T****his post has been Edited...please scroll to the bottom of the post to read the additional comment.***

This week in Thoughtful Stuff for Moms, I'm going to reveal to you a few of my most difficult struggles with my children. 

Do you know how shaming it is to be one of the homeschoolers whose child isn't leaps and bounds ahead of his public school counterparts?  You have no idea how much I struggle with wondering if I've totally messed up my kid by choosing to homeschool.  I wonder if he'd be a better reader if he went to an institutional school.  Its a daily battle.  Then God proves himself faithful and reassures me that homeschooling is our calling, and that he has put the trials and struggles in our life to both strengthen us, and humble us. Can you imagine what a stinkin snob and know-it-all I'd be if my kid was scoring grades ahead on some standarized test?  You would not want to know me. 

 Reading has always been a battle.  Yesterday, after some revealing work with 9yo son, I knew we needed something more.  I prayed and then found this great book, Reading Pathways: Simple Exercises to Improve Reading Fluency.  We used Phonics Pathways and we loved it, but I had never heard of Reading Pathways by the same author.  We ordered it yesterday

My other humbling experience in life is my second child.  Our first son was very compliant and obediant.  We were heavily involved in the parental material from the Ezzos, and we had our son IN LINE!  I used to see moms with bratty kids and think about what great parents we were.  Then our second son came along, and he was so different.  He was stubborn and wild. The other two babies followed so closely that I was always too tired or stressed to properly train and parent him.  

Even with more consistent training, I've been wondering if there aren't some underlying problems.  So, I'm looking into food allergies.  I've ordered the book, Is This Your Child  from www.paperbackswap.com and I'm hoping it will come today.  Here's the amazon description of the book.

In this breakthrough book, Dr. Doris Rapp offers a simple yet effective approach to handling "problem" children. Is This Your Child? shows parents how to identify the common foods, chemicals, or common allergic substances that could be the culprits that cause some children or adults to feel unwell or act inappropriately. If your child is always sick, hyperactive, a slow learner, or cranky, the first question you should ask is not "What drug should be prescribed?" or "What have I done wrong as a parent?" Instead, find out the cause.

Well, there you have it.  I've revealed what's been on my heart.  I hope it will help you in being more thoughtful moms to your children.

***My mother reads my blog, and she called me in response to my description of my 3yo.  She would just like to tell all of you in blog world that her grandson is wonderfully behaved and just a "real sweet kid".  That's a grandma for ya!  Hi mom!