In the beginning...

Why?  It's a question that a lot of people ask.  Why have I decided to homeschool my 11 year old son?  Why is your daughter still at school?  Why now?  Why not sooner?  Why not later?  These are all really good questions, and the answer is fairly simple... because I have the gift of knowing my children.  Or even better... I know the One who created my children, the One who knit them together in my womb, & I trust that He knows them infinitely better than I ever will.

So why am I blogging about my homeschool journey?  Because it IS a journey, & I want to be able to look back & see just how far we have travelled, & seeing as this is only our second week, it's as good a time to start as any.

Okay, so now to explain the blog's name:

Mothering a Hedgehog

Matthew has Asperger's Syndrome - an Autism Spectrum Disorder.  It means that he can be very difficult to get along with.  He was created this way.  He will always be this way.  Ever since he was a little boy, I would describe him as "my prickly little hedgehog" - spiky on the outside, difficult to get close to, hard to understand, a little tricky to handle... but really just a sweet little creature on the inside with a heart of gold.  So from the beginning, this has been the challenge that God laid before me: to learn to mother this little hedgehog, & raise him to be the God-fearing man that I can see him being one day.  

So come join me on this journey...  help me celebrate each milestone with Matthew.  It will be interesting, and I have a feeling that God has some exciting adventures in store for us!

Here's my hedgehog celebrating his first official homeschool outing to Misty Cliffs.  I love this picture - he looks so genuinely happy - YES!