Step One

As we begin the summer I know that autumn is not far behind and that is when I will be starting school and life will get crazy. Therefore now is the season of preparation. I want to anticipate many of the challenges I will face in trying to balance college and raising a family and do what I can now to ease the future frustrations. So I began by making a list of all the things I will be responsible for and want to do and start to plan ways to make time for them all. I will have 16 credit hours of class and I'm sure plenty of homework and studying to accompany them. Caring for a 5 year old, a 4 year old, and a 1 year old, in addition to all the things I do for my 10 year old step-daughter. Those are essential. I must make time to enjoy these children and my husband while keeping my house clean and keeping descent meals on the table. I'll still want to make sure we get to church on Sunday, Wednesday night children's night, and Celebrate Recovery on Thursday. Then there's sleep, I'll want to do that occasionally. How can I do all this without feeling like a chicken whose lost her head?
I have a few ideas and I'll share them with you as I try them to let you know how it all goes. Right now the majority of those ideas are still in the planning stage. The only one I have actually begun to work on is food. We are growing a pretty big garden this year which is giving me a lot of time to enjoy my children now as they work along side me and watch in amazement as things begin to grow. We are having a blast with that and I am hoping that whatever we have for canning and freezing at the seasons end will help limit the trips I must make to the grocery store. Additionally I have begun some freezer cooking. I bought a used commercial-style upright freezer and I think it will be a major asset to my quest to save time. Last week Hy-Vee had strawberries on sale- four pounds for $3.99. You have no idea how many strawberries I went through! We now have a whole shelf full of strawberry muffins, breads, and pound cakes in the freezer and ready for me to thaw for mornings I don't have time to worry about breakfast or evening desserts I'm too tired to mess with. I spent several days cutting up berries and baking, but I enjoyed it. My girls helped some and I had a friend who came and worked through her own four pounds of strawberries alongside me. That helped things go quickly. I hope to devote one day a week to cooking things to stock our freezer and make life easier in the future. I'll let you know about this adventure as it unfolds. Maybe tomorrow I'll get into ideas for cutting time on housework. Until then, may God bless you and may you take the time to enjoy every blessing He gives.