Adjusting our sails

The winds of change.  They are blowing through.  As a family, we are adjusting our sails, and looking forward to our new adventures.  I thought I would write a quick blog to keep you all up to date.

And with that said, I am really not even sure where to begin.

I guess I will go back several months ago to a conversation that I had with my sweet Mother-in-Law.  She knows that I have wanted for some time now to stop teaching in the classroom, and to begin homeschooling the Youngest Princess.  She and I were discussing that I would still need some way to help our family financially.  She mentioned that I could tutor.  I thought about her suggestion, and prayed about it for several weeks before I mentioned it to My Prince.  When I did mention it to him, he told me we could pray about it.  I was overjoyed.  It was the first time that I felt that he was actually considering the possibility of letting me quit and start homeschooling.  I prayed continuously, and we would talk a little about it here and there, as time moved along.

I talked to other family members about the possibility.  Everyone seemed to think it would be a good move at this point in time.

I joined a group on Facebook for people who used the homeschool curriculum that I knew I wanted to use.  I did not post, but watched carefully and read just about every question and every answer posted and soaked it all in.  I learned a lot, and grew more and more excited every day.

And then there was a "chance" conversation that opened doors to the opportunity of me doing some tutoring this summer.  I nervously stepped out in faith.  I had no idea if anyone would even want me to tutor their children.  But I put it out there, and the Lord supplied.  I was very excited at the response.  To My Prince, it solidified that we were making the right steps and that the Lord was blessing.

I casually mentioned homeschooling to the Youngest Princess and she was very excited about the prospect.

My Prince and I talked more and more about it, and we finally set a date by which we wanted to make a final decision.  We wanted to give the school plenty of time to fill my position before the beginning of the next school year.

The day came, and we went to talk to the principal.  I was very nervous.  I guess because I knew it would finalize everything.

Over the next few days, as I had free time, I cleaned out my classroom.  It was bittersweet.  I taught there for 14 years.  My oldest two children went all the way through school there.  Many memories were made there.  We have made great friends there.  We have laughed and cried there.  We have prayed and praised there, and we have learned many, many lessons there.  I love the school and its ministry to the community.  We will miss it, no doubt.

And on the flip side of that, we are over the moon excited about this new chapter in our life.  We know there will be challenges.  We know it will not be smooth sailing all the way.  We know that we will have to make sacrifices to make it work.  But we know that this is what and where God has called us to at this point in our lives.  Yes, there are days when I have doubts.  And yes, it is scary to make changes.  And yes, it has taken faith on our part.  But we know that God will be with us every step of the way.

We signed up for homeschool and ordered books on a Wednesday, and had the books by Friday.  I have been like a kid in a candy shop going through it all to learn everything I can before we get started and working to get it all organized.

God has worked out little details that I was concerned about, and some that I didn't even know to be concerned about.  And He is still working out other details, but everything is falling into place.

On top of that, The Oldest Princess and the Young Prince will both be heading off to college on the same day in August (About 64 very short days away).  So that will be another big change for our family.  Until then we are soaking up the summer and making as many family memories as we can.  But getting us all together is harder than it used to be with the oldest two both working, and me tutoring, and My Prince's sometimes abnormal schedule.  More of that change I've been talking about.

Change stretches us. It wakes us up from the lethargy of routine. It moves us out of our comfort zones, and it helps us to grow.  It brings us closer to God as we lean more on Him and exercise our faith in Him.

Yes, the winds of change are blowing through.  We covet your prayers as we adjust our sails, and set out to experience uncharted waters and exciting new adventures.