Truly Thankful

This year, we will have my whole family together for Thanksgiving dinner. My sister and her family are coming Wednesday and staying 'til Sunday (except her husband who will go home some time after dinner on Thursday because he will have to work on Friday). My brother and his family are coming in sometime Thursday and going back home sometime Saturday. It will be nice to have everyone here for a couple of days; especially since we don't get together that often.

Here are a few things that we Harmans are giving thanks for this year:
T Taking time to share with others
H Health and happiness in our home
A All the ways that God has provided for us this year
N New ministry opportunities (D's teaching SS again, yay!)
K Keeping Christ at the center of our family
S Salvation and Special times with friends and family both near and far

We pray that you each with have a truly blessed time this week as you celebrate Thanksgiving. We look forward to hearing/reading about how you each celebrate the holiday.

Buddy Walk 2008 - Thank you for your help! !

The weather was perfect!!! Here are a few pictures from the day. Last Saturday, we took our family to downtown Duluth GA for the annual Buddy Walk. This year my parents joined us for the event; we all had a good time. The morning started with games, silent auction, raffles and entertainment. The kids always love riding the train and playing in the inflatables. The entertainment was provided by Jay Memory and the Cobb County Special Olympics Gymnastics Team. In one of the pictures you can see D seating by the performance area watching the Gymnastics Team. I thought he was going to get in line to join in; thankfully he did not. After the walk (about a mile), we enjoyed our picnic lunch of hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, cokes & ice cream. The last part of the event is announcing the top fund raisers and the winners of the silent auction and raffles. This year, we actually came home with a prize. Darrell won an Marquis Grissom autographed baseball and bat. All in all it was a great day!

Here are a couple of videos that I just had to share. There was some time in the afternoon to just have fun dancing to the music; D couldn't resist getting out on the dance floor. The videos are both short, but you get the idea.

Can you tell that our kids love to watch "Dancing With the Stars"? Just goes to show that white boys can dance (well, sorta).

We are truly greatful for those who supported our efforts by making a donation in honor of our son. You still have time to show your support - online donations will be accepted through Oct 31. Just click here to go to D's home page. If you need help, just let me know. Thank you so much for helping us to help others!!!

One More Week!!!

Just a quick reminder . . . the Atlanta Buddy Walk will be held on Saturday, October 4, 2008 (just one week from tomorrow). We have been blessed by the efforts of the Down Syndrome Association of Atlanta over the past 6 years and will continue to support their efforts. That's why we are asking everyone to please go to Daniel's homepage and make your tax-deductible donation, if you haven't already done so. If you have made a donation, we thank you very much. If you would like to join us for the walk next Saturday, just let us know and we'll tell you where to meet us; just bring your blankets, chairs and a picnic lunch. We'll have lots of fun!!

God continues to richly bless our lives through our children; I'm so glad He chose us to be their parents. Raising children has been the toughest job I've ever had, but it has also been the most rewarding. I know people say that all the time, but it is so true!! God also continues to bless us through our family and friends - we wouldn't be where we are today without you. Thank you so much for your love and support!!

Please help us reach $5,000!

This year the Buddy Walk Atlanta will be held on Saturday, October 4. The Buddy Walk is a half-mile walk in which anyone can participate without special training. It is a wonderful, heart-warming event that celebrates the many abilities and accomplishments of people with Down syndrome. The Atlanta Walk takes place in downtown Duluth. Throughout the Buddy Walk there will be kids’activities, including a trackless train, games, and bounce houses. There will be performances by musician Jay Memory and the Cobb County Special Olympics Gymnastics Team, as well as Atlanta’s Best DJ and emcee, Neal Howard. Hot Dogs and Hamburgers are provided for anyone is pre-registered.; or you can bring your own picnic lunch. Be sure to bring your chairs and/or blankets and have a picnic lunch with us after the walk. We'd love to have our friends and family join us for a day of fun!

Our family's goal this year is to raise $5,000. The money is used to benefit national education, research and advocacy initiatives, as well as local programs. These funds enable the National Down Syndrome Society and local groups to offer services that support and enhance the quality of life for individuals with Down syndrome and their families. All donations are 100% tax deductible.

