Lately I've been waking up early so I can get some yard work done before heading off to work. It's both satisfying and futile. I really enjoy making my lawn look good (not that I'm a landscaper), but at the same time, I know that we will be leaving this place in just a few months. I work so hard on making the yard green simply because it brings me satisfaction.
So come 7:30, I'm back inside finishing breakfast so as to be at work as close to 8 as possible.
Once at the airport, we spend about half an hour doing devos together, praying, and then discussing what the projects and goals are for the day.
Today my project was fixing an engine problem on a Cessna Skyhawk. I spent part of the morning trouble-shooting, and then once the problem was discovered, I spent the rest of the day removing the troublesome component, and in the process of removing it, I found a few other things that had not been done properly by a previous mechanic (who in their right mind puts a locking nut AND a lock-washer on the same stud?!?). Had to fix that, and then field a few phone calls to work out details of a deliver flight tomorrow, and 5 o'clock somehow arrived before we knew what happened.
Head home and immediately take the kids outside. They need to get out of the house some more, and it allows their mommy to have some much-needed time alone.
While outside, I once again occupy myself with sundry duties, from fixing door seals, to watering freshly-planted grass, to swinging the kids on the swingset, to fixing a troublesome lawn-mower, to planting flowers. There's always something to do . . . and yet most of it has very temporary results: I'll only enjoy the grass and flowers for less than a year.
However, the memories made with my kids during that time are precious: from helping Esther learn how to ride a bike (with training wheels, of course); to pushing both of the kids around on one tricycle at the same time, to letting Esther "help" plant grass seed, or having Jaren water the grass (and himself). These are the memories that will last long after the flowers have wilted and the grass has died.
Once all the outdoor activity is complete, it's suppertime. Usually a foreign dish. Tonight it was Greek, other times it's fajitas, or Indonesian satay, or a Spanish meal, or a french dish. You'll rarely find a casserole in our house unless it's something foreign.
The kids end up getting food on themselves in one place or another, and so after supper it's clean-up time.
Pretty soon it's off to bed for the kids. That means an involved process of brushing teeth, dressing in pajamas, sitting beside them in bed to read their devotional books, go over memory verses, sing a few songs, pray, give goodnight kisses, and then go to bed. All-in-all, a process of about 45 minutes.
Then, when everything has calmed down, we check our email, maybe write a blog (alright, I'll be honest: that's not on a typical day . . .), and when we're on top of thing, we'll write a few thank-you notes or call friends and family.
But if we're exhausted from the day, then we'll just go straight to bed after the kids do. After all, singing songs to put THEM to sleep can also put YOU to sleep.
That's a typical day right now. It's going to change when the next baby comes. And then it will change again when we move to the Missionary Training Center. And then it will change again when we move to the NTM Aviation training facility. And then it’ll change AGAIN when we move overseas. At that point, I’m sure it’ll be interesting for you and us to look back on this post and see just how different life is.
So come 7:30, I'm back inside finishing breakfast so as to be at work as close to 8 as possible.
Once at the airport, we spend about half an hour doing devos together, praying, and then discussing what the projects and goals are for the day.
Today my project was fixing an engine problem on a Cessna Skyhawk. I spent part of the morning trouble-shooting, and then once the problem was discovered, I spent the rest of the day removing the troublesome component, and in the process of removing it, I found a few other things that had not been done properly by a previous mechanic (who in their right mind puts a locking nut AND a lock-washer on the same stud?!?). Had to fix that, and then field a few phone calls to work out details of a deliver flight tomorrow, and 5 o'clock somehow arrived before we knew what happened.
Head home and immediately take the kids outside. They need to get out of the house some more, and it allows their mommy to have some much-needed time alone.
While outside, I once again occupy myself with sundry duties, from fixing door seals, to watering freshly-planted grass, to swinging the kids on the swingset, to fixing a troublesome lawn-mower, to planting flowers. There's always something to do . . . and yet most of it has very temporary results: I'll only enjoy the grass and flowers for less than a year.
However, the memories made with my kids during that time are precious: from helping Esther learn how to ride a bike (with training wheels, of course); to pushing both of the kids around on one tricycle at the same time, to letting Esther "help" plant grass seed, or having Jaren water the grass (and himself). These are the memories that will last long after the flowers have wilted and the grass has died.
Once all the outdoor activity is complete, it's suppertime. Usually a foreign dish. Tonight it was Greek, other times it's fajitas, or Indonesian satay, or a Spanish meal, or a french dish. You'll rarely find a casserole in our house unless it's something foreign.
The kids end up getting food on themselves in one place or another, and so after supper it's clean-up time.
Pretty soon it's off to bed for the kids. That means an involved process of brushing teeth, dressing in pajamas, sitting beside them in bed to read their devotional books, go over memory verses, sing a few songs, pray, give goodnight kisses, and then go to bed. All-in-all, a process of about 45 minutes.
Then, when everything has calmed down, we check our email, maybe write a blog (alright, I'll be honest: that's not on a typical day . . .), and when we're on top of thing, we'll write a few thank-you notes or call friends and family.
But if we're exhausted from the day, then we'll just go straight to bed after the kids do. After all, singing songs to put THEM to sleep can also put YOU to sleep.
That's a typical day right now. It's going to change when the next baby comes. And then it will change again when we move to the Missionary Training Center. And then it will change again when we move to the NTM Aviation training facility. And then it’ll change AGAIN when we move overseas. At that point, I’m sure it’ll be interesting for you and us to look back on this post and see just how different life is.
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