The Empty Schoolhouse: Reflections & Adventures of a Veteran Homeschool Mom

The Lord recently took me on a God date as I call them. It was very personal and precious. Yet I want to try to put it into words of some kind to seal it in my mind and share how presonal and precious God is.  In November I really felt like I should go to a Christmas Eve service somewhere.  My own church doesn't have a service that night which is understandable. And normally I enjoy being home that night. But this year I felt a pressing need to go to a Christmas Eve service. The thought wouldn't leave me. So I text my friend Hannah whose church is about 40 minutes away. Yes. They have one so it was settled; I was going to Christmas Eve service.  I later learned it would be a candlelight service like when I was a little girl living in New England. That is when it dawned on me. This was going to be a God date. He was calling me to go. He knew: My first memory of church. My first memory of Christmas. My first memory of thinking God is real. My first clear memory of my dad. A...

The anniversary of my dad's death is here. It has been 2yrs. Someday I may go back and fill in the holes in my other blog. For now, I have been reflecting on the power of a parent's words and wanted to share some thoughts.  There are times in my life that my father's words brought me to tears in a good way. Every time he told me he was proud of me. When he told his congregation with great pride that I was pregnant with Snipp and that my husband had become manager of his store. When he had a pep talk with me after Jim died. And another pep talk when he battled cancer the third time. The most precious was when he told me he couldn't have asked for a better daughter......even as I type that last one I tear up. Cuz I know me. I know the worry and frustration I gave him as a teenager. I know the times as a young woman I didn't listen to his advice. And I know he didn't always agree with how I was raising my kids. And I made him feel disrespected at times though I did...

That is the feeling I get when my homeschool graduates excel at something.  But it is also the feeling I get when my sons see a children's book we used as part of our homeschool curriculum. Their faces brighten up and they make a positive comment.  Satisfied.  Good book and good memories equals good job, teacher!  Working at the daycare and teaching preschool has made me even more thankful for the privilege I had to be a stay-at-home mom and homeschool the boys all those years. Sometimes the days were long and difficult, but...oh, the feeling of satisfaction now. It was worth every struggle.  It was the best thing I ever did.  My greatest accomplishment.  Not because of how smart my boys are. They are incredibly smart.  But because of the closeness it brought us as a family and the character it built in us.  And the way our faith could be the solid thread through it all. 

I stood staring at two sleeping boys in the bed. One was just five, the other one two. They looked so peaceful. The scene looked so calm. A third son moved within my womb reminding me of his presence.  Yet I felt so alone . Hours earlier I had just learned my husband had been killed instantly in a vehicle accident. The house was buzzing with people who had come to rally around us. But I felt so alone .  Fast forward. Another weary day of homeschool completed. I crawled into bed exhausted. But I longed to tell Jim all about it. To rest my head on his chest and let the steady beat of his heart lull me to sleep. But he was in heaven. And I was here soldiering forward alone . Yet even as that thought came to mind, I heard the Holy Spirit whisper, "Emmanuel." God is with us. I was not alone . Fast forward again. I was at the grave weeping. Again. Not for me. But for my son who was struggling. "Lord, speak to his heart like only You can." I laid my head on the memorial b...

Preschool. Besides working at the daycare, I am teaching 3 yr old preschool 3 days a week for 2.5 hrs each time. I have 10 students: 4 boys and 6 girls. It is vastly different than homeschooling my own sons.  But some of the principles are the same: children are always learning especially through play, they need time outdoors, need to let them get their hands dirty, let them make messes, be patient & longsuffering, teach in bite size chunks,  repeat myself often, forgive much, but hold them accountable, expect great things, remember each child is unique, and tomorrow is not guaranteed to anyone.