Thursday

Last night I think I was up 8 times during the night... maybe ten. Hazel needed her binky several times, Willem was coughing a lot and needed a drink of water. Then Will had some bad dreams and asked to crawl in bed with us... it was one of those mornings that when I heard the alarm I was just preparing to get a good chunk of sleep. Ugh. Now here I am drinking ridiculous amounts of coffee, blogging, while my laundry pile spills out of the laundry room.
I do get some things accomplished when I am up a lot in the night... I am offered many opportunities to pray - in a quiet house - I pray for God's comfort for Natasha and Reese. I pray that they will miss Case but not be without hope and that they will find joy in life. I ask that Lane will be joyful and not fearful. I pray that people will be kind and supportive. I thank God for all of the people praying for them. I pray for my children and protection over them. I pray for my husband. And I pray that I will get a good night's sleep tonight :)

Daily I am blessed by empathetic, faithful friends. And I try to teach my children to be empathetic, prayerful people. I don't think we need to protect our kids from all sadness. Merit and Willem know that I miss my mom very much and they know I hurt for Natasha Reese and Lane with their longing for their sweet baby boy. Also, our family misses Case too. Merit cries and prays for Natasha and her family. And although I want my children to be joyful and happy, it is good for them to be sensitive to the sadness and needs of others too.
Hold onto Jesus. He's holding onto you.