Are all my homeschool-mom friends out there dreading Monday as much as me?!  I have to be honest - I’ve been luuuuuuuuuvvvvvving our holidays together and the thought of getting back to our normal schedule on Monday is just a bit daunting.  I find the holiday groove just groovy.  You, too?  I understand.  (For those of you perfect people who can’t wait to crack the calculus, Latin roots and biochemistry books, please go to www.mykidsagenius.com where you will find encouragement - after cracking the Greek-Hebrew code to enter the site - from other PhD’d mothers and their prodigies.) But if you’re like me, and ‘Sleeping In’ is a subject when necessary, here’s my strategy for the morning:

• First off, don’t expect too much!  I’ll probably cut the academic requirements by half on Monday, but follow my normal chore charts for the kids.  (you should see my dust!) Victory on day 1 is an 8 a.m. wake-up call for the kids’ Bible and prayer times, after 1 cup of strong coffee and some Bible and prayer time for Momma.  The time with God counteracts the potential caffeine-induced edge I might be tempted to yield to when encountering my not-so-gleeful students on the first day back to studies.
• Secondly, gird up for battle and require good attitudes.  You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that getting back on track with the normal schedule is like fighting the law of gravity on day 1.  And although I have every reason to believe the best of my children,  I will lead strongly and be ready to win any power struggles that might arise.  Peace and order must rule.
• Thirdly, ponder all that you accomplished during Christmas break so you don’t feel like you’re ‘behind’.  (as if some official were looking over your shoulder, evaluating all your moves in December-get rid of that imaginary set of little eyeballs sent to discourage you!)  If your kids baked cookies with you, built Legos, messed around with a digital camera, computer program or MP3 system, played with siblings, read, sketched, played instruments, built snow forts, hung out with Grandparents, Dad or church friends, and did chores, there’s a whole lot of learning and child development that took place.  Just the fact that they were home with you every day means they’re already ahead of the pack. 
• Lastly, praise God for the privilege of being home with your precious children, no matter how trying they can be at difficult moments.  Enjoy who they are and how unique God has created each of them to be.  The big yellow school bus can appear to bring relief, but God has called you to do what you’re doing, as imperfectly as you feel you do it.  You are a very rich woman indeed if you don’t have to hold an outside job to make ends meet, but rather get to work at home.  Resist the world’s mentality that children are a bother and you have much more worthy things you could be doing.  You get one chance at this job of training your tender shoots - decide to enjoy all the aspects of mothering while you’re in this season and you will never regret it!

I won’t tell you how much I spent on groceries (shhhh….)  but I will tell you I prepared every single meal idea on my list and enjoyed every single minute of it.  Lamb roast with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus, Homemade beef vegetable soup, Spaghetti e Gamberi with prawns, capers and spinach in tomato sauce, Homemade biscuits and gravy, Turkey feast with all the fixin’s, Thai curries, Spaghetti bolognese with meatballs, Italian sausage and  stuffed manicotti (that’s Seth Daniel above, stuffing the manicotti shells 2 weeks earlier so we could freeze the whole Italian feast since it’s a 3-day job) not to forget, Levi’s famous homemade Caesar dressing on the salad, Spiral sliced ham with scalloped potatoes, and more I won’t take time to mention.  (here, Daddy takes time to kiss the cook. This was Spaghetti night - his absolute favorite.)

Planning, shopping, unpacking, chopping, frying, boiling, dicing, serving and doing dishes later.  Pure enjoyment.  I was energized with the strength of my joy-filled heart at having the pleasure of all my children’s company for a very brief time; all of us under one roof, all of us around one table, all of us pitching in to help with dishes afterward.  What a rich woman I was this Christmas.  Good-byes were inevitable and then…..after the tears…the laundry!  Mountains of it strewn across the kitchen; bedding, bath towels and more bedding.  Didn’t matter.  Love compels us!  (and all the moms said, ‘amen’)  Tired didn’t matter; there’s plenty of time for sleep when the sun sets and the house is quiet once more….ok, well, sort of quiet - we still have two teenagers living at home, and one plays the drums :).  (But they do like to sleep in).   (to be continued)

SPEAKING OF LAUNDRY…

…have you seen this product?  You are gonna love me for this, fellow homemakers.  These are the answer to one of your laundry prayers!  A box of 24 sheets runs about $3.50 here in the U.S.  I tear them in half to double my money, and toss a half sheet into the washer any time I’m afraid something might fade.  (which, for me, is nearly every load) New jeans, bright sweatshirt, dark socks….you name it, these dandy little cloths absorb any dye floating around in your washer, to keep everything honest!  Your whites won’t turn grey and your lights won’t be dulled by those bad boys who sneak into your double load on Sunday night during your hurried sorting.

Have you seen this? This inexpensive, easily accessible, paperback book is undoubtedly one of my most favorite tools for success in Kingdom life. It’s the entire Holy Bible, broken into daily readings consisting of a portion of the Old and New Testaments, along with a Psalm and Proverb reading as well. I’ve ordered myself a copy for 2008 in a different translation than the one I’ve been in the habit of reading, so I’m looking forward to a fresh flavor in my reading this year. (There are also One Year Bibles for kids, with shorter daily reading portions.) It’s not a ‘box’ you have to live in, but a plan set in place to get me in God’s Word daily, without flipping here and there while wasting 20 precious minutes deciding ‘where to read today’. Then, if I happen to hit a spot where I want to camp, I’m free to do that, utilizing any number of other Bibles and study books I have until I want to move on and jump right back on track in my One Year Bible at the day’s reading where I left off. Look at this:
Hebrews 1:3 tells us that The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful Word. Is the Word of God sustaining you? Are you being supported, strengthened, encouraged, carried, upheld by His Word? Or are you perpetually weak, lagging, afraid, depressed, oppressed, uncertain, and deflated? To wish human beings a ‘Happy New Year’ devoid of God’s Word, I might as well cross my fingers and knock on wood that everything works out o.k. for them. That’s too big a risk for me. Without God’s Word, I’m starving myself and living in a weak, defeated and emaciated way. Colossians 3:15 reminds us to Let the Word of Christ DWELL in you RICHLY…and that ain’t about livin’ out of my promise box! ‘Vitamins’ can never take the place of eating whole, balanced, nutritious meals every day. Start fresh this year and make a practical plan to live in God’s Word daily - His Word never fails. Oh yeah, one more thing: Happy New Year!