Sufficiently Abounding

Well...with much prayer and great consideration, weighing out the pros and cons on both sides...we made a big decision...

and Little Man has been offering thanks to God for that decision...

Early on, when we decided to homeschool Sister, it was going to be for one year only. A sort of "transitional" year. A time to gird up her foundation in reading, writing, and math, specifically, and with a few of the gentle arts thrown in for good measure (and because I adore the gentle arts).

But as time has progressed, we've fallen in love with homeschooling. It's challenging and hard and has forced us to rearrange priorities. God's grace is sufficient, yes, even abounding. We are far from perfect and live in desperate need of His guidance and wisdom. He has taught us that where He leads, He provides.

We feel led to homeschool her next year.

I am really excited. 

But the crazy part of all of this is that the "plan" all along has been for Little Man to go to 4-p next year. It's five days a week, 8:45-noon. A few weeks prior to the application deadline the Holy Spirit began to prod my heart. I felt the call to keep him home and school him alongside Sister. But also wondered if I'd lost my mind??? I told The Engineer. We talked. We prayed together. He prayed. I prayed. He felt the call and with complete certainty. But I wavered. 

Oh the fun he will miss out on! The programs! The music! The art! The friendships!

But The Engineer stood firm. The night before the application deadline, and with a knot in the pit of my stomach, I cried out to God, pleading for wisdom and that peace that passes understanding enveloped my heart and mind. The Engineer and I prayed about our decision once more before going to sleep that night, and we both felt certain and at peace.

And so...by the grace of God and in His strength, we plan to homeschool them both!

This year, like all other years of our lives, we have seen God's faithfulness first hand. We have seen His grace poured out over and into our lives. I worried how I would school Sister - God's grace is sufficient. He has abundantly provided and more than met our every need. I am amazed when I look back at her work from the first week of school. She has come so far! 

We approach next year in humility and with thankful hearts. It is such a blessing to be home with my babies and to have this wonderful opportunity. I am thankful to God. From the bottom of my heart, I am so thankful.

Remember? We said we'd NEVER homeschool our children.

Now, in other exciting news, Sister did her very first book report! She picked The Princess and The Pea and totally rocked it! I couldn't stop smiling!

She read the book aloud twice, made her diorama all by herself, and presented to us, beginning with the title and author, followed by a synopsis of the book itself, complete with the addition of her own thoughts regarding the "bad attitude" and "ungrateful heart" the princess had. She explained the diorama and answered a few of our questions.

I am SO PROUD of this girl! Y'all - she picked the book. Rocked the reading. Spent an afternoon holed up in her room creating (you should see the paper scraps on the floor - that was a LOT of mattresses!), sat before the fam and presented like she'd done it before. It is moments like this that, quite frankly, are just plain rewarding. 

I finished the tops for the girls' matching outfits. (All fabrics chosen and coordinated by Sister.) As you can see, Little Bit was thrilled to have me take her picture. (The red tights??? It was Little Bit's valentine's party so we went all festive - which cracks me up. 'Cause she totally knows what valentines day is...)

A few months ago I put that cap on Little Bit and she'd have nothing to do with it, but after I learned my niece is partial to hers, I thought I'd break it back out. Low and behold, the child loves it!

Something big happened last weekend!!! Little Bit sat happily on the sofa with the other children for OVER 30 minutes!!! Wooo hoooo! This is HUGE. Just HUGE! (Like, 30 minutes to sit and read with a cup of decaf...awesome!)

And my Little Man...he was up at 6:30 this morning. I heard him and went up to tell him it was too early to rise. He was stark naked and "gettin dressed per the day." Above you see him in his "Bible Study attire." Notice the bulge in the hat (which was knitted by grandma). That would be TWO other hats... "In case any of my priends need dem." I love that boy.

Happy Weekend, y'all!