Summer Part 4

I have been meeting with a new accountability partner and totally loving it!

She has asked me to teach a Bible Study with her this Fall, which makes me think about our Schedule. Here is how it looks right now.

Sunday: 8 am - 12:30 Church
1-3 Naps
3-5 Clean house for company
5-10 Small group and Football!!

Monday 5:45-6:45 Mackenzie's soccer practice

Tuesday Possibly another small group...or laundry night?

Wednesday 5:45 - 6:45 Mackenzie's soccer practice
8:30-10:30 Praise team practice (every other week)

Thursday 6:00-9:00 Bible Study with Meghan

Friday 8:30 Brian's night out/ Date night (every other week)

Saturday Mackenzie and Annie soccer games
3:30-6:30 Praise Team Practice (Brian)
6:30-9:00 Saturday night service

I'm already tired, just reading it! I am also hoping to average 4 family dinners a week.

Summer Part 3

I am a bit disorganized. I am a bit of a pack rat.

For some unknown reason, I am on a tear recently getting rid of and organizing our clothes. I have created a family closet in our downstairs closet, and boxed up 2 huge tubs of clothes that FIT our children!! We have way too many clothes!

Also, I created a laundry folding area, and have moved our hampers downstairs, and I am LOVING it!!

I have stayed caught up with the laundry for two weeks straight! (A miracle!)...oops, I need to go get the clothes out of the dryer!

This is the closet with 15 outfits for each child.

These are the hampers - white clothes, dark clothes, red clothes.

This is the folding table (I have a pile for each child, but it will normally be smaller than this pile) Place for storing empty baskets. Blue tub for storing outgrown clothes. White tub for unmatched socks. Huggies box for empty hangars.

This is the pajama/underwear cabinet - much easier to keep straight than a dresser!

Want more ideas to help a growing family, visit Ship Full O Pirates!

Summer Part 2

Brian and I have again been discussing my QF convictions. FamilyLife aired a week of broadcasts regarding birth control recently, and Brian has suggested we listen to them together. Unfortunately he has not followed through on this, because at night he just wants to relax, and listening is like opening a can of worms! I have already disagreed with renown theologian John Piper, so I must also give Brian the freedom to disagree with Dennis Rainey! But I do want to completely discuss and explore the topic with Brian before we leave it to prayer and patience and the Lord to bring us into unity.

Summer is flying by!

The third week of July we joined our youth on a trip to Eureka, California for Vacation Bible School.
Pros:
Our children were able to get to know the youth of our church.
Brian was able to serve in one of his areas of strength: messy loud youth games.
Our children were asked to serve with a smile, and saw others doing the same.
Brian and I had to work as a team for 10 days straight.
The youth were able to see a family serving God together - loudly, and with much energy.
We had a washer, and arrived home with clean clothes in the suitcases! (God knows my needs!)
Our children saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time, and great enjoyed walking on the soft sand and splashing in the waves.


Cons:
Very long, loud, road trip with much threatening.
Four children running around a strange church with no boundaries or rules.
Four children limited to a small room for a long time, asked to stay quiet. Ugh!
I didn't feel the freedom to really engage with the youth or VBS children because most of the time I was intent on mothering.

Overall, I'm glad we did it, but I don't know that I will want to go again next year.