Aussie at 19 months

Baby Austin at 19 months:

Aussie LOVES when his great grandparents come to visit

bye-bye binkie!

The video above is small and hard to see, but he's sleeping and eating at the same time- what a skill!

It’s time for nursery and this boy is loving it! “Dadd-yyy, daddy ugh ugh uuuugh!” (In other words, “Check ya later mom! Dad, could you hang out in here for a while until I know that snack time is legit?”) Austin is still a daddy’s boy and becomes more so by the day. Dad leaves to work = Aussie cries at the door. Dad comes home from work = Austin is squeeling with excitement from the sounds of the garage opening. He calls Brad’s car the ‘daddo’ and often repeats the words, “bubye daddo,” meaning, “Let’s go in dad’s car this time!” He calls Logan “wanna” every time, without fail. He loves to follow Wanna around and copy whatever big brother is doing. Austin is OBSESSED with his wiggle car. He and Logan ride that and the tricycle around the house all day long. Aussie also loves his Buzz and Woody stuffed animals along with his matching pajamas. Austin’s use of words is unforgettable! He MUMBLES these hilarious sounds in his own special little language, with tone fluctuations, head-nodding, and all. He knows exactly what he is talking about, and has endless things to say! “mumblemumbleunintelligble shoes!” He always throws a word on the end of each phrase.

hide-and-seek, straight to the closet every time

He has broken my glasses to the point of no return

He insists on going outside....

Come rain or shine

sucker lover

and chocolate lover

He has a very particular love for Stephanie. When she is around, he wants her to hold him non-stop. When Steph and I get done with our workout at the gym, he ignores me and holds his hands out until Steph picks him up. He also favors Reese over Lily. He calls for her all day long! “Reese, bubye, Reese” as he points to the door. Austin is definitely use to being on the fly with me during the day. He wants to get outside and get cracking with the day as soon as Logan is ready for school. Aussie is a fantastic eater. He’s a good little sleeper too. He still cries every single night of his life as we put him to bed, and every morning at 11:00 as he goes for his nap. This little man is the lightest sleeper on the planet. I hope that I never forget what a cuddly, loving, and sociable little bug he was as a little guy. He laughs and smiles and teases all the day long. He loves to read books and sit by daddy on the couch to watch “hotey”. Aussie also LOVES getting in the shower with daddy! Having clothes on does not stop this boy from running into the shower every morning. I love watching him observe the birds and the bugs. Being outside is his happy place- he’s just like his mommy. He comes with me on the Razor to get Logan after school, hat and gloves flapping in the chilly air. I feel incredibly blessed that I have had such long periods of time to spend with my little boy, just as I did with Logan. Don’t get me wrong, I will LOVE having siblings who are closer in age than 5 years, but what special, sweet memories I have been able to make with each of these little boys as we explore the world for their first time.

Waiting to ADOPT!

We are adding a new and exciting page to our family journal, and an entirely new chapter to our family's life! We are ready and waiting to adopt a baby! We are registered through LDS Family Services, and also have an adoption lawyer if a private adoption is needed. The wait to adopt can be long, sometimes very long. We have been encouraged by our caseworker to network and share our story with everyone that we can reach, in hopes to find our miracle. So, I am at this moment, changing my mind from wanting my blog to continue to be a personal record meant for only the eyes of family and best friends, to being a vehicle and tool that helps us find the biological mother that is looking for us. We are actively searching for her and her family, wherever she may be.
Here is our story:
For anyone reading this post, you will know that we have two healthy, wonderful boys. You will also know that bringing them to the earth has brought me an interesting combination of health problems! Let me summarize what has happened after both births. A woman's pelvis and related ligaments stretch in order to prepare for birth. After delivery, her joints and tissues normally resume their previous position so that their bodies can function properly. My joints and tissues don't resume position! They stay dangerously loose, which causes a whole host of problems with the nerves, muscles, sacroilliac joints, and spine. I have experienced miracles with my full recoveries over the past 6 years. I worked  very hard this past year through several simple procedures, to regain the strength and "straightness" in my pelvic joints so that we can start the journey of bringing our next child to our family.  I have been blessed to work with some very talented physical therapists and doctors. I know in my heart, just as they have expressed through their logical advice, that carrying another child in the foreseeable future is not in the cards for us. Unless, that is, I do not mind a significantly compromised lifestyle that could become permanent. I owe it to the children that we have, and those that we will receive in the future, to be physically strong enough to tend to their every need for the rest of my life. I am at complete peace with this fact. God has granted me miracles to be without pain, and I will forever see this adoption story as one that we were being prepared for, for a long time. I know without any doubt that the Lord's hand has reassured us that this path is the right one.

