...And I can't wait to blog about it! But for now Joel has to go to work with the computer. Ah the hotel, surf lifestyle. Love you all and will post more...soon?
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11 hours ago
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Monday, March 08, 2010
Putting it all together
Claire is incredibly deliberate. I feel I can say that with a measure of certainty after watching three babies grow into their little bodies and figure out how to move. Claire moves with a certain thoughtfulness that I did not notice with the boys. She stretches out her arm and looks at it. She opens her hands and it's clear she's thinking deep thoughts about what's going on in her extremities. She watches people quite intently. I love it! Watching her reminds me of the simple beauty of the little things in life. She's captivated by it all and I am captivated by her, so she leads me to wonder a little deeper about the things I do rather flippantly. That's nice, thanks Claire.
She's gotten really good at rolling all over and crawling/inching backwards. TODAY though, all four of us got to watch as she crawled forward for the first time. The boys and I were playing on the other side of the kitchen carpet. Joel was doing something on the other side of the counter and all of the sudden I realize Claire is coming toward us with incredible determination and pride as it's clear she has put her motions together to move like a real crawler. She was so precious because she wanted to show it off again and again. We joined in by putting toys close to us and far from her and cheering her on as she reached them. So here's a little peak...I recorded as she was getting pretty tired, but it's crawling nonetheless. As usual, the boys pay no attention to my highly intelligent video reporter questions...ah, oh well!
See claire crawl here:
Claire Crawls
She's gotten really good at rolling all over and crawling/inching backwards. TODAY though, all four of us got to watch as she crawled forward for the first time. The boys and I were playing on the other side of the kitchen carpet. Joel was doing something on the other side of the counter and all of the sudden I realize Claire is coming toward us with incredible determination and pride as it's clear she has put her motions together to move like a real crawler. She was so precious because she wanted to show it off again and again. We joined in by putting toys close to us and far from her and cheering her on as she reached them. So here's a little peak...I recorded as she was getting pretty tired, but it's crawling nonetheless. As usual, the boys pay no attention to my highly intelligent video reporter questions...ah, oh well!
See claire crawl here:
Claire Crawls
Sunday, January 31, 2010
truth AND love.
Claire had a rough night tonight. Usually that means I'm doing whatever I can to get her back in her crib, peacefully (at times not so peacefully) so I can crawl back in bed myself.
Every now and then, and this has been the case with all three kids on occasion, a baby unsettled at night leads to such beauty and few experiences in my life rival it.
That, thankfully, happened tonight. Instead of trying to get her down quickly, I relaxed into her. As they fall asleep literally on you less and less, the times they do are so much more precious.
Tonight, rocking Claire asleep on my chest, I was still enough for long enough to hear the inevitable. He loves me. He loves us. Like I adore Claire, my Father in Heaven adores me. And it has absolutely nothing to do with anything I've ever done and everything to do with the fact that I am part of Him.
On a side note, Joel and I found this youtube video of a worship song called "He loves us" by Kim Walker...I can't seem to get it out of my head for long. Apparently my friends who know songs say David Crowder Band made it popular, I don't know but I know this one is powerful. Here it is:
How He Loves
As I held her and enjoyed the precious bundle that she is, I had certain dreams in my mind as I prayed over her. I loved praying over her brain and how it's forming, knowing that it was doing just that, even there as I held her.
The words "truth and love" entered my head and haven't left since. Not truth IN love like is so often quoted when talking about the way people should speak, with truth in love. not that.
Truth AND love. Recently I heard a woman speak about love as truly the greatest weapon. Not in a cliche way but in a powerful way, in the sense that we have no real concept of the great need for a good fight with this mighty weapon in the battle that rages over humankind. I've never really liked the word weapon before, now I do. There ARE good ones. And not to knock ole Jack B and his worst days, but his weapons and tactics suck. They never accomplish what they were supposed to, it's usually worse, there are always casualties, and the "bad guys" never change or disappear.
So I googled "truth and love" and come up with two interesting things. Islam uses the phrase and Ghandi said, "Truth and love always win." Another guy blogged on Ghandi's use and I loved what he said about it. He already wrote it, so I won't...here it is:
Thoughts on Ghandi's "Truth and Love always win."
Long story short, right now - you know now that I'm up for good (5 AM), I can say with certainty that I love nights that don't go my way. Atleast once in a while I do.
