Monday, August 2, 2010

Getting up early!

I love to get up early in the morning and get my day going. I also love to stay in my warm, cozy bed and sleep. But I have found my whole day goes so much more smoothly and I can actually accomplish things when I get up early. So, I've been trying over the past few months to get up before everyone else to spend time in my devotions/reading my Bible, exercising, and planning my day. It is much easier to say than do though. I will have a couple of days that go well, and then I end up staying up later than normal to wait for hubby to get home from work, or the baby wakes up really early and I bring her to bed with me, or I just plain don't feel like getting up, etc., etc., etc. Then I end up staying in bed or just moping around the house in my jammies until 9 or sometimes even 10 o'clock in the morning. By the time we have breakfast and I can get a shower and get the girls dressed and ready for the day, well, then it's lunch time, and then it's nap time, and then it's time to start making dinner, and then.........you get the picture. The day just gets away from me, and I haven't had any time to spend with the Lord or take care of myself.
When I was catching up on Inspiredtoaction.com (my new favorite blog to read! Kat is awesome!) the other day, I saw that another blogger (So, I Married a Mennonite) was starting up a challenge based on Kat's ebook "Maximize Your Mornings". For the whole month of August she is going to be leading us through the book, and everyone that joined that challenge will be able to help keep each other accountable and learn how to make the most out of everyday by using our morning time wisely. I am so excited to do this not only for myself, but for how it will help my family to have a centered, happier, more organized wife and mommy.
So, as the first day of the challenge started, I managed to get myself out of bed at 5:30 am and not even hit the snooze button (a bad habit of mine...I don't like to admit this but sometimes I will just lay in bed and keep hitting the snooze button 6 or more times...yes, I know that's lame, but, hey, we all have weaknesses, right? LOL)!! I got my exercise clothes on which I had laid out the night before (FlyLady has been helping me with evening and morning routines...goes quite well with this new challenge, I think), and worked out on the Wii for about 20 minutes. Heard the baby stirring and quick grabbed a shower. By the time I was out she was definitely awake and so was her sister. So much for my quiet time. Kat recommends having hubby watch the early risers so you can have your uniterrupted time, but my hubby usually works late, so he sleeps late, therefore that's not an option for me. Time for plan B. I popped in a video for the girls, got my devotions done and a load of laundry going. Then we had our breakfast together and were off on our day.
It didn't go quite like I had hoped since my little angels woke up so early, but I am just happy I made it out of bed. And since that is the goal we are working on in the challenge this week, I am quite happy that I. GOT. OUT. OF. BED. Yay!!!
Now to do it again tomorrow..............

7 comments:

  1. Saying "hello" from the MYM challenge! Doing this challenge w/ a baby is a BIG challenge - I'll be praying for you!

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  2. Amber, your kids are so cute!

    Congratulations on getting so much accomplished this morning! I'm excited that you joined the challenge.

    See you tomorrow!
    m :)

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  3. Thank you to both of you! :) It is only day 1 and already this challenge has been a blessing!

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  4. I'm doing the MYM challenge as well. I admire you for tackling this with such a young baby! My son (now 17 mo) didn't sleep through the night until 11 months old and I can't fathom trying to focus on getting up EARLY when all I ever thought about was squeezing in more sleep :)

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  5. I usually wake up late in the morning but it seems to be an good habit to get up early in the morning and to worship God, exercise, and to plan for your whole day.

    I have been planning some hours back to get up early in the morning and to plan my day.
    Liquid Rubber

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  6. So fun to work on this "wake up early" challenge together!

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  7. Amber, thank you for sharing this challenge. I may join you - but, not until we get back from our week up north :)

    Good luck! I'll be thinking of you and checking in.

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