🎶“Wake up (wake up) / Grab a brush and put a little makeup”🎶
5:20AM
I wake up either to the sound of my husband starting his day or to my Spotify playlist, aptly titled “Wake Me Up.”
Or—honestly—I wake up on my own at 4-something…just for fun, I guess.
6:00AM
Bible Reading: The Bible Recap (journal + podcast) and the ACTS Prayer Method—journaled on my Kindle Scribe (one of my favorite purchases ever).
Sometimes this happens before 5:00AM and I use this hour and a half to write instead.
7:30AM (ish)
Let it be known: all times here are very approximate. I am frequently running behind my “ideal” schedule.
I mix up 1.5 cups of milk replacer into 24oz of warm tap water and divide it among three dollar store bottles. Then I grab one child—two or even all three if I’m lucky—and we carefully let the lambs out of their enclosure
They are, without exception, launching themselves into the air like absolute psychos because they have exactly zero patience for breakfast.
Next up, we head to the old sheep shed, currently serving as an extra large brooder. We unclog the waterers (usually full of pine shavings…and other things—just kidding, it’s poop) and top off the feeder with all-flock crumbles.
Then we walk up the driveway to the bird run, collect eggs, and let the flock out to free range—while praying the hawks don’t grab (too many of) our younger chickens.
8:30AM
Finally, breakfast and Bible time.
We make bowls of Monster Mash, gather around the table and listen to Simon Bubb read Scripture on the Bible app. Then we switch over to Spotify for The Bible Recap. We close by sharing our prayer requests and praying together.
9:00AM
Time to “start school”… even though we’re already about an hour and a half in.
We read aloud from our Gather Round’s Teacher’s Guide—currently alternating between Vikings and Transportation.
10:00AM
My youngest—who has been waiting somewhat less than patiently—finally gets her turn.
We go through her Gather Round guide (Letters and Numbers 2: On the Farm) and I help her complete her notebook pages while the older two work independently.
10:30AM
By now—after animal care, breakfast, and school—I am…dysregulated.
So I step outside to our home gym and row for 15-20 minutes, plus some stretching. It’s a great reset when I can make it happen and makes an enormous difference in my attitude.
12:00PM
Lunchtime. We regroup, eat together, and watch a show in the living room—currently, it’s Big City Greens.
12:30PM
Round two of bottles for the lambs.
1:00PM
This block is pure gold: introvert time.
The kids usually choose screens or head outside. I read, write, or watch something. Everyone gets space—and it’s glorious. A much-needed chance to recharge.
3:00PM
Quick pre-workout snack and get ready for the gym.
3:30PM
Family workout time. We warm up, then lift or do a CrossFit-style workout, depending on our programming—currently Hard to Kill by Garage Gym Athlete.
5:30PM
Protein shakes, showers, and transition into evening mode.
6:00PM
Dinner + a show together, then we all drift off into our separate corners of the house.
We are a deeply introverted family, so alone time is essential.
7:30PM
Evening animal routine:
- Birds go up in the run
- Lambs get their final bottles and are tucked in
- The dog is finally released to burn off a full day of stored energy
8:00PM
I read to my youngest while we get her ready for bed.
If I’m lucky, I sneak in a bit of my own reading—but lights are typically out by 8:30–9:00 PM (10:00 if sleep is being difficult), because morning comes quickly.
If I’m honest, these days are a lot. They’re full—chaotic, beautiful, overwhelming, and frustrating. And I wouldn’t trade them for the world.
God is using the mundane repetition of caring for these animals to shape our hearts, grow our capacity, expand our knowledge, and deepen our understanding.
As my sister-in-law says, “by faith” we carry on with our daily tasks—committing the work of our hands to the Lord and trusting that He is accomplishing His will in us and through us.
This spring has been…a lot.
And we haven’t even gotten to Chicken Math yet.
Coming May 19.
Potter's Sheep 
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