Every now and then, and this has been the case with all three kids on occasion, a baby unsettled at night leads to such beauty and few experiences in my life rival it.
That, thankfully, happened tonight. Instead of trying to get her down quickly, I relaxed into her. As they fall asleep literally on you less and less, the times they do are so much more precious.
Tonight, rocking Claire asleep on my chest, I was still enough for long enough to hear the inevitable. He loves me. He loves us. Like I adore Claire, my Father in Heaven adores me. And it has absolutely nothing to do with anything I've ever done and everything to do with the fact that I am part of Him.
On a side note, Joel and I found this youtube video of a worship song called "He loves us" by Kim Walker...I can't seem to get it out of my head for long. Apparently my friends who know songs say David Crowder Band made it popular, I don't know but I know this one is powerful. Here it is:
How He Loves
As I held her and enjoyed the precious bundle that she is, I had certain dreams in my mind as I prayed over her. I loved praying over her brain and how it's forming, knowing that it was doing just that, even there as I held her.
The words "truth and love" entered my head and haven't left since. Not truth IN love like is so often quoted when talking about the way people should speak, with truth in love. not that.
Truth AND love. Recently I heard a woman speak about love as truly the greatest weapon. Not in a cliche way but in a powerful way, in the sense that we have no real concept of the great need for a good fight with this mighty weapon in the battle that rages over humankind. I've never really liked the word weapon before, now I do. There ARE good ones. And not to knock ole Jack B and his worst days, but his weapons and tactics suck. They never accomplish what they were supposed to, it's usually worse, there are always casualties, and the "bad guys" never change or disappear.
So I googled "truth and love" and come up with two interesting things. Islam uses the phrase and Ghandi said, "Truth and love always win." Another guy blogged on Ghandi's use and I loved what he said about it. He already wrote it, so I won't...here it is:
Thoughts on Ghandi's "Truth and Love always win."
Long story short, right now - you know now that I'm up for good (5 AM), I can say with certainty that I love nights that don't go my way. Atleast once in a while I do.
Friday, January 22, 2010
all of us.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
these guys are the "most fun" as jaden would say...
for those of you that haven't met claire!
she's just amazing.
we are all simply in love with her.
anyone still out there?
testing...
so i took a bit of a hiatus from blog world. i have had thoughts of returning, but none materialized until i took a glance at my dear friend Erin's blog and saw that my name was way down at the bottom of her "blogs i read" list. it posts the most recently updated blogs first. ah! inspiration.
and now...the let down that follows as i ponder where to begin again, so much life has occurred since our last rendezvous.
to recount the past year (and a half?) would be impossible. so here are the cliff's notes:
FEB 07 our plan: south africa. FEB 08 God's: san antonio. he made it clear. thanks Lord. MAY 08 moved. quickly. my heart=broken to leave memphis. (quite the surprise really). joel+KIPP=start a high school. train, travel and plan for one year. SEPT 08 jaden in school 3x week. hudson my buddy at home. quiet. new/old home. no photography job. huddie my buddy, j-man and i = landa park. everyday. lonely. OCT 08 MORE FAMILY, i'm pregnant! DEC 09 church home: new heights AHUMC JAN 09 kim and john move here. hurray! still lonely, a heart issue. find Christ healing center. God heals not only my migraine headaches (yes i had them twice a week. no, i have not had even one since! it's been a year now!!), but also my lonely whining heart. joy. inexpressible JOY found. joel=crazy schedule no time at home. lessons learned about trust. peace. HIM providing. His calling. sacrifice. and again, joy. laughter. fun. together. FEB 09 jaden = 3! MAR 09 kim/me=business partners. really? yep: bridesmaid dress store. whirlwind plan. APR 09 joel's granddaddy died. JUL 09 a GIRL! Claire Elise Harris, beloved daughter and adored sister. also in JUL joel's granny died. so sad. death in the midst of a year of births. AUG 09 hudson = 2! KIPP UPREP, joel's school opened! SEPT 09 store grand opening. 9.9.9 sharron shares on birthing. the spiritual kind. stepping into God's calling. crazy lives! fun. busy. can feel the growth. "hard but good" at times. OCT 09 anna from Germany = nanny. great fit! NOV 09 new family traditions. house on the market again (it wouldn't be right if we didn't move every 13 months) DEC 09 5 year anniversary trip to IHOP. depth together. SO good. breakthroughs at KIPP UPREP. enjoying our lot. jaden = "i want to follow Jesus NOW, i can't wait!" steps of court house, 3 crossed backdrop, sweetness. celebrate the CHILD, our house full. JAN 10 expectant!! adoption? move a few streets over? thankful!
