NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP........

Sleep...hummm. What is sleep? According to the Webster dictionary it is "The natural periodic suspension of consciousness during which powers of the body are restored." Wow, powers of the body! No wonder I feel powerless. No sleep! I thought you might be interested in knowing the typical day of a child here at the home. Which is also a typical day of the house parent's.

5:15am  The kid assigned to hot breakfast has to be in the kitchen and ready to cook.
5:00am The house parent is up and ready to make sure the kids are up.
5:55am Every child in the home should be sitting at the kitchen table ready for devotion.
5:55am The house parent sits down for a Bible devotion with the kids.
Breakfast is then served. Time to eat.
6:20am Time for the kitchen person to clean and the other kid's to start their morning chores.
Their chores consist of a household chore assigned to them as well as them cleaning
their room, making their bed and starting their laundry if it's their laundry day.
6:20am Time for the HP to make sure the kitchen is clean, the kid's are doing their chores,
and they all have received their morning medicine. (This is a crucial step) :-) It is also
my time to get my own son ready for school.
7:15am Time to be in the living room and ready to catch the school bus.
7:15am Each HP rotates riding the bus with the kids. So on our day we load the bus along with the children.
8:20am We arrive back to campus on the bus from dropping the kids off at school. Now it's
time for me to get in the house and take care of some things. This is when Gary does
maintenance and I check the kids chores that they did that morning. I check each 
household chore as well as each kids bedroom to make sure everything is nice and
tidy. I will take their check off list that they filled out for the morning showing they
had completed their chores. This is where work time comes in. Sometimes the
sneaky little guys will check off that they did something and hope that you don't notice.  After checking their chores I usually will start on my own personal laundry and cleaning our room. If needed, and most days it is, I will go to the grocery store and buy what I need to cook dinner that evening. I will also use this time to pick up thing's the kids need for school and check the office for any memo's or appointment's the kids have for the week. I also try to get a phone call in to my mom and daughter, whom I miss very much, but a lot of the days I usually run out of time. Sorry mom and Lyndsie.....Love you bunches!
Gary and I usually try and get a lunch in together and then finish things up before going
to get the kids from school, like assigning work time and filling out the consequence
log. (Which is a log showing the kids if they received any time for their chores that
day and what they have to correct.) We also are trying to get things out and ready to
help the kids start dinner and at some point during the day I do my Bible study as well.
2:35pm Time to load up on the bus already! Let's go get the kids.
3:20pm Kids picked up and at home. Everyone is in the house checking the consequence log
and their room slips to see what they need to work on.
3:20pm The HP is getting school slips to turn in to the office and assigning work chores.
4:00pm Time for the kids to redo some chores, start study hall, tutoring and work time.
4:00pm The HP is monitoring study hall, (which when it comes to math usually consist of calling
Lyndsie and putting her on speaker phone to help them-Thanks Lyndsie) making sure
the ones that are supposed to be going to tutoring are on their way, making sure the ones
serving work time are working instead of throwing the football and giving afternoon
medicine and getting it logged in the book.
5:30pm Time to start dinner.
5:30pm HP assisting with dinner, still watching ones in study hall, making sure we still have
the work time students on track and making sure dinner is not getting burned.
6:30pm Hopefully by now the table setter has set the table and we have sat down to eat.
6:30pm HP listening to how every ones day went, trying to be referee between some of the       boys and enjoying family time.
7:00pm Time to clean up from dinner. Table setter is clearing the table and kitchen person is
cleaning the kitchen. Certain days of the week its recreational time in the gym.
7:00pm HP is assisting with kitchen, assigning computer time, watching the boys that are
everywhere in the house, trying to make sure they are all getting along and home work
if finished up as well as the laundry if it's their laundry day.
8:00pm ALREADY! Back from the gym if it was recreational day and hopefully we are starting
showers. One at a time in the bathroom.
8:00pm HP is making sure the chemicals are out and there is only one at a time in the back      
hall. We are monitoring those on the computer and if time allows we are watching
someone jam on guitar hero!
9:00pm Time for the kids to be in their room
9:00pm HP making sure everyone took a shower, chemicals have been put up and medicine
has been given and logged in the med log book.
9:30pm Kids in their room and lights out. (Unless it's the weekend. They can stay up longer
which is at HP's discretion.)
10:00pm Kid's in bed with the light's out.
10:00pm HP's getting the last ones in bed that are running late. This is usually when a couple of
the boy's want to pull you to the side for a "private talk." Girlfriend problems, spiritual
problems and "I miss mom" today talks. (One of my favorite times)
11:00pm All the kid's in bed. (I hope)
11:00pm HP's making sure all the bedroom door's are shut and the alarm is set. Now it's time
for us to do our contact notes. This is where we document what the kids did that
day and if any consequences were issued. We also have to make the menu out of
what they ate that day. This usually takes about an hour.
12:00am HP is hopefully taking their shower by now.
12:30am HP is hopefully in bed and falling asleep.
2:00am Usually by now a child just got up to go to the bathroom and has set the alarm off.
2:00am The HP gets up to turn the alarm off and checks to see who is up and why.
2:30am HP resets the alarm and is back in bed to fall asleep once again.
Before you know it, its 5:15am and time to start the day all over again.

So this is pretty much a typical day at ABC Homes. Give or take an hour or two off schedule.
And sleep....who need's it anyway!  :)

WHATEVER YOU DO, WORK AT IT WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AS WORKING FOR THE LORD, NOT FOR MEN, SINCE YOU KNOW THAT YOU WILL RECEIVE AN INHERITANCE FROM THE LORD AS A REWARD.

                                                                        COLOSSIANS 3:23-24