Classic Re-Post: Drowning in Home Management, Part Three

So what does it look like to actually live out your top five "Rock List" activities each day? Obviously, it will look different in your home than it does in mine, and that's the way it should be. I'll share how our day looks, but please don't use it as a measuring stick. You and your family are unique!

1. Nurture, guard, protect, and grow my relationship with the Lord

I've been using a wonderful tool to help me read through the entire Bible this year. Typically, I'll read the day's Psalm at the breakfast table, then read the rest when I get a quiet moment- during quiet hour or before bed.

Worshiping, singing Scripture with the kids, praying throughout the day with my family and by myself are the ways in which I nurture my relationship with the Lord.

2. Nurture, guard, protect, and grow my relationship with my husband

This one is tricky, because if you gauge its importance by the actual amount of time we spend together, it would seem to fall to the bottom of the pile. We're in the thick of raising children; the time spent doing all of the things that entails is just the reality of it all. We enjoy our children, and they have made our marriage stronger.

I am so thankful for email and the internet, if only to be able to pop notes back and forth to each other all day long. Because my husband has patients and appointments, I don't like to call him at work. But I can shoot off an email and some days it feels as if we've had a daylong conversation.

Our expectations for ourselves are different, too. When we were giddy college students we had exciting and romantic dates. Now, a trip by ourselves to Costco makes me really happy :)

3. Clothe our family

10 people. Lots of clothes. Twice a year I'm searching the end-of-season clearance sales (mostly online), twice a year I'm pulling out and putting away last season's clothes, and all year long I'm laundering, folding, ironing, mending, and passing it on.

If I'm smart, I can do the thing I love (knitting) and make clothes for my family. This assures that knitting has a place on my Top Five.

4. Feed our family and keep our home sanitary (I realize these are really two things here, but they're both housekeeping related)

Planning, couponing, shopping, cooking, cleaning it up. Decluttering, tackling a room at a time for deep cleaning, keeping the bathrooms and the kitchen clean. I do have housekeepers who bail me out, but when I didn't I devoted a half day a week to cleaning the house- usually Friday afternoons.

5. Educate our children

Planning and executing everyone's education. This is the bulk of my day, but perhaps when there are no little people anymore we'll be able to get all our schoolwork done by noon or so. For now we have to spread things out in order to accomodate the needs of teenagers, babies, and everyone in between.

If you have come to this series late, be sure to read Part One and Part Two. The comments on both posts are rich with discussion and encouragement.