Jesus, the comforter

Out of the blue, the Tod wants to sleep in our bed.

Two nights ago, we gave in to her because we were too knackered to put up a fight. She scored another victory at nap time yesterday where I even lay down beside her in our bed as we had already disrupted her routine by going grocery-shopping at her usual nap hours and did not want to further rock the boat.

Last night, we were determined to put a stop to it before she becomes an unstoppable force altogether. We offered hugs, kisses and some of her favorite snacks but our stance was clear: With the exception of sickness and thunder/lightning; everyone sleeps in their own respective beds. She cried buckets, to the point where she might throw up her dinner. Finally, after the Husband gave her a stern word, she quietened down a bit - her terrifying screams and wails giving way to whimpers. Still, in between her whimpers, she stuttered pleadingly her wish to be in our bed. Then, the Husband offered to read her "Jesus' story" (her children's bible). It was something the Husband always does with her before she hits the sacks. She relented, on one condition - Mommy does the reading instead.

Now, I wasn't quite sure how the usual way was done but I roughly know that the Tod gets to flip the book while the Husband read snippets here and here. For me, I am a stickler to orderly manner when it comes to storytelling. But then again, I did not want to risk triggering another outburst just because Mommy's storytelling prowess sucks. And so, I decided to go for an in-between.

First, I read a short story on Mary washing Jesus' feet with perfume, then I let Anya take over the rein of turning the pages while the Husband and I threw in some commentaries here and there. She flipped back and forth the New Testament, then she went all the way to the beginning on Noah's ark. After that, she turned the pages back to the New Testament and came to a halt at a page that showed Jesus fast asleep on a boat.

"Jesus zzzz.." she observed. 

"Yes, Jesus is sleeping. And Jesus loves Anya. Does Anya love Jesus?" I asked.

"Mmm.." came her affirmative answer. 

Then the Husband encouraged her, "Do you want to hug Jesus goodnight?". 

Visibly calmer, the Tod proceeded to close the book and hug it for a good 10 seconds. She even let out a contented sigh at the end of it.  (I was somewhat moved by this little scene by the way.)

"How about Jesus sleeps with Anya tonight on Anya's bed?" I said as I took over her bible and placed it on a cushion beside her. "Then when Anya wakes up tomorrow morning, you can tell him 'Good morning! Hello, Jesus!'". 

That seemed to appeal to her greatly. She enthused, "Hello, Jesus!". 

With that, she leaned over to give Jesus on the bible cover a kiss and said, "'Night, Jesus" then gave me a hug, said her goodnights to the Husband and I and finally settled contentedly in her own bed. 

Kissing Jesus again this morning.

And now, she finally managed to fall asleep for her naptime after almost an hour. I went in and took her out for a potty break in between, and the rest of the time, she spent flipping through the bible, praising God (I saw through the surveillance camera that she had her arms outstretched) and crying a bit. 

Now, it became pretty clear to the Husband and I: Jesus' comfort is upon our little one.