little things that preserve sanity :)

Almost six weeks in to this 4th round with a newborn.  And I am exhausted.  Not just physically (though I know I could easily nap from now til tomorrow) but emotionally, mentally, all that.  Luke is a sweet little boy who *usually* likes to sleep in his bed and *mostly* naps on his own and eats like a champ.  But he's still so little and needs so. much. time. and. attention.  Sooooo much!

Mercifully, Jan (aka Grandma) is here and I'm still floating with my head above water.  We eat food three times a day.  We all start the day in clean clothing.  Two-thirds of us are very well-rested :)  And everyone is healthy as can be.

But I'm tired.  It seems that starting about 5pm my energy level starts to plummet.  Once we're done with dinner it's a slippery downhill slope and I'm moving faster every second - I have no memory of anything that happens after my head hits the pillow. 

So I'm even more grateful for this little "time out" in my day :)  Julianna moved fairly effortlessly from an afternoon nap to an afternoon "reading time" and the others have followed suit.  Isaac is a brand new addition to the mix - he started skipping naps the week his baby brother was born :)  And now he's awake and in on the "reading time" at least a few days a week.  He thinks he's big enough to do it every day, but his Momma knows better and some afternoons he can barely keep his eye lids open long enough to stumble to his bed.

[Isaac sleeps in a little toddler cot that I can pick up and move from room to room.  When he naps in the afternoon I move him into another bedroom.  The girls are quickly outgrowing their 'short' beds but I'm hoping they'll hold out for another year at least!  Then we'll have to do a big bed swap and get bigger beds (bunks?) for the girls and move some of the boys into the girls' current beds.]

All this to say: at moments like this one, when Luke is snoozing and my big three are reading in their bedroom, well.... it's moments like this one that preserve my sanity.  For this short hour, no one is calling out "Mommy" for the 43rd time in five minutes. 

And there have been seasons when this hour was elusive.  And there will be more of those seasons to come.  So I appreciate it when it happens.  Long for it when it doesn't.  And enjoy it today.