Counting down

It's almost here, it's almost here! Christmas is a few days away, and we are so ready. Presents are so far out from under the tree we can barely walk through the living room, food is ready to be cooked, and visitors plans are made. The kids are going to have such a wonderful Christmas I just can't wait to see them open their gifts. I am also pretty darn sure I am getting what I have been asking for all year! Money has been so tight this year, but God has blessed us with opportunities to make this year just as exciting as ever. I love that I get to celebrate this year knowing that I am living the life I truly want to live. Life is so good and I am so blessed. Thank you God for sending your son here for me!

'Tis the season

Oh Christmas is upon us, the tree is up, decor is out, and plans are made. So excited for present opening time. I always love watching the kids open everything and be so happy in that moment. My daddy is coming to see me, and dinner is gonna be legen...wait for it...dary. All the kids are getting at least one gift that they really really wanted. We have new exciting prospects on the horizon. Oh it is just a wonderful time of the year. It has been very busy the past couple of weeks, but very good to our family also. I have picked up another child to keep after school to help make ends meat. The kids are very much getting into the "life lesson" series we are working on. Right now our lessons are all about getting out of debt and not being wasteful since that is what we need to do as a family right now. It is just great, lovin' life!

30 Days of thanks

1. God
2. Peter
3. Julie
4. Seth
5. Paige
6. Extended family
7. Best friends
8. Insurance
9. The persecuted church
10. The Bible
11. My church family
12. Health
13. Sanity
14. Work
15. Struggles
16. Knowledge
17. Books
18. Freedom
19. The founding fathers of the United States
20. Veterans
21. Comforts
22. Happiness (optimism)
23. Technology
24. Missionaries
25. Heaven
26. Food
27. Television (entertainment)
28. Soft toilet paper (couldn't skip that one)
29. Beauty in the world
30. Cultures from around the globe

Sacrifice

We recently took a pretty large financial hit that knocked us to our knee's. This has happened several times in the past few years with our financial status. Peter and I decided years ago that I would stay home with the children. More recently we started to home school the children. Due to the financial stress many families would have given in and mom would have gone back to work. Thanks to my wonderful husband that is not the case in our family. We put a very high value on our children being cared for and taught at home rather than some where else. Because of our values, and the belief that my being home is the best possible option for our family Peter has gone out and landed a second job. He is now working two jobs so that his children can be raised up in the way he believes is best for them. I am helping slightly with babysitting on the side, but that does not bring in much. I could not be any more proud of the man I married. Most men would fold under the pressure, but Peter took the bull by the horns. Some people do not/will not agree with this decision that has been made. All I can say to others who do not agree with our lifestyles, and values is that we are firm believers in to each his own. There is no one size fits all lifestyle or family unit. What is right for our family is not right for every family and vica versa. We live our lives in a way that we believe to be the best for us, and anyone that cares for us will take that information for what it is worth and support our decisions.

Proud of who we are

My life without a doubt is not what I thought it would be, but I wouldn't change one single part of it. We recently received a huge financial hit that has forced Peter, and myself to evaluate our financial future. We have both been in debt for many years, and though we have tried here and there to pay some of it off we have not made it a priority. We feel that the financial problems we continue to encounter are a direct result of our indebtedness. Though it is not debt that is causing huge monthly payments or anything like that we feel that if we were not in debt we would have a better financial footing. We have now made a serious commitment to get out of debt and stay that way. We have both taken on new ways of earning extra income, and are serious about using the extra income to pay off debt. We have a clear cut plan to pay it off, and will stick with it. We see our lives as extremely blessed even though we are going through trials. I could list endlessly all the wonderful things of our lives, but the blessings never stop. We have spent the past few days thanking God for the ability to pay this debt even though it will be hard. We know that getting financially stable is the best thing for our family in the long run, and hopefully going through these trials with us will teach our children to not get themselves in similar situations as adults. We are strong, and proud of who we are!

God is so good!

