Something I never thought I would say: We are homeschooling.

   I have never had a desire to homeschool my children. Not because I am anti homeschool, quite the opposite in fact. I was homeschooled on and off during my childhood and some of my closest friends are indeed homeschool graduates. I do not think homeschool kids are strange or socially awkward or lack opportunity or don’t understand the real world. I just personally have never wanted to. I know my strengths- and teaching my children (scholastically) does not feel like one of them. On top of that our current school has been my safe place for a long time. I graduated from there and loved my high school experience. When I brought Milla home from Uganda that was the only place I felt comfortable putting her. It has been a wonderful fit for many years. 

    But this last year has brought some fun challenges that have led us down a path or rethinking next years education options. Mike was off with a knee injury for a while which squeezed us a bit financially. There is a potential that he might need surgery which would once again put us in a very tight financial window- just one factor we have been considering. 

Another is, as Milla and her peers get older there is a vast difference at this age of what kids are allowed to watch/read. At least twice a week for the past year Milla will come home talking about the latest thing she heard from her peers and doesn’t quite understand. While I have tried to be open and honest and explain things the best I could there have definitely been conversations that I wished we weren’t having and subjects that I really wish she wasn’t being exposed to at this young of an age- factor number two. 

Another thing that has been heavy on my heart is how fast time goes in our home. The kids are gone all day, then they come home, I help both girls with homework, Milla has swim, we eat, shower and get ready for bed. I try to sneak play time in there and time to connect but so many days I am just running as soon as they come through the door. It makes my heart sad to think that June and Willian have to live at that fast pace at such a young age. I also think of how I literally have two more years with Milla being a “kid” before she enters high school. I really want these seeming insignificant moments to count. I want to pour into her more and slow down with her more. We have always talked about doing a family missions trip or volunteering more together to help those in need, but we rarely find the time in our crazy lives. Time is going to slip away from me. It already has. 

    So Mike and I prayed hard about the idea of homeschooling and decided to give it a try next year! I know it has to be from the Lord because 1) I have never wanted to and 2) most of my best life decisions have seemed like crazy ones. We all have reservations about it, but I am praying that it turns out to be one of the best decisions we have made for our family. The Scripture verse that keeps coming to mind is “The entrance of Your Word gives light. It brings understanding to the simple” (Psalm 119:130). My prayer is that as the Word and Holy Spirit fills our home and our time together that He will bring understating to each of us. For me- how to homeschool hahaha. For the girls- visions for their future and understanding in to who they are in Christ. For all of us- how our family can better be used for His glory. 

    We could use allllll the prayers! Also if any of you reading this have gone through Mission Vista Academy and have tips on curriculum I would love to hear your thoughts! Newbie here, totally humbled and starting from scratch- but so excited to see what we build this year! But really, this could explode and we will all go down in flames soooo pray for us please!