Daily starts...

James often says the funniest things. Things that prove the point that clearly, he is his own person... body, soul, and spirit.

I've never been modest about my affection or admiration of this little human being God's given us. I feel like being humble is a good thing when it comes to many things in life. Money, cars, your station in life... But when it comes to your kids, I believe it's best to shout it from the roof.tops. Not to prove my own merit, but to acknowledge the greatness of God's handiwork... and to allow my son to grow up never doubting that he is special... really special.

Our morning routine is fairly simple. The alarm goes off as a steely blue light starts to filter through our bedroom windows. The ceiling is a mirage of glittery light cast from the reflection of ripples and waves from the lake outside the window. Marcus digs deeper into the covers and winds himself around me, no matter how 'bulky' my torso, heck, my whole body is these days. Like clockwork, about 30 seconds later, bebe.jax starts to flinch and kick to get his daddy to move his heavy arm from his belly.home. Relentlessly he will kick and squirm and kick until Marcus moves his arm away. Jackson twitches to re-adjust, and if he can find a comfy spot, he will fall back asleep. And so will his mother.

The snooze goes off, Marcus gets up for his shower and to get dressed. I'll hear him walk into the kitchen to prepare his coffee... with the kettle and french press. Lid of the kettle, water from the sink, click of the stove... and the promise of that shrill whistle soon. Sometimes, at this point, James will wake up and run in, wild-eyed, to greet his favorite man on earth. ***Even though I'm sprawled out in the bed, and clearly half asleep, I turn an ear to these secret conversations between the greatest men in my life. No matter what the night held, or what the day holds for his daddy, Marcus' voice always has the sweetest tenor for his little boy. Like James waking up is the greatest surprise of his day... and so far, maybe it is.

*I wonder sometimes if my voice has the same sweetness soaked through when I talk to him... His Daddy's voice always maintains this freshness that never dulls from routine. I love that about him... it's a daily gift we recieve, that he never knows he's giving.*

The story continues: James talks about his dreams in elaborate detail... crazy stories that prove endless imagination. He mentions what he wants to eat... and he asks Marcus lots of questions about work. Marcus listens and responds on queue, fully engaged and never distracted.

At this point, I drift back to sleep. Marcus comes in to kiss me goodbye, always smelling too good for me to be happy he's leaving.

Within minutes, or a half an hour, James comes in to get me up. He's always wide awake, and has planned most of his day. He generally comes in and immediately starts filling me in on his plans.

Today? He walked in, three inches from my nose. *always three inches from my nose, 'Hey, hey, hey... hey, momma? It's sunny out. Get up. Lets go outside and find a lucky clover.'

A lucky clover? Where did he learn about that? No telling... but I can't imagine a better way to start the day than in my robe outside, sitting in a patch of clover, sipping coffee, looking for a lucky clover with the smartest three.year.old on earth.

Peace, love, and clover patches.
xo
lmkw