We recently took a pretty big loss of income, as well as gained extra bills. It is a scary situation, but we are confident that God is revealing something to us through it. We have had debt from years back that we have paid on here and there, but have never made a priority. We really feel that this is the exact reason that we keep getting knocked to our knee's financially. We are going to do something about it! We are taking the leap, and making a commitment to get it paid off fully! It will take years to do, but we are going to make it happen. I feel really good about this, and I know this is exactly what we need to be doing in our lives at this moment. It is going to mean great sacrifice for our family, but we feel God is calling us to take responsibility for our debt. The debt that we have ignored for so long now. Please pray for us as we undertake this huge task!

My path

I had a reminder tonight of the life path that I choose. When all my high school classmates were in their first semester of college I was getting pregnant. When they had their first summer break from college I was giving birth to my first child. When they were graduating college I was raising a four year old, working two jobs and getting pregnant with my second child. While they were getting their first taste of the real world I was going through a terrible unwanted divorce and about to give birth to that second baby. Not to long after that I came to know Jesus as my savior. I was a single mother working hard to survive on my own. By God's grace a wonderful woman provided more than she knows for my family. While my high school classmates were getting married I was buying my first home as a single mother of two. I had no money, and no real future for my children. The wonderful woman mentioned above gave me an envelope of money. Not just a few bucks or even a few hundred bucks, but a lot of money. It was exactly what I needed at the time to really get started in life. By that token of God's love being handed to me I came to know Christ. You see when she gave me the money she told me that God had come to her in a dream and told her to give me the money. The woman being a survivor of hurricane Katrina, and living in a hotel far away from home really did not have the money to spare. She was devoted to living for Christ and therefore made sure the girl behind the desk that she didn't even know the name of received the money God directed her to give. She did it in a way that I had no choice except to take the money. She left the hotel and I have never heard from her again. She has no idea what she has done for so many souls. By doing what she did I came to know God's love. Now I have a husband, and three children that are all devoted to living life for Christ as Adrienne Miller did/does. My classmates have caught up to me in life many with several children as well. I would never change how I got to the place I am now. I went through much heartache and hard times, but I was shown the love of God in such a way that it was all worth it. My struggles were a direct result of my sin, yet God used my sin to open my heart and through that we are now a family of believers. Thank you Adrienne Miller where ever you are for being a sister in Christ that will stop at nothing to follow him, and win souls!

Finally!

We are now officially moved into the new house! The kids are loving the backyard and the neighborhood kids. I am loving the quiet, and the set up. Peter is loving that he gets to be manly and fix the fence so Paige can't squeeze her little self out of the small opening between the fence post and the house. We still have lots to do to be settled, but our stuff is here lol. Now I just need someone to massage the knots out of my back from all the lifting!

Almost there : )

We get to pick up our keys on Friday afternoon, and start moving on Saturday. I can not wait until we get moved in and the kids can have a back yard to play in. My friend told me a few days ago that just when we are getting moved it is going to start getting cold. I told her I will buy them snow suits! I am so looking forward to being able to say "go play in the back yard". I haven't minded apartment life so much, but I will enjoy that fenced in yard. In the mean time our house is insane! We have boxes every where the couch is pushed up 3 ft from the TV so we could fit all the beds behind it. I didn't realize how much stuff we still have until now. The last move was within the apartment complex and it was easy to move a little at a time so I just didn't see all the boxes stacked up like it is now. Doing laundry today then we will move the washer/dryer for easy access on moving day. Thanks to some good friends that are going to help me this week I can get some things out of the way before the trailer comes for the bigger items. The visit with my mom went really good. The kids were so excited to see her, and so was I! We even had mommy's day out and I spent the morning and afternoon out with my mom then the evening out with the hubs. It was just what the doctor ordered!

My mommy is coming!

Today my mom is coming and the kids have no idea. She is going to pick up pizza on the way here and knock on the door like the pizza guy. I am going to tell the kids this afternoon that my back is killing me and I just can't cook! : ) I can't wait.

