Christmas traditions. We have a few and hopefully we started a new one today. We start every Christmas morning with Sticky Buns. That is a Replogle family tradition and we are keeping it alive. We all love them! A few years ago I gave my husband a month of pies. That tradition has also persisted and people outside our family even ask about it. The rule is there needs to be a pie in the house every day during the month of December and Dad gets the first slice of all new pies.
But this year we have had some financial constraints with me going to grad school. So we asked everyone to give the gift of service to each other. It was really cool to hear all the ways we will be serving each other over the next couple months. Doing each other chores, taking someone to a movie, foot massages, fishing dates, get out of chores for a day and many others. My husband and I also gave the kids the gift of words. We wrote letters to each of our kids and talked about the things we love about them. Yes, there were presents, but they didn't get the center stage this year.
We also expanded our pie tradition. Each of the kids gets to pick out their own pie and then I will teach them how to make it! Tonight my 14 year old son and I made an apple pie and he ate the entire thing with a mountain dew. He had a big smile on his face. Sometimes, that's all you need as a parent isn't it?
I suppose God does things like that for us all the time just to make us smile. I hope he feels the same joy I do.
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Young Love
Watching your child go through their first dating relationship and break up is scary and messy stuff at best. Everything in you knows this is not going to end well. So few people marry out of high school and those that do, don't tend to stay married.
But the emotions are so strong and depending on the child, sometimes all you can do is be there when the train runs off the track. Recently, one of my kids had a break up and since then has been playing and singing a Bruno Mars song on the piano. In his defense, he says he just likes the song, but it's hard not to notice how he sings it and the parts he tends to emphasize. I'm just saying.
Awhile back we had another break up that ended very badly with a different child. There was a lot of pain and hurt and anger and we were parents on a bucking bronco. But we can see the fruit of it now. It seemed far too painful at the time and yet you can see how God has used it for good. She is simply wiser for the suffering. I don't like that path of training, but it does seem effective though painful for everyone involved, including us.
My husband and I find it funny how different our kids are compared to each other. Two are into dating and two are not. My girls are polar opposites of each other as are my boys. Two of them seem enchanted by the world, and two not so much. Two connect easily with Jesus and two are working on it. But they all grew up here in this house together and yet we can already see how God is planning different paths for each of them. I stand in awe of it as I see it unfold.
So parenting more and more feels like checking in, offering encouragement, having fun, being spontaneous and comforting their broken hearts. Their lives seem to be the teachers now, not so much me anymore. I am a bit sad about that, but it also seems like an important step in their growth. Life is my teacher too and Jesus is my encourager and comforter. He is my strength in time of weakness. He is my refuge and my strong tower too.
As I love my kids through life's education, my hope is they will begin to attach more and more to the author and perfector of their faith, Jesus, because my time with them is coming to a close. I hope to be here for a long time, but they will start being somewhere else soon and yet Jesus will always be with them. If they are each able to make that leap (of faith) as they leave home,then I will be confident of Another Homeschool Success Story.
But the emotions are so strong and depending on the child, sometimes all you can do is be there when the train runs off the track. Recently, one of my kids had a break up and since then has been playing and singing a Bruno Mars song on the piano. In his defense, he says he just likes the song, but it's hard not to notice how he sings it and the parts he tends to emphasize. I'm just saying.
Awhile back we had another break up that ended very badly with a different child. There was a lot of pain and hurt and anger and we were parents on a bucking bronco. But we can see the fruit of it now. It seemed far too painful at the time and yet you can see how God has used it for good. She is simply wiser for the suffering. I don't like that path of training, but it does seem effective though painful for everyone involved, including us.
My husband and I find it funny how different our kids are compared to each other. Two are into dating and two are not. My girls are polar opposites of each other as are my boys. Two of them seem enchanted by the world, and two not so much. Two connect easily with Jesus and two are working on it. But they all grew up here in this house together and yet we can already see how God is planning different paths for each of them. I stand in awe of it as I see it unfold.
So parenting more and more feels like checking in, offering encouragement, having fun, being spontaneous and comforting their broken hearts. Their lives seem to be the teachers now, not so much me anymore. I am a bit sad about that, but it also seems like an important step in their growth. Life is my teacher too and Jesus is my encourager and comforter. He is my strength in time of weakness. He is my refuge and my strong tower too.
