Summer schedules and such

My posts will probably not be too regular during these summer months.  Not that I was ever that regular of a blogger! haaa :) 

Summer has begun and we are enjoying the not so high humidity for just a wee bit longer till it hits us hard, which is anytime now.  I have to make up a new schedule for the family.  Just as I imagined, life is a bit crazy when there are not limits and boundaries and set times for things.  We all like to relax but with many little kids and the temperaments/personalities of them all, we do much better with some structure, even during the summertime.  That being said, we also like down time and free time :)  It is a fine balance that I am trying to figure out.  At this point, I know a schedule will be helpful.  It was last summer that we took the pluge for a real heavy duty schedule.

My hubby signed up for a marathon!  I am so proud of him!  Once again, he is going to train for one and we hope he will not get injured such as last time-3 weeks before the marathon!  poor guy.  His goal is to do one before he turns 4-0!  He still has 2+ years so this will be great.  It was a family decision for sure, with lots of prayer.  It is a big family sacrifice for all of us. 

That leads me to  how I am trying to get back into the walking deal 3-4 times a week.  I would like to turn that walk into a run possibly but not sure if I have it in me again!  I have not run in over 12 years!  It would be fun to sign up for  some 5K's and get back into it b/c I did like it.  I wonder if I would like it again?  I am not very competitive but enjoy it to a certain degree-not to a marathon degree, though! haaa!!! :)  You see, I have this gut.  Not the pregnant kind of gut but that other gut! :P     Running seems to do the trick to get that extra weight off for me.  I have been asked multiple times by my children if I am pregnant and my hearts sinks.  We would have been due with our baby just around this time (due early June) and my heart is just a little sad.  Of course, we would love another baby and welcome one if God so chosen but for right now, we are not.  This is the longest ever between children.  My lil' lady is 16 1/2 months and is still such  a  love, but she sure does have a voice and wants to let her siblings know she wants to do things by herself!  :)  God knows that it is not good timing for His Will, that is for sure b/c we have some big decisions to make in the next 2 months. 

Big as in ....buying a house.  Where?  Which one?  When?  The questions are endless.  We have been praying so hard to figure out what is God's Will in this.  Ultimately, we will ONLY be happy to do what HE wants, not what we want or think is best.  So, we are yielding to His direction and praying hard.  We are looking for His inspirations and guidance.  There are many things that I do not like about this house (which I have posted about) and my greatest ultimate house would be a farm house on a big chunk of land filled with goats, chickens etc...  Funny how life changes and interests change, huh?  I NEVER would have wanted that years ago but here I am just dreaming about it.  And that's all.  Dreaming.  Currently, we are in no way close to any farm land or much of any land at all, and in a town so full of cars and people.  Trying hard to see God's hand in this comes hard at times.  But then I think of all the good things I like about this house and there are some big ones such as a wooded back yard, cul-de-sac, good neighbors that home school too!

If you remember, please add this intention to your prayers that we are content and secure in God's will of where we should live no matter where it is.  Thanks so much!

God bless,
Mary

My Schedule Thoughts-Part 1

This summer has been flying by so quickly!

 

It is HOT HOT HOT and sunny most days :)  If it rains, it is only a passing shower and it gives me some hope that we can get back outside or to the pool.  This weather is amazing! 

 

The blog, however...uh, as you have noticed probably has been placed on the back burner. 

 

I sure hope you don't mind and hope you are having a fulfilling and fruitful summer as we are! :)

 

I have been super busy with that schedule that I mentioned HERE.

 

It is a super duper, heavy duty, 30 minute time increments of our day.  I hope to, God willing, post in detail about our days and how we are working with it.  That will come with time. 

 

However, I will post today on my overall thoughts on it.

 

Prior to implementing our family schedule, I had some issues at the end of my day.

The biggest things for me were:

• Why didn't I start my day with prayer?  How did I forget?!
• Why was I ending my day and wondering what did I accomplish? 
• Why didn't I get to the things I really wanted or needed to do? 
• Why didn't my kids get around to doing the things I knew were best for them?

 

I was living in a total reactive mode of parenting. 

 

I could not get one step ahead of my children and their want/needs/desires.  I could not figure out how to tend to each of our 7 blessings in a way to 'fill up thier love tank' and be the Momma they needed me to be for them and the Momma and wife that God was calling me to be.  Daily. 

 

Days would go by. 

 

Weeks would zoom by. 

 

Months were disappearing in a snap of my finger. 

There was a mental list of things I thought that if I accomplished then it was a good day.  If I didn't get to them, than it was not such a good day. 

 

This way of thinking was not healthy, b/c we know children have their wits about them and God's Will was very prominent. 

The deal was, I was fighting God's will for me and my family. 

It was apparent that I needed to change a diaper (or 2!) or fold the laundry but I was doing this task lacking the much love that it needed and deserved.  I was grudgingly doing these things.  I was wishing that I was off doing something else.  I believe St. Teresa said to 'find God in the pots and pans'.  And that is so true.  In my vocation to motherhood, though, I was not seeing it.  I wanted to, oh, how my desire was to.  BUT, I was kissing this boo-boo, disciplining this child, vacuuming when I should have been reading to my son, or answering my emails or phone eradically when I should have been playing w/ my 2 yr old b/c he wanted me to and on and on and on.  Living in a reactive mode of parenting set me up for a disaster of sorts. 

 

30 minutes is what we have per scheduled activity throughout the day, minus lunch and dinner which is 1 hour each.

 

30 minutes is a very short amount of time. I like that. It is short enough that fights and squabbles may not errupt too badly and long enough to be able to get some stuff done. What I have to get used to is that a little each day goes a long way-we may not finish the whole page of Math for the day and may need to come back to it the following day. This is not how I have ever really done school-it was always to finish a whole page and then Math was done. Not now, it is done at that 30 minute stopping time. That's it. It is growing on me, for I see how excited they are to be done with that subject. They can visualize the 30 mins and they know it is not that long. They opt to get to the scheduled work quicker than me nagging at them to do it (most of the time! :)

 

Now, this 30 minute schedule really freaked me out the first few weeks-thoughts rushed around my head and doubts that it would really work for our family. But, once into practice for a while, it has helped us all tremendously.

 

It makes me think of what Blessed Mother Teresa said:

 

"Do small things with great love."

 

Making a list of things that I wanted and needed to do that entire day was uplifting.  It gave me hope that I could get to reading to my children that I so badly wanted to and all those other things as well, but could not 'find the time' to do it!  Now, when my kids are interested in me reading to them, I tell them that I absolutely will and what time it will be at.  And it gets done.  Period.

 

That's all I have time for today!
God bless your day,
Mary