The onslaught of snot

Lila has been basking in a thick coat of her own snot today. She's sneezes faster than I can wipe her (granted I am trying to wipe her while doing a puzzle, meal planning, and folding laundry. But still...).Anabelle and I are also sick, so when the stars aligned for both girls nap times to occur simultaneously today, I quickly decided I would join them and try to sleep this off. Except Anabelle decided not to nap. She instead dumped out the contents of every container in her room and banged her rocking chair against the wall. For 2 hours. At this point I resign myself to staying awake and feeling nasty, but have bright hopes of putting her in bed earlier. I feel a growing excitement about this and envision Braden and I having lots of time with each other tonight and watching The Office in peace. I make this decision and go to get her and she has suddenly fallen asleep. Hey! Grrrrrr! So naturally, I'm feeling slightly grumpy.(Not terribly grumpy-just slightly grumpy. Like if someone walked though the door with an orange gummy bear for me I would totally do a jumping jack). Then I think of Lila who seems to have it the worst and is a glistening pitiful sight to behold,yet has been beaming like a clown all day. Yet another lesson from my kids. She doesn't yet know how to feel bad for herself, so she just trucks through it with a smile and takes it like a champ.

I was noticing the other day that as my Christmas decorations have been put away for a few weeks now, Christmas is sort of out of my mind. I've moved on. But Anabelle is still talking about Baby Jesus at least once a day. She saw someone with something draped over their head and she said, "A Shepard!". Maybe she can't recite Luke 2 but it seems like she was touched by the story of Christmas and is still talking about Christ even after the presents are all opened. I am glad for her simple example.

Another thing I have always loved about Anabelle is the way she thoroughly experiences and appreciates nature. In the stroller she will put her head back, let the wind blow her curls, close her eyes, and soak it up with a small smile. She examines all the leaves, smells all the flowers, and talks to all the animals. It is one of my favorite things to watch her explore earth matter. Something I don't do nearly enough. I hope she never loses that curiosity. I hope she always takes time to sit in nature and be moved, be appreciative. I hope she knows how much I adore watching her and growing with her, because of her.