As I love my kids through life's education, my hope is they will begin to attach more and more to the author and perfector of their faith, Jesus, because my time with them is coming to a close. I hope to be here for a long time, but they will start being somewhere else soon and yet Jesus will always be with them. If they are each able to make that leap (of faith) as they leave home,then I will be confident of Another Homeschool Success Story.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Sleep
When my kids were little, I was pretty strict about bed times and nap times. We used something called room time also where the kids went to their rooms about an hour before bed so they could wind down before bed time. In reality it was a "mom will not make it another hour so please sequester yourselves to your room now" time and the truth is I really needed it for the sake of my own sanity. But it also generated some of my best memories of the girls when they were little.
I would listen to them talk through their room monitor while I picked up the house or laid on the couch exhausted. The conversations were priceless and most of the time led to them laughing or giggling which often led to me laughing or giggling. Sometimes it led to me crying as I reviewed my day and the harsh words I may have spoken to them or my inability to see my children as blessings. But whether through laughing or crying, there was a measure of relief at the end of the day. I might have failed or hit a home run, but the day was now over and everyone was still alive and soon sleep would come and we would all rest (most nights).
As my kids have gotten older, I've been surprised how important sleep continues to be for them. If I had a top 10 list of how to love your kids, "protect their sleep" would be on it. Of course it looks different with older kids. Strict bed times can start to feel disrespectful to teenagers. The truth is they are learning to manage their schedules and need room to see how big assignments take time and poor planning creates a lot of stress. So it is more of a dance than a series of rules. We encourage our kids to not schedule things on Saturday's. If something spontaneous comes up, so be it, but plan on a sleep-in day. We encourage "do nothing days". We are pretty ok with just staying home from school when sickness looks more like exhaustion. Now granted, sometimes they just need to push through. We had a crazy busy week just before spring break. But we all knew spring break was coming and we purposely planned nothing. They loved it. I believe "Stay in your pj's all day" should be encouraged by our culture. My son agrees and says those are the best days.
Our best school days are 2-hour delay days. Slick roads or intense cold will push back the start of the school day to 10am. Genius! I love those days and so do my kids. We are so much more relaxed in the morning and the kids don't seem so wiped out when they get home from school either. We would campaign for every day to be a 2-hour delay day if we could.
What's funny to me, however, is how often we didn't start homeschooling until 9 or 10am. I knew families that did the early morning thing. We were not one of them. Campus ministry is a late night gig and so are teenagers. So today I am wondering if all the guilt I felt during my years as a homeschool mom over getting to the table for school too late, was unfounded. During five of those years, I had a thyroid problem that dramatically effected my energy levels and getting out of bed at all was often a victory. So perhaps I will look back on those years now as God doing the work of protecting sleep for me even when I felt bad about it.
I know I needed the sleep and I see such a difference in my kids when they are well rested. They are less stressed, more even tempered and a lot more positive. They can take direction more easily and they can become so creative when the schedule is just open. (Some days they just play endless computer and video games too - so it's both).
But who doesn't need sleep? I lead a women's wilderness trip each year and our first day in the cabin is wide open. Very little schedule, sleep as much as you want and feel free to do nothing. The women love it! I suppose it is an American idea to live a hurried life. But I am not really trying to raise Americans. I'm trying to raise children who love God and know that God loves them. America offers them some wonderful elements but it can be a poison to their souls as well. Maybe that's really the essence of parenting. Discerning which is which and helping our kids learn to do the same.
But we all need more sleep in our fast paced world so I will continue to keep that on my top ten list for now and help my kids see how much nicer life is when we don't neglect our need for sleep. My hope is that our years of getting to the table late will be a blessing in disguise and we will celebrate Another Homeschool Success Story.
I would listen to them talk through their room monitor while I picked up the house or laid on the couch exhausted. The conversations were priceless and most of the time led to them laughing or giggling which often led to me laughing or giggling. Sometimes it led to me crying as I reviewed my day and the harsh words I may have spoken to them or my inability to see my children as blessings. But whether through laughing or crying, there was a measure of relief at the end of the day. I might have failed or hit a home run, but the day was now over and everyone was still alive and soon sleep would come and we would all rest (most nights).
