My morning...or should I say mourning?

This is what happens when you build a roaring
fire while your favorite mug is sitting on the stove.

I got up early this morning so I could pray, light the first fire of the season in our wood-burning stove, and enjoy a few peaceful minutes to myself before the kids got up.

Dillon had a bad dream in the night, so he was sleeping with me, but I tip-toed around my room, ever so carefully, so as not to wake him up.

Just as I set foot out of my bedroom, Justin started to cry.  I hurried to get him a sippy cup of milk, but I was too late.  Dillon was up, and because I left the baby monitor on in the basement, Caleb woke up too.

Within minutes I had three loud and boisterous boys bouncing around the livingroom.

Sigh.

I'll never understand the need that boys have to make random, obnoxious, and senseless noise.  My college roommates knew better than to talk to me before I had my make-up on and hair done.  I'm a "crock-pot" in the morning...slow to warm up to the day.

We had a 3-ring circus going on while I was trying to light the fire to warm up the house.  The boys were playing with the toy cell phone that Justin was supposed to get for Christmas...until he discovered it in my closet yesterday and brought it out to the kitchen for everyone to see.

I decided to let him have the phone early, since he was so delighted while pushing the buttons.  When I bought it, I didn't realize there was a record button so you could record yourself talking, and then play it back.  I recorded myself saying, "Hello" (which is Justin's only word) and he loved playing it over and over and saying "Hello" back.

So anyway back to the story.  I'm not very good at building fires in the stove.  Todd has always gotten up early and started a fire so the house was warm when everyone got up for school.  Oh how I miss him!  After burning through several issues of our local paper, I had all the logs burning and crackling, but there wasn't much heat and I'm pretty sure I was just smoking out the neighbors with my pathetic fire.

Caleb came over and said, "Mom, do you know about the triangle of fire?"

Me:  "Of course I do."  (what the hell is the triangle of fire?)

Caleb: "I just barely learned about it at Science Camp. I'm pretty good with a match, you know."

Me:   "I don't need my nine-year old playing with matches. Please just give me a minute..."

The kids went back to their random obnoxious noises and when I had successfully used up all our scripture  time working on the fire, I finally gave up and sent the kids to get a bowl of cereal.

They continued their loud and obnoxious noise through breakfast, and I held my tongue.  I knew that in just twenty minutes they'd be off to school and I could finally say my prayers and enjoy some quiet time.

Before I knew it, hair was combed, teeth were brushed, the freezing rain was scraped off the windshield (if Todd were here, he'd have done that for me...) and the fire was roaring.  Caleb had simply blown on it through the screen and it magically came to life.  Apparently there's something to that triangle of fire...

I cheerfully dropped my kids off at school (two minutes late) and looked forward to coming home, sitting by the fire, and finally saying my morning prayers.

Can you think of anything better on a cold, snowy morning than to sit by the fire and meditate without distraction?  My morning had finally turned around. And then I heard it...

Loud, obnoxious, and senseless noise...coming from Justin's cell phone.