the summer plan

there was no plan last summer. unless you count "survive traveling to africa for 3 weeks with 3 kids, adopt 2 more from there and travel home. then try to be a family even though 2 of you don't speak the same language and have no idea what a mom and dad even are." 

there were very few and very low expectations last summer.

i vividly remember ripping our "summer list" off the door and throwing it in the trash. it felt so good and so right.

every day was mere survival. like, if they were all alive at the end of the day that was all that mattered.

last summer was exactly what it was supposed to be. 

 

but this summer will be different. i have 6 kids that will be home. and they all KNOW i'm their mom {one is still solidifying what that means deep down, but i'm certain that he at least gets it on the surface. at the VERY least it means i feed him multiple times a day and that's enough for him :-)}

so, the plan. i usually don't like to share "plans, methods, etc" until i've tried it and it works. but this time i'm sharing it before it starts. it could not work at ALL. and that's ok. we'll see how it goes. i've spent months gathering ideas, praying, making lists, planning.

 there are no such things at "lazy days of summer" around here. who came up with that?!? who says we need 3 months to sit around and watch tv and sleep late and basically not hold ourselves accountable to anything or anyone?

we WILL have fun!

but it won't be our first priority.

swim team is first thing in the morning. from 8-9:30 am. just for the older 3. 

the rest of the morning will be going to the pool, or a playground, or the library.

after lunch, we will sit down together and learn what God has to say about wisdom. we are using this book (a friend used it last summer and i thought it looked great!) it has lots of topics in it, i picked one for each week of the summer. we will talk about the same topic (ex. the first week is "listening") every day for a whole week. repetition is good! alongside that, we will constantly be discussing what "path" we are choosing by our actions. every moment of every day we make decisions. and each decision either draws us closer to each other (and, in turn, closer to God) or closer to ourselves (and away from God.) i hope this teaches us DEEPLY how to walk through our days with Him, with Him guiding us. i KNOW i have a lot to learn in this area!

LOVE GOD. LOVE OTHERS.

have you ever noticed how MANY verses there are that talk about "paths?!?" a lot! we'll be reading and discussing many of them. and memorizing proverbs 4:7-19.

(pics from day 1...since i didn't get this posted last night like i was hoping :-))

 

 drawing "ourselves" to put on the path...

 "mom. i drew my neck." seriously?!? how does he KNOW the word "neck"???

after that, we will spend a little time on "school" stuff - math facts, letter for the little boys.

then the little boys will rest and the rest of us will have "quiet time".

i'm not sure God really knew what He was doing when He gave me 6 kids. i am an introvert. i need quiet. like, a LOT of it. and that is not something that is easy to come by in my house. i have to work for it. and i think that it's GOOD for my kids to have time in their day where they are quiet and can think and rest. part of this time will be structured (they have to read for 20 minutes and write for 10 minutes) but the rest won't be. 

 “All of man’s misfortune comes from one thing, which is not knowing how to sit quietly in a room”

Blaise Pascal 

after rest time, we will begin working towards a goal of running a 5k! i downloaded an app on my phone that has a daily plan (only 3 days a week...so it allows for days off on swim meet days and for other stuff that comes up). i'll push sawyer and levi, lincoln will ride his bike, and rebekah, joshua and bailey will run. it will be a challenge. but i look forward to pushing them!

after that, dinner and bedtime just need to happen at some point. and baths every now and then.

oh! and i'm leading a Bible study with Rebekah and 4 of her friends every Monday night. we will eat dinner together each time. i'm using that opportunity to make a meal that is typical for an impoverished family in another country. we'll talk about and pray for that country a bit. and we'll have a fun dessert! we're using this study and i think it is the first time any of these girls have REALLY studied the Bible and searched for answers on their own. i hope it goes well. i don't feel super confident in myself to do it, but i DO feel like He told me to, so i am!

that's pretty much it. besides a couple beach trips, VBS at our church one week, and a camp for joshua and rebekah.

i know it sounds like a lot of structure, but there's plenty of time in there for play and fun and laughing! don't you worry...i'll let you know how it all goes!

He never intended this world for our rest, 

and therefore never appointed us to take our ease in it. 

This travail is given to us to make us weary of the world 

and desirous of the remaining rest. 

It is given to us that we may be kept in action, 

and may always have something to do; 

for we were none of us sent into the world to be idle. 

Every change cuts us out some new work, 

which we should be more solicitous about, than the event.

Matthew Henry