so grateful...

...for the rain which fell today. Holding us inside, renewing evening togetherness which summer's late hours tend to disrupt.

Though I love the longer (and usually sunnier days) of summer, they create a new challenge as our children have grown older - exactly when to call them in to bedtime. Dave and I both recall the agony of having to go to bed while the sun, and our friends, stayed out to play. So it is sometimes with reluctance that we call our kidlets into bed while their friends are still out, enjoying the romance and fun only warm summer evenings can bring.

Yet in these days, I miss the togetherness which comes with fall and winter. Evenings made for reading together, sometimes watching a movie or playing a game of "monster" which is a particular favorite of our gang.

Tonight was a taste of what will become the norm in the hibernation months. Dave was at a council meeting, but the kids and I played a few rounds of "What Time is it Mr. Wolf," and "Hide-and-Seek," read some books and wrapped it up with usual bedtime routine of prayers and attending to personal hygiene. Not that the evening was completely without tears. There were plenty of those. And by the end I was ready for the quiet stillness and calm that comes when four little bodies are tucked soundly in their beds. But I am profoundly grateful for this evening and I thank You, Lord, for the gift you brought our way. And may I remember this come March when cabin fever is at its pitch.