Where to begin? Last year the girls attended North Union, our local school district. It is a relatively small school. I say relatively small because I went to probably one of the smallest schools known to men (minus small private Christian schools). There were 32 students in my graduating class! Yep! No kidding! Anyhow, last year I would pray every day the girls would be a light to their friends & teachers. I prayed for opportunities for me to show love to the teachers, staff & students. I really thought one of our family's ministries was going to be loving on the school community. The girls both had wonderful teachers and while there were things that would sometimes bug me, we are all human! None of those things were deal breakers or things I couldn't really deal with once I would re-evaluate with reason from a teacher's perspective, not a mother's perspective! You know what I mean....when it is your baby, you develop Mama Bear syndrome! Also, I admit...I can become a little over-critical seeing how I am a teacher. I explained it to someone like this, if you are a vet and taking your beloved pet to another vet, wouldn't you watch over them like a hawk? Sure you would! So, throughout the year and at various times in our parenting journey Scott and I would discuss the homeschool option. I began to ask Scott if we could homeschool. He wasn't necessarily opposed but thought we should wait since elementary school is relatively harmless compared to junior high & high school. His philosophy was to homeschool them in the upper grades. My argument to his position was that the girls love us NOW, want to be with us NOW, and this will change most likely as they get older (boo hoo hoo)! My other argument against his position was that we could use this time while they are young to build up a strong foundation in their faith and then send them back "into the world" in junior high/high school while they were still under our roof and we could help them in making decisions. I thought for sure my arguments would completely sway Scott over to my side....BUT they didn't. :) HAHAHA!! I wasn't upset or heartbroken. I have been on this journey of learning to truly respect and stand by Scott's decisions since he is the leader of our home. This doesn't make me an oppressed wife I promise. I have no problem sharing my ideas! ;) However, I knew that the Lord would work it out either way. During this time Scott began meeting with a guy from church (another incredible story of how the Lord answers prayers...even ones we have been praying about for years) every other week for mutual accountability and mentorship. Through the course of these get togethers over a yummy Chinese lunch, Chris began to share with Scott his family's decision to homeschool their children. Chris shared with Scott what they found to be the pros/cons of homeschooling and encouraged Scott to really pray about it. He came home, shared how the Lord was working on his heart (although my words are more emotional sounding than what he would like), and we began to pray about the upcoming school year. I researched homeschooling philosophies, curriculum, talked with friends who homeschooled, read up on curriculums, etc. Ironically, I was the one no longer at peace with the idea of homeschooling the girls. I had began to become even more involved at the school by volunteering more often and substitute teaching. I was working on developing relationships with the mothers of the girls' friends, as well as the staff at the school. I truly was beginning to feel comfortable and looking for opportunities to further love on North Union! Ahhhhh....!!!! Plus, the thought of losing "my time" during the day seriously frightened me. Yep....I am selfish! I loved the freedom to pretty much do as I pleased while the girls were away for 7+ hours every day. I would visit friends, go to a women's Bible study, go to lunch, craft, just sit on the couch (just being real) and watch Rachel Ray or Food Network, read, clean (although this wasn't high on my priority list), etc. You get the idea! My freedom was now being threatened and yet again I am being faced with the reality how selfish I really am! What a dirty, ugly sin! ;) Anyhow as I was thinking, praying and dealing with the very real possibility of homeschooling and still not having peace about it, the end of the school year was right around the corner. One day I was chatting with family about scheduling some weekend get togethers. I was a little overwhelmed by all our commitments, especially since I was feeling as though our family (the four of us) had not been together much lately. See, Scott had been working every other Saturday since the fall and in March he worked every single Saturday. Our family time had really been compromised and we were feeling it. Because of this overwhelming feeling I then did the math. This is really funny because if you know me real well you know I DON'T DO MATH! Hahahahahaha!! My sister is the math nerd! Anyhow, I added up exactly how many hours Scott saw the girls in 5 days time. I was completely SHOCKED even though I had been living it for the last 9 months! Scott only saw the girls 1-2 hours per week (give or take a little)!!! 1-2 hours! Holy cow! I called him right away since he was on his way to work and told him. He was like..."Duh honey! I know that!" See, "my life" overlapped both my girls life and Scott's life so it never dawned on me how little their lives overlapped. Are you following me here because I know this is long? Needless to say, this is exactly what the Lord used to confirm our decision to school the girls at home this year. You see, my original motives were good but not necessarily deal breaker motives (at least for us). The main reason/motive for deciding to school our girls at home is so they can have a healthy & active relationship with their father! Every thing falls second to that because a wonderful relationship with their father will teach them so much about the incredible relationship they can have with their Heavenly Father! It is an amazing story and journey as to how we got to this spot. I am not sure I have done it justice...so know this...the LORD did all the work and we were just called to obey! It is a daily choice and I am still working on it. We opted to start with the online charter school option since I worked there for 6 years and feel very comfortable with the curriculum. If we go in a different direction, we will cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, we couldn't be happier because the last four days have been so amazing! It is incredible to teach your own children. I could go on and on so I will stop for now.