Adoption has always been near to my heart, as I took an interest in it as a young child. I studied the dynamics of adoption in college, and fulfilled my internship at LDS Family Services, working with and counseling birth mothers.  Brad and I have discussed adoption throughout our marriage. We explained it to Logan at an early age, and have engaged him in our discussions regarding us moving forward with the adoptive process. We have spent hours and hours filling out paper work, and are waiting for our home study to come back. WAITING. That is now what we need to become experts at. I am asking you, as friends, family, and even strangers, to help us find the mother that is looking for us to place her angel with. We thank you for your help and excitement in our journey! A mother's choice to entrust her child in the arms of another mother and father is one of the most selfless, loving acts that a person could perform in this life. It is not without great understanding, insight, and compassion that a mother can choose whether raising or placing her baby with an adoptive couple is the right decision for her child. Moving forward with the decision to place her baby, if she is spiritually guided to do so, takes a tremendous amount of courage and a willingness to accept heartache in order to offer the best life for her child.  Please look for the unwed pregnant mothers around you, whether they are placing or KEEPING their child, and offer them love and support in their trial. They need all of the support and non-judgemental love that they can get, regardless of their decision.
All our love,
Brad, Andrea, Logan, and Austin Harker
E-mail us at annieharker@yahoo.com

Ferney Family Christmas

Rach, Ty and Molly

Grandpa reading the Nativity story

Raymond Family Christmas party

Best Friends in the whole wide world

Ahh, Christmas in Idaho! Santa Clause is so good at keeping track of where we are every year at Christmas! Thank goodness. While I must admit that traveling is stressful with little kids, I can't complain about this holiday not being worth every second of chaos and stress. We were watched over from beginning to end- all 15 days of it. We got out the door on the right day, our roads were bare, and we arrived safely to the houses full of our favorite people. What a blessing. I feel like the month of December went quicker than ever this year. I truly enjoyed every moment of it, and tried to keep things simple. Neighbor gifts were very limited, and I tried very hard to prioritize so that the holiday could be enjoyed. It's a difficult task these days, with Christmas being SOOO commercialized. I feel like the world is seriously trying to say, "Kids! This holiday has NOTHING to do with Jesus Christ or anyone around you. It's all about YOU!" I will never forget the event that helped me re-prioritize like nothing else could have. A wonderfully strong family in our ward lost their 13 year old son Zach, on Sunday the 18th. The ward parties were cancelled. We fasted and met together several times as a ward. So many people came together to grieve with and support the family. Zach's passing reminded me of God's deep love and mercy that he extends to all of us. His parents felt the miracles that followed his death. I learned many truths from that experience.

The fam is growing!

Mom and dad worked so hard this holiday to host all of us. I do not envy the position of the family matriarch at Christmas! How stressful to throw the parties, cook all the food, and keep everyone happy with each other. Dad was so good to the kids. Logan admires him so much. Dad took the time to get Peyton and Logan cowboy hats and bb-guns. Logs was beside himself. He had been talking about the anticipated gift every day for months on end. It was exhausting! We were all quite entertained with watching three 1 year olds with minds of their own. Molly and Austin are 18 months old, with Kate coming up right behind them. It quickly became clear to me that Austin has no concept of how to share! He would scream at the girls the second they entered his personal space. Funny, but not easy. Things we can laugh about, that weren't so funny at the time are:

• Nic was a little sick over the holiday. She was trying to be really tough, but looked like she was going to fall over.
• Molly had a virus called coxsackievirus, so we chased sippie cups and binkies like they were walking diseases
• Peyton's had an asthma attack in the middle of the night while he was sleeping with Jess in the loft. Jesse jumped in the car to take him home for a breathing treatment, and our car was right in his way. Crunch.

I say that's pretty darn good in the department of damage control! No one got sick, and no one got hurt. That makes it a lucky holiday.

