Matthew is very optimistic. When people ask him about Croatia, he simply says, “I really want to go back!” I smile because that’s a very nice way of saying, “We missed many of the highlights and was so delayed, we almost missed getting back on the ship!”
Viator cancelled our (ONE and ONLY) excursion (LAST MINUTE)(FOR NO REASON). Although we booked weeks prior (and was even receiving confirmation texts the morning of), we arrived to the dock surrounded by complete chaos with no record of our (PAID) tour.
As optimistic as Matthew is, he’s equally determined. So, needless to say, he found a way to get us around to some of Croatia’s islands.
We may have missed some highlights, but do you know what we DIDN’T miss… a chance to JUMPOFF a 33 FEET high diving platform into the Adriatic Sea!
As I watched from the ground, I noticed a group of guys who kept giving up their turn- too afraid to jump. It made me smile to watch Rayna show them how it’s done!
That’s a wrap, Croatia! Hopefully, we’ll see you again!
As the sun was just starting to rise (and my family was still enjoying a few more hours of sleep), I was eagerly waiting in the ship lobby to claim early tender tickets for SANTORINI! (Even if you don’t know the name, you’d certainly recognize the picturesque Greek island with white-washed villages, blue domes and beautiful hints of color all around.)
But despite all my research and early morning ticket, my secret dream to become an ‘international travel blogger‘ crumbled into pieces that day on the slick steps of Santorini. It hurts to say this, but that picturesque town, Oia, that draws in visitors from all around the world… well, we totallyMISSED it.
We planned on hiking nearly 7 miles to Oia, but you all have already seen how Ross gets distracted when he spots a big rock or mountain…
Matthew and I were happy to sit in the shade (and pray that Ruthie didn’t get hurt) as the kids hiked to the top.
After the hike and unexpected adventure up the mountain, everyone was hot, tired and hungry. My crew didn’t seem to care that there was a world-famous sites just around the corner, so the majority-VOTE (after hours of being in the hot sun) was to stop our intended hike to Oia and start hiking back to the ship.
Regardless of if we made it to ‘THE‘ spot, we saw plenty of otherGORGEOUS spots along the way.
Truth-be-known, my crew was probably highly motivated to get back to the ship early- knowing the Flowrider would be less crowded!
For the months leading up to our cruise, I assumed Athens would be my least favorite stop. I heard it was incredibly hot in the summer, as humid as Florida and extremely crowded. And although it was all of these things, it was ALSO:
BEAUTIFUL, VIBRANT, RICH IN HISTORY and FULL of KIND PEOPLE!
We heard there were many pick-pocketer in Athens, but we had the OPPOSITE experience! After paying for gelatos, Matthew accidentally walked away- leaving his water thermos on the counter. When the business owner realized this, he immediately left his business alone, yelling and chasing us down the busy street, trying to RETURN it!
Aside from using a cab (to get to the train station) then the train (to get to a few areas), we skipped all the recommended tours, guides and simply walked around the entire city. It was a long day (and Ruthie got terribly hot), but I wouldn’t have changed a thing!
We visited: the small, colorful town of Anafiotika(don’t get your hopes up about seeing a lot of cats), the Acropolis(students were FREE with an ID), Partheno, Plaka, Monastiraki Flea Market and Areopagus Hill(or “Mars Hill” where Paul preached, recorded in Acts 17).
Can you imagine traveling almost 6,000 miles to Olympia, Greece and NOT laying eyes on the birthplace of the Olympics games?
Since our ship would be stopping in Athens next (where we’d be seeing a lot of ancient ruins, historical sights and tourists), I thought it would be a great excuse to have a beach day instead!
Prior to our trip, I spent hours doing research and found the PERFECT“hidden and local favorite”BEACH. But when I told the taxi driver, he simply replied,
“No… You don’t want to go to that beach. I take you to one better and cheaper to get to.”
The driver was correct!
This beach was not super crowded and the water was CRYSTAL CLEAR! And our highlight was walking past the crowd to find a nice rock for Ross to UNKNOWINGLY REALLY IRRITATE A MOTHER BIRD AND HER HIDDEN BABY CHICKclimb. (If you look closely at the photos, mother bird is continually swooping down towards Ross to make sure he’s not messing with her little one.)
In case anyone wants to visit this beach as well, my iPhone coordinates recorded: 37° 39′ 54.462″ N , 21° 18′ 35.028″ E. (My guess would be Ai Lagoudis Beach.)
On our way back to the ship, we were excited to try their local cuisine… GYROS!
We made the VERY best of this stop, but for anyone going to KATAKOLON(the official name of the cruise port closed to Olympia, Greece), I would be remiss not to mention:
* Credit cards were accepted most places, but still BRING EUROS. * If you’re wanting to save money or take the road-less-traveled, PLAN AHEAD and CONSIDER POSSIBLE PROBLEMS (ie: transportation apps being different; internet connections being unavailable at times; shortage of taxis; taxi driver straight-up saying NO to where you want to go, etc.). * The beach at the end of the gift shops was very dirty and run-down. * The “fun bus” that many tourist use to ‘hop-on-and-hop-off’ was over crowded and late- almost resulting in a physical fight between two people arguing about who could squeeze into a tiny space.
