Adventures in Our Home & Hearts: "We have a lot to be thankful for!"

Giving God Glory
Do we stay or do we go? - We praise God for His perfect, wise, and sovereign plans and how He ordains each one of our steps and decisions. Proverbs 16:9 - The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps. Wes has been experiencing some challenges at work that became increasingly difficult this month, and it got to the point where Wes started praying, contemplating, and pursuing if the Lord had a different direction or location of work for him. He even considered contracting out and working as a firefighter overseas away from Noah and me for a year (lots of cons to this option so he did not consider it long). We've always talked about how it is important to us to be near family, so we would want to live in either CO or WI. Wes started searching out possibilities in these states, and it came down to one opportunity that looked really good in Madison, WI. After researching more details, the Lord made it clear that it would not be wise for our family. The next day at work the Lord continued to confirm to Wes that he was right where he is supposed to be for now because one of his co-workers out of the blue started asking him questions about the Bible, and they had a really good conversation that will probably lead to more conversations about the Lord and opportunities to witness to this man in the future. Thank You, Lord, for answering our prayers for wisdom and direction with Wes' work and for making Your will clear to us quickly!

What's on the Harrisons' Hearts
Being a Wise Steward Goes Beyond Money & Possessions - Wes and I both strongly desire to be wise stewards with the money and possessions that the Lord has blessed us with by:

$ - budgeting, giving, spending less than we earn, & saving

Possessions - striving to take good care of our home, vehicles, etc.

This month the Lord convicted us (separately and together in different ways) about being wise stewards with the time He has blessed us with. Wes has realized that his time can be a gift to someone, whether it is giving time to help a friend with a project, giving time to bless me in being able to do something I enjoy (uninterrupted), giving time to serve in our church, etc. He has also grown in realizing that God has given us time as a gift for doing things we enjoy too (without feeling guilty) such as video games in Wes' case. :) The same principles of it being okay to splurge at times in your budget also applies to splurging with your use of time with moderation. I came across a great blog series on Time Management as a Mom and more truths about this from a women's teaching at our church that really spurred me on to prioritize my time more effectively and also to say 'no' to good things that are not priorities at the time. Praise the Lord for faithfully growing us in being wise stewards for Him in many areas of our lives!

Piles...piles...and more piles! - I don't know how it happened (okay, actually I do know), but I started to become a pile-maniac. I had piles in multiple rooms in our house - on our kitchen counters, on top of our sofa, on dressers in our bedroom, on desks in the office/spare bedroom - for various things such as tutoring, grocery list, cards/notes to write, to-do lists, coupons, budgeting info, receipts, errands to run, and more! It's tough because as a mom you rarely get to finish a task from start to finish. Interruptions are to be expected with having a young boy, and (thanks to the Lord growing me) I'm now even able to welcome them (most of the time). As a result, my piles were born. Rather than putting a "task" away when I got interrupted, I just made a neat pile for when I'd have a moment to work on it again. Wes was so patient and supportive during this season because neither of us like clutter. Well, both Wes and I were thrilled and relieved when I came across an idea about making a Mommy notebook. Ahhh... It has been wonderful! I can't believe I didn't think of this concept sooner since I enjoy organization. Now instead of piles, I have dividers (with pockets) in my Mom notebook for all these different areas and more. So, when I'm interrupted, I just slip my "task" into the corresponding divider in my notebook, and our family is able to enjoy a pile-free home. I also like how I was able to personalize my cover. I used MOM as an acronym for my top 3 priorities to remind me every time I see or open my notebook:

Loving My Lord

LOving My Husband
Loving My Children

I have 2 verses that go along with my priorities at the bottom:
Deuteronomy 6:5 - You shall LOVE THE LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.
Titus 2:4-5 - ...to LOVE THEIR HUSBANDS, to LOVE THEIR CHILDREN, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.

Praises & Prayers
Neighbor - Continued prayer for God's will to be done in blessing her with a new job and for the Lord to continue to show Himself faithful in providing for their family during this time of waiting. She has had a few interviews but nothing has come of them yet.
Friend in WI - Prayer for God's will to be done in blessing him with a new job and for the Lord to continue to show Himself faithful in providing for their family during this time of waiting.
Adam - Praise that he no longer works the night shift and is now on days!
Tami - Praise that the Lord has been blessing her with a positive and joyful attitude in the midst of this trial and that she is "still sweet Tami" as my dad loves to say. :) Praise that the Lord continues to give my dad and other loved ones His perspective. Continued prayers that God would heal Tami, but ultimately that His will be done.
Our Family - Continued prayer for God's will to be done with possibly selling our home since He knows what is best. Continued prayer for God's perfect timing and ways of growing our family.
Wes - Prayer that the Lord would continue to give Wes strength and encouragement at work and would also continue to bring witnessing opportunities his way.
Christina - Continued prayer for wisdom and discernment with fulfilling my priorities and also desires during this season of life.
Noah - God would graciously save him at at young age if that be His will. Praise for God growing Noah in sharing Wes and my attention and his toys with other children. Prayer for wisdom for Wes and me in teaching Noah how to play together with other children and not hit and for Noah to have a teachable heart.

Marriage Memories

Stinkin' Sickness - Wes and I were looking forward to going skiing together with family, but Wes got sick and had to stay home. :( It was a great day of skiing at Copper Mountain with Dad, Adam & Wendy, and Kyle & Kristen, and the grandparents loved having the grandsons all to themselves for the day. But, it was bitter-sweet for me since my best-friend was not skiing the slopes with me.

