School, School, School

I'm sure I must have mentioned it on here at some point, but for the past 4 years we were a homeschooling family.

I started homeschooling Yana and Anthony just about one year after Yana came home. When Nadia came home in 2008, I did not intend to enroll her in public school but did so just a few short weeks after she came home; Nadia attended our public special needs preschool class for a year and a half, while I homeschooled Yana and Anthony. It worked out well for her. She had an AMAZING teacher whom we've come to love (Ms. Patti) and I believe it really helped Nadia to adjust better to her new home and family.

When Olya and Ivan came home in 2009, they came right into our homeschool. For the 2010-2011 school year, I had Nadia, Olya, Yana, Anthony AND Ivan home with me. So when Marni came home in the fall of 2010, of course I chose to keep her home with us as well.

I saw us as forever homeschoolers...until Ivan was enrolled in 9th grade in our public high school for the second semester. Having had some authority issues with him at home in the area of schooling, Dan put his foot down and said that Ivan would no longer be allowed to cause the disruption to our homeschool day...and off he went to high school.

I really was not comfortable with this but knew we had to do it...and it turned out, not so bad. It was a much better learning environment for him, being that he didn't question everything the teacher was doing. ;) Still, I saw the rest of us as homeschoolers.

I enjoyed homeschooling. I LOVED our homeschool group. The teens were involved in Student Council, and all of the kids at home participated in the co-op. The homeschool families we spent time with in these groups were (ARE) wonderful. My kids had wonderful friends & experiences, and we were able to spend so much time together.

However, I think having Marni at home with us really added to any existing stress. She is a lot of work, but boy, has she come a loooooong long way from where she was a year ago. I just began getting frustrated enough with the whole homeschooling thing that I found myself on my knees crying out to the Lord asking if this is really what we are supposed to be doing. I knew for sure He had called me to homeschool 4 years before when we began, but were we supposed to continue this way.

Long story short, the Lord led us down another path for the new school year. So this school year (2011-2012) EVERY ONE OF MY KIDS STILL IN OUR HOME is attending public school. And so far, aside from some crazy drama we endured at the charter school in August and September (none of my kids attend that school any longer), it's really been a positive experience for us. I absolutely believe that I am no longer called to homeschool my kids at this point in our lives.

By the first Friday I had my kids off to school, I found 3 hours of "nothing time". I was caught up on the laundry, the bills, the cleaning and appointments. It was the strangest and oddest feeling. I didn't like it. It then occurred to me that I have never sent my kids off to school and not had a job! Okay, I take that back....there was one year when Anthony was in 1st grade when we lived in Georgia, and I didn't work. Aside from that year, I always had a job, even in Okinawa when Anthony was in preschool. I just knew this "nothing time" would never sit well with me.

When I told Dan, he told me that if I get a job, I should be doing something that I want to do, "don't just get a job waiting tables to get a job."

As God would have it, our orphan ministry would need me in just moments from the time we spoke. (if I haven't mentioned it before, I am on the Board of Directors for our orphan ministry in our church). There was an adoption that was about to be disrupted and the young girl would need to be rehomed immediately. In discussion and preparation to pick up this young lady (who I've come to absolutely love and adore...AND she has been adopted by another family I absolutely love), I shared my hearts desire to better educate families pre-adoption and better support families post-adoption.

I do a lot of pre- and currently adopting help as far as the actual process, and I do a bit of post adoption support but I am not licensed and therefore, can only offer so much. I brought up the idea of going to school to get a degree. By Monday morning, I was enrolled in our local community college! It would be my first college experience.

So last semester I took 2 classes. I wanted to start off slow to see if I could even handle school while still caring for my family and maintaining an active roll in orphan ministry. Well, somehow I did it and finished the semester with a 4.0!

This semester I am attempting 3 classes. Today was our second day back to school for the new semester. I think I should be alright but of course, I am nervous. Unlike high school, I actually want A's on everything lol It's funny how time has changed me.

My desire and goal is to get a BS in Social Work, then continue on for a Masters in Psychology. It's going to take a long time to get there, but one semester at a time and I just might make it. I'm excited about what God is doing in my life, never in a million years did I ever see any of this coming. How great is He!