aren't you glad i didn't try to explain all that!
so now we're caught up and i think it's time for me to spend an ounce of time trying to find a new background for this lovely, yet dusty, old blog. hmmm..
so i took a bit of a hiatus from blog world. i have had thoughts of returning, but none materialized until i took a glance at my dear friend Erin's blog and saw that my name was way down at the bottom of her "blogs i read" list. it posts the most recently updated blogs first. ah! inspiration.
and now...the let down that follows as i ponder where to begin again, so much life has occurred since our last rendezvous.
to recount the past year (and a half?) would be impossible. so here are the cliff's notes:
FEB 07 our plan: south africa. FEB 08 God's: san antonio. he made it clear. thanks Lord. MAY 08 moved. quickly. my heart=broken to leave memphis. (quite the surprise really). joel+KIPP=start a high school. train, travel and plan for one year. SEPT 08 jaden in school 3x week. hudson my buddy at home. quiet. new/old home. no photography job. huddie my buddy, j-man and i = landa park. everyday. lonely. OCT 08 MORE FAMILY, i'm pregnant! DEC 09 church home: new heights AHUMC JAN 09 kim and john move here. hurray! still lonely, a heart issue. find Christ healing center. God heals not only my migraine headaches (yes i had them twice a week. no, i have not had even one since! it's been a year now!!), but also my lonely whining heart. joy. inexpressible JOY found. joel=crazy schedule no time at home. lessons learned about trust. peace. HIM providing. His calling. sacrifice. and again, joy. laughter. fun. together. FEB 09 jaden = 3! MAR 09 kim/me=business partners. really? yep: bridesmaid dress store. whirlwind plan. APR 09 joel's granddaddy died. JUL 09 a GIRL! Claire Elise Harris, beloved daughter and adored sister. also in JUL joel's granny died. so sad. death in the midst of a year of births. AUG 09 hudson = 2! KIPP UPREP, joel's school opened! SEPT 09 store grand opening. 9.9.9 sharron shares on birthing. the spiritual kind. stepping into God's calling. crazy lives! fun. busy. can feel the growth. "hard but good" at times. OCT 09 anna from Germany = nanny. great fit! NOV 09 new family traditions. house on the market again (it wouldn't be right if we didn't move every 13 months) DEC 09 5 year anniversary trip to IHOP. depth together. SO good. breakthroughs at KIPP UPREP. enjoying our lot. jaden = "i want to follow Jesus NOW, i can't wait!" steps of court house, 3 crossed backdrop, sweetness. celebrate the CHILD, our house full. JAN 10 expectant!! adoption? move a few streets over? thankful!
aren't you glad i didn't try to explain all that!
so now we're caught up and i think it's time for me to spend an ounce of time trying to find a new background for this lovely, yet dusty, old blog. hmmm..
Saturday, August 23, 2008
blast from the past...or to the past, i dunno
but i do know that i look enough like michael jackson in 1986 to fool people. complement? not so much.
thanks chris hill, this is fun!
chris's blog
to yearbook yourself click here
1952, 1960, 1966 and 1986.
who's next!?
thanks chris hill, this is fun!
chris's blog
to yearbook yourself click here
1952, 1960, 1966 and 1986.
who's next!?
Friday, August 15, 2008
HUDDIE almost ONE
i sometimes forget that not everyone in the world has facebook. yes, we can probably find a way to blame facebook for my decrease in posts. sorry guys. i recently posted some pics of our baby, hudson that i want to post here as well. i guess he's not technically a baby now, he turns one on monday. this child is such a bright spot in life. we all know, by hearsay, or experience, that kids are life's greatest joys and bring with them great challenges as well...we, now - 2.5 years in, can certainly throw our hat in the ring with much of humanity and affirm that YES children are a great gift. and yes, there are times when i think to myself, "indeed, i can say with full certainty there is no job harder." and that is after a few quick years with little hardship if any..to think of the pain that could be (and likely will be granted us if we live beyond tomorrow) inflicted upon the heart of a parent when life's dark colors show their full spectrum, well that makes this mom shudder on the inside - at both the thought of it for us, and the thought of those i know and love who face those very steep mountains today. at their courage i marvel. ginna. tona. but that's another post for another day.
