Refreshing Friendships

As a full time wife and home schooling mom, I find that I have very little time to get bored with the trivial things of a "normal" lifestyle. Things like keeping a clean house, cooking wholesome meals, (by the way, have they decided whether ketchup is a vegetable yet or not?) making sure the dog gets fed, and going grocery shopping just to name a few!
A n ideal day at my house goes somewhat as follows:
Everyone out of bed at 7 am and do your morning chores before coming down to breakfast at 7:15. (morning chores include making your bed, putting toys, books, etc. Away, and making sure there are no clothes on the floor) Mom fixes everyone breakfast - usually a bagel or cereal - then we sit down and eat with Dave before he leaves for work. After eating, we have our family devotions and prayer, then everyone kisses Daddy goodbye and gets dressed before starting school.
We have our math lessons first, since, as the day progresses, the minds seems to get duller! While the older kids are doing this, the younger kids get to watch an educational DVD. Our latest find is the Leapfrog series. The first one is The Letter Factory and the second is The Talking Words Factory. (Anyone with preschool age children looking for good teaching movies - this is a must! Matthew, my 3 year old, has mastered beginning sounds, knows his vowels, and is already learning to spell small words!)
After math is Spelling and Art or Typing (depending on the day) followed by English. After English, the older kids go practice their instruments and I have school with the two little boys before fixing everyone's lunch.
After lunch, everyone has to take a "quiet time". The younger kids nap, and the older kids either read quietly or they may listen to music with their headphones on, so as not to disturb anyone else. This is my quiet time as well! Time where I can sit and get alone with God as well as checking my e-mail and of course blogging!
After quiet time the older kids finish up their schooling with History. Once we are finished with the History book, this will be our time for Science. After History, the kids have to complete their chores before they are allowed any computer time. I am usually working on whatever cleaning project I have to get done as well as making preparations for dinner.
Have you noticed that I didn't mention laundry in our schedule anywhere? I guess that is one of those normal things that I forgot about! I do manage to wash our clothes somewhere in the midst of our busy schedule! (Actually, the older kids are doing their share of laundry these days! I am now responsible for washing the clothes of only 5 people!)
After dinner is cleaned up, I am either bathing children, finishing laundry or some other project I am working on while the kids enjoy the rest of their evening playing together. If there is enough time before family worship and prayer, I read a chapter out loud from the series of books called The Archives of Anthropos. These are great books that I enjoyed reading with my family growing up. We are currently reading the 3rd book in the series. This is a great alternative to sitting in front of the television!
Also, throughout my day, I am tending to the various needs of my two year old and my 5 month old. Feeding every 3 hours or so, changing diapers, fixing bottles, etc.
Before putting the kids in bed, we have a time of singing and prayer together. We try and learn a new song every couple of weeks, and usually sing this one every night for at least a week so that the kids can learn the words. It is such a blessing to have our kids singing with us in church as opposed to standing there listening to us!
You are probably wondering why I am bothering to bore you with the details of a day in the life of the Tritts, right? I assure you, this is not to serve as a reminder of the similar lives most of you reading this probably live! Rather, this is to serve as a reminder that we as wives and mothers need to have a break from our very busy lives every once in a while!
This last Saturday, my husband gave me a wonderful treat. He sent me out with my friends and told me to enjoy the day however I wanted! I was able to have uninterrupted conversation with my friends while eating a bowl of fried jalapenos, shared more wholesome conversation over a cup of tea at Starbucks, and then proceeded to go to several stores where I could look at breakable objects without the fear of someone knocking them off the shelf! I was gone the entire afternoon - all the way up until dinner time! I felt sooo refreshed after spending this time with my friends. They were such an encouragement to me and I felt totally ready to come back to my life of "serene chaos" as the Dugger Family calls their family life.
I am confident of my calling to be a wife and a mother of many, but I believe that in the midst of our callings, God gives us these times of refreshing so that we may approach our callings with renewed vigor and anticipation of what God can do in and through us as we serve Him.
So, the next time you feel the need to be refreshed, call up a friend or two and go spend some time being renewed and refreshed so that you can serve God more effectively in whatever calling He has for your life!