You can help us meet our goal by:
1. Joining our team and making a contribution to the Down Syndrome Assn of Alanta
2. Walking on our team and asking your friends, family or co-workers to support you
3. Passing on the walk but making a contribution to the DSAA



I will be sending an email to many of you, personally, to ask you to support us. However, you don't have to receive an email from me in order to donate and/or participate. Just go to Daniel's homepage and you can donate online.

Back to School

Yesterday was the first day of school for both kids. We started the day with a good breakfast at home. After breakfast, we went outside to wait for D's bus to pick him up. Then E and I jumped in the car to get her to school on time.

This year E is in a PreK program at a daycare center -about 5.5 miles from our house and takes about 10 minutes to get there (provided there are no accidents between here and there). The bus picks D up right at 8am and I have to have E at school no later than 8:15am; so, we don't have much time. She was so excited about going to a new school and about going to daycare - I hope she likes it as much as she thinks she will. D has a new school this year as well. This year will be our first experience with daycare - hopefully it will only last for one school year. Yesterday afternoon, the daycare called to ask where D was. They were expecting him to ride their bus after school, but the school's bus was supposed to drop him off there. The worst part was not that they didn't know where he was, but it took a little more than an hour for him to get there (the school is only 1.15 miles away)!! Needless to say, I will be making a phone call today to see about changing that ride time!

For those of you who know the area where we live, you'll appreciate this. When E starts at Camp Creek Elem next year, we'll have to get one of those "house divided" license plate covers - one that has Parkview on one side and Brookwood on the other side.

We pray you all have a great school year!!

Enough Money?!?

Here's a cute, quick story . . . D lost his first tooth the day before his birthday (he just pulled it out while he was watching TV that afternoon). He put it under his pillow that night and the Tooth Fairy brought him a silver dollar. Yesterday, he pulls out the 2nd loose tooth and the Tooth Fairy brought him a shiny new quarter. This morning at breakfast E announced that D didn't need anymore money. When we asked her why, she simply said "He got a silver dollar and a quarter. I think that's enough money." The real kicker was when she said, "Sometimes big girls just know when boys have enough money." I can just imagine what her teen/dating years are going to be like. The boys better start saving their money now.

Fun Names

OK, so I'm one of the frequent visitors to Life at the Mauldin House. This is something she found on another blog; I thought it'd be fun to see everyone's answers as well. Here's how mine turned out ...

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME (first pet, current car): Sam Windstar
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME (fave ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe): Moosetracks Sneakers
3. YOUR NATIVE AMERICAN NAME (favorite color, favorite animal): Blue Kitten
4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you were born): Kay Decatur
5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name): Harma
6. SUPERHERO NAME (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): Green Tea
7. NASCAR NAME (the first names of your grandfathers): James Paul
8. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Davis Denver
9. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Autumn Peace Rose
10. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now): Banana Shorts
11. HIPPIE NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Pancake Magnolia

3 Birthdays, 1 Holiday and 1 Funeral

OK, here's the short version of what's happened around our home since the last post . . .

June 21 - Daniel gets a buzzcut
June 23-27 - VBS at MPUMC
June 26 - Emma's 4th birthday
July 4 - Fireworks
July 5 - Linda & her girls come to visit for a couple of weeks
July 8-11 - Day Camp for D, E & Rachel
July 9 - wake up to a having a brick thrown through the back window of our van
July 13 - D's grandmother died (quick trip to Indiana 7/16 - 7/19 for the funeral)
July 14-18 - VBS at LFBC
July 20 - Abigail's 10th birthday (Linda's oldest)
July 22 - Daniel pulls his first tooth (tooth fairy brings him 1 silver dollar)
July 23 - Daniel's 6th birthday

Here are a few pictures of the events:

One week down, one to go!!!

We took the kids to my sister's house in SC last weekend to stay for a couple of weeks. I've had mixed emotions about it all week. I know they are being well cared for, but I don't like the reason that they're there. My sister is helping me by keeping them so I don't have to pay for a sitter here. She's coming down here for a couple of weeks in July to watch them here as well. It will be nice to have her here, but I won't be able to do much with them since I'm working full time now.

