A Day in the Life of Lily

As Sarah mentioned, we were talking about having a balanced life earlier (we were actually IMing) and I was expressing how much I wish my life was balanced like Sarah's, and Sarah was expressing how unbalanced her life really is and how my life is better. Ha ha! So, we then decided to compare lives here on Talk Time and let YOU, the reader, be the judge! (Of course, I am sure we will have our own opinions.) As you might imagine, it's impossible to provide one sample, pretty consistent picture of a normal day - there just are none!!!! So follow along as best as you can. This is what a typical week looks like in the Freeman house.

7:30 try to get up (hit the snooze button several times)

around 8:00 turn the alarm clock off and finally get out of bed

somewhere in here, get dressed/shower.
have breakfast and tend to Tebow (our puppy) and Josie (our old doggie)
family worship (maybe if daddy isn't on a conference call)
get some laundry started, maybe.
water plants inside and outside.
neaten up the common room.
check email.

around 10:30 piano til lunch

(On Tuesday) math class at 11:30 til 1:00

12:00 break for lunch. (on Wednesday, leave for piano. Back at 3:00 minus any errands.)

more laundry
tend to doggies
answer emails, work on things for deadlines (any papers, assignments, church bulletin, etc)
walk Tebow

1:30 get some school done (On Mondays, house-work before teaching piano)

3:00 nap-can't stay awake (or housework)

4:00 get a snack work on more school (Mondays - teach piano until 6:00)

5:00 miscellaneous tasks (homework/chores)

6:30 dinner prep (Monday/Wednesday - leave for yoga)

8:15 back from yoga or tidy things up (or both)

get stuff done with daddy
email/facebook

around 10:30 or 11:00 go to bed and read a little maybe

These times are not entirely accurate. But they are a reference point for when I might do certain things in a day. That was basically an average day at home and does not include any errands to the grocery store or other things that just "come up".

Here is another day, which is also an average type of day during the week, though it is drastically different from the last example.

Morning is pretty much the same as the previous example.
11:30 Math class
1:00 Walk/play with Tebow, practice piano
2:00 piano lesson
3:00 stop by 2 friends' houses for errands; drop perishable items received, off at home. leave immediately
4:00 chiropractor appointment (stop at Starbucks on the way there)
5:00 back dinner with another family, email, watch TV
11:00 bed

As I said, these days do not include any extra errand running that we might have to do. Saturdays are work days in the house, including school work, and also usually we have some sort of engagement. Sunday, church work all day. Monday, Grace Classical Academy, teach piano, yoga. Tuesday, math class, chiropractor. Wednesday, piano, errands, yoga. Thursday, stay at home unless groceries are needed. Friday, stay at home, evening engagement usually. So that's my life. Mealtimes are up in the air with my dad's schedule unless he's away on a business trip. Bedtimes as well since we try to get in Daddy time when we can.

See, Sarah!? All that craziness and not a single "normally I listen to a sermon here" or "make a card for a friend here" or "make a craft while listening to a sermon here". I mean, it's just plain survival mode here. The next emergency/deadline.

As Sarah said though, "He gives grace sufficient". Future grace is the only thing keeping us going everyday. The Lord has given us many things, and "to whom much is given much is required" and thankfully, we don't have to figure out how to fulfill the requirements on our own. He is guiding and leading. I need contentment "in His place, at His pace."

A Day in the Life of Sarah

Lily and I were talkin' the other day (actually chatting online...a rare treat these days). I mentioned something about burning some cds and then going upstairs to finish my reading for school. That morphed into a conversation on our different schedules and so we decided to do a couple of "Day in the Life of..." posts. Lily wanted me to go first so I made her promise that after I did mine she will do hers...soon.

This "day" does not include the laundry (I do all the laundry at the Blair's) or things that just come up every week: invitations to dinner, making a card for a friend, visiting someone in the hospital, making a meal for someone in the church, the emergency trip to the grocery store, the last-minute hospitality, the granola I didn't know I was supposed to make until 30 minutes ago..... There are so many things that weren't part of the schedule. But the Lord's faithful and gracious and He leads us in paths of righteousness and teaches us to follow Him all the way to our Father's house. So we tread the path lightly knowing that the things of this world (even the unplanned things of this world) are all fading away and our "citizenship is in heaven." So if something comes up and that load of laundry doesn't get folded for four days in a row...it's not a big deal. These things are passing away.

So in all our days may He teach us to strive hard after the kingdom "and all these things will be added unto us." We're hear to glorify Him and He's teaching us that He has a far better plan than what's on our schedule. And He is always most glorified when we lose ourselves to find Him.

This is a sample week from this past school year. I can't really do one day because every single day is different. So, here's a week of sorts.

5:30 - up, read (lately it's been the Scriptures along with Calvin and Owen) and pray
6:00 - stretch
6:20 - jump rope (drink water because I'm dying after I jump rope for 10 minutes :)
6:30 - shower, get ready for the day
7:00 - listen to a sermon
7:30 - breakfast
8:00 - worship
(Monday: running with my buddy, Mrs. Posvar)
8:30 - free time = brush teeth, finish sermon if I didn't get through the whole thing earlier
9:00 - Omnibus reading (anything from Eusebius to Machen)
10:00 - (Monday: grocery shopping with Mama)
(Wednesday: latin and logic homework)
11:00 - grammar and piano practice
(Thursdays: leave for the Girard's until 5:30 or so) I help with school and then eat lunch with them. After lunch I teach piano to the girls and then have math with Mr. Girard.
11:30 - (Wednesdays and Fridays: science with Mama)
12:00 - lunch
12:30 - Daddy reads to us after lunch (most days unless he has an appointment)
1:00 - (Tuesdays: leave for work until 2:30) I tutor a little boy in our church for an hour a week in math and piano
(Wednesday: practice before my piano lesson)
2:00 - (Tuesdays: work)
(Wednesday: school)
(Thursdays: math at the Girard's)
(Fridays: Omnibus class)
2:30 - (Wednesdays: piano until 3:45)
3:00 - (Tuesdays: choir until 5:10)
3:30 - (Fridays: latin with Daddy)
5:30 - dinner
6:30 - dishes and kitchen clean-up
7:00 - extra - may be reading I need to get done or piano practice or a craft (in which case I listen to a sermon)
(Wednesdays (every other quarter): prayer meeting until 8:00 or so)
8:00 - ready for bed
8:30 - in bed (sometimes I read or listen to a sermon and sometimes (especially if I have math the next day) I just go to sleep)

I will say, 8:15-8:30 is my prefered bed time but I often do not get in bed until much later.

And of course the Lord's Day is totally different: I get up at 4:30 and go to bed around 11:00 or so (last night, it was midnight). But, Monday is our day off which makes a difference.

There's a week in the life of Sarah. The Lord's mercies and lovinkindnesses are new every morning and He's faithful to me every day of the week. Now it's Lily's turn.