Life has been hectic for a few weeks which i am not quite used to. I have had a friend who has been on holidays for the last month and has been with us everyday of her holidays. It was great to have her with us and she has been such a blessing and a help to me. Having her with us has been excellent except with the extra pair of hands i have tried to do twice as much in each of my days, which has been exhausting. As well as doing twice as much during the day, we have stayed up later talking and catching up. I have loved having her with us but during the last week, i was longing for my life back so i could go to bed early and stay home some more. I realised how much i enjoyed my routines and the controlled environment at home (well, not really controlled but all within my control).
On top of this, i have become involved in the youth group here in Pt Augusta. This has been excellent but i have not had my 9.30 bedtime on Friday nights! We have been renovating the youth room which has involved lots of physical work, even more so with my kids helping us.
Throughout all my busy period, I have had a longing to get home and just be at home with my kids. Aswell as being so much easier to manage the kids at home, routines are so important. Interupted sleep times, meal times and not as much attention from mum as i've been to busy with other projects has had a toll on my kids (and on me). I am reaffirmed in my role as a stay at home mum, and even though i was not leaving my kids at home whilst i was going to work, i was still leaving the home and my kids security wth me.
I was listening to focus on the family on vision fm yesterday and one of the guest speakers was a woman with 7 kids and she homeschooled them. She was quite inspirational, but one of the things she said and i agree wholeheartedly with is that with having your kids at home, you can have the most influence on them. We as parents have a responsibility to our kids to instruct them in the ways of the Lord and to teach them how to live their lives.
Homeschooling is something that i have been thinking about for a while, and even though it is still a while away, i think it deserves some consideration now. I have never ever thought that i would homeschool my kids, and i have not made a decision either way, but i have been thinking and challenged a lot on it this year. I can probably say now that i am willing to consider it as an option now, whereas before, i just thought those who homeschooled their kids were extreme and over protective. We'll see what God has in store.
