Well.... I guess that I am officially done with.....

homeschooling. After 17 of schooling my sons, I enrolled Paul in Public High School yesterday. He is starting his 9th grade year. Mark and I have prayed much about this decision. Paul has maintained that he wanted to attend High School since the 6th grade. It's rather funny. For me, it feels like something precious is leaving my life but Mark and Paul are both rather excited about the entire process.

I do believe that Paul will have some advantages in the High School. I haven't yet figured out how to do marching band in homeschool. In Florida, Paul was able to do electives through the public school system. That worked out so nicely. However, Georgia does not allow homeschooled students to take any classes. I guess my tax dollars do not count in Georgia.

He is taking a full load of seven periods. I hope that he doesn't feel overwhelmed. But, I am expecting this transition to take some getting used it. The house is going to feel so quiet and lonely during the days with him gone. He has always brought such sunshine into my life. I will miss him.

Paul on the other hand is excited beyond words. He has read all the school rules on clothing and the lists of his needed supplies several times. I am glad that he is excited about this new life experience. He told me last night, that he wasn't going to tell me when he went off to college. He is just not going to come home one day and the next time that I see him, he'll have his degree. I don't even want to think about him going off to college. LOL

Changes and new beginnings are hard on me. I have had too many in my life; however, I know that certain changes are to be expected. I am praying that the Lord grants Paul a successful 9th grade year and that he gives me grace and wisdom and the ability to embrace this change in our family.

Blessings,
Debbie

Summer is passing by all too quickly!

I have said this before and I really mean - the world is spinning faster from when I was a child. Remember when you had to wait forever for your birthday or Christmas to arrive? Now, I don't seem to have the time to anticipate events before they are upon me. Mark's band camp starts next week! This is our last week of sleeping in and nice leisurely breakfasts while we watch the ducks on the pond and the hummingbirds at their feeder. I want to cement these days in my mind. I want to remember to enjoy each moment of every day - no matter what I am doing.

We are so blessed. Our sons are wonderful. Our home is secure. Our marriage is strong. Our churches are loving. God has placed friends in our lives that bless us. However,time is moving too fast. I stay so busy that I somedays forget to stop and simply rejoice at all that I see.

We have had a busy summer. We vacationed, had house guests for a week and a half, did some remodeling of the kitchen and guest bathroom. That job was forced on us since our cabinets fell off the wall. Paul has been gone three weeks to camps. Michael has taken it easy. He did list some items on ebay and made a few dollars. I have been frantically trying to finish up my Foundation in Education classes in order to get ready for Demonstration Teaching in January. I am still amazed at how quickly that I have been able to work on this degree. That's a blessing, too.

It's wonderful to see long term goals and dreams begin to come into being. Paul is starting public school this year. He will be a Freshman. Amazing. It seems like yesterday that I was picking up a five week old baby. God is good.

Michael will be a Junior this year after his first semester. He has gotten a job on campus and will also be serving in Student Government. He is also one of the leaders for new student orientation at his campus.

Mark will be preaching on July 29 and August 5 in Dr. Perry's absence. He is finishing up writing his band show - which has to be completed before Monday morning. He is doing a Disney theme show this year. It should be fun for the students.

This will be the first year that I haven't homeschooled at least one of my children since 1980! That's a lot of years homeschooling. I hope Paul likes attending school and that he does great in his classes. That is my sincere prayer for him this year.

Right now, I need to complete a few more assignments so I can begin to study for my Basic Skills exams. These are the first series of exams that I have to take to get my teaching certification from Georgia. I take those on August 4. What fun! I start piano lessons on August 9. It looks like I have picked up two extra students for this year.

I hope that life continues to be sweet and peace reigns in our home. May God's presence light all of our paths and may His grace and love guide our thoughts and words.

Blessings,
Debbie

Some pictures from our trip to see Mark's family.

We went up to Tennessee this past week for a few days. We got to see all of his brothers and sisters and most of the nieces and nephews. Mark's mom is doing pretty good. She is recovering from a stroke she has last December. She is able to get around with the use of a cane. Her memory is not great.




Photo #1: Mark, Michael, Stan, & Paul


Photo #2: Mark, Michael, Stan (Mark's older brother), Emily (Stan's wife), & Paul


Photo #3: First Cousins: Katie, Baby Graham, Mandy Lee, Aubrey, Peyton, Paul, & Michael


Photo #4: Newest Nephew. Graham and his mom, Kelly. Kelly is married to Mark's youngest brother Tim.


Photo #5: Brothers, Sisters, and their Mom
Jane, Mark, Charlotte, Tim, Joan, & Stan

Some pictures from the Fourth!

Paul was at Boy Scout camp on the fourth; however, my friend Lauri was down. We had a nice day. Paul came home on Saturday and we had a small celebration with him, too. These are pictures from both of those days.

Blessings,
Debbie

Posting more pictures.

Here are some pictures of our trip to VA. We spent one day in D.C. and met up with some friends. The fourth pic is a group shot from that day. The fifth one is Mark and me at a comedy show. The sixth one is our nation's capital and the last one is a family shot of us at the caverns. On this trip we also visited the old stone church that Mark's family attended in the 1700's and got baptism records of his relatives. That was very cool. Those first three shots are at the church. The book is the record book of baptism from the 1700's!

June is almost over!

Man, oh man, this year is flying by so very fast. Summer has been nice and we have stayed busy. We went camping at Stone Mountain the end of May. The second week of May, we spent in VA in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The mountains were huge and lovely. This past Tuesday, my friend, Linda, flew up from Florida. She is staying until Tuesday. And, today, Lauri drove on down. Linda, Mark and I have been busy painting and decorating the the guest bath and kitchen. I am pleased. :)This past Sunday night after midnight, one of my kitchen cabinets fell out of the wall. What a mess!!! I am going to post some pictures taken while in Stone Mountain.