Lasagna & Green salad tonight …

I am so thankful for the direction the Lord lead us last Spring when we realized that we needed help with J2′s education.  I didn’t share it at the time, but things got very bad around here in relation to his schooling.  He became very angry and discouraged.  This lead to a depression that caused him to threaten – and even to attempt – to take his own life. 

It was a very dark time for all of us.  J2 is normally a very enthusiastic, happy person.  But his struggles in school and our inability to help him, created a very angry, very volatile person.  I pray everyday that my Happy J2 returns, but for now I’m content that he’s doing better than last Spring.

After last Spring, we made two big changes.  (1) J2 started to see a Psychiatrist and eventually a therapist to help him deal better with his emotions and (2) we enrolled him in a charter school – specifically South Sutter Charter School.  I had lots of reservations about this change to our homeschool.  I worried what my local friends would think when I joined a charter and abandoned the private school method of homeschooling.  I had fears based on the bad experience with a different charter school several years ago.  And, I was scared that this change would create more busy-work but not help us make a difference for J2′s education.

But I’ve been so blessed in so many ways….

• One of the biggest blessings is that both of the charter people whom I work with most frequently are believers.  Maybe that wouldn’t mean anything to you – but it was an added blessing to me.
• Our ES (Education Specialist) is my former neighbor who has had many, many years of working with special ed students.
• My brother – who’s working on his special education masters – has been great to listen to my worries and educate me on the system!
• The school has agreed – based on the new diagnosis of autism & the length since his last testing – to update all his tests.
• This testing will happen quickly which is another blessing!

More than anything else I feel blessed that I’m not doing this alone.  I am blessed that I can continue to make the decision to keep my child at home where I know he can do his best work without all the distractions in a standard school setting but  now I can do it with help and encouragement.  I’m not alone anymore!  And, I’m so thankful!!