My Prayer

I wrote these words down from a song we were singing in church and thought, "Man, this so needs to be the prayer of my heart these next few weeks." It's been in my head every morning.

"Spirit of the living God come fall afresh on me and wake me from my sleep...
And blow through the cavern of my soul, pour in me to overflow."

I'm not gonna lie, I know a little about a lot. But if for one minute you think you can ask me where the time went with my kids and I will have the slightest clue....you'd be kidding yourself ha!
Morgan is driving. There I said it. Like a Band-Aid right?
I'm hoping the time slows down but we can hope a lot of things right?
Instead I'll just hope in all the exciting mile stones and grand moments like driving, graduation, first loves etc. I don't miss all the little things like the "teenager looks" I get when I say something annoying, or the quiet moments when they are sitting alone praying and reading Gods word, the random hugs or "I love you mama" when I feel very unlovable. Those are the things I want to remember as my girls grow.

I probably won't be able to forget the urgent care visits and less urgent house calls of Ryanne's injuries. She was racing some friends through the church parking lot and yup you guessed it; she was safe! Ugh! I'm a professional at road rash and removing gravel from flesh if you need me. Insert eye roll here.

Macy has been gone three weeks and everyone including Chloe has gotten back to routine.
And even though we still miss here large presence, we are adjusting and the girls are already begging for another dog.
They are convinced life isn't complete without two dogs in the house. Me not so much.
All I can think about is house breaking, the cost and the extra work of keeping track of another animal. But my husband says I'm weak and it won't be long before there is another four legged friend in our home.
I told my friend the other day that it's easy for me to wish for an animal "hair free" house, immaculate floors and furnishings; but then in the next thought I remind myself in heaven I'll have a mansion ha! And this life just isn't the same without kids launching from trees in the backyard, animals taking over the couch and running out the door all the while checking for dog hair on my yoga pants. And that's pretty much the low down around the Harker house this month.
Be blessed friends!

 

Macy

Well if you know our family at all or have followed our blog for any length of time, you know we are animal people and total suckers for a sweet furry face. So that will explain why we were heart broken to have had to put our sweet great dane Macy to sleep this past weekend. 

She really was the best dog and loved our girls so much. We used to joke that she thought they were her puppies. 

We were told about six months ago that they thought she had bone cancer in her foot and if that was the case she would maybe live at the longest six months...and that's exactly what she did. She fought hard for six months to stay active and even on bad days followed me and the girls around.

She never knew she weighed 190lbs. she was HUGE but thought she was a lap dog.  When Morgan was on her mission trip this summer she moped around for two weeks and then the minute she saw Morgan walk through the door she was like a puppy again. If Ryanne went for a run or to ride her bike Macy would sit at the end of the driveway and watch over her until she was safely back in the yard.

Saturday really was the worst day because we love her so much and she was a part of our family. Having pets is hard because we get really attached but we had a lot of good years to love on our Macy girl so that's what we are remembering. 

The Low Down on Skinny oil, Passport to Purity Trip & a Giveaway...

So I got an email from Skinny Co. asking if I wanted to try their products. I agreed to blog about my findings and so they shipped me a free sample of all these goodies. 

The box came with lots of information on their products and I was excited to give them a  try. I am all about natural products and especially love coconut oil.

One of the jars was a coconut oil and other essential oils for teeth whitening so for two weeks me and Dan tried it out and we noticed a huge difference in just polishing up our teeth and making your mouth feel clean. I brushed with the coconut oil and then brushed regular with my Toms of Maine toothpaste and we are hooked. One night after we got the oils Ryanne broke out in hives something awful so I rubbed her down with the coconut oil and the hives calmed down, were less itchy and gone the next day. Yahoo! Lastly, my favorite thing they sent was the coconut oil scrub that I have been using on my heels and other rough spots and it is AMAZING! So if you love all natural products like I do check them out at www.skinnyconews.com Enjoy!

So when Morgan was entering Jr. High I took her away for a two nights to the beach to have some girl time and work through the Passport to Purity series. This past weekend was Ryanne's turn and so we loaded up the car and headed for Carlsbad....

We loaded up on good food...

And of course long walks on the beach in the morning when it was quiet and calm...

We also decided we definitely need a living wall on our patio...

Ryanne singing on the worship team for Jr. High. She is growing up quickly but not to quickly, she still likes to jump in my bed on cold mornings and snuggle and tells me she is never going to drive ha! The time away was good and blessed both of us. If you have never heard of Passport to Purity you should totally check it out. It broaches subjects with the kids like puberty and dating and asks them to come to some kind of accountability with their parents on how they will conduct themselves as teenagers when it comes to the choices they make. In the end we gave her a purity ring and she loves it! We talked about her desire for a Godly marriage later in life and her desire to be obedient now as she's going to be faced with peer pressure etc. 

This has really been a God send for our family and we want to bless you by passing on a Passport to Purity kit. The only thing you would have to do is go on to Amazon and buy the journal to go with it. But the Cd's and workbook are all here.
Leave a comment over the next week telling me on a scale of  1-10 how freaked out are you to talk to your kids about sex and then I will have my girls pick a number and whoever gets picked wins!

