1 Year Ago & 33 Years Ago - November 2012

Giving God Glory

God's great gift of loved ones & His beautiful design of the blessing of the body of Christ - Paul expressed this better than I can...

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 

always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all...  

Philippians 1:3-4

For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, 

because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother...  

Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.

Philemon 7, 20

The Lord in His perfect wisdom knew we needed each other and designed for us to be blessed through the gift of loved ones, especially fellowship with those who are part of the body of Christ.  

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

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is 

For brothers to dwell together in unity!

Psalm 133:1

Iron sharpens iron,

So one man sharpens another.

Proverbs 27:17

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, 

and are of God's household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, 

Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, 

being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 

in whom you are also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:19-22

The picture of the body of Christ as a building growing into a holy temple in the Lord is powerful.  However, God is an even more beautiful example of this blessed fellowship design.  He is Trinity and in amazing ways beyond our comprehension is 3 in 1, which enables Him to have fellowship with Himself and be blessed by Himself!!!  Wow!

Wes and I are so thankful for how the Lord has blessed our lives with the gift of salvation - involving a personal relationship and fellowship with Him through Jesus Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, and we pray often that the Lord would bless Noah and Josiah with this precious gift too.  Our family is also thankful to the Lord for all the loved ones He has richly blessed our lives with.  This appreciation of God's gift of loved ones overflowed into the following idea...

Thank You, Jesus for... - Thanksgiving is definitely a time of extra focus on cultivating a heart that is grateful to God.  As a parent, I desire to cultivate this thankfulness in my heart personally to glorify the Lord but also as an example to our sons.  I also seek to think of an age-appropriate tangible way to encourage Noah (Josiah will be involved too in the future) to have a grateful heart throughout the month of November and have hopes that this thankful spirit will continue on in the future.  Last year we did a "Thank You, God, Calendar," and Noah drew a picture each day of someone or something he was thankful for each day.  

This year I had the idea to focus on thanking the Lord for loved ones He has blessed us with by making simple "Thank You" cards that Noah could give to these loved ones.  I did the writing, and Noah came up with the person and the reason why he was thankful for them, did the coloring, and did most of the delivering.  We made one card each day, so by the end of the month Noah had thanked Jesus for (and hopefully encouraged or even possibly been a witness to) many friends, family, people at church who teach him, and YMCA employees that care for him while Wes and I work out at the gym.  Noah helped me make cards on Josiah's behalf too. ;)

On the front of the cards example:

Thank You, Jesus, for

Papa

On the back of the cards example:

Thank you for coming to the fall festival with me.  Thank you for eating dinner with me.  

And eating cookies!  Love, Noah

Noah excited about coloring his "Thank You, Jesus, for..." card for a loved one

What's on the Harrisons' Hearts

Thanksgiving 2011

1 Year Ago... - ... we enjoyed celebrating Thanksgiving with family in Madison, Wisconsin, and we also enjoyed celebrating the beginning of our adoption journey.  I remember sitting in Wes' parents car listening to the voicemail (from the call I missed while we were on the plane from CO to WI) from Hope's Promise (our adoption agency) letting us know that our application for adoption (which is the first step of the adoption process) was accepted.  Since we were told...

the home study process often takes several months

then couples pursuing infant domestic adoption often wait at least a year before being placed with a birthmother

then couples have the wait of the pregnancy before welcoming a child into their family...

we had hopes that the Lord may bless us with a child in 2013 or 2014.  What a wonderful surprise and joy it is to (only one year later from when we began our adoption journey) be celebrating the blessing of having Josiah as a part of our family for 5 months!  Our hearts are full of thanks to the Lord for His kindness and for His gift of our precious son, Josiah!

Praises & Prayer Requests

Mike & Tiffany (cousins) - Praise for the arrival of their healthy son, Ian.

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).

Our Family - Praise for blessed time with family the week of Thanksgiving.

Wes - Prayer for Matthew 5:13-16 that the Lord would help 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).

Christina - Praise for the Lord growing me in enjoying serving Him and others - especially Wes, Noah, & Josiah, even when it involves dying to myself (Mark 8:34-35).  Prayer for James 1:22 that the Lord would grow me in applying His Word and being a doer of the Word and not just a hearer.  

