Ever since she was a baby, Sienna wakes up in a dreamy and happy way. The old adage to “never wake a sleeping baby” totally didn’t apply to her. She’d wake up with joy and enthusiasm, as if to say “What exciting new thing awaits me?!” Fortunately, this sweet trait continues to bless our mornings.
Typically, I’ll go into Sienna’s room to wake her, after Dennis, Teo and I have been up for a while already. As she’s a young teenager now, I really cherish the morning routine of waking her. I bask in her sweetness before she’s conscious enough to roll her eyes at me. Often I’ll gentle stroke her face until her eyes flutter open. Other times, I’ll be silly (on mornings when I’ve already had some coffee) and animate her teddy bear, or I’ll start singing a song like “Rise and Shine and Give God the Glory”.
We recently planted a couple vines outside her bedroom window, so I started pulling aside the curtain by her bed as we greet the day. One is a baby pink climbing rose and the other is a beautiful jasmine plant that smells amazing! They’re both just getting started, but we’re excited to watch them grow.
This past Monday morning, I pulled the curtain back and spontaneously broke into the old Oklahoma song “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning”:
Oh, what a beautiful morning,
Oh, what a beautiful day,
I’ve got a wonderful feeling,
Everything’s going my way.
Before her eyes even opened, Sienna smiled at me.
Both of my parents brought music and special songs into our lives. It’s amazing how often those songs make the trek from the recesses of my mind into the present moment. Throughout my childhood, my dad would often sing “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” all the way through. Just when we were giggling and assumed the song had to stop soon, he’d go for the next verse or another time through the chorus. I have such fond memories of him belting out that tune!
I’ve been reflecting on the sweet moments of family life lately. Sienna and Mateo have grown so much this past year and time feels like it’s flying by! I want to cherish the routine moments of our days, the ones I will miss when they’re off to college and living away from home. When I think back to my childhood, it’s the songs, traditions, and moments of connection with my mom, dad, brother and sister that remind me of the love that surrounded us. I pray our kids cherish these moments too.
Oh, what a beautiful blog post! Love, Papa.
Beautiful!! What would life be without glorious music?
Love you! Love that song!
Not sure how to post on the same page relative to this archived post “Life is what happens when you’re busy making plans.”
September 1, 2018. Why would manifesting your thoughts in order to bring about change or what you want in life by living as if it already exists run contrary to G-d’s will? I manifest while meditating and praying all the time. That’s s part of the entire aspect of recvg what you ask (manifest) whether it’s abundance, health, job/career related, relationship related. It’s just curious to me. I don’t think it detracts from our relationship w/G-d or us feeling ungrateful for what we have already in our lives. That’s how the Universe and manifestation works.
Hi Cynthia,
Sounds like archived posts no longer support comments, that’s good to know! Dreaming is fun and we all engage in it, to various degrees. However, I don’t believe that we manifest things into happening. I believe God blesses us with good gifts based on his will for our lives. Looking back on my post from September 2018, ironically my family received many blessings just shortly after that was written! But, I don’t believe dreaming manifested them. I still believe that spending too much time thinking about the future robs us of the present moment where God is bestowing his gracious gifts. God bless you!