Gena is having a contest on her blog, and I decided to answer her questions, and I pray those answer will be an encouragement to you, especially if you are just starting out in home schooling.

1. How Long have you been homeschooling.

There are 2 answers to this question.  The first is 8 1/2 years (since we brought home our daughter at 18 months old), and 23 years (When my parents first started home schooling me.

2. Had you always planned to homeschool your kids or was it something you "discovered" and wanted to do after you kids were of school ago?

Ever since my parents started homeschooling me, I knew I wanted to make sure my children were homeschooled.  It was never a question with me.  I believe it should be the ideal for every Christian family (I emphasize that sometimes it is not possible, and doesn't work for every family, but I believe it should be what every family strives for).   When we started homeschooling, you had to have a conviction and often risk going to jail for it.  We realized that it may be that not everyone homeschools, but for us, it was essential that it be a STRONG conviction.

3. Why do you homeschool, personally AND has it been worth it?  Has it met your expectations?  How much has your homeschooling experience "morphed" since you first began?

As I mentioned, we homeschool because of a very strong conviction.  This is not something we do as a passing fad, but because we feel we MUST.  And, YES, YES, YES, and a thousand more times YES, it has been worth it.  In some ways it has far exceeded my expectations, and in some ways, it is harder than I remember it being for me (of course, I was the perfect student, just ask my mom).  I have learned a lot.  For example, Saxon doesn't work for everybody.  God made my children different, with different interests than he made me.  And raising and teaching children isn't always easy.  An even bigger change I have noticed has been with the movement itself.  It thrills me to see how much it has grown.  When we started, a book fair was small enough to fit in a small lobby.  Now we fill a conference center.  At the same time, there is a danger of people not having the convictions they once had. 

I can truly say, without hesitation, that homeschooling has been an even richer blessing than I thought or dreamed it could be.  I can also say that the conviction is firmer today than it ever has been.