My College Graduate!

My daughter, Tasha, graduated from our homeschool in 2011.  Today we celebrated her college graduation.  I am so proud of her.

Nearly a year ago she nearly died after a routine surgery went wrong.  She spent a month in the hospital after an emergency surgery to save her life.  In August, two months after nearly dying, she resumed her college classes and an internship.  In December she had another major surgery to fix all the complications.  In January, while still healing, she was back in class, working part-time, and doing a second internship.  

She makes me very proud.  It has not been an easy road.  

She is working in the social work field.  She is getting married in July.  Her fiancé has stayed by her side through multiple surgeries. They had only been engaged for two weeks when Tasha nearly died from the surgery that went wrong.  

All my girls

In the next few weeks we will be doing lots of wedding prep.  However, I didn't want to miss letting her know how incredibly proud of her we are.  She is a strong girl.  The Lord has amazing plans for her life. 

Alaska Missions Trip

My oldest daughter, Kimberly, went on a mission's trip last week to a village in Alaska.  She was part of a team from her Bible College.

Kim on the Bering Straight

She was overwhelmed at all that God did, both in the villagers, in the team, and in her.  God definitely used the experience to speak to my daughter's heart.

This photo is my daughter on the Beiring Straight.

She was awed by the beauty of Alaska.  She hasn't forwarded a lot of pictures yet, but this one was very striking. 

I thank God that He is leading my daughter down His path.  I miss her some days, but there is a peace in knowing she is where God wants her.  She is 8 hours away by car.  She will be getting married in a couple months, but will still live where she is going to school. 

Church Christmas Pageant

We had our Children's Church Christmas Pageant this morning.  Laura played Mary.  Despite the fact that some of the kids had butterflies, the show went off successfully.

Before we had our pageant, we had worship.  I had dressed the kids for the pageant in their costumes.  It was quite a sight to see a bunch of angels in the front row worshiping Jesus.

Jasmine played a role as a narrator, reading to the crowd the story of the birth of baby Jesus.

The play held the classic scene at the manger.  Laura did a beautiful job as Mary.  She has been wanting to play Mary for a couple years.  She finally got her wish.

After the play the teenagers did a human video to  the song "I AM".  They did an amazing job.

Most of the teens had a part they performed solo.  Kim was the first to perform.

Tasha (on the left) and her Aunt Kendal did an amazing job with their parts.

This picture is kind of hazy.  I turned it to black and white to show the contrast.  Yet, the emotion on Kim's face is so touching.  Kim is my oldest daughter.  She recently got accepted at the Christian college where she had applied.  She puts such heart and passion into her work for Christ.  I truly feel God has some amazing plans for my daughter.  She has fought a lot of battles in her young life, both with her health and with circumstances.  God will use those things in her life.

Tasha was always my shy child.  I was kind of nervous that being homeschooled would draw her into a shell.  I couldn't be more wrong.  If anything, she is more of an individual and quite the character.  She is who God made her to be, without the pressure to be like the other girls pressuring her.  Her love and devotion to God has far surpassed anything she had even thought of from when she attended public school.  I am so proud of her.  Her performance on the human video team has gotten VERY out-going and passionate.

This was a very busy Sunday, but I was so blessed by all that the kids did for their Lord and Savior Jesus.

Finishing up the last of the year

Laura is down to the last couple weeks of school. She should finish her math book this week. We have worked very hard this year for our first year of homeschooling. I am slowly buying books for Preparing Hearts for His Glory, which we will begin in August. I am so excited about Heart of Dakota. We have used a couple of the books from Bigger Hearts for His Glory, and I was just astounded at how much Laura enjoyed them. I wish I'd found this program sooner.
Summer plans are coming along, just not as fast as I'd hoped. One of my daughters will be gone for the first two weeks in June for Church Camp. The second week my oldest will join her. Softball games for my step-daughter are gearing up full force. I also want to buy a pool pass so that I can teach Laura how to swim this year. I am still not 100% sure how to do that with a toddler, but I am determined Laura learn.
College class is going well. We just began learning about the Prison Epistles. I wish I had more time to study, but I try to use well what I do have. Tonight is Monday study night where my husband, another classmate, and I all try to cover as much as we can together. It works well as we can bounce ideas off of each other and truly dig deep into the Word.

Not Like Everyone Else!