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 Noah growing in heart-awareness and knowing on his own (at times) when he needs to "take a break" and pray for Jesus to help his heart be right when he is having a hard heart.  Continued prayer for Psalm 19:14 and also Ezekiel 36:26-28 that the Lord would save Noah and remove his heart of stone and give him a new heart of flesh and the Holy Spirit to help him to obey God.

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.  Praise that Josiah is sleeping through "our night" again - we think it was a growth spurt that caused him to get up in the middle of the night again since he started sleeping straight through again after introducing solids.  Our main prayer for Josiah continues to be for the Lord to draw Josiah to Himself in salvation (John 6:33).

Marriage Memories

**Precious...

**...memories

with my Love & Best-friend!

Wes & I enjoyed going on a "quadruple date" with friends from church for one of our Dinner for 8 get togethers.  Dinner for 8 is where once a month each couple takes turns having the other couples over for dinner or makes plans to go out to dinner together.  For this month, one of the couples decided to go out to eat together at the Hickory House.  So, our boys had fun at Papa & Nana's while we carpooled & caravanned to Parker (about an hour away) to enjoy some of the "Best ribs in Colorado."  We were not disappointed because their ribs were delicious!  We had a great time eating and enjoying fellowship with our friends. :)

Family Fun

**Our fam

Noah's joy & love for his little bro just melts our hearts & Josiah feels the same way about his big bro :)

**Noah's facial expression in the 2nd photo is priceless - that's his latest response when asked to smile ;)

**Daddy & Noah having fun

**Enjoying some love/snuggles from my sons

**Father & sons - there's Noah's cheezin' smile again ;)

**Sweet boys & giving Josiah kisses

33 Years Ago...

 This fun-loving, tender-hearted, great sense of humored, Christ-loving, family man was born! 

Wes & I were discussing how this is the 8th birthday of his that we have celebrated together, the 4th with Noah, and the 1st with Josiah. :)  "Josiah" wrote a little poem in Daddy's b-day card in honor of the special occasion...

You have been alive for 33,

but the best year is the year with me! ;)

Wes' birthday wishes included: 

calling his dad to with him happy birthday since they share the same b-day

being able to wait until the last minute to decide what he wanted to do - aka. gift of procrastination ;)

having fun with Noah & me at the zoo (It worked out best for Josiah to be able to nap & play with friends at a friend's house while we were out)

going out to eat for pizza for lunch

grocery shopping for cake & frosting to make dessert at home & letting Noah pick them out - which, of course, always involves sprinkles!

eating homemade burritos for dinner

hanging out as a fam & watching a movie

Fam fun at the zoo

Noah said that his favorite animal was the zebra, though he seemed the most fascinated with the cute baby gorilla - Dembay :)

Noah was a little intimidated to feed the giraffe, which was understandable with that long of a tongue!

Hunting for the tiger * Wes spotted it first!

 

Checking out the bears & mountain lions

Pizza at BJ's for lunch * Homemade burritos for dinner - Wes savoring every bite ;)

Having fun decorating dessert - Noah was super excited about the sprinkles! * Celebrating my wonderful husband, the boys' great dad, and the 33 years the Lord has blessed Wes with

Decorating Our Christmas Tree

This was the first year Noah really engaged & enjoyed participating in decorating our tree.

Daddy & Noah having fun hanging ornaments * Mommy & Josiah enjoying some snuggle time

Josiah observing the festivities from his monkey gym * Sweet boy

Parent & Baby Dedication at Our Church

Dedicating Josiah to the Lord & recommitting as parents to raising (both of our children) in the training of the Lord Jesus Christ & His Word

The Carlson family dedicated their son, Ryan, who is "buddies" with Josiah since they are only 2 weeks apart.  We are friends with their family and see them frequently through various church activities, so the boys have fun interacting with each other.  We joke about how Josiah shows off his social skills & Ryan entertains with his strong motor skills. ;)

Our family was blessed to be supported with extended family who came for the dedication - G-pa, Papa & Nana, and Schenk family - and also loved ones who wished they could have been there.  Thank you all for your prayers, love, and support!  We appreciate you!

Pastor Lance read from Psalm 127

Unless the LORD builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the LORD watches over the city,

the watchman stays awake in vain.

It is in vain that you rise up early

and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious toil;

for He gives to His beloved sleep.

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,

the fruit of the womb a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

are the children of one's youth.

Blessed is the man

who fills his quiver with them!

