Ridiculous O'clock

Last week Ben and I were up early every morning. He is usually up by 4am to study Greek and have his time alone reading and praying. He is so disciplined in that way! For a while I have insisted that while he needs to do that in order to study, I really do not have to get up at ridiculous o-clock to fit in my own devotional time.

I got up at 5:43am. It's 6:30am, I'm already showered and ready for the day, but I'm realizing that it is already too late to put together a cognitive blog. The boys are opening and shutting their bedroom door which is adjacent to the baby's, so naturally she is crying... and this has been going on for a while.  It has become painfully obvious to me that rising at an early hour is the only way to even begin to accomplish the things that I hope for - time alone, time reading scripture, time praying, and hopefully one of these days exercise....

I am reminded of a verse that I read last week, when I cracked open my Bible asking God to help me get out of bed. God has a sense of humor. No joke, I opened it up to Ephesians 5:14 - 17 which reads like this in the ESV version of the Bible:

"Awake O Sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." 
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.


What stood out to me the most? Making the best use of the time. My time as a mother of young children is short, however long it seems on many days. I have never thought of applying this portion of scripture to household responsibilities or motherhood, but it was so clear to me last week, and is today that the best use of my time right now is in keeping life going, and encouraging and nourishing my family. And apparently, in getting up early.

Teething & smelly blankets

It's amazing to me how much easier it is to get up in the morning, even at an early hour (4:45am), when you've had a solid night of sleep, than it is to get up a little later (6am) after you've had a choppy night's sleep with a teething baby. Last night Abrielle woke up screaming at 3am. I'm usually the type to let a crying baby cry it out a while, but not when the crying is this intense. The poor thing just cut three teeth a week and a half ago, and now has two more coming through. That's gotta hurt. So, the entire process of getting up, trying to find her baby meds and teething pellets, calming her down, reluctantly nursing her (not a good idea to do for babies who already sleep through the night), stroking her little head to calm her, finally calming her, walking back to the bedroom, realizing I need to go to the bathroom, getting back between the sheets, and then re-entering the dream world took approximately 45min.

Needless to say, I was emotionally very sad this morning when I made my bed.
"See you later, comfy bed."

Speaking of bedsheets, I think it's time to wash some sheets in this house, and some certain "kets" as Elijah calls them. You know it's time when you're kissing your darlings head and a funny smell wafts up from their precious blanket.

I'd like to start some discussion on here, so if you have the time: How do you keep your laundry going? Is there a method to your daily, weekly, monthly routines? Do tell!

Laundry and the birth of a blog

Sometimes I daydream about winning the lottery, becoming an instant celebrity, or being the lucky one-millionth shopper at Safeway rewarded with a year’s worth of groceries for my family. And sometimes, like a few mornings ago, I imagine what it would be like to be suddenly on my deathbed – the thoughts, feelings, and emotions. The fears that would be going through my mind, and the hope of complete rest on the other side. To be completely honest, this daydream becomes more frequent the more tiring life becomes with young children. It’s not a death-wish, but rather a very strong desire to be lying down, and sometimes it seems the only viable excuse for a mother of multiple preschoolers to lie down is if she is deathly ill.

Anyway, in my wide-awake dream that morning, I had some last words that caught me off guard. I was holding my husband’s hands and looking seriously into his loving eyes as I said faintly, yet passionately, “Keep… the laundry...going… .” Romantic, right?

I started laughing at myself in the shower. “That’s all you could come up with, Warner?” I thought to myself. But then I thought some more and realized that I had finally had a breakthrough.

Laundry, out of all other household tasks, has been my most dreaded task. Not because I don’t like touching soiled clothes, or because I hate folding them and putting them away, or because I frequently shrink the best articles of clothing we own (all true). The reason I loathe laundry is because it is a chore that is never completely done. No matter how many loads get done in a day, another load is waiting in the wings, or rather on sweaty bodies sleeping in their beds.

But it occurred to me this morning that finishing the laundry is not the chore. Keeping the laundry going is – and it is worth it. Because every soiled onesie and sweaty jersey represents life and all of life’s activities. Life gets messy, and that’s good. All the washing, drying, folding, and putting away is so that life may continue.

This blog is about embracing life, even the seemingly mundane aspects of it. I’ve never kept a personal blog before, but here it goes. We’ll see if I can keep it going!