Manna provisions

Oh how spoiled we are.  Our household as been blessed to the brim.

Honestly, a time in our lives that should probably feel stressful, is not.  With Brandon's continuing and spiraling condition, life in the Lake house has been continuing on as usual with the help of our rather large community of support.

So here is my day:

I wake up at 5:30 in the morning for some me time.  (Bible reading, crunches, quiet.)
6:00 am Miss Tabby wakes up for her morning feeding, which is quickly coming to an end with her newly progressed teeth.  I know some mommy's endure the nursing for a year, but 6 months is my limit.
6:30, Tabby has nursed herself back to sleep and I have carefully returned her to the crib.  Whereupon her sibs awake loudly and I shush them abruptly, make them do their morning potty run and shoo them into the living room so as not to awake Tabby or Daddy.  Then I set them up with a morning Cailou and some good ole choca milk as Zechi affectionately calls his AM juice.
7:00 I have made myself presentable for the day and now dress the older two and tie Hannah down to make sense of her morning mane.
7:15 Wake up Tabby, get her dressed.
7:25 Grab a bite to eat if there is time, give daddy kisses and hugs.  Get out the door.
7:30 Arrive at Sitter's house, love on the kids again, leave for work.
7:45 Arrive at work, begin the business of the day and all that entails with educating 34+ minds.
11:35 Pump milk for the baby on my one break of the day.
12:00 Call Brandon.  Have a lunchtime phone date.
2:30 Students are dismissed. My dad (or Lately, a family friend Rosa,) picks up the kids for me from daycare.)
4:00 rush out of work after prepping for the next day, updating grade book, etc. (See, Teachers do work more than school hours)
4:20 Pick up the kids, sit down for a min.
4:30 Kiss Brandon, Nurse Tabby
5:00 Cook the dinner than has been pre-made for our family by one of many many loving, careful, generous, and thoughtful people.  If it is a Monday, Tuesday or Friday-a co-worker has prepared dinner for us.  If it is a Wednesday, it is a church member.  Thursday, my parents.
5:30 Serve the kids dinner, Serve Brandon dinner. Feed Tabby Pears, or her new favorite Bananas.
6:00 Eat, while also cleaning up the kids and Brandon's plates
6:30 Mommy time with kids, usually ensures a Bike ride with Tabs in the Stroller. OR lately, craft time-making fall decorations for our home.
7:30 Tub-Tub time.
8:00 Hannah watched horse land on the nook next to daddy while mommy nurses Tabby to sleep.
8:20 Tabby is in her crib, and Zechi gets his teeth brushed, and Jammies on.  We read 2-3 stories in the rocking chair depending on their length, prayer and night night.
8:30 Hannah gets her teeth brushed, a book or two, a nose nuzzle and prayer.  We find her new kitten from under the bed (oh yeah, did I mention we have another new pet?) tuck them in and lights out.
8:45 I do the dishes, throw in a load of laundry, and begin grading some papers.
9:30 I swap the laundry into the dryer, fold if there is energy left, take out the trash, finish up my school work.
10:00 Go in to visit with Brandon (too difficult during the day because kids want to follow me and they jump on the bed ending up hurting him) and watch some sort of TV show-Survivor, Revolution and Raising Hope are our current faves.
11:00 go to bed.
1:30 wake up, nurse Tabby
3:00 wake up, take Zechi back to his bed.
4:30 nurse Tabby
5:30 start my day again.

Breathe.

Seems like a lot when I write it down like that.

Of course, the weekend is when I get caught up on the house cleaning and additional yard work that needs to be done. Lately, a dear man from our church has volunteered to mow and edge the lawn for us.  Another friend has offered to clean our house during the week, and my mother in law Jodie is an AMAZING asset.  She, along with Brandon's Nana and sister Miranda, watch the kids for us every Wednesday.  Usually those days I come home to a mid-week cleaned home.  My mom's friend Rosa has, like I mentioned earlier, been helping me with the kids while my parents are on vacation, and has been doing spontaneous grocery trips for milk, butter, eggs, juice and bread as well as picking up our dirty laundry twice weekly and returning them cleaned and doubled.

In the absence of my husbands ability to assist and provide, God has stepped in through the faithfulness of his people.  For this, my faith is strengthened.  We may be in a desert area of life, but God has continued to provide when we are weak and weary.  I have not even to ask, as he has already provided.  So in listening to my favorite song as of late, even if the healing never comes....we will prise him.