Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful...

Front row - Ian, Owen, Lewis

Back row - Seth, Shaan, Amina, Steven, Garrett, Carter

I don't know how much snow we got in Fremont, but I know it was a lot!! And it was cold and windy. We changed our travel plans and took off several hours early to get there before the bad weather, and we are glad we did. Corey's sister from Arizona surprised everyone by driving up, but her family ended up being stuck an extra day because the interstates were still closed the day they planned to leave. There was plenty of family time at 2235 E 8th Street with 8 adults and 9 children in the house for much of the weekend. Thankfully, I like my in-laws, and I think they like me :)

Carter and Garrett


Ian and Owen

The Lego table. Several kids got Lego sets for Christmas, and they all sat and built them after we opened gifts.

Swimming in Fremont

What a blessing that Corey's sister, Michele, and her husband stayed at a hotel with a very nice pool area. We loaded up the kids on both Friday and Saturday evening to go swimming. Above pictured are 8 of the 9 grandkids.

Pretty sure this was against the rules, but there were no lifeguards and they were having tons of fun. I think Owen was the only one who ended up with a minor injury.

The Wii-nter Wonderland

This Christmas in Fremont will be remembered for the snow and the Wiis. With one Wii in the basement and one in the living room, they provided much entertainment for both the kids and adults. You'll see from these pictures that the kids got pretty creative in the way they played. They found a way to play this "active" game system without being very active at all.

Amina and Lewis playing on the TV in the living room.

. The projector allowed the boys to play it on the big screen.

.

If you can project it on the wall, why not the ceiling?

Harms Family Christmas

We opened gifts here in Huxley a day earlier than planned, so we could get to Fremont before it was blasted with another winter storm. Lewis' favorite gift was the $1 gun. He slept with it that night.

Owen's favorite gift was his mp3 player. Though the money I saved by purchasing an off-brand on ebay has not been worth the hassle the thing has been. Getting music onto it is a pain in the behind!

Carter's favorite gift is the wii. It has gotten a lot of use already.

Flipbook Video

Owen received a book that he can make flipbooks out of from Mara for Christmas. Corey decided to make a video out of a couple of them complete with sound effects by the boys. Enjoy!

Lewis in the Christmas Program

This is Lewis in the program at church. It's kind of long, but it's cute.

The Gingerbread House

At first glance it looks like Lewis is working very hard at decorating this gingerbread house. In reality, Grandma did most of the decorating. He's just trying to get that candy pulled off so he can eat it.

Christmas Program 2009

The boys did a great job in their program at church last night. Both grandmas and grandpas came to see them sing and recite their line.

What a difference a a few years makes! This one is from 2006.


Lewis was an adorable little donkey.

The LISTS

Carter's List
1. a soccer ball (one can never have enough)
2. a football helmet
3. ds games

Owen's list
1. a phone (not that he wants to call people, he just thinks they are cool)
2. a camera
3. an mp3 player
4. ds games
5. a Wii
6. a belt (yes, a belt)
7. a punching bag
8. dumbbells.
9. a watch
10. craft stuff
11. a lego set that builds something
12. a bigger bike
13. a football helmet and pads
14. a remote control car

The differences in the personalities of my children crack me up.

First Snow

I am generally tired of snow by mid to late January, but I love the first snow. So do my boys. They weren't too disappointed about getting out of school early today either.

Building a fort in the front yard.

A Boy's Version of "Mothering"

Today Lewis found his black and yellow rubber snake on the floor. He proceeded to wrap it in a blanket and sing it a song. If something can be very cute and a little freaky at the same time, that was definitely it.

The Practice of Contentment

I have decided that the process of selling a house is an extended lesson in the discipline of contentment. When we built this house three years ago, it was to be an "interim" house. Build and sell. That was the plan. Well, we put a for sale by owner sign in the yard last fall with no success, and then listed it in May. I have cleaned and shown my house over and over again. We thought we had it sold, and then we didn't have it sold. Some realtors have said, "It's in the top two or three for so and so." But no more offers. And though I would love to sell, so we could move on and I could stop having people walk through my house at random times and on random days, I have absolutely no control over who will buy my house when. And that's okay. On those days when I'm tempted to be frustrated by the whole process, God has a way of reminding me of my blessings.

"Have I not given you extra time in a home you really enjoy living in?
"Have I not given your boys many extra days of playing in the "forest" in the backyard, and playing kickball on the street?"
"Have you not been able to watch the leaves turn color and fall off the trees one more time?"
"Have you not had the opportunity to learn to trust Me through this process?"
"Have I not always taken care of you?"
"Have you not yet realized that I do not work on your timeline?"

It is so true that God's timing is not like mine. And though I think I would like things to go my way, I know from experience, God's way is better.

I'm sure that someday our house will sell. But in the meantime, we decided we could use a little breather. We've pulled the sign for the winter months. Maybe by the time spring rolls around I will be able to get myself back into continual deep cleaning mode.

The Powdered Sugar Incident

Corey and his dad built new shelves for my pantry. I guess now the powdered sugar is a little too easy for a two-year-old to reach.