Marriage?

This weekend we had a blast with our friends the Chaneys, as previously mentioned. Anna Grace is three months younger than Benjamin, but every time we get together I love to see her grow and change. As a young "woman", she loves to talk. And in true fashion, she loves to talk about relationships, marriages, families, etc. She has decided that Benjamin will someday be her groom and they will have a family together. This weekend she already had a baby in her belly (as any three year old who has a baby sibling does). Benjamin is loving someone to play with and doesn't mind playing whatever Anna Grace wants, after all, it's someone his age to play with and she's way more fun than any one else!

What got me thinking about this further is the design of the Lord. It amazes me that we are so intricately and purposefully made for relationship. The trinity God functions in relationship for eternity and he knit us together in order that we may know Him and be known by Him. How great it is to be around friends who know us well, and despite that, still love us. Even at three, Anna Grace knows that people are designed to be with God and with other people. Isn't that the greatest commandment, love God and love one another? Well, if Anna Grace and Benjamin ever walk down the aisle, the mothers will be delighted, but if not, we know that the Lord has intentionally put a knowledge of himself in us that we may know him better from even the start of life.

What friends. . . .

So, in the last several weeks we have seen two of our dearest friends. Long lost from the seminary years, our hearts were forever knit together in the womb of Wilmore, KY. We struggled throught the trials of seminary, we laughed AND cried through the attempts at getting pregnant, and we loved and wept at the arrival of our first children. Something in those three years created a bond that won't be quickly broken. To the Rupps, you remind us that there is a world out there longing for Jesus and you inspire us to tell the message. And to the Chaneys, you inspire us to reach the world we are now in. And to you both, you make us laugh through it all. Thank you and may the Lord continue to unite our hearts and show himself in our time together!

To the Harpers, we miss you and love you all!

So, since I haven't yet attempted the slideshow, here's the best I can do. Enjoy!

On the way to grandmother's house. . .

Okay, so I am trying to get as many posts done as possible, and though I recognize there is very little depth to my thoughts- I am in high speed blogging motion. We just thought this was hilarious as John and I were in the front seat. Erin, my younger sister, had spent the last 4 days with us and we had a fabulous time! (We can't wait for you to come back, sister!) Anyway, as we hurriedly left Kansas City for Arkansas, all were worn out and daddy and I had a great conversation! Thank you for movies in vans, and thank you for wonderful aunts to sit by us!

How fun is daddy? SOOOOO Fun!

So here is daddy after the boys and I had finished a long afternoon of crying, whining, and basic toddler behaviors. We were, needless to say, tired of eachother. Somehow, with the return of daddy, life returns to normal and we are all okay. Thank you Lord for daddies!

Here it goes. . .

So, I recognize that I am not the best blogger in the world. I have all kinds of thoughts and what-not going on in my head and for some reason I can never get them down. Oh well, tonight I will share a few. It has been an amazing Christmas season for us here. We ventured down to Fayetteville, AR (home of the Razorbacks) and had a wonderful time with my family. It was a year of changes for us. We spent our last year away from Kansas City. We have decided that in future years we will stay at home for Christmas. It was heart-breaking and exciting at the same time. We are excited about starting new traditions with our children, we are mourning the loss of older traditions. However, we thoroughly enjoyed some for the last time, and made to sure to make the most of them. My grandfather who died 9 years ago used to always "cook" on Christmas morning by taking us to IHOP for pancakes (not prayer :0) This last year we went in his memory and here is a great pic of my youngest having a ball after mass amounts of sugar had been consumed and no nap had been had! Enjoy-

Has it been that long?

