Wednesday, March 18, 2009

While You Were Sleeping

I hope you slept well last night.

If you happen to live in the same time zone as I do, while you were blissfully slumbering, this is what I was doing:

~ waking up every hour or so (it seemed) to lament my aching back, go to the bathroom, and check the clock to see how many more hours until morning

~ thinking about the chocolate that Emily Sacra was making for me in a dream I had, which prompted me to teasingly ask Jeff (who happened to be awake just then) to go to the store to get some chocolate ice cream for me  :)

~ planning my trip to the Green Valley Book Fair today--what areas to cover, what books to look for, how to entertain Tobin, etc.--important stuff to consider in the middle of the night!  (by the way, I went and had a fantastic time finding incredibly helpful resources for our upcoming school year as well as some books for the boys just for fun...Tobin was easily entertained by watching the other shoppers, especially those with babies or young children...I spent a little over $100 and got a ton of great stuff...it was wonderful, and I couldn't be any more excited about Josiah's second grade year!)...this is what our house looks like now: Josiah and David thoroughly engrossed in the pile of new books (and this isn't even all that I bought since I immediately tucked some away for gifts)...this is one way to get a quiet house  :)

~ drooling over this house that one of Jeff's customers is trying to sell...this is my dream home: log, surrounded by forest, with incredible views, etc...it's enough to make me turn green with envy...during the night, the song "If I Won Ten Million Dollars" (from a piano book I'm using with my piano student Lily) kept running through my head...if I had ten million dollars, I'd have a lot of fun giving most of it away to worthy charities...however, I must confess that I probably wouldn't hesitate to snatch up this incredible deal on the home I've been dreaming of for many years...oh, well, that's probably why I don't have ten million dollars: my heart isn't pure and unselfish enough for that kind of money!

~ going into the boys' room to pray over them according to Lamentations 2:19 (Rise during the night and cry out.  Pour out your hearts like water to the Lord.  Lift up your hands to him in prayer, pleading for your children...), a new prayer habit for me during this season of Lent

~ praying also for Jeff's brother Greg who was admitted to the hospital yesterday because of blood in his vomit...Greg lives in Nevada so we're not close enough to go to visit him, and we don't know any of the results of the tests they've done...I know Jeff wishes he could hop on a plane and head west to be with him...I prayed for him during the night, then continued on to pray for all of Jeff's and my siblings

After each awake episode, I eventually slipped back to sleep; and towards morning, I had a nice long stretch of uninterrupted sleep.  I don't usually have sleep problems (beyond the obligatory fifty thousand trips to the bathroom each night that pregnant women are forced to endure), and my boys are all champion sleepers and have been since about 2 and 1/2 months of age...so I don't really have anything to complain about.  Last night was not the norm, so I give thanks for that!

********

And today, while the rest of the world went to work and school, we enjoyed Jeff's day off and the opportunity to spend extra time outside in this glorious 70 degree weather!  It struck me that if Josiah went to a conventional school, he would not get nearly as much time with Jeff as he does now, since Wednesdays when Jeff is off would be a school day for Josiah and Saturdays when Jeff works would be an off-school day for Josiah.  Yet another reason to be glad we homeschool!  :)

The first agenda item of the day was Jeff building the Enterprise for Josiah.  What?  You Star Trek fans don't recognize that structure built out of colorful Legos in the foreground of the picture as the Enterprise?  What's wrong with your imaginations anyway?  :)  Josiah didn't have any trouble knowing what it was!
Then Jeff dragged the top of a blue spruce tree that had broken in a recent storm from our neighbor's yard where it had unfortunately landed.  The Jeep came in handy for this and made short work of the job.  After that, it was time for some swinging, with Jeff giving the boys high underdogs that made their tummies flip and flop.
Then Jeff took Josiah and David off to town to run the usual Wednesday errands, and I stayed here while Tobin napped, then fed him lunch and visited with the Sacras who came by to get some eggs, then headed off to the Book Fair.  Now I need to go get a blanket and sheet off the clothesline where I hung them earlier to dry in the spring breeze.  After that, I'll get supper ready: spaghetti tonight which is an all-family favorite.  

And that, in a nutshell, is a portrait of a night of broken sleep and a day of simple pleasures.

9 comments:

Emily Joy said...

Was my chocolate good? :)

~Emily Joy

Davene said...

It sure LOOKED good! I didn't get to taste it in the dream, but it was this fancy molded chocolate that was put on sticks like a lollipop. Very impressive! Do you know how to make it in real life? :)

Sarah said...

I remember those days of bathroom runs in the middle of the night. I'm sure I was up at the same time as you at some point feeding my little girl!

Lana said...

So which captain was in charge of the Enterprise? Captain Kirk or Picard?

Davene said...

Lana, you are so funny! I actually thought about YOU when I wrote this because I know you're a Star Trek pro. :) I am almost completely clueless about the world of Star Trek, but Jeff has let Josiah watch a few of the OLD episodes (are they all old by now?), and Josiah is just crazy about it. I'll have to send him your way when he starts asking me questions that are way beyond my knowledge level! :)

Sally said...

Sounds like you made the most out of an interrupted night. I hope you didn't get too tired and draggy today. What a dream though--chocolate! I'll bet that did make you hungry for chocolate. Enjoy those quiet house times!

jeanette said...

at first I wanted to say "I'm sorry you were up so much last night", but then it sounded like you had a pretty productive night. :)

I love the verse about praying for our children in the night...I need to remember that!

Unknown said...

What an insight into your days! I, too, occasionally have sleepless nights, when I seem to have so much to think of. Boo is still a terrible sleeper, and it's rare I get an uninterrupted night's sleep. He has too much imagination I think, and so very vivid dreams! But that's alright -- I'm sure I won't always have a chance to snuggle with him.
PS I think you'd need a few more babies to fill up such an enormous and fabulous house!

Margie said...

I really love the pictures in this post, Davene ~ they perfectly illustrate the simple pleasures about which you wrote.