Our New Journey

The Brices watching planes land and take off at Charlotte Airport.

Our family is beginning a new journey.

It's not a trip, but I'm sure it will lead to all kinds of places.

An idea started back in November.  I saw a woman with cancer, and my heart broke for her as it was very apparent her days left were few.  Oh I hate cancer!  As I softly prayed for her, a thought came to my mind.  Here was the thought, "If a countdown started today and I only had one year left to live, what would I do?"  While dwelling on that question, I was surprised at how many answers I kept thinking of.  There were things on my bucket list I would accomplished, there were a few places I was certain I needed to see, and most of my to do's were spending time with people I loved.  I thought I would take Brody out of school and teach him myself.  Within minutes I thought about dozens upon dozens of things I would love to teach and show my children.  So while I was thinking of what I could teach the boys if I homeschooled, I became very excited.  Whoa!  When I realized my excitement, I convinced myself this was a crazy thinking and my Carpe Diem thinking way of life had gone too far.  Too far I say!

But the idea didn't really go away!  If homeschooling is what I would do if my time was short, what was I waiting for?  Why not seize the day and make the most of all of my days?  If my heart was to be with my children and teach my children, why was I not doing that?  I thought of many cons of why I shouldn't, but the pro of "I just really want to" weighed more heavily than the cons. So one day I brought it up to Ryan, and I expected him to say "Have you lost your mind?"...he just thoughtfully listened.  Without hearing the word "no" the door opened up to begin to dream.  I began to pray about it.  Then a Girls Night Out with my Growth Group friends from church happened, and I listened to women whose hearts felt just like mine.  Maybe this idea wasn't so crazy. My friend Shannon had the courage to do a homeschool meeting that would answer questions for ladies thinking about doing home education.  Hearing Shannon, Nikki, and Leslie's passion was one of the best encouragements I have ever received.  At the meeting the idea went from crazy to really doable.  One thing that really interested me that night was Classical Conversations.  It has a way of memorizing information that is perfect for Brody's learning style.  I knew instantly it would be a good challenge for him.  So a couple of weeks later I dragged Ryan and Brody to the CC information meeting.  Team Brice needed to all be on board for this to work.  My guys liked it which only left the big question of how would this work with AJ.  We traveled to India just a couple weeks later, and we meet AJ and found out what he might be capable of.  We think AJ is capable of great things!  There in India we made the decision to turn our family's lives upside down...upside down in a very good way.

Let me answer the question before it gets asked. We are not taking Brody out of public school because we dislike it.  In fact, Brody's little school is a precious place to be.  He has had 3 outstanding teachers and 2 wonderful assistants.  Brody has been in great hands for three years in a very loving environment.  I just want the opportunity to do what these awesome women get to do.

Our sweet little AJ was a big part of the decision.  He will be turning five years old next week, but he is a lot like a three year old in height, weight, and maturity.  He is not ready to be sent off to school. To be honest, this momma has missed out on five years of his life, and I don't want to miss out on any more of it.  Brody would also think it was completely unfair to homeschool AJ next year and not him too.

So let the home education journey begin! There are adventures to be had, and we are going to take them.  There is simplicity to be had, and we're going to enjoy it.  There are precious moments to be had everyday, and we are not going to miss out on them any longer.

Sure I will have days this Fall I will want to pull my hair out, and you my friends will have to remind me of this post.  This will not be an easy journey, but it will be a journey worth taking.  I can't wait to see where it takes the Brices!