Straight from the horse's mouth...

Although not exactly the way I had anticipated, the cat's out of the bag! The fact that I am home schooling my kiddos this year has been said out loud!! I know that every parent makes choices for their children based on their own perspectives, experiences, and what is right for their families at that given time. So, for anyone who actually cares, here's the scoop:

After 4-5 months of wrestling, praying, and seeking the counsel of friends and family, Wes and I have finally decided that this is indeed the direction that is best for us.

Because SO MANY of my friends are public school teachers and because SO MANY of my children's teachers have been AMAZING, I just wanted to say that this decision had nothing to do with a bad public school experience or unhappiness with the education our kids have received so far. It is exactly because our experience overall has been quite positive, that the struggle to decide was so difficult.

We arrived at this decision with one purpose in mind: to simplify our lives. Our lives have become so chaotic and busy that we are sacrificing the important for the sake of the urgent. So we are taking a year to slow down and focus on the important. Quite frankly, in a family our size, the demands on our schedule placed by the public school system are just more time than we are willing to sacrifice.

So, here we are, embarking on a totally new way of doing life. I am completely freaked out but totally at peace. I know there will be highs and lows and lows and lows; but, I have a feeling that we will not look back on the time we gained with our children and ever regret our decision.