New Year, New Journey, New Strength

Today’s guest post is by Whitney from Whit’s World.

I sat down and began reflecting a little on 2011…what a year of changes and obstacles it was for us to say the very least.

At this time last year, I was feeling very lost.  A new baby, this new stay-at-home lifestyle, and raging hormones did not bode well for me or my family at first. I was super frustrated with my oldest son and had no clue why or what was really going on with him. I just kept sending him to school and denying the issues.

In February of 2011 he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome…this explained so much to me, but my entire life changed that day.

Almost immediately following, God began placing homeschooling information in front of me everywhere: an article every time I sat down at the computer, a random person who struck up conversation at the grocery store, or catching up with a dear old friend who had just begun homeschooling her son of the same age. I felt like God was laying this heavily on my heart, so I approached my husband with the idea.

We wrestled with the idea for months; would we (I) be able to handle it; what about the baby, how would I take care of him and teach my son; would we be able to afford it; how many hoops must we jump through? We didn’t make a final decision until the day we were scheduled to go meet his second grade teacher. I drafted a letter of withdraw and hand delivered it to his now old school that day, and so began our homeschooling journey.

I honestly felt like I was “winging it” for the most of the first part of the year. I have not been confident in myself for whatever reason. I allowed myself to get totally overwhelmed by it all and quickly lost the joy, so I took a step back and changed everything up. I also prayed a lot about it and can now say that we did finish out the year and semester strong.

A new year means finding more strength and confidence in myself, my abilities as a mother, a wife, a cook, an educator, all of it! I am not going to be scared or timid anymore because of a diagnosis or the huge responsibility of educating your children at home.

I am going to take the time this year to feel thankful and blessed for the gift I have to so closely witness my children grow and learn. I was in school to be a math and science teacher, so I could not feel more privileged to do what I want with my own kids. I want to give these boys the best education possible so that is on the top of my priority list this year.

I know that there will be many imperfect weeks this year and ornery obstacles that rear their heads at the most in opportune times, but I am confident that we will all be able to handle it this year.

Whitney of Whit’s World is a stay at home homeschooling momma to an 8 year old and a 20 month old. I am a devoted wife to my incredibly hard-working husband, whom makes all of this possible. I enjoy writing about my family and products that I love and use. Most of all, I a strong Christian woman! I hope you will stop by so we can connect some more or follow my random life on Twitter.