Faith's Monumental Visit to South Dakota

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When I received my niece, Sydnee's graduation announcement in the mail, I thought it might be the perfect opportunity to visit my brother and his family for the first time at their home in Spearfish. I also thought it would be the perfect opportunity to see Mount Rushmore, which I had never seen before!  My nephew in Nebraska was graduating that same weekend, and my sister Dawn and I tried to put together a plan where we could go to both of their graduation receptions. I knew though, that Faith would feel left out and would want to go, too. I also knew it was going to be difficult to find someone to look after Faith over Memorial Day weekend.  Our finalized plan involved Dawn traveling to South Dakota with me and Faith and then her flying to Nebraska by herself. Faith and I would then drive back to Bismarck by ourselves.  3 adventurous travelers  I must admit, as the trip got closer, I started to get a little anxious about how Faith was going to do with so much drivi...
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A Season of Change

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It seems the only time I've been updating my blog lately is when the seasons change! This time, though besides the season changing from summer to fall, there are some changes happening with us as well.

Faith in her new chair - another recent change for us!

Many of you know I quit my full-time job in the spring. My last day of work as a customer service representative for a health insurance company coincided with Faith's last day of school. I have been focusing on freelance writing full time. It has certainly been a time of depending on God to continue to supply for our every need!

As a new school year approached, we decided not to send Faith back to school. After praying about it all summer, we made the decision to home school her instead. As I dropped off our paperwork to inform the school district of our intention, I felt an incredible amount of peace. To me, this is a sure sign that we made the right decision.

Faith and friends at a library event

Faith with Clifford the Big Red Dog! She asked where Emily Elizabeth was!

We have gotten so much support as there is a Bismarck Mandan Area Home Educators group, which is a Christian organization. There is also the North Dakota Home School Association. We have taken advantage of being a part of both and have found people who knew all the answers to our many questions.

It has also helped to have many good friends who home school and also members of our church. I have a very good friend who is a special education teacher who we have gotten input from as well.

Faith and her new teacher!

Currently, Rob is doing most of the teaching. We are really trying to focus on teaching her to read. We truly believe she'll be able to do it, it's just a matter of finding what works. A few people recommended the book. Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. So far, it is going well, and I am happy to say Faith is making progress.

What about you? Have you ever prayed about making a major change in your life? How did God help you know you were making the right decision? I would love to hear about it!

Changing leaves - a sure sign of Fall and a new season

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