For years, Matthew and I have dreamed of going on a Mediterranean cruise. We already LOVED cruising, so the thought of simply being ‘dropped-off’ at several beautiful, European locations made it even more exciting!
Meanwhile, we’d been seeing first-hand how quickly time races by with children. As we watched Ross and Rayna stepping into the next stages of their lives, we were reminded of just how precious one final ‘family trip‘ would truly be. So we finally took the plunge and booked the trip!
We chose Royal Caribbean’s ‘Explorer of the Seas‘ because, the only thing we love more than cruising with Royal Caribbean is cruising on one of their ships with the FlowRider Surf Simulator!
But even if you don’t enjoy surfing (or simply watching, like me), there’s always SO much to do! Matthew passed on his COMPETITIVENESS to the kids, so we got to all cheer one another on as titles were awarded for basketball games, rock-climbing races, FlowRider advancements and, well, Ross’ excellent effort to win a karaoke competition with Elvis’ “Hound Dog”.
As much as we loved seeing new places and being entertained, eating delicious meals together(at least three times a day!) was one of our BEST memories of the trip!
Don’t you LOVE how dressed-up with all get on the ‘formal‘ night? It’s okay though. Even though the only pants Matthew had were his sweatpants for the plane, he couldn’t have possibly looked any better to me!
We didn’t feel fancy enough to get a professional photo, so I just set everything up on my camera and asked a stranger to snap a photo. (I’m not complaining that it’s sideways, because at least it’s clear!)
It sounds silly, but I usually get behind with my daily Bible reading when I’m on vacation. I don’t like reading my Bible digitally (on a device), but I also avoid packing my Bible on longer trips when it could get damaged.
As I sat on my deck one morning, I was reminded how much I NEEDED God’s Word in my life DAILY, so I used my phone app to open my Bible-in-a-year ‘assigned daily reading’ plan. Looking out at God’s spectacular creation, none other than Psalm 19 appeared on my screen!
(If you know me, you know how passionate I am about reading through God’s Word each year. I firmly believe that God CAN and WILL speak to you through His Holy word- even going page through page on a ‘assigned’ plan.)
When I wrote “10 Reasons NOT to Homeschool,” I shared the lies and fears that kept me from homeschooling. But since that time, I thought it was only right to share “Reasons TO Homeschool!”
Before I jump in, I have THREE disclaimers (…just like the last post):
* First off, this is only my fifth year, so I am not a seasoned ‘professional‘. * Secondly, I believe and trust God’s Word. So many of the reasons I wrote about reflect Biblical truths. * Most importantly, I have read through the Bible, but never found a straight-forward commandment that says it’s a sin to not homeschool every child at every grade. I have personally been the target of harsh judgement, so I know it hurts terribly– especially when someone tries to add to God’s laws to inflict shame or control. So, although I am PASSIONATE about HOMESCHOOLING, I would never wish to cause guilt on others who are not doing it the same way as my family.
Okay… I’m excited, so let’s GO!
10. It’s FUN!
Since you’ll have more time with you child, you’d be crazy not to truly enjoy it! Whether you are teaching fractions, making chicken salad sandwiches or taking a break to climb a tree, be intentional about making it memorable!
Here’s a few tricks that have helped to make school enjoyable: * Play music to focus, relax, finish a project or just to dance and have fun! * When someone’s overwhelmed, take a break, go outside, play a card game, do a chore, have a snack or just cuddle. * For us, NO screens really help all of our attitudes and focus. Simply using real books and keeping all devices put away helps everyone (myself included) not get distracted with texts, phone calls, emails and notification-dings. * Find ways to make learning exciting! (Go on a field trip. Use a rainy day to watch a documentary on what you’re learning in history. Use art, cooking and other resources to make your subjects come alive.) * If you have a younger child, you can pretend and ‘play school’ or even allow the child to ‘be the teacher’ for a subject or day (depending on how well they plan and what the subject is). * Regardless of these tips or any other, remember real JOY can ONLY come through the Lord! So read God’s Word daily, pray for joy and, despite your circumstances, allow the fruit of the spirit to SHINE THROUGH YOU for your family and others to see!
9. FAMILY BONDING
We’ve all experienced clicks, gossip and division in school, right? Well, not only can we avoid bringing some of these harmful, learned behaviors into our home, but with intentional parenting and prayer, all the extra time together opens the door for your children to grow up as best friends!
This doesn’t mean there aren’t HUGE ARGUMENTS AND TEARS ‘differences‘. It just means we have more time to build strong, healthy moments together. Then, when the hard times come, we also have the margin to direct each person back to God’s Word- learning how to love, understand, forgive and hold no records of wrong.
8. AVOID LABELS
Whether you’ve experienced it yet or not, public schools are great at assigning labels on kids.
While some kids might get the ‘good‘ labels (“Honors English” or “MVP“), I’ve personally witnessed unnecessary and incorrect ‘negative‘ labels being put on my own kids. Labels stick and affect self-confidence all throughout life. Homeschool allows the freedom to breeze through some subjects and, if needed, take twice as long to learn the ones that don’t come easily- all without any fuss, meetings or stereotypes.