hudson is simply not your average bear when it comes to 12 month olds. the child has no idea what it is to throw a fit. his protest cries are so cute you might start to laugh when you hear them. his cry when he's hurt will truly break your heart. you should see joel and i falling all over ourselves to make him feel better. we do that for jaden too, but he's tough and is a fire-ball. a sweet fire-ball with so much fun personality and strength. hudson, however, is peace and patience. he's cuddles and laughs. he seems to have a deep wisdom about him, the old soul kind. he steals hearts and his big eyes speak to anyone who slows down enough to listen. he is a true joy and i feel like i can't speak more highly of our 12 month old, as crazy as that might sound. thanks huddie, for coming into our lives and bringing such utter sweetness. to the One who sent him and Who's child Hudson truly is, words could never thank You or praise You enough. once again when trying to write about our kids, i find myself ending in silence. eyes tear. heart aches. words fail. again.
happy birthday hudson josiah harris
born 6:30am august 18, 2007
sweet hud, sorry but right now i can't remember how much you weighed, in the 7 range. :)
Sunday, March 16, 2008
DAY 30! some photos from the past two weeks
well my plan was to finish the re-cap through the past few months on DAY 30; you know - christmas, before, after all that. but time hasn't gone the way of that plan. so here are some from this past week with the point and shoot. Linda, aka Gma, came to visit us and we were all SO GRATEFUL to have her here. She graciously cared for the boys while i worked, ran errands etc. She also had to endure a few not so clean incidents with Jaden. I don't really want to go the road of potty talk, so we'll leave it at that. thanks gma!
you'll also find some pics from playing at the park with the carrolls. jac and charis are so much fun and jaden LOVES any time he gets with them.
In one hour we're headed to "Texxx assss" as jaden so eloquently puts it. we can't wait to see all family in the austin/sa area over the next five days! we'll also celebrate Joel's 28th on wednesday! hooray!
someday, you will get an addendum to DAY 30 with plenty of catch up shots and a video to boot. until then, thanks for checking in on our 30 days.
surely the blog will be frequented by this blogger far more often after this lovely little disciplined time of blogging. here's hoping. :) atleast for nana, gma and granny!
we love you guys! and CAN'T WAIT to be with you this week!
you'll also find some pics from playing at the park with the carrolls. jac and charis are so much fun and jaden LOVES any time he gets with them.
In one hour we're headed to "Texxx assss" as jaden so eloquently puts it. we can't wait to see all family in the austin/sa area over the next five days! we'll also celebrate Joel's 28th on wednesday! hooray!
someday, you will get an addendum to DAY 30 with plenty of catch up shots and a video to boot. until then, thanks for checking in on our 30 days.
surely the blog will be frequented by this blogger far more often after this lovely little disciplined time of blogging. here's hoping. :) atleast for nana, gma and granny!
we love you guys! and CAN'T WAIT to be with you this week!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
DAY 29: another 30 days??
yes! i'd like to do another 30 days of blogging!
however, it won't be 30 consecutive days on this blog.
http://cayceclaire.wordpress.com
this is my completely (even more so than the family blog was) NEGLECTED business blog.
SO, on day 29, i am announcing another round. I may not be quite as consistent on that blog, but regardless of how many days it takes, i will count until I have gotten 30 solid days worth of blog. i have some shoots that i'm really excited about coming up that will be fun to post from and i'm planning on catching everyone up on last fall.
as for this blog, i think i left off somewhere around the Enciso family visit in november, so be on the look out for christmas catch up.
Gma (linda harris) is here today and tomorrow! She drove all the way from Austin and we sure are thankful to see her face! Not to mention that we are oh-so-grateful for her loving arms around the boys, her willingness to babysit, her skill in the kitchen and her fun in general. We'll definitely get some shots up here from her visit in the next day or so!
For now, i'm off to bed. Please feel free to hold me accountable to posting on the cayceclaire blog. i need it! (ps thanks Lisa for already doing that).
however, it won't be 30 consecutive days on this blog.
http://cayceclaire.wordpress.com
this is my completely (even more so than the family blog was) NEGLECTED business blog.
