I've got my evenings back!!

I have to admit today was even better than yesterday. It wasn't perfect, but things seemed to run a bit smoother. I think the kids' minds are starting to return to their bodies, and they are starting to regain the ability to think. So here's how day #2 went:

[TODAY]
7:10 morning devotional (its scheduled to start at 6:45)
7:30ish Breakfast (yummy Cream of Wheat made by Megan)
9:00ish we finally finished all our morning stuff and morning chores (I'm hoping we'll get faster at this)
9:00-11:20 School/Learning Time: (We only started an hour late...not too bad.) The best part of school today was when the two oldest begged me to read about history...they said they love it. WOO-HOO!! That's called inspire NOT require...baby!! I've just kept reading them out of our great Story of the World book all last semester when. Sometimes they were playing or eating or trying not to pay attention, but come to find out they were listening...oh yes and learning. It helps that we are studying a super fun time period. Ancient history is just plain amazing stuff. Today we read about Babylon, The Hanging Garden of Babylon, and Crete (the mysterious kingdom that seemed to just disappear)...so stinking fun!!
11:20-11:45 Outside time (The kids are loving this weather!!)
11:45-12:00 Lunch (Yummy Chicken Nuggets...not healthy but fast and easy.)
12:00-12:15 Lunch clean up
12:15-12:30 Load up for the drive to Knights of Freedom for Jarom
12:30-1:00 Drove and listened to Emlyn's Moon (its fun to make car time learning time too!!)
1:00-3:00 Jarom went to KOF, and the rest of us crashed a Fulton Home's subdivision park and played for a few hours.
3:00-3:30 More car reading/listening time
3:30-5:00 Dinner prep and kids playing outside
5:00 Dinner and clean up
5:45 Milkshakes for my clean up crew, and then I rushed off to take Jarom to scouts
6:00-7:00 While Jarom was out scouts the rest of us sewed bows and colored together!!
7:15-8:15 Bedtime stories and lights out.



I just have to say WHEW!! It was an AMAZING DAY!!

With this new semester we took a stand on electronic gaming and the TV. I've been limiting it for a while, but now its even more restricted. My boys just love the Wii, and I think its fun to play it as a family from time to time, but NOT on a daily basis (like we let them do during Christmas break). So, we've cut back to one movie a week, and a maximum of 3 hours of family electronic gaming on Saturdays (I'd like to cut it back to 2 hours, but I had to compromise). The electronic gaming can only be done during a certain time period, and only once chores and other assignments are completed. The kids are adjusting, and the proof is in the pudding as they say...or for me the poof is in the quality of our evenings. The last two nights I've felt like I have my evenings back. I just love how Dr. DeMille said "Evenings are for Inspiration!!" Amen to that!!


[TONIGHT]
Tonight, instead of feeling chaos it was peaceful. Which is saying something in a house of 6 little ones 10 and under. I knot that an earlier bedtime, and a longer bedtime routine (complete with lots of reading and bedtime songs) definitely contributes to this feeling, but part of it is the kids' state of mind. They are calmer and able to find quiet things to do to entertain themselves. While Jarom was at scouts tonight Cooper, Hyrum, Brea, Megan, and I just sat in the craft room and colored and made bows for an hour. Talk about peace on Earth!!


So I guess what I'm trying to say is that now that I've got myself organized, and back on a schedule things are AMAZING!! I'm so thankful for the evening I was able to spend with my kids tonight. It was an uplifting, quiet, peaceful, and inspiring experience. I pray to many more nights like tonight, and I know if the environment is right they will happen more and more often. I am so grateful for this new lifestyle I'm living. Its really quite a simple sift that's happened over the past 3 years, but that small shift has made all the difference. I live a simpler yet more intentional life now. I find myself focusing more on my family, and trying to be 100% present when I am spending time with them. I want to really know my children and husband...I mean really know and understand them. I want to grow in my personal development more than I've ever wanted to before. And its so exciting and empowering!! I want to serve more and get to know others more!!

I am so grateful that homeschooling found me, because for some reason this has been the change that has lead to a simpler more fulfilling life.