Okay, so naturally I have very little time to write anything tonight. In the last week, we have painted almost every surface in our home. Not really, just the trim and all the walls, but still. It's a lot and I am about ready to be done. In the off moments, I have been intentionally seeking the Lord about this new found deisre that I have. I have been at church the last several weeks and left with an intense desire to be a part of funding the kingdom. Giving away more money that we have ever seen to empower people around the world to minister in the name of Christ. To do what they have been called to do. It's a powerful and very new desire for me. I have always figured that I would be the poor one, receiving what the Lord was giving to everyone else. All of the sudden the tables have changed. I am now spending this month praying over two passages, the wife of noble character in proverbs 31 and the two verses about the new testament lydia, acts 16: 14-16. Both are really very interesting. In proverbs it talks at length about the wife taking care of the people around her, feeding them, clothing them, making sure that physical needs are met to insure that her husband and children, and even servants, could do what it was the Lord had called them to do. Well, that's pretty cool. Then as I was sitting in BSF (bible study fellowship, really cool by the way) this week, surrounded by recent and new friends, I began reading about "lydia" (okay, so i wasn't totally paying attention to the lecture, but it was good, i clued in later). Anyway, it basically says three things about her. She was a seller of purple cloth (i.e. she made enough money to provide for her family as purple was the color of royalty). Secondly, she was a worshipper of God. (I am trying out to sing on a worship team Monday at 2:00) And finally, she invited people into her home in support them and show them the love of God. She was even persuasive in convincing them to stay with her. I don't know how that sounds to you, but to me, these are the three things the Lord is doing right now in my life. He is opening the doors of business, or at least working in my heart about it. He is put in my heart a desire to worship him, and soon in a place of leadership. And he is using my home, even now more than ever as a testimony to His love and His heart for us. He is bringing people to my doorstep that want an encounter with the Lord as much as I do. He is encouraging them in my home. What an amazing God we serve! So, all that to say, 2008 is a new year, one of new beginnings, let's see what the Lord has in store for the Harrigans!

It makes God happy. . .

My son told me this in the car yesterday while he was singing a christmas song and I couldn't help but pass it along. I know the difference it made in my life when I learned the emotions of the father over me, and I pray that my children will know it too.



I did, however, have to explain to him that not everyone has to sing in order to make God happy. He was telling his friend Seth that he had to sing the song. :)



Then tonight, he wanted a snack before bed and I told him it was too late. He proceeded to tell me that Jesus said it was okay. Hmmmmm. At least we are considering Jesus in our decision-making process.

So, in honor of our singer friend Anna Grace. . . .

Another trial and test. . .

Well, the whole family is adjusting to having a baby brother. I know, it's been 8 mos, we should all be adjusted by now. However, it seems to change so dramatically as time passes. I have yet to consistently sleep through the night, and maybe that's why this was so traumatic to me. Either way, I feel like we have passed into a new threshold. Benjamin now has to play with his trains on the table. Samuel loves them and can't be content looking at them. He has to touch them, and further more, he has to have them. Since setting up the train is hard work, something had to be done. This was mommy's quickest and safest solution, and thus far it has worked. Yesterday we did have to have a conversation about standing on the table and jumping off. That is generally against the rules, but besides that it has solved our temporary problems. As a mother, how do we really navigate the joysand frustrations of siblings? Though I love my sister dearly now and always have, we didn't always get along so well. If you get it figured out, let me know. Until then, I will continue to pray and put some things on the table while "learning" to share other things. Lord, give us grace. . .

And here's to the family. . .

Well, here we are with our ever-expanding Kansas City family. I know, it sounds really funny, but all the sudden the Lord is growing our circle of people and He is calling us to minister in a way new and exciting. This past weekend, Benjamin, Samuel, and I took our first ministry trip. We went to Wilmore, KY with John and the above team and spent the weekend praying over the house of prayer there, ministering and encouraging those folks, and teaching the word of God to all who wanted to hear. It was very exciting, and though I only participated in most of those things vicariously, I still had such a wonderful time. I was blessed to be blessed. You know how that goes? You go attempting to do something wonderful for the Lord and you come back with so much more. At a post-trip chili dinner last night, I told the team how grateful I was to them. They loved my children this past weekend, and in turn loved me. How precious! The Lord has been so good to us and he is beginning to yoke our hearts with more and more people who want to partner with us in sharing the gospel of the kingdom. It is near and he longs to see us more and more each day! I can't wait.

We are mobile!

Though slow and sometimes difficult, Samuel has just decided that it is time to start getting around on his own. At this point in his little life, it usually means either going to the room where mommy, daddy, or brother are OR it inevitably means heading quickly towards the spikey plant that we just had to bring inside. It's so very interesting mommy! I thought you all might like to see the first few movements!


P.S. By the way, this was at like 5:30 this morning when the kids got up really early due to the time change!

Did that really happen?