Moving day is fast approaching

We are moving in 2 weeks from today. I have packed 2 boxes. This is not going very smoothly! lol Really we don't have much stuff, but I need boxes so I can go ahead and pack what we do have. I went through the kids clothes today and filled 2 garbage bags up with give away items. I also managed to get all the pictures off of the walls, and nails out. We managed to empty one shelf on the books shelf and get that packed (thats the 2 boxes). The last couple of moves I made sure we had everything packed the week before the move, but at this rate I don't see that happening. The good thing is that we have an entire month to move all of it out and to clean this place. We are planning to move all the big things on the 2nd and if I have to take little things later then so be it. Hopefully I can get most of the little things moved on the 1st so that moving the big things will be easier. I am just tired of moving. This makes the 3rd move in just over a year. I want to know where we are going to be so we don't have to keep moving. At the same time I find it fun to go to different places. Who knows where we will be in a year, or two...

Sick and moving

Paige and I have been sick for almost a week now. I am tired of feeling yucky! On a good note we are getting the house we were hoping for. Soon we will have a yard for our kids to play in and a cheaper place to live that is nicer than where we are now. Not that we are in something bad now, just expensive for an apartment in this area. We are ready to have a yard again, and be able to sleep at night without hearing people over our heads! Apartment life has not been bad, and we were pretty fortunate to get decent neighbors here. It will be better to have a house with all the amenities of an apartment. We will have an olympic sized pool with slides, and diving boards. We will have really nice parks for the kids to play at without leaving the neighborhood. We will have a lot of home schooling neighbors since we are moving to a military housing unit. We will still have 24 hour maintenance, as well as lawn service. I didn't realize I wanted to live in a house again so much until the chance at it came up. Now I can't wait! Just 3 weeks away now. : )

Blessed

I am feeling very blessed today. My kids are good for the most part aside from the normal sibling rivalry. They do what I ask when I ask without complaint most of the time. I get to stay home with them every day and watch them grow into intelligent, beautiful, productive little people. I have an incredible husband that is willing to do anything and everything to not just make life livable, but to make it awesome for our family. He supports me, and listens to my counsel. He doesn't complain about having to help me with anything, and most times just does things without me even asking. We are a part of a very family oriented church that is truly teaching the word of God. We have great friends that help with whatever we need and don't ask for anything in return. I am just so loving my life! Thank you Lord.

Woe is me...

I am having a hard time not feeling sorry for myself this morning. Our van broke down, but that is not the worse part. The bad part of it is we were on our way to a class the kids have been looking forward to for like a month. They have been talking about it and asking when it was over and over. It was harder to accept that I had to tell them they couldn't go then it was for me to accept that I have a huge problem on my hands. Peter is at work so he doesn't even know yet that this has happened. I hate giving him bad news! I know that all things happen for a reason so I choose to believe we would have been in a car wreck or gone somewhere we shouldn't go had the van still been working. It's just hard to be in one of the dips of the roller coaster! I am grateful that we have one working vehicle so at least we are not in a position that Peter can't get back and forth to work. Praise God that we are in a place in our lives that we will be able to fix the problem sooner rather than later. Had this happened a couple of months ago we would be without the van for some time. Hopefully we will be able to get it fixed by the end of next month so 4-6 weeks isn't too long. Today is a stinky day!

Growing

I have been reading a book by Dennis Rainey and David Boehi called The Best Gift You Can Ever Give Your Parents for about a week now. It is killing me! There are so many things that have touched home about my role in the relationship I have with both my parents, and Peter's parents. I always felt justified in decisions made, and the way I have been towards all of them until now. I now realize that I play just as significant a role in it all as they do. I realize that God commanded me to honor them. I am working through some things, but I am moving towards this new goal. Throughout the book Dennis and David speak about several main points. Giving compassion, granting forgiveness, and honoring. I find that I have severely lacked on all three of those things with all of my parents in the past and currently. It has been a very hard book to read, but I know that it is because I am growing in Christ. I love all of these people, but I have not honored any of them. So onto more growing pains... Paige is potty training. Oh the joys! lol. Really though she is doing great. After about a week of potty training she is going on her own accord every time she goes #1. Unfortunately she has a need to watch the process so she pulls her belly up and in that aims it out off of the potty! She is going though and that is what really counts. She is not at all about going #2 on the potty though! She has had an accident with that every day. Hopefully she will realize soon that going #2 in your pants is nasty.

