New Opportunities For The New Year

Coming into spring soon and so much has been happening! The holidays barely wound down before my family and I went on a two-week vacation cruise to Hawaii! We had been planning it since last August and it was great! My parents, my sisters, my son, and I went in the middle of January. It took 4 1/2 days to sail over there yet the time seemed to go by very fast, I think because there was so much to do on the ship! There were classes and seminars to attend, crafts to make, games to participate in, and more. Once we arrived, we spent one day on each of four islands: The Big Island (Hawaii), Oahu, Kauai, and then Maui. The days were bright and the landscape luscious. We saw a rainforest zoo and Macadamia Nut Factory on the Big Island, Pearl Harbor memorial and Diamond Head on Oahu, Kayaking in Kauai, and the Aquarium on Maui (saw whales breaching on our way!). 4 1/2 days back to L.A. and we're still talking about all the fun we had! My only regret is that my daughter and her family couldn't make it. January held another wonderful moment for me as an article I sold was published in The Old Schoolhouse magazine's Best of 2012 First Annual Print edition. TOS is an international education magazine for homeschoolers that is a monthly digital magazine and is packed with a wealth of information for anyone interested in homeschooling, whether a veteran or just someone considering homeschooling as an educational option for their family. My son is getting ready to celebrate his 13th birthday this coming weekend! We will be entering a new stage of life as he is no longer a child and, although I've gone through the teen years with my daughter, I will now be experiencing what it is like being a single mom and helping to usher a son into manhood. Thankfully, we belong to a wonderful Christian church where there are great male role models who are a part of my son's life. As we grow in this new stage together, I look forward to the many memories we will share with each other and with our family and friends.