Okay, so here we are at home, my two sweet boys and myself. I am getting ready for a meeting at the house this afternoon, picking up random items lying about the house so guests can walk through. I go to pick up the pea pod costume my youngest had worn on Halloween, and there was a sizable bug holding tightly to it. I decide I would learn from my dear husband, be humane, and take the LARGE bug outside to be free. However, as I got to the back deck and attempted to set the even LARGER bug free into the world it stubbornly held on to the pea pod. So, as any practical thinking person would do, I shook the costume lightly to convince the bug to let go. Convincing did not go as well as planned, so I then decided a firm yet quick shake was the only way. As gravity would allow, I looked down and the bug was no where on the costume. As I continued to look, the HUGE bug was also no where on the ground. Hmmm, one might ask, where then is the GIGANTIC bug? Upon further looking of the costume and the surrounding deck space, my rational brain convinced my emotional, beginning to panic, brain that the ever-increasingly large bug had somehow jumped off the costume, off the deck and somewhere into the grass where I just couldn't see it. :) I went back into the house and stopped to ask Benjamin if he saw a bug anywhere on me. He looked all over my front half and didn't see anything. I thought, is he saying that, or would he really tell me if there was one? I turned around and he exclaimed with joy, "There it is! Right there mommy, on your back!" As luck would have it, this absolutely HUGE bug had stuck himself to my back in such a way that all I could do was swipe at my back. It then proceeded to stick to my finger, only to be flung onto the wall. See above picture. As we were back into the house now, I had lost all sense of grace for this particularly large bug and decided that his time was up. After taking a pic, Benjamin took a shoe to the wall and the bug, laughed hysterically, and continued on his merry way. As funny as he thought it was, I was obviously traumatized and I thought you all should know about my lovely morning and the bug.

Are they cute or what?

Okay, so I figure as a mom, I reserve the right to think that my children are the cutest in the world. I guess that is our job, to make sure our children know their place in the world and to remind them and to us, they are amazing. Nonetheless, this evening we went to the good ole' baptist church down the road throwing a fall festival, fun with candy, costumes, and chili. What more could you want? Benjamin had a ball, and though Samuel had had a whopping 40 minute nap all day, he fared quite well. I figure there was too much to look at to be cranky. Anyway, we had loads of fun, and though I don't have anything insightful to say about the experience, I felt like you all needed to know how cute my kids looked. Isn't that my job?

P.S. If I was as cool as my friends Kayla and Candace I totally would have done a slideshow. My brain seems to be a bit on the down side tonight . . . . Love you ladies!

Has it really been 15 years?

This morning Benjamin and I went to our weekly bible study, BSF. It is this great, nondenominational, international bible study that I have gone to for several years now and cannot seem to get enough of. It has taught me more about studying the bible on my own than any study I have ever done. Enough of the advertisement, but I did see someone there who got me thinking. I grew up in Fayetteville, AR in a fairly large Methodist church. Central UMC is a great place that strives to teach the word of God in a straightforward and honest way, so as to impact the world with the message of Jesus Christ. However, like all human institutions it has it's own set of shortcomings. This morning I ran into a woman who had taught my confirmation class in 6th grade. Her daughter is my age and 15 years ago we were friends. I realized that this woman had taken her time and energy and taught me the word of God at a young age. However, for me it was an age of transition. One of leaving something in order to venture into something else. One of those growing up years. It is also the year that I got baptized. She showed me truth in the word of God that I hold to today in all circumstances. Thank You Mrs. Emilie. I'm glad to know you are living in the KC area and I am ever grateful that you took the time to teach me the heart of God that I may want to pursue it more.

The Happy Harrigan Pumpkins

Well, here we are. The Harrigan's enjoy a good dose of fall fun, and in that spirit we decided that we needed happy pumpkins. We are not all that into the scary side of things, so we don't want spooky pumpkins, but we can all enjoy a smile in the night hours. Ben, Sam, and I went to a pumpkin patch yesterday for play group and happened to come home with a pumpkin for each member of the family (excluding the "extended" family on the property). And after a 90 second jump on the super highway of information, my dear husband came back with several designs for our new and improved family. I cleaned out the insides, Benjamin doodled back and forth between helping and playing, Samuel desperately wanted to play in the inner slimey goop that comes out of the middle, and John did wonders with the knife. Here is what came from it all. Maybe in some totally cheesy way the Lord will show his light through us the same way.

The Family expands. . .

Well, this past weekend we all went to Conway, AR for the wonderful wedding of my brother and now sister-in-law. For weeks we've been talking about the next time we go to Arkansas we are going to Will and Kelly's wedding. For as much as we know about weddings and being married, the best part to my dear three-year old is that after the wedding you get cake. Most major events are defined by whether or not you get cake. So, needless to say, this was an exciting event. I wanted to remember how wonderful my wedding was, but how amazing my marriage has been. I wanted to thank my husband for being so amazing. I wanted to share my joy about the new marriage in our family, and lavish all with prayers and joy. It's such an amazing time to be grateful for what you have and excited about the years to come. As much as I have grown to love my husband more in the last 8 years, I can't wait to see what we will be like in 8 more. Congrats Will and Kelly! Sorry I don't have a picture of the two of them, I was relegated to the women's area so you can see a picture of the three women in the Hightower Family now, myself, Kelly, and Erin. Aren't we a match made in heaven?

