Shhh!

Me: Rebekah, are you almost done going potty?
Rebekah: (whisper) I need to go poo-poo..........Let's just keep this to ourselves, okay?

Every day she says something that just cracks me up! This little girl makes me laugh. She is so serious and comes up with these things that you just don't expect.

Rebekah: Mommy, why do I have girl parts?
Me: Because you are a girl.
Rebekah: What if I had boy parts?
Me: Then you would be a boy.

Too funny. Went to a friend's house on Sunday after church and went swimming. Rebekah was floating in the raft in the deep end and, although she was told not to lean over the side, there she went. Over and into the pool. She was reminding us later how she had gone under the water "all by myself!" So proud, too! You would think she had done it on purpose.

Jess is growing up so fast. The girls recital was so cute! Jess did a little tap number called "Shiny New Shoes". Very nice. They did a fantastic job! I couldn't believe it was my baby up there doing so well! She is a naturally gifted performer and just loves to be on stage, with all the world watching her! Rebekah, not so much. She had fun doing it, but not on the same level. Jess just lives for the stage. Every day she wants to have a "Show" of some kind. A huge production where she is singing and dancing and her adoring audience is clapping for her. Hmm. I wonder where this will all lead? There are about ten things she wants to do with her life and I believe most of them involve performing. Oh boy. Well, she has the figure for it! And she's good. It was very cute to see them all lined up and dancing.

The little ones were adorable as well. Not quite as polished. They watch each other for clues as to what to do next. They did a cheer number to "Yankee Doodle" and had on red, white and blue costumes and blue and silver pompoms. They looked so TINY on the big stage! The recital is at the Performing Arts Center and it is a big production! We sat in the balcony. The kids just look so small from there. Like I said, she enjoyed it, but not with the same enthusiasm that her sister had. For Jess, this is like her dream come true. So cute.

I have just been figuring out the school calendar for this year, with holidays and all. I am nervous, but I know that this is the best thing for my kid at least. It's funny. When people think of homeschooled children, the response you usually get is, "But what about socialization?" Well, to this I have two responses:
1. I don't want my children to be Socialists!
2. Teachers are always telling kids that school isn't the time to socialize and they need to be quiet in class. My children will have more time for being social than those in school, who have to wait for lunch or after school! On field trips, doing projects, being with me and around other people.

I know other people don't agree with homeschooling. Not everybody will agree with everything you do. I found this out when I started telling people that I don't vaccinate my children. I spent hundreds of hours researching this before I decided. But nobody wants to hear it. So I stopped telling people. That some vaccines are grown on fetal (aborted) tissue. That babies get sick and can die from vaccines. That if that happens, there is very little you can do. That you CAN send your kids to school without vaccines. That you can wait to vaccinate them and you can delay any of them that you want to. That many still have mercury in them. That the autism rates are finally reversing, since the mercury is slowly being removed from the vaccines. I know all the vaccines and all the possible side effects. I know what the risk is of getting the disease itself, and the side effects, vs. having the vaccine and the risk of side effects from them! I charted and graphed all of it. For every vaccine on the immunization chart. I studied them inside and out. And then I made my decision. But...

Now I am losing my audience. See? You all don't want to hear it. People I know think I am absolutely INSANE for not vaccinating my kids. Even my sister! So then I shut up. Same with just about any decision you make though. I mean, we all have choices to make, right? And we all try to do our best and make the best decisions we can with the information we have. As parents, don't you think it is our responsibility to find out for ourselves what the information is so that we are making an INFORMED decision. Or should we leave it up to the school administrators, the doctors, etc. to tell us what the best plan is.

Earlier this year, there was a girl in Germany who was falling behind in school. Her parents started tutoring her at home so she could catch up in her classes. The school found out and expelled her from school. Because her parents were trying to help her study. Then, since she was expelled, her parents began to homeschool her, so she wouldn't fall behind. The court removed her from her home! She was fifteen years old. They didn't even tell her parents where she was! When she turned sixteen, she left the foster home and returned to her parents home. This had gone on for a few months! But here's the kicker. The government in Germany will not allow parents to homeschool because they don't want to lose control of what the children are being taught. And this law went INTO effect when Hitler was in power in Germany! Amazing, isn't it? They want to be in control of what the children are taught! Because aren't the children the ones who will be in control when we are seniors? They must be controlled! Phooey. I want my children to think for themselves, to be able to act independently and to act on what they believe! Not what the government tells them, JUST because the government says so. Yes, obey the laws, but know how to think for yourself. Do you think it is just concern for the children that is prompting the state to fund and push public preschool and kindergarten? I think not. Who is raising your kids?

I may have offended some. I hope that is not the case. Hopefully, you will think about these things. They are simply my opinions and, like all of you, I am entitled to them. I made my choices, like you, for love of my children. I am certain that if we put them first and seek the Lord in raising them, they will turn out okay. Because isn't that the most important thing we can do as parents...to instill in them a love of God and a future in His Kingdom?