As my kids have gotten older, I've been surprised how important sleep continues to be for them. If I had a top 10 list of how to love your kids, "protect their sleep" would be on it. Of course it looks different with older kids. Strict bed times can start to feel disrespectful to teenagers. The truth is they are learning to manage their schedules and need room to see how big assignments take time and poor planning creates a lot of stress. So it is more of a dance than a series of rules. We encourage our kids to not schedule things on Saturday's. If something spontaneous comes up, so be it, but plan on a sleep-in day. We encourage "do nothing days". We are pretty ok with just staying home from school when sickness looks more like exhaustion. Now granted, sometimes they just need to push through. We had a crazy busy week just before spring break. But we all knew spring break was coming and we purposely planned nothing. They loved it. I believe "Stay in your pj's all day" should be encouraged by our culture. My son agrees and says those are the best days.
Our best school days are 2-hour delay days. Slick roads or intense cold will push back the start of the school day to 10am. Genius! I love those days and so do my kids. We are so much more relaxed in the morning and the kids don't seem so wiped out when they get home from school either. We would campaign for every day to be a 2-hour delay day if we could.
What's funny to me, however, is how often we didn't start homeschooling until 9 or 10am. I knew families that did the early morning thing. We were not one of them. Campus ministry is a late night gig and so are teenagers. So today I am wondering if all the guilt I felt during my years as a homeschool mom over getting to the table for school too late, was unfounded. During five of those years, I had a thyroid problem that dramatically effected my energy levels and getting out of bed at all was often a victory. So perhaps I will look back on those years now as God doing the work of protecting sleep for me even when I felt bad about it.
I know I needed the sleep and I see such a difference in my kids when they are well rested. They are less stressed, more even tempered and a lot more positive. They can take direction more easily and they can become so creative when the schedule is just open. (Some days they just play endless computer and video games too - so it's both).
But who doesn't need sleep? I lead a women's wilderness trip each year and our first day in the cabin is wide open. Very little schedule, sleep as much as you want and feel free to do nothing. The women love it! I suppose it is an American idea to live a hurried life. But I am not really trying to raise Americans. I'm trying to raise children who love God and know that God loves them. America offers them some wonderful elements but it can be a poison to their souls as well. Maybe that's really the essence of parenting. Discerning which is which and helping our kids learn to do the same.
But we all need more sleep in our fast paced world so I will continue to keep that on my top ten list for now and help my kids see how much nicer life is when we don't neglect our need for sleep. My hope is that our years of getting to the table late will be a blessing in disguise and we will celebrate Another Homeschool Success Story.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Homeschooling again?
So we've been faced with a new dilemma in our home. We put our youngest in public school in 5th grade for many reasons, but largely because the other's were going to school and I was confident that this kid could not be homeschooled alone. We have a wonderful elementary school in our neighborhood that I often lamented I was not getting to enjoy. So he went in as a 5th grader and we got to experience one year of elementary level education.
He tried different things, but eventually landed in the math bowl team and loved it! In fact his team did well in the state standings and he personally finished the year with a perfect score on his ISTEP math test. They even gave him an award which seemed to confuse him because as he told me later "But Mom, the test wasn't even hard." "Yes, kiddo, that is the point." I assured him. So we skipped 6th grade math this year and put him in 7th grade honors pre-algebra as a 6th grader.
So here is the problem. He is killing it and wants to do algebra this summer at home. (Just so you know, my other kids think he is nuts!) But the kid just loves math and has a gift. But if we do algebra this summer at home, which honestly would be easy, there will not be any math left for him to take at the middle school. The school says we are welcome to drive him to the high school everyday so he can take classes there, but that is not desirable for multiple reasons. Transportation and time are relevant but he is also not a very large kid and we don't really want him with high school kids yet. Not to mention he would be at the same math level as his older brother. (We might never know how motivating that fact alone is to his pursuit of higher math :)
So we are faced with an interesting dilemma. What do we do with the gifted child? I don't know yet, but I greatly appreciate that the school is partnering with us and I am confident we can find a solution. As the guidance counselor said "This is good problem. We like these kinds of problems." She also made it a point to commend us for having done such a great job teaching our kids at home. She said she knows a number of bad examples of homeschooling and as we know "homeschooling" can often be used as a excuse to not educate kids by neglectful parents. But she mentioned a couple times "I don't know what you did, but you did something right." We have smart kids, so it's hard to take too much credit for things given to us by the hand of God. But she also pointed out how different each kid was from each other and how they were a joy to be around but also very much individuals. I will soak in that compliment for awhile and thank God again for the chance to homeschool and just enjoy my kids.
