Intentional Time

In the past week I've made a new discovery - one that should, and could, have been discovered much earlier had I chosen to try. Our family gets rollin' in the morning at approximately 6:30am - sometimes sooner for Katie, but she is left alone until, you guessed it, 6:30am. It has been awesome to watch her little body clock adjust - 6:31am she is awake and calling for us! (I also think the furnace in the house is a pre-cursor to her body deciding to wake-up because that comes on at 6:00am -- hmmmm, kind of like my parent's dog, Leo, smelling coffee brewing at 5:30pm - the same time at which he is routinely fed - which in turns sends him into nothing less than a spinning, salivating canine chomping at the bit for his meal... this whole Pavlov thing... I think I will reschedule the furnace. I've just discovered ANOTHER new discovery.)

Anyways, back to the original thought. A week ago our morning routine was getting Katie up and out of bed at the time she awakens, bringing her into our bed with the dream that she'll fall back asleep with us for a few more hours only to discover for the umpteenth time that she won't EVER do that unless she's comatose at which point I throw on my sweats and slippers, begrudgingly walk out into the kitchen with Katie in my arms, pop her milk in the microwave and go sit with her on the couch. My hand inevitably reaches for the remote to watch the morning news and there I sit with my brain in a daze and my cup of freshly brewed coffee glued to my lower lip - a lifeline.

See, at this time Katie has already decided that she's ready to get her day going and is not at all thrilled with Mom's inactivity and even less thrilled with the bloody television becoming the alternative to playing blocks, reading books, or simply conversing with each other in what could be an incredibly intellectual conversation! Therefore, she stands facing the couch with her sippie cup of milk staring at me and signing everything from EAT to BOOK; from trying to talk about Dad and the puppies in the backroom to whining and crying... all for the purpose of getting my attention. At that time I - pardon my french - half-ass my way through giving her attention all for the purpose of getting her to stop whining and violating every sense that I have... doesn't she understand that I'm NOT IN THE MOOD?!

No, she doesn't.

Katie needs our time. She needs to know that she is Mom and Dad's joy; that she is wanted; that she is intriguing and interesting; that she is ENOUGH. God convicted me of this just in the last week and I have experimented with spending my first awake moments of the day investing in my daughter. We wake up, I throw on my already-laid-out sweats and slippers, I walk into Katie's room and lift her out of her crib anticipating the next hour that we have together and talking about what worship music to play and whether to read books or play blocks. We get our milk and coffee and turn on the music. We each grab a big floor pillow and she grabs the tub of Mega Blocks -- we begin building something not unlike the new Seattle library in the middle of our living room. Katie dances and talks gibberish - luckily she regularly interjects a few animal sounds that are familiar to me so that I can understand where she's "going", and in turn, help to initiate further conversation. This becomes the highlight of my day -- and soon enough Kyle awakens to our craziness in the living room finding nothing less than me holding my belly in laughter while Katie climbs all over me with fearlessness or smiling while she learns how to say new animal sounds or...



Yes, even in the last 7 days I've discovered a new level of joy with my daughter and I could continue to list off all the moments for you but I won't. You'll have to experience those on your own - with your own family and friends.

Now it is 9:15pm and Kyle just got home. I must wrap this up because now is my time to be intentional with my husband - it works for marriage too.