Hello there!
I hope that this Friday finds you well. I know that our day has been lovely.
Several people have asked me about what kinds of things I do while serving here at home. I thought I would answer some of those questions tonight.
First of all, a typical daily schedule for me looks something like this:
5:00 -I get up for the day and I do my Bible/quiet time, and then start my school work, and continue school until 7:00.
7:00 - Make bed/clean room/get dressed, and if Mom hasn't started a load of laundry, I start one.
7:30 - Straighten zone (my zone is the kitchen, and I usually use this time to clean glass, wipe out the refrigerator, dust, etc.)
8:00 - Eat breakfast/kitchen clean up, swap laundry out (I usually just load the washing machine, most of the time my younger siblings take care of loading/unloading the dryer),and I usually do some school reading here (currently it is Tithing and Dominion, and it is a great book!)
9:00 - Read-alouds/school work
10:00 - School hour with little ones (I do the music lessons and phonics lessons)
11:00 - Piano practice
11:30 - Violin practice
12:00 - Eat lunch/kitchen clean up/straighten house quickly, and do some school reading
1:00 - Finish school, start web work (my family owns several web based businesses)
3:00 - Straighten house, and then we usually go outside for a little bit. I usually to some school reading here as well.
After that, we usually cook dinner and do a nice evening routine(including spending lots of time with Dad when he comes home from work)
This is a very loose schedule. In my spare minutes, I finish any leftover chores or school, help with the laundry, help my Mom with anything she needs, hold little Jon, spend time with my siblings, work on house renovations, sew or craft, blog, bake little goodies, enjoy corresponding with several pen pals, do additional music practice, and all sorts of things! We also have scripture cd's, lecture cd's and other misc. school cd's while we are cleaning or not doing sit down school work.
It is very easy to stay busy at home, which is my Biblical place. I enjoy helping my Father in business, helping Mom with the children or the house, etc.
Some of the questions I get are:
Do you ever get tired of being at home? Wouldn't you rather be out with your friends?
First of all, I never tire of being here at home. It is the best place in the world for me! There is always a batch of cookies to make, a neighbor to visit, a new pattern to sew, a bathroom to renovate, or a home business to help with! My house is the most exciting place in the world!
What about a job? Don't you want to have a job so that you can support yourself?
Why would I want to further a stranger's business, when I could be furthering my Father's business instead? I find great pleasure in helping my Dad with our businesses and being entrepreneurial with my family.
Which leads me to the next question,
What do you actually do for your business?
I learned to program HTML and ASP last year, so my brother and I are in charge of a lot of the background operations on our websites. I also help to take the pictures for the websites, and I am currently working on several Ebooks to be launched in the spring.
Well, helping your Dad is nice, but what if my Dad doesn't have a business?
There are lots of ways to help your Dad, even if he is not in business in a way you can help. Ask him about his vision for your family. Ask if there is anything you can help him with outside of doing business. When we were renovating the mstr. bathroom in my home, my Dad and I hung the cement board for the tub surround. It was a nice time simply to talk to him and ask him about things we planned to do for the next year or so.
---------------------------------
If you have any questions for me, you can leave a comment below, and I will get back to you asap!
Wishing you a good night,
~@~Courtney~@~
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Hello Courtney and all the team at "Stay at Home Daughters"!
Thank you for starting this blog and sharing with everyone how you are preparing to be a Proverbs 31 woman! I'm looking forward to your articles.
In Christ,
Katherine
Thank you Katherine!
We love to hear from our readers!
~@~Courtney~@~
Thank you for sharing your schedule! I like to see how other girls organize their days. It's very encouraging to our family to watch the different ways that daughters are a blessing to their homes!
I just found your blog so maybe this has been covered. As a mom of three young girls ages 10, 7, and 6 could you give me some insight on what you think your parents did to lead you to this place? This is the vision we have for our daughters but it seems so hard because they get "attacked" from every corner, including church and family, about going to college and finding careers.
I would appreciate your insight. Im bookmarking this sight to share with them as well.
Hi Julie,
I thought I'd jump in and provide an answer from the perspective of a mother.
