what do our days look like?

Our life and schedule this semester is a bit different than it has been during the rest of our training. We have settled into a pretty good routine, though...and the semester is just FLYING.  Just like the rest of life, right?

I thought I would show you what we do all day here at MTC!  I apologize ahead of time for the amount of pictures :)

So ideally, my day would start around 5-5:15 am.  I would get up, work out, shower, and sit down with my Bible and coffee.  But. Notice I said my ideal day.  And we all know that the ideal isn't usually what happens :)  

So sometimes my ideal day comes true.  But most of the time, I get up about 6:15 (that snooze button is just too easy for me to reach!!)  I shower and then I go and get my coffee (that Nathan has already made me--he's the best!).  I sit down with my Bible and then we get Kaine and Halle out of bed about 6:45.  They join me in reading their own Bibles (or a Bible story book) until 7:00.  We just started doing that this semester and I LOVE those quiet mornings with these two!

Kaine and Halle leave for school at 7:18 (on the dot--Halle is terrified of missing the bus!)

In the meantime, I wake up our other two sleeping beauties...

Get them ready for class...

And we pack up our computers and our ling books...and we are off to our class at 7:55.  Layla likes to help Nathan drive--she's getting really good at steering!  Don't worry--it's just on campus :) 

Daisy always says, "Mommy, can I help you?"  Help me do what?  Sit?  I don't know, but I sure love cuddling her on the way to class :)

Here is our classroom building.  Nathan and I are both taking an intensive Linguistics class this semester (for those of you who don't know)--and we spend all morning, every morning in the same classroom.

Daisy always likes to lead the way...

The preschool childcare doesn't start until 8:15, so Layla and Daisy join us in our class the first 15 minutes every day.

Goofballs :)

At 8:15, I walk Layla and Daisy over to their class (in another building).  We stop at the mailboxes most mornings--the girls love to put letters in the mail slot!

Then I drop them off at their preschool with their AMAZING teachers.  We have been so thrilled with the wonderful ladies who give of their time to invest in our girls.  What a blessing.  Here is Layla with Miss Sandy :)

Daisy and her sweet friend Ezly.  Daisy and Layla love being in class with their friends!

So then I head back to my classroom for the rest of the morning.  I have to say it is SUCH a blessing to be able to take ling with Nathan.  We can talk about nerdy linguistic stuff together then :)

At noon, we pack our stuff up and pick up Layla and Daisy.  We usually stop by the "Food Pantry" to see if there is yummy produce.  MTC gets lots of donations of food--lots of produce and donuts :)  Oh, and boxes of these marshmallows that Daisy holding up--and asking me again to get for her!  She tries everyday :)

We go home and eat lunch...

And after lunch and cleaning up, Nathan heads back over to our classroom for one more hour of ling class and then he stays all afternoon working on homework.  I don't go to that extra hour of class because there isn't childcare in the afternoon--and by then, I am ready to have my girls at home with me!  So I do my homework at home.

Oh, by the way...speaking of homework.  It is a very big part of my life right now!  Just sayin :)

So Layla and Daisy play for awhile before Daisy's nap...

Ha!  They fit under my thirty one bags so well!

Daisy's getting tired!  So I put her to bed for a nap (which she is starting to grow out of.  Will somebody please pinch me?  Very soon I will have ZERO kids who take naps!  Their childhood is going so fast!!)

Anyway, if you come to our house on almost any given afternoon, this is where you will find me :)  This is where I do all my  homework.  I usually work on it for 2-3 hours each afternoon, and sometimes I have to do more after the kids are in bed at night.  It kind of sounds like a lot, but it usually goes pretty well...

And that is largely due to this girl.  Layla is such a help!!.  She LOVES to color and do crafty things.  She is great at doing this by herself--but she is right there in the kitchen with me, so I love that.  Many days I will let her watch some kind of a movie, too.  Of course, Layla doesn't mind that at all!

There are some days, too, when I have a day off from homework.  On those days, I have more time to bake with Layla...

...or read books with her.  I love those days :)

Kaine and Halle get home from school at about 3:50.  I try to stop doing homework about when they come home.

Halle loves helping me get supper ready.  Actually, all the girls love it.  Sometimes it's helpful. (Halle is getting older!!) but many times not so helpful (ahem...Daisy)  :)  But it is cute!

Our evenings are usually pretty chill.  Lots of family time :)

Or sometimes we get together with friends!  These guys are Jake and Ally, our next door neighbors.  We are so thankful for them!   Such an awesome couple.  And their little Hank...he is so adorable!

So our average evenings are spent at home with our kids.  They are usually in bed by 8:30 or so.  And after that, I have time with Nathan!  Oh, but lots of nights it is spent doing ling :)  Oh well, this is just our season of life right now, and we really are enjoying it!  I think we self timed this picture of ourselves around midnight one night.  We were finishing up a KILLER of an assignment.  It is very rare for us to have to stay up that late though!

So...there you have it.  An average day in the life of Nathan and Rachel :)  Now, I'm ready to enjoy this weekend--my parents are here for a visit and it just makes my heart so happy.  Praising Jesus!

the judgment seat of Christ.

How much do you think about the judgment seat of Christ?  If you are like me, it is too easy to forget that I will someday be face to face with my Savior (what?!)...and we will look at my life together.  Jesus will justly determine what I did during my life (as a believer) that was eternal-reward-worthy, and also what works would be "burned in the fire" (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).

Now, just to make sure we're on the same page, this is NOT the judgment to determine if I will go to Heaven or Hell.  I won't even be at that judgment, because I have trusted Jesus as my Savior and I am a child of God.  Nope, this is a different judgment that God tells us about in His Word.

The Judgment Seat of Christ.  In the original Greek, the word is "bema"--which Paul used because the "bema seat" was the place where contestants in Greek sports were rewarded (think laurel wreaths). Therefore, many people today as well as Bible translations use this term--the Bema seat  of Christ.

Anyway, to live with an eternal mindset is SO my desire--and again, there are so many times I just. forget. about. it.

Crazy, that I can so easily forget something of such MASSIVE importance!

2 Corinthians 5:9-10

"Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done while in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."

 God makes it clear in the Word that I will be rewarded for my works as a believer.  Will these rewards be worth it?  You better believe it.  On the other hand, will I be completely sorrowful and regret the many times and opportunities in my life that I squandered?  Yes, I believe so.

And He makes it so clear..."each one may receive the things done while in the body."  Right now, in my short lifetime, I have a very unique opportunity.  This is the only chance I will ever have to do anything of eternal value, to gain eternal rewards (or opposite--to lose rewards).  This. is. it.  Wow, that's a wake up call to me!

So friends...I have a recommendation.  Nathan and I watched a DVD called "The Bema" that was AMAZING.  It's not a movie, but more of a dramatized sermon, for lack of a better way to describe it.  It was so powerful, and I know it will be one that I will want to watch over and over.

Here is a link to buy the dvd--it is by Pete Briscoe, and just WOW.  We loved it.

Brothers and sisters, let's spur each other on, to look forward to this day and to live for this day!  To live for eternity!  I know that for the billions upon billions upon trillions of years that I spend in Heaven, that I would be forever grateful that I did so.  But we just need each other, don't we?  To remind one another--because our flesh just forgets.

Love you all!  I am so thankful for each of you.

(Another great book on this subject, that Nathan and I would both highly recommend:  The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn.  It is so good!)