Morning has always been my very favorite time of day (whether that meant 10am in high school, or 5am all those summers working at SWO). There's just something about the freshness, newness of the morning hours that is so peaceful and refreshing to my spirit. I crave a slow, quiet morning - time to enjoy a cup of coffee, study and journal, have breakfast... just sit around a bit before starting the work of the day. Even now on days that I work and have to leave the house at 6am, I get up just early enough to be able to sit for a minute before running out the door to the hospital.
Of course mornings weren't the most pleasant in the early days after James joined our family, but we have been in a routine for a long time now that gives us a really sweet time in the morning. I've mentioned it briefly during his monthly updates, but I realized this morning just how much I love it and want to spend some time here in this space on the details, because I know once new little bit joins us in August, we will lose it (at least for a time), and I want to remember.
Just in the past few weeks, I have started trying to get up earlier than James (though that is still unpredictable), so I set my alarm for 6am. I'm not doing it every day yet, but most days of the week. In general, James stays in his crib until 7am, even if he wakes earlier. He's learning to just hang out and often does pretty well at this most mornings. This gives me an hour to have some coffee and read and study the Bible (I have not had a consistent time of doing this since before he joined us). Until recently, I had just been reading sporadically here and there whenever I thought I would have some free time (during J's nap, or other times when he was awake but content to play by himself)... but those are also the precious moments that I have to do things like brush my teeth, do the laundry, cook, or be creative and craft/bake something. So studying the Word had a lot of competition, and it often did not win out when I had free time. At our church retreat this year, we talked about busy-ness and being "connected" all the time, and one of our elders mentioned how important it is in that hyper-connected, busy environment to not leave studying for some time during the day whenever we might have a free moment, because it just won't happen. That so resonated with me, and I realized that just because I had a little one and a home to run that occupied my heart and thoughts all.the.time doesn't give me an excuse to not make studying a priority.
So mornings often start at 6am: I grab some coffee downstairs, then head back to our room to sit at my little sewing desk by the window. I've pulled out Stuart's giant ESV study Bible (because when else is it practical to own a Bible like that other than home study?!) and started reading through 1 John. I may hear James chatting in his crib, or even fuss a little bit well before 7, but he stays put while I read, write and pray. I also brush my teeth and even make the bed if Stuart isn't still in it!
Sometime between 6:45-7am, I or Stuart go in to find James standing in his crib talking to himself. He is always excited to see someone in the morning :) He really likes to push the little button on his white noise machine to turn it off, so I let him do that every morning, then we go back to our bedroom and lay on the bed for a few minutes. We sing "This is the day that the Lord has made" and I ask James if he had any dreams (can't wait until he can respond and tell me!). We hang out there until he makes the milk sign and says "mallll" - sometimes it's 10 minutes, sometimes it's only 60 seconds :) Then we go downstairs, fill his milk cup, and sometimes refill my coffee cup. We open the big curtains on the front window in the living room and say "good morning sunshine" (even if it's raining), then sit on the couch.
He used to sit in my lap, covered with his blanket I knitted for him, and drink his milk. Lately I've been sitting him right next to me and covering us both with his blanket, knowing that in a few months, there will likely be a newborn laying where he used to sit in my lap. He seems to enjoy sitting next to me even more than in my lap, and has started "chatting" with me while we drink our beverages (who knows what he's saying...) but I'll tell him the things we're going to do that day, and ask him what else he wants to add to the list and we decide on something fun (again, can't wait until he can actually tell me!). The last few days, he has also started saying "che" and holding out his cup - so we clink cups and say "cheers." Not sure where he learned it, but it makes him happy (see the above photo after a "cheers" had been done). We sit there until he drinks all his milk, then he hands me his cup, hops off the couch and starts playing with toys or looking at books. I usually sit for a while, just watching him play or knitting or reading with him, or whatever... Then I head to the kitchen to start the work of the day!
Mornings are so sweet in our home right now!
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