It's Official....

....I am now a homeschooling mom. That's right, we made the decision, told everyone we "needed" to tell and officially pulled Emma out of school as of today. (EEEEEEEEEEEK! What have we done?!?! Ok, I'm really glad we did it and I'm confident we've done the right thing, but I've had a few mild panic attacks this afternoon.) I brought all of her school curriculum home and we're just going to finish that up for this school year. What will we do next year? Good question.....I don't have the answer yet, but I'll let you know as soon as I know. :-)

I think the hardest part for me today was being at her class Christmas party and hearing her little girlfriends (most of whom she's been with since pre-k) telling her how much they were going to miss her and tearing up while talking together. Then seeing her little desk all emptied out.....UGH! It kinda broke my heart.

We've promised her that she will go on all the field trips, class parties, etc and of course she'll still have friends over and see many of her school friends at AWANA and she can play during lunch recess on Tuesdays and Thursdays when we pick up sister from pre-k. I think all of this continued involvement will help us all transition a little easier. Plus, grandma Pam has already called Beverly's about a weekly sewing class and Heart & Home 4-H. She'll be fine (do I sound like I'm trying to convince myself??)!

I'm kind of surprised by my reaction today.....I've been so excited and we've prayed about and discussed it for so long that I thought it would be easier than it was I guess. The thing is, we love that school! I love those teachers and parents (or at least most of them :-)) and we've made some great friendships and received much support from them. It has really been our second home (and sometimes felt like our primary home) for much of the past 3 1/2 years. However, I keep reminding myself...it still will be all of those things, but in a new way. We'll be in the ISP there, Lauren will still be in the pre-k, Jake is still on the school board, I'm still doing the auction in May (yah, not one of the things I would miss so much!) and Emma can still be involved in all the "fun-stuff" with her class.

Don't get me wrong, we made this decision because we feel like this is what the Lord desires for us to do and it is our intention to obey Him. We know this is the right thing for our family, but sometimes the right thing can be scary at first too! I'm thankful for these next 2 weeks of vacation and time of adjustment....and I really can't wait to have my little girl home with me while we learn together!

And a little prayer from you all wouldn't hurt either! :-)

Gingerbread House

My secret pal gave me an early Christmas present...a fully-assembled, ready to decorate, all supplies-included gingerbread house! So much fun!!

The Big Recital....

Monday morning was Lauren's "Big, HUGE dance recital" (as she likes to call it). It was actually quite small this year. She was a bit timid on stage and didn't do much dancing. I think it didn't help that we were in the front and she could see us. Oh well, it's still fun to watch.

They performed in the big red barn next door to the studio(Lauren asked me earlier that morning if it was a "pretend farm"...and wondered aloud where they kept the animals) then we went back to the studio for cookies, punch and a visit from Santa.

(Lauren is second from Left in above picture)

Grandma Jan & Auntie Christie came too....and brought a gift! :-)

Daddy came too, but left before pictures! :-)

Updates

Thank you for your prayers concerning Rev. Clark. He has decided that the Lord desires him to stay where he is. He is supplying the pulpit for a small church that he feels led to stay at for now. However, good news came from this week's consistory meeting.....4 new names of men that may be interested from the Orthodox Presbyterian denomination. We're a small denomination (Reformed Church in US) with a dwindling number of pastors (due to heavy retirement in recent years) and so we are faced with some unique challenges. However, God is faithful and sovereign and we know that he has the right man out there for our congregation...and I know it will happen in His time, not mine! Anyway, please continue to pray with us as 2 of these men come in the near future to preach in our church. Pray that our congregation will be open to hearing what the Lord would have us do. Thank you again for your prayers and I will keep you posted!:)

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Emma fell off her horse during her riding lesson on Wednesday. Basically, the horse tripped and (because horses are stupid) then panicked and started jumping around and she came off. She's fine, but it was the first time she's ever fallen off....which means it's the first time my heart has ever jumped out my chest and the first time my feet ran before my head knew what they were doing. :-) However, I fought the overwhelming urge to jump the fence, scoop her up, shoot the horse in the head and go home. I let her instructor handle it.....who later told me she had all the same inclinations that I did, but fought them back for Emma's sake! Funny how moms all think the same! :-) Anyway, she got right back on and other than a little rope burn from not letting go of the reigns, no permanent damage! Plus, dad is super proud, high-fiving her and acting like a typical man about it! He has told all of his clients and friends and they all act like she's joined some kind of club and can now be accepted as a real cowgirl.....and he's been giving her pointers for telling other people, "Say you got bucked off, not fell off....it sounds better!" (Insert me rolling my eyes here!)