Mothers Day

Woke up this morning, early. We have 9:00 church. Lilian had crawled into bed with me around 4:30 AM. Bad dream. Don't usually like it when she sleeps in my bed. I don't tend to sleep as well with her there. But she was sobbing, she was so freaked out. When the alarm went off a few hours later I found myself facing Lilian...her little body nestled into mine. Her sleepy face calm and peaceful. My heart swelled. I wrapped my arm around her little body and and I allowed myself to lay there and enjoy cuddling with her for a few minutes.
Went downstairs to wake up the other kids. Found Rebekah and Brandon in the same bed...Brandon having zonked out there late last night while hanging out with his older sister. Cute. Quietly tried to wake Rebekah. She moaned and groaned. "I'm so tired!" Which I have no doubt that she was, having stayed out late last night at a church dance. It's her birthday today. She's turning 14. I climbed into bed next to her, pulled her into my arms and sang "Happy Birthday to you." I love it when Rebekah's birthday falls on Mothers Day. It makes the day extra special for me seeing as her birth made me a mother for the first time.
Went across the hall to Julianne's room. Bryan picked her up at the airport last night at midnight. It was the first time I'd seen her for a full two weeks. I thought she'd be jet-lagged and therefore hard to get up. But she popped right up...her body feeling like it was on Florida time. "Mom, hug me!" she demanded. I crawled onto her bed to hug and kiss my traveler home. She told me stories of her experiences. I told her what she'd missed at home while she'd been gone. A glance at the clock told me that the minutes were quickly ticking away...I now had nowhere near as much time as I like to get myself and everyone ready for church. "So what, " I thought. "It's Mothers Day and it's worth it."
Finally I went back upstairs to wake Bryan. I sat on the edge of the bed and told him of my morning. I got emotional talking about the kids and realized that I was dangerously close to crying. Bryan smiled. "You are finding joy and rejoicing in your posterity, aren't you?" he asked. "Yeah...I really am." I replied.
We were 5 minutes late for church and had to sit in the very back. But it was a great Mothers Day morning.