Wow! Its been a long while since I have used this blog. I decided to step back into it and see where it takes me.

Now that the time to make hard and fast decisions about school are approaching...I am at a loss.

I can see now that my character does not allow for the kind of life where we do the same thing every Tuesday. I can't flourish in that environment. I can fool myself for awhile but eventually it comes back to the same thing. I am a "fly by the seat of my pants" girl.

Ever since the idea of homeschooling was introduced to me I have been in love with it. Possible enough that I did what most people in love do and viewed it through rose colored glasses. I had this idealistic idea of what life would be like.

Now almost 5 years into my parenting journey the picture is clearer. I won't be Julie Andrew singing on a mountain side with gorgeous picnic lunch. There will be cheetos and meltdowns... and the laundry waiting for me back at the house.

There will be give and take. There are definite sacrifices that I will have to make. There will be obstacles that I will have to overcome.

And honestly I am not sure I am up to it.....

But I am scare....terrified of the alternative. I can't imagine my precious baby spending that much time away form me and the people who love her. I am scared that her natural curiousity will be squelched. I am scared she won't have enough time to play in the backyard and soak in the tub. I am scared she learn that reading is a chore and not a fabulous way to spend the day.

Mostly I am scared that the people we place in charge of her for most of the day will not love her as much as we do and will not make concessions for the way God has bent her. They won't know how to bend themselves to fit alongside her.

"In the spiritual realm, I believe something far more profound is at work. While I never want to be interpreted as believing homeschooling is the only appropriate chioice for Christians, I do believe it is an example of the creative solutions God can be counted on to supply when we feel outmanuerved by cultural forces. Like manna in the dessert, homeschooling is a defense against the relentless and pernicious assault upon traditional family life."

Excerpt from "The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell

"God didn’t create schools. He created families, because that was his plan for the training and nurture of children. He gave the job for the raising and educating of children squarely to the parents, and those who have abrogated their authority and turned their responsibilities over to other "experts" are short-circuiting their own success."

by Dr. Mary Hood