Isn't this great? Here are my most favorite people in all the world in ONE picture and they're all looking in the same direction! Amazing! My friend Kim snapped this for us when we were at Jay's parent's house on Big Lake in Mount Vernon two weekends ago. The LAST time we attempted to visit good old MV, we all got a terrible stomach virus so this time I prayed like crazy against the spirit of vomit :) before we even got in the car!
We had a nice, vomit-free visit.
I've decided not to blog too much since I already need about 18 hours more in each day and my blogging doesn't seem to give me more hours but somehow I end up with less. Crazy how that works!
We're coming back up to Mount Vernon this weekend and we'll be staying for a few days so the kids are looking forward to that. We are too. Bunch of neat people up there that we love love love so it's always fun to make the drive. Well, not the drive. But the destination, we love!
Our family is growing so fast. (No I'm not pregnant... that I know of ) Savannah just got her driver's permit (she'll be 16 this summer) she aced it last week on her first time! We've decided NOT to let her get her license for two years, choosing instead to let her drive as much as possible and let her get experience with us before turning her loose on the freeways. (You're welcome.)
Spencer just lost his first tooth. :) That little boy is a dreamboat of a child! Yesterday he came up to me and said, "Mom, you're soooooo beautiful! I'm going to kiss you!" Which he did. Then he went on to tell me it was okay if you wipe off someone's kisses because wiping them off only makes it so that other people can't see them - kisses always stay on.
We're going to try year-round schooling on a scaled down version. We have had a good year this year homeschooling, we've notebooked like crazy and we've had a great year at our co-op. However I have let math slide a little so we're going to play some catch-up this summer. I've noticed that the kids do best when we focus on subjects rather than trying to do six different ones each day. So far the kids don't hate the idea *too much*.
Jay has been home now for five months. The Lord is teaching us so much about His nature during this time. For one thing - we're learning all about God's provision. When He asked us to take this step of faith with First Class Homeschool Ministries, we knew it would be a leap into the unknown. It's sort of like bringing your very first child home from the hospital - no one can really tell you what that will be like. Nothing can prepare you for the emotions and the wonder and the LOVE that you will feel for that new little one. You have to walk through it.
I'm learning that God's call never lacks God's provision. Never. It may not always be in my timing (in fact it usually isn't as I recall) but it always has the ear-mark of God.
It may not always look like what I had envisioned but it is provision nonetheless and it's growing me in my relationship with the Lord. Or maybe it's just testing the patience of the Lord?! Good thing He is so long-suffering!~
We've been preparing for some time to take the homeschool co-op that we started in Mount Vernon and "package" it up so that others in different parts of the country can join First Class and become part of a nation-wide network of Christian Homeschool Cooperatives. Since we are in leadership in the homeschooling community we have had the opportunity to see upclose and personal some things that have persuaded us of the need for a cohesive group of independent homeschool co-ops across this country.
Since the time we finished the First Class DVD, we have received requests from nearly 40 states and are praying fervently for the first one outside of the state of Washington. It's only been a couple of months (March) but the response has been amazing. We have five First Class Co-ops in Washington now, and possibly adding two more to that number before the fall. Our prayer is that this will give parents alternatives to government-funded programs and encourage parents to keep their homeschooling separate from the ps system, while helping them form friendships and receive support!
Most of you who know Jay and me personally, know that we have never been able to do anything on a small scale (Notice the family photo.) I remember thinking, "Well, if First Class Homeschool Coop was good for those families in Mount Vernon, it would be good for families in Vancouver!" and the natural progression was, "Well if it's good for the state of Washington, it would be good for the United States!" See how we are? Yeah, we know. It's crazy. But then God seems to do a lot of "crazy" things. I think people thought Noah was totally out-to-lunch, and Joshua, the crazy guy, believed that God wanted him to win the battle with the Amalekites so much that he took it upon himself to ask God to keep the sun in one place so he could finish the job he had begun. God is in the business of the miraculous! We're trusting Him to build this ministry so that it will touch lives all across the country, and help parents homeschool God's kids.
A lot is coming up for First Class Homeschool Ministries this summer. We have our very first fundraising dinner down here in Vancouver at the Heathman Lodge on June 16th. We're so excited about what God is doing through the ministry of First Class. Our friends, Steve and Jane Lambert, who wrote the Five in a Row curriculum have really caught the vision and are coming from Kansas City to help us cast that vision as we look for God to provide financial support through His people. I'd appreciate your prayers!
If you're interested in coming, please contact us! Tickets have already been paid for, and now we're inviting people who are interested in seeing and supporting what God is doing through FCHM to come on the 16th. We hope to have people there from all over the country.
Please pray for First Class and for the wonderful parents who are helping us get this ministry off the ground!
If you would like to support First Class we would be so blessed. We're a Federally registered non-profit now (Yea!) so all donations are tax-deductible. You can donate on our website.
Hopefully I'll be back to blog soon, but just so you know, even though I'm not writing much I am READING your blogs! Ya'll are fascinating and funny - and I enjoy hearing what is happening in your lives.
I just found out about the First Class homeschool info on a blog that I can't find right now.
I checked it out and then I had to come over here and see what you had to say about it. Sounds like a wonderful ministry!
Many blessings as you follow the Lord in this. I know it will bless many as you introduce homeschooling and create a network other homeschoolers can rely on and be encouraged by!!
I am so behind on my blogging, I haven't been able to read your blog in far too long, so I am so uninformed. I MUST check out your web site and see about this new ministry stuff! Friends from Kansas City? We are just a few hours south of there and so if they get something going up there, maybe we will be able to check it out. God amazes me...every day. Anyway, it is good to try to catch up a little. Hope all is well.
Heidi and her husband, Jay, have been married for over 17 years. They reside in Ridgefield, WA, where they homeschool their six children. The children range in age from 15 to 1 and Heidi "highly recommends having older children!" When Heidi is not climbing Mount Never-rest (folding laundry),changing diapers or washing dishes, she enjoys writing, trying new recipes she finds on the internet and encouraging other moms.
The St. Johns founded First Class Christian Homeschool Ministries, a parachurch organization dedicated to helping churches start homeschool co-ops in their communities.
Crazy how that works!
) Savannah just got her driver's permit (she'll be 16 this summer) she aced it last week on her first time! We've decided NOT to let her get her license for two years, choosing instead to let her drive as much as possible and let her get experience with us before turning her loose on the freeways. (You're welcome.)
