things have really picked up around our house. We are settled into our new house and our routine is slowly taking shape. This summer and fall have seen a lot of change at the Ellison home. We have welcomed a new baby, Scott has changed jobs, and we have made a major move. Here's a brief synopsis of what has transpired and a little bit about why we made another big move so soon after our last change.
We moved to North Carolina in August, 2006 for Scott to attend seminary. The Lord blessed Scott with a full time job at an insurance office that was close to our home and the seminary. For the first year he was able to attend school full time as well as working full time, but in January we found out we were expecting a new baby (to our surprise and great joy I might add), and it soon became apparent that keeping up with a full time school schedule would not be a possibility in the future. Scott finished up the spring semester and we prepared for Caroline's arrival.
In the meantime, Scott received a job offer from another company. The job would require us to move away from the seminary, but appeared that it would allow him to continue his education on a part-time basis while providing for our family. Even though we loved the area where we were, loved our church and had made many new friends, we sensed that the Lord was behind this change.
After praying about it and seeking counsel, we decided that this would be a good move for our family and would allow us to better build into our family and community.
So we now find ourselves living in rural North Carolina. After a lot of searching, we finally found a house that met our needs and that we could afford. Our house is an eighty-year-old farmhouse that sits on about 130 acres. We only own one acre, but are allowed to walk and hunt on the entire property. We see deer often and have an enormous gopher that lives under our barn. As long as the weather cooperates, the kids play outside in the yard for a good part of the day. We have good climbing trees- two apple trees and some friendly crepe myrtles that provide good fodder for their imaginations.
We are still homeschooling. Carter is in first grade this year. School takes up a greater part of our day now. We are using Sonlight curriculum, which involves a lot of reading aloud. This works great for our family, because Josh and Sophie can listen in on the stories and history lessons. I work one-on-one with Carter for math and language arts, but for the rest we can all gather together.
I love homeschooling, and this year has definitely been more involved than kindergarten, when we just focused on learning to read, learning to write, and basic math skills. Mornings around here are very busy but also very productive. By early afternoon, we usually have chores and school completed and we have rest time, more outside time, and time to just play. Scott works from home now, so he can watch the action from up close.
Living in the country has been a major adjustment for me. I have a lot more to write about that, but for now I'll say that I have had to really lean on the Lord for my joy and peace. I am so glad for that, because I want to know Christ more and more and I find myself praying and seeking God much more often when my earthly comforts are removed.
I find myself much busier since we moved, so my computer time has drastically cut down. I am thinking about posting on a more regular basis, maybe once a week. I would really love to write more, and have so many thoughts swirling around in my head, but rarely find myself with the opportunity to sit down and actually compose even an email.
Having four children is still a new experience and I still can't believe Scott and I are parents of so many (to us) little people! God has been so good to our family and as I find myself challenged every day with such a daunting task, I know he will continue to provide grace, strength, and wisdom. I love writing about God's goodness to us and what he is teaching me and what is going on in our family. Thanks for reading- I pray that you will be able to join me as I laugh, cry, struggle, and attempt to experience God in all of life.
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2 comments:
I'll be checking peridocially. I still haven't started with homeschool. I did one lesson, I think. I suppose if he was really in Kindergarten I'd be more diligent.
You are on the right track, Renata. We have eased into homeschooling- preK was now and then, kindergarten was almost always and now first grade is every day. Doing it that way helped me not feel overwhelmed all at once. Also, if you wait, your child will usually just do the beginning much faster... meaning if you wait until he is five or six, or whatever age you decide, your child will probably learn much faster than if you start the same material at age three. Does that make sense?
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