Harrison Family

We went to the Weekend to Remember marriage conference through Family Life Ministries.   We stayed at the Amway Grand hotel in Grand Rapids.  It was such a great conference for us to be better equipped to having a godly marriage.  We heard things we never even knew about what it meant to have a marriage where God is first.  This was life-changing for both of us. We would highly recommend it for anybody.  You don't have to have problems to go to the conference which some people think.  Thank you so much for Nicky and Sarah for watching our children and making this possible.  We realized how easy it is to let selfishness and other "extramarital" affairs keep us from having (before a good marriage) and now a great marriage.  Will surprised me by taking me to a fancy restaurant in the hotel for dinner.  The food was amazing.                                 ...

Yesterday, we went grocery shopping as Ian would say "All as a family"  It was really fun.  We didn't have to rush and just allowed Ian to enjoy it.  We had our list and were super organized as well.  We got so much food at ALDI and finally the quality of their produce has gone up. We have started a "rewards" system for Ian.  He gets a penny when he does an exceptional job of being caring, putting his toys where they belong, listening to mommy and daddy, or does something to be like Jesus. He got 25 pennies and we went to Party City, which so happens to be right next door to ALDI.  We explained that he had 25 pennies that he needed to give 10% or 4 cents to Jesus,  save 4 cents and that he could spend the rest.  He did a phenomenal job with this, and was grateful with what he got. He was able to pick from about 5-6 different kinds of candy that only costs 7 cents each.  I want him to grow up very young understanding the Godly way to handl...

I have loved having extra time with the boys and Will.  We have had a lot of fun.  Makes me really value the time I do have with them.  I never want to be so distracted from housework, or my own selfish pleasures that I neglect spending time with them,  That can too easily happen if I am not built up in God's word and asking him to change me.  I have been realizing that I too often forget that I NEED Christ. Spending time in his word, has been so refreshing lately. I am studying Colossians and really enjoying it. It seems like the puzzle pieces are fitting together every time I read God's word.  All over scripture, it says to be holy, be humble and be loving. That is exactly what I am trying to do be holy, be humble and be loving, on my own I will surely fail.  Only with God's strength, wisdom and humility am I able to live a life pleasing to Him.  The minute I think I can do something on my own, my sinful nature gets in the way, and tells me to l...

Judah has been sick the last couple days.  It is so precious that he wants to cuddle with me a lot, the poor kid is so wiped out and tired.  I love moments where I can just hold my children in my arms.  He took 2 steps today before collapsing in my arms.  I think his tubes in his ears may be encouraging him to talk more.  I wonder if he couldn't hear himself too well, it may have helped his balance as well. Ian and I had some great time together.  We played red light green light.  He had to run when I held up a green circle and stop when I held up a red circle.  He is definitely a Kinesthetic learner, he learns through doing and anyway when he can move.  I am starting to work with him on rhymes and word families.  I found these great posters and large flashcards for any word family you could think of.  Here's the link if any of you are interested:  http://www.wordway.us.com/PosterSET.pdf http://www.wordway.us.com/P...

I can't believe it has been two months since I have updated.  I am so busy.  We have been traveling like crazy for Christmas.  We went to SC for almost a week and ended up having to stay an extra day in SC because of the snow.  Yeah snow in SC, too crazy.  It was good to see family and I loved that we stayed in a hotel room on the way back.  I think that we were a wee bit crazy to drive for 15 hours in one day with two kids. It was a very long trip.  We learned our lesson and split up the trip on the way home. In SC, Judah started walking along the furniture.  He is also really afraid of dogs.  He let out a high pitched cry when our friends, Jimmy and Pam's dog came near him.  We also learned that Ian really likes to dump out coins.  He dumped out all of Jimmy's coins twice.  Jimmy was a little upset about picking them up off a wood floor.  Rather daunting task, Can't say I ...

Ian's favorite phrase is "I won't go to Ninevah" from Jonah (veggie tales) movie.  He also spelled his name tonight. We found Judah this morning sitting up in his crib.  I can't believe how quickly he is developing now since his surgery.  He is so much stronger than before the surgery.  He stills falls over when he gets tired, but he is doing so much now.  It is such a different element now that he is talking now.  He is super sensitive too, he bursts into tears if Ian takes his toy.  Then Ian is usually compelled to give it back.

I am purely exhausted. I never thought it would be so tiring working and staying at home.  Wow!  It's hard because I know this is what I have to do, but it doesn't make it easy. I love teaching ESL, and the children on Friday night, but it is going to be so much more work than I anticipated.  I feel like there is hardly any extra time left.  I have to be so careful with how I spend my time, and I am about ready to drop when I get home. Having a million doctor's appointments are very time consuming and tedious as well. On a good note, Judah said dada over and over today.  I will post a video soon.  He is growing so fast, since the surgery.  I am so grateful God led us to Dr. Ham and we didn't just WAIT it out and that even though I had so many doubts about I trusted Will.  Thanks babe! No doubt they were hindering his growth,  because is eating table food now and doesn't have many gagging problems. Ian is getting so big.  He said toni...