One Day

I'm a word-picture person. I always loved object lessons growing up, and I still tend to think of other ways to explain what I'm going through or a lesson I'm teaching/learning. I've mentioned before (a while ago!!) that David and I have embarked on a new diet plan. We have reached the point in our lives where we are sick and tired of being sick, tired and FAT! We knew we had to change. David has lost over 50 lbs since July, and I have lost almost 20 since Sept. The thing about it is I should be a lot less now. But, I have cheated,  haven't stuck to the plan, I've allowed the stresses of life to give me excuse that it's OK to eat whatever. It's not. It is NOT OK to eat whatever you want, especially if you're trying to change your life and the bad habits you've created. This got me thinking the other day. Changing the way I eat is a lot like pushing a baby out. Now, hear me out! I know you probably think I'm crazy right now, but I do have me

Yes, I'm still alive. Yes, the Hardins are still living and doing life. That's probably the problem: we've been busy. Geesh! So much going on it's ridiculous! Here we are having had Halloween and Thanksgiving, and we're into the Advent season. I'm not going to even try to catch us all up on what all we've been doing, however, I'll give you a short list! We have been doing: school preschool church stuff parties with friends field trips visiting family playing outside (we've had a fantastically wonderful warm fall!) normal daily living stuff It's been a full 2+ months, and I don't see life slowing down any time soon! However, I do foresee more posts, more frequently...again... Until then, may your Advent season be blessed by our precious Savior! Hello from Olaf, Ninja Ben and Elsa!

I was having a discussion with my good friend about being on time. She said, "You are about my only friend who is always on time, or early. I just don't understand how you do that!" And, I gave her my ways, the things we do in our family to be on time. It was perplexing to me to think this was even something unfathomable to another person. I mean, it's just not hard. To me, anyway. That night I was thinking about it and realized she does something that I find unfathomable. She, and most of my other friends, can eat 1 or 2 pieces of chocolate, or 1 brownie (or a bite of brownie) and be fully satisfied. I. Can. Not. Do. This. I do not understand how a person does this! How can't your chocolate craving be satisfied until the bag of Hershey Kisses is gone, or the XL candy bar is devoured, or the pan of brownies is eaten? I do not understand. And, because of this not understanding, I am over 200 lbs and find myself needing to lose weight. I think this is why God

Babies are so precious, aren't they? They smell good, they're so soft, cuddly and well, it's rare to find a person who DOESN'T like a baby! Late last week my sister-in-law, David's step sister, had her first baby! We've been anxiously awaiting this little one's birth. Her parents decided not to find out if they were having a boy or girl, so we were all anxious to find out! Well, they had a GIRL--an adorable, precious, little girl!!! We were/are so excited for them! We decided to head down to their city (2 hrs away and same place my MIL and sister live) the day after she was born because we were just too excited! The kids were excited to have another cousin, and they ALL wanted to hold her! They had each picked out a little toy for her. Here's some pictures of our precious new niece/cousin! I apologize for how many there are...ok, no I don't!

Change. It's hard. It's uncomfortable. It can be painful. It's rarely fun or looked forward to. Sometimes change is unexpected (like a death), other times it's expected and you have time to prepare (such as a new job). But, what about the changes you KNOW you need to make and you keep putting off? Well, my husband and I have been putting off change for a long time. We are fat. We are overweight. We are miserable. We must change. There's no other way around it. If we want to live a healthier and better life we must lose weight. We can't keep living the way we are.  A friend of ours introduced us to a weight loss program back before Christmas, I think. July of this year came and my husband said, "If you don't mind, I think I'm going to do it." Mind? Of course not!!!!! I don't mind at all!!!! He ordered his food and began his process of change. He's lost 35 lbs since he started the end of July!!  On the left is David's before

Last week marked the first day of preschool for Ben! How is it we have TWO children in school now?????? He is attending the same co-op nursery school that Cora did when she was 4. It's nice to be a returning parent! We know the ropes, we know what's expected, etc. It's nice not to be new. This year I have also decided to join the co-op board, so I'm  in charge of membership. Eek! I hope I'm able to get enough kids ready for next year!!! ANYWAY! Ben LOVES preschool! He is so excited to get to do something without his sisters ("Peeeeeschool only for MEEEEEEEE?), and he gets to spread his wings a bit and make some of his own friends. We love this preschool because you can't find ONE screen in the school. The kids learn through play, play and more play. They do have a craft time, which is used for learning the letter of the week, and they take time to do the weather, date, etc. But, the majority of the morning is spent in play. The teachers are GREAT and well

A couple weekends ago David was asked to perform a wedding for a couple who we didn't know. They have a mutual friend with David and this friend suggested David perform the wedding. It was at this gorgeous vineyard! I have never been to an outside wedding and this did not disappoint! It was so fun to watch David in action, perform a lovely ceremony for this couple, and then we got to enjoy a delicious meal, with 48 other strangers. HA! However, it was so nice to have a date! I love my husband and am thankful for him!

