I love visits from friends.  I love having friends come and visit.  But life, and time, and distance, and money, and stuff sometimes means those visits don’t happen.  Today, we are going to let technology help us with a visit.  If you are reading this in the morning grab your cup of hot coffee.  If this is the afternoon, pause and get an iced coffee.  And if this is evening for you, tuck the kiddos in and sit back for an uninterupted visit OR gather the kiddos around the computer screen and introduce them to the kiddos on the screen because today we are going to the house of a family of seven kids.  Come with us for “A Day in the Life of a Mom of Seven”–but keep your eyes open for low flying baseballs.  There are boys around here.  Baseball boys.

You will feel welcomed.  You will feel warmed.  You will enjoy the visit.  So take a sip.  Now let’s knock on that virtual front door and step inside “A Day in the Life of a Mom of Seven.”  There are kiddos everywhere, so before we start our day, we will have some introductions.  That young looking lady in the middle. . .that’s  Lisa the mom.  She’ll take over from here.

A day in the life of a mom of seven . . . Oh my! How different each day can look! The day I chose to write about was the first day of summer break for Daddy although you wouldn’t know it from how much he was home. Summer break had not arrived for the rest of us, but you certainly wouldn’t have been able to tell either. We took a much more relaxed approach to the day, a point I’m going to do my best NOT to defend and justify the whole post long. I really can be more disciplined!

I homeschool our crew, (or at least that’s what I call it for legal purposes). I have seven children, ages 11 down to 18 months, two girls and five boys. I am dyslexic and so non-academic it’s funny (or at least I laugh), but we press on. They can read so that’s encouraging, huh?! I also spend much, much, much of my spring at the ball fields. My husband coaches and three boys play – some on two teams. When I say life is a picnic, I’m not referring to “easy”. I am literally picnicking every. single. day. I keep thinking I should write a cookbook entitled “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” because I can’t afford $300 hamburgers every night from the concession stand. Besides, maybe there are other moms who need meal ideas for player siblings who can’t wait until after the game and then go begging for the team snack. Additionally, when you have seven kids you can’t expect the snack mom to provide for all your starving, begging offspring, can you?

My oldest baby (they’ll always be my babies!) is 11. She’s been the biggest challenge of my life. Amen. So much I could say about her journey from being a colicky baby, to a seek-and-destroy toddler, to a mouthy-always-a-new-and-better-idea-than-yours little girl, to a very competent, helpful, self motivated, getting-sweeter-all-the-time (I have to keep it real) young lady. The Lord has helped me see that all those challenges that so completely frustrated me are some of her greatest strengths and an amazing blessing to me. The Lord actually knew what He was doing by sending her first! Go figure. He also knew what he was doing when he sent number two, Trent along 12 months after Allie without our permission. I may have quit on the whole kid thing after her. Just kidding. Sorta.

Trent(10) is a peacemaker (bless his heart!) and a sports junkie through and through! It gets a little tough to think of birthday ideas when he already has everything he needs in life to keep him happy: a mitt, bat, baseball, football, and basketball. Lucky for us, he’s the oldest and always needs new clothes. He is spared hand-me-downs.

Trevor is a thinker, 20 months younger than Trent. He asks hard questions, most of which I have never thought about before or much less care about. Thank goodness for the Google! He also plays baseball but takes a more “diversified” approach in his interests. Give him say, a rope, and he’s happy as a clam tying all kinds of strange things together. Many a knot have I worked at untying due to his rope-loving ways.

Troy(7) is 26 months behind Trevor. His off-the-wall sense of humor is fun to have around. Once again, he’s a little sports man. At this point baseball is it for him. There is always some sort of game, drill, or practice going on in our back yard.

Ty is 5. Ty is a wild man. Ty never thinks before he acts. Why would he . . . it’s a waste of time. This is scary. We love him anyway. He appears to love every sport that includes hitting someone, hitting something, or blocking REALLY HARD! However, he’s learned to incorporate those techniques into games as simple as Uno. I repeat; this is scary.

Emma is 3. She loves her sister and wants to be Allie when she grows up. She’s everything that would come to your mind at the words “little girl”. Luckily for her, she has four older brothers who commiserate with her over each and every little “owie,” although Ty can be a little short on sympathy.

Tucker is 18 months and doing his best to mark his place in the line-up. He’ll swing whatever he finds: bat, broom, or stick – makes no difference. However, he still likes to take time to snuggle with Daddy and Mommy.

ANYWAY . . . to the day at hand!

I wake up at 7:10. Here’s my first defense. I set no alarm. I hate them. And there has to be SOME perk to homeschooling, right? I have found it’s better to work my day around a sequence of events rather than by the clock. The clock can be a cruel taskmaster. This is actually abnormally late for me. I’m usually up between 5:30 and 6:15. I stumble to the kitchen and pour a cup of the most delicious coffee my husband has brewed from the aero press. This makes coffee as smooth and rich as it smells. In my opinion, it is incomparable in the coffee world. I find my “sweet-spot” on the couch (The boys have theirs on their bats; mine is on the couch.) and pick up my Bible to read and drink life into my morning. I’m reading in Ex. 16. The problem with the whole thing THIS particular morning is that four kids are up already. By 8:03, I have found a muffin recipe for Allie, got almonds out for hungry kids to snack on, changed a diaper, fielded lots of questions, tried to tune Adventures in Odyssey out, refilled my coffee and those poor Israelites have “set out from Elim” about 20 times. At this point I blitz over to Psalms for a power verse and call it done. The good thing is I didn’t leave the Lord there. He comes with me to help in ways I don’t even know. I know this because I ask Him, “Please help me with what I don’t even know I need help with today.” This has become my morning plea.

