Let's get started!
Amy, please tell our readers about your children: how many and their ages?
Blake – 13 – He’s a born leader. The talker of the bunch, he can often be found pontificating on all sorts of things from World War II to Christian apologetics. Very, very proud of this young man!
Megan – 10 – Creative and artsy (like her mama), she usually has a camera in one hand and a book in the other. A self-starter and deeply intuitive, you can be sure she never misses anything that is going on around her.
Melia – 6 – This little one has earned the nickname Sunshine. She’s the clown and actor of the group. She spends her days making up stories and loving on her baby brother.
Keian – 5 – Speech delays have not managed to hold this cowboy back! He loves to dress up and tell stories of the adventure kind.
Emily – forever 7 months – In her short life here on earth, Emily was a beautiful china-teacup of a child. She was content and serene, with one foot in Heaven from the very beginning.
Micah – 2 – I’m fairly certain that is mischief written all over his face! However, no matter what havoc he manages to wreak, God knew what he was doing when he made toddlers incurably delicious. This one is no different!
Garin – 8 months – The first thing you notice about this little guy are his dimples. Smiles and slobbery kisses abound!
What is your favorite activity to do with your children?
School. I know that sounds absolutely crazy, but I love homeschooling the children and learning right alongside them, watching the wonder on their faces, and hearing their first sounded-out words. School is my favorite time of day!
You’re a mom-of-many who homeschools and works from home, what do you find is your most challenging aspect of working from home while raising children?
Balancing the blog and the home. It is a constant struggle. I will think I have it mastered when suddenly I find myself spending too much time online trying to read one more email or answer one more comment.
When did you make the choice to stay at home with your children instead of pursuing an outside career? What influences did you have that helped you choose this path?
All my life I wanted to be the mother of children. I went to college because that is what you are “supposed” to do. As soon as I married, I quickly cast aside the desires to pursue any sort of career and focused my efforts on my home. I did finish my degree (in English) and I am using that training now, but I don’t know that I would have needed to go to college to be a writer. My mom has probably been the biggest influence in my desire to stay at home. She was a homemaker as long as I was in the home and it just seemed the right thing to do.
In what ways does your spouse support your efforts to work from home?
He’s very supportive! When I decided to take the blog to the next level, we spent hours and hours discussing and planning. He’s my sounding board for everything from what products to endorse to how to handle certain comments. When I have a webinar or something that requires me to concentrate, my husband is very good about helping out with the children. I also lean quite heavily on his business savvy and expertise in this area.
What one crucial piece of advice would you share with our readers about our role as “Mother”?
Being a mom must ALWAYS come first. If your home business gets in the way of your parenting, then the home business needs to be reevaluated. It would be awful to reach the world, yet lose my children’s hearts in the process.
Amy is sharing her eBook with MHW's readers. Please take advantage of this wonderful devotional book. Working through sorrow is something we all face eventually. Amy has shared a piece of her heart by writing this devotional: "It is my deepest desire this devotional would reach grieving families everywhere,Please join us tomorrow as we explore more of Amy's life in our 'work' segment.
offering comfort, peace, and hope that can only come through the goodness of a merciful God who sees every tear, hears every cry, and delivers us from every trial."
Amy of RaisingArrows.net is the homeschooling mother of 6 living children and one precious little girl named Emily being held in the Lord’s arms. Her days are filled with giggly girls, rambunctious boys and sticky baby kisses. At night, she writes about it all. Amy is the author of Psalms for the Grieving Heart, a 30 day devotional ebook for those who grieve. It is her deepest desire that out of the overflow of her heart, her mouth should speak…and her fingers type.
Thanks for the devotional Amy. I read your account of your child's loss, and though yours was so much harder than my late miscarriage I'm sure, I find strength in the fact there are other people that understand that kind of grief.
ReplyDeleteAnd your last bit of advice is so sound, thanks for the reminder to evaluate intermittently what I'm doing in relation to my children.
I look forward to reading more about this tomorrow! I just started my blog 'seriously' recently, and have a hard time balancing everything also! :)
ReplyDeleteOh, Amy, I love how passionate you are about raising your kids. So many days I struggle with managing two. I don't know how you handle six, but it sounds as though your children have made your life so much richer. I know mine have.
ReplyDeleteRaising Arrows reader here visiting to read Amy's interview! Thanks for featuring her & sharing you own blog with us... I'll be a new follower! ;-)
ReplyDeleteSherri & Gail, welcome and thank you!
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