An Evening at the Harms House

He's a Super Hero, He's No Ordinary Kid

It is so nice to see all the costumes and accessories my mom made for my first superhero (aka Owen) getting used again with super hero number 2. In this photo he is wearing a ninja hood and a Zorro mask (or max as he likes to call it).

Coolest Cast in Town

Owen was so excited to have my brother airbrush on his cast that he didn't want to wait until later this week as I had planned. So we called Keith yesterday, and he was able to do it last night. We owe him and Tomi for letting us invade their home on a Sunday evening with little notice. Not surprisingly, Owen was up and at 'em this morning about 15 minutes before I normally wake him up. He was very excited to show off his "body" art at school! (I like to brag about my brother, so if you haven't already looked, go to his webpage and check out some of his stuff. I have a link on the side of my blog.)

The Incident

February 18, 2010: a day that will most definitely be remembered at the Harms House. It has been a perfect winter for sledding - what with the 100s of feet of snow we've had (okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration), but Thursday was our first day out (aside from all the trips down the slope of our backyard). We decided to check out Dave and Kim Jensen's hill, which we were told is the best sledding hill around. It lived up to the hype. It is perfect for fearless adventurous young boys. I was a little intimidated standing at the top watching them speed down this hill that has a ridge partway down which serves as a ramp. They were both getting some air as they flew down the slope - and they were loving it. That is, until "the incident" cut our little sledding excursion short. Owen hit a branch or something at the bottom of the hill, and that was it for him. He was in quite a bit of pain initially, and when he was still having issues this morning, we decided we better visit Dr. Testroet. Two X-rays revealed two broken bones in his arm. The first broken bones in our house. What are the chances of me getting a video of my kid breaking a bone? Crazy. You can see the lovely white cast in the photo below. But it's not going to stay that way. We have secured the services of an excellent airbrush artist to turn the blank slate into a piece of art.

Tabula Rasa

Stay tuned to see this "blank slate" turned into a work of art.

Overawed

Overawed is the word my friend Deanna used to describe her reaction to the news that her daughter Mikayla's scans post 14 chemo-treatments (and I don't remember how many rounds of radiation) came back clear. What an amazing God we serve who can heal horrible diseases like Ewing Sarcoma. What an honor to witness what the Rietgraf family has gone through in the last year, and to see that through all the hard HARD times they've had, they have given God the glory. It is one thing to watch people praise God when life is going smoothly, and quite another to see them worship and praise him when life is yucky. Mikayla will still very likely be heading to Houston next week for some more radiation, but her chemo has been completed. I wanted to give the update on my blog because I know that friends and family members have been praying for the Rietgrafs, and it is always good to be reminded that God is faithful and He hears our prayers.

Butt Holes in the Snow

So, my husband tells me that the "technical" name for the little seats these boys carved for themselves in the snow is a butthole. Hee, Hee. I guess that means I have four buttholes in my front yard. I was so glad the boys decided to go out and play in the snow yesterday. There's no getting rid of it, so we might as well enjoy it. (Check out the icicle hanging off the front of the house in the background. I'm hoping it doesn't fall off and impale someone.)

A Winter Swim

This is not a great photo, but my battery died on me, so it's all I got. Corey and I were able to take a little getaway this weekend, because my mom graciously agreed to come spend the night with the boys. (You'll have to ask us about our romantic Valentine's dinner at the Jordan Creek Food Court.) To make the most of our money, I decided to take the boys swimming at the hotel pool for a couple hours after school. It is amazing how entertaining a tiny little pool and hot tub can be to two boys who haven't been able to swim for a few months. They had so much fun that they didn't want to leave. It's given me an itch for another family Dells trip, but I'll try to control myself until next fall.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

I have been looking through an old photo cd and decided to post some of my favorite photos of the boys from pre-blog years. Aahh...the memories.

Two Boys in a Basket

Lewis and my brother's baby, Lucas, are enjoying a drink in the laundry basket. I have a strong feeling these two will get into a lot of trouble together someday. They are around 1 1/2 years apart. Did I really have two boys that close together? How did I survive that? Below is a pic of my big boys when they were babes, sporting new hats from Uncle Keith.