Harder Family

Harder Family

Thursday, May 30, 2019

New Beginnings

Lamentations 3:22-24 "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in Him.'"

Two weeks ago we left Chicago and headed out on our new adventure, a life in Kentucky. God has been so gracious to us every step along this change. He has provided friends for the kids, helped us transition to our new home, and even find a home church. There have been bumps along the way. The day we arrived in KY, Grace told us she believed she had pink eye. Thankfully, we stopped at Costco for groceries on our way to the house and they had an opening at the ophthalmologist and he gave her medicine for her eyes. Then on Monday, just three days of being in Kentucky, Micaela felt ill. We took her into the hospital to rule out her appendix. Unfortunately, it was her appendix making her ill and she had surgery Tuesday morning. We transferred her from the local hospital to UK Children's Hospital. God worked all the details out! Micaela was thrilled to ride in an ambulance. Even through all the pain, she had a huge smile for me as we drove to UK. The time at the hospital showed me two things: 1) having family near by is a HUGE blessing since they all came to visit us at the hospital and 2) the church we are going to attend had two pastors visit us, which shows they have a heart for their congregation even though we had only just visited their church! These two things ministered to my heart as I was feeling so far from everything familiar. God is so good!!





Wayne and I have decided that living in Kentucky will mean a healthier/fitter life. We have been taking a daily walk around the neighborhood and the HILLS here are crazy! Today I took a bike ride with a neighbor and about died coming up one of the hills. Unpacking and moving in is taking time, but slowly the house is becoming home. We are all loving the extra space! We are also enjoying all the time we can spend at my parent's house at their farm. This last week the kids helped my dad plant his garden and they help my mom with the chickens too. Bonus: farm fresh eggs!!!

We have been back and forth a few times to Chicago since we moved. We had our last week of school (see below), visited friends and said more "see you laters", and have dealt with selling our home (that should close at 1pm today!!!). Sorry for the photo overload. I have to get caught up since I'm so behind after being busy moving. The very bottom will have prayer requests.







Harriet Tubman


Abraham Lincoln


Davy Crockett


Our entire class (DJ was Benjamin Franklin but changed before I could take his picture)


My chicken "Rhoda", who is a Rhode Island Red.



Abigail is getting more brave and learning to not fear the animals!






Enjoying the hot tub!


Naomi and her CC tutor





While we were in Chicago, we also celebrated Joella's birthday early. She has been saving her money for two years to buy her doll. She wanted Mary Ellen, which thankfully, Costco carried at Christmas time. We learned in the past that the Costco doll came with extras and really was a great deal. We have been hiding her doll for six months! She was so thrilled to spend the day alone with her parents. She had requested Wayne to come with us because she had always been too young to go to Wayne's work with him like the other kids. She had a smile on her face the entire day!

















My first homeschool friends in the area. This was a hard "see you later"!




All the back and forth between Kentucky and Chicago has made me a tired woman. I don't drink coffee, but I found a great caffeine alternative, chai tea latte from Dunkin Donuts. This early morning drive (5am) warranted a large tea!


Here are some more pictures with our friends in Chicago. I may have just got teary-eyed looking at all of my amazing friends (aka family) from Chicago! We love all of you!!!














Sophia wants to be a police officer when she gets older. "Uncle Zack" took a picture with her with his uniform on and placed his hat on her head.






Our friend we made at 7-11. This woman, Sonja, is amazing! She lectured my kids a few times, in a loving way, and we just loved her. 


Some of the best neighbors we could have asked for. They are like family to us!


The girls missed their last two music classes due to illnesses and us moving. Their amazing teacher had us over to make Mbira.


Abigail and Caleb performing their Lincoln-Douglas debate for their CC class.

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Prayer Requests:

- Wayne's next MRI is June 7th. We will be traveling up to Chicago for the weekend for his appointment and to see our friends.

- For our trip out West. We will be visiting all of our family on the West Coast and taking the kids on a missions trip to help prepare a summer camp.

- Pray for my dad's doctors to have wisdom to know what they need to treat and how to treat him.

- Continue to pray for all of my friends who have lost their loved ones to brain cancer. May is coming to a close, but unfortunately, people are still daily losing loved ones to this awful cancer.