Time Flys

I didn't expect Rhya to start teething so soon but her little teeth are coming! Sometimes we can make her feel better but there are others when nothing helps. It is hard to watch your little one cry and cry until they fall asleep. The grumpy attitude doesn't help either! I have noticed that whatever Rhyas mood is, so is mine!

Today Rhya hasn't slept much and cant seem to let herself fall asleep. We have tried everything but nothing seems to help. You can tell shes tired. She has red rings around her eyes and occasionally rubs her eyes with her fists.

I know soon Rhya will be wobbling around and I will be wishing she was little like she is now. So tiny and so precious.

The other night Alan and I discussed who we wanted Rhya to be with if anything ever happened to us. It was an easy decision but we are hoping it doesn't have to happen. Its hard to think about... but we needed to cover our bases. You never know when God will call you home and its hard to comprehend.

John 14:1

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me."

First Christmas

This Christmas brings our family much joy, but it also brings us great sadness. It is Rhyas first christmas and so far she is enjoying the attention! She is sooooooo blessed to have such wonderful grandparents and aunts!!! No uncles yet but... maybe soon!!!!! The wrapping paper is her favorite part!!! She wasnt able to open her presents by herself but she did make it known if she like crinkling and crunching of the wrapping paper!!!!

It is also the first Christmas without alans father, Marlin. Marlin was an inspiration to everyone he encountered and his faith was SOLID. In the two years that I have been a part of the family, never once did I hear Marlin complain about his condition. Marlin had a rough 20 years... starting with a heart attack, he was then diagnosed as a diabetic, two open heart surgery's, a pacemaker placed, a blood infection where the doctors had to remove the pacemaker and replace it. In 2007 marlin started retaining fluid and he was then taken to the hospital. Marlin ended up with a blister on his heel from the hospital bed sheets and got mrsa Marlins heel never healed and in January of 2009 marlin was faced with the difficult desison of amputating his foot. His foot was amputated in mid January. Ruth then discovered that Marlin had gangrene (gang green) on his other foot. He then had to have his big toe amputated but he didnt make it that far. On the evening before his passing marlin was very upset... when we were leaving his room he shouted to us "I'M DONE" immediately that brought tears to our eyes... but then he says, calm and collected "I'll be ok..."

Wow... We are taking our Christmas one step at a time but with every step we remember those who are gone and rejoice in the life that God has graciously given us.

Rhya Faith

Alan and I had only been married 4 months before we found out we were expecting. At first we were nervous... babies and expensive. At that point I was working full time at the local dairy... anywhere from 40 to 60 hours a week. Alan was busy around the farm doing what he does best. There was hardly anything left after the bills were paid, but thats what you expect when the farm is your main source of income. Alans grandmother had just passed away in early january and alans dad was in and out of the hospital. A baby was the last thing we needed.
When we were at Alan's grandmothers viewing, a cousin of Alan's walked over to us with a 3 week old newborn and said "here its contagious!!!" everybody laughed!!! Little did we know we were expecting! We found out a week later! It took a day or so for me to actually believe that I was carrying a tiny little baby. We decided right away that we would tell our immediate family, but we weren't going to tell the whole world just yet. We headed to the hospital with 2 bags both with a bib that said "grandma lets me", a baby blanket and baby wipes. this is how we decided to tell!!! Alan's Dad had been in the hospital for about a week and was getting ready to have his leg amputated... We wanted him to know that he had a grandchild on the way just in case anything happened. Alan's mother opened the bag, turned to us and had a BIG smile on her face. She the turned to Alan's dad and said " Theres a bib, blanket and baby wipes in the bag!!! Do you know what that means????" He said " I'm gonna be a grandpa???!!!???!!!!" He was sooooooo tired but he fell asleep with a smile on his face!!!
We then went to my parents... This is a funny story!!!! We were all sitting watching "american idol". We put the bag right in front of my mother so she could open it!! She looks in the bag and started crying!!! My sister without even seeing what was in the bag, looks at me and says " Are you???" I nodded yes!!! All this is happening while my dad is rocking in his lounge chair, watching the commercials on the TV!!! He even looked at my mother, then back to the TV. My mom pulled out the bib and blanket and said "These are so cute!!!" My dad looked over... then sat straight up in his chair and yelled "WHAT!!!!!!!!!" We all laughed so hard our lungs hurt!!!
Alan's dad was not able to see his little granddaughter... He went to be with the lord less than a month after we told the family's.

