WI Harrisons + CO Harrisons = A Wonderful Time Together - October 2013

Giving God Glory

Our Great & Wise God - Sometimes the Lord's ways are difficult to understand and challenging to wrap my mind around.  In these trying times, I seek to remind myself of who He is and trust.  When I know and rest in who God is I can trust what God does...even if I don't always understand.  We encountered one of these tough trials in our neighborhood recently.  The Lord called home to heaven (after 8 months of battling leukemia) a friend of ours and also the father of one of Noah's friends.  His friendly smile, sense of humor, kindness, generosity, and love for his wife and sons are greatly missed.  It is tough to live in a fallen world where illness, natural disasters, and other similar types of trials occur as a result of sin from the fall (Genesis 3).  The Lord is sovereign over it all and has a plan and purpose in the midst of the pain.  The Lord had ordained the number of days for our friend even before his birth (Psalm 139:16), but it's tough when the number of days is much shorter than hoped.  Remembering that the Lord is great and wise beyond my understanding has been encouraging to me, since He sees all - past, present, future - and knows what is best for each of our lives.  Job 5:9 ~ Who does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.  Romans 11:33-36 ~ Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!...  For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.  To Him be the glory forever.  Amen.  We praise the Lord that our friend trusted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and that he is presently in heaven with Jesus, free of all suffering and pain!  This thought is glorious in the midst of the grieving.

What's on the Harrisons' Hearts

A New Direction Coming Soon? - The Lord may have a new direction for our family in the near future.  Wes finishes school in a couple weeks and will have a Bachelors of Science degree in Biblical Studies.  We are so proud of all the hard work, time, and energy Wes has invested over the past 6 years to complete this accomplishment and also to grow in his personal relationship with the Lord through his studies.  We are also grateful for all the ways the Lord has blessed our family through Wes' studies.  We are praying and seeking the Lord for whether He has a new direction for work for Wes - possibly some kind of vocational ministry rather than firefighting - which has the potential to also involve our whole family in a new direction.  We look forward to seeing the Lord's plans unfold - whether confirming Wes is to stay with firefighting or leading Wes to a whole new kind of job.

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).

Friend - Praise for her body being cancer-free after a surgery that enabled doctors to remove the cancer since it had not spread much.

Tache - Praise for her back starting to feel better.

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.  Prayer of Galatians 5:22-23 that the fruit of the Spirit would abound in Dad's & Tami's lives during this trial.

Our Family - Praise for the opportunity to hand out over 150 gospel tracts Halloween night.  Prayer of Psalm 32:8 that the Lord would make His will clear for Wes' work in His perfect timing - whether to stay in firefighting or pursue a new direction.

Wes - Praise & continued prayer for the Lord to continue to impact Wes' heart (& not just his mind) and grow him in applying what he is learning (James 1:22) and for perseverance as Wes only has a couple weeks of school left.  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).  

Christina - Praise for how the Lord is growing me in walking by the Spirit and not my flesh (though this is an on-going request).  Please pray I would grow in loving Jesus, listening to Him, and in intimacy with Him and not get distracted from Him & His priorities for me (Luke 10:38-42).
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 growing Noah in trusting Jesus in good times and in times of trials, whether personally experienced or through loved ones.  Continued prayer of Ephesians 6:1-3 that the Lord would grow Noah in honoring and obeying Wes and me right away and not arguing (whether defiantly or subtly).  
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 for the Lord growing Josiah greatly in his gross motor skills this past month.  Continued prayer of Galatians 5:22-23 for the Holy Spirit to be at work in Josiah in growing him in self-control, especially when he doesn't get what he wants.  Continued prayer for the Lord to grow Josiah in his gross motor skills (ex. progressions involved with walking) in His perfect timing.

Marriage Memories

:)

We had a wonderful time at a Stephen Curtis Chapman * Laura Story * Jason Gray concert!

Family Fun

Some Fam Photos

 

Mom & Son Pirates Night at YMCA

Noah showing off the "hook" that Daddy & he made * Rrrrrr!

Face painting * Pirate Noah!

Noah's favorite activity of the night was the "bounce house" obstacle course

Line to hit the treasure chest pinata * Noah taking a swing

Daddy & Sons Harvest Festival Outing

While I was away at our church's women's retreat, Wes took the boys to a nearby church's Harvest Festival one night.  They had a great time playing a variety of games & winning candy.

Pirate Brothers - Noah * Josiah

Halloween

Evangelism Opportunity - We enjoy the opportunity to share the gospel on Halloween.  Here's what we handed out ~ candy & gospel tracts for kids.