Decisions, Decisions

Well we have found where we definately want to move to once our lease is up here in October. I am worried about being able to rent there due to the strict standards for getting approved. I have a broken lease on my record from years ago, and even though it has been paid off most places require a much higher deposit because of it. I have no idea how we are going to come up with the deposit to begin with much less if it's even higher than the regular required deposit. It is a nice place gated community with a big pool and playground areas. It is not in the area of town I would prefer, but for what you get living there verses the rent amount it will be worth my drive across town for church and stuff. Money is a major stress right now for us. It seems as though everything is hitting at once in that department. We are losing a portion of the child support we get every month, my insurance is about to kick in which is a blessing but very expensive, we need deposit and application fee plus the actual moving cost money, and our electric bill is insane because our ac didn't work properly for several weeks so we ran it 24/7. It's all very scary, but I know we will come out of it ok. God will provide for us what we need to make his will happen, and that is what is important. It is much harder to think of that when I am stressed though! lol.

Can't beat 'em, join 'em...

Well it has been well over 100 degrees in Wichita Falls for like 43 consecutive days or something like that. It's been getting up to like 113ish every day! My a/c and pretty much everyone else's here in the area is not able to keep up. So I decided today since I can't beat the heat I will just give in. I set my a/c to 83 today and I will be happy if it can keep up with that (though I doubt it). It has been almost 90 degrees in this apartment for weeks now every day. It finally starts cooling off usually around 4 am, and never does get down past about 75 period. This process has made me be so much more thankful for the things we have. I couldn't help but cry when thinking a few nights ago about the homeless. In the winter everyone rallies around to get them blankets and coats, but there is not much to do for the summer heat. Maybe we should be gathering hand held fans, and spray bottles? I just don't know that any effort I make will be supported nor helpful. Anyway my thoughts and prayers are with those without air conditioning whether they be homeless or just can't afford to fix a broken unit.

Apartment Hunting

Well we are in a very expensive apartment right now so we have been apartment hunting the past couple of months. We have to move mid October, and the search has been very slow going so it's good we started so early. I think we have decided on a place that is a step down from where we are, but also not the cheapest place in town. We were not really loving anything we were finding when looking for town homes, but we have decided we have to just go with a regular apartment. I love where we are, but I don't think I will hate where we are going so it will be OK. We also wanted to be somewhere that we would feel comfortable staying long term. We have made 2 moves in the past little over a year and it's too much already! Hopefully this place will be somewhere that we can stay until we either move away from the area or buy a home. The kids are doing great just gearing up for school to start. We are doing some new "life lessons" classes where we are going to teach the kids everything we want them to know before they move out. Simple things like how to mow, and edge a yard to more complex stuff like budgeting, investing, and saving. Julie is now working as a mother's helper, and will hopefully continue that through out the school year. We are hoping she will have enough experience that she can actually babysit when she is 12 after taking her safety, CPR, and first aid training classes. She is really becoming a wonderful young Godly woman, and we are very proud of her. Seth is starting to get a little stir crazy this summer, and is ready to start school so he will have something to do. He has really done a lot of growing, and maturing in the past year. Paige is.... well Paige. She is really starting the terrible two's stuff the past 3 or 4 months. Over all she is a good girl, but she really likes to see our reactions when she pushes our buttons! She knows how to use the big girl potty, but doesn't really want to yet so I am not forcing the issue. Some days she will go in the potty all day and some days she will only go in her diaper. I figured she is doing pretty good considering she is not even 3 yet. Peter is getting ready for his next semester of school. He isn't as excited about school starting as the kids are, but he knows it is what he really wants to do. He has become such a mature man that knows what he wants in life. Then there is me. I am just loving being at home with the children now that we are homeschooling. I didn't really like staying home before that change happened because I never saw any fruit to my labor. It was cook, clean, laundry, sleep, wake up and do the same thing again. Now I can actually see my children learning and growing intellectually and it is an amazing thing to watch. I get to be the one that they look to for answers, and knowledge and that feels great! Just loving life and enjoying this season of motherhood. That's all for now folks! See ya soon.