Family Fun

Our Fam

1st Snow of the Season - Snow has been hard to come by this year, so we jumped at the chance to play in the snow when we received a couple inches. It's hard to know who had more fun...Noah or me? ;)

Playing in the snow & Our cheesehead snowman

Christmas Decorating - Selah and Thane were with us the day of our decorating, so all 5 of us had a lot of fun! Noah loved rolling around in the lights and banging on the lights with objects. He was definitely more entertaining and involved in decorating than last year!

Wes, Noah, and Selah decorating the tree & Thane exploring

Black Ops with His Bro - One of Wes' favorite ways to enjoy his break from school is to play video games. The new Black Ops game came out, and Wes and Aaron found out they could play together even though they are many miles apart. They have both been enjoying some bro-bonding time!

Birthday Boy - We enjoyed a couple fun celebrations in honor of my wonderful husband who seeks to grow in His love for the Lord and for me each year, who works hard to provide for our family and to bless me with being able to stay at home to raise our son, who strives to serve his heavenly Boss and earthly boss with excellence, who enjoys sharing his faith with others and seeing others grow in their relationship with Christ, and who has a strong sense of humor that brings a lighter-side of life to our hearts and home and in honor of Noah's wonderful daddy who loves Noah deeply, who prays for him often, who seeks to be a godly role-model for him, who finds great pleasure in playing with him, who looks forward to passing on all he knows to him, and who constantly tells and shows him "I love you!"

Our traditional sushi dinner...

...and ice cream dessert!

Birthday Breakfast

Firestation fun on his actual birthday

Wes had to work, so we visited him and made enchiladas and Reeses dessert for all his co-workers to celebrate.

Home Sweet Home Update - We had 2 showings scheduled this month - 1 cancelled and 1 loved it but wanted more square footage. We also had 1 showing last month; they loved it but wanted a basement. So far, the Lord is making it clear that it is best for us to not move. The more time that passes, the more we are reminded how good we have it where we are at presently. So, we are thankful. :)

Noah News

Age - 21 Months
1sts - pretend play (talking on phone using various objects), cleaning up spills he makes by wiping them up with a towel, light snoring at times ;)
# of Teeth - 12 - 6 top & 6 bottom
New Words Noah is Saying - Daddy & doggie

Latest Loves
Reading his Bible - especially the story about God creating everything
Helping cook
Giving high 5's
Pat-a-cake
Sitting on counters
Toothpaste
Playing with the measuring cups on the kitchen counter
Running & jumping
Climbing, climbing, & more climbing!
Pulling out blankets from our hope chest
Jumping off the big step stool into the blankets

Climbing on the couch & Out cold (with a little snoring) after a fun-filled day

Pulling out the blankets

"Bombs Away" - Noah jumping from the step stool into the blankets

Other Intriguing Info
*What Noah's Known For in Nursery - We praise God it's not beating up other children! ;) We often get comments from those who work with Noah in nursery that he is a contemplator and an observer. He also is known for his hearty snack appetite.
*He's Getting It! - Since the day we found out we were pregnant, we started seeking to spiritually invest in Noah's life through prayers, singing songs about Jesus, reading the Bible to him, and more. Through AWANAs, we came across some curriculum for ages 2-3 called Puggles. It consists of giant pictures that go along with a themed truth about God such as God made _____ (various things) and God loves me when I am _____ (various emotions or places). Noah gets it and loves it! We ask him, "Noah, who made _____?" and show him the picture. He points up with a huge smile on his face. Truly precious!
*Stinky Feet - Wes taught Noah how to smell his feet and jokes around about how Noah has stinky feet. See for yourself...

Noah smelling his "stinky" feet ;)

Memorable Moment(s) of the Month
The Showdown / Battle of the Wills - Poor Aunt Wendy didn't even see it coming...the ball in the face or the lecture from her nephew, Noah. She truly was an innocent bystander. Here's what went down. We were all relaxing after the delicious meal Thanksgiving afternoon when Noah chucked a ball at Aunt Wendy's face. No injuries, no problem...so we thought. Wes and I told Noah to apologize to Aunt Wendy by giving her a kiss or a high five, and Noah proceeded to lecture Aunt Wendy (in Noah language with fierce gestures) why it was all her fault. It was the blame game (aka dodging responsibility for one's actions) at it's best. The whole extended family was being quite entertained while Wes and I experienced an episode of Parenting 101 - the classic battle of the wills. Noah continued to escalate with each reminder from us and refusal by him to apologize. This scene continued for what felt like 15-20 minutes, and Noah got so worked up that Wes had to remove him from the scene of the crime. Finally, Noah calmed down, came back into the room with teary eyes and runny nose, and gave Aunt Wendy a high-five to apologize. All the extended family erupted in cheers for Noah as Wes and I silently said 'Thank You Lord!' in our hearts. One battle down and many more to come...

Thanksgiving Memories - The title of this month's post is a quote all our family loves from Grandpa (Blaine) Rush that he shares with us every Thanksgiving. :) You are exactly right, Grandpa! It was a joy to have Papa & Tache and Kyle, Kristen, & Sawyer visit for a week for Thanksgiving. We made many wonderful memories! Here are some of the highlights. :)