EIGHT HOURS!!!!!

Drum roll, please... For the first time in his entire life, Ethan just slept for EIGHT HOURS STRAIGHT. Since the night he was born almost 9 months ago, I haven't slept for more than 4 hours in a row...until tonight!!!!! (In case you're wondering, I'm writing this post at 4:30 am because he woke at 4:00 and I am so wired from so much uninterupted sleep that I can't go back to sleep.) I have no idea why he slept tonight. The only change in his routine was that Papa and Nanna (my parents) arrived yesterday and so Nanna rocked him to sleep at bedtime. He slept alone in his crib with his special blankie just like always. I know that one night is way too soon to hope that this is a new trend, but I guarantee we will be utilizing Nanna's superb rocking abilities for the next seven nights that she is here!

On another note...praise God for family visiting! It is so wonderful to have extra hands, voices and hearts to help with the kids. Last night, my dad and I did the dishes while Nanna read books with Caleb in his bed for about 30 minutes. Then Nanna put Ethan to bed while Marcus and I lounged around and visited with Dad. What a relaxing contrast to our usual kid-intensive (and then cleaning & study-intensive) evenings. As I shared in a post last year, there is something deep inside of me that is touched when I am priviliged to see other people loving my children. Watching my mom tickle and laugh and build with and praise the boys and watching my dad take them outside and carry on a dialogue while Caleb rides his bike in circles gives my soul a special kind of peace. I think part of it is that I do my best to actively love my children with at least part of my attention almost all of the time, and seeing someone else doing so gives me permission to take a mental break. Another part of it is just seeing my precious sons so happy basking in the extra attention. For the first two hours that my parents were here yesterday, Caleb couldn't wipe the huge smile off his face. He just kept running around the room saying "Nanna and Papa are here!" My mom gets as silly as can be with the kids, and they LOVE it. It is a rare person who can get on the level of a child and stay there for an extended period of time, and my mom is definitely one of those people. I can definitely see why Dad was always so impressed with her mothering when we were small. She seems to gain energy from the play rather than the opposite. Since her health has improved so much this year, the last 3 visits she has been much quicker to get on the floor and play physically as well as the usual reading and talking and holding interaction.

Another reason I love family visiting is because I truly love to play hostess. I have always loved this role, but so much more since I became a mother. Like most kids, my two do so much better in their own environment, particularly in their own beds, and when family comes to us we all experience the blessing of family time without having to sacrifice our own sleep and our kids sleep, which for the kids is really more than sleep...its more like their emotional stability and life equilibrium. Anyway, I actually enjoy the whole getting the house ready and thinking of everything that each guest enjoys and will appreciate. Call me crazy, but I even like cooking for a group, which I find much more satisfying than cooking for two people and dealing with leftovers. I enjoy the chaos of a lot of voices and a lot of laughter, and most of all I thrive on the ample adult conversation! My dad laughed his loud infectious belly-laugh last night when I started quoting a children's book (Silly Sally, for you other mommies) and was able to go quote most of the book. "Rachel, you are really in need of some intellectual stimulation, aren't you?" I laughed just as hard as him and readily acknowledged that my vocabulary and my conversational scope has declined considerable in the past few years.

On a final note, it is just good to be in the presence of those who love us, understand us and accept us where we are. I believe it is as God intended when he created the family unit. I just heard Ethan again, so I guess I'll sign off for now. I'll try to add some pictures later on :) Merry Christmas!!!!