Way back before blogging was a thing and before a stay-at-home-mom made a living by writing every thought she had for all the world to see, I had a blog. It started as an online scrapbook for my parents to keep up with my then one year old. (That same one year old will soon be 11.) So yeah, this blog has been around for a long while in some form or another.

Back when I started blogging, I wrote fairly regularly because, as I said, it was an online scrapbook to my parents. But then I added a few kids to the mix, homeschooling, a few life-altering experiences, and the whole massive thing that is the MOMMY BLOGGER and I lost all desire to write here. Even if I had the time, what could I possibly offer my dear readers that they couldn’t find somewhere else? That question plagued me until I just decided that most of what was being blogged about was redundant. Everyone was already saying everything.

I still kinda feel that way. I’m not looking to be earth-shattering in my posts. You will likely never see a tutorial on a wreath or a cute little pdf file full of printable quotes. You may only see two posts a year as was the case last year. But honestly… I’m totally fine with that. Instagram has become my online scrapbook for my family. I don’t need a blog or any other social media. I’m not looking to be a social media maven mommy. There’s way too many of them already. It’s so not my gig.

But you know what is my gig? My family. My husband. My kids. Teaching my kids at home. Bible study. I LOVE a deep, inductive Bible study that has me flipping all through my Bible. Encouraging others to dig into the Word of God. That stuff is my gig. Does blogging fit into all that? Who knows. The only reason I’m even posting now is because I ran across my last post (written in May of 2014) and it made me laugh. It made me laugh because it’s so me! I still feel that way a lot of the time because my life is still busy and chaotic…but!!!… (And here comes the UPDATE!!) I do feel as though I’ve hit a rhythm of life that does allow me some time to think some thoughts.

The key for me was in getting up early and spending time in the Word. Alone. In the stillness of the early morning. With fresh creamy coffee. With the sunrise.

That has been my saving grace. It amazes me that those 30-45-60 minutes of peace in the mornings before my world stirs are the most precious moments of my day. They are what has kept me sane. They are what holds me together.

I can THINK the thoughts that need to be thought. I can HEAR the thoughts I need to hear. I can not think any thoughts. I can PRAY. I can LISTEN. I can learn and I can SOAK up the LIFE of Christ given to me by God my father and the Holy Spirit. I can breathe.

In the midst of life–busy, chaotic, poopy life–I am at peace.

Sooooo….does this mean I’m going to write on this here blog again. Who knows! This may be my one and only post for 2015! Ha! I just know that I love to write. I love words. I love to encourage others in finding their natural God-given gifts and I love to write. Did I already say that?

My hubby likes to remind me that I do have a voice. In all the banging and clanging of the blogosphere I don’t know where I fit or if I fit at all. Only God knows and I guess only time will tell.

Happy New Year!

This was a few weeks ago. It was the first day of school for us at The Ball Room Academy. My girl is now in fourth grade. (Wait, wwwwhhhhhaaaaaa?????) My boy.. He’s a big, bad Kinder king. It’s crazy really. They grow so stinking fast. I’m going to blink here soon and find them having kids if their own. Crap.

Annnyyywhooooo…. homeschooling has always been a bit of an experiment for me. Each year I build off of the previous year–what went well, what did not. I tweak the method of teaching, the ambiance of the room, or just a book here and there. But this year all that changed. Well. It didn’t exactly change as much as I just threw out everything I was doing and started over. I now have two to teach on a daily basis and they’re far enough apart in age that what I’m teaching them is drastically different.

I’ll be honest.  It really freaked me out this summer. I just couldn’t wrap my brain around teaching them both. I had found my groove with my oldest. I knew how to teach her. I knew how she learned. I knew what I was doing. I didn’t have to think much about things. Now I have to teach TWO kids, one being a boy–what was that going to be like? How would I divide myself to teach such different subjects? And how in the world was I to do all of this with an almost two-year-old running wild?!

Five weeks in, I think it’s safe to say that I have found my groove.  It’s certainly not perfect yet and I think we have yet to actually complete the entire lesson plan for the day. (Does anyone ever complete the day’s lesson plan?) But the funny thing is that, as much as I freaked out about it this summer and as hard as the days can be, I wouldn’t trade them for anything. I thank the Lord daily for the great privilege I have to teach my children what we believe in the comfort of our home. The luxury of this is never lost on me.

So for all the hard days when I feel like I will never be done with school and for those glorious days when I watch the lightbulbs go on in my children’s eyes, I thank God. Every year is an experiment. I highly doubt my kids will all graduate having been homeschooled from kinder.  For now, it works and for now I delight in being able to watch my children’s world expand. It really is awesome!