I love seeing the excitement of my children as they await their sleep-over at Grandma and Grandpa's. They are going to Grandma and Grandpa's house on Thursday, but they started packing on Monday!!!! Yes, I would call that excitement!!!
I love the long, peaceful drive to our destination. This year the conference is about three hours away, so my hubby and I will have much time to "catch up" on the things we want to talk about. We will be able to talk and talk, without any interruptions. Over the last month we've said several times, "We'll have to talk about that during our weekend conference." I know we won't have time to talk about everything we want to, but we will make good use of the time we have.
I love the conference itself. I love being in a room full of about five thousand homeschooling parents. It is so encouraging and refreshing to look around the convention center and see that we are not in this alone. Of course, we have never been in this adventure alone. God led us to it five years ago (before my oldest was school age) and He has been guiding us all along. We have leaned on Him every step of the way.
I love the workshops and have such a hard time deciding on which ones to attend. There are over 50 workshops offered. Right now I have 24 marked that I want to go to, but there is only enough time to attend six workshops!!!
I love the exhibitor hall and the used book sale. There are over 100 curriculum booths in the exhibitor hall. This is so helpful because we get to talk with the publishers about the curriculum one on one. This year we have been using the "My Fathers World" curriculum (http://www.mfwbooks.com/), and have loved it. Our plan is to buy the next grade levels for next year (1st grade and 3rd grade). We do need to research different math curriculums, as we are ready to try something new for math. We always leave the exhibitor hall and the used book sale with a backpack full of books, and our arms full of books too!!!! We all love books in this house!!!!
I love how my husband and I both get encouraged and refreshed. We have always left these conferences with a hundred different things to try. There are so many homeschool professionals at the conference that can answer any question and lead you to whatever you are looking for. It is always so, so refreshing.
I love eating meals out for a few days and being "off duty." I don't have to buy groceries, make the meals, and do the dishes for several meals. Don't get me wrong, I love this part of homemaking (well, maybe not the dishes!) but it is always relaxing to have a break from it.
I love catching up with homeschooling friends, some that we only see once a year at this conference. We are having dinner on Friday with some of our dear friends. They recently had a baby so we will get to meet their little guy too!!! My dear, dear friend from high school usually attends too, but isn't this year. I'll miss you Monica!
Finally, I love that at the end of the day, I'm holding my hubby's hand, and it's just him and I. We have a few moments to just spend with each other. To talk about our day, what we learned, what we want to do differently in our homeschooling, what we want to keep doing the same. It is a blessing to give each other our undivided attention. No interruptions. We try to make our marriage a priority, no matter how busy homeschooling life with little children is.
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