5Q4

Here's a fun little game I got from Donna. She asked me 5 questions, which I am answering below. I will compose personalized questions for the first 4 people to comment and agree to be interviewed.

1. What is the most difficult part of life in the military and moving frequently?

Emotionally, it is the whole starting over thing, especially finding a new church family. Then it is getting to know the new area and find our way around... making it "home."

2. What made you decide to home-school your children? What would you say are the positives and negatives of home-schooling?

Part of it is that as a military family, we can provide some kind of continuity for the kids; no pulling them out of schools in the middle of the school year, or difficulties because of differences in what is being taught from one place to another. Another reason is to protect our children from being introduced to some topics/agendas they are not ready for (i.e. Heather Has Two Mommies). We also feel homeschooling is a good way to give our kids a more individualized education.... letting them learn at a pace that is comfortable for them, neither being rushed when they need more time, nor being held back when they are ready to move on.

Positives: **Lots of time together helps me learn to know my kids. **We can take family vacations whenever our schedule allows, not only at school breaks; this means we can often take advantage of less-crowded times at popular vacation spots. **Greater control over other relationships in our children's lives... avoidance of negative influences. **Flexibility in scheduling allows us to take advantage of unexpected opportunities, to travel, or take a day off. **Being able to spend time focusing on character and spiritual training.

Negatives: **Sometimes we take advantage of said flexibility too often! Not always disciplined enough to make sure we start/finish our work. **Depending on where we live, reporting requirements are sometimes tedious. **Not always easy to find other homeschoolers to hang out with.

3. You mentioned your prayer group was studying the book Cultivating Contentment. Has this been a good study? Would you say your contentment levels have increased?

This was the book our ladies' class was studying on Wednesday evenings. It was an OK study. Not an extremely in-depth one... fairly light. I do think it gave me some things to think about and work toward. And I do think I am closer to being able to join Paul in saying, "I have learned the secret of being content..."

4. You mentioned that you do not have cable TV. Do you find that you rent more movies? Is this a way to have quality family time?

We have a Blockbuster Online subscription that we use. I don't think rent more movies now than we did when we had cable, though. I try to make tv/movie time a family activity, but my oldest often grabs the movies and watches them first before the rest of us have time. I'm not sure watching movies is a great family activity anyway... it's so passive and doesn't encourage conversation and interaction between everyone.

5. You have gone through quite a bit of remodeling/updating to sell your house. What advice would you give someone who is contemplating selling their house?

Check your paint and carpet. Those are the two easiest things to fix that will make the biggest impression on people as they walk through. Declutter.... box stuff and put it in the attic or in storage. Keep the kitchen clean. (Easier said than done!!!)