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I am finally getting around to posting photos from our vacation. Chris had Army orders to go to a chaplain conference in Orlando, so we went with him. We hung around his hotel for the first three days, and then we moved to a Disney resort for the next four. We had a great time, and took quite a few pictures. Here are a few:

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Last night, we were eating at Red Robin, and I decided to have some meaningful conversation about church with our children.

I asked Elijah, “Lige, what is your favorite thing about church?”

Elijah thought for a minute and with an (almost) straight face, he said, “The part where they say ‘you are now dismissed’.”

Owen got his hair cut first.

Elijah went next. He got a hairy tongue.

This is what happens when you say, “Put your arm around your brother for the picture.” Sigh. Boys.

A little snapshot from a day in the Harmon house:

Kids are eating snacks at the kitchen table, and I hear a scuffle, a yelp, and then Elijah quickly saying, “I’m sorry, Owen! Thank you for forgiving me!”

Owen quickly yelled back, “I DON’T FORGIVE YOU!”

I just laughed, and no one tattled. I guess they worked it out.

Warning: Gross content ahead.

Abby was having some, ahem, intestinal issues today while we were out and about, and I had to change her messy diapers twice just while we were eating lunch. We went to the library, and I was reading her a book. I heard and then smelled her latest attack of gastrointestinal distress, and she quickly confirmed it by saying, “Mommy, I pooped!”

I said, “I guess we’ll have to go out to the van and get a diaper so I can change you.”

Abby said, “No, Mama. I’ll just sit on my knees.”

When you’re reading a good book, it’s just so hard to stop!

Please to notice how my daughter just turned two the end of March. Also, can I call your attention to the full sentence that I quoted verbatim? In addition, I hope you are impressed that she not only can identify her knees, but she can refer to them appropriately and use the word in a sentence. She’s a genius child. That’s all I’m saying.

Dumas, Texas. What can I say about Dumas, Texas?

Dumas, Texas is a little town in the panhandle of Texas. Driving down Dumas Avenue is a little like visiting the United Nations. Somehow or another, Dumas, Texas has become the recipient of a number of refugees from places like Somalia and Burma. Along with that unusual addition to their small Texas town, Dumas is also home to it’s fair share of cowboys, rednecks, and teenage girls in pajama pants. They have a great Oriental Supermarket where you can get chicken and sticky rice, and a fabulous snow cone place that is open till ten p.m. Do you know about Texas snow cones? They are very different than what I’ve had in Tennessee. Far superior. Dumas has a fantastic park to visit with your kids, but, alas, none of the water fountains work. This is a real bummer when it’s a hundred degrees outside. However, if you have a more adventurous mother than my kids had, Dumas has a nice little waterpark next door where you can cool off.

Snow cones or waterparks or a backyard sprinkler, take your pick, but you’re going to have to cool off somehow. I wasn’t kidding about the one hundred degrees.

We spent most of our time in Dumas hanging around Amy’s parents house. Visits from Amy’s sisters, Jami Leigh and Julie, were the highlights of our days. Abby warmed up to Jami pretty quickly. I think it might have had something to do with Jami having the same face as her Aunt Amy.

As I mentioned before, one of the best ways for the kiddos to cool off in the Texas heat was by playing in the sprinkler.
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Over the weekend that we were there, we all loaded up and drove to Lavern, Oklahoma. The kids all wore there tie-dyed shirts that Jami helped them make.
Here are the boys in the “boy van”.And the three big girls in the “girl van”.

From left to right: Ethan, Miah, Joshua, Jeremiah, Elijah, Owen, Kaleb, Sarah, Charleigh, Emileigh, Abby Jo, and Kyra

The evening that we arrived, we checked into our (surprisingly nice) motel rooms, and then went to a small family get together. The next morning, which was the day before Memorial Day, we went to several cemeteries to place flowers on the graves of some of their family members. It was pretty sad at times, because this family had lost three children. A sixteen year old, a fourteen year old, and a baby. Watching their parents decorate their graves made me hold my babies a little closer. While at one of the cemeteries, I snapped a couple of pictures of the Oklahoma scenery.

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Later in the afternoon, we went to Amy’s great aunt’s house for a bbq dinner. The food was fantastic. Seriously, it was so good.

We went back home that evening, and started getting ready for the festivities of the coming day…Julie’s thirtieth birthday party.

Julie’s birthday was one of two important reasons that Amy was making the long trek to Texas. She really wanted to attend her baby sister’s birthday party. The other reason that two days after the party, Julie was having brain surgery. For that reason, everyone really wanted Julie to have a fantastic birthday. She had a great party, and I enjoyed getting to know some of the characters in Amy’s stories.

This is a picture of me and Julie. I’m glad we like each other. As the next picture indicates, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Julie and I could share grandkids some day.