Camp Week

Well Julie is off at camp and we are just hanging out this week. To keep us busy through the week we are going to make some welcome home decor for Julie to see when she gets home on Wednesday. Julie has started being a mother's helper so she can get some experience for when she is old enough to babysit. She is very excited about it, and can't wait until she gets her babysitting training and CPR certification. I can't believe I am about to have a 6th grader, 1st grader, and pre-ker in my house! This year homeschooling will be much different than last year. I am excited to dive into the curriculum for the year though. The kids have been asking for school work as well. I would let them start, but for the review of last year I want them to do that right before they start this year's work. Seth is doing great health wise. He has been completely off all medications with the exception of the occasional precautionary doses for several months now. He is loving it! Paige is in the potty training process. She does well for a few days then really bad for a few days. I am not pushing it though. I figure a lot of kids are well into age 3 before they even start, and she is just 2 1/2 so we have time. Plus every kid is different. Peter is getting geared up for his next semester at school, and awaiting word on his discharge upgrade paperwork. We have been trying not to get our hopes up on an upgrade, but that is really hard! It would open up a lot of possibilities for our family if he gets it. I am doing my same old stuff just being with the kids and staying involved with church. I am not doing any classes again this semester and really in no hurry to go back. I want to finish my degree, but right now my kids need me more than I need a degree. I really don't plan to use it anyway I just want it so I can finish what I started. Ok well I guess that is my update for now. Peace!

Such is life

The kids are done with swim lessons, and Julie is about to be off to camp for a week. I have had my best friend and her daughter here for a few weeks now for a visit. Just a good summer being lazy and playing with the kids in general just hanging out. I am excited for school to start back in a couple of weeks. I have some great ideas and some new supplies to utilize so it is going to be a great school year. For now though we are just enjoying the time we have left with fun activities and pool time. This summer my children have been learning the wonderful art of sleeping in, and I have found that the later they sleep in the later I want them to sleep in lol. This morning 8 wasn't late enough although a year ago anything past 6 would have brought me great joy! They are good kids even if they don't stay asleep all the time. : ) Julie has started her babysitting training so it's only a matter of time before she will really be babysitting. My baby babysitting : ( she is so big! She is keeping track of her experience as a mother's helper this year and when she turns 12 she will be getting her first aid, and CPR certifications so that she can start babysitting without an adult around. She does so good with kids so I know she will be fine. We are starting work on a list of life lessons we want the children to know before leaving the house in a few years so that's a fun thing. Its actually exciting to teach them the simple things in life everything from how to handle finances and budgeting to how to vacuum and dust. We have a rather extensive list of things to teach them so hopefully we will get them done before they move out. Just 7 years and Julie will be 18! I can't believe it. Ok so that is my update for now. : )

SUMMER

Summer is in full swing now! We just finished a week of VBS and I am exhausted. lol. The kids had a blast, and so did I. We start swim lessons on Monday, and Julie has camp soon after that. I have to think of some fun stuff to do with Seth and Paige while Julie is gone! We have picnics and mountain trips scheduled this summer as well. Hopefully we can get some camping in even if it's just a night or two. The kids have been getting better and better about listening and having a good attitude every since we pulled them out of public school so that really helps us to plan fun activities for them. My Julie bug is growing up and branching out away from home more. Her independence just might kill me! The kids have all been so good about helping around the house more so that opens me up time wise for more fun things as well. So let me know your suggestions on activities since summer is well on its way!

Concerns/The big 3-0

I have been seriously exhausted for some time now. It has slowly been getting worse and worse, but the past two days have been severe. I can not manage to get myself up out of bed even though I get plenty of sleep at night. I am hopeful that I will feel better soon on a new vitamin regiment. Today is Peter's 30th birthday! We have a special dinner of steak and potatoes planned as well as some ice cream cone cup cakes for dessert. The kids and I got him a card and put in a check for a new viola made out to Peter. He has no idea! I couldn't just buy him one because I have no idea what size or what the differences are in the instruments. He will get to pick one out and start playing again. He has been wanting to start playing again since I have known him, but he hasn't had a viola just a violin. I want to encourage him not only to start playing the viola again, but to continue working on the violin. I would love for him to teach the children music. Ok so I am going to sign off now and try to take a short nap before getting started in the kitchen this afternoon. Hope everyone has an awesome day!