He shall not be put to shame

when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Then Pastor Lance engaged our families in the following commitments & prayed for us.

Noah News

**Our precious 3-year-old son

Cute Communication - 

     *"Nice haircut Josiah!"  Noah enjoyed commenting frequently on Josiah's new do.

      *Understanding comparing & contrasting concepts - One morning while changing Josiah's diaper in his bedroom, Noah out of the blue pointed out while looking at the name decor, "Mommy, Josiah's name has an O, A, & H like my name.  His name has J, S, & I, and my name doesn't."

     *Photographic memory & observant! - We were driving home one day when Noah spotted ladders in the back of a truck, "Those ladders are blue & silver.  Our ladders at home are green & silver."  Wes & I have never pointed out that we have two ladders nor the colors of our ladders.  Another day we were driving to the gym and drove by (at a decent speed) a car accident (only a small fender bender - nothing very memorable).  On the way home after an hour or so, Noah asked me if we were going to see the car accident  again.  I had completely forgot about it.  When we drove by the spot, Noah informed & showed me that the black and red cars were no longer there.  I tried to recall the colors of the cars to confirm that he was right, and sure enough, that was the spot and the exact car colors.

     *Noah enjoys orating loudly & passionately (about random things) in the backyard while he walks around, and he is very animated!  There are times I wonder if it bothers the neighbors.  We haven't had any complaints so far...

     *"I want someone to hold me."  It took me awhile to figure this statement out.  Noah was referring to 8x10 pics we mounted of each son.  With Josiah being a baby, his shot has a glimpse of me (holding him).  Since Noah is older and able to have solo shots taken, he is alone in this photo.  Noah had noticed this and was perplexed about this for a couple days.  Once I figured out what Noah was talking about, I showed him the photos we have on an 8x10 collage on the fridge that has photos of Wes holding Noah and of me holding him.  That must have made him feel better because we didn't hear about it again.  Noah has done a few minor things that appear to be in light of Josiah, so we try to be understanding when these things occur.

Latest Loves

Wearing shorts! - even on the cold days - he's got an internal thermostat like his dad

Playing the "slug bug" game

Smells - Asking what things smell like and wanting to smell various items, particularly food

Candyland board game

Wearing a dyed pasta necklace he made in Cubbies

Interesting Info

*"Nothing gets by that boy!" - Those words have come from Wes at times in the past but several times this past month, particularly in reference to Noah noticing when Wes is or has eaten candy.  Sometimes Noah hears a related sound such as a candy wrapper (while playing in another room) and comes running in, "Daddy!  What are you eating?"  Of course Noah asks if he can have some.  Since Noah is aware of smells, now he'll smell it on Wes' breath. ;)  Noah even noticed the smell of only 1 small dark chocolate chip on my breath that I had ate several minutes previously.  He questioned me, "Mommy, it smells like chocolate...?"  So, I fessed up about my chocolate chip.  Wes was laughing hysterically when I told him because Wes is the sweet tooth in our home and is usually the one Noah is onto like a hawk. ;)

**Sweet boy

**Silly boy :)

**Fun-loving boy

**With a serious side too

On one of his "firefighter calls" - Noah gets calls on his cell phone to go put out fires ;)

Having fun learning about his letters & numbers on educational apps

Candyland - Noah's 1st time truly playing a board game & not just pretending to play

I think he is extra excited & engaged due to the winner receiving a piece of candy. ;)

So far Noah is undefeated & has beaten Mommy multiple times, Uncle Adam, & friends.  

I think we have a fierce competitor on our hands.

P.S. Notice his colored pasta necklace that he is wearing proudly

*Video - From our day at the zoo - Noah attempting to feed a giraffe, dropping the lettuce, & bolting

Josiah Joys

**Our precious 5 month old son 

(technically he was only 3 months old in these 2 photos - taken at the end of September)

1sts - haircut, veggies - first was avocado (which technically I think is a fruit)

Latest Loves

Laughing, squealing, & making various baby noises

Chomping on his hands or sucking his index finger

Playing under his monkey gym & batting at toys or playing in his exersaucer

Raking things & putting them in his mouth

Peek-a-boo - especially with his big bro

Enjoying playing in the exersaucer

 

Josiah has been chomping on objects & drooling more lately - teeth soon to come?