Are they really growing this fast?

So here are some developmental milestones. Benjamin fed Samuel dinner for the first time. He has since repeated the action at breakfast today and "helped" with dinner tonight. It's a new fascination and since he is fairly accurate about it, and since it helps me get something else done, I don't mind it so much. Nonetheless, I felt like it was worthy for publication.

By the way, it looks like chocolate pudding they are eating, but rest assured, it's only prunes.

Here, there, and everywhere. . .

Okay, so it's been forever. Since I started this process I was attempting to "blog" on Sunday nights. If you look back over the last posts, it will become evident that plan is not working out for me. So, you get news when you get it. I have all kinds of things I want to talk about, but I think I'll start with the Harrigan Family Commune. As most of you know, there are four young men that live in our basement. Our favorite, Andrew, is in class at the same time as John. However, the new and coming up second in line, is Chad. Chad has class in the mornings and was here this afternoon when it had been raining. You see, we have a large drainage "creek" that runs beside the house. Since we moved in, 2 months ago, Benjamin has been asking to see the waterfall. The first picture is one of the rainy days last month when we (Andrew and Benjamin) hoped there would be a waterfall. Sadly, they were disappointed. The second picture is of this afternoon, when there actually was a large amount of water running down the side of our yard. Benjamin and Chad had a wonderful walk in a downpour. As I watched ever so closely, Chad held on to Benjamin about like I would and when he returned not only had they seen the water but they had seen a glimpse into our heavenly Father. Mothers know this is a daily occurrence, the Lord speaks to us in the most mundane of circumstances. Maybe this is one of those ways he is using me in ministry now.

Baby Boot Camp

Well folks, I am here tonight to share the praises and perils of infancy. This weekend, Friday night to be exact, we had such a long and difficult night that John and I decided it was time to institute a little event we affectionately call "Baby Boot Camp." You see, though somewhat important for Benjamin to sleep through the night, it was not as big of a deal for him. We spent two nights when he was four months old, where John got up with him at night. He stuck the paci in, talked to him for a bit and let him learn how to go back to sleep. He cried the first night for 20 minutes, the second for 10, and after that didn't wake up again through the night. How easy! We were suddenly convinced that we were great parents and we had this whole thing worked out. He slept well in his crib and napped for the appropriate time. Samuel however, has been a different being all together. He is thoroughly attached to mama, at mealtime, bathtime, bedtime, and middle of the night time. Because of this he was waking up at all hours of the morning (1am, 3am, 5am) and not going back to sleep. Screaming at me when I put him in his crib, but lying completely awake for over an hour as I was trying to rock him. All that to say, it was time to help him learn how to self-soothe and put himself back to sleep. Back to the boot camp idea. Saturday was the first day we tried to get him to take a nap in the morning without falling asleep in my arms. Uh oh, after going in to see him every 10 minutes, it took him 45 minutes to fall asleep! I was losing my mind, and he slept a whopping 20 minutes! That afternoon, it was worse, though he slept a bit longer. However, last night, John put him down patted his butt and he whined for 5 minutes, but he put himself to sleep. Even better, last night he woke up once, cried for 5 minutes, and went back to sleep! Today his naps were great, though tonight we had a bit of a set-back and he cried 10 minutes before going to sleep. Either way, we are heading in the right direction and mommy is regaining some sanity. I think that we both needed some separation time. It reminds me though, that we are given little eternal souls in our children, the Lord knows who they are, how they function, and what they think. I only hope that we are nurturing ours in His wisdom and ways and not our own. I'll let you know how the end of baby boot camp goes! (two more days)

So, can I do this?

