Harms Family News

Natalie continues to crack us up with the sweet and funny things she says. Here are a few recent ones: Natalie: "Mommy, I'm going to make up my own verse. Micah 40:5. The Lord God made, holy and wise, some people were sinners, and they couldn't go to heaven." She has since added this part "Until they were not sinners and asked Jesus to be their Savior" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- N: "Today is Mofvers Day" (Hands me a bunch of lilacs she picked at grandma's) Me: Well, it's not really Mother's Day, but we can celebrate it if you want. What is Mother's Day? N: It's a day we give our mofvers things. Me: Why? N: To say "thank you" for loving us and taking care of us. I love you Mommy! Me: (melting heart, couldn't say anything!) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- N: This horse is old...

We just enrolled Natalie in preschool. I’m very happy with the school we chose. It is about five minutes from our house, uses the curriculum I would use if I had to choose, and I know one of the k4 teachers from my time teaching. It’s a newer school so it doesn’t have a tremendous amount of unnecessary rules from 30 years ago that are still in the handbook. It’s also quite affordable as Christian schools go. But I feel funny about it. Oh, preschool is going to be fine. It’s only half days, three days a week. And Kindergarten will probably be fine too. Those are only half days. But when my kiddos are in school from 8 until 3, I’m going to feel like I hardly ever see them. Yes, most moms feel this way, I know that. But. I’m a certified teacher. I have all of the qualifications necessary to teach my children at home, and to feel somewhat confident in my ability to do so. I have smart kids too – Natalie is already picking words and telling me what they start with. She can get just about an...

Recently Ligonier Publishing gave me the opportunity to review another book. This time I chose Sammy and His Shepherd by Susan Hunt . I was thrilled with this book. Sammy and His Shepherd uses the 23rd psalm to draw a redemption parallel. The story follows Sammy, a sheep with a loving shepherd, as he meets and befriends Precious, a sheep in the neighboring field whose shepherd is less than loving. Each chapter takes a phrase from Psalm 23 and expounds on it. For instance, chapter 1 is “The Lord Is My Shepherd, I Shall Not Want.” In the course of the story, Sammy meets a sick, skinny sheep through the fence. The sheep does not have a name, and she does not have a shepherd who takes care of her. Eventually, the sheep’s shepherd indicates he thinks she is worthless, and Sammy’s shepherd offers to buy her. He buys her for much more than she is worth. The mean shepherd laughs at the loving shepherd, but the loving shepherd does not care, because he loves the sheep even though, as she is, sh...

For the past two months I've been writing for the USA Today website! Here's a link to one of my articles: Travel Tips for Yosemite National Park . I use my maiden name for that particular company but it is me. Check out my bio at the bottom!!! I am so excited about this - it's going to look great on my resume!!!!

I don’t know about you, but I have a tendency to be melancholy and dwell on the negative. While I love my children dearly, I find that their personality traits that rub me the wrong way get my focus often. I was inspired by this post from my friend Michelle that my complaining spirit is something they see and learn from. Also, others who may not have it as good as I do may look at me and wonder why they would want to stay home, be moms, be Christians, etc. So, on that note, I decided to focus on the positives. One of my biggest blessings and challenges is being a work-from-home-mom. My job as a freelance writer lets me stay home with the kids, which I wouldn’t financially be able to do otherwise, but working from home is far more challenging than I ever thought it would be. The housework is always pressing while the paying work is also always there. I never leave my “office” and it is hard to turn off “work mode.” I am glued to the computer not just for entertainment, but also for in...

I'm finally back at Feed Me Books Friday. If you are not familiar with it head over to my friend Janna's blog and check it out. If you love to read with your kids, it's a great way to learn about more books. Natalie and I are almost finished reading Benjamin's Box . I ordered this book from Paperback Swap.com, because I wanted something that would teach the real story of Easter. This book is excellent! Last year I ordered some from Scholastic that I was severely disappointed in. They treated Jesus like a fairy tale, saying he was a "great teacher" and that "some people believe he lived." That is not what I want to fill my child's heart with! B enjamin's Box takes the idea of the Resurrection Eggs and puts them in the context of Jesus' last week of life. It follows a young boy, Benjamin, who has a treasure box. As Benjamin follows Jesus from the Triumphal Entry to the Crucifixion and Resurrection, he collects small objects to put in his t...