Noah wanted to dress up for the occasion - He was super excited & had a blast handing out candy & gospel tracts! * Here's what people saw when they opened our door. :)

A Few Other Photos

Daddy & sons snuggling & reading * Dozer & Sierra snuggling

Daddy & Noah lounging in their chairs

Noah News

Age - 4 years old

Cute Communication - 
     *One afternoon the boys were in the office/spare bedroom while I was nearby in Josiah's room putting clothes away.  I hear Noah begin proclaiming with passion - "All of us are sinners.  Our sin has separated us from God, but while we were still sinners Christ died for us.  He died on the cross for our sins and then rose from the grave.  He is the Creator of all things - sun, moon, plants, and all of us..."  When I peeked in, I saw Noah had the God's Promises Devotional open (that is usually on the night stand) as if he was preaching from it to Josiah while his little brother crawled and rolled around on the floor.  Precious...
   
     *Wes asked Noah which schedule Noah liked better.  #1 - "Daddy works 24 hours and is off 24 hours." OR #2 - "Daddy works 48 hours and is off 72 hours."  Noah - "I like the one where you don't work until you die." ;)

     *Before bed one night, Noah and I were talking about life, death, and the importance of trusting Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Noah mentioned with concern a couple of Wes' co-workers that we pray often for and one of Noah's neighbor friends that we gave a Bible to.  Me - "Would you like to pray for them?"  Noah - "Yes.  Father, pray for [Wes' co-workers] to trust Jesus as Lord and Savior and that [his friend] would read his Bible and see Jesus in it and trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior."  We are grateful to see the Lord at work in Noah's tender heart!

     *Noah & I went on a "Mom & Son Pirate Date" at the YMCA, and when we came home, Noah proudly stated to Daddy, "I got a mustang & a beard."  They had face-painted a mustache & a beard. ;)

     *Noah asked Daddy one morning, "Why do you have your work on?" Noah was referring to Daddy's work uniform.

Latest Likes
Preschool
"Reading" himself (aka. telling the story based on the illustrations)
Songs - 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord O My Soul) by Matt Redman & God's Not Dead by Newsboys
Sunglasses
Dressing up / Role playing

Our Spunky Noah

Noah has been enjoying "reading" (aka. telling stories based on illustrations) * Noah also started taking off on his trike this month

Snuggling with our dogs - With Sierra & Dozer * Noah & Dozer

Noah has been enjoying dressing up & pretend play at lot this month! - pirate * spiderman * firefigher

Excited to be on a construction machine!

*Video - Noah cruising on his trike at the park

Josiah Joys

Age - 16 months old

Stats from 15 month check up:

     Weight - 23 lbs.     49%

     Height - 30.5 in.    16%

     Head - 17.5 in.        3%

1sts - pulling up to stand & cruising furniture on own, blowing kisses, going down the stairs on his stomach by himself, "dive-bombing" down the slide & landing before we could get to the bottom

Teeth - still holding at 8 (4 top & 4 bottom)

Latest Likes

Reading books

Cruising furniture

Shaking head "yes" or "no"

Playing at the park

Our Sweet Josiah

"Raiding the fridge" * Snuggling with Dozer

Having fun feeding himself - The beginning * Scooping & smiling * The messy end ;)

Climbing inside Dozer's crate

Enjoying making noises & going to the park

*Video - Cruising furniture (Josiah has become a lot faster since this video was taken)

Bro Bonding

Precious Boys!

Josiah adoring his big brother * Brother fun ~ grass fight! ;)

Cheesin' it up with some Packer fans support

Playing together in the rocks/"construction zone" in our backyard

Noah has really been enjoying picking up & holding Josiah lately :)

Dozer, Josiah, Noah, & Sierra in a fort Noah made for all of them ;)

Coloring together * Enjoying completing a fine motor skill activity together

Big bro helping his little bro out with feeding Josiah some "gogurt"

Homeschool ~ & Preschool ~ Highlights

This month we did a Science unit study on the seasons. 

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 Unit: Seasons

We enjoyed wearing seasonal clothing, doing art projects related to the seasons, eating seasonal snacks, participating in seasonal activities, and reading books & watching a slideshow song about the seasons.  We also discussed how God created & changes the seasons (Daniel 2:21).

Click on this link for the season slideshow song we enjoyed - 4 Seasons in a Year Song

All bundled up in winter attire * "Snowball" (cottonball) craft reinforcing letter "D" & number "4"

Snowball (cottonball) fight * Noah showing our 4 seasons craft

Field Trip - Ice Skating

We enjoyed going ice skating after studying the different forms of water last month (ice - solid) & then learning about the seasons (ice skating being a winter activity).

