Sweet Morning

This morning Gary left early to take his mom to the airport (or back to California, as Emma would say), and I stayed in bed hoping to squeeze in a few more minutes of sleep before the girls woke up. The garage door was barely shut when I heard the faintest shuffling of sleepy feet in the hall and after a few minutes, a little blonde head poked through my door.

"Can I way wif you, Mama?"

The sleep I desperately wanted more of seemed precious to me at the time, but this was way more precious. How could I resist?

So my sleepy girl in her new princess jammies climbed into bed with me and not another wink of sleep was to be had. But we did lay there, tossing and turning and fighting for the pillows in warm, snuggly silence, so it was fine.

Finally, she was still (although far from asleep) and I prayed silently that God would give me extra patience today. I feel like I've been a little short with the girls lately, and whether it's due to my own lack of sleep or just not enough prayer, there's no excuse. So in the quiet of the morning, with Addie snuggled next to me, I turned to the One who can give me more patience.

Just then, as we were laying face to face, she put her little hand on my cheek and rubbed it with the softest, gentlest touch. I let her do it for a minute before I opened my eyes, and when I did, she whispered, "Mama, I wuv you." Melt me!

Sometimes I wish my eyes were equipped with a tiny camera to capture sweet moments, this morning being no exception. That sweet face filled my blurry eyes and the whole world seemed perfect. Imagine that it looked something like this:

Except with messier hair.

And a lot closer.

And a little sleepier.

And maybe with a little morning breath.

Perfect.