Carlson's Best Life: Learning to Embrace EARLY Mornings

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Learning to Embrace EARLY Mornings

My mornings are getting earlier and earlier. Before I know it, I will be getting up at 4:30 am. I know people who do this every morning, and I've always been amazed by their endurance. But, considering I am not a morning person, and I have to have the stamina to home school a 3rd grader, keep up with a 23 month old all day long, and work a part-time afternoon job, along with teaching vocal and piano lessons; having a sleep pattern would be wonderful. But Micah is so energetic lately in the mornings and waking up TOO early is his plan. Actually energetic, is not the appropriate word, but I'm too tired to dig deeper in this feeble mind to search for the appropriate word. However, I'm learning to love my mornings. I've made a list of the things that these unwanted VERY EARLY MORNINGS and LACK OF SLEEP have been teaching me.

Learn to like coffee, even if it's your least favorite drink on the planet.
The sky is beautiful in the mornings, it's a great time to take pictures
There is no greater time to spend with the Lord than early in the morning
You can notice new things about your child during their morning play time while the other kids are sleeping. Micah is so active during this time, while Alana is still asleep and if I embrace the time with him, I can really pick up on the new things he is doing.
Mornings are the perfect time to get in some extra cuddle time, reading time, or watching a show that you know is that child's favorite. Find a way to embrace this time instead of being completely bummed that the child has once again decided to wake you up at the crack of dawn.
Early mornings are a great time to get a special project done that you've been wanting to finish, if your child is happy playing alone or entertaining their self. I recently did this and was pleased with my accomplishment. (I have accomplished this with a couple of projects, but am still learning to totally enjoy doing so. I enjoy the finished product more than doing it at the time.)
Listen for nature's sounds, it's so peaceful and has a way of making the rest of your day the same
Listen for God's voice. He is putting people on my heart more and more during these early mornings. I'm taking time to pray for people and I'm hoping that they are feeling the difference in their day.
My favorite: If it's not too cold- dress your child and take them outside to wave at people as they make their early morning drive to work...I'm finding that this really brightens people's mornings...we are going to start doing this one more often. I have seen some VERY SLEEPY and DEPRESSED looking people get EXCITED when they get a wave from a cute and active little toddler between 6:00-6:30am!! And of course, some people are truly morning people, which brighten my day-:)

Micah looking at his favorite book, "Sarah's School House," and saying what he sees.

There is a reason I set my alarm clock...lol.

This one is for Alana..lol...she takes it very personally.

One of my Saturday 7:00 am Projects. I had been wanting a picture of him in a washtub,
and this ended up making a terrific Christmas gift this past year. It wasn't too cold that Saturday morning,
and Micah was in a terrific mood, just up early.

One of Micah's messes he made while I was trying to make his breakfast. He loves
to use the broom. He's figured out that if he spills the dog's food, Mommy has to
sweep with the broom and he gets to help. Oh the joys.

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August in Review

August has been a very busy month and we are not quite done yet. Micah turned 5 months on August 16, and is doing so much: sitting on his own, playing every morning and afternoon in his activity saucer for 15 minutes at a time, pushing up on his forearms and getting on his knees when he is on his belly. He has also already cut his two front bottom teeth and appears to be working on cutting a top tooth. I'm thinking we are going to have a crawler very soon. He is growing so quickly and we are totally captivated by his every move.
Alana is getting ready to begin 2nd grade. I just can't believe that my child is going into 2nd grade. Where has all of the time gone? She is full of energy, love and zeal for life. Her typical days in the month of August have consisted of play dates, swimming, riding her bike, Bible School (she attended 5 this summer), traveling and hanging out with the family. I have promised her that we WILL go to the beach before summer ends, so I have two weeks left to make that promise come true.
Jim hashad a busy month so far and we are praising God for his new position/transfer closer to home. He will begin at his new location on the September 1, and we are so happy that he will be closer to home now. We are going to really enjoy meeting him for lunch and getting to kiss and hug him goodbye in the mornings now that he will not be leavign quite so early. God is AWESOME!!!! He always works things out for the good for those who love him (just a little paraphrasing..lol)
I have also had a busy month so far. One of the memorable things I've done this month besides playing the role of mom and giving vocal and piano lessons was being a part of the Royal Tea hosted by the 1st P.H. Church. It was a great experience and the guests speaker, Connie Hale, really spoke a message that penetrated deeply. Her word somewhat revived my heart and reminded me of the quality of life I have as a "Daughter of the King." I have willfully let go every unkind, critical and negative word ever spoken over me. I have determined that I WILL NOT listen to, entertain or accept any opinion of me given by others that is contrary to the words and thoughts of GOD. I am living a more productive and satisfying life because of it.
Below are a few pictures to document this month. I will obviously be adding more pics as the month comes to an end. In the future I will only update this section on a monthly basis.