As 2019 has drawn to a close and 2020 is now upon us, I thought it would be a good time to start blogging again!  Considering it’s been 3 years since I’ve written … here we go!

I am thankful to have 2019 behind us.  It was a difficult year for many reasons, but the Lord has been good to us despite the challenges.

Looking ahead, we are praying that the Lord will open the doors to approve our lodging request.  This process has been LONG and tedious.  We first applied in September 2015, only 6 months after we purchased the property.  Unfortunately, we were denied in May 2018.  We put our appeal through in April 2019.  Now, months later, we are on the edge of submitting paperwork.  Once submitted, the hearings will take place relatively quickly.  It is our hope that we will have an answer by our 5th anniversary, April 1st.

There is also much change surrounding our homeschooling journey.  We made a huge change in 2019, as we left CC after 8 years.  It’s been a challenging change to say the least.  While we continued with Homeschool Etc., we started doing My Father’s World at home.  It is an excellent curriculum, but trying to do work at home 5 days a week is more than this mama is up for!  After much prayerful consideration and many conversations with friends and family, we have decided to enroll all four kids in a 3-day a week private/ homeschool program.  Journey Academy was started by Andie Davidson and Merinda Voorhees, two mamas I love and respect dearly.  The opened their doors in the fall of 2019, after they also left CC.  What is Journey Academy you might ask?
It’s a Christ-centered, inquiry based, socratic, and self-governed school.  There are three main elements to the day: morning launch times, involving a socratic discussion, core skills, and afternoon learning quests, where they work as a tribe to complete these quests.  During core skills, students are encouraged to pursue learning paths that interest them, instead of parent directed courses.  My older two will be taking early college classes through Calvary University.

One more huge hurdle we are facing this year is with my sister’s health.  She was diagnosed with carcinoid, along with a compromised heart valve: tri-cuspid regurgitation.  While she is receiving treatment for the Carcinoid, a heart surgery is still on the horizon!  Shawn is such a huge blessing in our lives.  We know the Lord’s hand is on her life and He knows her future.

It is with a prayerful heart that I enter 2020, trusting that I will draw near to the Lord through all of these changes and challenges!