Sleep & Scriptures

I so completely want sleep. The other night Daniel actually slept for five straight hours. He's never slept that long before, and it was wonderful. Somehow though, I'm still exhausted when I wake up. I guess those hours didn't make up for all of the sleep I have missed out on. Sadly, he only slept that long because his daddy was holding him. Daniel has a lot of trouble staying asleep on his back. On his stomach, he'll sleep for about three hours.

I would currently really love to sleep. Daniel is finally asleep, but Jill is not. Daylight Savings Time has not been nice to us. She used to go to bed between 7:00 and 8:00. I know that DST only changed the clock by one hour, but for some reason, the last few weeks she has been going to bed between 9:00 and 10:00. And it is killing me. I miss my evenings of being able to talk to Jeff, tidy up the house, finish the dishes, or read. Or blog.

Tonight, Jill and I went in to brush her teeth around 7:30. I then read her six books. We said her prayers. Then I sang three songs and left. She has not left her room since then. But she has been singing to herself, playing with her stuffed animals, shouting "mama," or crying ever since. What a determined girl. (It is kind of cute to hear her singing/talking to herself though.)

IT IS TWO HOURS LATER. I, especially right now, could not be able to stay awake for that long. She's lying in her bed. The light is off. There is a noise maker creating beautiful ocean sounds. And somehow she is still awake. I do not know how to get her back on to her schedule. I must admit that I have enjoyed the three to four hour naps she has been taking with her late bed time. But I would trade back to the two hour naps to get my evenings back. The last two days, she took earlier, shorter naps, so I thought maybe she would go back to bed early tonight. No such luck though.

It's like as soon as I figure something out, there is something new to figure out.

That aside, I was able to listen to some of General Conference in between Jill wanting my attention or Daniel crying to be fed. (I feel as though he has a personal goal to eat as much as possible to overcome having been premature!) I am excited for catching more tomorrow.

(General Conference is a biannual six session conference held by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During the sessions, members of the Church all over the world can hear sermons/talks given by the prophet, apostles, and other general authorities and general auxiliary leaders. Here is a video explaining why Conference is so important to Latter-day Saints (Mormons).)

Earlier this month, I finished reading through the Book of Mormon, and right before I finished I found a new favorite scripture that I am really excited about. Excited enough that I am considering picking up cross stitching so I can display it in my home.

There are lots of scriptures that I aspire to or am inspired by.

2 Timothy 4:7 "I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course; I have kept the faith."

Doctrine and Covenants 14:7 "And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God."

Isaiah 12:2 "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation."

Moroni 9:25 "My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto death; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing of his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever."

That last one is my newest favorite. There are a lot of grievous events in the world, natural disasters and atrocities caused by man. It really is enough to weigh a person down unto death. But I really need to stay focused on the hope offered by Christ and remember another of my favorite scriptures.

Revelation 21:4 "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

Beautiful.

And on a wonderful note, I have not heard any noise from Jill's room for about ten minutes, so I think she has finally drifted off to sleep.

Victory.