"Are you kidding me?"

I really enjoy sleeping in my bed for many hours at one time.  With three children, this does not always happen.  Last night was one of those times.  It has been cold here the past couple of days (and by cold I mean we could turn the AC off and the fan on and sleep comfortably), which means it's harder to get out of bed.
I don't know exactly what time I went to bed, but I would guess somewhere around 11. I'm sure I was sleeping great, but then.....

3:35 am   Brynlee wakes up
3:38        I pull myself out of bed to get her
3:40        I rock Brynlee for awhile
3:47        I lay Brynlee down in her crib, asleep
3:55        I finally get comfortable in my bed again
3:58        Brynlee wakes up again and I repeat the process
4:10        I finally get comfortable in my bed AGAIN
4:12        Brynlee wakes up AGAIN
4:15        I give Brynlee gas medicine and start rocking
4:22        I try to lay Brynlee down and she wakes back up
4:25        I put Brynlee in the swing
4:36        I attempt to put Brynlee in her crib, she wakes up
4:38        I put Brynlee back in the swing (at this point I have basically given up and brought my pillow out to the couch to sleep)
4:52       Brynlee falls alseep in swing and I finally get comfortable on the couch
4:55       Myla comes out and says "Mommy I don't like it when you close my door"  (which I specifically did so that she wouldn't wake up.....fail!)
4:57       Myla: "Mommy, can you put on cartoons?"  Me: NO!
5:00       Brynlee wakes up, Me:"Are you kidding me?"
5:02       I officially give up on sleep and feed Brynlee
5:38       I lay Brynlee down in the crib and finally go to bed
5:39       Justin has stolen all of the covers (the next morning he asked, "Why did you choke me with the covers?!?! You had a look in your eyes like you were doing it intentionally!")
5:41       I'm finally comfortable, in my bed, with covers, and falling asleep
6:15       Justin's alarm goes off
6:42       I remind Justin that he needs to actually get out of bed to go to work (remember how "cold" it is)
6:55       My alarm goes off to get Kaylie ready for school
7:05       Me:  "Oh Man! We're going to be late!"



Oh the joys of having multiple small children.  (Ok so they really are joys, just not quite as much at 4 am)

Thankful....

As soon as Brynlee was born, I felt a huge sense of relief.  Then, I remembered that I had a baby.  Pregnancy turns me into a different person.  I become sick, miserable, grouchy, whiny, etc.  I really embraced that this last time.
Basically within a couple of hours of having delivered her I felt so much better! I had been an alien and was now myself again. 
Don't get the wrong idea. Pregnancy is a great thing and it is a miracle.  And I am thankful for pregnancy in that it brought my three beautiful girls.  But, I am not thankful for morning sickness and the other not-so-fun effects of pregnancy. 

For those of you who don't really know how sick I was, let me give you an idea.
I would say I got sick every day for about 6 weeks (despite the meds from the Dr) and I was nauseous consistently for at least 10.  I had many other eating issues throughout my entire pregnancy.  This was all happening while I taught my first year at a new school and it was very stressful. 

All of my misery has caused me to become very thankful for my health and my normal body. 

I am thankful that I can now (because I couldn't do these things while pregnant without getting sick or at least feeling sick)....

• eat breakfast
• eat sweets
• get up off of the couch in the late evening
• take a nice, big drink of water
• drink without eating
• eat dairy
• do the dishes
• stay awake past 10
• brush my teeth
• stand in church during the loud worship music
• actually eat my dinner by the time I get it home
• drink water instead of Coke
• not eat potato chips every day at 10 am

These are just the morning sickness/eating issues I had.  I did not even go into the other things that made me uncomfortable (like how I couldn't sleep on my stomach, lie on my back, get in and out of my dad's truck, etc).
However, the biggest thing that I am thankful for recently has been the ability to take care of my kids. My life consisted of work and my couch for about 9 months.  We can go to church, I can bathe my girls, I can cook, I can help Kaylie with her homework, we can go for walks, etc.  I have more energy now (physically and emotionally) so I have been praying with the kids daily and utilizing time to teach them about God's saving grace and amazing love. 
I believe that the Lord used my "year" of pregnancy to give me more patience, love, kindness, sympathy, and most importantly JOY.  Last night when I put Brynlee to sleep 6 times in 30 minutes and she kept waking up I was also trying to help Kaylie finish her homework and bathe them.  It was a pretty hectic,frustrating night, but instead of being filled with anger and impatience I was still filled with a great sense of love for my kids.