Child, cover thy nakedness!

Don has decided to have Family Prayers each evening. I always have prayer time with the children but, because of his work schedule, we've never been able to come up with a workable time to do them with Daddy present.

Last week, he woke me up at 4:30 a.m. one morning to talk. Not exactly MY idea of the perfect time, but I'll take it when I can get it. He mentioned the issue of family prayers again and we set out to find a solution. The children don't get up until after he's already gone to work in the morning, and he usually doesn't get home from work until 6:30 - 7:00 p.m. With the children going to bed at 7, it's a bit of a problem. But we decided to try and gather just before the children's bedtime for a few minutes. Some nights this won't work, like Wednesday's, when we're at church during that timeframe. But if we even manage to hit 5 nights out of 7, that would be GREAT!

Lest you think Don is a sadist, there were several other important issues we needed to discuss but just hadn't been able to carve out the time. And I was going to be gone all day Saturday with a group from church on a bus trip to Commerce, GA to the Tanger Outlet Center Christmas shopping. I left the house at 6:30 a.m. and got home at 10:45 p.m. - not too much time for talking about family issues. And Sunday was going to be almost as bad. Don and I had to drive to church separately because the handbells were playing and he had to be there early. I had to lay out clothes for the boys for Work Party on Saturday morning and church clothes for Sunday on Friday night before I left for shopping. It was a hectic weekend - hectic, but fun.

So - - - last night I sent Dane to get his bath while I was putting the finishing touches on dinner. Daelyn had fallen asleep on the couch, complaining of a headache which was really just exhaustion. Deanna's bath takes forEVER! so I asked her to get everything ready so she could jump into the shower as soon as dinner was done. In other words, lay out her pajamas and do everything possible in advance to minimize her shower time. Half of the time it takes her to shower is preparing.

I sent Dane to gather her when we were ready to sit down. Dane was in his new Christmas p.j.'s that I bought him at the OshKosh outlet (just a little premature) and Deanna showed up in her robe. As we were sitting, she announced,

"Mom, you'll be very happy to know that everything is ready for my shower. I'm even naked underneath my robe, so I don't even have to undress before I get in the shower."

Me: "Oh, lovely, dear. We all really needed to hear that you're sitting at the table naked."

Deanna, stifling a laugh: "Well, I'm not really naked. I have on a robe."

Dane: "You ARE naked, Sis. Gross."

Deanna: "I'm just as naked as you, Dane. I have a robe on."

Me: "Well, not exactly, Deanna. He's fully clothed."

Deanna, out-and-out giggling: "Well, at least I'll be ready for my shower right after dinner."

Don and I might have to have another 4:30 a.m. meeting if evening prayers means Deanna has to come to the dinner table naked (or half-naked). Oh, me! The plight of motherhood.