Bedtime Sweet Talk

Ethan and I braved the pouring down rain today and took ourselves to the library this morning.  It was a fun little outing, despite all the wet stuff, and we even took a second to splash in the biggest puddle we could find.  Of course, that ended our adventure as Ethan's pants were soaked up to his thighs, and his beloved stuffed worm managed to take a swim in said puddle.

(I rescued it only after Ethan calmed down long enough to tell me, through tears, that Slimey was "over 'dere in the wad-er".)

Puddle splashing fail.

The library itself was a good time, though.  Ethan walked swiftly between shelves of books, picking one up long enough to judge it by its cover, then moved on to the next.  He ended up with two books in his bag - one from the Curious George series, and one about diggers and dump trucks - and Mama walked out with The Happiest Toddler on the Block. I'm only a few pages into it, but I've already found something I've connected with - Bedtime Sweet Talk.  The idea behind it is that, each night, you remind yourself of a few happy moments or successes from the day.

According to Dr. Harvey Karp,

"The amazing thing about bedtime sweet talk is that pretty soon you'll start noticing how much more is going right in your life than you thought." - The Happiest Toddler on the Block, revised edition

I like it so much that I think I'll try to incorporate it here on the bloggy blog.  However, while I hope to make this a personal nightly routine, let's not even pretend that I'll actually post about it here every night.  This is the same blogger who can't even keep up with "Wordless Wednesday", for goodness sake - and, plus, some things are just sacred.

So, without further ado - Bedtime Sweet Talk, Volume 1...

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Sweet Moment #1 

It's no secret that I'm a fan of the blog world.  I read a lot (a lot) of blogs and, more often than not, I come away blessed.  What I'm about to share isn't about some wildly successful day of parenting, but my soul is refreshed because of two women, and that is very sweet indeed.

Today I read two particular posts that really spoke to my heart.  Becca wrote about a deeply personal moment of time that happens for many would-give-anything-to-be-breastfeeding-my-baby  mothers.  I had so easily forgotten about the things I learned about myself, and the conversations I had with God, in that teeny tiny breast-pumping room.  Her post today was a reminder that God is still faithful to hold my hand through the rough days, whether that's sitting by a crib in the ICU or keeping my two-year old from destroying everything in his path.

Then, I moved on to Kirsten's blog where she wrote about how Ewan's broken heart has taught her how to love.  This touched my core and if I've read it once, I've read it a thousand times today.  "My prayers had gone from, 'God, please heal my baby,' to 'God, please help me to love him exactly as he needs.'"  Amen, Mama Ewan.  Amen.

Sweet Moment #2

Even though this technically happened yesterday, I need to put it in writing today.  Yesterday evening, I went to check the mail and found an anonymous gift in our mailbox.  "Blessed" doesn't even do my feelings justice.  One day, I'll need to be able to come back here and remind myself of God's goodness and His grace.  Someday, I'll need a reminder of the ways in which we've been blessed, and I'll need it to be a catalyst to bless others.  I'll need a reminder to praise God for all that we have, and I'll need to remember to hold everything we do have with an open hand.  

I have no idea who you are, but I want you to know that your gift to our family has kept my eyes moist since yesterday evening.  It not only helped us in a time of great need, but it reminded me of all the ways God has taken care of us since this journey began.  I want you to know that just hearing that someone is still praying for our family did wonders for my soul.

I praise God for His provision, and for you, and I pray that you will find yourself surrounded by the Lord's favor.  Thank you.

Sweet Moment #3

OK - so, switching gears to a very successful moment from today...

Ethan peed AND pooped in the potty tonight! 

I know y'all must be thinking, "How is she gonna go from talking about the Lord's favor to toddler poop?!" but I just had to.  And the look on my sweet boy's face once he realized what he had just accomplished? Pure joy.  

Even after the fact, as I was getting him dressed for bed, I reiterated how proud I was am of him.  He looked up at me with those big, brown eyes, smiled, and said, "Ethan make Mama happy."

I pray one day he understands just how right he is.

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Good night, friends.  May your dreams be sweet tonight, and may tomorrow be filled with many sweet moments of your own.