A Saturday of Fun....

So, we had a day of it. It started early this morning, as Samuel awoke at 6am saying he needed to poopoo. Lo and behold, he really did so John took him in and they had their business. However, after the adventure, there was no going back to sleep. SO, for the next hour he laid in bed with us, talking, singing, kicking, talking some more. . . . you get the point. At 7 Benjamin woke up, and the day had begun. We made waffles, had our coffee and were ready for the blackberry patch. It's actually at the same place we went a couple of weeks ago for blueberries, but it's a different season now. Or so we thought.

Sadly, there were no blackberries to be found. Nonetheless, we had a great chocolate chip cookie, a train ride pulled by a riding lawn mower, and some really good corn on the cob and green beans. Picked by our own little hands. :)

Afterwards, naptime ensued and everyone was happy. The boys both slept for some time, and then we went to a swimming party at our friends, the Stephensons, house. We gathered with our AMS comrades, enjoyed the water, the sun, the grill, and the fellowship. And it struck me. As it so often does, at the most random of times. I am thrilled to be in this place, at this time. We have all kinds of issues (who doesn't??), but we are so grateful to be connected to such amazing people. The leadership of AMS is wonderful, the students are amazing and inspire me daily. Thank you dear friends! For such an amazing reminder of the goodness of the Lord- simply in sitting together and laughing. I am blessed beyond measure.

Bethany Update

Hey friends- this is quick, but we are almost done with our home study and I got an email today saying there was an agency in Utah that was desperate for families. I have printed off the application- and we need to fill it out, finish and copy the profile, and mail it in. It's getting more and more real. . . . be praying for us and her.

lydia

4th of July fun!

Okay, so I find this a bit amusing. . . I am not a largely patriotic person. I know my American history well, I am moved by the men and women who have fought and died for our nation. I love and hate things about this place, but don't generally run around with large flags in my yard, or red, white, and blue hats donned for the annual celebration. However, for some reason I love a good 4th party. We never had them growing up, so I don't know where the drive comes from, but for most of our marriage we have attempted to throw some kind of event. I remember the first one in KY-- we had been there for almost a year, but had a hard start and so it was just us and the Chaneys (memories....) I remember one in Arkansas where some fireworks ended up shooting the wrong direction and a trash can was almost ignited. But this year takes the cake. . .

I invited several groups of people that we love (know that I usually do this and end up with 5-20 people), had many more replies than expected and offered to host a Latino group of 20 (they were at IHOP for a conference and wanted to join the fun of an american cookout on the 4th). Anyway, when it was all said and done I had close to 80 people at my house last night. It was a fabulous party, there was food enough brought for everyone, the slip-n-slide was again a hit, and Benjamin made it all the way to midnight! A special thanks to my peeps for helping in the kitchen- that was totally awesome! Thanks Tricia, Sarah, Melissa, Melissa, Melanie, Rachel, and Lizzy. . . . (i think that was everyone). At midnight when I put Benjamin to bed it was such an amazing thing to be able to go to bed myself! I love you all and our celebration may look different next year, but we should still have one! Here's some pics.

Three things I like to do

Because I thought it was such a great idea, I thought I would steal my friend Candace's blogging idea. Randomly, I thought I would join the train.

1. One of my favorite things about the summer and my permed hair, is that I don't have to wash and dry it every day. I love this. I love that I can pin it back with bobby pins and it looks just as it would had I washed it fresh. (this never works in the winter, by the way, when my hair is straight and much more difficult!)

2. I am obsessed with the weather. I love to watch the local news, because in my wonderfully educated opinion, they know much better. And to add to it, I am quite amused when, like today, they said it was going to rain tonight at 7, and it starts this morning at 7:30 and all I can think about is how wonderful it is for all my veggies and flowers. I keep saying it, "It's still raining outside!"

3. Though I cannot carry laundry on my head like Candace, I am loving meeting people from around the world. It's this strange oxymoron in my life, know and loving people that I rarely get to see and who are spread around the globe. We met a new friend this week from the middle east. She is an Israeli Arab who is a believer. She had an amazing testimony and a wonderful heart for the Lord. Mine was blessed just knowing her. And next year, when we travel to Egypt, we will make a stop in Nazareth to see our new friend.

There you have it friends- a glimpse into the world of harrigan. . . .

More fun times. . .

We are having a blast this summer and can't wait to share all our fun with everyone! We spent a weekend with NaeNae and Papa, and this is one of the wonderful toys that they have (it conveniently gets left there when we leave every time!) See ya later!

Just some summer fun . . . .

Got these on the computer today (finally) and thought you all would enjoy them! By the way, the heat index in KC today is 110. Really, it only June!!!

Brave Ransom

Hello friends- just thought I would send you to some wonderful thoughts given about my dear friends in Asia who just had a baby. I would recommend you reading the post from this new baby's mama on the Rupp blog, and also Candace's thoughts about naming and the power of our words. Both of these are such women of God, their hearts flow so openly, and they speak such truth that I figured you would love it as well!

