Introducing Myself

On Sunday I will turn 40! While this is supposed to be a time to shudder and spend oodles of quality time in reflection and consideration for how we have lived the first "half" of our lives I am excited to see this milestone come.

I am married to a very hardworking and wonderful man who cares so much for his family. He is my best earthly friend.

We have three wonderful, if human, children whom I spend a great deal of time with since we homeschool together. Oh, the things I learn as we discuss the topics of history, science and more. Time is winding down on our homeschool years as our youngest is 12 and in the 7th grade. You can find her blog at http://thefriendsatsunset.blogspot.com/. Chelsea is a writer, a planner and my biggest encourager. She loves to help around the house and is always interested in learning how to do those homemaker skills such as cooking, sewing and now cake decorating.
The middle child is Mikey, 14, who wishes he were 21 and done with this growing up process. Little does he know that there is no magic number that allows you to feel grown up and free to do whatever you wish. We will keep working on that understanding with him. In the meantime he is a busy boy with a passion for skateboarding, working at a local feed store and participating in his Youth Group.
Our oldest is Jonathan, 16. He is extremely sensitive and caring and sees himself in a counseling career at some time in the future. Jonathan has had his share of struggles with learning and has perservered. We have found many techniques of teaching that I will share on this blog. So many times my heart has ached for him as he struggled to do the simplest math problems but at the same time I marvel at his ability to know every detail about some complex war that he heard only briefly about. He is indeed a special one.

We live in a home filled with 2 cats, 2 dogs, several fish and a guinea pig. Our assortment of animals is completed by the chickens who give us fresh eggs most days (they are outside...in case there was a question!).

We attend a small local congregation of believers with whom our family spends the majority of our social time. This is a time of change for our church as we are in the process of seeking a new location for Sunday worship and seeking the Lord's will in our affiliation in or out of a denomination.

The kids and I participate in a home school coop, which has been a true blessing. We have all made lifetime friends there.

My husband and I serve on our County Homeschool Coalition Board and are pleased to assist in the preparations for the countywide graduation ceremony which has nearly 100 graduates each year. It keeps us motivated to keep going in the daily efforts of learning until it is our turn to celebrate on that stage!

I have two things that I do in an effort to supplement the family income. For the past 11 years I have been a Personal Financial Analyst and very much enjoy helping friends reach their dreams and goals in a way that honors and glorifies God. So many times we get mixed messages about our finances. I strive to assist people in living debt free and saving in the best ways available to them.

The other thing that I do more as a hobby is candlemaking. I got into this because my former neighbor made candles for her own use and had retired. She was looking for something to do and I offered to use my knowledge of finance to help her start a candle company. I found out that making candles is a blast and joined her in the creative process. We make soy or gel candles only as we are not fond of soot! You can see some of our products at www.goodneighborscandles.com. I really need to spend some quality time on that site updating, etc but it is fun to see what we enjoy making.

Enough for now. I have so much to share. I have been reading blogs for a little while now and accumulating ideas as to what I might like to share with you.