  

Here are the top 3 principles that impacted me the most from The Life Ready Woman: Thriving in a Do-It-All World.  

• Can we "do it all / have it all?"  This is a big myth that the world offers and that is easy to subtly fall prey to.  I know I have and still do at times since I am prone to overcommit or be overambitious personally and sometimes sacrifice priorities that I do not want to.  Feldhahn & Lewis make a key point that "we may be able to do it all / have it all over the course of our lifetime - but not all at the same time...  Something or someone always gets left out or deeply hurt when we try...  husband, child, you, colleagues, projects...  Something's going to get hurt.  And when we try to do everything, sometimes everything gets hurt...  it is so critical not to let life just pick us up and carry us along.  We need to be purposeful about making decisions...  A choice for one thing is a choice against another...  You need to be intentional about the choice."  

• This chart below - Reversing the Curse - on God's design of head (husbands) & helper (wives).  I am familiar with Ephesians 5:22-33 concepts, but I have never seen these principles presented in this way, which I found very helpful.  Feldhahn & Lewis state, "...the command God has given to each gender is the one action that will reverse [the curse from Genesis 3:16] and bring us back into balance and into the true oneness-oriented partnership God intends (and that we want)."

• Understanding the seasons of life - I have never come across anyone who has clearly defined the specific seasons of life in a big-picture kind of way and also given detailed wisdom and advice on how to make the most of each season by being intentional about specific seasonal priorities.  Feldhahn & Lewis state, "Freedoms, opportunities, and responsibilities all ebb and flow according to the rhythms of specific seasons God has designed for life...  A wise woman will make the personal, proactive choice to flow with these seasons, not against them.  She will seek to discern what each season offers and requires of her; then she will adjust and focus her life to make the most of it."

Here's the wisdom shared -  for the season of life I am presently in - that I am seeking to apply

Praises & Prayers

Various Loved Ones - Continued prayer for wisdom and for Christ's strength and perspective as they are in the midst of various trials (James 1:2-5).

Loved Ones Adopting - Praise for the Lord giving them wisdom with the decision involving a potential match.
Tami - Continued prayers for the Lord to give my dad and other loved ones His perspective and that God would heal Tami, but ultimately that His will would be done.
Our Family - Praise for God blessing us with making wonderful memories with various family who came to visit throughout the month.
Wes - Praise for the Lord giving Wes wise counsel about his job situation.  Prayer of James 1:5 that the Lord would give Wes wisdom with his job situation and clear direction or confirmation on His will.  Continued prayer for Wes to continue to be a strong light and witness for Christ at work in the midst of a very spiritually dark environment and also for spiritual protection (Ephesians 6:10-20).  Also continued prayer for the Lord to grow Wes and impact his heart through his classes.
Christina - Praise for the Lord answering prayers for wisdom and discernment for teaching the TNT girls.  Prayer of James 1:5 for wisdom and Galatians 5:22-33 for the fruit of the Spirit to abound in our marriage and in parenting our sons.
Noah - God would graciously save him at a young age and lead him to walk with the Lord all of his days, if that be the Lord's will.  Praise for the Lord helping Noah to grow in asking rather than "telling/demanding" when he wants something.  Prayer of Ephesians 6:1-2 that God would help Noah to honor Him and us with his heart attitudes and to grow Noah in honoring the Lord even when he does not get what he wants.
Josiah - God would graciously save him at a young age and lead him to walk with the Lord all of his days, if that be the Lord's will.  Continued prayer for the Lord to grow Josiah in his gross motor skills (ex. progressions involved with crawling & walking) in His perfect timing, and prayer of James 1:5 for wisdom with our response to how God has made Josiah but also with our role in helping him grow & develop.  

Marriage Memories

As a person who enjoys planning ahead well in advance, Wes helps me to live more on the "wild side" of spontaneity, and I appreciate him for it! :)  One Saturday this month, Wes said - "We should go on a date today!  We need some time together just the 2 of us."  I completely agreed but knew the logistics involved and wondered if we could make it happen.  Fortunately, the Lord provided wonderful care for our boys, and we enjoyed a great date together... the "classic date" - dinner & a movie. ;)  We recommend the movie, 42, even though it was emotionally painful to watch at times due to racial segregation aspects.  I like what this review had to say -  "You probably think this film is completely focused on the story of Jackie Robinson. That is definitely not the case, as this film finds balance between the story of Robinson, baseball, and segregation. And this film succeeds in depicting all three aspects to bring a powerful, heartwarming, humorous film...  This is one of those movies that takes you for an emotional thrill ride. You feel for the Robinson. You want him to win. And you rejoice when he does..."

