Happy new year.

Hello 2012!

It's a new year with new seasons for our family.

Our girls are growing up. Elora started climbing out of the cot so she is now in a toddler bed and the cot is going to the pregnant daughter of a friend. We have decided we are content with our 3 treasures and our 4th bubba who we will meet in heaven and so the last few baby things are disappearing from our house as our girls enter new phases.

New beds for growing girls.

New season of toilet training (and it's going pretty well so there's not always this many pants in the wash lol)

New season of big girls, so the baby swing has been replaced by another single swing as the girls were not wanting to use the baby swing and fighting over the other one.

It is also holiday season and the weather has finally warmed up to feel like summer after a cold, rainy and miserable December. So we've had lazy mornings, lots of outdoor play, catching up with friends, and enjoying the slow pace of life before it all goes crazy in February.

Lovely cups of tea in the sunshine.

Playing with cousins.

Helping daddy in the veggie garden.

Water fun.

Playing in the great cubby we got given.

There's also been changes inside the house as I did a thorough clean out of Jaden's room so that he could actually find his desk to do the homework he will have this year, and I did a big clean out of the learning room as well and sold off a lot of the curriculum materials and books and even the shelf they were all on. It was a little bit sad, a very final end to our homeschooling journey, but we needed the money for the costs of Jaden's new high school and I was ready to let it go.

I have to admit as exciting as the change all is, I am also emotional. My baby boy is starting high school, my little Bethy is going to pre-school, and my baby girl is no longer in a cot, they are all growing up so fast!!

 I also had a week of feeling like an utter failure because I have chosen to no longer homeschool, I felt like if other people could homeschool high schoolers and have little people as well then why couldn't I do it, but the reality is that it's a very tough job and one I am willing to admit I am not cut out for. Choosing to do what I believe is best for my kids and for my own sanity doesn't make me a failure, it means I am brave enough to say I am not supermum and don't want to try to be. I also felt like the financial pressure that school will put on our family was all my fault and I have been super stressed about money, especially as it hadn't been budgeted for as this was all only decided in mid December and we have rego for the van coming up soon as well, but I have had to surrender that to God. He has provided me with a job, He has provided Brett with lots of overtime this January which is very unusual for this time of year, we got a Centrelink advance to pay the enrolment fee, and we are learning to budget a lot more carefully. I learnt a lot from God last year in the journey of home schooling, and I am already learning a lot from God this year in my journey of not home schooling, the journey may look different, but it is all still the same journey walking with my God. I look forward to seeing how this year unfolds :-)