A week in the Life

Here's a rundown of a crazy week in our home. Most of the activites have been in my planner for days or weeks.  There are, of course, plenty of everyday things like dishes, laundry, getting kids out the door to the bus, etc, that didn't make the list.  A few other things got thrown in unexpectedly...hence the "Added bonus".

Monday:  5:45am workout and Bible reading. Catch up a little bit on pace warnings, grading, report cards, and invoicing.  Coordinate with schools/parents/students to get a bunch of midterm exams taken in the next week.  Make chocolate chip muffins for tomorrow's breakfast.  Pack lunches. Do dinner and shower girls. Online teachers' meeting {during which Skype will not work so I have to call in on the cell} 6:30-7:30.  Bible Study 7:30-9:30.  Couch "date" with Mark.
**Added bonus:  Mark bringing home a letter from school informing all employees that there is a budget deficit in the district which will very likely lead to staff cuts. This is something that we have actually discussed the possibility of lately based on some things that have gone on there in recent months...things that lead us to believe that is not out of the question that Mark could be one of the teachers let go {this is a whole 'nother post that I'm not even comfortable putting "out there", so you'll have to just trust me on this one}.

Tuesday:  Early morning Bible reading/quiet time with the hope of fighting off looming anxiety. Get dinner in the crockpot while getting everyone ready for school and MOPS. Coupon hunting and grocery list/meal planning.  Pick up house and sweep/mop floors....it was bad...I even found an {at least} three day old grape smashed under the leg of the kitchen table. Memory and coloring. Talk and pray with Mom and Dad. Quick run to the grocery store when Mark gets home {taking Levi to the store when he expresses disinterest in going, as he did this day, is equal to commiting parental suicide}. Put away groceries and get dinner on the table. Take all four kids to Ethan's basketball practice 6:30-7:30.  Mark to Bible Study 7:00-9:00. Grading. Lunch packing/couch "date" with Mark.
**Added bonus:  Got to the MOPS meeting to find that they were waaay short on Moppets workers, so I got to work in the 2 year old room. They were {thankfully} pretty easy and I think I only had one snotty finger wiped across my shoulder.

Wednesday:  5:45am workout {after a restless night of crying from the two year old, 5am complaints about what I suspect were growing pains from the eight year old, and spilling a huge cup of water on and behind my nightstand}. Deal with the disaster that has been our bedroom/bathroom the past few days. Finally take a look at the Adventure Club lesson for Wednesday night church. More grading and helping students.  Late lunch and Bible reading. Playdough.  Bake cookies. Shower kids and eat dinner. Church. Crash in bed at 10pm.
**Added bonus:  One of Mark's students calls after school to bring over a load of firewood.  He comes into the house for a few minutes after they get it unloaded and I invite him to stay for dinner.  Good thing we were having spaghetti...there's always some to spare!

Thursday:  Early morning Bible reading/quiet time. Read 112 books and build GeoTracks masterpiece. Finally separate chicken and beef stew meat from Tuesday's shopping trip for freezing. Exercise while folding and putting away laundry. Make blueberry coffee cake and popcorn. Enjoy a frappe while starting progress reports.  Help a student on Skype while trying to clean up the huge mess in the kitchen and start dinner. Fight with Natalie about eating dinner so she can go to gymnastics with Karis.  Gymnastics 6:00-7:30.  Grade papers, answer questions from students, get kids in bed.
**Added bonus:   Helping a student who calls at 9:45pm (5 minutes before we were headed to bed) because she can't get the password to the midterm exam to work.  After several attempts to remedy the problem, I finally just resorted to removing the password so I could just go to bed and she could get the exam done because she waited until the last minute and her school wants her grade tomorrow.

Friday: Stay in bed longer than I should.  Quiet time.  Help desparate student who will probably fail my class, grade a few papers, send a report card.  Mid-morning workout and shower thanks to Barney and Max & Ruby. Dance party and cupcake making with munchkins.  More dancing and frosting cupcakes.  Make chicken rice soup.  Mark comes home for 45 minutes and then leaves to work concessions from 5 to 9:30 for tonight's basketball games at school.  Bathe kids, Skype Grammy and Papa, pick up the house put kids in bed. Eat ice cream.

Saturday:  Word time, shovel driveway, make bacon and eggs before 9:30. Put together spinach casserole for the "winter birthdays" party at the in-laws. Set timer on oven to cook casserole.  Basketball game 12:00.  Home to pick-up casserole and cupcakes, stop to get some cards, then get to in-laws by 2:00. Try to avoid puking over the fact that there 17 items on my "to grade" list and that the number kept going up faster than I could get it down. More progress reports. Cut Mark's hair after kids get to bed.

Looking forward to tomorrow.  Family Worship Sunday at church. My mom is coming down to stay with Natalie and Levi, while Mark and I take Ethan and Karis to the WinterJam concert in Cleveland. Very excited to see Newsboys and David Crowder Band and a few others!!

This next week has the potential to be just as nuts...three doctors/dentist appointments, at least one activity every night of the week, and volunteering in a classroom.

Weeks like these {in the quiet moments I do get} make me count my blessings, though:  our busyness means we have a houseful of healthy people; we really have amazingly well behaved kids that make all of these activities manageable; I have a hard-working, fun, available husband; we have the resources to provide our kids with opportunities; we have a church community to serve in and be challenged by; if I'm willing, I have a God who is willing to come alongside me to refresh and care for me in the big and little things. 

So, while part of me wants to turn my back on weeks like this and run the other direction, most of me embraces it for all it's worth.