(This is a copy of a blog I wrote on myspace. It's funny how decisions made recently in my family have been challenged. I don't really care what people think that I don't know well. However, friends and family sometimes say things that hurt me, and I don't believe they always realize they are hurtful. I'm sharing this because I want other homeschoolers and Christians to understand that they are not alone. Sometimes those closest to us just aren't going to understand.)


It's amazing that, even as adults, when someone does something that is different from others, people can't wait to jump at the chance to tell you how wrong you are. I thought High School was over. Yet, in the last few days I have felt totally attacked about decisions that my husband and I have made. Yes, I homeschool my daughter. It is a year by year decision, but so far I enjoy it and I think my daughter is getting a great education. Do I know how long I am going to homeschool? No. Do I know what I am going to do if my daughter misses out on a scholarship? Well, with homeschooling, my daughter could begin college early. Who knows? That is years away. And I don't think the quality of public school education is something to brag about. Every week I am hearing about bullying, racism, drugs; while money is being shoved at schools for higher education but the students do worse and worse. Either way, this is a decision made by me and my husband for our daughter. It is not the business of everybody else. Basically, if you can't be supportive, please keep quiet. This wasn't a decision taken lightly. It was prayed about, researched, and prayed about some more. Just because it doesn't fit the norm of what other people do in society doesn't mean it is a bad decision. Many families homeschool very successfully. Their children grow up successful, well-adjusted, happy, and strong in their beliefs. I know some of them.And if I don't answer the phone during the day, I will check messages. Don't take it personally. I would love to spend the day yacking away on the phone about kids and the weather and stuff. However, I have noticed that I tend to let my duties as a homemaker, homeschool mom, and student slip too easily when I am distracted by the phone. I can't tell others that I believe in the quality of a homeschool education if I am not focused on getting it done right.A lot of decisions seem to be up for inspection lately. Yes, my husband and I are in college ministry classes. Big Deal! We are learning more about God. We both felt God wanted us to do this. If you disagree, oh well. The goal of our lives has become to please our God and not man.We are doing some things differently, and I guess it is making others uncomfortable. Yes, we shut off our satellite. Hours in front of a TV every day is not how we want to live our lives. We have struggled and struggled with bills. If we have to cut things, then so be it. I don't have a problem finding something else to do with my time for awhile. In three months we will have saved over $200 in satellite costs. When every penny is being pinched, that money has a lot of better places to go...like food, college expenses, bills, or my husband's blown tire on his truck.God has not called my husband and I to be like everyone else. In a way, we never have been like the norm. We've faced a lot of struggles in our lives and even in our marriage. We know we don't have many answers. However, we are positive that we want to live our lives for CHRIST!! That means we are radical. That is alright with us. We don't preach at others about their faults, because we know we have lots too. We aren't pushy because we know that pushy Christian turned us away from Jesus. We would like others we love to share our faith, and are not afraid or ashamed to talk about what we believe. However, we don't feel that condemning others is going to draw them to the Saviour we love.We are still learning. We have a long way to go, but God has taken us a long way too. We don't have all the answers, and we make mistakes. However, we aren't children either. We don't need to be questioned like rebellious teenagers just because we are doing things a little differently. Not everything we decide is other people's business. I care very deeply about my friends and family and pray blessings over all of you daily. Understand, that just because our lives have had some changes doesn't mean that we have less feelings. We will overcome negative feelings and forgive, but we do still have feelings.

Finding time for Everything

This week my college class had double the work load assigned as the first week. I am struggling to get it all done and still get other things done. It's currently nearly 2 a.m., Megan is sleeping, and I finally quit for the night. I have two more chapters of reading with questions and then I have the study guide, which I haven't touched yet.
Tomorrow is supposed to be wonderfully warm. So, my plan is to take school outside. Laura can work on some of her lessons outside and so can I. This is a great plan as long as the toddler cooperates and doesn't run off.
I wished for a long time for the chance to go to college. I also prayed for a long time for God to enable me to be more of a student of His word. Well, I got what I wished and prayed for. Now, I just have to find the time to do it all. I can't let Laura's schooling suffer, and I can't ignore the toddler. Most of my study time has been in the evenings, but I'm going to have to add some daytime work.
Ironically, my husband works every day. He has gotten creative in his studies. Usually he studies at lunch. Today his job was to burn some hay. So, he pulled his truck around where he could sit in the back, study, and keep an eye on the fire. We are lucky that my husband works for a Christian business and the owner, the boss, is completely supportive of this. Thank God for the blessing of having a boss who lets my husband study when there is a few moments of down time.