I had a profound post bouncing around in my head all weekend, and I was planning on writing it when we returned from church last night.

But then Poptart could not find her favorite stuffed animal at bedtime. She has had this particular stuffed animal for a few years now and it is very important to her. Gogurt never really got attached to a stuffed animal, blanket, etc. so when Poptart bonded with this animal, we thought it was really sweet.

The problem is we lose the thing at least three times a week and end up searching for it before bedtime. I like to think of the search as having three levels:

Level 1: We find it simply by walking through the house and glancing in each room.

Level 2: We find it by looking under couches, in closets, the pantry, and perhaps even the fridge.

Level 3: This level is the extreme despair and panic level. There is nowhere else to look. We begin to feel as though we have seen the thing for the last time.


We were at Level 3 last night. After exhausting Levels 1 and 2, we arrived at Level 3. Poptart was walking around the house wailing, "I'm NEVER gonna sleep without him." "My life will change FOREVER" What will I do if I never sleep AGAIN?" I was trying to comfort her, but I was a little afraid she really would never sleep again, and then what would I do? I was about to have a meltdown of my own when my beautiful, smart husband came walking down the hall holding the sacred, searched-for stuffed animal. He had found it!!!

I know you want to know where he finally found it, so I'll tell you.

We had company over this weekend and Poptart and her cousin slept in sleeping bags in the floor. The next morning I rolled up the sleeping bags and put them away. Little did I know Poptart had "hidden" her stuffed animal deep down in the sleeping bag.

So our beloved stuffed animal had been rolled up into the sleeping bag and stuck in the top of a closet! Poor thing!

I don't know what made Brad think to look in the sleeping bags, I know I never would have thought to do it. Well, on second thought, I do know what made him think to do it. I think it was God having mercy on me and my family.

With Poptart holding her favorite stuffed animal close to her chest, she asked me to rock her. I gladly agreed, and she was sound asleep within minutes. Whew. That was a close one.