Adventures in Our Home & Hearts: Our Little Firefighter

Giving God Glory
Blessing us with opportunities to share the gospel - What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. 1 Corinthians 3:5-7 Wes and I praise the Lord for giving us opportunities to share the gospel this month as well as the boldness to speak the truth in love. Wes shared about Jesus Christ with one of his co-workers, and his co-worker said that no one has ever shared the gospel with him like that before. I shared the gospel with a young lady who cut my hair and was also able to encourage her to read her Bible and to go to church again, and she seemed genuinely interested in the truth I shared. We hope and pray the Lord works in the hearts of these two and causes growth for the seeds of truth we sought to plant.

What's on the Harrisons' Hearts
Big work in Wes' heart - The Lord worked out a lot in Wes' heart this month!!! Part of the time it was tough to be in the role of Wes' helper as his wife (and wanting to help him work through all that was on his heart and mind but not be able to) because they were a variety of things that the Lord needed to show him and that the Lord wanted Wes to come to conclusions on his own. At other times, it brought great joy to be his wife as I saw the Lord bring clarity to aspects where there was once confusion. There was probably some spiritual warfare going on in the midst of it all too, which made it all the more challenging. We thank the Lord for those He brought along in the body of Christ to help Wes discern through these things, to pray for him, and to encourage and spur him on! I am also thankful for how during this time the Lord convicted me again about my desires for control and for being able to plan ahead. The Lord grew me in resting in Him and in being patient and supportive during this time that He was working out a lot in Wes.

Praises & Prayers
Neighbor - Praise for the Lord blessing us with conversations in which we can spur each other on since the Lord has similar trials in our lives.
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 how the Lord is growing and refining us. Continued prayer for God's will to be done and for wisdom and discernment for us with possibly adopting (Luke 22:4b & James 1:5).
Wes - Continued prayer for the Lord to give Wes wisdom in leading our family with the decision of whether to adopt or not. Also, continued prayer for wisdom with priorities, discipline, and heart impact through this semester of classes at FRBI, especially as he has a lot to complete by mid November when this quarter of classes will end.
Christina - Praise for the Lord convicting me of desires for control and continuing to grow me in resting in Him. Continued praise and continued prayer for the Lord to help me live each day fully for Him.
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 learn to be patient when we are unable to spend time with him 24/7 and for growing him in using more effective words to communicate when he wants our attention or to do something with us. Prayer for wisdom in teaching/re-teaching Noah to use his words rather than whining to communicate (Psalm 19:14 & Ephesians 4:29).

Marriage Memories
Thankful for our cord of 3 strands! - Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 How do marriages without Christ survive? I praise and thank the Lord for making our marriage consist of a cord of three in which Christ is the key strand that holds Wes and I together. We experienced Christ keeping the fruit of the Spirit strongly alive in our marriage during a time that it would have been easy for our flesh to flare up against each other. I am also thankful for a husband who seeks to communicate with me, even when he is not always able to figure out all that is going on in his head and heart at the time. Communication is crucial in marriage, and I am grateful for all the conversations Wes and I had together as we sought to process through all that the Lord was doing in Wes' heart. In addition, I am thankful for how Wes prayed with me and supported me when I had an "emotional meltdown" one day when I was feeling discouraged as a wife and mother and am glad that the Lord helped both of us process and communicate through that one fairly quickly. :)

Family Fun

Noah & I enjoyed our church's fall playgroup to the pumpkin patch!

Mommy & son in the bright sun * Gunnysack slide * Having fun in the cornbox

Wes enjoyed planting two pine trees (CO Blue Spruce & Pinion Pine) to add some green to our front for the winter

Enjoying driving the "woo woo" & spending time with Daddy at the firestation

50 degree temperature swing within 24 hours... that's CO!