So will next year be some kind of public school/homeschool combo plan? Perhaps. We shall see but I am thankful to have access to so many resources while figuring this out. We recently took our son to lunch and asked him about these ideas and what he thought about it all. As usual, he smiled through the conversation because we were talking about math in general. But when we threw out the idea of trying to find a way for him to go as fast as he wants in learning math, his eyes just lit up. Kind of like Dash from the Incredibles: "I want you to run as fast as you can." says the mom. "As fast as I can?" says Dash with a big smile. "As fast as you can!" assures the mom. Yeah, it felt just like that.
My other kids sing and act and play sports and this kid does too, but his first love is math. How often do you see that? So perhaps homeschooling will be our ticket to helping Dash the math wiz, run as fast as he can! There are bridges to cross, but how is that not Another Homeschool Success Story?
He tried different things, but eventually landed in the math bowl team and loved it! In fact his team did well in the state standings and he personally finished the year with a perfect score on his ISTEP math test. They even gave him an award which seemed to confuse him because as he told me later "But Mom, the test wasn't even hard." "Yes, kiddo, that is the point." I assured him. So we skipped 6th grade math this year and put him in 7th grade honors pre-algebra as a 6th grader.
So here is the problem. He is killing it and wants to do algebra this summer at home. (Just so you know, my other kids think he is nuts!) But the kid just loves math and has a gift. But if we do algebra this summer at home, which honestly would be easy, there will not be any math left for him to take at the middle school. The school says we are welcome to drive him to the high school everyday so he can take classes there, but that is not desirable for multiple reasons. Transportation and time are relevant but he is also not a very large kid and we don't really want him with high school kids yet. Not to mention he would be at the same math level as his older brother. (We might never know how motivating that fact alone is to his pursuit of higher math :)
So we are faced with an interesting dilemma. What do we do with the gifted child? I don't know yet, but I greatly appreciate that the school is partnering with us and I am confident we can find a solution. As the guidance counselor said "This is good problem. We like these kinds of problems." She also made it a point to commend us for having done such a great job teaching our kids at home. She said she knows a number of bad examples of homeschooling and as we know "homeschooling" can often be used as a excuse to not educate kids by neglectful parents. But she mentioned a couple times "I don't know what you did, but you did something right." We have smart kids, so it's hard to take too much credit for things given to us by the hand of God. But she also pointed out how different each kid was from each other and how they were a joy to be around but also very much individuals. I will soak in that compliment for awhile and thank God again for the chance to homeschool and just enjoy my kids.
So will next year be some kind of public school/homeschool combo plan? Perhaps. We shall see but I am thankful to have access to so many resources while figuring this out. We recently took our son to lunch and asked him about these ideas and what he thought about it all. As usual, he smiled through the conversation because we were talking about math in general. But when we threw out the idea of trying to find a way for him to go as fast as he wants in learning math, his eyes just lit up. Kind of like Dash from the Incredibles: "I want you to run as fast as you can." says the mom. "As fast as I can?" says Dash with a big smile. "As fast as you can!" assures the mom. Yeah, it felt just like that.
My other kids sing and act and play sports and this kid does too, but his first love is math. How often do you see that? So perhaps homeschooling will be our ticket to helping Dash the math wiz, run as fast as he can! There are bridges to cross, but how is that not Another Homeschool Success Story?
Character
When my kids were young I largely just wanted them to obey me. Life seemed very chaotic and obedient children make it less chaotic. But kids aren't always very good at obeying. In fact, you have to train them to obey. Part of our daily routine was standing in different rooms, calling their name and giving them m&m's when they came. (Yes, it does sound like training a dog.) But they loved it and to this day, my kids come when I call them and I love that about them.
But as they have gotten older, obedience has been less the goal and more a hope. I hope they will obey the Lord, but we all make choices about what we believe and at some point everyone needs to test the boundaries. I think this is where character starts to play a role.
I know as a parent, I have worked pretty hard to limit the "bad" in my kids life. I am pretty uptight about who gets access to my kids. Thankfully, God has brought some wonderful people into our lives like our piano teacher and martial arts sensei. My son had a great football coach for the two years he gave football a try. But sometimes they get a bad coach or teacher or life just gets unfair and that is when their character or lack thereof is revealed.