 If you live close by I will drop it off on your doorstep and if you are far away I will happily mail it to you.
This is just for fun and to pass on the blessing oh and because I am doing the happy dance and survived two! Count them people, TWO! weekends away with my girls talking about the hard stuff ha!
Also, if you have sons this kit works all the same as it has the CD's for the father-son get away.
This is ideal for kids about 11-12 years old but you can always win it and put it up because they will be there before you know it.
Blessings!

Happy 80th Betty!

My mother in law celebrated her 80th birthday last week and so we surprised her and got a suite  down in LA for the night and also bought tickets to see the Broadway hit Newsies....

The show was AMAZING! The dancing is ridiculous and the singing so good!

I found this place in LA called Fo Nuts and it had baked donuts, so good for you right? Ha! They had bacon covered donuts, raspberry and mocha too! The best part? They had gluten free and vegan  as well so this meant that for the first time in 10 years I was able to walk up to a donut counter and order a donut. 

I was fascinated with the mirror in the elevator and drove everyone nuts!

We enjoyed dragging Betty to new restaurants, walking around The Grove, getting into crazy Uber cars and going to a show.
Such a fun couple of days. We love you and pray your year is a blessed one! 

Summer Flashback....

Well school is back in full swing and summer is quickly fading away. You wouldn't know it by the heat and fires blazing around here though. We had a great summer full of firsts and also some old favorites.
Mountain biking in Boise Idaho

Spending time with Dan on his down days...

Season waterpark passes are a hit every summer and the kids are exhausted afterwards which is good for the mamas. 

Sweet Ryanne turning 12 in July...

Morgan traveling down south to help repair homes with her missions team was a summer highlight for her; she is already looking forward to joining the leadership team again in September and praying about next years trip.

Ryanne survived summer camp and came home so excited AND tired :)

We enjoyed a jeep excursion with Dan for his birthday...

We welcomed my new little niece and even snuck in a trip up to Sacramento to visit her. So tiny and sweet. Little Allison Avery

Had some one on one mom and daughter time throughout the summer...always a great time.

I love my little dog but won't take credit for my mom doing this to her...ha!

Hung out with friends in Oak Glen and enjoyed hiking and lunch...

The cousins came up from San Diego and we all stayed a couple of nights in Palm Springs and took them to the water park....so fun!!!!
I love summer and all that goes with it but I'm not gonna lie, I also like getting back into routine and watching the girls learn new things in school etc. I'm looking forward to a great year...7th & 10th grade here we come!!! Be blessed this week. :)

Dan's Day!!!

Wednesday was Dan's birthday so I surprised him with a boulder crawling tour in Big Bear....

One daughter came home from a trip and one left for a trip to summer camp so it was just me, Dan & Morgan on this adventure...

These tours are AMAZING because you basically get to drive these completely awesome jacked up jeeps and follow a leader over some crazy terrain and well, hope you stay alive ha!

Our guide was crazy as he would jump up on top of rocks and take our picture as we were driving by..he had WAYYYY to much energy. It was like a 4 1/2 hour long drive through the back country and it was beautiful the entire way.

I'm so glad we could get away for the day and bless Dan on his day. We love you honey and are so lucky to have you in our lives. Every adventure no matter how big or small is better with you by our side. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Morgan came home super late Monday night and we were so happy to see her sweet face and hear all of her stories....

Sadly Ryanne missed her sister by one day as we dropped Ryanne off at summer camp. I'm so thankful to finally have them both home under one roof together after almost a month. They were so home sick for each other.

In other news my brother and his wife had their first little girl on Sunday; Allison Avery is happy and healthy as is mama. I told him to snuggle her lots because in a blink of an eye she will be packing her suitcase to leave on some adventure or slinging her backpack over her shoulder and kissing you good bye as she heads off to camp for the week. Be blessed this week. 

1-2!

Ryanne it's your birthday! You are 12!! When did this happen? We celebrated with Dan down in Laguna Beach on Sunday. A little lunch....

A little sun, sand and water.....

"Mom stop taking pictures!"

Today we picked Ryanne up from her bible study and headed to lunch, then got our nails done.

You are a light sweet girl. Your heart is so genuine and in love with the Lord and your family. 

You are sweet and sassy and creative. You speak your mind but go out of your way to guard other peoples hearts. You love an adventure and I'm not kidding when I say you rescue every moth that flies into our home or bee that floats by you in the pool at the water park...you never miss a beat kid! You want to grow up faster than we will let you but at the same time you want to be held and cuddled and swing from the trees out back. There is never a boring moment when you are in a room and you attract people like crazy with your sunny personality. When I asked you what you wanted to do tonight you said,"Mom I'm going to serve at the soup kitchen...I don't care if it's my birthday." So I dropped you off with your youth group and at the soup kitchen you are, loving on people and making sure they see Gods mercy and grace. I cannot wait to see how God uses you to care for the people that the world calls unlovable or has thrown aside. You don't see people's social status, color or financial value. You see them like our Lord sees them and that is a huge testimony to me and your daddy. We love you sweet girl! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Be blessed this year sweetie!