We chose this 'road less traveled' probably five to ten years ago. It's 'evolved' over that time so it's hard to say exactly when we had an 'Ah Ha!' moment. It didn't quite happen that way.
The Lord led us down this path and, at the time, we were the only people we knew that thought the way we did on these matters... but even as a teenage girl myself, I was very disheartened and unhappy with the thought of a career. All I wanted to do was be a mommy and have babies! The seeds had been planted by the Lord in my heart from an early age.
As my oldest girls (Flibby will be 18 in March and Poppy is coming up on 15) grew, we started doing very "unusual" things amongst our family and friends. First we started homeschooling 10 years ago. That was a big one. Then we pulled out of secular church activities. Then we pulled our children out of Sunday School. Then we left our church (which was more of a seeker-sensitive, program-laden mega church) and found our current small conservative Reformed congregation which we dearly love. The great thing about this church is that the congregation is, for the most part, like minded. This is such a blessing!!! But, before we were in our current church we faced lots of questions and disapproval for our stands on various issues from friends, church members and our extended families.
As to how we handle the 'college question' now that we have a girl graduating our homeschool this May, that has been dicey! Since she's a big girl now, she deals more with that than I do. They sort of take her aside and question her sanity outside our presence. But, over the years, I've faced a good bit of 'you're ruining your children', 'what if her husband dies?', 'why are you trying to shelter her from the world?', 'how will she function in society?', 'why don't you want her to think for herself?' and on and on. I talked some about this on our family blog in a post titled Managing Family Issues At Christmas (http://kudzugrows.blogspot.com/2007/12/managing-family-issues-at-christmas.html)
We tend to get these question more at Christmas when we are with people we don't otherwise see.
If they are truly seeking an answer, I give it. I tell them what the Bible says about the calling of a woman and our sphere of influence in our biblical calling. If they just want to mock our decision or criticize, I employ the 'smile, nod and back away' approach! Ha! We don't engage in needless arguments but we don't shrink away from a confrontation either. It's a tough spot! We are definitely in the minority even amongst homeschooling Christians!
Our daughters have now, thankfully, taken the lead in this conviction which is such a blessing! While we were still shaping and molding them, we protected them from criticisms and negative remarks as much as possible. As they got older, we let them watch us answer back the 'nay sayers' and most recently, they do battle with 'nay sayers' themselves. It's been a great thing to watch over the years.
Flibby is planning to address this topic more specifically in a blog post, so stay tuned! And, my only real advice on this subject is to persevere and allow the Lord to lead you when you face the battles!
Blessings to you and your family!
Well said, Lady Why!! : )
I must say that many years ago, when we started down this path, I was scared. I guess it's hard to stay focused on what you know you should do when so many will tell you that you will be sorry (we've heard it all- "just wait until their teen years", "they are going to hate you for sheltering them so", "they need friends their own age", and my favorite still..."how will they ever find a mate if you are raising them like this?". I weighed each of these things in my mind...as a parent you want what is best for your children- you want them to have a good life, I think that we all worry what they will face because of our decisions.
What I did know is that the Lord was showing us something different. I prayed and asked Him to send us others who were like minded- I'm so thankful that He did. I value my time with them...it's refreshing to be with people who know, understand and appreciate the work that we are doing. I guess the other thing that I might say to you is years ago, when I felt the Lord leading in this area, it was hard to press on when I couldn't yet see the fruits of my labor. Younger years are just the planting. It takes some time to see little flowers blooming. Likewise, raising children to follow such a path does not just happen ...it takes discipline and a realization that teaching takes place all the time- we have to take advantage of the time God has give us while they are little. During this time, others will not understand what we are doing either. My oldest daughter (Courtney), is age 16. There are those who are now saying to me what a good girl she is and how proud I should be-I'm sure Lady Why would also tell you- the comment (from some of the same people who made the before mentioned comments), "well, you are lucky- you ended up with a good child", make me laugh. I feel for you- I have certainly been in your shoes. It is obvious that you understand the value of what you are doing...stay the course.
Tracy
Thank you for sharing you life, Courtney. You are another maiden dedicated to her home and family who I can learn from.
Maria
Post a Comment