"It Takes a Village"

We have probably all heard the old African proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child," which was popularized by Hillary Clinton's book she wrote while First Lady. Recently, I read on a homeschooling blog where someone wrote, "It takes a village... and I don't want my kids in that village." That made me really start to think.....

I understand the quote saying the whole community comes together to all play a part in raising our children. I can see that. Really, all those people do have an influence on our children. And, I can see the side that we don't want our children raised by the village (or the world) around us. The world around us is a scary place full of people who I don't want to influence my children. I have chosen to home school my children to avoid some of those negative influences.

HOWEVER... I do think it takes more than just Allan and me to raise our children. I would say, "It takes a FAMILY to raise a child." Then define family.... for us, that family is grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, CHURCH family, and close friends. All of those people come together to raise our children. Yes, we are the greatest influence because we are with them the most, but the influence of our extended "family" is unbelievable.

My children simply adore their grandparents. Between history lessons, tea parties, play time, games, and snuggles, the the impact grandparents bestow on them is beyond any measure of value. However, our family doesn't stop there. Since A.J. was born, we have been part of 4 different churches... both full of people who truly LOVE our children. They have sat with others during church, had church members at their birthday parties, and stayed with church family when we were in the hospital with other family members. And, there are also those friends who we consider part of the family to raise our children. Our friends and the children of our friends are just as close to us as our blood related family. We love each and every one of them so much.

So, yes it does take a village... but parents must choose who is in their village. We are careful to only let our children spend long amounts of time with people who love the Lord and impart good values on them. Thank you to all of you who are in our village!

Happy Birthday, Abigail!

This year, for Abigail's birthday, she wanted a trip to the American Girl Doll store in Atlanta. While there, she got her first "big" American Girl Doll. (She already had a Bitty Baby, but now she got one of the historical figures). She chose Kit from the Great Depression. When we returned home, she had a family birthday party, complete with cupcakes and ice cream of course.

Them American Girl Brunch...
The home party....
Abigail at the end of the night, going to bed dressed like Kit...

North Georgia Trip

Annually, we take our kids to pick apples and do other activities in the Ellijay, Georgia area. This year, the whole McMillan family went. We had a wonderful time. The first day, it rained, so after a LOT of begging, I convinced my wonderful husband to go with us to Babyland General Hospital, where Cabbage Patch dolls are "born." They have built a new building since I was there in college (with my favorite Wesleyanne, Amy-Chris). Here are some pictures.....
Proof that the boys went to the Patch....




We also enjoyed our visit to the pumpkin patch...




And then, there was the hike...


And, don't forget the apples....

Peeking in at our School

I thought some of you may enjoy a "peek" into our school days. So, here is something that will amuse you. If you know me well, you know I am a "city" girl. However, I am married to an "educated redneck" (as my brother has called him). He has decided to raise chickens (which is probably a whole blog entry on its own). Here are our baby chicks and the kids making butter during a study on pioneers. Really??? What have I become? To top it off, we attended the Ag Expo here in Moultrie. Oh me, oh my!









All this makes a family tired!!!

Julia... Growing and Growing

It is so hard to believe how fast the past 9 months have gone! We were quite shocked to ever learn we were having another baby, but now, we can't imagine our lives without her. I think God knew how difficult these past two years would be on our family and what a ray of sunshine this one baby would bring. Between medical issues (can't even number all of those) and job/living transition, she has been such a bright spot in our lives. Here are some updates on how she is growing!

She has mastered her toys....


She has mastered crawling...



She has mastered peek-a-boo (or peep-eye as they say in the south)....



And, she has mastered our hearts!!!!

Reflections on Week One

A sweet friend of mine asked me to email her how the first week of homeschooling went. As I wrote it, I realized they were thoughts I wanted to cherish and share with you all. So, thanks Jessica for asking, and here is my answer:

The first week definitely had its ups and downs. AJ HATES to write, so that was a major battle.... writing anything. However, as I sat and watched both of them learning new things (and me learning new things too, especially in Science and History), I realized how thankful I am that I am the one seeing them learn and teaching them, and not someone else. I didn't have to ask them at the end of the day what they learned today because I already know. Instead, at the dinner table.. I was able to say things like, "Tell Dad what you learned about George Washington" or "Share about the herbs growing in our living room!"

I have also had a lot of realizations about what education is and how the whole system works. I used to teach public school, so I feel like I can truly compare the two. When AJ does a math paper (for example), and he misses two problems, I sit with him and correct them and figure out what he doesn't understand. In school, when you miss 2 (or even 20) problems, you get a lower grade and move on. Yes, some parents review papers at home, but let's be honest... you can't possibly do that for all the papers every week, especially when there is so much busy work.

I am not by any means the perfect homeschool mother. Trust me.... when it took AJ TWO HOURS to do one page in a reading assignment, he saw the ugly side of me. However, I know this is best for all of us. We LOVE having our mornings to eat breakfast together (at 8, not 6) and do a devotion and scripture memory together. We LOVE not having homework in the evening... we can do whatever we please. So far, I have no doubts about this decision. It really makes me wonder how I ever went to work full time and left them in someone else's care. I don't think I could do that again.

First Week of Homeschooling

We are off to a pretty good start. Everyone always posts pictures of their kids on the first day of school (as I have in the past, too), so I took pictures of mine.... in their pajamas! What a change. We also had an awesome "Back to HomeSchool Party" at Grandma's house. Lots of fun!