Laughing at My Future

The students working diligently. So proud of them. Today was our first day of school. Olivia is in 7th grade, Cecilia is in 5th, and Micah is in 3rd, and my goodness is this. mama. tired . No matter how much planning goes into the year, each school day has its own ebb and flow and even the most successful of days can drain a mama at times. Or a dad. Or both. Feel encouraged yet? No? Okay, let me start again. This will be my eighth year of homeschooling one or more of my kids, and to be honest, I'm pretty sure if I were to tally it up, I have logged a lot more failures than successes. In the day-to-day, and even sometimes year-to-year operations, I have spent many a day feeling like I just needed to put myself in timeout for an undetermined amount of time until I could come out with a better attitude because Lord knows I certainly wasn't helping anything when my tantrum over long division matched theirs! (Look, sometimes it's healthy to admit your occasional {read: freq...

  This is my Olivia Jane. She's almost 10, and most of the time has more energy and excitement than a solid dozen of me. My sister-in-law and I used to say that she could be enthusiasm for hire. Sure, when we're in the middle of adding and subtracting fractions, or that dreaded long division, she's not necessarily that happiest of children, but let's be honest here, not many are at that point. ;) In general, though, this girl is the personification of " joie de vie,"  or "joy of life." Sometimes it's aggravating, but in general, it's inspiring. My incredibly talented sister-in-law shot this. You should check her out! www.crystellemariephotography.com Enter the "tween" years, and all the fun life lessons that come with them. All of the sudden, my sweet, happy, tender-hearted girl has discovered meanness. And don't get me wrong, I'm not only saying she's fallen victim to it, but she's also turned it around on o...

Homeschool with the Carricks, Day 2. Fun "1st Day of School" pictures can happen later, but for now I want to focus on this moment. Because it is about as perfect as it's going to get.  • This year I'm teaching all three of our girls, kindergarten, 2nd, and 4th grades. And I'm about as nervous as can be. Because last year was HARD. Way harder than I ever thought it could be, at least in elementary grades. We pressed on, but not necessarily joyfully, and it was difficult and stressful and joy-depleting. Time for an attitude adjustment for Crystle!! I KNOW that this is the life I'm called to, and I'm LIVING it, so where is my thankfulness? My children are bright and beautiful and capable, and love to learn, so why am I stripping them of that love just because it doesn't look like it did in my mind?  • This was not the formula for success, and it had to change. So I prayed for a new love and excitement for teaching, a new vision for our home i...