Week in My Life 2015: Sunday

Oversharing alert. For the next week, I’m writing about what life is *really* like at Casa Whitaker. It’s likely to include Dr Pepper, sibling rivalry, lots of diapers and some serious van time. If you’re a blogger, I’d love for you to join me (linkup at the bottom) and if you’re an Instagrammer, we’re all over there using #weekinmylife15  You can catch up on the week here: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

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Homestretch. And for all you people who are like “is she ever going to stop telling us about her days?” Yes, yes I am. Because I need sleep! And you need to cook Thanksgiving dinner.

I am happy to say we’re now on day two of nine for not setting an alarm. God bless you Thanksgiving break. I love you already. The plan was to attend 9:30am Mass this morning and I was certain a child would wake me up. You guess the kid.

Around 8:20, I finally pulled myself out of bed to go wake a sleeping baby. Yes, that pains me to even type that. Babies should always be left to sleep until they wake up. But, God. So, up she got and to nursing we went. The girls and Luke watched a few minutes of TV and then I handed her off to them to get her going on breakfast while I jumped in the shower. My girls are super responsible, especially my 10yo. It’s like having another adult around here. The big boys and Scott were in Houston (get to that in a minute), so it was just us five at Mass today.

The danger of living close to your parish? We’re always late. Today, we managed to scoot in the pew just as the cantor said, “Please rise for our opening hymn.” We made it! Gianna was a stinker, but for the most part, the kids did beautifully. For some reason, today I found myself scanning the pews and smiling as I spotted friends. I think it was our priest’s homily that reminded me how important it is to be Christ to people. Those friends have certainly been Christ to me and I was so very grateful. It’s also the fist time I didn’t cry after communion in two months. It has been a long, hard fall.

After Mass, we came home for a quick clothes change, some piano practice and grabbed lunch. I treated the kids to Torchy’s and you would’ve thought I gave them free Icees for a year. We stopped by the Sister’s convent to say howdy and then Gianna went down for a nap while the girls and Luke played and I finished designing our Christmas card. I can’t even tell you how much quieter our house was without the two oldest. Shocking, really.

Scott and the boys left Saturday night for Houston to take in a Jets v. Texans NFL game, courtesy of a dear family friend. Don’t ask why we have a Jets fan in the house. No idea.

When Gianna awoke from her nap, we took a surprise Sonic drink to a friend (baby Victoria is out of the hospital!) and then came home to eat dinner. Leftovers for the win. I put on “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” while I cleaned up the kitchen and Gianna destroyed an Amazon box. Who needs fancy toys? Also, sidenote about that bib. Brainwashing begins early around here.

Scott and the boys arrived home and boy, was it good to see them. The girls got ready for bed and while I put Gianna down for the evening, Scott and the boys headed to the grocery store. Typically, we plan our menu once a month and shop on Sunday or Monday for the food, but Thanksgiving has us a little off. Will and John Paul are baking a dozen pies for their 4-H food-nutrition project, so they had to go get all the supplies. My house is going to smell goo-ood tomorrow night.

I finished up the Christmas card design, they put up groceries and went to bed and Scott started a fire. Because it’s 50 and we’re Texans. He went to bed early while I finished up a few more things. As of Monday night, I’ll officially be done with this insane last few weeks of client work and am really looking forward to the break with the kids.

So, what did we learn?

My kids, even though they bicker and fight like normal siblings, are incredibly helpful. They love Gianna, they take pride in being responsible and they love God. I pray we continue to foster all of those things with grace and love.

As Bonnie reminded me this week, we really do have a beautiful life. All of us do, really, when we take a moment to sit back and see God’s hand in it. Thank you for helping me see it, dear.

So many times this week I found myself asking the kids to pick things up which can only mean one thing: it’s time to clean out some spaces and declutter. I’m sure my children will be thrilled.

I forgot what a hard season it is for me professionally. Perhaps it’s time for me to get a better calendar in place so I can visually see what client work I have rolling in, and out, during my busiest months of the year.

Writing every day was such a gift. It’s something I truly love and it was great to have an excuse to do it this often. I miss it. I keep talking about that book…

It’s time to dust off that online photo course I bought and dive in. Photography is something I love and want to do more of, if only to preserve this season of life with authenticity.

My husband and I need a date night! Need I say more?

What did I miss? What did you see that you thought was crazy/brilliant/awesome/ridiculous/nuts? All ears, here.

A mighty thank you to my sweet readers for hanging with me – one always wonders if this is even something that should be blogged – and to those of you who joined me through the link up and on Instagram. What a beautiful peek into your lives. Thank you for sharing it with me.

Now, go enjoy turkey and dressing!