Not Back To School

We're homeschooling.

Whew!

After having kids in public schools for 6 1/2 years my husband and I made the biggest decision of our son's little lives....to pull them at semester, and for me to start homeschooling them in January.

HOLY MONKEY!

Yes, this decision was made after hours and hours of prayer. At times I wondered if God was thinking, "You again? Didn't you JUST ask for wisdom, for a clear answer on which path to take? Come on woman!"  I devoured anything I could on the internet. I read pros and cons of  homeschooling, both of which encouraged me to do it. Some articles on why people shouldn't homeschool actually reinforced my want to remove the kids from public schools. I quietly began talking to friends, old and new, that had embarked on this journey, and discovered what a wealth of information and encouragment they were. 

Halloween night, Husband and I were discussing yet another "issue" one of our sons was having to deal with at school. One of the recurring requests in my constant prayers was that IF homeschool was the best thing for our family, make Husband and I in complete agreement...let it be Husband's desire with no pushing from me, and that's exactly what happened. A simple statement came that Halloween night: "I think you should homeschool."  I replied, "I do too."

Decision Made. Path Clear. Joy and Contenment Abound. Harps Sound.

Ok, maybe not, but you get the idea.

We also decided against telling the  boys until closer  the end of the semester so they wouldn't a) stop doing school work  b) alienate their friends with their homeschool bragging and c) to give us time to mentally and physically prepare ourselves and our schedules. 

Big boys literally cried tears of joy when they were told, separately, at times of sadness and begging "don't make me go to school tomorrow".
Little brother was still on the fence. Kindergarten is fun, his friends are fun, his teacher is great... only reason to stay home is to be with Mom... which finally won out.

Today, when area kids were all heading back to school after Christmas break, we decided to celebrate our new found freedom with a Not Back To School Day. We went to Rogers, AR where I did the exciting task of exchanging some boots, before moving on to some of their favorite stores, Academy and Target, with lunch at Chick-fil-a. The weather was great, boys got along (most of the time), and I got a really really cute pair of boots. Score!