Harms Family News

I sit here, fingers on the keyboard, researching antioxidants, oral cancer and toothpaste.   She always has a tummy ache, maybe she needs to go gluten free like my mom.   I just heard the big one cough again, maybe she’s getting pneumonia again. We went a whole year without it, I was hoping for longer.   She’s going under anesthetic, my baby. Are we doing the right thing? Is this cough really that important.   Type type, research research, yet my mind gets noisy again.   Am I giving them enough attention? I’ve been working a lot, and they are fighting a lot, maybe I am not doing this right.   Man, that election was killer. Will my kids know the freedom of carrying a Bible if they want? Should we buy a gun while we still can?   Focus. Type. Research.   Did I make enough this month? Christmas is coming, and Florida. Will we be good, or should I work a little more tonight? What if the work stops flo...

So, I wanted to put it down here even though it's already been on Facebook. Miss C has had this strange cough since she was born. At first, her pediatrician and I thought it was a cold because Miss M gave her a lovely kiss right on the lips the day I brought her home, and she had a cold at the time. But, week after week it never really went away, and she never really acted "sick." The cough sounds exactly like a croup cough. Most of the time if someone doesn't know her and hears her doing it, like at the grocery store, they tell me she's got croup. But, you cannot have croup for five months. Her pediatrician suggested that it was probably a floppy larynx and we should keep an eye on it unless it gets worse. Then, she started having a lot of stridor, which is this strange whistling type noise that is not wheezing and is quite loud. We joke that she sounds like a seal or a goose. Well, it did not get better, and if anything got worse. I called the doctor...

So, I have been bitten with a new dream. And I just can't get it out of my head. What is holding me back? My own insecurities. My own worries that I won't be "good enough." My own perfectionist fear that I might fail. But, I think, this time, I am not going to let it hold me back. Because I think, this time, it's time for a change, and this might just be it. So stay tuned. Something new is in the works. . . I think.

Four years (and one month) ago, God blessed us with this 10 lb. 4 oz bundle of energy. Miss M, one day old Miss M, one year old Miss M, two years old Miss M, three years old. Miss M, four years old On July 31, my middle child turned four. All of the commotion of the end of summer, getting her birthday party in, and then school starting and working like crazy have made me forget to do her birthday post. So, without further ado, here is a bit about Miss M. During her fourth year, she learned: Her letters and sounds How to whistle How to snap (these two are much to the displeasure of the bigger sister who cannot yet do them) How to face her fears of inflatable jumping houses and VBS Became a big sister, a roll she embraces with zeal Learned to pedal a bike Said a line in a school program, without tears! Miss M is a go getter. She knows what she wants, and she does not wait for permission or help to achieve ...

The weight of a tiny head, nestled against my chest. The miniature fist, clenching a portion of my shirt. The rhythmic breathing, interrupted by a faint flutter sucking on a pacifier. The soft, nearly invisible eyelashes, gently closing against deep blue eyes. These are the memories I wish I could burn into my mind, the feelings I wish I could memorize to warm my heart on cold, difficult days. If I could freeze time, it would be at this moment. For I know all too soon, your tiny feet will be pounding the floor, chasing after your big sisters. I know that before I am ready, your rosebud mouth, so quick to open into a wide smile at the sight of my face, will instead form questions that I do not have answers to. As I hold you and rock you to sleep, I feel that invisible force creeping into the room. Time. Time that is waiting to rob me of your fleeting infancy, as it did with your sisters. Time that is pushing you, willing you to grow, and all I can do is watch. Try as I m...

Wow, how time flies. It's already been two months with our precious C. I have told so many people that Miss C must know she is a third-born child, because she is the easiest baby ever. In fact, the few times she is fussy, I barely know what to do because it is so rare. Both big sisters are completely enamored with her. Miss N (6) told me yesterday "I wish C could stay a baby forever. She's the cutest baby ever. I just love her so much." Miss M (almost 4) will repeatedly sing to her and coo at her and even at times overly love her to the point I have to separate them. This precious babe is everything I could have ever wished for in a third and final child. She is so happy, laid back and beautiful. She smiles at everyone and everything, loves her sisters and daddy almroeady so much, and has a "go with the flow" kind of personality. There is one strange thing that has been going on with her. Shortly after she was born I noticed this strange barking cough....

The surgery to deliver Carlie Grace was scheduled for Thursday, May 17 at 12:30 pm. I was not a happy camper about this time, seeing as how I could have nothing to eat or drink since midnight the night before. That’s not so bad if your surgery is at 7 in the morning, but noon? On the way to the hospital, I realized that I just didn’t like the name we had picked. So, we changed it. I thought naming Miss M two days before she was born was bad, but this baby was named on the way to the hospital! We arrived at the hospital two hours before the surgery as requested, only to be informed that an emergency c-section had delayed our surgery time by a couple of hours. We were ushered into this huge room to wait. The room, which was actually larger than the surgery room, had a bed and IV supplies in one corner, a closet in the other corner for other supplies, and in the third corner was a toilet. The toilet was not in a separate room. No, it was simply separated from the rest of t...