all is calm, all is bright

Tonight I am sitting here in a warm house with just the not-so-little one and the puppy. Chad and Eric left today for a 6-day bird hunting trip with my brother and Emily is away with her accordion choir to perform at a children's Christmas party and then have a sleep over. All is calm and quiet in our cozy abode.

It's times like this that "recharge" my battery. I love quiet! Most days, I crave quiet! My life is such, though, that the quiet is often lost in the daily noise and ruckus. I am often on the run... often involved with people and activities and such. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy those. It's what I do and I have fun doing it. But when it's all done, I'm usually done in! When I reach the point of being "done and done in" my craving for peace and quiet becomes ferocious!

I think it's because I don't get evenings like this much that caused me to look forward to tonight all day. Ellen and I talked about it all day. We couldn't get home fast enough this evening to come in from the cold and lock the world out. She's in the bath now and then we will both don our pj's and climb into my big bed and read together until we fall asleep. The morning will bring a rested body and a refreshed spirit.

My soul longs for silent nights... holy nights where I abide in Him... where all is calm... and all is bright!