A Day in the Life of a Missionary Mom

I thought it would be fun to give you all a peek inside our days here in Africa!

Sometimes when I talk to people, I get the impression they imagine our lives as jam packed full of adventure and exotic things. Maybe that is a little bit how I imagined our lives would be also?

Although we have seen some really cool things and gone on some exciting adventures, most of my days are pretty much like a "normal" day that any other mom has bringing up her kids. Most of my days are spent in the village surrounded by exotic animals such as chickens, goats, and the exact same breed of dog.

This is a typical day for me......

>>> In the mornings I try and get up before my kids and spend some time with the Lord. I am always, always frustrated at myself when I don't get up and do this because I can tell a major difference in how I handle our days when I don't fill up on the Word first.

{Bible, current study-Beth Moore's Life of Paul, tea with milk and brown sugar (like my Malawian friends) and my beloved mechanical pencils}

>>> I am also slowly, and might I add painfully, getting back into the routine of exercising in the mornings. Exercising has always been an important part of my daily routine and I hate that it has fallen by the wayside in the last year. I know it is so important for my mental and physical well being. 

Not to mention my mood, can anyone relate?!

>>>I try and get all the kids up by 8. My kids are like their momma and love to sleep. The girls, not as much as the boys, but we have worked hard to get them to sleep 'til 8 most mornings too!

>>> After breakfast and chores, we head over to our home school room and get to work. Z is in 4th grade, G in 3rd grade, E in first, and A is in preschool (which means I have activities for her to play quietly so I can work with the other 3). I am really enjoying homeschool this year (for the most part). We got in a groove much more quickly than last year and having our own space, that is not on our dining room table, has been a game changer for us!

>>> We usually finish up school by 12ish. I typically will set the timer for 30 minutes and let the kids play outside, draw, or watch a movie on the laptop. While they are vegging, I use this time to sit down and write out emails to sponsors, enroll a child on the PM site, work on my to-do list, or write my lesson plans for tutoring later in the afternoons.

>>> Next, we eat lunch. Typically roasted hyena or grilled black mamba PB&J or grilled cheese, etc. Quick clean up of lunch and do some dinner prep.

>>> In the afternoons, I tutor our youngest group at Esther's House (Standard 1-3) . My girls usually come with me to class and the boys help David with whatever he is working on or draw/play inside.

Some afternoons we will swap and David will take the kids while I go out and do interviews for our community program or visit a guardian.

>>> After tutoring, I usually spend some time passing out medicine and answering all the, "Catherine, I have wound!" kiddos. Lots of little ones who want some hugs and band-aids. I will make sure all of our Skills Classes are beginning, our teachers have everything they need, kids are in class, etc. and then I head in the house to make dinner.

>>> Cooking here was a little bit of a learning curve as "quick throw it together meals" aren't really an option. Dinner from scratch takes a lot of planning and preparation.
We've been doing some canning which has been helpful at cutting down prep time!

>>> After dinner, we play outside with the kids on campus, do some more "nursing" type duties, enjoy games, watch a movie; you know, all of the normal family stuff.

>>> My kids take a shower before bed every night because you can take the dirtiest kid you have ever seen and multiply that by 10 and you have my kids.
I read the girls a chapter of their read-aloud book for school (currently Box Car Children) and they have lights out by 8:15-8:30.
We spend some quality one-on-one time with the boys and then they go to bed around 9.

>>> In the evenings I will get some more to-do's done for my jobs at EH or we'll do exciting things like work on our budget.

David and I  try to make a couple nights a week a "no work" night and hang-out and watch a move or just visit. It has been hard for us, living on campus, to set aside time for "no work".
After living here 11 months, we feel like we are settling into a good routine/balance.

I am thankful that our director and Mission Board support me being a wife and mom first!
I do have responsibilities here that I love, but I never want those to become more important then my job as being "mom".
That is my most important job!

So there you have it! Typical day in my world!

What does your typical day look like?