This sign was at the entrance to my old neighborhood and it always made me smile. I couldn't help but think of swiping it and hanging it on my front door as a warning to myself and to others. And in case you don't read Bahasa Indonesia, it says, "Be Careful, there are lots of kids." Houses like ours really should come with a warning!
Having four kids age six and under is a serious task...homeschooling them...well, I sometimes think I am crazy. Sometimes I KNOW I am crazy. And every day, I wonder, "Can I really do this?" I question it so much I even wrote an article about it. You can see it HERE on Heart of the Matter Online.
Enjoyed your article on Heart of the Matter Online.
Remember - YOU ARE DOING IT!
Posted by: Judi Weston | October 15, 2009 at 09:22 AM
Oh Janet, loved your article and I am praying for you and about your concerns. Just to add my 2 cents:
*I know you can do it.
*I think your kids are learning and absorbing information. They do in their everyday lives and I would assume they are in this situation as well.
*I would never think of it as failing if God leads you in a different direction and the kids have to go back to school outisde of the home. You tried and made a great effort and that is more than anything. Let no one ever tell you that you failed.
*Making the right decision, ah, a tough one. That can be hard. All I know is we have made decisions that we thought were great and they turned out to be just disastrous for our family. We felt awful, thinking, what did we do? What were we thinking? Well, we thought it would be a better deal/situation for us and it turned out not to be. The important thing is that we fixed it, we learned and moved on and we are better for it. Our kids don't think we failed or let them down, they know we do things cause we love them. They know it's all about the family and they see we learned from our mistakes and that is so valuable for them to learn, that we picked ourselves up and moved in a better direction. We are human, after all.
I am alot like you in where my thoughts go to towards what others might think and after some time (and it was hard to come to doing this) I decided I wasn't going to worry about what others thought. This is my family and my kids and I am doing the best I can with them and everything I do is for them and cause I love them. I have their best interest at heart, who is gonna fault me for that?
I think your doing a great thing and I am so sorry you are grappling with some of the questions, but I am inspired by you and don't even know you really so I think your kids have a great bonus there!(and a great mom!)
I will keep you in my prayers and hang in there. Do what is best for you and your family, nothing else matters. Your giving them your best and I am sure they appreciate it and that's all you need.
Take Care. God Bless!
Posted by: Kim | October 17, 2009 at 01:50 AM
Hi. Just wanted to let you know I have a little something for you over at my blog. Love reading your posts!
Heather
Posted by: heather | October 25, 2009 at 03:50 AM
Janet ... just found website tonight (not sure how) but I just want to write since I am from Indonesia. My parents are living in Kota Bandung Parahyangan (but they are here now in the states visiting). I know your life is busy (with 4 beautiful children). I have 1 little boy (almost 5) and have a hard time to check/write emails. But I hope we can talk occasionally via emails :-) So, greetings from Raleigh, North Carolina.
Salam,
-grace :-)
Posted by: grace | October 25, 2009 at 11:01 AM
Well I can certainly relate Janet.....My kids are spaced similarly to yours, but a bit older. They are 3, 5, 7, 9 right now and we just started our 4th year of homeschooling. The first year was when my oldest was in K and my youngest was 8 weeks old....it was a huge challenge. I enjoyed your article and am a frequent reader of your blog! :)
Posted by: Emmy | October 30, 2009 at 03:30 AM
*I just wish I knew what to do.
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