New Beginnings

      This week has began our first week of "real homeschool". We got our books in last week and we have been so excited! It has been a blast! I have been so anxious to get started, and it was tough not to started before Monday, but I held off! Monday was a trial day. We started at 9:00 (as suggested), we did our pledges, put the correct date on the calendar, and began our lessons. For the past month I have been very nervous about starting homeschool. I have questioned my ability to stick with it for however many years (until they all graduate), I have questioned my ability to stay at home ALL DAY long with 3 kids by myself, I have questioned Finances whether or not we can afford to homeschool, and I have questioned the room in our house whether or not there is enough room. After all of this questioning, I started on Monday not knowing if I would have peace about it all, and by Monday evening, I had the Peace I had been wanting for the past month. When we finished our lessons on Monday, I was very tired and a little cranky (trying to control all 3 kids and get them to learn at the same time is somewhat challenging). As the night went on, and I began to reflect on the day we had together, I realized that this is what God gave me to do in my life. I have been saying this for about a year now, but it wasn't until I actually started doing it that I realized how much it is a part of being a mommy! God gave me MY children to watch over, to teach, to encourage spiritually, to love, to hold, and to push to learn more! It is so rewarding. I feel as though I am finally doing what God made me to do! All of my insecure feelings were replaced with confidence from God alone! I love in Titus when God's word says that the women should be makers of their home, and in some versions it says "managers" of their home. I feel like I am managing my home, and my children!
     Every night when my kids and my husband go to bed, I get up and go to our "classroom" to work on the next days lesson, then I cut out, color, and get everything ready. It is tiring, but the best part is when I unlock the door the next morning, and Noah sees all that hard work (the posters, the crafts,etc) and he says "oh, mommy I love this!" or "o Mommy, look at this!" It truly makes all of that work worth it. I love seeing that beautiful smile on his face when his Squirrel gets an acorn when he has good behavior! I am exhausted because I have 2 sick babies, but overall, it has been a great week! Excited to see what God has in store.

Jamie