Raising Teens and homeschool

The days are full and the times flying by. With a busy house full of beautiful blessings to raise and train up. A husband who works hard and my own business always makes me thankful to be in this moment in time.

There is never a day when everything goes the same as the other. Everyday has it's own challenges and Joy's to spred over into the next.

I wake up to the sun shining from behind the gray pulled curtains. I roll over to the tugs of my shirt trying to be lifted as the baby wants to cuddle and nurse just alittle more before she wakes for the day. I'm enjoying the little memories of each and every min. Babies grow up so fast and having one almost 20 now I often wonder when has he grown up. Sometime I have to blink back to reality and relize he is not my little 7year old baby anymore, But a man.

I'm so blessed to see the man he has became and the one hes still learning to be. I remember the the days were filled with school and a full time job and taking care of that baby boy and not having time to do anything else. Some how it worked by the grace of God I was able to do it all, living on my own. Now my 1st baby has moved out and bought his own home. Thankfully not to far from me. I knew this day would come eventually even though I tryed to push it off for years. After all he is my best friend and he has grew up with me. I am so thankful I have had him and chose to keep him when all odds were against me. I never knew he would become my friend!

I knew the day I had him I wanted to spend as much time as I could with him because he was so important to me. I didnt have the time or support I needed at that time to homeschool him. But I felt I need and wanted too. Years passed and he was in about 3rd grade and I was in a place in my life I was able to homeschool him. I researched curriculum and joined local and non local homeschool groups or co-ops. I asked questioned and pulled my son out to homeschool him for our 1st years of homeschooling. I was so thrilled and still am. I spent everyday with my child who the lord wanted me to train up in the ways he should go so that he would not depart from the lord. We made a schedule and did school at home.....

Going from one subject to the other and keeping track of what we learned as we went. We put him in many diffrent things and also sent him with some local people who could teach him the things we could not. We let him experience life outside of the local school. He thrived and really enjoys the time with me. And of course I loved having the help and company.

After years of experience now we just enjoy learning together rather then school at home. We grab a book and we read through it. If we feel we need more about it we may get another book on the same subject or look on the internet for more info. Untill we feel we have learned enough about that subject and then we move on. Some days we spend all day learning about one subject. Somedays it's more than one subject. But that's the benefit of homeschooling there is no right or wrong way to do school or learn. We may then write about everything we learned or talk about and share it with dad when he gets home. For math we have found a great PC program that teaches and grades the child's work. I have learned more through that program with my children then through public school.

Anyways, As the children wake one by one Sometimes Ill already have cooked breakfast of some type protein. Sometimes one of them want to cook up something as I watch or lead them they really feel big and excited to make there own mixer of foods. I now have only the five little ones at home they are ages eleven and down to one and few in between. I'm in a new season of life with these little ones. I have gained the experience from raising my 2 oldest and doing this with them to chose better things and make wiser choices with the new ones growing up. With the 1st two children It was just trial and error not sure if anything and anyway we were raising them would be good enough but we had faith it would. After all we didnt know any other way and did what we could in the molment. It required some quick thinking and lots of redos. Our now almost 20year old is in college studying to be an engineer while working full time and starting up his own bissness. My husband and I are so very proud of the man he is growing into. We would have never guessed when he was that little boy what he would have been like today!

Our now 16year old is a great young man as well! He is on a great start to becoming everything the lord wants him to be. The two oldest boys are so completely diffrent, and that makes it exciting! Our 16 year old is learning to drive a car! It's a hard task alot more stressful then I thought it would be. When I was teaching in the youth group and the parents were telling me about there experiences I could never understand to the extent I do now.

Oh the Joy's of teen years. HA! I never thought we would get through them. I think they were the hardest season we had to go through in our childrens lifes. I'm hoping we can try to steer it diffrent with the next few coming up soon. My how the times change and the seasons go by so fast but in the moment we had to take it day by day and he by hour. We had to seek help from our pastor and older people who have gone before us. We had to pick our battles instead of trying to control everything the teens did. They are at an age were we had to shift our care for them. We had to go from being there caretaker to being more of a coach and letting them lead and manage there own futures with that open relationship to be able to speak into there life. .

The bible tells us to not worry about tommorrow for it will bring it's own worries. We try to walk in faith one foot in front of the other following the one who has made us all for he holds our future. He shines light on our path! He will work it all out for our and there good accordingly to his will. Thankfully it's not by my will or my strenghth but the lords will and strenghth because I would mess it all up over and over again.