This is getting lengthy. Sorry. I’m only assuming you’re still with me. Daddy leaves the house at 8:15 with no breakfast because I’m a good wife and make sure everyone has their needs met. You see how many people are effected by my lazy rise time?! I don’t recommend it. But then, it’s not usual, so keep that in mind.

I get changed from my most comfy bathrobe into my “uniform”. That would consist of yoga pants, (no, I don’t actually do yoga but it sounds so much better than sweat-pants or  work-out pants. “Yoga-pants” gives the illusion of a hip mom. Pleas allow me my illusion.) nasty t-shirt, and flip-flops. I always mean to quickly exercise, shower, and change and all before breakfast. Sometimes that shower doesn’t happen till right before I fall in bed that night. Then I put the same clothes on the next morning because why dirty more when I’m sure I’ll exercise, shower and change real quick TODAY?! I’ll not tell how many days this process gets repeated . . . but take comfort in the fact that wash day comes every week – like clock work. Then there are about 20 loads in between wash days.Wash happens.

Breakfast is at the ridiculous hour of 9:25 (Breakfast burritos made by Trent). When we are out of bread, this is our default meal, and we love them! After breakfast, while the kids are still around the table, I read the Proverbs of the day and then a Bible story out of “The Child’s Story Bible.” We say verses, pray, and release the dogs, I mean kids, to do their chores. One clears the table, one unloads the dishwasher, one loads it back up and one vacuums under the table. During this time, I whip up our fruits and veggies for the day in one of my favorite appliances – the Vitamix.

I like smoothies because since my life is a “picnic” it’s hard to take veggies beyond carrot sticks and bell pepper sticks to the ballpark. So by sticking mass amounts of baby kale in a blended smoothie, I feel I’ve done my motherly veggie duty for the day. It’s always good to check something off. The kids down their smoothies while working/horsing around as they’re wont to do and end up outside. (If I was a GOOD mom and up on time I would have made these to drink during breakfast. I can’t be perfect ALL the time.) I leave the kids outside because the house is QUIET and it’s a nice day out. Tomorrow is supposed to be rainy so I make exception and declare today an outside day. School is better on rainy days anyway.

I get the bread going in my other favorite appliance – the Bosch. Where would my life be without these two blessed machines??!!

Allie takes it into her head to do wash today. Typical washday is Thursday, but who am I to argue with such a delightful, voluntary change-up in the routine?

Trent obeys his fathers command and mowed the lawn. All you mothers of really littles TAKE HEART! There’s good times coming!  Stock up on your bon-bons now!

Then I exercise with t-tapp. Relax, it’s not tap dancing. It’s a busy mom’s answer to her how-do-I-exercise prayer. The name is the dumbest name in the world and it’s certainly not the most glamorous BUT it’s effective and time efficient.  It’s been a lifesaver, especially for my knees!

The kids have a new rule of no screen time except for two half hour sessions per week. So, they reassemble a table as most kids do when their screen time is cut down. I don’t ask questions. Tomorrow maybe they can take it apart again.

1:00, we eat a lunch of homemade mac and cheese because the bread isn’t done. This is a treat for them. I like to pass out treats, especially when there’s nothing else to have.

The baseball game/practice resumes outsides and the two youngest go down for naps.

2:45 is iced coffee time. Oh how these things thrill my soul!

Outside I hear practice has been postponed for sprinkler time.

Allie has decided to visit the neighbors.  We have neat Christians living across the street and beside us. It’s been really nice!

My notes say 3:45 was make pizza crust/pizza sauce time and 4:30 was shower time but what all I really did between times remains a mystery. I’ve blocked it out, apparently. This is why I was supposed to keep notes. I’m sure I rolled my bread into loaves and baked them,

started bed linen wash (a very normal daily activity due to our “issues” at night), tidied up various and sundry things, folded clothes, got meat out for dinner and other mom-ish things. It certainly wasn’t school-ish things although I do remember reading with Troy. See? It wasn’t a complete non-educational day!

Daddy came home from tutoring, teaching summer school, and private pitching instruction. . .

at 6:15. He immediately was sent to start up the grill for grilled pizza.

Grilled pizza is a great way to sneak whole wheat into pizza. Whole wheat and pizza don’t exactly go together to me, but done on the grill with the great grill flavor, it’s excellent. Pizza made and eaten, more clean up and . . .

of course, ball in the back yard, with Daddy this time!

Ice cream at 9:00 and kids in bed by 9:30.  At 10:30 Steve and I called it a day.  Thank the Lord for another good day, and if you made it this far, bless you!  (I promise to really homeschool tomorrow! Oh, and get up early and exercise, shower and change real quick.)

I loved the visit.  I loved the day.  Busy but not overwhelmed.  Craziness with a calmness.  Food accompanied with fellowship.  Noise with learning.  Boys with bats and girls with dolls.  Chores with play.  A time for outside and a time for inside.  And everywhere sunshine–the sunshine of HIS love.

Let’s close the virtual front door softly as I think most of the kiddos are already asleep after a day in the sunshine.

–rebecca

P.S. 

If you have any questions or just want to say a hello or nice to meet your or what is your bread recipe or when is the release of your cookbook “Take Me Out To The Ball Game”, etc. . ., write it in the Comments section.  Lisa will be able to see them and answer.  And remember, any typos and misspelled words are holy my fault.

And stay tuned for the next post in the series of “A Day in the Life of a Missionary in Colombia.”  (I know, I already promised this post last time, but maybe this time I will get it all finished up.)

If you liked this post, you may also enjoy

A Day in the Life of Ms. Dot–Soup Kitchen Volunteer

A Day in the Life of a Down Under Mum

A Day in The Life of a Canadian Farm Wife

A Day in the Life of a Newly Wed

Thanks for stopping by,