I really wish I had a super catchy title for this blog post, but honestly my "super catchy" is running on fumes. Things are going well at home, but between the usual mom and housefrau stuff and the new addition of homeschool marm I am all out of super catchy.
The homeschooling adventure continues. It has been a learning curve, but I have to say I thoroughly enjoy most of it. We are using a terrific curriculum that has saved me tons of time and effort and frustration because the lesson plans are already done for me for the entire school year. Making sure the kids are moving along is a great reassurance to this first time homeschooling mom.
It isn't easy. I didn't imagine it would be, but I find it is hard to find the balance between being the mom and the teacher. I know, I know - I have always been both, but there are moments when I know a teacher would push them harder, and my normal reaction would be to cut them some slack. It is an emotional balancing act, and one I hope to get better at as time goes on. Today we are taking the day off so I can just be their mom. I need it, and as they adjust to me being the teacher I think they need it as well.
The one thing I hear a lot when homeschooling comes up in casual conversation is, "I could never do that!" I thought that, too. I felt like I needed the personal time that public school offered me to accomplish the housework and to pursue some personal interests. I have been shocked to say, I don't miss that at all. Yes, I wish for time when I could have peace and quiet or an hour to sit and read a library book, but I have found that I LOVE being with the kids so much. Crazy, isn't it? All the things I thought I'd miss (lunches with friends, shopping during school hours, naps...) - I just don't. Honestly. Like I said, it isn't always easy. But I am so much more aware of the sacredness of time.
One the adoption front we are less than a month away from our second trip to Latvia! Alina, my mom, and I are heading out in September for second court. Although it is a long trip, I am so, so, so excited to be going back. I don't know how to explain it, but my heart is so tender for Latvia. I love it. I love that my daughter is from there. I love that we are a Latvian American family now. I love that we get to see her foster family again. They are some of the dearest people I have ever known, and I can't wait to see them again.
Life is so different today than it was a year ago. Or six months ago. I don't think six months ago I could have ever imagined what the Kimmel house would be like today, but I love what God has done and is doing. There is lots of growth (and sometimes growth can be painful), but I am overwhelmed by the joy God has blessed us with. With that joy is sometimes fatigue, but I wouldn't trade tired and happy for well rested and average!!!
The homeschooling adventure continues. It has been a learning curve, but I have to say I thoroughly enjoy most of it. We are using a terrific curriculum that has saved me tons of time and effort and frustration because the lesson plans are already done for me for the entire school year. Making sure the kids are moving along is a great reassurance to this first time homeschooling mom.
It isn't easy. I didn't imagine it would be, but I find it is hard to find the balance between being the mom and the teacher. I know, I know - I have always been both, but there are moments when I know a teacher would push them harder, and my normal reaction would be to cut them some slack. It is an emotional balancing act, and one I hope to get better at as time goes on. Today we are taking the day off so I can just be their mom. I need it, and as they adjust to me being the teacher I think they need it as well.
The one thing I hear a lot when homeschooling comes up in casual conversation is, "I could never do that!" I thought that, too. I felt like I needed the personal time that public school offered me to accomplish the housework and to pursue some personal interests. I have been shocked to say, I don't miss that at all. Yes, I wish for time when I could have peace and quiet or an hour to sit and read a library book, but I have found that I LOVE being with the kids so much. Crazy, isn't it? All the things I thought I'd miss (lunches with friends, shopping during school hours, naps...) - I just don't. Honestly. Like I said, it isn't always easy. But I am so much more aware of the sacredness of time.
One the adoption front we are less than a month away from our second trip to Latvia! Alina, my mom, and I are heading out in September for second court. Although it is a long trip, I am so, so, so excited to be going back. I don't know how to explain it, but my heart is so tender for Latvia. I love it. I love that my daughter is from there. I love that we are a Latvian American family now. I love that we get to see her foster family again. They are some of the dearest people I have ever known, and I can't wait to see them again.
Life is so different today than it was a year ago. Or six months ago. I don't think six months ago I could have ever imagined what the Kimmel house would be like today, but I love what God has done and is doing. There is lots of growth (and sometimes growth can be painful), but I am overwhelmed by the joy God has blessed us with. With that joy is sometimes fatigue, but I wouldn't trade tired and happy for well rested and average!!!
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