Midnight Playdates

"Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him" Psalm 127:3 (NLT)

Being a mother has been the most wonderful, yet most challenging experience in my life.
After two years of trying to conceive, my husband and I were blessed with a beautiful daughter. Watching Chicken Little grow everyday is amazing. I realize that I take her for granted some days. Working full time, and getting home late in the evening leaves little time for play. Most nights she's ready for bed by 7:30 (if not earlier), giving us only an hour together. And most nights when she's up and down (we still don't sleep through the night), I must admit, that I tend to get very frustrated.
Now that I'm expecting again, I find myself very fatigued. That fatigue turned to exhaustion, then frustration, then to anger Tuesday night as Chicken Little awoke for the 5th time between the hours of 8:30 and 11pm. In my frustration/anger I decided to just move her to our bed, so that maybe--just maybe--I could get some much needed rest.
At 11:15pm I moved her into our bed, laying her gently between her daddy and me, she pops her little head up. (I swear at the time it was horned...lol) Her daddy receives a "Hey there", as she rolls back to me and nuzzles in close. Her little foot rested on my stomach--just under my belly button--creating just a tiny bit of pressure. Evidently it was just enough pressure to stimulate her "Bubba". I began to feel the baby moving toward her foot, rolling and swimming around. Just like that, any frustration I'd felt before was completely washed away. In that moment, God showed me just how precious my children were. For the child in my womb to respond to his/her sister was simply amazing. I held Chicken Little close, and she and "Bubba" played for an hour and a half. Chicken Little asleep the whole time, but "Bubba" was still playing with her.
This morning when Chicken Little woke up at 1:30am, I wasn't angry--I wasn't even frustrated. I simply went in, picked up my whining little girl and rocked her until she was sound asleep again. Kissing her on the head, I lay her down, and even lingered for a moment as she tucked her teddy bear under her arm and settled in.
This is my life. Mother, Wife, Sister, Daughter--Child of God. I felt His presence as I walked back to my own bed. Settling back in for the night I realized that most nights wouldn't be easy--especially with a second child on the way. Most nights I will probably be exhausted, and on those given nights my child(ren) will most likely be up and down. But even during those nights, I'll simply have to remind myself of the midnight playdate and the blessings that have been bestowed upon me and my beautiful little family!