School Time!!!

A wonderfully-talented man from Lee Co. made this desk for me...this is just the online image.  I will take a pic of my girls' desk and post it soon. It turned out great and I am extra-excited about starting my homeschool because they will have their own private work spaces this year.  I can't wait to get started!  September 6th is our starting date.

Now, the ONLY time and I mean the ONLY time I get excited about going to Walmart is when school supplies are on sale.  There is nothing I enjoy more than shopping for school supplies, especially when they are ridiculously cheap!  I love getting matching pencils and folders and notebooks for my girls...new pencil cases, filling them with everything they need for the first day of school:  colored pencils, crayons, pencils, erasers, tape, glue stick, scissors.  I love to have everything organized and just right for our first day.

I am so thankful that God has given me the opportunity and the abilities to teach my children at home.  In college, I studied psychology.  I also worked on my teacher certification for elementary education...that was my minor.   When I finished my psych. degree, I still lacked two classes and student teaching to finish my teaching 'stuff'.  I was ready for a break from college so I decided to put the teacher cert. on hold and go work with my family for a while because they needed some management help. Sometimes I think I should go back and finish those classes.  Actually, I know I should.

And I remember trying to choose a major in college, wow... I was so frustrated...I didn't even want to be in college!  I didn't want a career!  All I wanted was to be married and have a baby.  And I was so unsure about the psychology thing.  I knew it was the only thing that really interested me so I just went with it.  And then there was the teaching thing.  That would be my career choice, if I had to choose. I really had no idea what I would do with the psychology thing, other than try to analyze my 'interesting' family.  lol.

Here is what is awesome to me: God knew that I would struggle with anxiety and panic.  If I hadn't studied all about that stuff in school, I probably would have thought I was losing my mind.  I understood what was happening to me and that was comforting...and that it could and would get better with the right treatments.  I have also been able to be a support for others who have gone through similar situations, which has been a blessing to me.  I am so thankful for my psychology degree and who knows how else God will use that to enrich my life.  God also allowed me to use my teaching in teaching my own children!  Wow.  I really never saw myself as a homeschool kind of person.  Never.  Really.  I did not think I would or should or could, but I LOVE IT.  I love teaching my children and I know that I'm doing the right thing.  I know that it is not for every family and it doesn't always work for every child, but I am thankful that, so far, it is working for us.  My girls might not get as excited about it as I do but that is ok.  ;)   And there are hard days, for sure.  I don't mean to make it sound overly-dreamy.  ;)  It can get hairy some days.

Isn't it great to look back and see God's hand?  When we are living life in the day-to-day, we don't always see the beautiful thing God is creating in us.  I read a book recently that compared the Christian life to a beautiful painting.  When you are standing right in front of it, with your nose pressed against the canvas, you cannot see things clearly.  Things are blurry and it is sometimes hard to understand what it is you are seeing.  It is when you are standing far enough away that you can see how the colors blend and can see the beautiful work of art!  I thought that was a great comparison.  Even the hard stuff, the bad stuff....sickness and hardships...and I know those will come, I know that God will be with us and it's all just part of the beautiful thing that is our life.  We may not be able to see God in it at the time, or understand it all but looking back, we will see clearly.