June | 2024 | psalm139momma

Do you ever have pictures that stand out in your mind? Maybe it’s a picture of a big moment, a painful moment or just a moment where you knew life was going to be different after it…

I have some pictures that stand out so clearly when it comes to this little soul…who I probably need to stop calling little since she is officially in double digits!

Ya’el Ariel Ruth is 10 years old

My best friend was there to document her siblings meeting her in the hospital and we still can’t get over how awake and alert Boo was then…taking the world in around her, feeling, sensing, exploring

Boo was seriously our sucker baby. The easiest transition to our chaotic home. She entered in and found her spot. She was complete and utter Joy and she had her daddy wrapped around her chubby fat fingers.

I will never forget when she sat up in her rocker, showing me that she was no longer going to sit back and wait to grow up. She had 3 older siblings to catch up with.

Her laid back personality, mixed with gentle playfulness made our days, months, years pass by, with the full awareness that we all rely on boo for different things.

For daddy – boo is his reminder that human touch is good. Human touch is needed. Boo and her love language of physical touch can get on her daddy’s nerves…who does NOT have physical touch as his love language. However, I have watched her go to him and touch his back when he has had a hard day at work. I have watched her lay her head on his shoulders when he is stressed out traveling and I can see his tension go down. Boo makes sure that his love cup gets full whether he wants it or not.

For Cayden – boo was his first real baby. Boo was the baby that he would take from me and tell me to go and get a shower or to keep sitting at the table with my bible study and coffee, because “I got her mom!”. Boo is constantly helping Cayden remember that feelings are real…they are felt deeply by people and that being sensitive can be a good thing. Boo will challenge Cayden to practice the softer side of him that we all know is in him. Oddly enough…Cayden will stand up for her when he thinks I am being too harsh on her…not something he will do for every Harney sister! Our layover in Seattle, from our recent Bahamas trip, had the two of them twisted together like a pretzel. Cayden had us all laughing as he told us that he woke up to boo twisted in his legs and she had him in a full headlock…while they were both sleeping…too which Veil responded in perfect timing… “now you understand why I tell her to stay on HER Side of the bed”.

For Ezrah – boo and her carry an important part in our family. They are the 2 little mamas. Ezrah and boo will sometimes knock heads over how I should be parenting Veil, how I should be dealing with the naughty dog or what I am making for dinner. I have watched boo challenge Ez to do new things. Ezrah has had to face so many scary things, but when boo leads the way in a new scary thing…Ez will follow after her…case in point the “leap of faith” slide, that I swore off and never tried. Boo helps Ez remember the importance of having fun, even when things are scary or hard.

For Ky – boo and her…well they are still a work in progress. Boo stole the throne that Kyre Grace was proudly sitting on. Boo’s cuddly, easy going spirit, has challenged Ky’s intense, passionate, self-reliant spirit. I think that Boo’s easy-going nature, that is so sure of herself, has helped Kyre realize that its ok when things don’t always work out the way they should. Boo helps Kyre still be a kid. Boo can get toys out, craft stuff and entice Ky to sit with her at the table.

For Veil – boo is her best friend. Veil loves Boo more then me at times…and honestly I am ok with that. I have seen Boo parent, correct, love, cook, dress, help with discipline SO many times when it comes to Veil. Yes, I have even had to tell her to back off and please not tell me how to parent Veil… Boo creates imaginary worlds for the two of them to play in. I will find them laughing till 11 at night, they will be building couch tents on rainy days or just singing funny songs while they swing on the deck. Boo is a true testament of “greater love has no friend, than a friend that is willing to lay down their lives for another”. This is boo. She loves Veil so fiercely and the best part is that veil KNOWS it.

For me…where do I start?

Boo – my rainbow baby. The little soul that would come after a heartbreaking loss.

I had more moments on our recent family vacation – where I realized boo and I are so similar. My mom tells me that, as she spends lots of time with them in the fringe hours of Richard and I working. Boo needs quiet in the mornings, she doesn’t have a lot of words to say, but don’t think her mind isn’t going. She is just trying to form sentences from all the thoughts that are happening. Boo loves the water and sunshine, it was hard to peel us away from the pool. Boo needs time to process changes so she can adapt and make plans.

Boo thinks it is hilarious that she is the darkest Harney…and lives to point out that she is darker than me and even though I am more native than her.

Boo will give you the tightest hug and when she lifts her head and looks up at you with her dark black eyes…you melt. Really…there is so much love in her eyes for you that it can take your breath away. Boo…thanks for hugging me and holding me when I need it the most and can sometimes be too prideful to ask you to hug me in my broken moments.

If you are hurting, the weight of the world seems like a lot…boo can see it and feel it from you miles away. I still to this day get stories of how Boo comforts even adults when they have had bad days just by the way she interacts with them and loves on them.

Boo is so serious and I should know…she is just like her mama…However when she is ready to have fun…she is just like her mama too. Watch out, she loves to play tricks on you, get your attention so you will respond back to her and she will laugh in ways that make you laugh, because its freaking PURE JOY!