Why do we Homeschool?!

I was chatting with my cousin on facebook today and she was asking me questions about homeschooling. She has a little boy who's a little over a year and another one on the way!
I gave her a link to this blog so that she could see how we do it.
Then I realized I have never really posted anything about why we made the decision to homeschool.

I like Steve Lambert's explanation on how we came to be homeschoolers. He said that the finger of God reached across time and space and touched our hearts and asked, "What about homeschooling you kids?"
I had only heard about homeschooling once, I was at summer camp at Greenwood Hills. One of my cabin mates was homeschooled. I remember thinking how cool it would be not having to get up early in the morning to go to school on cold crappy weather. Now please understand, I loved school!
Especially high school. No, it wasn't perfect but I had a great time most of the time.
There were a few things I struggled with but overall my public and private school experience was a good one.

I had started gathering together with other believers who homeschooled and they made it sound so great. I just kept thinking there was no way I would be able to do it. I did not have the patience, I was not creative enough and I didn't think I was intelligent enough to homeschool my children.

My husband on the other hand loved the idea. He was my biggest cheerleader. He knew I could do this. The enemy kept putting thoughts in my head against it but a very wise woman told me that God was speaking to me through my husband, "trust Him" and I did.

I did a LOT of research about homeschool, I visited I don't know how many homeschool blogs.
I liked everything I was reading. Then came time to choose a curriculum or not.
I found out about Five in a Row from one of the blogs I was reading and it just sound it too good to be true. I decided to start two weeks before A6's preschool was done. I figured if it doesn't work out I can still enroll her in kindergarten. Our first book was We're Going on a Bear Hunt, and the rest as they say is history! We were hooked! Not just the kids but me as well.
There is something so wonderful about sitting on the couch early in the morning reading a great book to your children.
Needles to say that summer we did many more books, mostly from Before five in a row, which is geared towards 2 to 4 yr olds.

Once September came we started to "row" (as five in a row moms call it), Five in a row books in addition to before FIAR books. Our first book was Madeline! My children fell in love with Madeline. When we started our second year of homeschooling we started with Madeline's Rescue and for our third year I have Madeline in London scheduled to start!

The homeschooling journey is by invitation only, when God invites you on a journey He has already taken care of all the details, all you have to do is follow.
That is the best way to describe our journey. I'm simply following Him! When God is in control we can rest in that, any questions that you have He already has an answer for. He has answers to question you don't know enough to ask yet.

The longer I do this the more I realize that academics is only a small part of homeschooling. Building relationships with your children, strengthening your own relationship with God, teaching your children about the One who created them. Showing your children that they need a Savior and that you do too.

"We are accountable for how our children are raised, they are accountable for how they turn out."
Steve Lambert

There is so much more on this subject but it's late and I have to go to sleep.