Calling All Pray-ers

I know many of my friends who read this are pray-ers. So I'm asking for your prayers. Keith and I have some decisions to make about the girls' school for the fall.

First, Leslie. We have planned for quite a while that she would go to high school (that's the year after next). We're still confident that's the right decision, for a lot of reasons. The question is: which high school? Sioux City's East High is close, and it seems to be her preference. But it's big. She could also go to Sergeant Bluff High School, which is smaller, but I might have to drive her. Or there's the Christian school -- but it would be VERY small (like a handful of kids in her grade), more costly, and I'd definitely have to drive her.

And in preparation for this, we're planning on enrolling her in a class or two at the middle school next year (an option we have in Iowa). Two questions there: what classes and which middle school? Obviously, the school choice will depend on which high school she's going to. As far as the classes . . . I'm thinking science for one (because that's probably the subject I'm weakest in), but I don't know what else.

The Eastin questions are more troublesome. We've talked about putting her in school full-time next year, for 4th grade and possibly for 5th grade after that. Again, there's the issue then of which school -- Sioux City Public, Sergeant Bluff public, or the private Christian school? But more important than that is whether or not we should be putting her in school at all.

She wants to go. She's never been in a "real" school before and wants the experience. Which is understandable. We think there are some social skills that she needs that she can best learn in a classroom environment. However, she is still a very impulsive and peer-oriented child. Get her in a mix with the wrong kids and we could have serious problems. But if it's only for one year . . maybe two . . .

OK, here's the real truth of the matter: I WANT to put her in school. I'm a bit burnt out on homeschooling. Eastin's a good student, but she's high maintenance. Being with her all day is tiring, and meeting her social needs is a challenge. The older Leslie gets, the more intensive her work is for me. I want to be able to really focus on her next year, my last year home with her. And having another year after that, with both girls in school and me getting a year off, sounds SO inviting. I miss having regular alone time. I want to be able to focus on me for a while. It would be so easy to be able to put the girls on a bus every morning and spend my days doing my thing again.

But since when did I make decisions about my children's education based on what's easy?

When we pulled Leslie out of school and started homeschooling, I was certain about it. I felt called to do homeschool. I was open to other options, and ready to submit if Keith disagreed. But in my gut, I knew this was God's will for my daughter.

I have no such certainty about any option now. Neither does Keith. And we need to know. We've asked the girls to pray with us. I just feel so burdened about this. I don't want to default to what meets my needs and desires. I need to do what's best for my kids, and I genuinely don't know what that is.

Fortunately, I know that God does. I just need him to fill us in. And I think I need to be willing to accept whatever his will is before he's going to let us know. So, any prayers on our behalf would be greatly appreciated. I feel like I need to be showered in them right now.