early morning trumpery

I woke up this morning around 3 am. It was probably the long nap yesterday combined with going to bed at a decent hour. Either that, or the baby girl kicking away inside my tummy. I stayed awake just marveling at the fact that I am going to have a real-live daughter. I was also thinking about what we should be for Halloween. It's only a few months away, you know.

I got out of bed around 5 am to walk the dog. My boys were all sleeping on the hide-away bed in the loft. Zack sat up as soon as he saw me. He was all smiles as he said, "The birds are sure chirping loudly this morning!" I laughed and sent him in to my room to take the empty spot in my bed. He happily skipped in, excited to sleep next to Daddy. It's one of my favorite things to do too.

For the past month or so, we've been reading scriptures as a family at 6 am. Crazy, I know. But we thought we'd try to get into some kind of morning routine before the kids head off to school next year. It's been working for us well, except for the days we don't get up. The boys are way more excited about it than we are and set their alarm sometimes a bit too early. One morning several weeks ago, I woke up to Luke standing next to my bed, fully-dressed just staring at me. When I asked what he was doing he said, "I've already done my jobs. Isn't it scripture time yet?" I rolled over to see Aaron checking the time. 5:45. Nope, give us a break, kid. This was really unsual for Luke and just needed to be recorded. It happens much more often with our oldest child and isn't significant whatsoever.

One morning, after we had read, I caught Zack in his room with his little miniature scripture set, reading to his stuffed animals. I was trying to be sneaky as I heard him say, "The Gospel is given to all of the nice people on the Earth." When he saw me spying, he was a little shy and said, "Oh, I have to read the scriptures every morning to all my animals." His animals consist of Yoda and Sharkie. He is my only child who loves stuffed animals and these are the only two that have made the cut. They are active members in our family.

Today is the last day of our co-op school. The kids are way more sad about it than I am. It's not that I haven't enjoyed it, just that I've thrown up more times in that bathroom than any other public place and I'd rather say goodbye. Today we are having a pizza party. One of the best things about this school is that it's right across the street from Daddy's work. We've loved being in "his neighborhood" and having him join us for lunch once a week. If only we lived across the street from his work. If only he worked at home. If only he didn't have to work at all. If only...

Well, the alarm is ringing. Time to wake up the rest of the family. Hope your Monday is happy and bright.