in the morning ...

I'm not naturally a morning person. But since 6:30 a.m. has become my normal time to rise in the mornings, thanks to my almost 9-month-old son, I have come to appreciate the quietness that sometimes follows when Ben decides going back to bed is better than crawling around playing with assorted toys that all end up in his mouth. Cate, who is 3, knows the beauty of sleeping until 7:30 or 8 on a regular basis.

I would prefer sleeping until 7:30, no doubt, but I think back to when I used to get up at 6 a.m. to get ready for my day as a newspaper reporter. Between that job and my current job as a mother of two, God is trying to make me into a morning person.

Even so, I still don't drink coffee. Just Diet Dr Pepper.

I was laying in bed last night thinking about how I'm not much of a late-night person either. The clock strikes 10 and I wonder why I'm not at least in bed reading a book. But I guess it's hard to be a late-night person when I'm anticipating 6:30 a.m. and not too willing to sacrifice sleep. And every now and then, my son surprises me and sleeps until the 7 o'clock hour.

I know I'm a mother when these are among the delights of my day.

But there are many delights, regardless of when my day starts ...

Cate's unsolicited "I love you" always makes my heart melt. The way Ben smiles makes me forget I wish he'd sleep later. And listening to them giggle together is the sweetest sound.

And then we all get in the mini van and I remember that I didn't predict this life, but I wouldn't change a thing. Especially our new-to-us transportation. Or even the way God pushes me to be a morning person.