7. CURRICULUM
If you believe the Bible is true and you desire your child to not be taught things contradicting the truth, you must educate yourself on what’s really happening now. Starting as early as elementary school, children are being taught theories, lies and deception that is contradicting to God’s Word.
Seeing this personally was a big factor in what affected our decision to pull the kids out of public school. One of our children wrote an excellent argumentative essay based on her beliefs, but received enough backlash from her teacher that Matthew had to get the principal involved. Our example is very minimal compared to the agenda from places like Planned Parenthood who are actively trying to normalize middle schoolers getting on birth control and experimenting with sexual activity at an early age.
Not only do I LOVE having the FREEDOM to learn history and science through a Christian worldview, it also makes me smile to see it in other subjects as well. (“If there were 30 girls in the church youth group, but only 10% of them…”)
6. FLEXIBLE LEARNING OPTIONS
My FAVORITE reason! The possibilities are ENDLESS with homeschooling! * FREE Chick-fil-a tour with grandparents and cousins? Yes, please! * FREE day at Zoo Atlanta library pass with my mom, sister and cousins? Yes, please! * Friday yard sales with my dad? Yes, please!(Watching my Dad in his element is better sales training than the kids could receive with ANY textbook!)
Everything mentioned above is fun, but we’ve also been thankful to homeschool when Matthew’s dad got really sick. Instead of Matthew going back to Arkansas alone, Ruthie and I packed-up our school books and felt SO GRATEFUL to be doing math in a rehab center.
I only talked about learningoptions, but there’s also such a strong case for learningTIMES. When we have a late night, instead of having to wake up a child before sunrise for school, what a GIFT to allow them to sleep as long as they need to ‘catch-up’ on sleep!
5. PROTECTION
The Bible is very clear about our responsibility to protect our children’s heart. Although parents may not see, hear or know what their child is getting exposed to, it doesn’t mean it’s not happening. In addition to children getting smart phones earlier and earlier, pornography is being seen and shared as early as elementary school. Through our children’s public school experience, we found out how common other kids were inflicting self-harm and threatening suicide. This was something that we didn’t anticipate our kids having to process on a daily basis in public schools. To be clear, kids confiding in other kids that they plan to kill themselves is too heavy of a burden for anyone- much less a teenager.
Not only does homeschool protect kids against issues they are not qualified to handle, it also allows healthy feelings to be nurtured properly. When a family pet died in the middle of the night, instead of Ruthie having to catch the bus before sunrise (and worry about it all day), we were able to press PAUSE on school. The rest of the day was spent making a handmade casket, picking flowers, then having a service. What a memorable day that we’ll all remember.
4. TIME WELL SPENT
Once you homeschool, you see how quickly you can successfully accomplish all of your goals- with time to spare! Fight the urge to do screen time after lunch and, instead, look for ways to make the BEST use of your time!
Here’s a few ideas that we’ve loved: * Serve together * Visit the sick from your church * Get active: swim, pickle ball, hike, bike… * Start a business * Join an awesome homeschool co-op * Pet sit * Travel * Play with cousins and see grandparents
3. TIME WITH YOUR CHILD!
Childhood is such a short period. Imagine a way to regain over 1,000 *EXTRA* HOURS with your child each YEAR(…and that’s not including bus rides, after school care, extra-cirricular activities and sports)!
2. Child’s SANCTIFICATION
If that word is unfamiliar to you, it’s simply means ‘saying no to’ sinful desires and replacing it with what the Bible instructs- compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, love, forgiveness, peace and thankfulness. (Colossians 3:5-17)
Homeschooling does not produce godliness. However, if teaching your child how to control their selfishness and be more Christ-like IS a priority, you will have LOTS of opportunities to see problems, correct those behaviors and shepherd their hearts back to the Lord.
Ephesians 4:22-24: “…to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
1. Your SANCTIFICATION
Believe it or not, there’s LOTS and LOTS of moments for spiritual growth for YOU. Whether you’re reminding a child to drink water, eat breakfast, read the Bible, start their daily writing assignment, focus during math, be respectful, put the peanut butter jar away, read that book, play outside, start a load of dirty clothes or help get dinner going, there’s TOO MANYplenty of PROBLEMSopportunities to extend grace, patience, love and peace.
Personally, a few of my most treasured homeschool memories have come after I have failed miserably, but was able to gain forgiveness from my child. But more than simply being reconciled with my child, what a beautiful gift for them to see how to go before the Lord and also ask for forgiveness and more love and patience.
When I hear others say, “Oh, I could never do that!,” I agree that it IS difficult at times, but I remind them of Mark 9:23: “And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.”
I hope this helps you to see just a FEW of the ways HOMESCHOOLING can BLESS your family! Please let me know if you have any questions.
Although it was my first time photographing at University of Georgia, it was NOT my first time photographing Katie! (As a matter of fact, I started taking photos of her 16 years ago!)
During our last session, we celebrated her high school graduation. And now, here we are celebrating her COLLEGE graduation on campus in Athens!
