People wonder, sometimes quietly and sometimes aloud, “How do parents with a big family operate?”

Here’s a normal week in the Peterson house:

Monday – Friday:

• 4:30 a.m. – Wake up and take a run
• 5 – 7:30 a.m. – Get three of “The Ladies” ready for school. My specific responsibilities include making breakfast and packing lunches. I also serve as “The Heavy” if necessary. 😉 Finally, I take “The Ladies” to school!
• 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Work
• 5 – 6 – date one of “The Ladies”
  • Monday – Lexington
  • Tuesday – Reagan
  • Wednesday – Dallas
  • Thursday – Sherri (our date is from 5-9 p.m.)
  • Friday – Ashton
  • I don’t go on dates with Karis… yet. She gets plenty of daddy time throughout the evening.
• 6 – 7 – Dinner
• 7:30 – 9:30 – laundry and clean up the kitchen (these are my two “Domestic Responsibilities”). While scrubbing laundry and cleaning the kitchen, I have cable news blaring!
• 9:30 – 10:00 – make my best effort to get in bed and go to sleep! (Unless it’s Wednesday night when of course I will be watching The Ultimate Fighter).

Saturday:

• Sleep in! (that’s usually about a 7 a.m. wake up!)
• Big Breakfast (Mrs. Peterson is a phenomenal cook who can fill up the house with the wonderful smell of bacon, eggs, fried potatoes, and fresh fruit! I love “Big Breakfast”!)
• Chores (e.g. mow the lawn, wash the cars, etc.)
• Coin & Calendar meeting (we review our finances, pay any bills, make any adjustments necessary and align our calendars).
• Maybe watch a movie.
• Do any necessary running/errands.

Sunday:

• 4 a.m. – wake up time
• 6 – 8:45 – get “The Ladies” ready for church
• 8:45 a.m. – fly out of the driveway to get to church on time!
• 9 – 1 – church (2 services and wrap up the day)
• 1 – 3 – lunch and maybe a quick cat nap
• 3 – 5 – Weekly planning meeting (learn a bit more about “The Weekly Review” here)
• 5 – 7 – family time
• 7 – 9:30 – getting ready for the week (e.g. laundry, etc.)

And then we do it all again!

So that’s how one big family does it.

What does your week look like?