A day in the life...

So, what is it really like in our house right now?

Monday is pretty much our busiest day.  Here's how a typical Monday happens...

6:00 - I wake up, go downstairs, and get some breakfast for myself and Bekah.  Unless she has a test, in which case we've started this at 5:00 AM.  :)  Bekah reads the Bible while she has breakfast.
6:15 - I go into Katie's room and try to wake her up.
6:25 - I go into Katie's room and try to wake her up again.
6:35 - I go into Katie's room and make her get out of bed, since she has most likely fallen back asleep again.
6:45 - Katie rushes out the door to make it to her bus on time.  Bekah is usually in the shower by now.  I have 15 or 20 minutes to read the Bible and prepare myself for the day.
7:10 - I go wake Kristen up for school.  She typically hops right out of bed, as cheerful as can be.
7:15 - I get Daniel up from bed.  Bekah is getting ready to leave for school.  Drew is usually awake by now too.
7:25 or so - Bekah normally leaves for downtown Grand Rapids.  She's gone by 7:00 if she has a test that morning.
7:30 - Daniel, Kristen, and Drew have breakfast.
7:45 - Kristen gets on the bus for school.
8:00 - I walk Daniel down to the bus stop, then get Drew ready to go to preschool.
8:30 - Leave for preschool with Drew.
8:45 - Drop Drew off at preschool, head home to teach piano.
9:00-11:00 - Teach piano lessons.
11:00 - Drive to Calvin College.
11:30-12:20 - Teach a computer class at Calvin College.
12:20 - Drive to pick up Drew, then go to the worship staff meeting at church.
1:00- Worship staff meeting at church.
2:00-2:15ish - head home from worship staff meeting.
3:00 - Katie gets home from school.
3:40 - Kristen comes home from school.
3:45 - Daniel comes home from school.
4:00 - Kids do homework and chores.
4:30 - I make dinner.
5:00-5:15ish - we have dinner.  Bekah's still at school studying.
6:00 - Bekah has a study group at Secchia downtown, and won't be home until 8:00.  We hang out at home, let the kids play for a while, finish homework and chores, and have a little downtime.
7:30-7:45ish - kids get ready for bed and take baths / showers if needed.
8:00 - Read a chapter from our book-of-the-month (currently Fellowship of the Ring) before kids' bedtime.
8:30ish - Bekah gets home from her study group in time to say goodnight to the kiddos.
8:30 - Daniel, Kristen, and Drew head to bed.
9:00 - Katie (theoretically) goes to bed.  Not to sleep, mind you, just to bed.
9:00 - Bekah and I have some downtime together to talk, have a snack, watch a show on TV if we want to, or just hang out together.
10:00 - Katie is still awake, reading or drawing or playing Angry Birds on her ipod.  Go upstairs and tell her to go to sleep.
10:30 - Bekah and I typically head upstairs for bed.  Our goal is to try to get to sleep by 11:00.  It actually happens once in a while.  :)

This is what a typical Monday looks like in the Wakeman house.  Not every day of the week is quite this full, but most are.  They are just different - Tuesdays I teach at Aquinas in the morning, but don't have anything in the afternoon; Thursdays I have no teaching outside the house, but end up doing doctor appointments, dentist appointments, and stuff like that with the kids. I'm gone to church most Thursday nights for rehearsal, and the kids come with me while Bekah usually has something happening at school.  Bekah sometimes comes home in the afternoons to study / hang out with Drew and see the kids - if her schedule allows it.  It all depends on what small group she has, what test she is currently studying for, etc.

Do I mind this craziness?  No, not really.  While things are crazy and hectic, and it never feels like there is enough time, having a full schedule like this makes the time FLY by.  I actually find that I am enjoying my life...and I love being able to support my wife in her endeavor to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor.

The ultimate key, in my mind, to making all this work?  Trusting God for strength and wisdom, and working hard to change my heart to reflect how I believe He wants me to do things.  Flexibility and a willingness to break away from a lot of the stereotypes of what "typical" family life is / should be like, while still making sure that we have opportunities to invest in our family.  That's going to be the topic of my next blog post - what are we doing with our family to help make this work?  I feel like it is working (most of the time), but it requires a lot of "out of the box" thinking...details forthcoming!