Our New Daily Routine

I am the type of person who if I don't have things planned that we actually get accomplished, then I feel like we didn't accomplish anything all day. Then, I feel like I wasted the time that with my children that I have been so blessed with. It all sort of spirals downhill from there. As much as I like to plan, I want to leave plenty of room for whatever God has planned for us too. So, my plans aren't so much scheduled, it is more like a general idea of the types of things I want to make sure we do each day. Then, I just sort of try to work them in whenever the kids would probably be most cooperative in doing them. We do have a bit of a morning routine that we have been following lately and it has been WONDERFUL! First thing out of bed the kids like t.v. and I like it too because they are contained while I am making breakfast etc... This gives everyone a chance to wake up, eat something, and get ready to start the day. Immediately after whatever they are watching goes off I ask them to turn the t.v. off, which they are happy to do (yay!). If I had to fight them to turn off the t.v. then it would not get turned on in the first place. We then all cram onto our loveseat and have prayer time and bible story. After that is over it is time to do some chores. Braedon loves to use the portable vacuum cleaner so I just turn him loose with that. I am having a little trouble focusing Kaley on cleaning but we are working on it. Then, after cleaning time we have some free play. And, the day just sort of goes on from there. After lunch, we have quite time where at least 2 out of 3 kids sleep and the 3rd is required to be quite. This is when I get some alone time to read with Braedon and some alone time to spend with God. A few other things I try to work in throughout the day are:
-Games
-Crafts
-Music
-Exercise
-Worksheets (to start getting Braedon ready for school)
-Talk to Braedon about what his name is, when his birthday is, how old he is, and the same information for his brothers and sisters.
-Name tracing
I have to admit that we didn't always start our day with prayer. It has been such a blessing to make prayer and bible story time a priority. Our days are so much more positive when they are God-focused. When I start to feel like we are wasting time I evaluate the things that need to be priorities. Of course, God always reminds me that my highest priority during my days at home with my kids is to teach them and point them toward Him. It is such a blessing and my honor to do so.