• We need to get back to taking better care of our marriage.  Everythings runs downhill and that is true in a family as well.  Our relationship has been put on the back burner since we opened our business.  We knew that we were at risk for that problem and felt we would be stong enough to deal with it for the first year or two.  We have passed the two year mark and we were right.  These past two years have been really good, but pretty hard on our relationship.  We have some things to work through as a result of letting our relationship slip down a few notches on the priority list.  Renewing our quest to take care of our relationship as a couple will benefit the overall family dynamic and it will set a better example for our kids.  Chris and I have been making changes over the past few months to start putting things back into the right perspective.  We have a ways to go, but we are very hopeful.
• Our kids have been testing the family foundations that were laid years ago.  Kids have a way of getting our attention when they feel that their parents have become sidetracked or a little distracted.  For us, we have discovered that our kids have been testing the boundaries that they learned with each other when they were much younger.  Little by little, because Chris and I have been distracted or less focused, James and Jennifer have pushed the boundary lines back.  It has happened slowly, so we were less likely to notice, but it has indeed happened.  There has been more bickering.  Chores avoided and not getting done.  Arguing about homework.  Disrespectful attitudes.  I think that I have finally reached the limit of how far I can tolerate the boundaries shifting and that is why I have been so frustrated.  Chris and I have spent this past week redefining those boundaries with the kids and enforcing them when necessary.  It hasn't been pretty, but Chris and I are back on the same page and peace is slowly being restored to our home.
• For our family, homeschooling is not a one parent job.  Obviously, Chris goes to work each day.  He is not here teaching the math lessons and grading papers.  I don't expect that from him.  Some parents partner up that way, but we haven't.  Where we have run into trouble is when we allowed our life to get too busy (or sidetracked again) that Chris has forgotten to check in each night with the kids about their progress in school or take the lead in discipline issues.  He has been busy enough with work that when he gets home, he wants to just come home and play with the kids.  I honestly can't blame him for falling into that temptation.  That sounds like a whole lot more fun than dealing with discipline.  But what ends up happening is that Mom is the mom, the teacher and the disciplinarian, the cook and housekeeper.  That doesn't leave much time for fun.  And that makes Dad the fun guy, who breezes in, plays hard and then goes back to work. (This is an oversimplified description of what has been going on, but still, it is a problem that happens too often-another factor in bringing me to the place of burnout.)  Chris has taken the discipline off my hands this week.  He has been the one that the kids have answered to in the evenings and I can't tell you how much better it has been for me.  You know why?  Because I don't feel so alone!  That is key in avoiding burnout. 

So, my prayer right now for our family, is that these areas that we've observed will get the attention they deserve and that Chris and I will be able to keep our focus.  When or if the time comes to enroll the kids in public school, I would hope that it would be a joyful decision based on what is best for the kids; not because I am kicking them out of my house!