Greetings to our friends and family who (may) still follow our family blog. Thank you for your faithfulness, and for being patient with us. We've not updated much of late, not because our lives are so dull and uninteresting that we've nothing to tell. Rather, our days are so full, that there's hardly the time to answer any urgent email, much less blog about the happenings around here. We're too busy living life that we don't have much time to tell about it! I'd say, that's a good place to be!
2014 has found us quite busy indeed.
A typical day in the Hellwig household looks a bit like this for Mama Hellwig:
Wake up around 2 a.m., because sleep seems to evade me!
Lie in bed for an hour or more, praying, planning the day, thinking about the future....
(I used to lie in bed complaining to God about my sleeplessness, but now, I can praise Him for giving me "songs in the night".... and that is ALL His doing!)
Get up around 3:30, and read, and drink at least 1 quart of water. Make my daily To-Do list.
Exercise indoors (body-weight exercises, when I'm feeling okay!, and stretching)
Prepare any special breakfast items that fall to me.( Arianne is our breakfast- maker-extraordinaire! )
For example, when I did a 30-day juice fast last June, and again this February-March, there were lots of veggies to wash and cut up into juicer-sized pieces. Sometimes, I like to complement Arianne's breakfast with a little extra something.
By this time it is very nearly 6:00, and time for me to get my running shoes on and go out for my.... run? No, can't do that yet. My knee will not accommodate that, but I do walk.... at least 2 miles.
Then, into the shower, and breakfast with the family at 7:15.
Chores get done by the children (and me) while I start correcting Algebra lessons, Biology tests, or make copies of grammar lessons or Latin quizzes. I review what we'll be reading for history, and supervise the littles' chores.... well, they're not so little anymore, but they'll always be my "babies." ;-)
Gabrielle is usually off to her office in downtown Rolesville, to get some work done. Timothy is driving to downtown Raleigh to his work at Baker Roofing.
8:30 - Bible Time : sing our hymn of the month, and read through (round-robin) and discuss 1 chapter of whichever book we're in. Right now, we are trying to finish up the NT, so we can move on to an in-depth study of the Psalms, which will probably take us the rest of the year, and then some!
After we pray, we break up to do individual work (science, math, vocabulary, cursive,...) while I work one-on-one with Benaiah in his reading/phonics and writing, and tutor each child as needs arise.
By 10:00, we're ready to take a 10-minute break. Wrestling, running outside, scrubbing bathroom floors or some laundry-folding are good diversions for young boys.
By 10:15 we're well into either Latin or grammar. And by 11:00 it's time for history, unless I need to drive Arianne to work. (Rather, she drives me to her work, where I get out, take off the "Student Driver" sign on the back of the car, and bid her a good day!
Some days, it's off to piano lessons for Christianna.
Sometimes, I drive my father to a Dr.'s appointment.
12:00 Lunchtime... Gabrielle is our chief lunch maker, at least most days. I am beginning to consider the training up of "The Lunch Lads" to take over for her soon.
By 1:00, after clean-up, it is the "Quiet Hour," which is actually a metaphor for a length of time closer to 2 hours, where the youngest 3 boys have the opportunity to be alone. The three musketeers need some space, time to contemplate, and meditate, each by himself. On rare occasions, one or more will fall asleep. I'm often out driving someone around: violin lessons, Arianne to work, if she starts at 2 instead of 12, visiting the chiropractor, or a myriad of other errands.
Most of us are home by 5:30, when we sit down to a sumptuous repast created by Christianna. Arianne usually works late.
After we clean up the kitchen and dining room, there's time for stories, math tutoring, conversations, block-tower building, remote-control car races, or more laundry folding (often all of the above, all at once!)
7:00 is Family-worship: another hymn to sing, and more wisdom from God's word.
7:30 : youngest 3 get to go to bed.... they don't view it as "getting to go" to bed, but I assure you, I would!
I get to stay up with my older ones and talk, read, or occasionally we will have a movie night.
9:45 : I drive out to pick up Arianne.... yawn!
10:30 - bed, sweet bed..... sleep is typically hard to get a hold of, so I wrestle with pillows....
If I get 4-5 hours, I'm doing well. It's those nights that I get only 2-3 hours that make the days a bit bumpier (and, might I add, grumpier!)
The Lord has blessed us tremendously! He is kind and gentle with us, teaching us and training us to be more like what we were meant to be. I am so thankful for all He is doing, has done and will continue to accomplish in me. All praises be to God!
How are your days? What are you praising God for ? How might the Hellwigs pray for you?
We will try to post more often.... but I cannot promise that it will happen regularly.
Blessings to you,
Lisa (Mama H.)
