Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Little Miss Soccer...

Hope at her soccer game Saturday. I missed all but about 10 seconds of it due to conflicting pictures with Faith. But, I was told by the family that she did very well. She scored four goals in the freezing cold and high winds. Pretty impressive :)

Monday, March 30, 2009

Happy Birthday to...Me :)

Big Daddy and the little girls
Love
Hope
Crazy Faith
Hunter
Love
DimplesSeriously Mom...enough already.
Happy Birthday to Me! Another year under my belt and I feel exactly like I did yesterday...OLD! My hubs and the kiddos scored major, major points. Even though he knows my love language is most definitely not gifts, he knew how much I'd love it. I was given the best gift...the one that keeps giving :) Actually I was serenaded with Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas and several other holidays so that I might get the drift...this is a biggie and will carry over. So, what is it? A brand new camera. I actually searched all over EBay for it and finally found it. I am upgrading from a point and shoot to a entry level DSLR. I am enamored with it. It is still very new to me and I hope to figure all the doo dahs out soon. The most fantastic part of the new camera was I had an SLR when the big kids were little and the lenses are all interchangeable!! Huge pro when deciding exactly which brand to buy. So, for now...I am eat up with it. If it will sit, stand or lie still...I am gonna shoot it - with my brand new camera. My what? My brand new camera!! :)

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Sweet Baby Jace...

Mr. Sleepy
Mr. Serious...showing his curls
Mr. Smiley...always happy
This one...Mr. Sensitive

He is almost 4 months old and
just the most precious little man.
Is he not the yummiest ever?
Oh, those blue eyes...

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Prayer Request....

There is just something about being a Mommy that helps you identify with almost all issues another mom may experience...at least for me. I often hear and read things about others and it is just natural for me to 'try them on' my own family, my own life, my own children. You know where you put yourself in another's situation. I tend to think most Moms are like that. I think it grows my heart, helps me feel the elation of another's joy, the confusion of another's circumstance or the ache of another's pain. That being said...

Please pray for Mck Mama (Jennifer) and her beautiful miracle Mck Muffin (Stellan) and their family. He is in the hospital unexpectedly and has a heart that needs healing. He has an amazing miracle story you can read on her blog...your heart will be touched. Lord, there is no doubt you can work another miracle...YOU are just that big.

Click here (My Charming Kids) to read more and get updates on Stellan's condition.

Love you all

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Hope's Season Opener...

Miss Love is almost as proud of Hope as she is her blue gum.
The number one most important question...."Which way are WE going?""Which way are WE GOING?"
Grumpy snuck off with Love for a trip to the concessions stand for a bribe, uh-hum...I mean snack ;)
Just the sweetest little faces and hands...playing pat-a-cake while waiting for their turn to score!

Hope had a fantastic game today. She scored 5 or 6 times..not really sure. She is a mad woman when it comes to the game. She is also a very generous teammate :) She wanted so badly to take the ball away from her team but she would stay a few feet from them until the ball got out of their control and she would take over. It would either be her or the opposite team...may as well be her. She has improved in her ball hogging tendencies. She is just a natural athlete. She is pretty incredible to watch and she even anticipates where the ball is headed next. I am so proud of her...she tries her hardest every practice and game and she just looks so stinkin' cute doing it :)

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Allergies...

Poor Thing! She has such a time with allergies. I couldn't help but take a photo. Her little hands look so sweet. Her gaping mouth...well, it shows how much trouble she is having breathing, especially while sleeping. We have gone through bottles of the stinkin' allergy meds. It just doesn't let up. She's been sleeping on the "love couch" for the past few nights, it helps her prop up more so she can breathe better. She's been a bit irritable lately but she's missing out on her beauty sleep...who can blame a girl?

Party Animals...

No, I am not talking about my teenagers :) We took the 4 kiddos to the zoo for a day to honor Love's one year forever family day.
Needless to say the two older ones, they weren't sold on the idea of going. Lesson learned...if they say they don't want to go - don't waste your funds or fun on trying to make them enjoy it. Hunter about had a coronary going through the exhibits. Of course, it was a full house, walking among tons of people, hot, and needing a lunch break. But we were trying to make it through so we could leave the zoo. His biggest concern was a hair cut appt. he could have had at 3 that we knew we wouldn't make so we had changed it...it totally robbed him of a good day. So concerned with the hair prior to a few days camping among my dad and nephews...what is up with that?! So, Big Daddy and I finally accepted - He's just not that into zoo....get it? Oh, you know, the movie that is out...He's just not that into you...oh...it was funny to me :)The little girls had a blast! The weather was perfect, the view was good. They both managed fairly equal time upon Big Daddy's shoulders. I would say Hope is at the most fantastic age for the zoo...she could have stayed all day and never had a thought about being bored, tired or hungry. She was making comments and asking all kinds of questions. We will be taking her back soon...solo or with Love. She wasn't thrilled about touching anything just yet. She most liked the giraffes. Interesting. Love enjoyed the snacks far more than the animals but she did like to watch the animals in movement. She could have passed on watching the lion and lioness sleep or the pig or the deer, well, they were all pretty well napping. Faith, she had to have her cell phone out...snapping photos of the animals and sending them to friends...or maybe she was texting the elephants. She and the friends always manage to text as they stand 5 feet away from one another. That drives me nuts...but that is a whole different subject.That evening we went to dinner for Chinese food...Love loves Panda E*press so we had dinner there to celebrate one year of LOVE! Have I told y'all lately how much we treasure this beautiful blessing of ours? Oh, I have? Good, then we are all caught up :)

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Happy One Year Forever Family Day Love!!

