Pilgrims On The Way

jeudi, juin 29, 2006

Can you feel the love?

I am... 31 weeks in this photo. (as I post this I am nearly 34 weeks)

This is the Father's Day shirt the boys and I made for Jer. We made similar ones for Grampa and Opa too!

Posted by Jeremy J Harnett :: 8:56 a.m. :: 2 comments

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---------------oOo--------------- Congrats Jerine!!

My sister-in-law graduated from Nursing school this month. She already had a job lined up at Kelowna Hospital before her actual grad.

She is a wonderfully, kind nurse- and beautiful to boot!

We already call her frequently to come and assess our boo-boos and take our blood pressures and show her our rashes etc. It's nice to have a broad spectrum of wisdom in the family!

Posted by Jeremy J Harnett :: 8:39 a.m. :: 0 comments

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mercredi, juin 28, 2006

Five Staples and a Wound (the conclusion)

They are out. Last Thursday Zach had his staples removed. His wound has healed well. The trauma is now a scar that is fast becoming a tale of manliness.

Posted by Jeremy J Harnett :: 2:20 p.m. :: 0 comments

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---------------oOo---------------

jeudi, juin 22, 2006

Zach's birthday party!!

I asked Zachy what he'd like to do for his third birthday party.
He exclaimed," GO TO THE BEEEEACH!!!"
"And what kind of cake would you like Zach?"
"A Sssspider cake!!!"
"And who should we invite to your party?"
"MALACHI!!!"
"Anyone else?"
"BENNY!!"

So we attempted to follow his desires as close as possible. I created many little spider cupcakes with licorace legs and skittle eyes. I also attempted my first pin`ata. It was intended to be a spider, but got more and more frightening the more I tried to make it creative.... I filled it with candy and mini squirters instead of the traditional goody bags kids would get from a birthday party.

I know it looks like ONE BAD PIG! By the time I realized it was a crazy pin`ata, I added the tongue and buck teeth to make it silly, but I fear it only made it crazier!! (the boys loved whacking it... perhaps for fear that if it wasn't DEAD it might come back!)

I love this photo of Benny hanging out at the beach with Auntie Bekah.

And this is MALACHI! Zach asks to visit with Malachi, Quinten and Rowen nearly every day. Unfortunately, that can't happen. But their times together are always a riot!

Zach is seen here at the left in the blue. I borrowed a swim cap for him to protect his stapled head from getting wet and dirty. Good thing he was excited to wear such a unique birthday hat!! Special boy!
The weather was "iffy", but we were blessed with enough sun and semi-calm wind to enjoy a couple of hours at the beach. The playground was right beside the water- in fact, the waters are so high that the slide lead right into the shallow water- so we adults were able to just enjoy the scene while the kids played around us.
Once the "hurricane" blew in and threw over our lunch and lawnchairs, we decided we would continue the event at our friends home; ironically, though no natural disasters ensued us, their names are "Flood".

Their property is beautiful and more room that the beach for the boys to run around on!!

FOOD, FOLKS and FUN was what the day was all about!! (And of course, Zach was in his element, though he didn't even recognize the fact that he was the centre of attention! That's good!) We had both Harnett and Janzen family present, as well as the families of the two boys in Zach's Sunday school class.

Posted by Jeremy J Harnett :: 12:31 p.m. :: 2 comments

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mercredi, juin 21, 2006

A glimpse into our last little while...

We've had a very busy last month!! It's been a hoot, especially for our socializing boys!

To kick June off we hosted EIGHT missionaries in our little two bedroom townhouse, along with our own family of four (*five). The Ouilette family- with four kids- as well as the Griffieon twins- Amber and Amanda- were in Kelowna visiting churches and raising prayer and financial support for the upcoming move to Thailand to work with MBMSI.

It was a full house, but a good time. A few tents were errected in the backyard for extra sleeping quarters. And even a little birthday party was celebrated for Caleb, who turned 10 at our home!!

I personally love the perspective gained from knowing missionaries abroad, and am excited to see my boys broaden their worldview by staying in touch with all their buddies in different countries!

Posted by Jeremy J Harnett :: 1:39 p.m. :: 0 comments

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vendredi, juin 16, 2006

A picture is worth a thousand words!

