The Hike

I love it when you have the perfect day - but you woke up not even expecting it. After the last couple of weeks around here, it was about time. We had planned yesterday to go down the road to one of our favorite trails and grill some hamburgers and hang out with the kids, but when we woke up, the sky looked a bit overcast like it would be pouring rain if we waited very long. So, we got the kids up and headed to the trail. The weather was perfect. There was nobody else, not another living soul on the trail.
Travis was so calm and fun to be with which made it for an especially good day. I can't remember the last time I liked his company so much. It is hard when you have hit a major rough patch to remember that this was a person that you liked at one time in your life. In fact you liked them enough to commit to spend the rest of your life with them, and have a couple of babies together. Well, today I remembered.
We walked a while, and then we sat in the middle of the Big Thicket and listened to birds. Later we looked at some carnivorous plants, animal tracks, wild ferns, etc. We talked about college and the revelation that my awesome, rockin' friend Stephanie helped Kendra with this weekend. (I'll share that in another post later this week.) We talked about dating, and how much Kullen is learning from his sisters that will pretty much make him the perfect catch when he gets older. We talked about astrology and the magnetism of the planets - actually Travis talked about this and we listened and asked questions.
After the hike we came home and grilled hamburgers on the front porch and sat out there and talked some more. Pretty much the perfect day in my opinion - at least as much as it could be without some of my best friends around me!

Just for Fun but it Made My Day

Okay - typically I think of my blog as chaotic ramblings, an outlet for the writing that I so much enjoy, and often unformed thoughts in process. I found this little "test" for my blogs reading level and was quite excited to find my non-college educated self blogging on a "college" level. Woo hoo! It is probably a hoax - I am going to try it a few more times and see if I get the same result, but for now - I'm just gonna enjoy it! Take the test and let me know how it comes out. I put in a few of your URLs and I'm not mentioning any names - but somebody got a "Genius" rating!

Homeschooling Priorities

I just read an blog entry on Lifetime Learning about Teens Going to College-Revisited. The blogger referenced an article about a 13 and 14 year old brother and sister duo going to UC Berkeley. I think that sometimes media like this tends to put a lot of pressure on homeschooling families. I've discovered that throughout the homeschooling community there are different reasons people choose to homeschool - therefore making goals and priorities in educating our children at home falling on quite a wide scale. When I first started to homeschool, I had never met and couldn't imagine that anyone that was not a Christian would want to homeschool their children. In ten years my world has opened up dramatically - and I have met homeschoolers from all walks of life, with varying lifestyles. It is good. It always challenges me to think about what I am doing, and why I am doing it.

I know some that would be absolutely sick with grief if their children chose not to go to college. Education is security they would say. For me, Jesus is the only sure thing - and my trust is completely and solely in Him. In my heart, I want my children to follow God's plan for their lives, wherever that may lead them - to college, to China, to a husband or wife, to the inner city, into a specific ministry, and most importantly to having a heart that always says "wherever-He-leads-I-will-follow"! How could I ever assume to take His place in their lives??? My goal, my focus, what matters most to me is not my children being math geniuses or knowing how to diagram an intricate sentence, but giving them the necessary tools so that they will have the skills to do whatever He asks them to do.

What are your priorities in homeschooling your children? I would love to hear them!