I Am

The other day, we were talking with the kids about the question "What is God?" I was pleasantly surprised when Eóin remembered that "God is Light" from one of our Christmas promises we went through as a family during advent.

It got me thinking about how God is just what we need for every situation. You see, I think one of the reasons this particular aspect of God stuck with Eóin is that he is afraid of the dark, so it's important to him that God is Light. It meets his heart's present needs.

I've always loved that when Moses asked God who to tell Pharaoh sent him to free the children of Israel, that God said to tell them "I Am" sent him. God cannot be put in a box. He is not just one or two things - He is EVERYTHING we need when we need it!
To the Israelites he would be "I Am the Deliverer" - to Pharaoh he was "I Am Just and Powerful." To sinners he is "I Am Merciful and Redeemer;" to the broken he is "I am Healer." The list goes on and on! To my son He is "I am Light;" to the lost He is "I am the Good Shepherd" or "I am the Way." Where there is a need in our world, it is God who can fill it - He is "I Am."

Just enjoying reflecting on that today - whether you are five or ninety five - God can meet you right where you are!

Book Review: Vanished by Irene Hannon

Reporter Moira Harrison is in the middle of nowhere on a dark, stormy night when out of nowhere a terrified girl appears in the middle of the road. There is no time to stop and as much as Moira tries to avoid her, she hits the scared girl and careens off the road hitting a tree before she comes to a stop.
Luckily for Moira, a good Samaritan is around and after checking on Moira, tells her he will call 911 and check on the girl she hit. Thats all Moira can remember before her world went dark. When she finally comes to, there is no ambulance, no good Samaritan, and weirder still, no girl! What's worse is that no one will believe her story.
Finally, unable to forget the look of terror in the girl's eyes, Moira turns to a private detective agency for help. Although skeptical, ex-homicide detective Cal Burke agrees to help and slowly clues unfold that reveal a deadly secret.
I always enjoy Irene Hannon's stories. They are easy to read, and I usually get through them in a day or two. Good twists and just the right amount of suspense without it keeping me up all night :-) The romance is a little predicable but that's ok for a light read.

Thank you to Revell publishers for a free copy of this book to review.

Available January 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Book Review: The Lesson by Suzanne Woods Fisher

I will admit, I was watching my inbox very closely for the release of this book, hoping it would come up for review. I enjoyed the first two installments of the Stoney Ridge Seasons so much, and MK was my favorite character so I was looking forward to what was going to happen to her.

At nineteen years old, not much has changed in the life of Mary Kate. She is still a crazy troublemaker who likes to stick her nose in where it doesn't belong, and this time she has uncovered a murder she feels she needs to solve! When the murder co-insides with the arrival of a mysterious new man, well that is enough to send MK on a lot of crazy hunts for the truth.
At least it will keep her busy since her hopes of world travel have been delayed due to being assigned to help in the school house. Good thing she is still in school because apparently Mary Kate Lapp has still a lot to learn! (Oh and Jimmy Fisher is it it too which if you've read the other books like me you were probably wondering what would happen with him. But I won't tell you ;-) )

As usual, I really enjoyed Suzanne Woods Fisher's take on Amish life. It's not the quiet, serene, scene with seemingly perfect people that a lot of books portray. Real people, dealing with real issues who just happen to be Amish is what she writes about. My only down side to this book was that it seemed really short - I wish it would have been a little longer - It was the last book after all :-)

Thank you to Revell Publishers for a free copy of this book to review.

Available January 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

A Happy Harrison Holiday

Our Crazy Christmas Card for this year. Sure beats getting everyone to smile at the same time!

We have had a lovely Christmas so far.  The kids slept til 8:30 on Christmas morning which is a present for us! We heard Eóin wake up and use the bathroom and then the crazy kid went back to bed to wait for everyone else :-) Soon after, Aidan woke up and we heard the boys talking to each other:

Aidan: Eóin, it's sunny out! (generally his cue that he can get out of bed). Do you think Santa is here?

Eóin: No - you can't see him - he's invisible.

Aidan: Oh - can we open presents now?

Eóin: Well we have to wait until lunch time to open Grandma's when everyone is ready. We have to wait for everyone.

Aidan: I don't like waiting for everyone.

Soon after they came into our room and we got Molly for our traditional prayer time on our bed to say Happy Birthday to Jesus. Molly heard us mention praying and shouted "Amen" the continued to say "Eat! Eat! Eat! Eat!" I think she was ready for breakfast :-) Finally after two more rounds of waiting while we changed Molly's diaper and Daddy went to turn on the tree lights, the boys charged out to open their presents. Jonathan took some video but it's on his phone so I need to wait til he uploads it before I can post it. 

 Sleepy Christmas Faces

Molly got a bed for her baby, but once she opened her new cups in her stocking, she wouldn't play with anything until she got a drink :-) 

We got ready and skyped with my fam then headed over to Eric and Christina's for round two of presents. The kids were thrilled with all their gifts - I'll post some pics in another post very soon! 

Giggles

 Reading the Christmas Story with Grandpa on the iPad

The strollers were a big hit!

The Adventures of Brown Blanket

Whenever Aidan meets a new person, his conversation generally goes like this...

"Hi, I'm Aidan. I have a brother Eóin. He's 5 so he's in school. I'm only 3 so I have to wait to go to school. This is our baby. His (no I did not mistype it) name is Molly. She (sometimes he) is OUR baby."

This is pretty much verbatim what he told the librarian this morning.

Next comes..

"I have a brown blanket. It's at home. I got it when I was a baby."


EVERYONE he meets knows he has a brown blanket! Any time he is not moving, you better believe brown blanket will be with him. It has travelled to Wisconsin, Michigan, Ireland, and pretty much anywhere we go for any length of time. Playing games on the iphone, reading, watching tv - brown blanket is NECESSARY to enjoying any of these activities! It also comes in handy for using his imagination. It has been a road for cars, a sleeping bag for camping, wrapping for "presents" and these - my two personal favorites...


being JESUS!

and


a superhero :-)

I was laughing at how it is such a part of family life, and how often it shows up in pictures I take of the kids all the way from the first week of his life :-) And now you know about Brown Blanket.