The Olympics. . . among other things.

Okay, so I know. There are a lot of people who never watch TV. We are not that family. And thought I have a thousand conversations a week about HOW MUCH tv we are going to watch, and though it is a battle that I have thought long and hard about throwing the whole thing out the window-- we have had a BLAST watching the Olympics. There is something very innate in my boys that causes them to love the competition. In our hallway they LOVE to race. Whatever means by which they can do it. We get out the world map and talk about where all the competitors are from. We even watched figure skating. (not last night though and I am terribly sorry to have missed the american win!) We have also enjoyed watching our boys mesmerized by the men's halfpipe and the really fast downhill women's race. We even saw some curling one afternoon and though Benjamin kept asking me the rules, I couldn't for the life of me explain why they were doing the odd things they were doing. I couldn't even tell him who was getting points for what and how one country won and another lost. ANYWAY, all that to say it's been a fun week with more to come I am sure.

What got me thinking about it again, was Kelly Clark last night on the women's snowboard half pipe. I missed it then, but saw it this morning on the Today show- she was singing to the Lord before she went down. Loudly, for all to hear. Unashamedly. My friend Candace did an amazing post about her a few weeks back, you should totally check it out here. Then today I read someone else's thoughts about the same woman. Her heart for the Lord is infectious. She shares her testimony in such an open and genuine way that I can't wait to know her when Jesus returns. She is a testimony for the real gospel in a place where man is exalted above all in the spirit of competition. Lord, I want to live in such a way that you are exalted all around me- no matter what the other messages are, no matter what it sounds like, no matter how it is received. I want to be a voice in the midst of darkness that shares your heart for the lost.

Dear Birth Mother. . . wherever you may be.

Dear Birth Mother,

I am sorry that we never got to meet. I am sorry that our conversations were so short and so trivial. I wanted to meet you, to share with you, to raise and love a child together. I don’t know where your heart is right now. I don’t know if you are honest or lying. I don’t know if you will really love the little girl who is growing inside of you. I bet you already do. Maybe that’s why you changed your mind. Maybe you are wanting to live your life differently because of this little one.

Either way, I want you to know that we prayed for you. We will continue to pray for you. We pray that the Lord would encounter you. We pray that he would speak to you all the things in his heart. The way he loves you, the way he formed you, the way he longs to speak to you day in and day out. We pray that you would have dreams in the night about him. That in your sleep you would encounter the creator of the heavens and the earth, the God of all, the one who knows every hair on your head. That He would say things to you that your heart longs to hear, things that only you have whispered in your heart, things that have never been spoken. That He would answer the deepest questions of your soul and fill the void that has been empty for so long. We pray for you.

We prayed also for the little one inside your womb. We pray that she would be protected from the arrows of the enemy. That she would grow strong in mind and heart. That she would be healthy- with 10 fingers and 10 toes. We pray that she would be beautiful. We pray that the Lord would speak to her- even in the womb- of his undying love, His adoption of all of us into his coming kingdom. We pray that she would know the love of the Father in heaven at a young age. That she would grow in mind and heart quicker than those around her. We named her Bethany Joy- that she would live a life of radical love- as in the spirit of Mary of Bethany (Luke 10:42 - 11:1 but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.") And that she would live fully- joyfully. That joy would follow her all the days of her life.

We will continue to pray for you both- and for whatever reason, the Lord wanted our paths to cross this winter. He knows all the plans of the world. He rains on the righteous and the wicked. He knows where the one is who is to come into our home, and though it is not the one in your womb, He knew that too. It is not a surprise to Him. Our prayers will continue to be with you both. Our hope is not in this age, our hope is in what’s to come. Our hope is when He will make all things right. Our hope is set on the age when there will be no more orphans. There will be none without fathers and mothers, and there will be fullness in the families of the earth. Thank you- for forcing us back into the arms of our own Father. Thank you for letting us into your life, if only for a moment.

the harrigan clan

An update on the little ones...

Hello friends! Another quick update on the fam. We have had a great last couple of weeks, despite drama in some arenas. :) We went bowling a couple of weeks ago and had a blast! Everyone loved it. There are also some pics in the slideshow from the recent snow in KC. We built a fort, and I am proud to say that I donned snow gear and worked for close to an hour mounding the snow before daddy came home to finish digging out the tunnels. WE all had a blast!

Finally, I had to include this little snippet into the Little Man's world. We were sitting eating lunch, and he came out with this all by himself. Enjoy!

GladiTuesday (via Carpoolqueen)

Thanks to the carpoolqueen for giving me this great idea!

1. I am AMAZINGLY glad that we have all our money to get Bethany! Assuming everything comes through as we think it should, then NOW we are ready. As if to say we haven't been ready until now. But I digress . . .

2. I am glad that I got to talk to our birth mom last night for close to 45 minutes. About her life, her heart for this baby, her desire to get to know us, and the Ggod connection that brought us together. From the beginning we have felt the Lord calling us to speak into her life, as well as the baby's, so it gave me hope for when we meet in KS.

3. I am really glad Trader Joe's makes this really cool, whole grain baking mix that makes kickin' biscuits. (Yes, I just used the word "kickin")

4. I am also very glad that I made too many for Breakfast Dinner last night. :)

5. I am glad the snow has melted, again, and that it is sunny outside. Despite the fact that my children now believe that means they no longer have to wear coats and hats. It seems that even though the sun is out, it is still below freezing. Still, glad. :)

6. I am glad for warm drinks- on cold, but sunny days.

Goodbye!