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!

Amen and amen!

Two quick thoughts- because in the midst of my life right now, that's about all I have time for.


THANK YOU a million times over- after two days we have over half of the money we need to finish off the adoption costs! We have only $1900 left!

This morning in the van we picked up one of our friends for school. He asked why we had an infant car seat in the van with no baby in it. Big Boy proudly said, "It's for my baby sister, whenever Jesus says it's time for her to come. Unless Jesus makes her a boy, then it's for my baby brother."

Very matter-of-fact like. And it did wonders for my own heart and faith.

And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me." Matthew 18:3-5

Adoption update. . . . is it like #4652?

Hello friends! Here we are, on the ride of adoption. It has just intensified. We have spent the last couple of weeks, praying fervently for two things- the birth mom that we have been matched with and all the orphans in Haiti. It has been daunting at times, for as we all know, where our hearts are focused in prayer- we get attached to as well. SO, it has been a journey. I have been reminded over and over of James 1:27

"27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

I don't, by any stretch of the imagination, claim to be "pure and faultless." However, I do strive to love the things my Father in heaven loves. I do long to connect to His heart, by connecting myself to the things that he is connected to. It have become clear to me, over and over, that the Lord loves those who are suffering. He heard the cries of the Israelites when they were in slavery, he heard the cries of David throughout the Psalms, and He heard the cries of Stephen right before he was stoned to death. The Lord is SOOOO present in the midst of our suffering. He heard my (and John's) cries when Benjamin was born and we were so sick. He heard our cries when Samuel was so sick. He has heard our cries for the next member of our family as well.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." Matthew 5:3-8 (italics mine)

I am no great biblical scholar, but I know this beyond a shadow of a doubt. The Lord is with those who suffer. He is with the babies in Haiti and he is with our birth mother. She is doing something great- something amazing, and she will suffer at some point for it. Her heart will ache. My heart has ached in the last several weeks. But, the Lord is good. And He is with us.

Be praying for us in the next week. The birth mother has arrived back in the Wichita, KS area and is finishing the last steps to prepare for this process. Her due date is January 27 (that's this Wednesday!!!) and we are getting prepared to head to meet her as soon as she and we are ready. Whenever we get a call that the baby is coming, we will load up in the van and get ready to welcome our baby sister into the world! Thank you so much for being a part of this. We are beyond grateful.

Please continue to say a prayer for us- we are $4000 short on the final bill. It seems like nothing since the Lord has provided so much already, but it is still such a large amount of money. Pray with us that the Lord would provide. There is a donate button on the side of the blog and we are so very grateful for anything you can contribute! Either way we'll keep you posted on every step of the journey and how it all works out!

Haitian babies. . . and kids. :)

If you are interested in knowing exactly what is going on with the children of Haiti, this I encourage you to read this blog. Randy is on staff here at IHOP, he directs the Zoe Foundation and Hannah's Dream- both organizations empowering the church to adopt domestically. He, along with Crisis Response International, sent also as part of IHOP, are working frantically with the US Government to figure out how to get these children out of Haiti. CRI has and will continue to put people on the ground in Port-au-Prince, while Randy and his gang are fervently working out the details from this end. Little ones like diapers and formula and big ones like Planes. All that to say, if you want to be moved to pray, if you want to hear what is happening on this end- go read it. It's amazing and beautiful and horrible all at the same time.

the Hebrews and Haiti. . .

So, we went to church this morning and came home at 10:30 as usual. We are, by the way, those crazy people that I never thought I would be-- getting up to go to EARLY church! Oh well, sidenote. On the way home, the boys asked to watch a movie. As any mother fighting this battle knows, I didn't want to be the one to always say no, so I pawned the question off onto the husband. :) He simply asked, "What do you want to watch?" Really, honey? The two yesterday and the 4 the day before (post sickness) were not enough? Nonetheless, my boys know how to win their father over. "Prince of Egypt" they replied confidently. And we all know what happened next. . .

Chilren are sitting in the living room watching and I am sitting at the computer sending out an update from friends of ours who are in Haiti right now. It's pretty intense, but all the sudden I am in the middle of one of those moments. You know, when the Lord begins to speak through something really random and suddenly your heart is stirred to prayer and the tears are rolling, and your youngest is wondering--thoroughly confused- why his mama is crying?? Okay, so maybe just strange people like me have those moments, but one just hit me.

Cue movie, Moses questions the Lord and with resounding authority in His voice, the Lord says "I AM who I AM. This is what you say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you. Say to the Israelites, The Lord the God of your Fathers- the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob- has sent me to you. . . . I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you. . . And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery into. . . a land flowing with milk and honey." (Ex. 3:14-17) All the sudden, my heart is moved and the Lord is pressing on me to pray for the orphans of Haiti. That the Lord would bring them out of their misery, that he sees them in it. AND that He and only He, who put the mountains in their place and formed the earth, could do it. That He is the great I AM. And in all his grandeur and splendid authority, he sees the littlest and the smallest. He sees these children and longs for them to have mothers and fathers. To have families and brothers and sisters.


When the Lord brought about one miraculous event, when he moved a nation out of slavery, all Egypt watched. It will be a testimony to all the nations when He brings out of Haiti a nation of children without mothers and fathers. That the world will know, God cares for the little ones, He has risen from the dead in power and might, and He is coming again! And that like the ones saved from the wreckage, He will save us all and raise us from the dead in fullness on a restored and renewed planet for all eternity! Amen and Amen.

The 4-1-1 on the Harrigan Fam. . . (is that right?)

Anyway, I have like a hundred pics that I have been wanting to post about all the non-adoption related, and yet terribly interesting fun we've been having around the Harrigan house these last several weeks. SO, this is like those 2 minute, get you up to date with the headlines kind of blog. :)

1. We have used, and thoroughly enjoyed, the new wood stove installed last May. With high temps near 0 this past week, it has dramatically helped. (though if you are in the basement very long, it is not nearly as pleasant down there!!!) Either way, fire is fun for little boys, so there was much grandeur involved in building the first!



2. Bethany's bedding has been purchased and put in the room. It is incredibly cute, if you ask me, and Benjamin helped put it all together! We had a blast talking about and praying for our new family member on the way.



3. It has snowed here. A lot. See below. :)



4. Our dear friends Andrew and Lydia Faith got engaged this past week, and though Andrew is overseas for a year, they plan to marry in GA next Spring! Whoo hoo!



5. This just in. . . . Samuel is really cute.



6. On another note all together, Daddy Harrigan decided to go for a midnight sledding adventure with four other friends. Really?? Wow.



7. On a final note, we have a video from mostly Samuel, though I had to tie Benjamin down to not jump into the fun. We have family devotions most nights, and Samuel has formed a definite opinion now about his favorite song, "This is the day."



Goodnight and goodbye!

Let's Make a Deal. . .

Today's blog post by a friend here is Kansas City is awesome. It's about the reward we get when we invest in something beyond ourselves. I wanted to pass it along, mainly as another way of saying THANK YOU to all of you who have invested time, money, and heart into our adoption of Bethany. We are still waiting for more details, but we know that she is coming soon, and we know it will be from the Wichita, KS area. Everything with adoption is a roller coaster- and until 12 hours after delivery and again 30-60 days later, after finalization- nothing is ever for sure. SO, we continue to pray, continue to wait, and sit in a place of peace. Knowing full well that the Lord is in control, he can take care of things bigger than us and He can take care of Bethany. He is good and strong.