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Scared of the Dark

Ella has developed a fear of the dark. I guess she's at that age where she realizes there are scary things in this world and being in the dark is not very much fun. When Julie and I were shopping at IKEA this past weekend, we purchased a "night light" for her. It's not the typical nightlight that's small and plugs straight into the outlet. It's a big plastic pink flower that you hang on the wall and it has an extension cord that plugs into the outlet. It looked really cute in the store, and it looks really cute on her wall... but it's BRIGHT! It lights up her entire room as if it's the middle of the day. We told her we would turn it on until she fell asleep but that mommy or daddy would turn it off before we went to bed. Well, needless to say, at 2 a.m. the other night, I was startled to find my daughter two inches from my face mumbling, "I want my fwower on!" After trying to explain to her that her "fwower" was too bright I tried unsuccessfully to get her to fall asleep again. I stole Parker's little night light and put it in her room, but by now she was wide awake and I think she assumed that it was almost time to get up for the day anyway. How do you explain to a 3-year-old that there's still a LOT of night left and it's NOT time to start the day?

She didn't fall back asleep.

She started singing, "Happy birthday" really loud, over and over. She sang it to every one of her stuffed animals (and there are a lot of them!)

About 3 a.m. I got her out of her bed and put her in bed with us. She climbed all over us, laughed, kicked, stood up, jumped... you name it. About 5 a.m. she finally fell back asleep. She got to sleep in. Julie and I didn't. She got to take a nap that day. Julie and I didn't.

Julie purchased a smaller night light for Ella that's like Parker's. She slept all night last night in her own bed.

Ella hates the dark.

So do I. I can't wait until we won't need night lights anymore...

Revelation 21:23-24, "The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light..."

Julie's Birthday Weekend

This weekend has been a lot of fun! First, Julie and I got away together (without the kids! That hasn't happened in years!) and went to Cincinnati Friday night. We really enjoyed our time together... ate some great food at the Cheesecake Factory, went to a comedy club and shopped for the first time at IKEA. When we got home Saturday night there was a surprise waiting on our porch for Julie. It was Heidi Ansley, her good friend from Missouri. Julie was totally shocked and thrilled that she made the effort to come out and spend some time with us here in Kentucky. They are right now off shopping somewhere together.
The kids and I have spent a lot of time together this Labor Day and I've especially enjoyed their eagerness to read their children's Bibles with me. Parker has even been reading his on his own and is doing such a good job! Today, he and I had some good conversations about why people do bad things and what happens when they make poor choices. Ella really enjoys looking at the pictures and talking about Jesus. Today, she was "reading" the story of Jonah and said, "Jesus went to Ninevah!" I was so proud of her! :) Sadly, I had to ground her from her bible (can I DO that?!?) because she got mad at Parker and threw it at him.
Well, this is the first of hopefully many posts! More to come...