Mom and Dad

Nic, Joe, Bailee, Ella and Katie bug

Brad reading "Polar Express" in a ridiculous voice

She is sooo tute!

Bring on more chocolate fountain baby!

A little excited that Santa brought a skateboard! Boo-yeah!

Sup Jess?

Thanks to grandpa, my first born now owns a gun.

The cowboy in him is growing every day.

Who says 4 year old Peyton is to young for a bb-gun? ME!

CHEESE!

Harker Canada Christmas '11

Why do they love to jump on my tummy?!

We spent our Christmas in Idaho with the entire family, and then as is customary, busted it up to Canada as fast as we could on boxing day. We were able to stop in Lethbridge to see Grandma Harker in the hospital, and then head over to Carmen's house for a yummy dinner with the Brewertons. Other than that, we drove fast, the roads were bare,  and Logan got good at 10 second side-of-the-road stops. Seriously. That boy has a bladder the size of a penny. I love him anyway. I look so forward to our time in both Idaho and Calgary every Christmas. I can't fathom not doing this every year for the rest of our lives. It's a lot of work, but 1000% worth all of the hustle and bustle. Living so far from family, I have grown accustomed to counting greatly on friendships to fill the voids of being away from everyday family life. I am so grateful for friends that are good, strong people. After coming home from the holidays and missing family sorely for several weeks after the new year, my appreciation for my friends has deepened. I realize more than ever, how truly precious time with family is. Christmas is undoubtedly our family's favorite time of the year, and I hope that we will always be so lucky to be able to travel to see both families every Christmas.

Mikey, Chris, Brad. Where's Ben?

Charades with zeal

Grandma Harker in the hospital with Braddo

Love my baby cesalen!!

Ben with baby Cesa

Love my Chris

Can you say "all partied out"?!!

I needed a pink fix!

Popsicles, snow, and lighting off rockets. Perfect!

Aussie LOVES wearing grandma's shoes

Here are the highlights from the holiday that I hope to never forget:

Cadrien couldn't quite make it through the 1:00 am Family Home Evening!

Thanks for the help dude!

Only Caroline can rock this.

Who invited the russians?

Cam and Logan can't hold still long enough for a focused picture.

Magic trick numero uno

Magic trick numero dos of quatro!

And he wasn't even trying to get money out of grandma!

Oh, if you could only here his voice as he proudly read this entire book without making one bit of sense!

Go Cam!

My favorite girl

A humungous woody fan

• Spending time with Val and Orin, two of my favorite people on the planet. Being in their home always feels very magical at Christmas. In fact, I think it is. There is a special potion in the air that makes you want to sleep, and sleep, and sleep!
• Watching Orin entertain the boys with his creative activities. Props to Grandpa this year for being a fantastic entertainer and referee at the same time! He took Cam and Logan on lots of rides on their little four-wheelers. He took them out to lunch. He had a new magic trick for them every day. He gave them Lego City cars and planes that they all built together. 
• Meeting baby Cesalen for the first time. What a precious little girl, I miss her. 
• Watching Brad build and launch 4 rockets, none of which ever came back down. Bummer!
• Also watching Brad live in the basement and in front of a scanner while he dug up, organized, and scanned in every picture that Val took between the years 1979-2000. The numbers were in the thousands. And now Val can free up about 1,00 sq. feet in her home :-)
• Spending a lot of time playing catch-up with my long-lost Caroline, Ben, Cadrien, and Camden after not seeing them for an entire YEAR! That can never happen again.
• Kickin' it with Chris and Mike while hearing about their Vancouver and Edmonton journeys. The boys ditched us for 2 days to attend Nathan's wedding in San Fransisco.
• Watching the guys work on the ice rink that never, ever froze. Darn it! Orin worked so tirelessly, but there is no beating those Chinook winds. The weather felt like October. 
• Watching the new Chipmunk movie with Caroline all the kids, while the other adults watched a real movie in the Imax.
• Opening presents! Let's be honest, it's kind of fun to feel like a surprised kid at Christmas. I love watching the kids' reactions to their gifts. I got a very special gift from Val- a marble statue of Christ that is now in our home, reminding me every day that the rest of the year can still feel a little like Christmas. Austin's favorite gift was his Woody pajamas! Logan was just over-gifted just like at mom's house. I hope that the grandparents will stop spoiling the kids sometime soon.