Opening Night

The Grand Opening of the Harms Family Movie Theatre was a smashing success. It opened up to rave reviews by the three young movie buffs who live on the premises. The youngest laughed with glee as he watched a large rat sword fight with a spoiled English chap onscreen. The older two loved relaxing in the spacious front row with it's piles of pillows and bean bags. The older generations (Mom and Dad and Grandma and Grandpa) enjoyed the comfort of the big comfy couch while the taking in a family movie on the big screen. If the opening night is any indicator, I would say this theatre will fast become a family hot spot!

Happy Birthday Lewis!

It's hard to believe this little dude is FOUR!! Wow.

We had a little party this afternoon where he scored some iron man stuff, some legos, some plastic golf clubs, a Tom and Jerry movie and a marshmallow shooter. He was a pretty happy little guy. Tonight at bedtime he told me he wants another birthday.

You can see in this photo that he changed into his favorite attire after lunch - Superman p.j.s. He wears them EVERY DAY!! When we go places, I sometimes get him to put clothes on over his Superman stuff by convincing him that he can be Clark Kent.

The boys always love it when their cousin, Lucas, comes to play. He is so darn adorable!

He's Always Building Something

That's my new concrete countertop those boys are sitting on (the backsplash hasn't been made yet). Yeah, my husband is pretty amazing. A little bit on the crazy side, but amazing all the same.

The Impact of Loss

I was in seventh grade when I had my first experience with death. A classmate of mine was killed by a hit-and-run driver while on his bike. I was so internally distraught after the visitation that I slept on the floor of my brother's bedroom that night.
.

My second experience with death came about six months later, when my grandma died very unexpectedly. She was the best. She wore a denim jacket, and back in the day, it was pretty cool to wear a denim jacket. She let me eat bowls of cool-whip when I was at her house. And her purse smelled like band-aids. To this day, every time I open up a band-aid, I think of Grandma.

.

My third experience with death came six months after that when my uncle Lorry died after a long battle with a rare liver disease. I loved being with his family. I remember trips to Okoboji with them, and sledding down their hill, and spending time with them at Grandma's cabin by Lake Mille Lacs in Minnesota. I can still hear his voice saying "Well, hello there, Kimbolee." He had a certain way he said that to me every time he would come home from work and find me at their house.

.

I remember writing some dark poems during that time, and living in fear of who was going to be next. God graciously let many years pass before someone I knew died again. But that year had a tremendous impact on me.

.

Now, as we are grieving the death of our friends' son, I find myself thinking back to my first memories of death, and wondering how this first taste of death will impact my children. And hoping we can guide them through this in a way that helps them understand the goodness of God even in the midst of yucky circumstances. It doesn't seem fair for a child to have to die, but I know that what we see in part, God sees in full. And I know I can trust in Him in everything. And I know that death is not the end. And I pray that my children will grasp onto that hope, that they will trust in Jesus through any fear or uncertainty that arises, and that they will have joy knowing that eternity is way better than this world for those whose trust is in the One who sent His son to take away our sin.

Lemon Juice

Dinnertime at the Harms House is always entertaining.

My Boy

Everyone needs one of these at their house.

The Poop Chart

Anyone who has eaten at our house in the past few months has seen this chart hanging on our dining room wall. In an effort to curb the potty-talk that always happens at dinner time, (Poop is one topic of conversation that never seems to get old around here.), we started keeping a record. The first person to bring up the subject received a checkmark by their name. You can see by looking that there was one member of our family who thought it was pretty cool to get a checkmark. And yes, I even have a couple marks. It's a hazard of living with all males. They tend to wear off on you.