Learning As We Grow

REFLECTION It was 10 weeks ago that we received the diagnosis about our baby during a routine prenatal ultrasound at 20 weeks. And let me tell you, what and interesting 10 weeks it's been. Interesting....and overwhelming, heavy, challenging, terrifying, prayerful, full of gratitude, hope, faith, and love. It's been some of the most life-changing 10 weeks of my existence. I love this picture of the baby. It shows his sweet little profile, but you can also see the obvious asymmetry of his heart, and that he left side is so tiny. I look at this picture and already know that he's a fighter. He inspires me to be my best FOR HIM so we can work through this and conquer his CHD together. I remember the first meeting we had with the cardiologist when he was going over the results of the fetal echocardiogram. The final diagnosis:  Hypoplastic Left heart Syndrome  (HLHS), one of the most severe congenital heart defects a person can have. It is fatal without...

About 2 years ago, I noticed how my oldest son (then in 1st grade), had some struggles and frustrations with his classroom and the general style of public school. In 2nd grade, it got worse for him. My son just had a really difficult classroom environment, and a teacher that was not necessarily nurturing or loving. I hated the emphasis on homework and really felt like if these little elementary-aged kids got home at 4pm, they should not have to do an hour plus of homework after being in the classroom for 7 hours. When did they get time to explore the backyard, or play, or have fun? When did they get time to just be a KID and not worry about grades that they got on a spelling test or a math worksheet? I also didn't love the things that my child was exposed to at school. Some of that came from other students, and some of it came from the curriculum or the teachers themselves. It was not always wholesome. I decided to look into homeschool. LUCKILY, I am blessed to be surrounded by s...