Friday, August 29, 2008

Emily, Would You Like to Read a Book? - A Much Needed Reminder

I personally needed this today. God was reminding me how blessed I am.

I'm fortunate enough that my girls take naps at the same time every afternoon. Their naps usually last anywhere from 2 - 3 hours. If Elaina wakes up first, she's very good about leaving their room quietly rather than calling for me if she notices that Emily's still asleep. This way, Emily continues her nap.

I usually lay them both down at the same time. Sometimes they "talk" and laugh at each other before falling asleep. Today, as I was listening after I laid them down, I knew Emily had fallen asleep immediately because I could hear her sucking away on her pacifier. You know, the sucking pattern that lets you know that they are out like a light. Elaina always takes "all of her books" (not really ALL of them because that would mean a bookcase full, but about five or six of them is "all of them" to her) to her bed with her and "reads" before she falls asleep. About 20 to 30 minutes after they laid down, I was continuing some housework that I wanted to get done while they were asleep. I heard Elaina coughing again. She has a slight case of croup, and she had a really rough night last night sleeping. She's much better today, but when she lays down for a long period of time, she starts to have coughing fits again. Anyway, since she was coughing again, I decided to go in and check on her.

I was startled when I walked in and saw Emily's crib. Basically, I saw a crib full of books, and I couldn't see Emily. I rushed over to the crib, and fortunately her head wasn't buried in books, so she was still breathing and sleeping peacefully. In fact, she hadn't moved an inch since I laid her in the crib. Not sure how having several books tossed over into her crib on top of her wouldn't bother her, but apparently it didn't. She was in the same position I initially laid her down in. I looked over at Elaina, and she was sound asleep as well, with her face planted right into her pillow . . . not really sure how she was able to breathe and have her face in the pillow like this, but she was making it, so I wasn't going to disturb her.

I just had to stand there and laugh for a moment. Apparently, Elaina decided to share her books with Emily today; although Emily had no idea! As I write this post, they are both still asleep, so it will be very interesting to get Elaina's interpretation of the story when she wakes up, and it will also be interesting to see how Emily responds to waking up to a crib full of books! I may have to post again if their responses are interesting!

God is so very good, and today He reminded me of the simple things in life and the happy times that I take for granted sometimes. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family that I can share these special moments with.

What more could I ever want? Well, at times, I have a long list of answers to that question, but today, I'm reminded . . . I already have it all. Anything else is just another added blessing from God.

Where's Emily? Really . . . she is in there!




3 comments:

The Knight Family said...

This is extremely precious...and what a happy reminder of our wonderful blessings! I absolutely love the picture taken from above of Emily with the book on her head!!

Anonymous said...

OK... this makes me want another little girl. They will be such good buddies for the rest of their lives. So sweet! They are so beautiful.

Crazy Mom of 3 said...

That is so sweet. What a great sister Elaina is. She really wanted to share her books with her sister. That is one of those pictures to always cherish.