Blessed.

Hello all :)

For those of you who may have not heard our news, are you ready for this one? Here it goes! We are expecting another little bundle this December. Yes, it's true, we are having another baby! Blessing #4 is on the way.

I am 10 weeks along and we just announced the news to our families this past weekend on Mother's Day. It was a fun and memorable weekend...always so fun to announce a pregnancy!

To be honest though, since finding out we were expecting, I was feeling a bit nervous to share our news with family. Silly I know, since this is our decision and not theirs, but multiple family members have made comments to me since Lincoln has been born that left me feeling a little uneasy about their support. The good news is once we did share, everyone was happy :) Either that or really good actors who should be getting paid :)

It's funny how we care about what people think sometimes, when others opinions really shouldn't matter when it comes to whether or not we are going to expand our family. However, it seems if you have more than 2 children these days people look at you weird or think you're crazy for wanting more children...I don't really get it.

I get looks all the time at the store or comments like, "Wow! You sure have your hands full!" It used to bother me, until God gave me an answer to those people. "Yes, I do have my hands full and I love it! Children are a blessing from God and I'm so grateful to have healthy children." They usually don't have a response to that. Ha! I'm thankful for the random strangers I run into that encourage me when they see me juggling all 3 kids and the groceries in the store, instead of the judgement I feel from people sometimes.

Recently I had the sweetest older woman who was a greeter at our local grocery store immediately pull me aside when I walked in with the kids, just to tell me how my job is so important and she just poured life into me. It totally made my day, and made me realize how important the words we speak really are. Our the words we speak encouraging? Do they build up or tear someone down? Are they fruitful? Life giving? It can be easy to say things before we think them through sometimes and I have learned the importance of words and what I speak over people.

The cutest old man offered $10 bucks for Gracelyn the other day. Ha! I laughed and said, "Sorry, she's not for sale! :)

All that to say, we are blessed to have another on the way. We are happy. We believe this child is a blessing and gift from God. An inheritance from Him. Yes, we planned it. Yes, we know where babies come from. Yes we know our life can look crazy, busy, sleep deprived, a laundry room with dirty laundry piled 15 feet high, crayon on the walls, lipstick stains on the carpet and everything in between that I missed but we are ok with that. If you don't like it, don't come over :) There are many seasons in life and in parenting. Right now, we are raising little ones...little ones who want their way, have temper tantrums when they don't get their way and bang on their door as loud as possible when they get disciplined and are in time out. It's the season of parenting we're in and it's normal, and we are training, teaching and molding them into who they will become. It's an important job and not one we take lightly.

In Psalm 127, we learn that:

Children are a gift from God. An inheritance from Him!

Children are like arrows in the hand of a mighty warrior.

Children are a blessing.

The Bible says having a lot of children is a blessing. In light of Psalm 127, this is the way we should think of every child. They are a blessing from God and not a burden.

Blessed with three and one on the way,
Momma Keri

Memories

Jeremy called me earlier in the day today with some sad news. His Grandma Rena went to be with Jesus today. Of course, rejoicing that she knew the Lord and that she will spend eternity in heaven, but sad here on earth, that she is no longer with us.

I wrote a bit about her on my facebook, but wanted to share a few things here too.

The first Christmas I was officially a "Harrison", I remember going to her house, in Royal Oak. As I was observing and walking around the house, I glanced and saw this beautiful photo of a young girl, I would say in her 20's. I was absolutely taken back at how beautiful this girl was. I went over to Jeremy's grandmother and asked who was this picture of. She chuckled and said, "Oh, that's me."

I immediately said,"You were one hot babe!!" She got the biggest kick out of that, and since then, that is what I would call her often...one...hot...babe!

I've always loved his Grandma Rena and thought she was such a fun, spunky Grandma. Her face would light up anytime she saw any of our babies, or any of her grand babies or great grand babies for that matter. I loved hearing her stories and she had a great laugh.

I loved that she would send notes in the mail to us, randomly, just saying how much she loved us, that she was proud of us and that we were treasures to her. It warms my heart, and now I'm determined to find those sweet notes, I'm sure I tucked them away somewhere.

I will always laugh when I think of her saying, "Oh crap." I always told her I got a kick out of her saying that...it just sounded so funny coming from a Grandma.

Here is a photo of her and I from a few years ago at Christmas. She would always ask why would I want a photo of me and an old lady? I always found that to be funny...because she obviously didn't know how grateful I was for her.

When she was in her early 20's and had 4 young boys, she became a widow. I can only imagine how difficult that would be. I feel so grateful to her...that she went on to raise 4 little boys. Without her, my husband and children wouldn't be here. Wow, amazing to think about. My heart is full of gratitude for her life. She brought so much joy and laughter and really was a gem. I'll miss her.

Grandparents are so special. They leave a legacy of love and imprints on our lives. They have so much wisdom and so many great stories if you take the time to sit and listen. I loved hearing her stories.

Just a couple months back, Jeremy lost his aunt Mariane. Rena was very close to her and it was hard to lose her. As we were at the funeral, I was chatting with Grandma and she said to me, "It won't be long before I join her." How true those words came to be. I'm sure there has been a joyous reunion between those two, I can picture it.

I am forever grateful to her for the legacy she left, and for the beautiful family she gave us. We will miss you Grandma, enjoy heaven until we meet again one day :)

I will leave you with a sweet photo I took of our Lincoln Log today. He turned 8 months on Monday. Oh so sweet. What a joy he is.

Much love,