This is, of course, my son, Owen, and the little girl is Julie’s daughter, Miah. They first met last year when the kids and I went with Amy to Dumas the first time. Apparently, they still have their spark. (I LOVE this picture!)

Amy Jo and I before Julie’s party.

Me and my Kyra Joy at the party.

Amy Jo, Jami Leigh, Amy G., me, and Janae….Jami said it was a picture with all of their mom’s adopted daughters.

The day after the party was very low key. We mostly just sat around the house relaxing. Here are some random pictures I thought I would share:

Abby Jo and Emmy-Kai-Kai, as she calls her. They were pretty good friends.

Kyra Joy and Jami’s daughter, Charleigh. They were delighted that everyone agreed that they could pass for sisters.

We were using our hands to block the sun. Jami was trying to take our picture, but the sunlight behind us was too bright. Turns out, I LOVE this picture of us. It’s so happy!

Me and my Elijah

Love it!

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The heat was getting to us.

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Our trip was drawing to a close, but, before we headed home, we had one day left. The day of Julie’s surgery. Amy Jo was going to go to Amarillo with her family for the surgery, and I was staying at her parents house with the kids. We had too full of a day to include it in this already too long post. So, until next time…

Love, Hope, Peace

Give me a day with things.
Give me something I can stand.
I can sing, but I am lost in the dark today. Please help me.
I am lost.
I am lost somewhere.
I am scared.
Help me be brave.
I need hope.
I need love.
I need peace.
I need to learn to be brave.
Help me learn.
Help me learn and I will help you.

~by Kyra Harmon

(I know I”m her mother, and I may be biased. However, I think this poem is dang good. Especially for an eight year old.)

Today, instead of their normal schoolwork, I had the kids do some diagnostic tests online to check their progress in school. I was both surprised and delighted to see where they were. I tested them in Math, English, and Word Building (spelling). The results are in…my kids are smart. Apple…tree….’nuff said.

Kyra is eight, and she is a 3rd grader. Kyra tested exactly where she should be in Math…a little over midway through third grade. In English, she tested about a quarter of the way through fourth grade. In Word Building, she tested at the beginning of fifth grade. This was very encouraging to me, as a homeschool mom. It lets me know that I’m doing a good job, and my daughter is learning what she’s supposed to be learning.

Elijah is six, and he is a 1st grader, and I tested him in the same subjects. He tested at the beginning of third grade. This means he can skip second grade math. He already knows it. So, he’s going to be starting third grade curriculum next year at age seven. In English, he tested right where he should be…ready to start second grade. In Word Building, he tested at the beginning of third grade. So, like Math, he will be skipping second grade and going straight to third grade Word Building (spelling) curriculum. I was even more excited over his progress than Kyra’s, because I’ve had more involvement in his early education. I taught him to read and do addition and subtraction. Kyra learned that at school before we were homeschooling.

Knowing that my kids are either right where they should be or ahead of where they should be makes me feel really good. I’m not sure how to find out what reading level Kyra reads at, but I know it is much higher than a third grade reading level. She is an avid reader, and she is quite good at it. She retains what she reads, and understands it. She’s a very bright kid, and I’m super proud of her. Elijah has progressed by leaps and bounds in his reading over the last month or two. I’m really feeling good today. It also gives me an extra boost of confidence about starting kindergarten with Owen in the fall.

All in all, a good day on the homeschooling front!

Today, Elijah took communion for the first time. He was saved on Thanksgiving Day this year, and I can’t thank God enough for that. Today was very special to me, as his mother. I sat beside of him in church, and when we were preparing to take communion I whispered to him, “You can take communion today, Elijah.”

His eyes lit up. “I can?” he asked me.

I told him, yes, that now that he was saved, he was commanded to remember the Lord’s death by taking communion.

While the pastor addressed the congregation, I whispered to Elijah reminding him why we take communion. I told him how Jesus Himself told us to remember His death until He comes by eating the bread and drinking from the cup. I told him how the bread represented Jesus’ body. I told him that when he ate it, He was to remember how Jesus gave His body as a sacrifice for our sins. I told him that when we drink the grape juice, it represents Jesus’ blood. I told him when he drinks it, He should remember that Jesus shed his blood for him. I told him that we take communion to remember Jesus’ death on the cross.

During our whispered consultation, he looked solemnly at me with big blue-green eyes. I knew that he got it. He really understood, as best as a six year old boy can, why we were doing this.

This mother’s heart was bursting, just as it was the day that I held the same whispered conversation with Kyra when she took communion for the first time. There really is no greater joy than seeing your children embrace your faith, and accept Jesus for themselves.

Yes. Today was a special day for me. A day when an ordinary Sunday morning slipped into the sacred and my firstborn son’s childish eyes locked with mine and he smiled at me, bursting with joy.

We are children of God!