What I do.

Mornings are hard. My heavy lids wrench themselves open in slow measure when I hear padding feet on the almost century old wood. The creak of heavy doors casts the early light into my darkened room.

"Mommy. Mommy." I hear one of four kids calling me to conciousness. The reasons vary but it all means the same thing; time to get up. I dislodge myself from a warm cuddling baby and begin the day. I go downstairs, get breakfast ready, pour coffee and wait for my cells to realize we're vertical.

The dog gets fed and put out. The rabbits are greeted, noses sniffing, eager for their morning rations. They care little if I'm still in my jammies, which I often am. Thank goodness for privacy fencing. The sweet smell of crisp hay helps tingle my nose awake. The scent is it's own alarm. "It's Day" it tells me.

I turn on the light for the sprouts, water what needs hydrating. Turn on the computer and see who doing what while my blood pumps caffeine to my brain. The kids get sent upstairs to dress. The baby is up by now and munching his own feed.

The rest of the morning is a fast blur of cleaning, hanging laundry, dressing, making beds and playing. Lunch quickly approaches and nap time for the baby sometimes comes before I'm ready. When Max goes down school comes up. The oldest do math, reading and handwriting. We might do art or music, garden or cook. We almost always read. I always tend the garden on my trip to grab the mail. When the kids are occupied I check in online, research farm stuff, nutrition or building techniques, work on college or ASL. So many things to do.

The afternoon heat keeps us indoors for now. Summertime isn't fun with heatstroke and sunburns. Small jaunts out to blow bubbles or play with clay are just about all we can handle. I yearn for autumn -true Southern Autumn- when we want to stay outside forever and open the windows when we can't.

Dinnertime prep starts about four. Consulting the menu on the fridge saves much time. More playing, reading and tidying. There's always something to clean up in a small house of seven. Daddy comes home and dinner is served by six. Bedtime storytime has us all cuddling in someone's bed, taking turns reading aloud after teeth are bushed and jammies donned. Kisses and hugs are top priority before lights go out.

I take the quiet time to decompress, talk with hubby and do more reading and researching. Some sewing might get done, some baking or spinning. Or I might just shut off the day and go read until my eyes are too heavy for my facial muscles to hold open. Then I sleep as soundly as I can, up with little ones here and there, until I start it all over again the next day.

It might not sound like much but it's who I am everyday; boo-boo kisser, human, storyteller, chef, referee, gardener, bunny-raiser, sewer, spinner, teacher, guider, lesson-learner, maid, bug killer, laundress, wife, humanure enthusiast, blogger, mother, reader, writer, dancer, dog owner, friend, woman, dreamer, hoper, student, seeker. Following my heart and doing the best I can.

It's what I do.