Tuesday, February 16, 2010

All's right with the world.

This is my bed where I thought I might spend the night.

Teeth were brushed.
Dolls were tucked.


Each doll was given a tiny stuffed animal for nightime comfort.

The girls placed their own special sleep buddies
in bed with them for the night.
Morgan likes to sleep with Baby Jesus.
Jessica chose to sleep with her special dog, Baron.

All other stuffed animals were curled up and cozy.


Morgan read a mini mini mystery aloud for us to guess.
Jessica read aloud our Bible story.

    New bulbs were found for nightlights in the bedroom,
    in the bathroom,
    in the rec room,
    making it nearly as bright as daylight.

    Morgan had her own flashlight.
    We found a flashlight for Jessica.
    We found one extra flashlight for Morgan, just in case.
    The girls practiced turning them on
    to see if they were bright enough.


    We talked about our highs for the day.
    . . .the fun valentine foods?

    the crafts?



    . . . having Aunt Kathi with us was special


    Jessica's high was a game that we played right after dinner.

    Morgan's high was the whole dinner.

    Morgan's low was that she had to wait for hours after church
    before it was time to come for our sleepover.


    We prayed.

    Kissed good night.

    I talked to the girls about sleeping as long as possible in the morning because we took quite a long time going to bed.

    The girls wanted the bedroom door closed.

    One more thing, when I woke them in the morning, I was reminded that they would like to be awakened with the woodpecker knocker.

    I closed the bedroom door.

    I went upstairs and sat down to the computer
    for the first time all day.

    Within a few moments there was a knock on the study door.

    Morgan was having chest pains.

    I encouraged her to take a drink of water.

    I asked if she would like me to come sleep in their bedroom.

    “Would you grandma? You’re the best.”

    We got out the air mattress.

    Found sheets and blanket and pillow.



    Once again, we turned off lights
    except that it was still quite bright in the room.

    I got permission to turn off the night light
    right by my head, shining in my face.

    Good night, Morgan.
    Good night, Jessica.

    The girls called Walton style good nights to all,
    including the animals . . .
    Good night, Max
    Good night Cidney
    Good night Luna
    Good night Cadbury
    Good night Jane
    Good night Monet
    Good night May
    Good night June
    Good night July
    Good night Marilee
    Good night Jenny
    Good night Emma
    Good night Mulan
    Good night Penny
    Good night Julianna
    Good night Marley
    Good night Baby Jesus
    Good night Baron
    Good night Grandma
    Good night Morgan
    Good night Jessica.

    There were a few giggles.

    I was very quiet, hopeful that sleep would come to all.

    Jessica quietly asked, “May I blow my nose?”
    Of course.
    She found the tissues.
    Jessica climbed back into bed.

    All was quiet for moment.

    Morgan asked, “May I go to the bathroom?”
    Of course.

    She returned.
    We all lay very quietly for a moment.

    I heard Jessica get up and walk around a bit.

    Soon she brought a soft little brown dog, Max,
    so I could cuddle with an animal.
    I thanked her, and wrapped Max in my arms
    so that we could all sleep well.

    Morgan soon asked,
    “Would you like to sleep with one of my animals too?”

    I thought I was fine
    until I realized that one of her animals
    really was needed for me
    to be quite complete and comfortable.

    Who would I like to sleep with?
    I didn’t care. Probably someone soft and cuddly.
    Morgan’s pig, May? or her poodle, Marilee?
    I chose Marilee.

    I closed my eyes and
    snuggled up with Max and Marilee.

    All was quiet for five minutes. . .
    Then for ten minutes.

    The girls were asleep.
    I thanked God in His heaven.


    In the morning, I asked the girls,
    "Will you do something special for me?
    Will you never get too old
    to have sleepovers with me?"
    They promised.

    9 comments:

    Bernie said...

    Brenda, this is so beautiful. I love how you have the girls over and how much you enjoy them. It seems they enjoy sleeping over just as much.
    They are beautiful girls and I pray you will always be as close as you are this very moment.
    ........:-) Hugs

    Wanda..... said...

    You're just one of the girls Brenda. Your post made me smile a little, laugh a little and cry a little. I remember so well those stalling moments, before sleep finally takes over!
    I have a "woodpecker knocker" mounted between the 2 rooms we have for sleepovers...The string you pull has a hickory nut attached at the end! The wookpecker himself is attached to a small wood log! :)

    Rebecca said...

    "I thanked God is his Heaven". It's wry statements such as these interspersed with the fascinating conversation that make your posts SO entertaining.

    I felt like I spent the night WITH you, Brenda. I was tempted to go find a stuffed animal to hold while I read and to go check the doll bed upstairs to see if all the dolls were tucked in and comfortable!

    The nightlight and FLASHlights scenes were all too believable. Oh, my. I'll smile the rest of the day.

    I may need more information about the woodpecker knockers to keep up with you and Wanda!

    Re. the sugar thing....this WILL pay off BIG time, Brenda. ALL sugar? As in are you going to read labels, etc.

    Diana said...

    Very nice Brenda! I did wonder though, how did you manage to look so refreshed in the last photo?
    Love Di

    Mom/Barb said...

    You should write a book!

    Brenda Leyland @ Its A Beautiful Life said...

    What a fun adventure.... what wonderful memories.... loved the fuzzy socks and jammies photo!

    Oh yes, I remember tucking in all the dolls and teddies, and please don't put the blankets over their faces, or they can't breathe......

    Dee said...

    Love the dolls all put to bed for the night. If I were a little girl, I would want you to be my grandma.

    Mummy McTavish said...

    I loved this post... but it did make me relieved I have all boys. What a night. Sleepovers with the grandies are GREAT!

    Jacquelyn Stager said...

    I love all the ideas you pass on! I can't WAIT till my granddaughter gets just a wee bit older so we can have a sleepover! I love the way you make time for LIFE! When I was growing up we had a screened in front porch where we had our sleepovers. It had the feel of bing outside but the safety of a locked door!

    I see you haven't posted for a few days...are you still recovering? LOL!!