SCHOOLS OUT FOR SUMMER...

Julie and Seth have officially finished their first school year of home school! Yay! We have a very packed summer about to get into full swing. Very excited to try some new activities, and have some summer visitors. Hope to get some camping in sometime this summer as well. The kids decided not to do track much to my disappointment. I can't force them though, and I guess it just opens them up for some other activities like hiking. Life is pretty busy these days between all of our activites, preparing for next school year, and helping my mom with her business. I am back in the saddle again so to speak. It was a long break from the super busy when we moved here, but I'm back baby (said like George Castanza)! I have been very careful to not over book myself which used to happen all the time before the big move. Trying to find that balance of activities and home time. Peter is doing well involved in a new series of books right now. He turns the big 3-0 this Saturday, and I am just waiting for that to hit him. He couldn't get the day off for his birthday so we are not really doing much that day, maybe just a cake (his fav-white cake, white frosting). We are also in the process of looking for a new apartment for when our lease comes up in October. This place is just to expensive though we do love this apartment! We are trying to get some debt paid off which means living on as little as possible. We will see the rewards for that some day.... far far from now! As always any questions/comments please post, and I will get back to you asap.

Homeschooling

I am so proud of my babies! We have been homeschooling since January and had to fit all school year into those few short months. They are almost finished! We are going a little bit into the summer time, but considering how late we started with a full school year of curriculum they are really doing good. Plus they had a couple of weeks that were very slow going while we were dealing with a family issue out of town. They are really growing and learning more than I could have hoped! I am so glad that we are homeschooling now. It has paved the way for so many learning experiences for the kids that they wouldn't get in a traditional class room. It is the best experience for me as a mom to watch my children grow and learn in this way. Thank the Lord for good curriculum that can be bought all ready to go! : )

I would like to address some of the concerns that have been brought up to me and other's I know about homeschooling. If you have a question that is not mentioned here please post a comment with your question and I will get back to you.

Q: How can you teach your children effectively if you are not a teacher?
A: Parents are the first and I believe the best teachers for their children. I do not have a teaching degree, or any formal schooling that would qualify me to teach in a traditional class room. Home school is not a traditional class room! We have curriculum for each grade level that has exactly what needs to be taught according to the state government, and full answer keys for anything I do not already know. The curriculum is very open to modification so it is very easy to work through the lessons in a way that is best for my children's learning styles. Many teachers’ that work in a traditional public setting are astonished by the information being taught. The schools they work at rarely cover as much information because it just isn't possible with that many children. When you are teaching just one child in that grade level they have your full attention and do not have to stay with the class. It makes it very easy to quickly go through the lessons that the children grasp easily, and spend more time on the lessons the children need more time on.

Q: How will the kids meet friends and socialize?
A: School is not a social event. While it does help the kids to meet others their age school is not meant as social time. Without the distraction of other student's home school children can learn at an accelerated rate. My oldest was often "in trouble" for socializing during class in a traditional class room. Now my child knows if we are doing school work at home we do not have friends over. When she is with her friends she doesn't have to worry about when she can and can not play/talk. My kids participate in activities like swim lessons, track and field, and church activities. They tend to have more friends than they have time for! It seems in our situation having a clear defined difference in social time and school time has made learning and time with friends much more enjoyable for the kids.

Q: How do you know you are teaching them what they need?
A: We have a very specific curriculum that I modify to my kids learning styles. The curriculum is way above and beyond what the state requires for them to learn. Also with the time that we do not waste switching classes, taking a traditional school lunch break, explaining the work to 25+ children, etc. we are able to teach in the real world. We take field trips that majority of traditional school children never get to take like touring a mail room, talking with experts in the fields the kids currently think they want to go into, and doing volunteer work for our community. We also have time to teach real world lessons and they get experience in real world events. For example one of the things we are working on right now is basic manners. I don't know of any traditional public schools that teach basic manners, and who doesn't need them? A lot of the things we are learning my husband and I have never been taught either! Home school has opened the door to many learning experiences my kids would have never had if they were still attending public school.

