Happy Winter!

Mike crawled in bed with me this morning at 4 a.m. Wow... what a guy. He had only 3 hours of sleep the previous night and has finished his two papers and drove, the whole way, with his brother John from PA to VA. I think I've been too excited to sleep after that. I feel like a kid on Christmas morning. I got up at 5 to check on Samuel and he was sleeping peacefully. Laid on the couch for another hour and a half and listened to the clock chime....

I'm sitting here on this peaceful winter morning watching the sun rise and listening to Roostie, my dad's rooster. It's bizarre to hear the sound of a rooster crow and then I remember where I am. I'm on the "farm" so to speak. My dad has an assortment of chickens and one rooster. They have fish and dogs and birds and a huge pond. You can sit in the oversized plush rocker and watch out the huge bay window and see the trees swaying, the frost on the ground and the birds flying by.

I can hear Samuel upstairs periodically coughing but other than that all I can hear is the tick of the clock and its intermittent (sp?-sleep deprivation, people!) quarterly chime.

I have been craving things I liked as a child. This morning I had a bowl of honey graham Oh's. a cereal that brings me back to the times when my mom would on occasion let us have a "sugary" cereal.

The pressures of life haven't seized me this day and I'm enjoying drinking in the morning quiet. The solitude and peace that wraps me like the fuzzy blanket on my lap.

I think I am ready for Christmas now. Not because I have a lot of gifts... and the ones i have aren't even all wrapped, but I have my husband snoring softly upstairs, my babies sleeping peacefully above me, and the two little ones moving; although I'm not quite sure which one is moving.

Today is my mother-in-law, whom I affectionately call Faf/Fafa's birthday. Happy Birthday, Faf! I am looking forward to giving her present which I made and spending time with her and the chickadees.

Like I mentioned earlier John is back from London. He flew in on thursday afternoon and he and Mike have had a little time together (between the papers).... John- Thank you for proofreading; Mike said you were a huge blessing, you might put me out of a job :)

It will be fun to be with all the Napiers together. The kids are so excited to be around both sets of grandparents.

Libby is looking forward to a tractor ride and seeing the chickens. As always she does her faithful Roostie impression, quite endearing really.

National Treasure 2 is out. Would love to see that sometime. I love adventure movies. It's in my blood. And who doesn't like a good old fashioned treasure hunt? I am a huge mystery buff. From the time I was 12 I would read Nancy Drew mysteries by the score and I have read all of Dorothy Sayers, Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries (which I HIGHLY recommend.)

There's Roostie again. Sometimes when I hear him I keep thinking of Libby's wooden puzzle that would make animal sounds. At times it would go off on it's own and scare the snot out of someone walking around at night. Nothing like being greeted by the sound of a horse or a rooster on your way to the bathroom at midnight.

the sun is up fully now and I think I might bundle up and take a walk around the lake, I mean pond. It's really quite beautiful.

On sunday Mike and I are going to our friend's home for a special dinner and on Monday morning I'm making cookies with my Grandma.

I think tomorrow my sleep deprivation of the past 3 or 4 days is going to come and bite me in the butt... well, at least there's family around and I have the excuse of being pregnant to take a nap.

I hope you're feeling God's presence and nearness to you. Enjoy the morning and your day. Take time to love on those around you. Hope your Christmas is peaceful...