Ah....Bedtime

There is so much between "morning" and "bedtime", and yet, for today, I'm going to skip the in-betweens.

So, it's a "school" night (we homeschool) and the bedtime is 8pm.  The youngest is definitely ready to lay down, after the 4th dirty diaper of the day has been changed and he's been given something for his poor little teething gums,and I've hugged and kissed, and prayed for him. Although he still wants to fold up that floor of the playpen and climb out, we struggle for a few moments while I insist that he lays down, and does NOT climb out!  Finally, he concedes, and lays his cute little self down.   One down, four to go....

The 8 year old :  "Can I read til Daddy comes to tuck me in?"  My response : "Sure, after you've put pj's on, brushed your teeth, and made sure your room is picked up." A slight slump of his shoulders is the response, because he knows, as do I, that his room is most definitely not picked up.  However, despite his disappointment, he climbs onto my lap, wraps his arms around my neck, and tells me he loves me.  I love these moments, because we don't have enough of them.  What with all the other stuff going on around us all the time, it is hard to get enough snuggle time with each of them, so I treasure each time we have a moment.  Anyway, I wrap my arms around him, and pray for him, kiss his sweet little face, and wait for him to plant those lips on my cheek as always. And off he runs, with a grin on his face, up the stairs to his room. My sweet boy. Two down, three to go...

The 5 year old comes next.  She's a lover, oh my goodness.  All of the kids are affectionate; hugging every chance they get through the day.  And dinner, its like a lovefest, but that's for another day...another post.
So, back to my little Raindrop.... she is hugging and kissing the dog goodnight before she comes to me.  Then, she walks over with that smile of hers that goes all the way to my heart, and just looks at me.  I grab her to me, and pray for her, asking God to wrap her in angel wings (her nightly thing we pray for), hug and kiss on her, remind her to brush teeth and get her pajamas on, and send her up the stairs.  Three down, two to go...

The 2 year old : Its more of a wrestling match than a hug with him.  He moves and pulls, and falls to the floor, giggling all the while.  I say a quick prayer for him, tell him how much I love him and beg him to sleep in tomorrow.  He doesn't slow down enough to respond; he's in a total hurry to brush his teeth and see who he can laughingly tackle and pester.  He is a ball of energy that hardly slows down long enough to sleep.  Four down, only one to go...

The 4 year old comes down from her room where she's been in timeout, pops her head through the peep hole in the wall above the couch, and practically sings, "Is it bedtime?"  "It sure is."  "Yes!" she responds, and bounds down the steps, right over to me, huge grin on the face.  I tell her to let Daddy get her diaper on her for bedtime (we're working on that, but I'm tired of washing bed linens over and over from all the nights she doesn't stay dry). She does, and bounces back over to me again. I hug her, which usually is returned, but she's in a silly mood tonight, so she bends and dodges a bit while I pray that Jesus wraps her up in "polka dot love" tonight.  That's her thing, polka dots, so we've prayed that for her every night for as long as I can remember.   Each one has their own kind of love we ask God to wrap them in each night... it's kind of becoming tradition now for us, and if I forget to say it, they are sure to remind me.  Anyway, she goes on to brush her teeth.  

My husband goes upstairs every night to tuck them in, and pray for them.  I hear lots of giggles and shrieks of delight most of the time, because Daddy loves to tickle and play with the kids.  You know, rile them up good before they lay down to sleep. haha   Anyway, tonight is different.  Instead of laughter I hear crying.  You see, the girls trashed out their bedroom and playroom upstairs something terrible, and they were given last evening, and all day today to clean that up.  Daddy told them that whatever he found not picked up was going into a big, black garbage bag.  This is a repeated thing with them, trashing their rooms out, so we had to get a bit on the drastic side today.  Unfortunately, I now have a bag full of clothes and toys in my closet. Hopefully this works.   The crying subsides, and soft murmurs are heard, and my husband comes back down.  All five are in bed, and the house is quiet.  It's about 8:30 by this time, and we hope that the quiet is here to stay.

Time now for a few moments together, alone, before we also head to bed.  Tomorrow is another day, one not to be faced without rest and renewed energy.