Q: How is it possible to give each child the attention they need for their grade level and learning style?
A: I have 3 children to teach. Even having 3 separate lessons and learning styles I am able to work with each child one on one every day. I am able to plan the lessons so that when it is time for individual work to be done I can work with the other children. Plus the older kids love to help with the younger ones when they are finished with their own work. Not only does this help the youngest learn, but it reinforces what the older children already know. It also makes it fun for them to learn new things. Education has become a part of every hour of our day! When it is play time I find the older children will sing the alphabet with the younger child, or go over counting. They find it fun to learn new things now and help each other learn new things. The difference comes in with the fact that I have 3 where as most tradition class rooms have around 25+ students.

Q: What about when the kids are older and most kids their age are going to proms and graduation?
A: Homeschooling families have coops and groups that get together to have these types of functions. Obviously they probably will not walk with 300 other students, but there are graduation ceremonies and proms for home schooled children. They are generally to a smaller scale, but they still have the experiences that traditional schools offer.

Q: How will they get a diploma?
A: Home schools are considered private schools by the government and therefore can issue diplomas to their students.

Q: Will colleges accept a home school diploma?
A: I have personally contacted several colleges from the local junior college to Berkley University, and I have been told by all with the exception of one (out of 23) that they do accept home school diplomas. The college that did not accept them requires a test like a GED to be completed before entrance into the school. Not only do most of them accept home school diplomas, but they seek homeschooled children. They seek them because on average most home schooled children have strong focus, and are self motivated. The college graduation rates are much more favorable to children that were home schooled verses those that went through a public school. This does have a lot to do with the sheer number of publicly educated children verses the number of home schooled children. Less home schooled children ever sign up for college classes in general, because there are less of them out there. It is up to the family to truly teach the children and to place a real importance on education.

Q: Do the children get to do sports, or even physical education class?
A: My children are not big fans of sports in general, but they are trying track and swimming through the county this summer. There are many programs for homeschooling families for these types of extra curricular activities. Our family does place an importance on physical education such as hiking, biking, and swimming.

Q: Do the children have to take standardized tests?
A: In the state of Texas children that are homeschooling are not required to take standardized tests; however standardized tests are available for the children to take. We do plan to have our children tested every couple of years just for peace of mind that they are learning and moving forward. Most of the families we know that are homeschooling are not going to have their children tested.

Q: What happens with children with learning disabilities?
A: My oldest daughter has recently been tested for learning disabilities, and she has a couple of areas that are considered borderline. The local school district offer's help in these situations. Along with a panel of educators I have come up with a plan of action for teaching my daughter in a way that she will learn and not get frustrated like she did in a public school setting. The steps we have been taking really are improving her ability to learn quickly! She is really starting to get some things that she has been missing for years in a public school. The teacher's in her schools have never put her on a watch list, and it's safe to say she would never have been tested without me pushing for it. When there is 1 teacher to so many students it is hard for them to watch for every little issue each child might have. She has been missed in the past because of it, and has improved greatly in the past few weeks after changing her lesson plans.

Q: Do you home school because you do not like public schools?
A: Our family believes public school is a wonderful option, and is great for many children just not all children and families. My oldest daughter is really making strides in her education in the home school setting, where as my son did wonderful in public school as well as home school. We made the decision to home school out of necessity. My son has a few health problems that take us away from home for doctor's appointments often. Due to the missed days even though they were excused there were just to many of them for the school to allow him to move on to the next grade. He was doing well passing with nearly perfect grades in each subject, but rules are rules in public school. It was also an issue for my oldest daughter because she was getting behind. When we have an appointment out of town we can't leave one child at home for school so she also had to miss classes. The school did consider them excused absences as well because of the reason for them, but she was getting behind in work. With home school we are able to do school any where. Sometimes that means in a doctor's office, or the car.

