You would think after having kids for eight+ years, I would be prepared enough to have dinner on the table Wednesday nights before we have to leave for church….but no.

I sat in the nursery last night, starving, knowing I would be feeding my family dinner around 9pm.  Oops.  I’d love to tell you it was just a busy day and we lost track of time, but that would not be the whole truth.  This happens almost every week…..or if we’re lucky and leave the house in time, we can drive thru somewhere and order off of the dollar menu and drink water when we get to church.

So I’ve decided to simplify this part of our life for right now.  From now on, we will have the same thing every Wednesday night.  I haven’t completely decided on the options yet.  I’d like to have two or three things that we rotate on Wednesday nights.  Like frozen pizza, corn dogs, or tacos.  If I can have the meat already cooked before Wednesdays, tacos would be the healthiest option.  I’m also making a lunch schedule to post in the kitchen.  We will have a different sandwich/lunch item assigned to each day of the week and it will not change.  Here’s what I have so far:

Mondays:  hot dogs and pear slices

Tuesdays:  pb&j with applesauce

Wednesdays:  macaroni and cheese and oranges

Thursdays:  grilled cheese and bananas

Fridays:  peanut butter toast, pretzels, and peaches

I’ve come to realize that I could be getting a lot more accomplished if I’d get back to better planning and consistent delegating.  My boys (thank you, Lord!) are old enough to do so many things around the house.  Make their beds, strip the beds, sort and put away clean laundry, put dirty laundry in their proper bins in the laundry room, care for the chickens, water the garden, sweep, wipe counters and tables, wash dishes, load and unload the dishwasher, vacuum, dust, and of course bathe themselves and dress themselves.  Yeah, I’m sure after that list, you’re looking up the child labor laws for the state of Georgia.  But the fact is, children aren’t required to do much anymore.  Adults write them off as “just being kids” and don’t expect or require them to lift a finger outside of school, and even there the responsibility never seems to placed on the child themselves.  As a homeschooling family, it takes the whole village (family) to keep this house running.  I have a unique opportunity to give my children hands-on training for being a servant to our neighbors and the elderly, how to minister through preparing meals for others or taking care of other children while their parents work.  I can teach them the value of days’ work and a godly work ethic.  These are things we’re striving to instill in our boys as they learn and grow into godly young men who desire nothing more than to hear the Father and obey.

I heard the boys talking yesterday about high school and college.  Joshua (8) said, I’ll graduate from high school in ten years, then I’ll go to college, and then I’ll get married.  Jesse (6) was quick to respond, Not me.  I’m going to wait for God to show me who my wife is suppose to be; instead of trying to find her myself.

Who are these boys and what did they do with my children?!

Any who, that was a rabbit trail.

Keep it simple. That is my motto for the month of May as we try to catch up on finish our school work and slip into a summer routine that works for all of us.

Jumping jellyfish!  It’s already Thursday!!  Woo-hoo!!!

~audrey

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 12th, 2011 at 5:06 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.