Family Fun

Our fam hanging out before Noah's soccer game

March Madness - NCAA b-ball tournament brackets - Wes, me, & Noah

Every year we have our friendly bracket competition, and this year Noah had his own bracket. ;)  

Wes (33) beat me (32) slightly after I had a 3 year winning streak.  Noah (26) did great for his 1st year! :)

Participating in AWANAs Together

This past year - August 2012 through April 2013 - Wes, me, & Noah participated in AWANAs together,

 and Josiah enjoyed spending time with Mrs. Marta & other little ones in the nursery. 

Noah participated in Cubbies (for 3-4 year olds) * Wes & I served in T&T (Truth & Training for 3rd-6th graders) 

Wes had the privilege of filling in teaching at times for the boys when their director was gone, and I had the privilege of teaching weekly for the girls the second half of the year.  I enjoyed studying and teaching "The Promises of God."

Awards Night:  From L to R - Mike (Noah's group leader), Lori (cubbies director), Danae (Noah's group leader), & cubbies in Noah's group

Closeup of Noah's cubbie group (his cousin, Maren, is on the far right) * Noah holding his award certificate

Noah's leaders comment about him - "Noah had his book completely filled out, colored, and verse ready to go every week."

T&T leaders & girls * T&T girls on awards night

Noah News

Age - 4 years old

Cute Communication - 

     *Noah - "When will we go to heaven?"

       Me - "At the rapture, which is when Jesus returns & Christians go to heaven with Him, or when we die if we trust in Jesus to save us from our sins."

       N - "I trust in Jesus."

       Me - We pray you do since there is nothing you can do to earn your way to heaven.  The only way to be saved is to trust in Jesus Christ's death on the cross to save you from your sins."

       N - "Yeah."

      *Me - "Are you hungry?"

        Noah - "My tummy wants to play a lot."  (Translated - I am hungry, but I want to play more.)

      *Noah stated one day while coloring, "I've got a lot of homework," and then held up his coloring book to show us. ;)

      *Noah likes going on Mommy-son or Daddy-son dates with us.  One morning he asked if he could go on a Kenzie-son date.  (Kenzie is one of his favorite baby-sitters.)  On another humorous note, Noah (on his own initiative) spiked his hair and wanted to put on cologne when we told him Kenzie was coming over to baby-sit one night.

     *When asked which extracurricular activity he likes best, Noah always manages to figure out a way to include all of them.  Ex.  Me - "Noah, which one is your favorite... gymnastics or Lego Club?"  Noah - "Lego Club and gymnastics."  

Latest Loves

Spiking his hair all by himself - see photo above - & putting his shirt on all by himself 

Helping Daddy with projects

Arts & crafts

Playing with Josiah & playing soccer

Book - Little Monster's Scratch & Sniff Mystery: Smell Switcher

Our little soccer star :) - Noah has been mentioning that he would like to try playing soccer, so we let him join a little soccer league at the YMCA.  He has been having a lot of fun playing (aka. running around with other children chasing the ball or each other). ;)

 

Before & after the game - Pledging to play with good sportsmanship * Noah pledging * Lined up to shake hands with the other team after

Most of the time the kids run around in a "herd" chasing the ball or each other.

Every once in a while they stop like this & stare at each other until the coach reminds them what to do ;) 

*Video - Noah kicking his 1st soccer goal - during practice

We also caught on (a longer) video Noah's 1st goal in a game... in the opponents' goal ;)

Josiah Joys

Age - 10 months old

1sts - feeding himself finger foods, truly drinking from a sippy cup

Teeth - 4 total (2 top & 2 bottom)

Latest Loves

Giving "leaning over" kisses while sitting on the floor - he gives them to everyone!

Feeding himself finger foods

Feeding Sierra by dropping food from his high chair

Sticking his tongue out

Throwing/dropping things off his high chair or out of his car seat

  

Josiah has been enjoying feeding himself finger foods & getting messy too! :)

Josiah puts EVERYTHING in his mouth these days - shoes...wood chips... you name it! ;)

Sweet boy with a sweet smile

*Video - Josiah's "creative" way of eating finger food (cheerios)

Bro Bonding

Hugs & Kisses - Awww... big bro giving lil' bro a hug * Noah giving Josiah a kiss * Josiah giving a kiss to Noah :)

Hanging out in Noah's room

Noah brought up the pillows from his fort in the basement to build a new fort in his bedroom.  Josiah had a blast watching him! * Noah running circles around Josiah ;)