Q: Weren't you worried about starting home school (I could never do it myself)?
A: We were terrified! We are still figuring some things out, and I was one of those people that said I could never do it. I always thought I would not be capable of teaching them successfully. I thought they are too rambunctious, and I am not smart enough. Turns out they are much calmer at home now, and less stressed. I never even realized they were stressed until we started homeschooling and their personalities started to change. They have much less attitude about things, and a real willingness to learn. I am not the smartest person on the planet by far, but who better to teach MY children? I want them to know everything they can, and that causes me to learn and search for answers that I don't know. If they have a question that I don't know the answer to I research it. This also teaches humility, and how to find answers for themselves. We believe it was one of the best decisions we have made as a family.

Q: How will you be able to contribute to the family if you are at home with the children teaching them?
A: I can not think of any better way to "contribute" to my family then to invest time into my family. Though I am not bringing in any money to the family unit we do fine with what we have, and are happy. We feel that the time away from home is not worth the money we would gain for our family if we had a second income. The money we save by having the time to prepare meals at home, search for sales, repairing things rather than replacing them, etc. far out weigh what we would make as a second income after paying for daycare, and extra expenses such as school uniforms and more supplies than my kids really need to do their school work. We place a much higher importance on the family itself than on anything material. Staying home with the children is right for OUR family. We do not believe that there is a one size fits all life. For some family’s homeschooling and one parent staying home is what's best and works for them. For some families the children being in public school and both parents working is what's best and works for them. There are many different types of family units in this world. We just manage ours in a way that we find best for us.

Q: Do you worry that your children will not get the life experiences that are necessary for them to be successful adults?
A: Not in the least! We do not see how being in a classroom is an experience that the children would be able to adapt to life in a way that them learning at home will not do the same. Based on the previous Q & A above I can not see any reason public school would be better than homeschooling, or visa versa. We are all different and learn in different ways.

Q: Will you home school all your children until they graduate?
A: We don't know yet really. At this point we would like to, but as we all know sometimes other factors can come into play. If there is some reason in the future that we decide not to home school any more it is a fairly easy process to put the children back into a public school or a private school. We don't know what will happen in the future, but we are willing to put them back into a traditional school if the need arises or we feel in the future it is what is best for one or all of our children.

TWC

Seriously I am over Time Warner Cable today! They are more expensive than other companies around here, but they are the only provider for this apartment complex apparently! My internet has gone out repeatedly the past few weeks and it takes days for them to come work on it. The cable rarely works right so that has now been cut off. We need better options! Hopefully with our up coming move (when our lease here is up) we will be able to get a new provider and the interenet will work correctly.

My big man!

Today is my big man's birthday. He is 6! OMG 6! He is really starting to come into his own personality more, and starting to define his life with Christ. He recently asked to be baptized and has been focused on why the last little bit. Soon he will understand what it really means, and hopefully will want to be baptized then. He had such a good party yesterday with his friends. His bff Liam is just a joy for him, and he misses him every second they are apart. How cute that my guy has his first real best friend! He really had a good time going swimming and having his very own little cake to eat. I am still having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that he is 6 years old. It seems like it was just yesterday I woke up to having a little boy to love. Julie and Paige (ok Julie) saved up their money and bought him gifts for today so he would have something to open on his birthday. I just love my family so much, and I am so greatful for each one in my family.

My Family - Pictures

5/26/2011

The break down:

Name: Sharon
~ Happily married stay at home mother currently homeschooling.

Spouse: Peter
~ Correctional Officer, wanna be gamer (if I would let him), involved dad, incredible husband.

Children: Julie, Seth, & Paige
~Julie~ Soon to be 11, involved at church, about to finish the 5th grade, my social butterfly just like me.
~Seth~ Turning 6 in a few days, also involved at church, a few more days of Kindergarden, loves to dance.
~Paige~ 2 and a half, loves to go see her friends at church, and have play dates. She is the sneaky one!

We live Christ centered lives so most of our activities involve church or our circle of christian friends. The kids have a ton of things lined up for the summer, but are mostly looking forward to swimming and track. We are often questioned about our lives and the decisions we make so when a friend posted her blog recently I thought this would be a wonderful tool that I could use to let our family and friends know what is going on in our lives so they might better understand and accept our decisions for our family.