Harms Family News

I am joining in on a fun link-up from my friend Janna at The Adventure of Motherhood . It's called Feed Me Books Friday and is a chance for you to talk about some of your favorite children's books. Since my favorite class in college was Children's Literature, this is right up my alley! So without further delay, I bring you: One of our favorite books is Pinkalicious written and delightfully illustrated by Victoria and Elizabeth Kann, whom I do believe are sisters. Pinkalicious loves pink. When her mom asks her what color the cupcakes they are making should be, she replies, "Pink, Pink, PINK!" She eats so many pink cupcakes that she's bouncing off of the walls. In the morning, she has turned pink! At first, Pinkalicious (whose real name we never quite learn) is thrilled to be pink. She even cries pink tears of happiness, but quickly she learns that pink is not all it's cracked up to be. Her mom rushes her to the pediatrician, where she learns she has an ...

Tonight on the way home from church, Natalie says, "Dear God, I want to be your servant." The music was playing and the engine was running, so I didn't hear the rest of what she said, but I am so thankful that I heard that little tidbit. Oh to be that tender myself, and to help her keep that tenderness as she grows!

I am not an emotional mother. Sure, I cried when they drew blood from my two-year-old who was miserable sick. Oh, and I cried both times my kids were born and I heard their cry and saw them for the first time. And I got angry when Natalie told me kids at school called her weird. But most of the time I am not an emotional mother. I love to hear “I love you” and get sweet hugs and kisses, but they don’t make my heart “jump” or put a tear in my eye. It doesn’t break my heart to hear my baby crying. It stirs me to action, sure, but I have not struggled with letting the baby cry if she needs it. Is that bad? Is that something that I should try to change? Or is it just who I am? I read other mother’s blogs and talk to other mothers who are constantly tearing up and getting choked up about their kids. They are reminiscing about “when they were tiny” and morning the passing baby years. I am not like that. I rejoice in each new accomplishment and look forward to each upcoming stage. While I enj...

Sunday our pastor preached a message on The Fear of the Lord. Little did I know it was going to apply to parenting! It was much needed for this mommy. Proverbs 1:7 says "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." I pray often for wisdom. I need it like I need air to breathe when it comes to raising my girls. That verse in and of itself was crucial to me this week. However, the sermon also had some other tidbits of truth for me. Pastor spoke about how we as humans are motivated. Fear is one motivation. We do things because we fear the consequence. Another is reward. We do things because we want reward. These are the most basic motivations. Fearing the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, because it is the most basic motivation. Next in line is the motivation of duty. Often we do things because we feel it is our duty. The most honorable and highest motivation is love. He then had an illustration of how this relates to parenting. When a child is a preschooler, they respond t...

We have just entered a new decade. I'm not a highly sentimental person, most of the time, but when I look back over the past decade, i realize that some of the most important events of my life have occurred from 2000-2009. Here is my tribute to the decade: 1. My husband got saved. 2. I toured Israel. 3. I graduated college. 4. I got my first teaching job. 5. I discovered freelance writing. 6. I got married to my best friend and moved to Rockford. 7. We bought our first house. 8. We had two beautiful children. 9. I had my first major surgery (c-section with Megan). 10. I traveled to the island of Guam (farther than I have ever gone, and probably the farthest I ever will go). 11. We became members of Heritage Baptist Church. 12. I discovered FACEBOOK! 13. I learned what it really means to be an adult (can't I go back to being 13 and having the biggest problem in my life being my frizzy hair and the fact that so-and-so didn't want to sit by me at lunch?) 14. I lost two grandpa...