Hearing from God

So far this has been a better week schoolwise. Eli does not seem to like his teacher, but he knows he needs to be respectful and follow the rules or else he loses privileges at home. He is definitely a child that has a currency and needs firm boundaries so utilizing those two things together seems to be highly effective.

We have gotten some criticism from homeschooling friends about our decision to put our kids into public school, but this was not a decision made lightly. We truly heard from God about putting our kids into this specific school. Grant said last week, "Mommy, I don't think this is a public school, it is more like a christian school because there are so many Christians here." That blessed my heart.

Even after the hard time with Eli last week and me questioning God about whether I really heard from Him or not, I know that I did and that this is where he is supposed to be.

When I was praying for Eli and school the past few days God told me that I need to be interceding for the whole class which consists of 9 boys and 1 girl. So I am.

This is a sweet country school full of sweet Christians and a few country folk a little rough around the edges. But it is good. These are the things that God is doing and teaching us through this:

1. I am truly trusting God with my children. It has increased my prayer life for them a thousand fold.

2. Grant is being challenged in new ways and it is like there is a light in his eyes that has been turned on. Homeschooling had become a drudgery to him. We had tried different things and curriculums, but he really just needed to be around more kids and a different teaching style. It blesses my heart to see him excited to write.

3. Eli is seeing that I am not such an ogre. That things can be worse and our rules at home are not so bad. I love hearing Eli talk about his new friends and the new things he is learning.

4. Sawyer only goes twice a week and I love that because I get two days of time alone with him that I have never had before. Archer sleeps so much (another blessing from God) that it seems like Sawyer and I are alone.

5. I get a much needed break. My house stays cleaner. I feel like I am more on top of everything instead of the world being on top of me. Grocery shopping, meal planning, laundry, cooking meals, general cleaning. Everything is more peaceful.

6. The boys are getting more of the best of me instead of the good, bad and ugly and it seemed to be bad a lot because I was so overwhelmed.

7. I feel like myself again. I am actually brushing my teeth, doing my hair and wearing makeup everyday. It has been years since I have worn makeup on a regular basis. Not that that is the be all end all, but it does make me feel better about myself. I don't feel so frumpy. :)

I am not saying that all homeschoolers should throw their kids into public school to have better days. I am saying seek the Lord and He will guide you. We had to move 3 1/2 hours away from where we were living to do this and the school isn't even in the town that we are living in. We didn't move so that we could send them to school; that just became one of the positives of this move.

Last week, Sawyer made a birthday cake for his great grandpa who he calls Cowboy Grandpa. We took a picture, but I can't find my camera cord yet to download pics. We ran out of frosting so instead of writing "Happy Birthday Cowboy Grandpa" it said, "HAPPY COWBOY!" It was really cute and Sawyer was so proud of himself.

Archer is 3 months old today. I wish I had a picture I could post of him right now. He is a chunky monkey. He is so cute! We weighed him today and he is 15 lbs. Our other boys gained weight quickly as well. Eli was our chubbiest before Archer came along, and now he is our skinniest. Archer is just so peaceful. He sleeps a lot and when he is awake he just smiles. Last night he let out a huge belly laugh in his sleep.

I don't know if I wrote about this yet, but Eric had a vasectomy this past month. It was very hard and emotional for both of us. We both sought the Lord on this and we both felt like that was what we were supposed to do. It is too dangerous for me to get pregnant again. We do have a heart to adopt and we probably will later on down the line.

It is so hard when you have hardcore beliefs about homeschooling and family planning and it is all turned around, upside down and your left with just fully trusting that you are hearing from God. I feel guilty for judgments and criticisms that I have made inside my heart about people in the past that did things differently then we did.

Lord, please forgive me for judging others. Thank you that you are my Shepherd and that I know Your voice. Please continue to guide me/us every step of this journey. Thank you for showing me that You have a unique plan for each family and it is not my place to judge. Thank you for Your grace and mercy. You are so good Lord! I love you and trust you. In Jesus Name, Amen.