Finishing Well

We're reaching the end of our second year of homeschooling. And I think I'm more focused now than ever, despite the sun and warm weather beckoning from beyond my French doors. Of course, I am itching to get out there full force and get the dirt under my fingernails, but I also know that I have a five-week adoption trip arriving in the very near future. And that is what is pushing me forward, determined to finish a little earlier than usual so I can have time to figure out the whole "packing for an international trip" stuff.


But the temptation to rush is trying to squeeze all the energy out of finishing well. I've had to say multiple times, "Whoa, Amber - take it easy; no use finishing if you're not going to finish well." And so this battle plays out in my head - "get it done no matter what" vs. "get it done but do it well."

See that's one of the complicated things with homeschooling. There are many distractions that pull you many directions during a normal part of the year. But then to those distractions of housework and activities, I'm also adding the following distractions:

1. Preparing mentally, physically, and spiritually for a long adoption trip during which I will be separated from my children for over a month

2. Preparing mentally and spiritually for parenting a 13-year-old boy who doesn't have a working concept of what living in a healthy, structured, loving family is really about.

3. Trying to find the connections I need to make Sergei's transition to our family a little smoother.

4. Trying to line up donations and help for our adoption benefit spaghetti dinner on June 5t(which will probably end up being a week or two before we leave.)

5. Co-directing our church's Vacation Bible School which starts on June14th and which I will probably be missing (which I'm totally okay with since it means I'll be en route to get my son!)

6. Finishing our homeschooling year well all while already planning on what I'm doing next year with a 14-year-old, 7 year-old and 4 year-old.

7. Housework and more housework. ('nough said.)

8. Oh, yeah. Forgot about painting the bathroom. "Oh, that can wait," you all say. But you all haven't seen the walls in our hall bathroom with its peeling paint. It needs done. Well, and it especially needs done because I'm nesting, you see.

And speaking of nesting, did you know that you "nest" not only when you're getting ready to give birth to a child but also when you're getting ready to adopt one? Yes, I'm certainly nesting. So there's another distraction to add to the above list.

So, here are my goals:

1. Stay focused on God and His Word. On the fact that He will equip us and prepare us to handle whatever situations may arise. This is priority number one.

2. Figure out what in the world we need to take with us on our trip. (I can't wait until our facilitator sends me our packing list. I keep resisting the urge to email her and ask for it early.) Try to figure out how to possibly pack light for a 5-week trip. And get everything squared away as to how we are going to stay in touch with our kids and everyone else back here.

3. Call around to find an evaluator who can evaluate Sergei in Russian shortly after he gets home so I know how to plan for his school year in the fall.

4. Keep making phone calls, humbly asking local businesses for donations for our dinner. (This is so hard for me. I hate asking people for hand-outs.)

5. Keep moving forward with VBS projects.

6. Finish our school year well.

7. Attempt to keep the house organized and neat so I don't go insane.

8. Paint the bathroom.

One good thing about all of this busyness, is that the time to get our son will be here before we even know it. Oh, and that's another thing I'm practicing, trying to find the positive in all things.