Living By Schedule

I read a while back that everyone should have at least 7 to 10 rest periods in a week. So basically, there are 7 days in a week and there are 3 rest periods per day--morning, afternoon, night. In total for one week, there are 21 periods. We should be resting at least 7 of those and 3 of those seven should be consecutive so that we are getting our Sabbath. If you think of the typical working Mom in America--she works 5 days a week (morning and afternoon) and "rests" in the evening. She probably also has some decent rest time on the weekend. So she probably averages about 7, and I would say that is pretty healthy.

So here sometimes it seems like our job is 24/7--especially living in a culture that is DIFFERENT and STRESSFUL because of that difference. So last week I sat down to make my schedule and build in those rest times. I came up with 7--which is great! Thanks be to God!!! :)

We are really busy now. I think I say that a lot. Since school started we have our new schedule. We wake up every morning at 6am. We teach homeschool from 8 to 12--Joel teaches 2 days and I teach 2 days. On the days that we are not homeschooling, we are studying with a tutor. We are also teaching at an English Training Center, a preschool, and an elementary school--all with hopes and opportunities to share much more than just English. But it is busy! We have talked a lot about it and we really feel that we are doing the right thing even though it seems crazy at times. But this semester is going to require a lot of "living by the schedule." I just want to say that in the midst of it all, I am glad that HE has given us that time to rest. We are super thankful for things that HE has given us to do to rest. Thankful for: McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Subway, the waterpark, the amazing new Greek restaurant, golf range, massages, and etc.

Today was a restful day. I homeschooled in the morning and then went for a massage in the afternoon. My back has been giving me problems again, so I thought it would be good to go get it worked out.

A few weeks ago our neighbor brought her baby by for us to babysit. She is almost 1 year old. Her parents went out for a date--which they never have a chance to do. So we wanted the baby to be happy when her mom came home--we want them to go on dates! So I ended up standing up holding the baby and softly swaying her for about an hour. I could feel my back aching but she wouldn't go to Joel. :) Since that time it has been bothering me some, but I hope that today did the trick.

The kids are doing good. Isaac had his first day of 1st grade this week. I called him after school (because Joel picked him up). I asked him how school went and his response was, "It was AWESOME!" So that is SUPER encouraging! He is studying some really cool stuff.

Autumn is actually having a rough week and has NOT been excited about going back to school in the afternoon. She had a wonderful week last week and kept telling us how fun it was. However we had a 4 day break because of a holiday and she has had a difficult time since then. Pray for a better day tomorrow. :)

Miss you guys!