Preschool

This post has been in my heart for so long, and I still feel so inadequate to write about it. My palms sweat, and I begin to question everything that we've talked about for so long. But, we know it's the right decision for us, for our family and for Levi. After a lot of talking, a lot of prayer, we've decided to homeschool Levi this next year.


Homeschool.


Breathe with me, I said it out loud. Maybe I'm just the one who needs to breathe.. it's terrifying to me.  I don't have it all together and I don't know what it will look like, but I do know that we need to do it this year. We loved our preschool experience last year, but, we need to try it on. Someone said to me once, it's like you're standing at a wide river, and there is no way across but to jump, so this year, we're going to jump. We're going to try it. We might sink, we might float, we might tread water, or maybe, we'll learn how to swim. I have no way of knowing, and that is completely unnerving to me.


But, we are going to try it for a number of reasons

1) Levi wants to read. Preschool isn't going to teach him that. I'm not faulting preschool for that, it's just not where most kids are.  I know that I can teach him to read so why not.

2)  We still desire to be in ministry full-time.  If\when we end up in ministry, we feel like homeschooling would be something that would fit our family's lifestyle better.

3) I really do love spending time with my kids, and I'm not ready to send them off to school on a regular basis yet. I want to keep them home, to love on them, to show them how to love others, to love Jesus, and to learn together as a family, so we can be life-long learners together.. (thanks SAU)

4) Maybe it's so that I feel more in control of the situation, but we are going to homeschool him this year, and we will evaluate it at the end of it to see what we liked\didn't like.  If we sink, we might decide traditional school is a better option, if we swim, maybe we'll stick with homeschooling. I don't know, and let me say, I wish I did know, and I wish I already had the answers. I say to Mike all the time, I wish education were an easy decision, but at least in this house, it doesn't seem to be. We do know that the Lord is faithful, and that He has called us to do this as a family this year. We are trusting in Him and His plans for our family, and my planner-self needs to let go and be okay with not knowing the next step.


So there ya have it.
We are officially "that family".

19 months and counting...

My dear sweet baby girl..

I'm not sure where the time has gone, or, how it has passed so quickly. Just about every day, I watch as you, jump on our trampoline, or learn how to climb on the swing by yourself, slide, climb up a ladder, swim in the pool, and I MARVEL at how much a year has changed things. It's amazing to me how much you have learned, how much you have GROWN in the past year.

At 19 months you...

--> LOVE being outside, and ask to go out on regular basis
--> love shoes, necklaces, and all things girly
--> take just one nap a day, normally 11:30-2:30 or so with bed around 6:30-7
--> At your drs appt you weighed in at 21lbs and 12 oz.
--> this past month you were really sick, and we had to have a blood draw, a catheter, and an xray..I'd prefer not to do that again, ok?
--> you are a pretty good eater, some of your favorites include, avacado, cheese, raisins, blueberries, eggs
--> you are a very determined little girl... and you let me know, loudly, what you want.
--> you are fearless, and I really do mean that. I often say, that you will send us to the ER with a broken bone because you want to do everything that Levi does, but he's 4 1\2 and you're 19 months... often, when we're at the park, other moms' ask me if it's okay if you're doing something in particular, because you just look so little climbing up the rock wall at the park, that is most certainly must not be okay.
--> you love animals... cats, dogs, horses are your favorites
--> you talk all the time and more and more I understand. :) your list o words include...
......... mama, papa, 'evi', drink, please, more, thank you, cat, (meow) dog, (woof) horse, duck, all done, duck, swing, cheese, yes, no, choo-choo, up, get down, 'ki-ki' (monkey), swing, shoe, and I'm sure there is more that I'm not remembering at the moment...
--> you're starting to recognize some ABC letters..we play in the bathtub with them...
--> you love to sing, and I'll often hear you singing a song that we is a regular around here... like the ABC song, howdy neighbor, goodnight song, and others...

I love you baby girl, and I'm so thrilled that the Lord blessed us with YOU.