Mom's Night Out - from Janet

(Click on the picture to enlarge.)

In September 1990, we started our homeschooling journey. We are finishing our 22nd year of homeschooling! We started out homeschooling Randy in Kindergarten. This year, we have only one student again: Emily in 8th grade. I never had all six of our children in school at the same time. By the time Emily started school, Randy had already graduated. But we did have several years with five students in our Country Acres Christian Academy.

From the start of our homeschooling adventure, we joined Home Educators Fellowship in Greeley. The support group meeting is called Moms' Night Out. I have attended MNO pretty faithfully, rarely missing a monthly meeting. It has been a big part of my social life and my sanity, some school years! For the past six or more years, I have been the treasurer for the group, which is not a huge job now, since we quit charging a membership fee.

After 22 years, I go for different reasons than the ones I had long ago. Now I go to be the "older" mother who encourages the new ones starting out. I want to be a blessing, to pass on the wisdom I gained from the older ones who were there for me. The ladies I meet with and have met with through the years are real friends; they prayed for me this past year when I went through cancer. We have shared prayers, requests, books, tips, encouragement, tears, and songs through the years. I'm glad I have four more years of teaching Emily, and I look forward to more Moms' Night Out blessings!

Beth made the cartoon above, in honor of the connections and fun I look forward to in MNO! (NoCO stands for Northern Colorado.) The rest is written by Janet.