lessons.

disclaimer: the past ten days have been lacking in a few very critical activities necessary for survival: sleeping and running.  consequently, the neurons are not firing as frequently as required to maintain proper brain function.  so if this post comes out as an incoherent jumble of words, my apologies.  but i should like to relate some things learned/reaffirmed amid the exhaustion:

• i need sleep like a fat kid needs cake. and we're not talking 4-6 hours/night.  we're talking 8+.  and when i don't get the sleep i need for more than two or three consecutive nights, i'm frequently on the verge of tears.  can't wait for motherhood!
• there is an inverse relationship between my sleep hours and caffeine consumption where y is the amount of caffeine and x is the amount of sleep.  if we were to have a visual of this relationship, it may look something like this:

• getting four kids (aged 1.5, 3, 8, 11) ready for church and having them sitting in the pew by 8:00 AM makes you feel like you conquered the world.  small victories, people. small victories.
• a simple, sincere question asked with the expectation of a sincere response strengthens me. here's an example of one such question: "how are you?" 
• cuddling with a baby at 4 AM makes fact you're up at 4 AM worth it.
• while dolly parton looks more than a little scary these days, she's still my hero.  (side note: the dollywood prep class is officially in session. all are welcome. and if you go see "joyful noise" with extremely low expectations, it's actually quite enjoyable.)
• i really missed reading scriptures and praying with family. and playing the organ.