Day in the Life- Tuesday

6:00- My alarm goes off, and I wonder why my alarm is going off in the middle of the night. I am very sad to discover that it is in fact six in the morning, and this is the time I should be getting up at. BUT, I'm tired. So I turn off my alarm and go back to sleep, hoping to stay that way until Erik wakes up for work.

However, Max has other plans, and wakes up around 6:30. I try to get him before he wakes up Jack, but it's to no avail. Thankfully, I tell Jack he needs to go back to sleep for awhile longer and he does.

Max and I eat some baked oatmeal for breakfast, and I sit down with my Bible. Some friends and I are working on memorizing the Sermon on the Mount, but my brain is not working this morning, so I just read Psalm 34, and Matthew 6.

8:00- Erik is off to work, and Jack, Anna, and Lily are up and ready to start the day. It's then that I realize Max and I finished off the oatmeal, and I need to make something for breakfast. So I have them watch an episode of What's In the Bible and make some blueberry pancakes for breakfast. We do our catechism, and read the story of Daniel in the Lion's Den. Then we clean up and I let them finish their video while I try to steal away to take a shower. :)

9:00-11:00- We go outside and the kids (minus Max who is taking his morning nap) spend the morning swimming in their little pool. There are many, many "teachable" moments, reminders about how we are suppose to obey and how we say please and thank you. It is a really nice morning though, and I definitely enjoyed watching them play.

11:00- Max is up, and we all eat a little snack before lunch. The kids have pretty well emptied out their pool by this point, and are happily pouring water all over the tree in our back yard. Jack keeps telling me he's going to turn the tree into a hot dog(hey, at least they're all playing nice together!) So I take Max and Lily inside with me and try to get some house work done, while Anna and Jack play.

12:00- Erik comes home for lunch, and we eat left over lemon garlic chicken. The kids have peanut butter and honey, and tell Erik all about their day. After lunch I stick dinner in the crock pot(which saves my sanity most days!) and read a few books to the kids.

1:30- Everyone goes down for "naps." I use the quote marks because I have to go into each child's room and remind certain children that it's nap time, not play time. 

2:30- Everyone's quiet, and I'm hit by how tired I am, so I lay down for a little while and try to take a nap- which I do(yay!!)

3:00- I do some laundry, clean up the living room and kitchen, and make myself a smoothie. I would much rather have coffee, but we are all out. :)

4:00- Every one is awake. I get them set up at the table with crayons and paper, while I try to finish dinner and make myself look presentable.:) At one point I discover that Lily has gotten a hold of a maker and has tried to eat it. This is the point where I start anxiously waiting for Erik to come home and help me regain my sanity. 

5:15- Erik is home! We eat chicken curry, and do our family Bible time. 

6:00- Erik plays with kiddos, while I clean up dinner. We all sit down and read some more books, and Jack practices reading by himself. 

7:30- Bed time. Kids go to bed fairly easily tonight, which is definitely a blessing.

8:30- Erik goes to meet some men from the church for their accountability time. I hang out and watch an episode of cake boss and get on the internet. 

9:30- I am SO tired. I don't usually go to bed this early but decide I probably should. I fall asleep thankful for being able to spend a nice day with my family.

In Which I Panic

The other day it finally hit me.

Next month, my oldest child Jack will be turning five.

And do you know what that means?

School. And that my baby's growing up! But school is the point I'm getting at.

For the last couple of years my husband and I have been pretty sold on the idea of home schooling. This is not a new concept for me, I've been planning on doing this for awhile now. However, even though I've known for quite some time that I'm going to be home schooling, it finally sunk in last week. I'm going to be solely responsible for my child's education.

Me, who was just an average student.

Me, who just has an associates degree.

Me, who struggles terribly with being organized.

Me, who is already crazy busy keeping up with house work and caring for my little ones, I'm going to home school?! What on earth were we thinking?

Thankfully, though, I've had some encouraging talks with my husband, who has graciously reminded me why we're wanting to do this to ourselves(and our children) in the first place. I've also got plugged in with a Classical Conversations group close by that I'm super excited about.

I'm still a little overwhelmed at the idea of what this new season in my life is going to look like. I'm definitely concerned about what I'm going to do with my younger children while trying to teach Jack. But I'm also getting really excited about it. It will definitely be an adventure!





 

Gymnastics & Motherhood

Throughout most of my junior high and high school days I participated in competitive gymnastics. I can remember the first time I ever went to a meet and the excitement I felt over competing. I loved going to the gym for practice. All I wanted to talk about was gymnastics, and if there was a meet on television you can be sure I was watching it.

But then the newness wore off, and my excitement faded. There were lots of times I didn't feel like going to practice. One of the things I did to keep myself motivated was by reading articles about gymnastics, and by watching big competitions. On some level I think I realized that if I really wanted to stick with it, I had to find ways to keep motivated.

Sometimes it feels like this is the way I approach motherhood. When I first became a mom no one had to tell me what an awesome blessing this was in my life. I loved everything about being a mommy. But now that much of the "newness" has worn off, I have to look for ways to keep me motivated. 

One of the main things I do to keep my mind focused, and my heart encouraged is by reading books. I love to read. And most of the books I read have to do with Christian living or motherhood. This is a great source of encouragement for me. 

It's so important to remember that what we're doing a moms matters. When we start to lose focus, and feel like we're not doing anything important, it's only a matter of time before we feel completely burned out and overwhelmed. 

So tell me, what do you do to stay motivated as a mom?

P.S. If your curious about which books on motherhood I've particularly enjoyed, here are some of my favorites; Loving the Little Years, Feminine Appeal, Womanly Dominion, and Passionate Housewives Desperate for God. 

One Years Old

A year ago today we were blessed with this precious boy..

He's brought us so much joy.

And has blessed us with his sweet, content disposition.

Happy first birthday, Max! We love you so much, and pray that you will grow into a godly man who loves and serves the Lord!

Yep, I'm still Alive

It's been a crazy couple of weeks, so I haven't had much time to blog lately, but I'm hoping to get back into blogging more consistently this week. So what have I been up to lately? We-elll.... Here's a little hint for you..

Why yes that is the beach! See, a few weeks ago my husband found out he was being sent out to Los Angeles for job training. When I heard he was going, I thought it'd be fun to go with him for a few days, but didn't think it would probably happen. Truthfully, I really wanted to go, but wasn't sure I could handle being away from my babies!

Well, Erik, my parents, and his parents figured out a way for me to be able to go, and both sets of grandparents said they would be willing to take the kids, as long as we divided them up. Even though I was nervous about going, I really couldn't turn down the chance to spend some alone time with my husband(not to mention alone time on the beach!)

This was a very relaxing trip for me. I honestly didn't realize how burned out and overwhelmed I had been feeling, and it was nice to take a little break. I sort of used this week to have a "personal retreat", and spend a little extra time with the Lord and pray more specifically for my family. I'm hoping to post a little more about that later this week. 

We flew home late last night, and got home at four o' clock this morning. We slept for a little bit, then went and got Anna and Lily from Erik's parents. Tomorrow my mom and dad are bringing Max and Jack down. Even though I'm so thankful for getting to go, we were both so happy to see our little girls this morning! And I can't wait to see my boys tomorrow!