While we were there last weekend, we took the kids to go see Uncle Michael at his "other job" - to take a ride on a bulldozer. The kids loved getting up into the bulldozer and were so excited about taking a ride, until . . .

Michael turned the key. D's face suddenly changed from excited to very concerned. The total ride ended up being about 10 seconds and consisted of barely getting the bulldozer turned before D convinced Michael he wanted to get off. E seemed to like it just fine, but I think she was glad to get down as well (afterall, it was pretty big!!)

Abigail and Rachel got to take a turn as well. Obviously, they had no problem being in there with their Daddy.

I've tried not to call too much because I know they're fine. Besides, I'm sure Linda would call me if there were a problem. It's been kinda weird not having the kids around, but it has made it a little easier to get some things done in getting the house ready to sell. D's been over at the house painting every night this week (just about finished). I've been over there some, trying to determine what to keep out of what's left over there. If you no anyone looking for a house in the Parkview school district, send them our way - we have just what they need (3 bed/2 bath) and at a great price. We're only asking $149,000, hoping to get it sold quickly.

Mother's Day Tea at Preschool

Emma's preschool had a Mother's Day Tea today for all the mommies today. We had Orange Cranberry Scones (one of the teachers made these herself and they were yummy!), Blueberry Muffins, Hot Tea, Coffee, Lemonade, Water. I think everyone had a good time. Here are a couple of pictures from our fun time.

The 'blooms' in the flowerpots on the tables were made from each child's handprint - they are so cute. The placemats were a great idea too. They had the mom's trace their handprints and send them in about a week or so ago. They took them and had the kids put their handprints on top of their mom's handprints. Here's the finished product. It reads:

Happy Mother's Day
Hand in hand we will be
Forever together,
You and me!

Emma
2008

Back to Work

OK, so it's finally happened - I've officially gone back to work full time. I started working a little over a month ago for a company called Cypress Care. I am processing Worker's Compensation claims; coordinating whatever is determined necessary for someone's recovery from an injury sustained at work - ordering things like walkers, wheelchairs, muscle stimulators, etc and then making sure the patient receives the item(s). It's been OK, quite different from being a stay-at-home mom. I'm still able to get D on the school bus in the mornings and drop E off at school on the days she goes. I have a friend who keeps E for me on the days she doesn't have school. She also picks her up and keeps her after school until either my mom or Darrell can pick her up on their way home from work. D just comes home on the bus and stays with my dad in the afternoon. So far, things seem to be working out well with our arrangements. The most difficult thing has been not being able to be with my family during the afternoon/evening time. I work from 11am to 8pm, so the kids are usually in bed by the time I get home after work. This summer will be real interesting - the kids will go to my sister's house for at least a couple of weeks, they'll be going to VBS at 2 or 3 different churches and they'll be going to camp again like they did last year. In addition to these activities, we have several people who are going to help out with childcare. Thankfully, I won't have to use a daycare center.

Well, I've got to get E over to the babysitter's house early today - they are going to pick strawberries this morning out at Washington Farms. YUM!!

Happy Easter 2008

We have had a very busy time these past couple of weeks - Easter egg hunts, St Patrick's Day parties and celebrating Easter. Here are just a few pictures from the past several days - enjoy!

Snowbabies

Here's a picture of the snowbabies that Emma & Rachel made yesterday. I thought they made one but they actually made two and put them between the snowmommy and snowdaddy.

Good job girls!!

We LOVE snow!!!!

Linda, Michael and the girls came down last night to spend the long weekend with us. Today, we were hoping to wake up to a snow covered ground. Although it did not snow overnight, it started snowing during breakfast and didn't stopped until sometime after supper. Here are just a few pictures from the day. If you want to see more, just go to the family photo gallery.

Needless to say, the kids have LOVED playing in the snow! They started with making and throwing snowballs at each other (& us) in the backyard this morning.

A little later, the kids went to the front yard with Michael & Darrell and built a snowman and a snowlady. Later, Emma and Rachel went back outside and built a snowbaby between the two. We didn't get a picture yet, though. If it's still there tomorrow morning, we'll get a picture of it then.