Ready to hit the rink * Skating on his own with support of buckets

Taryn & Colton * Super mom Shannon with her 4 children ages 4 & under - you go girl! :)

At one end of the rink, they also had a pile of snow with sand toys for the kids to play in.  Our children enjoyed ice skating so much that they didn't play in the snow pile, though.  

The ice skating rink's "Polar Pals" program ended with a story, snack, & coloring.

Additional Unit on Pirates

 Incorporating a little extra on a topic of student interest & enjoyment

After Noah, Colton, & Taryn watched this video about numbers, they were super excited to role play "pirates & princesses." :)

Pirates - Noah & Colton * Princess Taryn

Wes' backyard discovery - Noah curious & excited * Colton also curious & excited but Taryn scared * The discovery... a slug!

Noah, Josiah, & I did some additional pirate learning & activities

Jake & the Neverland Pirates book & hands-on activity map, another pirate book, & pirate stickers

Daddy & sons pirates pretend play

Passion Preschool added another student ~ Welcome Saylor!

Taryn (3), Colton (4), Noah (4), & Saylor (3)

Life Skill: Learning how to change the oil 

Watching Wes at work

Helping pump up the car jack - Noah, Saylor, Colton, & Taryn

Observing & feeling the new oil

More Life Skills

Cleaning up dog messes in the dog run

Vacuuming carpets from our van * Raking leaves

Additional Skills

Math Skill: Putting puzzles together

Writing Skills: Noah is starting to write more on his own

H, r, D at bottom corner & 6 (light) in middle of page

Memorable Moment of the Month

WI Harrisons + CO Harrisons = A Wonderful Time Together!  - Aaron, Kim, Abby, & Joey drove 16 hours in one shot to come visit us for a week.  We made a lot of wonderful memories during our time together.  We love you guys and appreciate your driving out to CO to see us!

The cousins :) - Joey (2), Abby (4), Josiah (1), & Noah (4)

Enjoying the nephews - Uncle Wes & Joey * Uncle Aaron & Noah * Aunt Kim & Josiah * Uncle Aaron & Josiah

Slumber party every night! ;)

Wishing Star Farm Fun

Noah & Abby petting the animals * Joey was not interested!

The cousins :) - Josiah was with a friend since our outing was during his naptime.

Duck races

The corn "box" was definitely their favorite part!

The brothers having a little friendly roping competition ;)

Taking a ride to pick out pumpkins

Noah working hard to haul his pumpkin * Just the 3 of us - We missed you, Josiah!

Climbing the hay pyramid * Playing a little horseshoes

Swinging away! - Noah, Abby, & Joey

Making Caramel Apples

Melting the caramel was not as easy as we thought...  The kids were very patient with us. :)

Having fun decorating their apples

The bros - Making dinner (Jambalya) * Home project

Cousins painting pumpkins

Focus on the Family - Noah, Abby, & Kim * Joey & Josiah

Fire station Fun

Riding in the firetruck - Noah, Abby, Joey, & Josiah

WI Harrison Fam

Playing with pretend construction machines & the "real deal"

Enjoying a hike at Palmer Park

More Memories

Mom to Mom - Evangelism & Discipleship - I was blessed with the opportunity to share about Evangelism & Discipleship at our church's "Mom to Mom" group (similar to MOPs).  I enjoyed preparing and sharing all that the Lord led me to on principles & practical aspects of evangelism & discipleship "inside the home" with our children & also "outside the home" with younger women, close relationships, & others in relationships that are more distanced.  The key truth I shared was that God is sovereign (He saves & sanctifies), and therefore, we have the freedom & privilege to share faithfully!  

ABEFC's Women's Retreat - I enjoyed participating in our church's annual women's retreat ~ Restoration.  We were blessed to have my cousin's (Kate Wyss') mom (Cindy Ferwerda) as our speaker. :)  It was a wonderful & refreshing weekend with other women ~ good spiritual & physical food, good fellowship, & good fun!  Though I gleaned a lot of good nuggets of wisdom from Cindy as we studied the book of Nehemiah about restoration of the walls of Jerusalem, the truth the Lord impacted my heart with the most was more of a side-note in Cindy's teaching - the importance of my relationship with Christ & how that is to be priority over serving Him (Luke 10:38-42 passage about Martha & Mary).  Not necessarily a new truth, but a truth that I was convicted of neglecting recently.  With all the wonderful opportunities the Lord has blessed me with lately to serve Him & others, I had allowed myself to get distracted at times from what is most important - loving Jesus, listening to Him, & growing in intimacy with Him.  So, I am grateful for how the Lord brought about a renewed restoration & revived my relationship with Him.