A "normal" day in the life of the Super Great

What's a day look like in our house?

Generally, excluding weekends, for the kids & I it runs about like this:

5:30 am - My alarm goes off. I hit it until it's quiet. Usually Daddy's already up, so thankfully my swatting & groaning doesn't affect him.

5:45-6:00ish - I stumble blindly to the coffee pot

(Can you tell I'm not naturally a morning person?)

6:00-7:00 - My quiet time, snuggled in the rocking chair in the corner of my bedroom

6:30 - Boys' alarm goes off. I marvel as I hear them dutifully roll out of bed, quickly dress, and hustle outside for their morning run. I don't know how in the world we actually trained them to do that. I sure wish I had that kind of discipline!

7:00 - Boys are finished with their run, and disappear for their own quiet times. I make myself at least halfway presentable, and start fixing breakfast. Yes, I usually cook breakfast. If they eat a good, hearty one, they rarely ask for snacks and they concentrate better. It's totally worth it. Sometimes I put hot cereal in the crock pot overnight, if I know I'm going to be beat in the morning.

7:30 - Breakfast. On the table till 8. You snooze, you lose!

8:00 - Morning devotions. Sometimes Daddy's here, sometimes he's already left for work. He's a farrier, so it depends on what he has scheduled. For now we keep devotions simple: we read the chapter of Proverbs that matches the day of the month (Chapter 1 on the 1st, etc...), discuss a few verses together, and pray.

8:30-9:30 - Chores. The boys have certain things they take care of every day. Sometimes I do a little housework, but most of the time I use this hour to copy math pages, write up assignments, grade papers, and finish preparing for the school day.

9:30-11:30 - School

11:30ish - Lunch. No, I don't usually cook anything for lunch. Lunch is typically leftovers, canned soup, and/or sandwiches. Quick & easy. 

12:00-1:30 pm - Finishing up of school, if needed. Depends on what had to be done that day. Certain children are almost always done before lunch, certain others tend to stretch their work until 2:00...or 3:00...or dinnertime...both shall remain nameless.

1:30-4:00ish - The boys finish any chores they were unable to finish before school, help out with any work that has to be done around the house, and have free time. This usually means one is caved out with a book, and the other two are either having epic battles outside or playing upstairs (which usually also involves some sort of battle...it would be so nice to have a girl around here!) 

        - I hide out in my room for 10-20 minutes, if possible, until I can hear my own thoughts again. Then I proceed with whatever duties of my own need to be done. I try to make time to sit and read for at least 20 minutes before I have to begin fixing supper. 

4:00ish - I start fixing dinner. Usually I can pull it off in an hour. Sometimes I have to start sooner. I snag one or more children to straighten up the dining room & set the table. I'm trying to get into the habit of also having them clean up their mess upstairs. So far, it's definitely not a habit. 

5:00 - Dinner

6:00 - Family Worship (aka evening devotions)**. This varies. We have a general Bible reading plan that we follow, but we have taken breaks from that to do video series or other studies together. Often times we use part of this time to review the boys' memory work for church. We're just starting the curriculum for Pilgrim's Progress from Answers in Genesis.

7:00 - Free time for the boys. Some evenings they hang out with Dad.

      - I am just re-embarking on the quest to use this time to work out. Pray for me. I don't like it, but I need it. After that (or in lieu of that!) I shower & fix my hair - I've learned that it's SO MUCH better to do it in the evening and not have to try to fit in a shower in the morning.

8:30 - Boys shower & get ready for bed

9:00 - Bedtime for boys, quiet for me & Dad!

10:00 - I try to be in bed by ten. Sometimes I enjoy the quiet & the time with my bff (Daddy) way too much, and end up staying up much later. That probably affects the whole getting out of bed in the morning thing...

So that's a day in the life of our family. Nothing spectacular, but there is something nice about a routine. 

**Just an aside, making this time of "Family Worship" together a regular thing has been one of THE best things we've done for our family. The spiritual & relational growth has been tremendous. If you do not do daily family devotions, and have no clue where to start, a good outline is The Family Worship Book. It's a bit old-fashioned & liturgical, but it's a great starting point and easily tweaked to fit your tastes & needs. I was pretty dubious about beginning family devotions when my husband brought it up a few years ago - I wasn't sure how it would go over with slightly older children - but I am so thankful I followed his lead (however reluctantly at first). It is so worth the "trouble" and is building not only stronger faith in us all, but also strong family ties and memories that will certainly last a lifetime.
If you want a good book that goes over the reasons why Family Worship is so critical in the raising of godly children (amongst several other key things), you definitely want to read Family Driven Faith