SO, on day 29, i am announcing another round. I may not be quite as consistent on that blog, but regardless of how many days it takes, i will count until I have gotten 30 solid days worth of blog. i have some shoots that i'm really excited about coming up that will be fun to post from and i'm planning on catching everyone up on last fall.
as for this blog, i think i left off somewhere around the Enciso family visit in november, so be on the look out for christmas catch up.
Gma (linda harris) is here today and tomorrow! She drove all the way from Austin and we sure are thankful to see her face! Not to mention that we are oh-so-grateful for her loving arms around the boys, her willingness to babysit, her skill in the kitchen and her fun in general. We'll definitely get some shots up here from her visit in the next day or so!
For now, i'm off to bed. Please feel free to hold me accountable to posting on the cayceclaire blog. i need it! (ps thanks Lisa for already doing that).
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
DAY 28: how time flies
does this look familiar to any of you?
confession: probably only about 10 of you who we handed this to in person will recognize our lovely christmas card from 2007. the rest of those cards are still sitting on my "pile" bench.
yes, the card was designed by yours truly. yes, printed. yes, even stuffed. addressed? you bet, atleast most were.
mailed? nope.
and now, just when i thought it was too late to wish everyone a merry christmas from our family to yours...day 28 of blogging rolled around and offered the perfect opportunity to say in our little belated harris way, we're thinking of you this holiday season and beyond!
JOY to the world! and to all our friends and dear family!
Cayce, Joel, Jaden and Hudson Harris
and yes, i am sitting here trying to find pictures to share that are small enough to load, hence the christmas card. or should we call it the not-sentmascard.
confession: probably only about 10 of you who we handed this to in person will recognize our lovely christmas card from 2007. the rest of those cards are still sitting on my "pile" bench.
yes, the card was designed by yours truly. yes, printed. yes, even stuffed. addressed? you bet, atleast most were.
mailed? nope.
and now, just when i thought it was too late to wish everyone a merry christmas from our family to yours...day 28 of blogging rolled around and offered the perfect opportunity to say in our little belated harris way, we're thinking of you this holiday season and beyond!
JOY to the world! and to all our friends and dear family!
Cayce, Joel, Jaden and Hudson Harris
and yes, i am sitting here trying to find pictures to share that are small enough to load, hence the christmas card. or should we call it the not-sentmascard.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Day 26
sorry guys, once again i am having a ton of trouble simply uploading pics on blogger. here's one again that it would let me upload. must be high traffic or something, but we may be switching to wordpress blogs soon. :) i'll keep you updated. ...
and i'll try again tomorrow!
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Day 25? sorry, friday was a S.N.O.W. day for the blogger, i was out of comission...except for when it came to making snow angels
(i could only get one photo to load...more to come!)
it SNOWed in memphis friday afternoon and evening leaving a lovely blanket for us to play in last night and this morning.
jaden loved eating it.
hudson enjoyed being cuddled in an old afghan (one my grandmother made for me when i was little) and taking a stroll.
joel acted like jaden really wanted to go sledding, when in reality - he was the one who was about to jump out of his skin if he didn't get in all the sledding possible before the snow melted. (thanks nana and pops for the sledding tube, it worked great!)
i just loved every minute of the beauty and fun.
it SNOWed in memphis friday afternoon and evening leaving a lovely blanket for us to play in last night and this morning.
jaden loved eating it.
hudson enjoyed being cuddled in an old afghan (one my grandmother made for me when i was little) and taking a stroll.
joel acted like jaden really wanted to go sledding, when in reality - he was the one who was about to jump out of his skin if he didn't get in all the sledding possible before the snow melted. (thanks nana and pops for the sledding tube, it worked great!)
i just loved every minute of the beauty and fun.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
DAY 22-24 part III the boys and me
the precious, but really bad smile that we've grown accustomed to receiving when asking jaden for a camera smile. does asking kids to "smile" ever work for a real smile? doubtful. rule number one according to lisa, stop asking your child to say cheese. especially during a photo shoot with her, me or any other photographer :) jaden is proof of why this "cheese" nonsense is a really bad plan.
DAY ?? day hud.
22? 23?
Let's call it 22-24 because a few were skipped this past week. joel covered one of the days with his sweet video.
jaden definitely has hud beat in the documentation category...so today is the hud-man's day for snapshots.
enjoy...
Let's call it 22-24 because a few were skipped this past week. joel covered one of the days with his sweet video.
jaden definitely has hud beat in the documentation category...so today is the hud-man's day for snapshots.
enjoy...
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