My oldest is getting too old....

Ah. It is now 8:41 on Sunday night. Little miss priss has been in bed for about 45 minutes. We are praying HARD for her tonight. Last night was just short of desirable, with her waking up screaming and kicking her legs every hour or so. I'm guessing it's either teeth or an ear infection. If she's not back to her normal cheery self by tomorrow, I may just have to take her in to be looked at by our hippie doctor. :) Today was busy. Woke up just a tad bit late this morning which meant that yours truly did not have time for a shower. Church was great, as always, but we never did actually make it into the service. This happens WAY more than I care to admit. We get the kids situated in their classes, get through Sunday School, then check back in on the kids before heading into the auditorium. This is when we tend to start some deep, meaningful conversation with dear friends in the hallway and before you know it, the hallway is filled up once again, but this time with parents picking up their kids. It was one of those days. Oh well, we felt "fed" and encouraged by the ones we spent time with. Then we had a wonderful lunch at the grandparents house, followed by our boy's favorite past-time: watching Gramp's trains in his enormous, very realistic looking set up. This is where all the boys end up after a meal....both big and small. Boys, that is. Not the meal. That's always big. :) And I just love how my grandmother still puts the china out, even when my kids will be there. Who needs plastic Toy Story plates and chicken nuggets? No no no, my children are worthy enough to eat off of china placed on a lacy tablecloth. :) Love it. Then of course we come home and heat up leftover pizza and serve it on plastic Wall-E plates for dinner. :) Okay, back to my whole point of: "Ah". The boys have been in bed for 30 minutes and I think I've been up to "resolve an issue" at least 5 times. I gave a very strict warning after my last little visit, so I'm pretty sure they are good to go. :) Silas was afraid of the shadow, so we placed a pillow over the night-light. Then he was afraid of the pictures hanging on the wall. HELLO!? Since when are you afraid of the pictures!?!?! I was desperate, so I took them down. Then he needed his "heat wrap". We have a microwavable heat wrap that we give him when he has those crampy growing pains in his legs. His legs didn't hurt. He just wanted the heat wrap. Then I so graciously offered to open the shade in his room to let in a little more light. He was super excited, so I thought that was the end of it. Oh no. The light from the window was now casting a shadow on Caden's bed, so he was scared. Shade is shut. You think I'm done now, right? Guess again. Now his underwear is tickling him. Navy blue boxer briefs are ripped off of his cute little butt. Orange skull and cross-bones briefs are yanked on. Why oh why do we not just let them sleep in their sleeping bags every single night on the floor in our room??? They would sleep sooooo well. We would sleep sooooo well. I guess the nagging fear that I would end up with 2 teenage boys who still want to sleep in their Lightning McQueen sleeping bags, on the floor, in our room. :) All of this to say that I am considering eliminating my almost-4-year-old's nap. He sleeps 2, sometimes 2 1/2 hours every afternoon, but I am afraid it's keeping him up at night. Time will tell. Not so sure I'm ready to give up those 2 very peaceful hours in the middle of my day, but I know that sooner or later I will have to "die to self" in this area. How in the world can I be old enough to have a 4 year old? I remember taking that pregnancy test. I remember the tears of joy and excitement. I remember the overwhelming fear every time I'd go a few hours without feeling any movement from my ever-expanding belly. I remember being induced at 37 weeks because we couldn't get him to move. I remember being in labor for 24 hours before his heart rate took a drastic drop and they decided to do an emergency c-section. I remember laying in the OR and hearing my doctor say that the cord was wrapped around his neck 3 times. I remember him saying that Silas would not have survived a vaginal delivery. I remember holding him in my arms for the first time and saying "I'm ready to do it again!" :) And again we did. Silas was born in '06. Caden was born in '07. Paisley was born in '08. God is good. May I say it again? Can I scream it from the roof-tops? God is good! I share this story with you because I needed to be reminded. And now I must go, because he's crying and asking for something again. Love you, Silas! :)