Since Bekah had her surgery back in February she has struggled with sleeping. And I mean, she's had night terrors, won't sleep for HOURS, has a hard time getting to sleep. You name it, they've written a chapter on it in a book. It's been a VERY frustrating 6 months. We have tried everything we know to do and still, sleep is not something we can count on. We have often felt like we have a newborn in the house again. We have cried, we have yelled, we have screamed, we have prayed, we have sought advice, we have read books, we have prayed and prayed and prayed. No, I have no idea why the Lord is allowing us to go through this season. During the early part of all this I had a friend share with me that she went through something similar with one of her sons. She shared with me that she spent those many hours in prayer. Yes, tears too, but prayer. I figured since she is wiser then me and had been through this I ought to take her advice. And so, I have. Prayer changes thing

Do you have a support team? I do. My husband is, of course, A-#1 support for me, but I also have several other friends and family who are a support system for me/us while we home school. A lot of those people don't live around us, however, there are 3 very special women and their families who live around us. We have 11 kids between our 4 families, and Ben is the only boy! The kids' ages range from Rebekah who is 2 and the oldest girl just turned 12! We have tons of fun together. We get together regularly to give our kids time to play, time to learn, and a time for us moms to support each other. We've been through a lot together in recent years. We've all been through some major downs and have held each other up through prayer, hugs, tears and open ears. I am so blessed to have these ladies in my life. They are so special, and I know God placed them in my life for so many reasons! Last week we all got together to celebrate one of our birthdays. It was fantastic to sim

We started school last week! We started promptly at 8:15 on Monday morning and worked diligently for a few hours with a break at one point. Cora is doing a fantastic job! Every single day last week she said, "Mom? Is there anything else I can do? I want to do more school! Mom! Give me more school work to do! Can't I keep doing school?" Phew! She was wearing me out, however, I appreciate her love of learning. I know it won't always be this way, but I finally gave in, and we are a good week ahead in most of the subjects. Granted, math, for example, is all review so she's zipping right through that. I love this about homeschooling: you can go at your own pace. If your child is grasping something there's no need to spend days/weeks on it, you can simply move on! I love it. We don't have to wait for 28 other kids to get the concept. We can just move on . And, if there's something we want, or need, to spend extra time on, well, we can! Ben and Bekah are

Do you have a friend, or friends, who you don't get to see often (like with many years between visits) but when you do see each other it's as though time has not passed? I have several of those friends. Being a missionary kid, and then later a missionary, you learn to build deep, lasting friendships with people. You don't waste time with the fru-fru stuff, the surface information. You get deep. You learn about each other. After college I spent 2 years in Cameroon, Africa. I loved my time there. I was young, single and thought it would be a grand adventure. It was, but it was also a time that I look back on when I grew as a person. I made several really wonderful friends. Most of whom were older than me, but women of faith, each in her own journey with God. One thing you have to know is, when you leave the mission field you do not know when you'll see your friends again. And, honestly, you know you'll at least see them in heaven. So, when the opportunity arises to

I'm not sure you can read much online or turn on the news and not see something about whether or not gay marriage is right, should be legal, where churches should stand on this, etc. I have remained silent on this issue because I know where I stand. I don't feel the need to put it out there on my Facebook wall or anything like that. However, due to a conversation I had recently I wanted to put some thoughts down. The question was can a church say to one part of their congregation it's OK to support gay marriage, let them do their thing, and then have another group along side NOT supporting it? Can they worship in harmony, can they do church together? Is it OK to say to the one group, "you go ahead and believe that, be blessed by us, but we're going to go a different direction." Can you do this? I've been thinking about it a lot since that conversation. And I think the answer is no. I thought it at the beginning and after thinking on it longer I still t

Last week was the end of swim lessons for the kids. They all 3 did really well, and Cora passed through 2 levels this summer! Ben passed through 1, and Rebekah remains where she is due to age and not being potty trained! HA! Our community has a wonderful outdoor pool with a slide and splash pad. And, for 6 weeks during the summer they do a fabulous job with swim lessons for the kids! Our kids love it, and it's so great to watch their improvements in the water. David and I both think knowing how to swim is one of the most important things your child can learn. Here are some photos of them on the last day! I love my 3 little fishies! These children are my 3 biggest joys! Bekah is in the Tiny Tots class. Basically, they're learning it's ok to get their faces wet and how to find their footing in the water. Lots of splashing!  She's supposed to be showing me how she can blow bubbles...but, ya know, licking the water is good too... Ben started the

Yep, we went to the circus last week! At the beginning of the summer we made a list of some bigger things to do with the kids this summer so we weren't found stuck in the house all summer! Two years ago we went to this circus. Cora was 4, Ben was barely 2 and Bekah wasn't quite 2 months! We remember it being WET (had been raining), HUMID and HOT! But, we still had fun! We figured with everyone 2 yrs older it might go better this time, and it did! YEAH! We had a good time. Now, this isn't the big Wringling Bros but is a much smaller, 1-ring circus. There are still tigers, and elephant, camels, trapeze act, etc. Last time we went there were all sorts of animal rides for the kids--elephant, camel and pony. We knew the kids would want to do at least one of these (and seriously, just 1, because it's highway robbery what they charge to sit on an animal for 2 minutes...) so we went early so we'd have time for that and also get a good seat! HA! Apparently, this