Something… Special!

We’re going to call this our “Something…” series in proceeding with getting our blog back up to speed, after being silent these past three months. So without further ado…

Keeven’s 1st season of Special Olympic’s basketball is what’s so “special” about this post!

January 6th couldn’t have rolled around any sooner! We’d been telling people from the time Keev came to be with us that he would “rock the Special Olympics” someday and that he did! Yes, we’re proud of our little 6 year old Downy b-baller and happy to brag on him when given the chance

God has bestowed some gifts upon this child and handling a ball is chief among them. Another is determination, which is a total bonus when the odds always seem stacked against you! When this little man gets something in his head, he’s gonna accomplish it one way or another!

Over the past three years, we have watched Keev diligently practice his dribbling skills each and every time he was able to get his little hands on a basketball. On a few occasions, this meant retrieving him from making a mad dash onto the court during one of his big brother’s games or practices!

The other thing has been his determination to understand the game, especially evident anytime we’re watching others play. He can get very engrossed and vocal when cheering our team on, “Go Egwos!”

It was something else to watch this three foot 7 inch little man play point for his team – driving into the midst of players twice his size & girth, only to see the ball sail over their heads as he attempted to shoot a basket.

The other thing that meant so much to us was the sense of relief that came over him as the season unfolded. If he could have articulated what his thoughts were, we think he would have told us “finally, it’s me that gets to play the game while everyone else watches!”. This relief brought on a new maturity in him and an ability to stay focused through the season.

Pictured above is the team and coaches! An extra special thanks to Southern Wind Head Coach Tami Rose, whose heart for these kids is more than evident!

Blog F.Y.I.

Ok, so some may be wondering if we’d abandoned the farm. Nope, still hear and with plenty to share since keeping quiet these past three months.

Will quickly explain the hold-up. Some may remember our original intentions for starting this blog were to have our posts full of photos and journaled memories converted into book format at the end of each year. Relieving Mama of any guilt for not properly chronicling the kiddo’s childhoods.

Not realizing the technology available to accomplish this was just a click away, Mama quit blogging until she was able to find a suitable resource for accomplishing this.

Enter a thick blanket of ice that we all woke up to yesterday morning, causing Mama’s plans for the day to change. Instead of accompanying 1st graders on their now cancelled field trip. She found herself cozy on the couch, surfing the web & releasing the valve of procrastinated pressure!

Blog2print.com is what she found and in less time then you can say, “to the barn and back” she had everything figured out and ready to go. Quite impressive when considering how technologically inept she is. Which has more to do with the easy format Blog2print has to offer!

So, the next time you visit the farm, be sure & check out our newest coffee table read! Oh, and don’t jump the wagon just yet. We have seven special occasions to share with you that have transpired over the past three months. Looking forward to catching you all up!

This Christmas

You know the tune, made popular by Wham! during the 1980s. Which, by the way, our 12 year old tell us was a long time ago. Now we know how our parents felt about us thinking the 1950s were ancient history!

Anyway, the song This Christmas was a favorite around our house this year. Why? No idea because absolutely no one was suffering from a broken heart inflicted by the opposite sex. It probably had more to do with it being a catchy tune.

But really, this post has nothing to do with that song and everything to do with this past month…

This Christmas was Quinn dressed as a donkey at Kingman Mennonite’s annual program. He asked the director, Aunt Tana, if he could have a part. She mentioned a donkey and he gladly took the roll, rather seriously too!

This Christmas was making Keeven an official member of the family and him laying his head on the table when the judge asked if he was ready for this! Thank goodness he had Uncle Matt’s council!

This Christmas was seeing our second born son dressed as a freaky-Egyptian-dude-with-a-mustache at the school’s annual Christmas talent show! He knew better than to not let Mom snap this photo!

This Christmas was Santa visiting the Bridges To Learning preschool! It’s possible this experience may have sparked an interest in Keev to be a faux Santa someday as he’s been working on his “Ho, Ho, Ho”!

This Christmas was Dad, Gavin and Brant seeing The Hobbit in 3D at the IMAX and then meeting up with Mom and the little ones for ice cream at Orange Leaf afterwards!

This Christmas was Dave and the 1spark gang during Kingman’s annual Christmas lighted parade!

This Christmas was saying good-bye to our little buddy Cashamus who now rests-in-peace next to our wood shed…

This Christmas… as the season comes and goes, we think back, with bittersweet recollection, on the memories of years gone by. We are thankful for the gifts, big and small, given us by loved ones in the spirit of The One True Giver. The One who came and gave us His life to be a living example of sacrificial love.

“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”

Matthew 1:23

This Christmas… our love to you all!!!

Finally-zation

Yes! The day FINALLY came! We could write a small novel on this chapter of our lives…

CHAPTER 1

Mom watches a Dateline special on orphans while at a junior high sleepover in 1990. Says to herself she wants to help those little critters someday.

CHAPTER 2

Dad and Mom get married. Mom starts pestering Dad about adopting a child.

CHAPTER 3

Many some years later, they decide to pursue adopting a child out of the foster care system.