Well, here I sit for a moment after checking my e-mail, hoping that Samuel stays asleep for just a bit longer. I need to be cleaning the kitchen, putting away the mounds of laundry, eating breakfast (huh?) and getting the list ready to go grocery shopping. Nonetheless, I felt like I needed to stop for a moment and re-evaluate my days. Yesterday morning, I went to BSF and was touched by the lineage of Jesus. Yes, those first few verses in the book of Matthew where they tell you about the line of Jesus from Abraham. Well, if you notice there are five women listed, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba (the wife of Uriah), and Mary. I could not remove my eyes from the testimony of the first four. Tamar-a prostitute, gentile, who fought (somewhat dishonestly) to stay in the family of God. Rahab- another prostitute, gentile, who made a declaration of the Lord in heaven based solely on the testimony of his actions. Ruth- the woman who lost her husband of ten years (John and I are getting close to that) and chose to stay with her mother-in-law because she wanted so badly to be in the family of God. Bathsheba- well we all know about her adulteress acts, but she also lost her first child, and birthed Solomon, the king who built the temple of the Lord. I mean, really, it's amazing to me that the Lord has such value for women and mothers in the kingdom of God. I am praying that through every struggle and mishap in my days, I am consistently crying out to the Father. He is made strong in my weakness. At every moment, every day, when I am weak and broken before him, he is using my weakness to sanctify me. To make me more like him. If that's what being a mother and a woman are about, then let me in. I love the ride.

Well, here's to the firsts

This week has been a collection of firsts. I love how my friend Candace looks for something valuable in every day, blogging forces us to sit back and really evaluate what we spend our time doing. Well, today we went to the IHOP community picnic. Once a year, the whole group attempts to get together at a park for lunch, games, and fellowship. It's hard in a place like this where every other activity tends to be focused on a prayer room, where you can't talk. Hmmmm. However, today was fun. John was on his way home from Kentucky where he has been teaching this weekend, and Andrew (from the basement) went with me and the boys to the gathering. It was great fun and Benjamin had his first encounter with a drum circle. We watched for a while, left to play on the playground, but when we came back by he had to stop. When given the chance, he jumped on it and drummed and danced for quite some time. I'm reminded of the heart the Lord has given Benjamin for music and I can't wait to see how that grows in his precious spirit.

Now, Samuel has not had many posts (poor second child) and for that I apologize. Though this may be old news to some of you we have mastered the art of sitting. He loves to be on the floor, preferably close to his brother, with some toys at hand and he will sit and play for quite some time. It's a great stage and he has so much fun being able to see everything. He is still fighting against sleeping, but this too shall pass. He is such a fiery little one, I know it will only be one of many things that he and I will disagree about. Nonetheless, he will speak the heart of God with passion and fire and I can't wait to see that!

Another Sunday. . .

Well, here I sit for a moment while my youngest is happily sleeping (thank the Lord) and my oldest is playing outside with one of the guys that live in out basement. I was thinking today as we all sat around and ate lunch about how much of my life growing up was spent around other college and high school students from church. I have many memories with older people, talking, laughing, playing and learning about the heart of God from them. It's amazing to see that now my own children are in about the same place. Benjamin loves to play downstairs in the basement, so much in fact that I have to restrict his time! "No honey, 7:15 in the morning is too early to go downstairs. They are all still asleep." (As are most 21-25 year old men on a Saturday) Nonetheless, any opportunity he gets he will take it and enjoy it. The Lord uses community, marriage, family, and friends to teach us about himself. I am sure that when he collected the nation of Israel together and then into tribes, it wasn't just for organizational sakes. It was to show them how to love and care for eachother through all things. There is real merit to needing "a village" to raise your kids. I guess we'll just make one for ourselves out here on the acres! By the way, this is a picture of Benjamin and our Canadian friend who loves Jesus in the night hours- Andrew Steinke!

Preschool already?

So, if I could get my wonderful world of technology to do what it is supposed to do, (it worked!) I would show you a picture of my baby, the three-year old who went to preschool this week for the first time. I realized that I was one of those silly women who stood at the door and waved longingly to her eldest child as he crossed into another threshold. After a moment, I felt quite silly and tried to evaluate my emotions. I am not one to miss the time we spend together during the days. I still have him at home all day the other three days of the week. Besides, do you know how much one can get done in 5 hours with only one child? It was very productive. However, I did realize that my sadness comes in recognizing how big my sweet baby has gotten, what he can do for himself, who he can meet, and eventually the man of God that he will become. I know, he's only three and a long way from being a man. I guess this was just one step in the process (immediately after peeing and pooping on the potty). The process that the Lord uses to change our itty bitty boys into the men that he has made them to be. Won't it be a sight? Praise the Lord-

And so it begins. . .

Well, here I sit on my first ever blogging experience. I almost don't know what to write. I spent the past weekend with several friends who are all avid bloggers, and might I add, wonderful writers as well. That said, I completely succomed to peer pressure and decided to enter the world of modern communication. As much as I could complain about that aspect, I will save it for later and only say now, that I will continue to speak with my dear friends in person though they will already know my deepest, dearest thoughts. Nonetheless, the Harrigans have come into the blogging world with joy and can't wait to see what it will hold for the future. Until next time-

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