The Rise and Shine

Every single morning starts the same way in my house. I officially have a routine, a thought which really tickles me because I'm not a terribly structured person. Typically, no two days look the same around here, so the fact that my mornings have taken to a definite pattern makes me take notice. It happens the exact same way, in the exact same order, every single day.

First, I go get the Monkey Bear from her crib. She is standing up, waiting for me. She knows to hand me her two pacis before I will pick her up, and we drop them into her little bowl on my dresser. She is always proud of herself for putting the pacis in the bowl. She guards them carefully all through the night, but is always willing to turn them back in at daylight!

Then, I bring her in my bed and we nurse. She likes the covers to be a certain way. These are sweet and peaceful moments when I pray and organize my thoughts about the day ahead. Next, that little face pops up from the covers -- blue eyes sparkling and bedhead hairs flying in every direction. I get a big grin and belly laugh. We play in the covers. We hide in the pillows. I kiss every soft little fold on that warm, adorable body. I give big zerberts to her belly. We find the cat, who is always on the bed, and we pat, pat, pat the cat.

I soak in the laughs, and the hugs. And I thank God for every single second of my new found routine. The other night I left my camera on my bedside table so I could snap some pictures of the mornings which have become so precious to me. Daddy was home that day. It was funny face day.

I love funny face day.

Daddy gives big tickles and he gets good grins. Mean Mommy takes the camera strap away and won't let little fingers smudge the lens, so she only gets frowns.

This feels like a sappy post, but I feel a great need to document this here. It's something I always want to remember...these several days in a row (which are officially a routine) when I have the luxury of holding and hugging and enjoying this little blessing in my life. These days will move quickly, and someday, she will be too interested in starting her day to play in the covers. One on one moments with each of my kids are a daily treasure, and these quiet baby moments are like food for my soul.

Blogging is such an intriguing journey. I love to capture moments of our lives and document them here. I love to be encouraged by the sweet visitors who comment on our days. And I love to visit other bloggers and catch glimpses of their special moments too. I am often struck by how deeply I am moved by the lives of strangers. Blogs give you a window to the emotions, thoughts, and events of complete strangers, who suddenly don't feel like strangers at all. These people often come to my mind, and I think on them as I think on friends. I've never met them and often don't even know exactly where they live or even their real names, yet they have shared personal pieces of their lives on their blogs and for various reasons have left an imprint on my heart.

There are two Mommies out there who I have never met, but they both share my love of posting sweet photos of their beautiful baby girls, along with sweet stories of the glory of babyhood. Two year old Baby Tuesday Fiona and ten month old Baby Cora Paige have both gone to be with Jesus in the past week. I don't know these Moms, and I can't hardly grasp the unspeakable pain and awesome weight of sadness they feel. I certainly don't understand the "why" behind so much of what happens in this life. I know that life is uncertain, and I know that God is sovereign. I know that each day is a gift, and that there is no way to know what tomorrow will bring.

Like any other person, I struggle to make each day count. I struggle to keep temptations and worries at bay and to keep the focus on things that actually matter. I carve a little time out of each day to shed tears or share smiles with total strangers through this intricate and fascinating community of blogging, and to leave some sort of offering here on my own blog.

And I start Every Single Day playing, hiding, patting, zerberting........and being unbelievably, overwhelmingly, inexplicably grateful. Welcome, morning. God, help me to trust you with whatever comes today.