And there you have it…a day in the life. (I left out quite a bit of Belane obsessing, but I assume you know that). I also missed a friend dropping by, the UPS man bringing the package and checking my email a few more times than I admitted...but you got the big stuff.

Not every day is the same...some days we go and visit friends, some days friends come and visit us...some days the little kids and I take Josh out to lunch...some days I talk on the phone more than I should. :)

This was, however, a fairly typical day…although most days the kids just come home from school and have a lot more free time in the afternoon, and things aren't so rushed. On the “free” afternoons we have more time for fun stuff and I get more one on one time with them as well, which is nice. Even on busy days like this, I always get at least a short while of one on one time to talk with them. I think that is really important. Mercy and Nate usually have 15-20 minutes of instrument practice in there too...we shoot for four or five days a week with that.

I really do not do a ton of housework…The big kids each have one chore a day they are responsible for…either setting table, emptying and reloading the dishwasher, emptying trash cans, walking, feeding and watering the dog or “stuff police” (walking around house and picking up stuff laying around and giving it to owners to put away properly and helping clean up after Marcus). Right now Shane and Ben share chore duties and Maggie and Amanda pitch in where needed. No ones chores take them more than 10-15 minutes. The kids are all responsible for picking up and putting away their own dirty laundry, making their own beds, putting their stuff back in their rooms when they are done using it and keeping their rooms reasonably clean. That stuff we don't consider chores...it is just what should be done. Marcus is learning. :)

I do the vacuuming (and mopping and sweeping), laundry and clean up after meals (although all the kids clear their place and put garbage in the garbage and dishes in the dishwasher), and once a week I clean the bathrooms. Josh is in charge of getting the garbage out on Thursday mornings and doing the grocery shopping twice a month. He's great at it! He is also wonderful about pitching in wherever needed when he is home. He's awesome.

We usually eat dinner a little earlier than we did today... We try to read scriptures as a family 3-4 nights a week…the other nights we play board games (Scene It Jr., Quibbler and “Duo” are the favorites right now). We always have family prayers before bed, and I always go around and tuck everyone in.

As you see, I usually get an hour or two of time to myself in the middle of the day while Marcus sleeps and the little girls are at school or taking their rest, and we put everyone to bed early (doing much better with that now that school has started!) so Josh and I get time together. So, the days are busy, but not overwhelming (especially now that soccer is done).

Of course there are those days when Marcus pulls out his feeding tube or the kids are "bickery" or something else out of the ordinary happens, but for the most part, this is what our weekdays are like.

Organization with flexibiity...that is what works for us.

I do truly enjoy my days… even days like this when we don't do anything exciting. My kids are amazing and are a ton of fun...Josh is always making me smile...our lives are full of love...I am very blessed. Life is good.

Is it what you thought?