Recently, my daughter's swing choir partner was in a fight at school and taken to jail on the day of their concert. It was a pretty crazy day. She spent the rest of the day with another young man trying to learn the dances but he was only able to do one of them. So at the concert that night, I did not beam during her vocal solo but rather when she was dancing alone during the finale with the other swing choir kids and giving it her all. Honestly, I cried through it, it was so beautiful to me. We celebrated the evening with buy one get one free blizzards.
That same night I went to our local playhouse to pick up two of my other kids after their final dress rehearsal before their big play - Mulan Jr. They both offered to stay late and run the entire show one more time for the sake of the double cast lead who had not had a chance to do her final dress rehearsal. Amazingly, they both knew everyone's part and even their blocking and entrances. It was an absolute joy to watch them help this gal while having a blast too. What makes it that much sweeter, is my daughter really wanted the lead and instead got the bad guy. But that didn't stop her in any way from going the extra mile when the need arose. I see that as character. And btw, she nailed the bad guy role. She was larger than life and even had a fight scene, she choreographed herself, where she is thrown across the stage. Once again, I cried watching my kids go the extra mile.
So if we shelter them, can they learn character? To be honest, I worked pretty hard at sheltering them when they were young largely out of fear, and yet the world found its way in. Homeschooling was wonderful for so many reasons. But I also knew that I couldn't really teach my kids about bullies at home or how to discern who will make a good friend. It hurts to watch your kids learn these things. But these things might be more important than algebra and grammar.
So today I rejoice in watching young men and women in my home make hard choices at a level of personal sacrifice. I believe it makes God smile because it certainly makes their proud mama smile. I will consider that Another Homeschool Success Story!
But as they have gotten older, obedience has been less the goal and more a hope. I hope they will obey the Lord, but we all make choices about what we believe and at some point everyone needs to test the boundaries. I think this is where character starts to play a role.
I know as a parent, I have worked pretty hard to limit the "bad" in my kids life. I am pretty uptight about who gets access to my kids. Thankfully, God has brought some wonderful people into our lives like our piano teacher and martial arts sensei. My son had a great football coach for the two years he gave football a try. But sometimes they get a bad coach or teacher or life just gets unfair and that is when their character or lack thereof is revealed.
Recently, my daughter's swing choir partner was in a fight at school and taken to jail on the day of their concert. It was a pretty crazy day. She spent the rest of the day with another young man trying to learn the dances but he was only able to do one of them. So at the concert that night, I did not beam during her vocal solo but rather when she was dancing alone during the finale with the other swing choir kids and giving it her all. Honestly, I cried through it, it was so beautiful to me. We celebrated the evening with buy one get one free blizzards.
That same night I went to our local playhouse to pick up two of my other kids after their final dress rehearsal before their big play - Mulan Jr. They both offered to stay late and run the entire show one more time for the sake of the double cast lead who had not had a chance to do her final dress rehearsal. Amazingly, they both knew everyone's part and even their blocking and entrances. It was an absolute joy to watch them help this gal while having a blast too. What makes it that much sweeter, is my daughter really wanted the lead and instead got the bad guy. But that didn't stop her in any way from going the extra mile when the need arose. I see that as character. And btw, she nailed the bad guy role. She was larger than life and even had a fight scene, she choreographed herself, where she is thrown across the stage. Once again, I cried watching my kids go the extra mile.
So if we shelter them, can they learn character? To be honest, I worked pretty hard at sheltering them when they were young largely out of fear, and yet the world found its way in. Homeschooling was wonderful for so many reasons. But I also knew that I couldn't really teach my kids about bullies at home or how to discern who will make a good friend. It hurts to watch your kids learn these things. But these things might be more important than algebra and grammar.
So today I rejoice in watching young men and women in my home make hard choices at a level of personal sacrifice. I believe it makes God smile because it certainly makes their proud mama smile. I will consider that Another Homeschool Success Story!
Monday, January 7, 2013
The First "F"
My kids and I were talking about some of their friends and how they get punished for bad grades. I asked them, "What do you think I would do if one of you got an "F" on something?" They looked at each other and said, "You would probably ask us what happened and help us." I liked that answer. It told me that my kids believe I care more about them as people than their grades.
Now I'm not saying there isn't a time for consequences. Different kids need different types of motivation at different times in their lives. But my kids want to do well. So maybe we have found the balance of enjoying learning and yet not being defined by our grades.
