Daily Routines.

I have to do a talk at an organic Growers Conf this week-end entitled " The Sustainable Farm Family" or "Eighteen Kids and What do You Get". This from the section on Pulling Together as a family. I wanted to show people how helpful it is to have many people who can do the chores and how we are all interrelated to those chores. Thought some of you might enjoy seeing our daily rountine for the last week.

PULLING TOGETHER AS A FAMILY

A.DAILY FAMILY ROUTINES-MONDAY

Somewhat different as four older kids on school vacation

6AM everybody up, Jody breakfast and snacks, me clothes and organizing

630am two kids feed baby goats, rest of kids eat and help with clean up

700am leave for busses

800am Jody milks goats and feed chickens and goats

900am Crew of 3 hispanics and dh and teen son start clearing land where fruit trees will go

930am teen daughter and mom cook lunch for workers and work on this talk.

1200am SIL Chris takes Caleb fishing as part of vacation time off. DIL Crystal takes Scotia and Gabby for overnight and swimming tomorrow. Mom works on phone calls and house chores and being sick

330pm Mom picks up kids off bus

4pm Men quit working because of rain and mom does supper for very tired men.

5pm eat

Mom and dad make calls deciding what to do about greenhouse no. two. Look at new seeds arrived from Johnny’s selected seeds and make plans for sil Chris to work tomorrow with teen son clearing more land. And putting seeds in trays and transplanting into pots seeds already in trays.

Kids do kitchen clean up

Dh does homework while mom works on this talk and kids do dishes

Kids milk goats and feed baby goats and chickens and dogs

TUESDAY

6am kids and parents up, dressed fed and some clean up

8am SIL comes and unloads fruit trees from truck with teen son, the two of them plus 12 year old son work for the next 6 hours clearing more land for the fruit trees. They are all getting paid for their labor

900am maid comes today for 4 hours and sweeps house and cleans kitchen and does laundry

930am mom and dad each have a therapeutic massage

1100am mom and dad buy bulk seeds for garden, 50 lb bag of red potatoes, new seal for canner and half gallon ball jars for goat’s milk

1200pm lunch

100pm mom and dad buy a larger new chain saw and a new John Deere Gator. Mom has been begging for this for years. Word spreads thru the family like a wild fire

200pm buy fresh fruit and salad veggies and dog food. No more needed as we store all grains, etc. Have a years worth.

300pm mom and dad pick up 17 more fruit trees from the orchard and then kids off the bus

400pm look at work on the orchard that was done that day. Impressed

500pm teen daughter made supper

600pm dad works with 4 youngest on homework and mom works on this

Kids do dishes

800pm pot plants for a half hour

800pm Kids feed and milk goats and chickens and dogs and baby goats

900pm baths and TTL bed

WEDNESDAY

6am mom and dad and school kids up

Dress, eat, some clean up, bus; older kids still on school vacation

8am dad milks goats; we are now getting 1.5 gallons a day form two goats, kids feed baby goats and chickens, mom goes to store; pays employee, gets diesel for tractor and burning off brush

830am mom puts split pea soup in crock pot for supper, makes bread with teen daughter

9am we start burning off brush; nothing burns too green, teen boy, dad and Caleb start working on clearing the fruit orchard field. Mom works on our orphanage blog, phone calls related to for profit business and farm and orphanage and kids.

1200am mom helps Caleb make biscuits from scratch, mom makes salad, daughter makes omelets

Ordered John Deere Gator [ wanted forever] Will be delivered Monday

Men work outside again; mom pots seedlings in bigger pots and waters greenhouse

Flossie comes and we take pictures of farm for this talk

Supper, soup and bread and fruit

Mom takes older kids to church meetings; goes by walmart for garden supplies

Dad does homework with little kids at home, milks goats, feeds dogs and chickens

THURSDAY

6am same old routine

7am bus

8am Discussed this week-end plans with hubby; son came with his son and we visited for a while

830am hubby milks goats; teen son at Joey’s house helping to clean out his barn and riding horses for the next two days

930am went outside with hubby to feed goats and go for walk; checked greenhouse

1030am scripture study with hubby

1100am mom does conf call with management staff for the business. Hubby works on talk for conf.

1200am lunch

1200pm Son Bryan and his wife pick up our van that is at the car repair place

100pm dad works clearing land with Bryan adult son; mom works potting plants in greenhouse,

200pm teen daughter starts chicken and dumplings for supper

330pm mom picks up kids off bus

400pm kids do chores

500pm supper

600 cleanup and homework

700 kids practice presentation for today

800pm dad milks goats, kids feed babies and dogs and chickens