The first trimester was a breeze! I didn't get morning sickness but I was really tired. The second trimester was also easy!! The only thing that was difficult was the migraines that I would get once or twice throughout the week. During a routine ultrasound there was concern that the baby wasn't growing at the rate that she should. The doctor wanted us to see a specialist. Around the same time I was "fired" from my job... I was told i did nothing wrong and was a great worker... We thought what great timing... we ended up seeing a specialist every week!

If we had to do it all over again we would!!! We were able to see our little girl every week and we got a lot of really cool 4d ultrasound pictures.

We were induced on Wednesday September 2nd and didn't have Rhya until Saturday September 5th!!!!

Rhya Faith was born by c section September 5th at 3:41 pm. She was 5lbs 8 ozs and 19 inches long. Rhya has been a huge blessing since she has arrived! shes almost 4 months old and we are loving every minute we have with her!!!

Our Love Story

Well here I am... Blogging... I'm not one to be creative and write but I've had many people tell me I should try! Where did I get this idea... well... the Harnish gals and I watched the movie "Julie and Julia" last night. Theres NO way I'm going to cook my way through a cookbook but the happenings around the Harnish farm I think I can handle!

Our Love Story:

I had just graduated from Penn Manor High School and wasn't planning on continuing school. I felt that my place was at home on the farm and working at Meadow Lane Dairy. I was always a farm girl... I couldn't imagine anything else. I always had plenty of time to think while milking, time sometimes even seemed to stand still... boring right??? Well one day I was thinking about guys... ha ha ha I know what 18 year old wouldn't!!! It wasn't like i was out there actively meeting men. I was always on the farm!!! Early in august I asked my bosses wife "Where are all the good farm guys??????" We both laughed and she said well... I'll let you know if I think of one!!! I didn't think anything of it until she called me 2 hours later!!! She had a good Christian farm guy she wanted me to meet! Yeah!!! I was sooooooooo surprised and excited!!!

We decided to meet on a Saturday night. Thats not all!!! His sisters came out Saturday afternoon while a fellow co-worker and I were finishing up the afternoon milking shift!!!! I'm told a few months later that they needed to approve of me before i met their big brother!! Saturday night came... I was nervous... ha ha ha... who wouldn't be!!!! Little did know I was about to meet the man of my dreams!!!!!!!! Oh and did I mention I was milking that night!!! I put on my "best" work clothes and headed to work. I was to expect him sometime between 9 and 10 pm... thats IF he was coming. There was still a chance he wouldn't show. It was about 10:15 pm and there was still no sign of this guy. Disappointed, I threw my hair in a messy ponytail, took my shoes of and started to relax. Cow after cow came in and out of the parlor, still no sign of him... My bosses wife came in and said she would call to find out where he was. Evidently he was soooooo nervous that the girls (his two sisters and mom) had to push him out the door!!! He finally showed up around 10:45 ish! I was completely unsure of how the rest of the night would go. Once we got a conversation going we couldn't stop! We talked about almost everything that night! It was finally time to pen the cows up for the night. I decided I wasn't going to wear my flip flops... I didn't want to fling more manure on my pants than I had to. Out through the barn yard i went... Barefoot!!! He was definitely suprised by that!!! When he got home his mother asked him "So what did you think???" He said "She walked through the manure BAREFOOT!!!!" She said "Shes a Keeper!!!!!"

On October 20th 2007 Alan proposed... He had roses and notes for me to find throughout the day. How cute!!! Then he picked me up and we went to watch the sun set across the Susquehanna river. It was sooooo beautiful I thought he was going to ask ... but he didn't!! then we went to Rohrers Pond and had a small snack. The pond was light up with lights and candles but he still didn't ask!!! By this time it was dark... I wondered if he was going to ask... and thought maybe hes just being romantic. He said we have one more stop. We ended up at a campfire and i noticed he was calling someone!!! "Why would you be calling someone" I thought. Then he says

"Well... since someone missed their cue... Will You Marry Me?????" Of course I said yes!!!! Then he called his sister and said go ahead!!! They (meaning all of the sisters) had put "Will you marry me" in lights across the top of Alan's hog barn roof!!! Wow!!! It was amazing!!!!!! The rest is history!!!!