Monday, April 21, 2008

Evaluation Day!


We had our first homeschool evaluation this morning. Kaylee went to public school for kindergarten and first grade, and this past year we decided to start homeschooling. It has been so great! At first, I think I kind of thought of it as something we would do until we got back to Port Orange and a better school system. After a few months, I though, well, this would be fun to do during the elementary years. And now we know that we will continue to homeschool until we feel called to do otherwise. I can't tell you what a wonderful experience it has been for our family.

The yearly evaluation is something that I have been half dreading and half looking forward to all year. (Am I weird, or what?) Even though I know we have done enough, there is that small part of me that was doubting. Did I do a good job? Have we covered enough material? Have I kept sufficient records of our activities? I was ever so slightly scared that she would look at me and say, "what on earth have you been doing all year?" But she didn't. (She being my friend Stephanie, who is a former teacher, now homeschooling mom who is still certified so she can do evaluations.) She said we're doing a GREAT JOB!!! Yay!!!! It was so affirming to hear those words from someone who actually knows what they're doing! I came away feeling proud of Kaylee and proud of myself. And I'm actually feeling like maybe we're doing too much.

I think I let myself fall into that trap of worrying about what everyone else thinks. My family and friend are very supportive, but homeschooling is still foreign to them. Heck, it's still a bit foreign to me. It's easy to feel like you have to do everything the same way public school does so that no one will think you're doing your child a disservice. But I am trying to let go of that, and not worry about other people's opinions. I am so grateful for Stephanie and the way she put me at ease this morning. And I am grateful to be starting another year of homeschooling.
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Wednesday, April 16, 2008

I've got the yuckies


Today I am feeling a bit overwhelmed and uninspired. And it kinda sucks. But such is life. Just remember, Mitzi, to put one foot in front of the other, put a smile on your face, and be thankful for this amazing life God has given you.
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Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Ignorance

Yeterday, I caught a little bit of Glenn Beck on the way to the library. Oh, boy, did that get me fired up. I understand what he was talking about a little better now that I know what Barack Obama said, but he went on to discuss how teenagers keeping their unplanned babies rather than giving them up is selfish. He said babies are a blessing so they should be given away to bless a married couple who can't have children, etc.


This is quoted from his transcripts:

"Now we've gotten pregnant and we've decided to wreck that child's chances by having them raised by a 12-year-old or a 15-year-old or a 16-year-old. No. So the family believes in not abortion but adoption because a baby is not a punishment. A baby is a blessing. Not to you. It's a natural consequence of having sex. But that baby is a blessing to somebody, and somebody will bless that baby for your mistake, period.
Now, which, which role is going to help the child more? A father and mother that understand and are not going to condemn their child to a life of hell because they made a mistake, a gigantic significant one, maybe hopefully the biggest one they will ever make in their life, one that will sit down and teach them that there are consequences to mistakes, and the bigger the mistake, the bigger the consequence and the more it's going to hurt. "You have this baby and you give it up, it's going to hurt for a very long time." How do I know it? Because the teenager is the reason I have my son Raphe. My son we prayed for for years trying to -- oh, yeah, she had her legs up and we were taking her temperature and everything else. It was ugly. Couldn't get pregnant, couldn't get pregnant, couldn't even get chlamydia. And a teenager made a mistake, and her mother was smart enough to say, you can't, you can't destroy this child's life, and she was smart enough to say, "I can't have an abortion, I can't kill this child" and so she did the hardest thing she probably will ever do. She allowed that baby to be blessed by others and allowed that baby to bless others."


Seriously?! I am all for adoption and against abortion. Completely! But as someone who gave birth to a beautiful baby girl 2 1/2 months before I turned 18, I can tell you that not every child born to a teenager is comdemned to a life of hell. Ugh, it just gets me so fired up. I may have began motherhood as a teenager, but I think I have an extremely wonderful little person to show for it. Is it always the best situation? Of course not. Are some teenage parents completely unfit to raise children? Of course, but so are many parents in their 30's or even 40's. I don't think it's right to fit everyone into a neat little box that's one-size-fits-all, and basically say that absolutely no teenager should keep their baby.

I could seriously go on about this for days, so I will try to cut it down. I have been on the other side, as well. Or, I should say, I am right now. After two years of trying for baby #3, we are still waiting. Would I love it if a teenager who knows she can't take care of a baby, but refuses to take its life, gave her child up so that we could be blessed? Most definitely. If a girl is certain she's not ready/prepared/fit to be a mother she should give that baby to a family who will praise God for that gift. But if she knows in her heart she can do it, then she should.

My sweet girl has been loved whole-heartedly by everyone close to her since before she was born. She was unplanned by me, but not by God. I have never considered her a mistake because God doesn't make mistakes. He planned her birth and He planned her to be mine, not some other family's. She wasn't "condemned to a life of Hell" and I haven't "destroyed her life".
She has a mommy and daddy who love her, homeschool her, and teach her to love Jesus. I'm sorry Mr. Beck doesn't know more teenage mothers like me. I don't think I did half bad. ;)

I can do it!

I really want to do this blogging thing, and after so many attempts maybe this one will finally stick. I'd like to have a place where I can share our adventures in homeschooling, crafting, scrapbooking, baking, and homemaking. A place where family can come and catch up on all of our goings-on. I think I could get myself on here enough, it's figuring out how to actually post things that I have a problem with. But I can learn. I am smart. I am determined. I can do it!