Day in Our Lives

I love day in the life posts! So I captured moments from a day in our life to add to the list over at Simple Homeschool. If this is your first time visiting our site, we have two boys and are in the process of adopting a third from Ethiopia. Our oldest, who we refer to as #1, is seven and is homeschooled. Our younger son, #2, has autism and goes to preschool three days a week and has lots of therapy at home other days. Here's a typical Tuesday at our house:

The boys are usually up around 6:00. Lee's more of a morning person than I am, so he almost always takes the early shift. This morning, he had the dishwasher unloaded and a load of laundry started before I even got out of bed. I pulled a muscle/shoulder in my next last weekend, and was having trouble lifting and turning, so I really appreciated his help. I did some quick computer work before he left for work at 7:30.

Three days a week for three hours a day, #2 goes to a special-needs preschool. Tuesday is a preschool day, so off he went after playing outside for a little while. The snow had melted, but it sure was wet!

Around 9:00, #1 and I start school. We start each day by praying for the country of the day in Operation World and finding it on our globe. We get the bulk of #1's work done in the mornings while #2 is at school. We're using Math-U-See, Handwriting without Tears, Dianne Craft's Right Brain Phonics program, and All about Spelling. #1 is a big talker, so it took thirty minutes to get through one page of handwriting. I decided to let him have a Tootsie Pop so math would be quieter faster.

#2 gets home from school close to noon, so we have lunch (while he does his listening therapy via headphones) and after lunch the boys have quiet time. Some days during their quiet time I'm on the computer, but on this day, I  needed to make new flashcards for #2's therapy. It's a long process of finding the right pictures, printing, laminating, and cutting. I got them done before quiet time was over!

In the afternoons, #1 and I read together. He reads a book or two and together we're reading The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis. #2 gets behavioral, occupational, and speech therapy in each afternoon, but he just thinks he's playing. We have a TSS who comes four days a week to help with therapy. When she is with #2, #1 and I get more school time in, like science, history, Bible, and art.

Because Lee is a pastor, his schedule changes every day. On this day, he was home for a couple hours before he met with someone around dinner time. So he and #1 did a few light saber battles and he and #2 had a little dance party. We always have fun with Daddy! After Lee left, the boys and I had dinner, #2 watched an episode of Blue's Clues, and #1 got some Wii time.

At 7:00, I started getting the boys ready for bed. By 7:30, they were asleep and I was working on my latest editing project. The last thing I do each night before bed is take off my Africa necklace, with a little sadness that another day has gone by without us getting a referral call. We've been "next" for a three year old boy for 27 weeks, and it just gets harder to wait. But we continue to trust in God's perfect timing.

Each day is different around here with therapy appointments, library or park trips, and Daddy being home different hours. But we always have fun!