I am surprised Tanya didn't post her response to daddy's stunt that resulted in five staples in Zach's head. Perhaps she's still in shock that daddy would attempt a game of "spinning Zach around" in such tight quarters. Needless to say our dinner guests were just as shocked. Daddy did his penance though, spending four hours in emergency Wensday night. Zach was a real trooper. Initially he had his head bandaged-replacing a bloody rag and a bag of peas-daddy was glad for that as his hand was getting tired and cold. Than it was an hour and half in the waiting area where Zach and his aunt played games, read books and Zach entertained other kids with his clown antics. Daddy spent that time waiting to register Zach. Than another hour and a half in a treatment room. At nine thirty Zach fianlly fell asleep only to be woken up forty-five minutes later to a needle being poked in his head. Within a few short minutes the staples were in and Zach was happy to get some stickers from the doctor. All in all it was a great bonding expereince.

Posted by Jeremy J Harnett :: 9:51 a.m. :: 3 comments

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---------------oOo---------------

samedi, juin 03, 2006

Oh Mother!

Any of you moms out there in blog-land ever feel like this time of life is about SURVIVNG?

I joked with Jeremy last night that we could have a 24/7 live web-cam in our home, post our lives on the internet (totally exploiting ourselves and our children), and probably become famous millionairs by the end of the week. We would call it "Survivor Household- the Daily Challenge!" I'm sure we'd have many, many viewers -- mainly stay-at-home mothers-- due to the reality of our hectic and survivor-mode lives! We barely drag ourselves out of our tangled sheets in the far-too-early AM, to the cry of need from the crib down the hallway. We attempt a hot slice of toast and a cup of tea, but enjoy neither once we actually have the chance to sit down and put our lips to the cold, dry substances. For sake of time (see, there's forever a lack of such a thing when one is in the throes of mothering) I'll skip the obvious chaos and adrenaline-performed drama of the rest of the day, and remind you of the typical evening of putting kids down to bed- three, maybe four, times before they actually stay there- and then, if lucky, we may curl up on the couch with a book or a movie for a brief moment before zone-ing out, or zonking right out. There's no energy to give much of yourself to your husband (and if there is at all, it is more "duty" than "pleasure"). There is definately little vigor to attempt chewing on a piece of Scripture-- if only we could be nourished through a Bible Interveinis (I.V). Add to the busy-ness the emotional stuff of life, the financial stresses, the irritating facts of living in shoulder-rubbing quarters with several others, and the nature of our flesh to be grumpy.... We can relate to each other, no?

Obviously posting our family as an entertainment option is a fecicious thought- I would never want to live in such a glass house (besides the fact that it would shatter around us with the first smack of Ben's head into the wall). But, as entertaining as it could be to the outside viewer, I believe such reality is not necessary!! (even though I cannot claim that I've

"If being a mother is the hardest job on earth, and if we are the most overcommitted people on the planet, then it's no wonder that caring for everyone else superseded almost every attempt to nurture our souls and to pursue spiritual maturity. We don't have eyes to see from the lack of want, because deep in the heat of every woman is a longing for the fullness that only Christ can offer. We don't have eyes to see becaue we have committed all our energies, all of our love, all of our devotion, and all of our vision to everyone except Jesus. And in doing so, it has seemed noble, righteous, servantlike, humble, and almost saintly to give to the brink of exhaustion. My mentor says, 'Good can be the enemy of the best.' In trying to be good mothers, have we forsaken what is best?"
- Angela Thomas Guffy in Tender Mercy for a Mother's Soul

I was encouraged this morning, again, by reading Psalm 34- over and over and over. I truly LOVE meditating on one Psalm for some time- generally over a period of a week- especially when it is obviously "planted" at the precise season in my life that I need to hear it!
(Try this Psalm for yourself, but we cannot assume that it will feed you in the same way that it has nourished me.) In a time of fatigue and extreme giving of oneself, I wouldn't recommend attempting a major exigetical study of a profound nature. Let the yoke of Christ offer you rest and peace. Meditate on the obvious encouragements- such as some of the Psalms- rather than digging into the "deeper" stuff, which may seem a more mature kind of studying. But God's put us in a place of relating with children; realize that the most necessary principles and truths we need to meditate on are simple enough (and honestly, most profound of all) for a child to read (and if you're like me in this season, you're all "baby-brained!") .

I'm bringing this note to an abrupt close, mainly because I cannot afford another moment with my back turned to my toddlers, facing this impersonal box of bright screen and popping letters. My only hope in "wasting" the time that I already have this morning at the computer, is that somehow it might encourage someone reading it. I know that just pounding out these thoughts of my reality has encouraged me.

Tanya

Posted by Jeremy J Harnett :: 7:07 a.m. :: 3 comments

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