Of course God has a way of testing those ideals. Our first big "F" was on a test in biology. I am a Biology teacher by trade and it is one of my great loves. The child who got the "F" loves biology and is in charge of all animals in our home and near our home. So this one hit us both pretty hard.
She was embarrassed to tell me, but she confessed it and we just gave each other a big hug and then went to lunch. After we were finally able to laugh about the irony of the situation, we came up with some ways to make some progress for future tests. Thankfully, it seemed to deepen our relationship rather than hurt it.
Our culture puts such a premium on test scores. It is really ridiculous! But this is the world we live in. I don't like it. I don't agree with it. I think it steals our humanity and makes us feel like a product and not a person. I dislike that teachers are often trapped to teach to tests rather than free to expand young minds however they deem best. So how do we live in the balance? By faith.
By faith, my kids will go to college or not. By faith, we will have the money or not. By faith, they will have the grades or not. By faith, they will live long enough to even wrestle with that question. God holds all of it in His hands. Not us. Not the schools. Not the scholarship committees or college admissions office or the financial aid office. God and only God.
When we set up our kids college funds as toddlers (thanks to generous contributions from the grandparents) we had to define the funds. There is a myriad of types of funds to pick from for kids. So as we stared at our 5 year old, we had to decide, what do we want for them down the road? One option was to buy college credit at today's prices for when your child goes to school 10-15 years from now. It's a good deal financially, but of course, you have picked their college for them when they were little. That seemed like a very narrow road to us given we had no idea what God wanted to do with each of our children's lives.
So instead, by faith, we put money into an account that allows them to do whatever they want with the money once they turn 21. Of course this is risky too. What if they are irresponsible hooligans? Well then I guess it will be one hell of a party!
The point is that I have a 17 year old daughter and I still don't know what God wants to do with her life and she takes the SAT in a couple of weeks. However, it's worth noting that I am a 46 year old woman and I also don't know what God wants to do with my life. So, by faith, we just keep seeking Him for our lives and their lives.
Perhaps all we are really accomplishing is teaching our kids to seek God. I suppose if that is all we manage to do, I would be willing to call that another homeschool success story.
Now I'm not saying there isn't a time for consequences. Different kids need different types of motivation at different times in their lives. But my kids want to do well. So maybe we have found the balance of enjoying learning and yet not being defined by our grades.
Of course God has a way of testing those ideals. Our first big "F" was on a test in biology. I am a Biology teacher by trade and it is one of my great loves. The child who got the "F" loves biology and is in charge of all animals in our home and near our home. So this one hit us both pretty hard.
She was embarrassed to tell me, but she confessed it and we just gave each other a big hug and then went to lunch. After we were finally able to laugh about the irony of the situation, we came up with some ways to make some progress for future tests. Thankfully, it seemed to deepen our relationship rather than hurt it.
Our culture puts such a premium on test scores. It is really ridiculous! But this is the world we live in. I don't like it. I don't agree with it. I think it steals our humanity and makes us feel like a product and not a person. I dislike that teachers are often trapped to teach to tests rather than free to expand young minds however they deem best. So how do we live in the balance? By faith.
By faith, my kids will go to college or not. By faith, we will have the money or not. By faith, they will have the grades or not. By faith, they will live long enough to even wrestle with that question. God holds all of it in His hands. Not us. Not the schools. Not the scholarship committees or college admissions office or the financial aid office. God and only God.
When we set up our kids college funds as toddlers (thanks to generous contributions from the grandparents) we had to define the funds. There is a myriad of types of funds to pick from for kids. So as we stared at our 5 year old, we had to decide, what do we want for them down the road? One option was to buy college credit at today's prices for when your child goes to school 10-15 years from now. It's a good deal financially, but of course, you have picked their college for them when they were little. That seemed like a very narrow road to us given we had no idea what God wanted to do with each of our children's lives.
So instead, by faith, we put money into an account that allows them to do whatever they want with the money once they turn 21. Of course this is risky too. What if they are irresponsible hooligans? Well then I guess it will be one hell of a party!
The point is that I have a 17 year old daughter and I still don't know what God wants to do with her life and she takes the SAT in a couple of weeks. However, it's worth noting that I am a 46 year old woman and I also don't know what God wants to do with my life. So, by faith, we just keep seeking Him for our lives and their lives.
Perhaps all we are really accomplishing is teaching our kids to seek God. I suppose if that is all we manage to do, I would be willing to call that another homeschool success story.
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