Week in the Life™ 2020 | Monday Words + Photos

Well, howdy, friends! Here’s Monday, day one of Week in the Life for 2020 stories + photos! I was a little unsure how motivated and inspired I would be with all that is going on in the world, but thankfully once the day got going, the photos and stories really inspired me and my family cooperated! Ha! We’ll see how they do at the end of the week. They are probably going to be a wee bit sick of me … maybe. ;) By the end of the day I realized that I took quite a bit of photos and clearly I was motivated and excited to snap some photos the first part of the day because there were a lot, but I know that I can be a little more relaxed the coming days because I don’t have to take a picture of “all the things.” I honestly wasn’t even trying to do that, but just went with it and here’s what I have to show for it yesterday.

MONDAY 9:10 am | It’s such a beautiful day today. A bit chilly and breezy, but the sun and sky are glorious. Out to walk the dog and then back in to get some morning things done.

MONDAY 9:19 am | I always head up to my office in the morning and open up the blinds. I have been loving pulling up the blinds so that I can see straight out into the pasture in our backyard. If it’s a nice day I’ll even open the window. I love to feel the breeze and hear the birds singing, but this morning it was just a little too chilly.

MONDAY 9:31 am | Breakfast is a smoothie and Luke is always my helper when it comes to smoothies. His favorite part: putting in the frozen strawberries, 4 ice cubes and counting down from 10 to 0 (at the top of his lungs, of course). He always tells me that his smoothies taste best because of “the whole bunch of love” he puts into them. I have to agree.

MONDAY 9:41 am | Sat down for just a bit with Luke at the table while he ate a granola bar after his smoothie. There are of course crumbs everywhere on the table (I swear my kids make more crumbs now than when they were toddlers), but it’s such a sweet time with him. I drink my smoothie and then we head on upstairs to wake Caylin and Jack up.

MONDAY 9:52 am | Every morning Marlie and I have this routine where we come up to my office and she wants to play right away. If I sit down at my desk for too long she will drop every single toy she owns right at my feet and get all up in my face until I play. It’s the sweetest thing, although at times when I’m super busy, it can also be incredibly annoying. The thing is though, that usually even on those busy days, when I take a minute to stop and just play with her, it brings me so much joy and I feel so much better. Right now she’s loving playing tug-of-war with this old sock of mine that I tied in a knot and gave to her. Once we play for a little bit she takes a nap and I start my day getting things done at my computer. Thankful for my sweet dog who reminds me that it’s good to stop and play every once and awhile.

MONDAY 10:05 am | Almost forgot to take my daily supplements. Marlie is never too far away and she always springs into action when I go near the window.

MONDAY 10:58 am | Found Jack in the homeschool room making a “puppet.” He asked to borrow 2 black buttons for the eyes. Right now he is always creating something or inventing some contraption. I just love it.

MONDAY 11:02 am | Luke decided to join Jack and draw a bit.

MONDAY 11:11 am | Photobomb minus one baby tooth.

MONDAY 11:58 am | Caylin came into my room to chat a bit and to hang with the dog. Every time she comes in my office Marlie will grab her bone and it drives Caylin crazy. She just wants snuggles and hugs, but Marlie just wants to chew her bone near her or play with her. It’s a running joke!

MONDAY 12:16 pm | Evidence of a sock war.

MONDAY 3:14 p.m | Luke and a Bigfoot lunchbox collided.

MONDAY 3:22 pm | Let Marlie roam upstairs a bit and I think she was shocked. Love how she listened so well and stayed and waited for me to go downstairs. We’ve been trying to give her a little more freedom lately just to see what she’ll do and she’s doing so great!

MONDAY 3:37 pm | Luke took a break in between Math and Language Arts to play a bit of Super Mario. He gets so loud when he plays and I’m not surprised that I captured him in mid-air.

MONDAY 4:02pm | The boys have been playing pretty good together lately. Their room, on the other hand, makes me cringe every time I walk by. They definitely are messy, but at least they are pulling out toys and using their imagination. I’ll call that a win.

MONDAY 4:11 pm | Walked by Caylin’s room and found her where I normally do – at her desk. She was drawing and told me that a creative streak had hit her in the face and she was so excited. I love seeing her happy doing art.

MONDAY 4:46 pm | Took a trip to the mailbox. Michael got some packages from Topps.com and we also got the electric bill. Oh, and I got some colon cleanse pills. Landyn told me to and so I did. Ha

MONDAY 4:43 pm | While I was cooking dinner, the boys were pulling out every game that we own and playing them. I found them laughing hysterically playing Twister together. They’re both pretty competitive. The only thing that drove me nuts is them yelling, “Mama, come and see this!” about 50 times!

MONDAY 5:34 pm | Tonight it was spaghetti for dinner and although I was playing music and trying to enjoy it, the boys had other ideas. I set up my phone while I stirred the sauce just to see if they’d be running by when the timer went off and sure enough. They love to play with their action figure guys in the kitchen while I cook and I’m usually tripping over them. I don’t want to forget this.

MONDAY 6:14 pm | Dinner is done and I always grab a few pieces of carrots when I head back upstairs with Marlie. I put them in the pocket of my sweater. She always knows they’re there.

MONDAY 7:22 pm | I love how the light streams into my office at this time of the day. I love how it’s illuminating my happy boards behind my desk.

MONDAY 10:02 pm | After our Bible study, Michael decided to stitch up Caylin’s “Rainbow” stuffie. It’s her favorite right now (it’s actually one of her own drawings turned into a stuffed animal) and a seam busted on the tail and so he wanted to fix it for her. I love that he loves so tangibly and that he can sew up things better than I can. I asked him where he learned to sew and he said, “The Army and it was easier growing up to just do it himself instead of asking his Mom,” which broke my heart, but it’s things like that that made him the man he is today. Smart, resilient, loyal and loving.

MONDAY 10:30 pm | Lately we’ve been playing a game of Exploding Kittens every night. It’s become our thing and now that we’re clearly night owls, LOL, we play a game of it and then watch an episode or two of “When Calls the Heart.” I just love this time together, although sometimes the game can get a bit stressful and there are tears (from the little ones, of course). Tonight Caylin won and it was a close one, but she beat her Daddy!

And there is Monday in photos + stories, friends. If you are documenting this week and sharing somewhere, I’d love for you to leave me the link so that I can check it out and cheer you on! Here’s to Tuesday, friends!

For more information on Week in the Life, check out Ali’s website HERE.