Fall fun - Daddy & son playing in the leaves

Winter wonderland - Having fun! * Snowball fight * Daddy & son snowman - "Frank the firefighter"

Fall Fun - Noah enjoyed dressing up as a firefighter (see pic in "Noah News") this fall. Thank you to Tache (firefighter coat) and Grandma Masters (pants and boots) for helping Noah look just like Daddy! :) Heather, a friend of mine, and I (Wes was working) took Noah to a fall festival at a nearby church the Friday before Halloween, and we had a great time! Noah played all kinds of different games and won lots of candy, which I let him enjoy a few pieces that night, and we enjoyed the rest later on as a family.
On Halloween, we took advantage of the opportunity to share the gospel with those who came to our door through handing out colorful, kid-friendly gospel tracts along with candy. We pray the Lord works through the truth that was shared to draw hearts of children and parents to Himself (John 6:44). Last year, we gave out 108 tracts, and this year we shared 155 tracts, so hopefully even more seeds of truth were planted in hearts this year!

Fun games at the fall festival - Throwing animals in Noah's Ark * Hitting a hole in one...sort of * Almost winning musical chairs

Gospel tracts we let the kids choose from on Halloween

Noah News

Age - 2.5 years old
Cute Communication - Noah's starting to talk more in phrases/sentences. :) Some include: "No-no pull See-see's (Sierra's) hair." "Daddy, car leak." "Water to park" "See-see threw up." "Show Daddy morrow" "No-no clee (clean) and dye (dry)" "Day (Thank) ooo (you)"

Latest Loves
Saying his ABC's
"Rock & read" - reading together while we rock in our rocking chair
Fav book = "Moo Baa La La La"
Froggie (his pillow pet from Grandpa & Grandma Harrison)
Jumping off the stairs into our arms
Growling & snorting
Clicking his tongue
Playing "chase"
Jumping off our front porch
Cheezin' it for pics :)
Cartwheels!!!
Playdough
Wanting to see the playback of pics or video on our camera
Blowing kisses by moving his hand & making "aww...aww...aww..." noise
Taking his shirt off by pulling it down over his body & stretching out the neck
Christmas trees
Cheering for the Packers - Noah shouts "Go Pack, Pack!"

Best friends - Noah & Froggie * Big "Cheese!" * Showing off his playdough masterpiece

Noah's latest lesson in manners ;)

Noah really enjoys doing cartwheels, and he's pretty good at them!

Noah growling, clicking his tongue, & jumping off the stairs to Daddy

Interesting Info

*Big bro Noah - Noah is doing a great job being like a big brother to Naomi & Oliver. Every once in a while, he attempts to have a pity-party attitude, but I try to encourage him in how he is a good helper and that usually snaps him out of it back into his big bro role. He likes to read to Naomi, sing to her, and pray with her before her naps, and he enjoys rubbing Oliver's head and gently loving him. It's so precious! We hope the Lord blesses him with truly being a big brother someday.

*Calling to come - Noah copies how I call Sierra by patting his leg and saying, "Come on See-see," which is super cute. He transferred this over into how he calls for Daddy and Mommy when he wants us to come with him or join him in something, which is also quite funny but not appropriate. We've tried to explain to him that there are different ways to ask dogs and people to come with you. He's not getting it yet, maybe intentionally. ;)

Memorable Moment of the Month
3 under 3! -

#1 (Noah - age 2.5) #2 (Oliver - age 6 weeks) #3 (Naomi - age 18 months)

You know how people joke about wanting God to send an answer to prayer to their doorstep in order to make something clear...well, He did for us! Back in June I had prayed for the Lord to send another 1 day per week childcare opportunity with 2 children since we were no longer caring for the Helus children due to moving. I knew how good that had been for Noah to grow in sharing Wes and my attention, sharing his toys, sharing his "territory," etc. Since the Lord had not blessed us with more children of our own, I had prayed that He might bless us with another opportunity to care for another's children just once a week. Jamie, a friend and previous co-worker of mine that now lives 5 minutes away from us, showed up on our doorstep one day while on a walk with her children. I thought she just stopped by to say hi, and then she said she had a question to ask - if I would be interested in caring for her 2 children 1 day a week? That prayer I had prayed back in June came to mind, and I said, "You are an answer to prayer!" Wes and I talked and prayed about it to confirm, and we are now enjoying caring for O & O (Omi & Ollie) each week and having "3 under 3" children in our home as well as enjoying watching Noah grow in brotherly love. So, God may send an answer to prayer to your doorstep! :)