sane

God is so good... this is day 3 of Mr. H being away on a mission trip and we're surviving :) My sanity remains in tact and God has filled me with the mental and physical energy I need. I love my sweet girl and all that makes her her, however even my high level of patience gets a workout by the end of these summer days with her home all day. But, I think we've settled into some sort of loose routine so far this summer and that's helping. Usually I hear the question "Can I watch tv" at least fifteen times a day, but she knows how much she's allowed to watch now. We've had a "workbook time" each day, where she's been working on phonics and math to keep up her skills learned from this year. We generally read at least 30 mins. after that - takinng turns of me reading to her and her reading to me. (It's SO exciting to have her reading, even at this beginning level!) At some point during the day, we look up a Bible verse and pray together. Right now, my hubby & I have just been using a daily verse/prayer that we get in our email, from a website called Real World Parents. Technically it's for parents of youth, however the prayers that come in have also applied to my five year old. It's a great reminder to pray for your children. Check it out here. I'm working on us having some quiet self-reading time, but usually that happens before her bedtime. If it's still early, I'll get her into bed but give her 15-20 mins of quiet reading or puzzle time in her bed by herself. It's working :) Summertime looks to be an adjustment that both mom, (dad), and kiddo will have to make each year. In the beginning, I wasn't quite to excited, but God's given me the determination to step up the plate of parenting and find something that works and is healthy for our family. :)