CHAPTER 4

Welcome 2010 and Keeven on February 5th of that year.

CHAPTER 5

Bunch of cool and not so cool stuff along the way! It’s ALL good though, right? Just part of the process and wouldn’t trade it for nothin’!

CHAPTER 6

December 14th, 2012 – Keeven Joshua becomes an official member of the Harnden clan!

Whew! It is SOOO much more detailed then that but you get the gist. Special thanks to our MANY friends and family who offered unfailing love and support during this process!

Most of all, to the Almighty for which all things are possible! For which this child you have blessed us with, we are thankful!

PS ~ December 14th is not only a day etched on our families’ hearts but our nation as well. As we felt the love and support of friends and family that day, it was our prayer that the Sandy Hook victims’ families felt that same love and support…

T. S. O.

Our family received an early Christmas gift this year. On Wednesday, December 5th, we met up with Grampa Steve, Grammie Sue, Uncle Matt, Aunt Tana and cousins, Jordan & Colin. After a scrumptious dinner at the Hyatt in Wichita, we shuttled over to Intrust Bank Arena to watch the…

Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert!!!

Grampa Steve and Grammie Sue had attended a T.S.O. concert with some friends last year during the Christmas season. During that concert, Grammie Sue kept thinking about how much she wished the grandkids were there and how much they would have enjoyed it. So… fast forward to 2012!

Here is the stage before the concert got started…

Pretty boring, huh? So then, how ’bout this…

Looks sorta like something out of a sci-fi movie. So maybe our camera doesn’t really do the show justice. Guess it’s one of those “had to be there” moments.

Anyway, we had a good time! One of Mom’s favorite moments was watching Keeven’s unsuspecting little face as the show took off with a BANG! He went from shock to excitement and spent most the concert clapping.

Always seems we run into someone from “back home” when visiting the big city.

This night was no exception! Among several familiar faces that night was Gavin’s buddy, Nick Noland.

Of all the members of our family, though, Quinn was most effected by this experience. For days afterwards he’d talk about “that hair band concert” we went to! And every time a T.S.O. tune comes on the radio, he’s quick to identify it as one we heard at “that concert”.

Thank you Ah-pa Steve and Meme Sue for this special gift, experience and memory!

The Spirit of Halloween Past

With Thanksgiving just two days away, figured we ought to get this issue of Halloween resolved before moving on to the next fall holiday.

For our family, Halloween is a time of expressing our creativity and celebrating those characters in life, past and present, that intrigue us with their adventurous, brave and courageous spirits.

Over the years, the boys have dressed up as rugged frontiersmen, jingle jangling cowboys, sea beaten pirates, fire breathing dragons and… surgical doctors. Okay, mom admits she coerced them into this one.

This year we jumped back into the old tried and true knights in shining armor costumes. Each of the boys, excepting Gavin, has graduated from dragon to knight over the years. How exciting that this was Sir Keeven’s year to join the ranks of honorable swordsmen!

The funniest thing about this is that he’d been diligently watching old episodes of Robin Hood prior to that night. Handing over the sword was a little scary, as he was ready to waste no time fighting that noble cause!

This being Sir Quinn’s second time to don knight attire, he wasted no time in contemplating (as you can tell by the look on his face) the task set before him!

Also part of the gang, but not pictured, were Mom as princess and Gavin, as he put it, “a mix between Robin Hood and William Wallace”. Basically, he was dressed in a Robin Hood costume with his William Wallace sword slung over his shoulder.

Brant decided to hang with a group of friends who dressed up as old men. Their plan was to hang out at Jeri’s Cafe all evening, drinking hot cocoa and gossiping! I think the allure of free candy won out in the end…

On a more serious note, this night has always been special to us as we visit those whose paths we don’t often cross but mean so much to us. We missed seeing our special Medicine Lodge friends but welcomed starting this tradition in Kingmam with our new friends here

Pumpkin Patch Memoirs

Just a short 20 mile drive northwest of us is the quaint little Harvest Farm and Pumpkin Patch. When we found out the big boy’s old CBF Refuge youth group gang were going to be there, we didn’t want to miss the opportunity to hang out with them.

So we loaded up on a Saturday morning, couple weeks ago, and set out on a pumpkin patch adventure!

Mom talked the boys into a tricycle race on the Deere 500 Pedal Track…

The boys went from sitting to pushing to picking up their tricycles and running. That’s when you say, “cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater!” Gavin supposedly won but we can’t verify if it was fair and square…

How’s about a zip-line ride!

Look at Mom souring along the tree tops!

Opps! Did we say tops? We meant trunks, tree trunks…

Yep, that’d be Quinn’s cowboy hat! And speaking of cowboys…

It’s haarrrd work playing on a pumpkin patch!

This is a corn cannon. $1 buys you three shots. So Quinn kindly shared his last with…

Gavin and Keev

Hands down, I think we all agree, fall is our favorite time of year! Just don’t ask us again when it snows this winter, things start greenin’ up in the spring or we’re hiking the Rockies next summer!!!