Noah made a fort for both of them - It's a joy seeing the bros being able to start playing together! :)

Having fun playing together - Legos * Rolling around on the floor

Homeschool Highlights

This month we began a Science unit study on the human body that we will continue next month.
Click on this link if interested in the FREE preschool skills/benchmarks that I use - Core Knowledge Preschool Sequence of Skills
Click on this link for a corresponding preschool book that I use - Core Knowledge: What Your Preschooler Needs to Know

Science: Interior of Human Body - Noah * Me

Exterior & interior parts of the body (from the preschool book I use)

It was a joy to incorporate how we can praise God for wonderfully and fearfully creating our bodies! (Psalm 139:13-14)

Click on links below for kid-friendly videos (only a couple minutes each) that we enjoyed:
Intro to Human Body
Brain
Heart
Lungs
Stomach
Bones / Skeleton
Muscles

P. E. : Soccer - Noah has been getting a lot of extra exercise plus learning some new skills while playing soccer on Saturdays this month

Life Skills: Home care - Getting the sprinklers up & running after winter * Scraping off & repainting stucco on foundation

Life Skills: Landscape care - Pounding in tree spikes to help our trees grow

Life Skills: Using a drill to build - Wes & Noah rebuilt the wooden "box" around our garden area

Putting the finishing touches on the final product

Science & Art: Creation Day (aka "Earth Day") - We enjoyed celebrating and reflecting on our Creator & His amazing way of creating the heavens and the earth by speaking these into existence in only 6 days!

Genesis 1:1 * A couple ways we can be a good steward of God's creation = Plant a tree or seeds, Pick up trash

Noah's artistic rendition of the 6 days of creation :)

Science: seed-planting update - Last month * This month (we lost one "cup" because I accidentally left them outside overnight - oops!)

Memorable Moment of the Month

A couple years ago, Wes had to get a tooth pulled while his dad and sister, Autumn, were visiting.  Not fun and not good timing, but it was definitely needed.  We knew it would be helpful for Wes to get an implant to replace the missing tooth, but we started pursuing adopting soon after it was pulled.  So, we determined that after we adopted, we would save for him to get an implant and crown to fill in the gap.  It is a process, and this month we were able to complete the first step of it -"drilling a screw in his jaw."  Here is a shot of the x-ray.  Wes took a couple days off of work to recover from the surgery, and we enjoyed getting to spend some extra time with him - while giving him some extra TLC. :)

More Memories

Noah & Dylan (neighbor friend) having fun digging & prepping the soil of our garden ;)

Enjoying time with Gma & Jpa

Josiah with Gma & Jpa

Noah & Gma painting

Reading books

Blowing bubbles - Auntie Wendy, Uncle Adam, Gma, & Noah

Playing games - Candyland * Blockus

 Friend's Firetruck Birthday Party 

Birthday boy - Elijah turned 5 years old

Firefighter games - Noah & Moses waiting their turn * Climbing up & down a ladder

Safety goggles * Putting the fire (pop cans) out * Noah had a blast running through the water & was soaked!

Fun with Schenk Cousins

Noah - 4, Josiah - 9 months, Sawyer - 3, Nora - 1 1/2

Nora just loves babies so Josiah got lots of hugs from her - super cute! * Noah & Sawyer snackin'

The cousins had a blast going swimming at the YMCA in Monument!

 

Noah & Sawyer getting ready to race down the slide * Catching Sawyer off the slide * Noah & I having fun! :)

 

Sawyer & Noah wrapped up & keeping warm during "break time" * Nora * Sawyer * Noah

 

More hugs for Josiah from Nora ;) * Hugs for Papa too - sweet girl!

Great Papa, Great Tache, & Nana hanging out with Josiah

I didn't take Josiah swimming this time since Noah needed me near with free hands.  Maybe next time! :)

ABEFC Ladies Bunco Night

Our church had a Ladies Bunco Night, which included collecting donations for the CO Springs Pregnancy Center.  I had the privilege of getting to share a testimony about our adoption, God's heart for adoption, and the gospel.  I praise the Lord for answering prayers - how He tied all of these concepts together through the truth of how He is a heart-changer (Ezekiel 36:26) and for how He gave me wisdom to concisely cover the truths He wanted me to - since I had only 20 minutes & I am not strong at being concise. ;)  It was a joy that Tami, Tache, Kristen, & one of my neighbors were able to come too! :)

Family Fan Club at Noah's Soccer Game

Auntie Wendy, Papa, Nana, Josiah, Wes, & Uncle Adam

Nana & Josiah * Uncle Adam & Auntie Wendy with our soccer star ;)