 Sweet smiles

Sierra giving kisses - Josiah loves Sierra, & the feeling is mutual. ;)

Monkey gym fun * Showing off his healthy "big legs" (as Noah calls them)

Sitting up solo - tripod style 

 

Becoming mobile may be coming soon?

Probably not... Josiah's still pretty content to be stationary

Josiah has been arching his back more often when on his back but is not rolling over yet.

He got up on his elbows & knees & made a little attempt to crawl but just collapsed. ;)

Sacked out & sipping - Josiah's latest move when he is tired & falls asleep while drinking his bottle.  Too cute! :)

*Video - Josiah enjoying experimenting with his lungs

Noah is in the background playing peek-a-boo with him :)

Bro Bonding

**Sweet brothers

**Noah showing Josiah some love

Josiah's 1st haircut - BEFORE

Wes cut Noah's hair, & we figured we would whip Josiah's whispies into shape since the clippers were already out.

AFTER

 

Noah's hair * Josiah's whispies

Hanging out * Sticking their tongues out ;)

I think they look a lot like each other in this pic! 

Noah really likes giving Josiah "zerberts" - blowing with his mouth on Josiah's tummy.

Josiah is not so sure about this, but he takes it like a champ.

Josiah is fascinated with faces & enjoys exploring them * Smiles :)

Having fun together! :)

Noah plays really well with Josiah, which is just precious to watch!

*Video - Josiah laughing at his big bro

Noah always gets the most laughter, smiles, & "talk" from Josiah. ;)

*Video - Josiah squealing at Noah

Memorable Moment of the Month

Thanksgiving Memories - We had a wonderful time with family the week of Thanksgiving.  The Schenks - Kyle, Kristen, Sawyer, & Nora - flew in from Ohio, and Great Papa & Great Tache drove out from Kansas.  Our activities included:

 Josiah's baby dedication (which was a blessing that my brother-in-law, sister, and their children were able to be here for it)

I got sick & laid low for a couple days 

Eating at a Hibachi grill with even more extended family to celebrate November birthdays

Day trip to the North Pole with the boy cousins and Papa & Nana

Thanking the Lord for His many blessing & celebrating Thanksgiving together

Schenk Family - Sawyer, Kyle, Kristen, & Nora

Boys making cheesebread with Papa for dinner Saturday night

Great Tache & Josiah at the Hibachi grill

 

The Greats! - Great Tache & Great Papa with almost all the great grandkids (Josiah was taking a nap) * G-pa & Noah

Cousin Love

Sawyer (2), Josiah (5 months), Noah (3), Nora (1)

Sawyer & Noah scheming up a plan * Hugs

Noah giving Nora a ride

Nora continually sought to show Josiah some love by making sure he had his teether toy :)

Fun at the North Pole

1st ride - Kyle & Sawyer with Noah & me

Giant slide * Car cruising

Noah & Sawyer's first ride together * Flying high

Biker boys

Noah's favorite - Riding the train with Papa & Sawyer

Papa & Nana with the boys

Papa's favorite ride - the mini rollercoaster

Racing

Nana & Noah on the Scrambler - you can barely see Noah over the bar

Thanksgiving Preparations & Celebration

Sawyer & Noah making pumpkin pie with Great Tache - I think it has become a tradition :)

Assembling cute Thanksgiving table decor

Trying to take down Great Papa

Cousins chowing down on their Thanksgiving meal - Noah * Sawyer

Nora * Josiah - he enjoyed some pureed sweet potatoes :)

More Memories

Family photo from back in August when we visited our fam in Wisconsin

From L to R:

Johnsons - Paul, Amanda, Brayden (1)

Us - Noah (3) & Josiah (2 months)

Dad & Mom

Autumn & Camren (6)

Harrisons - Aaron, Kim, Abby (3), Joey (1)

Celebrating the Arrival of Ian James Decker

My cousins' (Mike & Tiffany) sweet boy - held on long enough to make it to November ;)

November 1, 2012

12:28am

7 lbs. 4 oz

19" long

**All photos with a double asterisk are

courtesy of www.teresaleephotography.com 

Teresa Lee desired to bless those who helped serve in the Waldo Canyon Fire (ex. firefighters, EMTS, etc.) 
with a free photo shoot.  Teresa did an excellent job taking photos of our family, 
and we enjoyed our time talking with her and learning about her heart for the Lord, for her family, and for adoption.  
We highly recommend Teresa Lee to those in the CO Springs area.