We're On A Schedule!

Good morning all! After some prayer and meditation over the weekend and a little advice from my big sister (wink) I decided to give a schedule a try. I will be the first to admit I'm not a huge fan of structure and schedules. I admire folks who have the discipline and patience to create and adhere to a schedule but there is something within my nature and personality that resists that type of thing. There's a part of me that likes to have the option to do something else and the rigidity of schedules sometimes irritates me.
However, after a good solid month home with my little ones, I've decided that they want, need and respond better to structure and schedules than their dear old mama. It's unbelievable the difference in their behavior when they know what to expect in a day.
It didn't take me very long to write out a schedule. I sat on my bed alone and created hour and half hour blocks of time and what would be done in each. The great part about the schedule is that I've decided that I won't necessarily hold to it strictly but it will serve as a guide throughout our day. We should be able to look up and know what we're doing at that moment in time or shift and start doing it. Lunch time and nap time is SCHEDULED now. Nap time will give ME some down time during the day to rest and reflect. Dinner time is also scheduled so that we'll be on time for bed. Matt starts school next month so there's no time like NOW to go ahead and start moving things toward his new schedule.
One thing that immediately got changed on the schedule was my prayer and devotion time. I wrote down that I'd like to have devotion between 7:00-8:00. So imagine my frustration when my eyes were wide open at 5 a.m.! Deep down I knew it was the Holy Spirit but I was still a bit tired. I read a scripture anyway and meditated on it. My alarm was set for 7:00 and I was counting down the minutes. Soon as the clock struck 7:00, the children came bursting through my bedroom door!
Isn't it AMAZING how the Holy Spirit works?! He knew (although I didn't) that Matt & Cait would be fully awake by 7. So now that I know, I'll be prepared tomorrow to set an earlier time of devotion. Oh, and let's not forget this will require everyone (mommy included) going to bed earlier tonight.
Just the thought of having a schedule is already bringing an odd sense of relief and peace to me. It's like a budget, but only my time in the currency. Not only can I make better use of my time in a day, it will help me to see just how much time I have and how much has been wasted in the past.
And on that note, it's time for me to go implement this new schedule. Breakfast started five minutes ago!