Night Owl

I love sleep, and I need quite a bit of it to feel my best--7 to 8 hours a night.

However, as a mom, I rarely sleep a full night without interruption.

Currently my baby has a cold, and her congested breathing often wakes me with a start.

I used to dread this.

I would go to bed at night praying "Please help them sleep--so that I can too!"

I have learned some strategies though for "night prowling" with a baby or toddler that make it easier.

Prepare--if you know that your baby will need medicine, a bottle, a drink etc during the night put it beside your bed so you can grab it quickly if they wake up.


Relax--if you are walking the floor with the baby resist the urge to look at the clock and repeatedly calculate  how much sleep you are missing.  A tense mother doesn't help a baby go back to sleep.


Enjoy--snuggle your little one while you can--before you know it they will not need you during the night.


Distract--sometimes I read a book with a low light on, and before I know it my little one is snoring again.


Pray--I do some of my best praying at night--often at night I think of some of our friends who live (literally) on the other side of the world, and who are awake and working at that very moment.

What are some of your strategies for coping with wakefulness at night?

Do You Need a Safe Place

I was chatting on the phone with a friend yesterday, and she mentioned that their home seems full of turmoil lately.  

I told her that very recently at a court hearing for our newest arrival I felt so anxious, and my mind and the courtroom itself felt the same way.

During this time the verse below kept running through my mind.

There is great power in God's name!

If you are having turmoil in your life think of it like the picture above--high in the hills--above all the circumstances--is a strong tower

Run to it!!!!!

The name of the Lord is a strong tower;

The righteous run to it and are safe. 

Proverbs 18:10

Yikes

We are starting our school year next Tuesday.

I'm feeling a bit of panic.

I have a nine week old baby.

My two year old is acting his age--think flopping on the floor and screaming when life doesn't go his way. :(

I'm still taking baby to two birth parent visits a week which removes about 5 hours from my week.

Oh, and my canning is not done.

However............

I'm ready for the more scheduled days.

The quiet mornings when all that can be heard is pencils scratching.

The restful afternoons when the little ones nap and the older ones have quiet time.

In the words of my oldest son.......

"Summer was fun, but I'm ready for school."

Smile

“Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.” 
― Dr. Seuss

Home

We recently returned from a several-day trip out of state.

We pulled in our driveway in the half-dusk, and I peered anxiously out the window at our house like I was seeing it for the first time.

It looked like a mansion!!!!

As I staggered up the porch steps with a baby on one arm and an over-full diaper bag on the other I felt like a queen.

I was home!

Maybe the reason this hit me so hard was that I haven't always felt this way.

There were seasons in my life when I would have rather been anywhere but at my house.

I'm not really sure what changed that.

Over time my home has become a haven for me.

A "safe place" where my family can hide when life gets rough.

It's not perfect--there are dust bunnies, clutter, and noise.

.......but it's home!

As I thought about this while sorting through the suitcases it hit me.

Maybe this is what heaven feels like--like going home!

Sacrifice

Currently I'm struggling with something.

Every year our church has camp meetings just across the state line about 150 miles from where we live.

I've been attending quite regularly since I was a baby.

This year and last year we've had to miss them.

To go out of the state with a foster child requires written permission from the birth parents.

We already had a wedding this month that required an out-of-state permission slip.

Birth mom is not real cooperative about this, and we figured once a month was pushing it.

The sweet little gal who is currently snoozing in my arms is totally worth this.

But there is a part of me that struggles with this.

Being a parent is hard.

You will miss important events because your children are sick.

You will lose sleep, dignity, and privacy.

It just comes with the territory.

~~~~~~~~~

Little Boys

Upon hearing a bit of scuffling in my younger boys bedroom this morning I entered To get them up.


"Good morning" I sang out cheerfully, and this is what I heard in reply.


"I poop!!!!" (from the two year old)


"I didn't pee the bed mom!" (from the three year old)


Bodily functions are a big part of their world right now. :)