tent time

chris set up our tent in the backyard on saturday. the kids were very excited about it! the three big kids, chris, and i were planning on sleeping in there. we all got in the tent, armed with blankies, favorite dolls and animals, and some water. it was pretty warm. so we sat outside, in our giant tent, read some stories, said some prayers, looked out the tent window, and then the troops dispersed.

first sungu said he wanted to go back into the house, and then lily said she didn't want to sleep in the tent with just topher. we reminded her that mom and dad would be in the tent with them, but it wasn't enough.

so i took lily and sungu back in, and chris stayed outside with topher. inside i was praying with lily, she wanted to ask Jesus to help her to be brave. so we prayed for her to be brave, and for topher too. when we said 'amen', lily said she was ready to go back outside. when i told her that her decision was premanent- stay out or stay in, she decided Jesus could make her brave in the comfort of her own bed. i ended up sleeping in topher's bed, making it that much easier to be brave in her room.

meanwhile, chris was outside with topher. topher asked about giants, and the copius strange noises that were lurking on the other side of the thin tent wall. chris told his son that it was absolutely ok to want to sleep inside the house. but topher was resolute. he was going to sleep outside like a brave boy. as long as chris did not leave his side! so they stayed in the tent, looked at each others' teeth, hung out like best buds, and topher fell asleep clutching on to chris' arm for dear life.

little did our brave little boy know that chris managed to free himself for long enough to come inside, enjoy some air conditioning, and a game of scrabble, before he went back to topher's side. topher had a great time in the tent, and woke up a little bit after the sun, at 6am, much to his father's chagrin. chris, sore from sleeping on the ground, was awoken by topher saying: "look dad! the sun is up!here it is! (opening up one of the tent 'windows') and look, it's on this side this side too! (opening the other 'window' on the other side of the tent)"

setting up the tent took about a half hour, and that's about how long lily and sungu lasted in the thing. but topher's bravery made the ordeal worthwhile.