Settling in

It is beautiful sunny solar panel day here in North Idaho! Now that we are mostly moved, we are all in transition to the new space. Being an organizational nut, I am making new chore charts, planning a new menu for our stove top only cooking (needing a part for the oven to work), and a new daily routine. We also have high speed internet for the first time so we are delegating certain time frames for everybody to get in their share at the computer. People are always curious about how we manage our daily life, so thought I would try to provide a glimpse. So far, this is how our day works:

6am- Daddy gets up to have his quiet time

7am- kids and mama up, dress and make beds

8am-breakfast (fruit, yogurt, toast)

8:30- group help with kitchen cleanup, Rose off with baby and Bethany to wash them up, John with Ben to teach him how to feed the animals.

9am-go over daily plan with Brian, mama's walk, children play

10am-school (grades 12, 10, 9, 5, 3, and some preschool--on good days:-))

noon- lunch (sandwich or quinoa)

12:30- house cleanup consisting of: floors, some windows, vacuum downstairs, boys get wood box filled, garbage out, and whatever else looks bad. )

1:30pm- finish school and play outside

3pm- little ones naps, children computer time, big kid time "off"-meaning mama won't ask for their help.
6pm- dinner(two week menu plan)

After dinner- Anna blog, everyone else cleanup kitchen

8pm- get little ones ready for bed and read outloud (currently "Stormy" by Jim Kjellgard)

BEDTIME!!- of course, we have to run the generator in the evenings, so someone must go out and turn it on, then turn the well pump on, so we can wash dishes once the water is heated on the wood stove. Then before retiring for that sweet slumber, we stoke up the stove with a full load of wood, and turn off the generator (after we flush). Tuck all the children in bed for the night, let the old, fat dog in and climb the stairs one last time. It is SOOOOO quiet and peaceful here, especially at night.

Brian comes and goes all day depending on what he has planned for the day. He likes to study at home in the mornings. He often has meetings or appointments, which keeps his schedule from ever being the same. Nanny is giving us a large rolltop desk that we will put in the master bedroom for him to use for most of his study time. He has an office at the church, but finds it pretty distracting there, which is a funny thing to say, because our home has all kinds of noise all day long! LOL. He just likes to be near his family, which I think is pretty sweet.

There are deer in the yard in the mornings, sunshine coming in through the windows throughout the day, and lots of space for the children to play, even loudly, without disturbing others...well..that is relatively true.

Life is not always as smooth as the daily plan, but the routine does help us accomplish our daily necessities and keep our lives less chaotic, if you can believe that!

Our two week stove top menu:

Chili dogs

haystacks

tacos

chicken fettuccine

mac and cheese

soup and grilled sandwiches 2x

bbq beans and corn bread (dutch oven on stove top)

curry chicken and rice

gulosh

roast with carrots and potatoes 2x(dutch oven on stove top)

burritos

breakfast (eggs, potatoes, pancakes, sausage)

We are also planning a laundry and baking day at the parsonage for a while. One of us will go make french or whole wheat bread, sweet bread, and other goodies while washing the laundry.

On our trip back from the state wrestling tournament, we made a list of "you might be quiverfull if" sayings. Here is one for today: You might be quiverfull if you have ever contemplated taking a uhaul grocery shopping. That will be Wednesday for us, I believe. :-)