Sorting Beans, Doing Dishes and Answered Prayer

Does God answer prayer? Shortly after getting him up this morning, I discovered that Paul had a low-grade fever. His mild fussiness confirmed the fact that he's not feeling well. To make matters more interesting, I mistakenly took my vitamins on an empty stomach. Have I ever wanted to throw up more? Nope. So, it's time for our school day to start. Paul has escalated the fussiness to downright irritable. My stomach hates me. And Luke has decided this is the day he wants to dictate how school happens. The script ran something like this.

Luke: I wanna do my Feel Box first. I'm gonna do my Feel Box first.
(Note: The Feel Box has an item hidden inside that begins with the letter we are learning which Luke must discern using only his hands. I use it about halfway through our school time to keep him interested.)
Me: (Setting up our school table to begin the day) We can start with our letter time and do the Feel Box early today. (I'm trying to be flexible, while still getting in the "hard" learning and using the fun stuff as the carrot.)
Luke: I'M GONNA DO MY FEEL BOX FIRST!!
Me: Mommy needs to pray right now. (Getting down on my knees right by our school table) Dear Jesus, I'm so tired and I don't feel well. I'm broken and empty. I need your help today. A lot. Amen.

I got up and told Luke that Mommy is the teacher and she decides what we do first. I had absolutely NO conviction that Luke would buy this line, but I proceeded to sit down and start our day like normal. He followed along. Jesus answers prayer. After school time was over we moved almost immediately to snack time, during which I remembered how much Luke loves helping me sort beans. The menu for tonight is a black bean recipe and I knew that I needed to get the beans soaking. I grabbed a couple bowls and Luke proceeded to amiably help me sort through them while Paul sat contently in his booster seat. Jesus answers prayer. After snack, Paul asked if he could do the dishes. I'm totally serious. It's his excuse to stand on a chair and play in the sink. Glancing at the oatmeal-encrusted breakfast dishes and the yogurt covered snack bowls, I agreed. The boys stood on chairs together at the sink and rinsed every last bit of oatmeal and yogurt from those bowls. Jesus answers prayer above and beyond our expectations. The boys spent the rest of the morning playing quietly together. The love has continued on into the afternoon. They are in the playroom right now as I finish this post. Paul still has a low-grade fever. My stomach, while feeling better, has not fully recovered from my blunder. But Jesus answers prayer and I'm so very thankful to Him.

The Brothers Bangsund at the sink