Bedtime Stories

For various and sundry reasons, Hannah had to go to bed right after church tonight, before her little brother. Therefore missing her story.

Let's just say that she is going through a phase (I hope....) of having to have the last word about everything.

After church, in true Seth fashion, he decided to "twist the knife in deeper" and remind her a couple of times that: "Hannah, you have to go to bed without a story", getting the hoped for outrage and sharp "SETH!!!" from her, and requiring a rebuke from daddy. While she waited in bed, I read to Seth. After his story, he was unusually energetic (I usually carry the little rascal - it's a custom after all) as he bounced up off the couch, ran to Hannah's room, and informed her that we were going to come into her room to pray (instead of the other way around). Needless to say, he was pretty smug about the whole affair.

As of now, everyone (but me, as usual) is sleeping peacefully in their own beds.

Which was NOT the case last Sunday night, bringing me to my second story. After leaving the church with Seth wearing his coat backward (as put on by a man in the church) he completed the evening by walking backward to the van, continuing to do so when we got home. So it only stands to reason that the sleeping arrangements should be somewhat backward. Or different, anyway.

Seth has been pretty good lately about sleeping through the night in his own bed. However, Sunday night he came into my room at about 4:00 a.m. wanting to snuggle, so I dragged my feet to his room and laid beside him in his bed. At about 4:30 a.m. Hannah yelled for me from her room, so I stumbled there, half asleep. She told me she had a nightmare. I asked her what her nightmare was about, so she told me that, "all of my stuffed animals were put in the toilet and someone FLUSHED THE TOILET!"

Of course, my 4:30 a.m. brain understood the trauma of this completely.

She wanted me to sleep with her. Well, after laying with Seth for a half hour I had gained a kink in my neck, so I knew I was not going to do well in her bed. Her dad is usually pretty good about laying with her when she's scared, but he went to bed with a migraine so I didn't want to bother him. So, I caved in and told her to quietly crawl in with us. Within 30 seconds we were both asleep.

For about ten minutes, tops. That's when Junior awoke and realized I was no longer in his room, so came seeking me. Still having a kink in my neck and being totally unable to open my eyelids at all, I decided to make us one very happy family that night and let him crawl in with us, too.

Mom. Dad. Juniorette. Junior. For two and a half hours.

At least we have a king size bed.

And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. Luke 11:7

See. The whole family in one bed. Scripture is scripture, after all, context notwithstanding.

Yes, sometimes one must grasp at straws for some type of consolation.