The Castle of Krupp

I was looking for a picture of the Castle of Krupp online, but couldn't.  And this makes me sad, because it is so amazing.  It's only shown on one page of a Dr. Seuss book, as far as I know so far because I haven't gotten around to reading all of them yet.  But I'm working through them all right now, and easily one of my favorites is "Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book."  The artwork inside is just essential Dr. Seuss, fantastic and whimsical and yet so comfortable a world that you could find yourself easing right in, and yes, perhaps even taking a little nap!

Here's the devotional entry I wrote for this one:

“In fact, He who watches over Israelwon’t get tired or go to sleep.” Psalm 121:4 NIRV

On a mountain halfway between Reno and Rome

sits someone with a machine in a plexiglass dome

The machine drops a Biggel-Ball into a cup

and that’s how he knows who’s asleep, or who’s up.

While you may be there in bed and counting sheep

He’s marking down who’s awake and who’s asleep

All through the long night, he sits up and keeps track

of the zillions of sleepers who’ve all hit the sack.

Like Curious Crandalls who rise from their beds,

they sleepwalk in line with candles on their heads.

From those floating downstream in the Bumble Tub Club

to the drawbridge draw-er at the Castle of Krupp.

From Culpepper Springs in the Stilt-Walkers’ Hall,

to the Jedd who’s bed is the softest of all.

But there’s One from this machine that we will not hear, 

no matter the kind of night, rainy or clear.

From this strange contraption, you won’t hear a peep:

For God who watches over us won’t tire, or sleep.

Though amounts of those sleeping is a huge number,

God stays wide awake, He does not sleep or slumber.

He’s watching us carefully from high above

Why does He does this? Because God is love.

So close your sleepy eyes, and shut off your light

Know God’s watching over you all through the night.

Good night. 

We had some work to do today, but we had some play time as well.  For one, we were playing "Monster Crunch" again, the game about the Monster cereals that Daddy gets each year.  We managed to go through four boxes this October, but still have a bit of Booberry left to go.  This game "Monster Crunch" is about collecting the most cereal.  Mommy actually won the first round and Madison won the second time we played, and we had a good time.  It's surprisingly fun, and a great birthday gift Daddy got from a friend at work.  We will certainly be playing again soon!

Madison got some new bookshelves today, and they look fantastic.  Mommy put them together, and Daddy helped with the finishing touches, and we brought the bookshelves upstairs and put them in place.  Mommy was busy organizing the books, and things look a little less cluttered now, just right.

Speaking of books, we're reading "Peter and the Starcatchers," and Madison is now wanting to read the next books in the series after this.  Daddy has always loved the writing of Dave Barry, and with Ridley Peerson, these books are just the right touch of adventure and fun to put smiles on our faces.

We did watch an early Christmas movie tonight, "Rise of the Guardians," which technically takes place around Easter, but still has a whole lot of Santa Claus in it.  It's a great movie that didn't do as well in theaters, so it seems unlikely that we'll see a sequel any time soon.  Still, it would be amazing to see a leprechaun or a groundhog!

After prayers and zerberts, it was time for sleep.  The holidays are coming, and things are about to get pretty busy.  We're so glad to have these moments sitting together, playing games or watching movies and just hanging out.  There's so much to be thankful for.