Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite

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  It's no secret that I live in a wild and crazy house. Between the screaming kids, teething baby, escape artist dog, cat that sounds like an infant crying and a husband that works a ton to grace our house with everything it needs, all piled on top of preschool drop offs and a side business and crafts and cleaning and diapers and gardening and daydreaming.....by the end of the day I am wiped. Half of the time I have no idea how I am still awake when its time for the kids to go down, but then I remember it's my favorite part of the day.
   And no, its not because the kids are going to sleep, ok... well not entirely because they are going to sleep, which affords my day a sliver of sanity, cleanliness and a brief moment off my feet, but because every night when we tell our kids its bed time in a few minutes they get ready and then ask Ian to take them.
   And every night he wisps them off to bed on his back, followed by a long secret hand shake (Five, Boom- fist bump-Pinky tap, Thumb tap and kiss) and he lays in my daughters bed and reads to JT and Ellie. Sometimes I secretly turn down the background noise and listen as he weaves a magical world of talking kitties and Dr. Suess, or reads them stories from their Bible books and talks to them about Jesus, and then when its all over, just before they drift off, he tucks them in and prays with them.
   Nothing makes me love my husband more than watching him be the Man and Daddy that I know he can be. Nothing makes me thank God that we worked past our issues and fought for a great marriage like knowing that I get to listen to the man I love pour into the children we created together every night. I can't wait for Porter to get a little bigger and climb on in for night time stories. I can't wait to see the most important parts of me all piled in one bed sharing the last moments of their day together.
   Nothing makes me realize that even the toughest of days are worth it like walking upstairs to grab something and peeking in on this