one down

Oh my goodness, I cannot tell you how relieved I am!

(insert deep sigh of relief here)

Okay...

Despite my apprehension, I decided that today was the day that I was going to buckle down and begin my homeschool preparation.

Here was my to do list:

1. Go to Mom and Dad's (or the library) to print off a copy of the affidavit and fill it out (our computer/printer connection is broken - VERY inconvenient).
2. Print off copies of medical/dental forms etc.
3. Take forms to the docs to be filled out.
4. Write out my list of objectives.
5. Take the affidavit to be notarized.
6. Mail everything out ASAP.

BUT...since Noah is still sleeping and my other two are out fishing with their daddy, I have been taking some time to do a little research online. I remembered about a site that an acquaintance of mine had told me about..."Ask Pauline" or whatever. Checked out the homeschool law for our state and as it turns out, I DON'T HAVE TO FILE A DARN THING!

(Crumpling up said to do list...cha ching!)

HALLELUJAH!
(only the largest font would do)

Oh.my.word. I cannot tell you how much joy this is bringing me right now.

Seriously.

As it turns out, there is a "compulsory attendance age" and neither of my kids fit the bill! I thought that I'd have to file since Nicolas has already gone to school but apparently, kindergarten doesn't count!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can I just tell you that I could cry right now?

For some of you that had to do a affidavit etc, you may be thinking...oh brother, it was no big deal anyway...

...but for me, it's.a.huge.relief.

(deep breath in...and let it all out.....ahhhhhhhhhhhh)

Honestly, for how excited I am to take this new journey, I am also deathly afraid...in fact, if you are a friend of mine on facebook, you read this status this morning -

To - Do Today: Feel the fear and do it anyway.

Anything I've ever done that ultimately was worthwhile... initially scared me to death. ~ Betty Bender

Yup, I'm scared...but I also think that this is an endeavor that will ultimately be worthwhile.

This morning, I prayed and asked God for a sign...if it wasn't His will for me to homeschool, then please close the door asap! It's already mid-July! My pulse was racing...

I feel like this morning's finding was an answer to my prayer...and perhaps even a little nudge to say, "Hey...it's okay, this is the right thing to do."?

When it comes to raising my kids, I have that big ol' thing called Mommy Guilt.

And man, does it get me good sometimes.

I'm always thinking that in some way, I'm gonna screw my kids up. I just pray to the Lord for His grace. Being a mom is hard. Well, being a good one is anyway (try...fail). There are so many decisions that we have to make...and it's scary nuts to think of all the ways it could go horribly wrong.

Ugh.

But hello...okay, pulling back to positive.

No trips to Negativille today.

Yay! So far so good...now on to purchasing curriculum (at least we already have it picked out!) and on to calling our uncle/plumber so that he can move our oil burner in our basement - it's impeding construction on our new classroom. I have so many ideas burning holes in my brain!

Speaking of...check out my Pinterest (link is in the side bar) for my homeschool room ideas! So fun! :)

In conclusion, please pray for us if you think of it. What a huge step this is. And it's not one that is being made without discouragement from various sources. I pray for the Lord's wisdom in it all. Just wanna do the right thing by my kids.

One down.........

Phew!