*note to self-Lullaby,My Wish, What a Wonderful World

One year ago today we were in Wuhan, Hubei, The People's Republic of China meeting our little girl for the very first time. She had already captured our hearts...we were madly in love with this little girl we had read about and stared at through photos. It was a foggy, rainy and cool day. She had on her traditional clothing, she had three cute little pigtails and a hard pink pacifier in her mouth. She was wild and crazy. She looked us over and decided with Hope things would be ok. She identified with Hope very quickly. She was accepting food from us, allowing us to hold her and love on her. She liked to be bounced and loved to throw her self backwards while we were holding her. She would sweetly stare into our eyes, lean her head back and give the most powerful headbutt known to a child her size. It caught us off guard and we learned quickly to take cover when that look appeared. We believe it was all out of love...she wasn't doing it to be mean or to be hurtful, she would smile and laugh and we couldn't help to think...God is sooo good! She is a Harris through and through :)She had a ready smile and eyes that would dance as she tested the water with us. Just to finally hold her precious little face in my hands after only holding her pictures for almost 8 months. My heart had ached to squeeze her, kiss her, hug her, tell her how much we loved her and longed for her. We were instantly smitten. It was just such a sweet, sweet day.

Our time in China was priceless. To see her province, to enjoy her foods, to hear her language, to be immersed in her culture...time that we needed as a family. But soon enough we were on our way back home to the US with our newest addition. We were so proud to have her in our arms :) That adorable 20 month old daughter of ours was finally home. Her transition was so much easier than we had hoped and prayed for. We had figured her being almost 2 she may have had more of an opinion and might have preferred her life as she knew it. She bonded beautifully and not one of us can fathom life without her in it.

I can not believe Love has been home with us for one year now...it is unreal how quickly time flies. It has been one of the most amazing years of our lives. There is just no greater gift than the gift of a child. We are truly appreciating every moment with each of them. I am so thankful that the plan I had once laid before us was not the plan the Lord had in store for us. How much greater are His ways than our ways...living proof right here in the Harris home :)


My Sweetest Love,

Our lives were changed forever the moment we laid eyes on you. You had us immediately in your sweet little hand. You are such a blessing! You are incredible joy, you are beautiful both in features and spirit. You are such a delightful and outgoing child. You can light an entire room with your smile. You are bright and active and amazing. You are the cutest little shadow. You are my love bug, my heart, my Love...my precious little baby girl.

How I managed life without you in it I will never know.

I love you more than all the stars in the sky!
Mommy

Monday, March 16, 2009

What a Trip...

One Year Ago Today
We had begun the journey that would change our lives forever....
A sweet apple juice toast between a baby girl and her Daddy in anticipation of the good things to come :)....More tomorrow!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Legwarmers??

Nice, huh?
They were both so proud of how their legs would stay warm. But, is this where legwarmers got their start ~with a daughter trying on her Daddy's socks? I think we could be on to something here :)

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Soccer is a Life...

Faith with her BFF Brooke after the game Sunday

Well, we knew this time was coming. Faith plays soccer. Hope plays soccer. Therefore we are living the life of soccer. With soccer comes practices and games and with two kiddos on two different teams it makes for a lot of time. Which is totally worth it. It is just a season, right? Both of our girls enjoy it so much. They both have the soccer gene.

Faith had her first game this past Sunday. She did very well. She entered on an older team and has definitely held her own. She has gotten much more aggressive. To be honest, she can look a little angry out there when she is fighting for the ball...I'd just let her have it. But this age group totally "gets" it.

Hope starts this Saturday and she is every bit as good as last season. She is a smidgen on the ball hogging side. Hope only being 4, it just doesn't register there is more than her on the team. I don't think all the passing starts for another year or so...right? She is the main scorer. We have talked to her about sharing the ball before a game before and she barely touched it. So, we will have the kid that most of the parents blame for their kid not touching the ball. It is crazy really. There isn't much of a happy medium.

This season is one we are looking forward to for both the girls. We will not have to miss a single game due to scheduling conflicts...that is a first!

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Among the Redbud

When did Hope get so tall??
I love those dimples!
Pretty Little Sunshine

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Trash Talk...

See those two lovely white bags of trash? Well, they are ours. And yes, I normally put them inside another stronger black bag. But, we are out and I haven't visited WM this week. Do you see the birds...there was an entire swarm of them overhead.

Now those SEAGULLS have not only poked several massive holes in our garbage but have managed to take off with a few good finds - at least in their pea sized minds. What in the world are the seagulls here for?? I don't think we live near a pond much less a lake...what brings them to my trash? Well, 'member that lovely little rotavirus Love had? Apparently it is much more potent that I had originally stated. There could possibly be an outbreak of rotavirus in the seagulls very soon...be on the lookout. And no, that wasn't me that you saw in the middle of the street as you dropped your kids off at school picking up mutilated and disgusting diapers in front of our home....why me Lord?

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Breakfast with My Boy :)

Terrific coffee, delicious food, excellent company...
Usually on TAKS days I cook a big breakfast. This year Hunter and I decided to go out, just the two of us. He is a bit nervous about the test today. He really should have nothing to fret about. He is bright, he has just always been a bit of a stress tester. I think the pressure that comes from - you pass this test or you don't promote to the next grade is pretty heavy. Who wants to be that kid? I am not a big fan of standardized testing but for now it is a necessary evil.

It still gets me as he sits across the table...he isn't little anymore. He is still my baby but he is becoming...well, huge. I treasure the time to be able to share a meaningful, uninterrupted conversation over breakfast with my teenager. He is just a really incredible kid with a huge heart and fabulous sense of humor. I not only cherish this son of mine...I like him a whole heck of a lot too :)