Beautiful Ache: Sabbath Mondays

So, let me just say that I am super lucky to get to take Monday as my Sabbath day. First of all, I get to completely avoid the icky Mondays that seem to plague our society. Secondly, I get to spend time with my whole family during the work week, which means we generally get the whole place to ourselves wherever we go. (Unless you're going to Goody Goody Diner in North St. Louis City. It was jam-packed at 10 am on a Monday! We seriously had to wait 15 minutes to be seated. But I'll tell you about that in minute... ) Thirdly, I really feel I should have a third reason, but I simply do not so give me a minute while I come up with something................. Got it. As a homeschooling mom, I REALLY need the extra rest to get the energy I need for the rest of the week.

A few years ago, Harry and I decided to try to take a true Sabbath- a true day of rest. Not just an off-day, or a day to collapse from exhaustion. On Mondays we try to do the things that refresh us and bring peace to our lives. It's the day we treat ourselves to the things we don't get during the week. These are some of the things that have made their way into our Monday traditions:

1. we almost always have doughnuts. My girls LOVE doughnuts and they don't really get any sugar during the week so this is a big treat for them... and me. Although, sometimes I will get a cheese bagel instead.

2. we try to get out of the house. If the weather is nice, we try to get outside, and if it's not, we may go to the mall or something.

3. we almost always watch Phineas and Ferb. We really love this cartoon. : ) This is the only day of the week the girls get to watch tv. On Friday nights we have movie night, but other than that, this is it.

4. game night before bed. Sometimes its wii, sometimes it's a board game, or a puzzle.

Most importantly, we spend the whole day together. I think taking this day together every week has really bonded us as a family.

So take today, for instance. Today was one of the BEST Sabbath Mondays we've ever had. It wasn't so much what we did, but the fact that we ENJOYED it so much! It didn't hurt that it was 65 degrees in January and the sun was shining like a bright, spring morning! That said, what we did was really cool too!

First, we met Harry's parents and some friends at Goody Goody Diner, after getting to sleep in until nearly 9am. Yum. Is all I can say--both to sleeping in and Goody Goody. I decided to try the chicken and waffles. Nothing like fried chicken, half a Belgian Waffle, hash browns, and two eggs (over medium, thank you very much) to start your day! As a side note, I would also like to point out that my kids half officially reached a new level of food consumption. It's the level where they actually eat. It's a little scary actually. I'm gonna have to start praying for the Lord to give me a little extra income just to feed them! But I digress.

After Goody Goody we decided to go for a little drive downtown. As I said before, it was warm and bright today so downtown just sparkled. Add to this Brisa's steady stream of impassioned comments about how fantastic and beautiful and wonderful and perfect the day was, and it really kept the positive spirit floating pretty high. : ) I love that girl.

Then we went home and the girls watched Netflix while Quinty, Mama, and Daddy all took naps. Yes, I said it. I napped for two hours from 1:30 to 3:30 and it was FANTASTIC. I can feel your envy.

THEN, we all went to the Tower Grove Park and drank in the last few warm hours of St Louis sun on a kick scooter for Brisa and roller skates for Kahmylia. Quinty ran around laughing and making exquisitely ridiculous faces. : 0 I spotted Kay on the roller skates and raced Brisa on her scooter while Harry took pictures of the all the fun. It was so much fun.

After a quick trip to the grocery store, we ate sandwiches for dinner and wrapped up the day with a little Super Mario Brothers on the Wii. Then we put so VERY happy kiddos to bed. It was awesome!

Now I'm chillin in the bed blogging and doing lesson plans for the week.

Ahhhhh..........

Sabbath Mondays are the best!