Morning

Curtis and I lift our heads off the pillow and glance at the alarm clock. It's six o'clock. Beckham is rapidly pacing around the house and his nails are clicking on the floor so loudly that he might wake up the kids. He wanted out. Now. Poor guy. We must have forgotten to let him out one last time before bed. Curt gets up and starts his day.

I lay in bed until Annabeth starts crying at 6:45. My running clothes are at the end of my bed and I remember all the Chinese food I ate last night. It's time to pay for my sins. I stretch in the dining room and it feels so nice that I think stretching must be God's gift to people who have to exercise.

I take a different route today. This is usually determined by the direction in which I see other people running. Not wanting to pass or, more likely, be passed, I go the opposite way. I see a guy who looks like he fell into the bayou. No, he's just completely soaked with sweat. Oh my word, how long do you have to run to achieve such a thing?

A new trail has been paved and it's a two mile route. This is my fourth straight day of running without getting a side stitch, so I give it a try. I've just been sticking with a mile because it's quicker and my body hurts less. I see the entire girls and boys cross country teams from the local high school arrive. I thank God that they're going a different way. They can probably tell I'm a wannabe. Not that I should care.

I walk in the front door, surely looking and smelling like I, too, fell in the bayou. Annabeth is happy to see me. She's wearing her zebra striped, pink ruffled pajamas and carrying a snack cup with stale Cheerios and Goldfish. There's a little doll tucked under one arm. Her hair is down in her eyes and I sweep it to the side. She wanders over to her Fisher Price Learning Home and plays happily. She is growing into her girlhood more and more each day.

Jackson is wearing his Superman Underoos. He has a fresh haircut and looks so handsome. Of course, he doesn't like to be told that. He's such a boy. He doesn't stop moving from one piece of furniture or counter top to another - climbing, bouncing, crashing, and making the appropriate sound effects.

I head to the shower and make the water as cold as I can stand it. Annabeth wanders into the bathroom and kisses the glass shower door. She takes a seat on the bath mat with her doll and her snack. She grabs my hairbrush and runs it through her hair.

I need to go to the grocery store, but thankfully we still have milk and bread. I make wheat toast for all of us. Jackson says he doesn't want any, but I know that as soon as I sit down to eat he will change his mind. So I make him a piece. He wants it with strawberry jelly. We hug and kiss Curtis goodbye, wishing him a good day. The three of us sit at the table and I've got my all-important tea at my right hand. My Daily Light is opened up to July 16.

Jackson reaches his limit of being able to sit in his chair. He bounces into the living room and climbs on a chair. His little frame is looking so much like a big boy's. I look at Annabeth in her high chair and soak up her good mood. She is becoming a little girl and she loves it. I love it.

I'm overwhelmed by the thought that the glory of God is present in my home this morning.