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!