- WHAT DO YOU DO IN THE COURSE OF A DAY? -

yes, that's a question that was written on a blog of someone i know, asking the blog world... "what do you do in the course of a day?" - here's my answers as it is right now (but keep in mind, around here, things can change at a moments notice!)

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first of all, i'm a wife to spike & a stay at home mother to our 5 (soon to be 6) kiddos - dustin's 22, brittan's 16, kiara's 5, ruby's 5, karleigh's 4 & a newborn due in august/september - we attend church every week & love it - we're very active with our extended families (camping & vacationing, etc.)

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monday-friday: i get ruby up at 6am, dress her, feed her & get her on the bus (monday-wednesday) - i get kiara up at 7:30, dress her, feed her & get her on the bus (monday-friday) - i get karleigh up at 8am, dress her, feed her & drive her to school (tuesday & thursday)

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i then get things done around the house while i wait for 11:15am to come around (as that's when i pick kiara up) - some of the things i do from 9am-11am are: laundry, start dinner, make beds, pick up clutter around the house, dust, vacuum, blog, check emails, etc. - i then head to get kiara at 11am & we get some lunch - since i have to pick karleigh up on tuesdays & thursdays at 1pm, i usually use that time (11:15-1pm) to run errands, grab lunch, etc.

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from 1:30-3:30 the girls lay down to rest or sleep & then we've to watch for ruby monday-wednesday as she gets off the bus at 4pm - after she arrives home, we're all here, rested & ready for the evening - the girls work on 'school work', play, have snack time, read, etc. as i finish up on household duties, fix dinner & we all wait for spike to get home

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if we've got somewhere to go or something to do in the evening, then when spike gets home, we all load up & out the door we go, so we're not out late as the girls go to bed at 8pm - if we're staying home, then we've dinner, clean up the kitchen afterwards, let the girls play with daddy for a bit since they've not seen him all day (unless he's worked at home, but even at that, he's not 'seen them', as he's been working) - after dinner, somewhere about 7pm, i get them in their pj's, brush their teeth, settle them down & then at 8pm it's prayer time, hugs/kisses & we're done (for that day!)

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in my free time (can someone please tell me what this really is??), i work with rebekah hubley as we're co-founders of a ministry we started, called 'HANDS THAT HEAL', where we help get children out of haiti on medical visas, find them doctors, hospitals, host families, etc. to take care of them while they're in the states, make sure they get the treatment they're in need of while they're here & then get them back to their biological families in haiti at such time they're cleared by their doctors to travel - this ministry's really only just begun & we already have our first little one here 'widline' & another is coming next week 'schnaider', so god's really moving in a big way!

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i also help families stateside, with helping new adoptive families through the process of compiling their dossier - i help answer their questions, make phone calls to haiti on their behalf (almost nightly... yes, comcast knows me by name!), take pictures & videos of their children whenever i travel to haiti - we also try & get to haiti as much as possible & that's usually a couple 3 times per year (it's about time to go back too!) & whenever we go, we work with 2 different agencies while we're there

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i also work for Shiloh Adoptions out of kansas - i've been working with them now for several months, love the people i work with & what they represent - i'm currently helping 3 families (each family's adopting twins!) & am waiting on several other families that have contacted me regarding haitian adoption, to see if they've decided to 'get on the adoption roller coaster with me!' - what i do for shiloh is helping families build their family bigger through the adoption of a child(ren) from haiti & i love it - haiti's where my heart's at & forever will be

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i then, along with my best friend angie, plan & coordinate a haitian family camp one time per year (february) in lafayette, indiana, where people from indiana, ohio, illinois, iowa, kentucky, tennessee, michigan, haiti, etc., who have an interest in haiti (whether it's families that have adopted from haiti, are adopting from haiti, thinking of adopting from haiti, work with missions in haiti, etc.) no matter what agency you're working with, get together for the weekend - it's a great time to get families that all 'look the same', together for a fun weekend where the kids can stay in contact with other families 'like theirs'

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i also, with having a child that's profoundly deaf (ruby), try to work on learning as much ASL (sign language) as i can - she attends a local deaf school, but as she gets older, she needs us to know more than we know now & i don't want to hinder her in any way, so i'm working hard on signing faster & learning more - one thing about it's, with us being with kyle & angie so much, it really helps as angie's fluent in sign & teaches me soooo much!

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i also love taking pictures & have a wonderful time playing around with my camera - it helps as i've got beautiful subjects to photograph as well! - i'll take them to the park, an old covered bridge, a creek, etc. & snap away - i do nothing with the pictures once i take them (except pass them on to grandmas), but i like it & it's fun!

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saturdays are used for going out of town to spend time with our best friends kyle & angie caswell, getting together with family, spending the day lounging & watching movies, taking the kids to the park, etc.

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sundays are used for going to our church & doing last minute errands before starting a new week

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we also have our home for sale as we're busting at the seams now & we're adding another little person - we've a floor plan picked, a lot picked out & a pre-approval for another mortgage so we can move into something larger, WHEN this house sells - i'm constantly picking up, packing up & doing whatever we can to sell this place - we like the house, but we need more room - when we do sell, we'll be moving into an apartment or small house until our new home's built & then move again to our final destination about 4 months later - WHEW, that makes me tired thinking about it!

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well, there you have it... a day in the life of lori shepler!... now, who's next?