Bethany's Dinner- Fayetteville, AR AND Kansas City, MO

No, this in not the newest member of the Harrigan family. It could be. She could look like this. She could have darker skin, she could have lighter hair. Part of this adventure is recognizing that simple fact, we have no idea what she will look like. But we do know this much, we know that she belongs in this family. We know that she is designed, created, loved and formed that she would be a part of our family. We are anticipating the day when we will meet her. Here's the beginning of the story:

I had always thought about adoption, but was convinced it was for someone else– people who couldn’t have babies or who were kind of weird and wanted a whole bunch of children and had a lot of money. After we had Benjamin, the Lord spoke very clearly to my heart. “There are babies who don’t have mommies and daddies and you are a mommy and daddy.” I’m a black and white kind of girl, so this was one of the better words for my heart. As the years have passed, my heart has grown, not in an abstract way, but a very concrete, clear direction. Before we got pregnant with Samuel, the Lord gave us the name Bethany. We were convinced that Samuel was going to be a girl and her name would be Bethany. We were sure of the word of the Lord. Needless to say, without a doubt, the ultrasound tech said he was a boy, and the Lord knew he was to be called Samuel. Slightly disappointed, I asked the Lord about Bethany. Why had you given me this name when she wasn’t in me? He promptly answered me with my growing heart for adoption. “She is out there. I have and will form her for your family. She will come to you from me.” I was wowed by the awesome hand of the Lord, that he would do such a thing. That he would allow me to participate in this amazing thing called adoption. I am consistently awed by the concept– that we are adopted into the family of heaven, that we are grafted/adopted into the family of Israel. I don’t fully understand it, but I know there must be something there. The dynamic of adoption on the human heart is so powerful that I want to be a part of it. I want to know the heart of the Father from this angle, I want to see the other little ones that he has in store for our family.

Part 2: As we grow in our knowledge of adoption, what it means, what it costs, we begin to realize that we don't have all the resources necessary to do this on our own. We are now learning that it is a combined effort, by the church as a whole, to come together and take care of these little ones who need homes.
Before anyone can adopt, you must complete a home study. It is done by a licensed agency, costs $1000, take at least a month and up to six. It is an examination of all aspects of your life, from marital issues to parenting to financial stability. They are wanting to make sure you are stable enough to adopt. After the home study has been completed you get copies of it and fill out more applications to send to the Adoption Agencies around the nation where the birth mothers come. Once the applications have been received, your profile (a book of pics of your family) is given to birth mothers who fit with what you are looking for and you can get a call with a match. Once you are picked and agreed upon, the largest sum of money goes to the agency that is taking care of that mother. It can range anywhere from $8000 to $35,000. We are interested in the group of babies that most people don’t want to adopt.

We are wanting to have two fundraising dinners: One in Kansas City on July 12 and one in Fayetteville, AR on Sunday, August 2.

We will sell tickets for $50, $75, or $100 each and invite friends to a night out. John and I will speak briefly on adoption, what we have learned, and what we feel like the Lord is saying about it, and then let everyone have a great time enjoying some great food and each other. Here are the things we are praying for and asking:

1. You all have more connections than we could ever have on our own- would you consider hosting a table, inviting 8-10 of your friends for a night out?
2. Would you consider joining us for dinner?
3. Would you pray for this one, Bethany, wherever she is and however she is, that she would know she is created by the Father and loved by our family?
4. Would you consider donating to support this new addition to our family?

Please leave a comment if you can help or are interested in coming. Thanks so much-

In with the heat, out with the spring.

Well, that time of year is fast approaching. I have said in recent years that Kansas City weather is not all that exciting. Maybe I have just been spoiled. Both northwest Arkansas and central Kentucky really have beautiful weather. (though when I was there, I wasn't quite as appreciative). Nonetheless, summer has hit with a vengeance and we are headed into the nineties this week. We have been to two weeks of swimming lessons, which by the way, the local YMCA does wonderfully! We are learning the basics and are soon pool worthy. With maybe a life vest or two. Either way, let the heat come! We have learned some valuable lessons to keeping the upstairs cool, we have learned to venture downstairs when we can't stay that way, and to always, given the choice, play in the sprinkler! We are ready!!

On a side note, I have no pictures today because I left my camera at NaeNae and PaPa's house last weekend and they are mailing it back this week. Swim lesson pics are soon to come, and maybe I'll get a pic of the garden this year. Though I still cannot stand the deer in our area, I have not given up and we have eaten fresh broccoli and lettuce this spring. The tomatoes were eaten, but are coming back from the root, the potatoes are ready to be dug up and the squash and zucchini are looking great! We still haven't seen the corn or the beans, but sadly enough, they were planted very late for their season! We'll have to wait to see if they make it. Love you all dearly and thanks for reading-

The unwanted babies. . .

This is something I saw recently that spoke to my heart. It is definitely what the Lord has been speaking to us- a very simple message- that the adoption of this little one is not about us. It's about her. It's about what purposes the Lord has for her life and what He wants for her. Thought I would share. . . .