We've traveled down to my parent's house in the Chicago area for Christmas. Thankfully the 9-hour drive went well and we arrived on time with plenty of time to celebrate my oldest ds' birthday. He turned 9 on the Saturday we were driving! Hard to believe where the 9 years have gone!
We enjoyed a good Christmas church service with a good reminder of not just celebrating Christmas with the sentimental feelings of enjoying the familiar celebrations but to take time to reflect on Jesus and why he came to earth. It's such an amazing thing to think of that little baby being God and putting on flesh and bones with the whole purpose of bringing us to him through his death on the cross. Of course Jesus did much more than that in living life as an example and model of God's love and his ways. He showed us what it means to live God's way.
May our lives be filled with joy in Jesus and remembrance of all he's done for us. May we live in freedom and love for him knowing he loves us completely this day and always! God bless and Merry Christmas!
My name is LouAnn Smith and I live in Bell Buckle. I have been a home schooling mom for over 10 years. I have three boys - 17, 11 and 5. We have lived in Tennessee for 3 years now and before this, we were house parents at a boys' home in Florida. We home schooled there more for convenience, but it became a way of life. However, after having moved here, I quickly grew weary. I tried having my boys go to a tutorial in Smyrna, which we all loved very much, but it was still a challenge at home. My youngest is a pistol and into everything, so when I tried to teach my middle son, he would destroy things, get into things or I would park him in front of the tv just to get him out of my hair. My middle son has a very short attention span and I struggled with different curriculum and trying to get him to stay focused. We had many unproductive days just putting out fires. No real disrespect or attitude, just craziness. My oldest is very independent, compliant and an easy learner. He is a senior this year.
After my feelings of sheer failure and frustration, I put my middle son in school and my youngest in preschool. I am now working as a part time realtor. Truly, I have little business going on with the market the way it is and I have begun to question God's intent for me. I use to really enjoy home schooling. Our network in Florida was amazing and I had so much in common with so many. I have not found the friendships I had hoped for here, much less the encouragement to keep going. I love real estate, but I am seriously struggling with my decision to have Josiah in school. I am trying to work with the teachers and they have been great, knowing Josiah was home schooled. He is very unorganized and has struggled with deadlines and turning in assignments. My youngest, Nathan, absolutely loves preschool. His teacher, a very strong christian, has a small group in her home and uses a curriculum with them. He is learning so much and I am grateful for her patience with him. He does not respond at all to me when it comes to academics and I don't know that he would do well home schooling. Regardless, I cannot tell if these mixed emotions are the Lord trying to draw me back, or if it's guilt. I have met many strong believers in the school system and have seen great kids graduate. On the flip side, I cannot negate the commands of the Lord to train my children. I have just felt like such a failure since we've been here and that I have nothing to offer my boys but my frustration. When we were home schooling in Florida, we had 10 acres, goats, chickens and lots of stuff for them to do with their down time. Here, I live in a subdivision with few children for them to play with. After they were done with their school work last year, all they wanted to do was play video games. They rarely go outside because they are bored and there is nothing to do and nothing to play with. I miss the country, but we cannot afford to buy land.
I have prayed and prayed about this and have no one to talk to because no one I know here home schools. Now that my oldest is graduating, I know my home school ties will be severed. I'm not ready for my son to go to middle school, but I also know that if I lack the confidence and joy to home school again, he will suffer for it.
I googled home schooling in Bedford county and found your web site and email address, so I thought I send out an SOS. Right now I am simply praying for guidance and a clear direction. If the Lord wants me to do this, I need connections and outlets. All the years we were at the boys' home I was constantly active and I need that. Being here all day drives me insane, so I know if I home school again I need some creative outlets both for me and my sons. I simply don't know where to start or where to turn.
Any info you may have would be so appreciated.
I pray your family has a wonderful new year! I enjoyed your blog.
God bless!
LouAnn
Hi there - I can't figure out your e-mail address to send you a reply... Can you e-mail me at melanie@encoreink.com with your e-mail? Let me know if you get this... Otherwise I'll keep looking and trying...
Posted by 
• Mon 31 Dec 2007 - SOS
After my feelings of sheer failure and frustration, I put my middle son in school and my youngest in preschool. I am now working as a part time realtor. Truly, I have little business going on with the market the way it is and I have begun to question God's intent for me. I use to really enjoy home schooling. Our network in Florida was amazing and I had so much in common with so many. I have not found the friendships I had hoped for here, much less the encouragement to keep going. I love real estate, but I am seriously struggling with my decision to have Josiah in school. I am trying to work with the teachers and they have been great, knowing Josiah was home schooled. He is very unorganized and has struggled with deadlines and turning in assignments. My youngest, Nathan, absolutely loves preschool. His teacher, a very strong christian, has a small group in her home and uses a curriculum with them. He is learning so much and I am grateful for her patience with him. He does not respond at all to me when it comes to academics and I don't know that he would do well home schooling. Regardless, I cannot tell if these mixed emotions are the Lord trying to draw me back, or if it's guilt. I have met many strong believers in the school system and have seen great kids graduate. On the flip side, I cannot negate the commands of the Lord to train my children. I have just felt like such a failure since we've been here and that I have nothing to offer my boys but my frustration. When we were home schooling in Florida, we had 10 acres, goats, chickens and lots of stuff for them to do with their down time. Here, I live in a subdivision with few children for them to play with. After they were done with their school work last year, all they wanted to do was play video games. They rarely go outside because they are bored and there is nothing to do and nothing to play with. I miss the country, but we cannot afford to buy land.
I have prayed and prayed about this and have no one to talk to because no one I know here home schools. Now that my oldest is graduating, I know my home school ties will be severed. I'm not ready for my son to go to middle school, but I also know that if I lack the confidence and joy to home school again, he will suffer for it.
I googled home schooling in Bedford county and found your web site and email address, so I thought I send out an SOS. Right now I am simply praying for guidance and a clear direction. If the Lord wants me to do this, I need connections and outlets. All the years we were at the boys' home I was constantly active and I need that. Being here all day drives me insane, so I know if I home school again I need some creative outlets both for me and my sons. I simply don't know where to start or where to turn.
Any info you may have would be so appreciated.
I pray your family has a wonderful new year! I enjoyed your blog.
God bless!
LouAnn