A day in the life of

Everyday, in our house, begins too soon and ends too late!

We home school, my husband studies at uni and is constantly ill, my mum, who is disabled, lives with us and we have 6 kids. Chaos is often the most apt word for describing our home. Happiness is another.

We fight, a lot. I don't think this is a problem. Mess ebbs and flows, especially in the kitchen and laundry. We have good days, and bad days. Most of all, we love each other and love God and that means everything ends up working out in the end, sometimes miraculously!

I thought I would write what we did today, just a typical day in the life of, well, me.

9:00 I woke up to a snuggle with Toby (3) and his request for lemon toast and a drink of milk. Audrey (8 months), who usually wakes me up at 7 was still asleep, awesome!

9:15 I remember Eljay (11) came in at 8 and said she felt sick so I told her to go back to bed. I checked Eljay, she was asleep. Also awesome.

9:30 I check the sounds I hear coming from Lochie's (8) bedroom, I can hear him reading Ali Barba and the Forty thieves. I walked in to find he was very sweetly reading it to his little sister Bella (4), again, awesome! It was at this point that I realised this was going to be a great day! I walked away saying "Oh thank you God!" My heart was so bursting with joy that I actually did a little danced as I walked.

10:00 At this point most children were fed and clothed and the dishes done. It is weird but even when I get up at 7 this seems to be the time we are actually ready for the day to begin!

10:15 I set Molly (7) to a writing task which was begun the day before and involved her having a complete melt down because she doesn't think she can spell (which she can't but really doesn't matter, she just needs to keep trying) but today no melt down. Lochie was also to continue his writing task which he also had a melt down over the day before and again no melt down! Thank you Jesus!

10:30 I decide that I can't put off having a shower any longer and today is the day I must have a shower! Yes, I hadn't had a shower in about 5 days! I am not going to even tell you how long my kids go with out baths sometimes!

11:00 I decide it is time for my husband to get out of bed, so I sweetly wake him. Awhile later he is awake and watching tv in bed. Sometimes I wonder if sickness is actually nicer than health?

11:30 I have no idea where the kids are or what they are doing but I am on Gumtree looking at beds for Molly because since my mum moved in a month ago Molly has been sleeping on the couch in the upstairs lounge room. My poor little pookie. Eljay comes in about 10 separate times with a piece of paper with her attempt at spelling different words for a writing task she has set herself so she can have computer time like Lochie and Molly. She is usually a terrible speller but she got 8 out of 10 right! She loved all the praise she got. Molly and Lochie finished their tasks and lapped up all their positive feed back too.

12:00 Lunch time. Agh. Eating again, really? Do we have to eat 3 times a day? And dishes, again! I took a coffee to my husband in bed. He loved that and actually got up!

1:00 There I was at the sink having a whinge about how my veggie patch still hasn't been made and all my seedlings are dying when our best friends walk through the door! We all instantly lit up and almost yelled "Ay!". The mood quickly shifted to absolute joy as we all vied for our guests attention! I would feel rather overwhelmed if I had 8 people do this to me but gladly our friends are used to it!

3:30 Our guests leave and I realise the day has completely slipped away without my permission and I now have to 'do something'. I get washing off the line and put more on. Move the guinea pig. Water the plants. Finally decide what we are going to 'do' today!

5:30 Leave for fishing trip and chips on the beach. We invite our friends, because they are more like family than friends so we always invite them! We decide it is too cold to go fishing so we eat our chips, have a play and go to Maccas for dessert.

8:15 Home again. Get kids in their pj's. Eljay reads to Toby and Bella, who share a room, and puts them to bed. Such a lovely big sister! Such a good mummy in training. Thank you God, how many times is that today God? Only about 100 moments today that I have squeezed God's hand and given him a big goofy smile to say how blessed I am. I feel so loved.

8:50 Read Little House on the Prairie to the eldest 3. Said goodnight, ignored the huge mess everywhere and came up stairs to sit here in the dark listening to flies buzzing about as I type and tell Toby and Molly "shhh, no more talking, it's sleep time!"

That is probably a really boring read, but it's honest. Yesterday my house was spick and span all day long. Today it was a mess from breakfast time on. Tomorrow, who knows! Today I was able to appreciate all the beauty of the moments and not worry about the mess and chaos. Tomorrow I might sit Chris down and tell him I can't cope! I am a complicated woman!

Regardless of how each individual day goes, I can say that for the most part, I absolutely love my life. I love my husband, even though he is very 'high maintenance'. I love my mum, even though I have to remember everything for her. I love my Eljay, even though we fight like 2 stubborn bulls. I love my Lochie, nope, can't say anything bad about him, he bought me a caramel sundae at maccas, so he is a perfect child! Molly, Bella, Toby, Audrey.... this is what God talks about when he says

1 Kings 3:13
Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for--both wealth and honor--so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings.

and...
2 Corinthians 9:8
And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

By golly I love him!

Have a great day my friends! Hope each day feels as happy as mine did today. Bless you.