Lezlie Andrew | The Blog » Lezlie Andrew | Texas Lifestyle Wedding and Portrait Photographer

Masthead header
  • WELCOME!

    Hi, I'm Lezlie! I am a blessed wife, joyful mama, and determined business owner. Whether I'm parenting, homeschooling, running my small businesses, crafting a project, or walking through a new season in life, I know that God can use all of it to draw me closer to Him, if I just let Him. You'll find a little bit of everything in me on this blog...from my photography to daily random thoughts and theological musings. I pray you will enjoy reading and maybe take a bit of inspiration when you leave. XOXO

confessions of a homeschool mom

we (finally) began our homeschooling journey in january 2013…in the middle of ella’s 1st grade year.

i have always wanted to homeschool but my sweet husband wasn’t quite ready for it when it came time for ella to begin kindergarten. he was on the fence but not quite ready to make that jump so i submitted to my husband and we enrolled ella in public school. after kindergarten my husband and i were on the same page and ready to leap into the big scary world of homeschooling. i picked out and ordered our curriculum and was extremely excited to start. one week prior to the start of the 2012-2013 school year we received a call for a sibling group in need of a foster home. we said yes and welcomed into our home a 2 year old little boy (one month older than our current foster son) and a 6 year old little girl entering the 1st grade just like ella. since we are not allowed to homeschool foster kiddos, we decided to enroll both ella and our new foster daughter into the public school ella attended her kindergarten year. we just didn’t feel like it would be fair to the girls to have them do different things. we wanted our new foster daughter to feel like she was just as much a part of our family as anyone else. our new foster kiddos were supposed to be with us for at least one year. they were with us for 2 week (that’s the nature of foster care…it’s terribly unpredictable).

we had to make a decision to either keep ella in public school another year, go ahead and take her out after only two weeks, or reevaluate things at the end of the first semester. we kept her there through the semester. come december…we were ready to start our homeschool journey.

then i got knocked up. haha! less than a month into homeschooling, i found out i was pregnant. what?!? and i immediately had “morning” sickness.

every. second. of. every. day.

headaches. migraines. nausea. vomiting. and other super fun pregnancy things.

every. second. of. every. day.

we didn’t do school for a week. then two weeks. then one month…

we have done a day of school here, a day there, but have failed to get in a solid week since january. i have agonized over this…trying to find good apps and/or games that ella can do on the computer and ipad in place of our lessons, having her at the very least read every day, crying, asking my sweet husband what we should do, knowing that ella will be continuing first grade through the summer…and even into the next school year if i don’t figure something out soon.

then i decided something. i decided that i would not feel guilty. i fully believe that God wants us to homeschool ella. and i know that He knew we would be getting pregnant. God paved the way for us to homeschool. and it was God who gave us this little miracle after trying to conceive for 6+ years.

the moment i let go. the moment i decided that i would not feel guilty. everything fell into place. i realized that our homeschooling doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. i don’t have to follow the curriculum to the “t” and feel like i have failed if we skip a lesson or subject for that day. if our school year doesn’t follow the same calendar as the public school year, our neighbor’s school year, or my niece and nephews school year…it’s ok. if i use a trip to target to get in the days math lesson on counting money…it’s ok. if we don’t delve into our curriculum today because ella wants to learn about van gogh and try her hand at painting starry night…it’s ok. if the only science and history we get in for the rest of our school year is going to the zoo and museum…it’s ok.

i am new at this and i am learning. if i’ve learned one thing in the last 4 months it is this…my daughter learns more and has a lot more fun when mommy doesn’t stress. so i will not compare myself to other homeschool or non homeschool moms/families. i will take this one day at a time. i will chill out and turn to God for my help. no more homeschool guilt for this mom!

April 23, 2013 - 12:01 pm

Jen - This is why you are my best friend! And possibly my favorite woman in the world! You are an AMAZING mom, wife and daughter of God! You are doing a phenomenal job! And you encourage me constantly! I love you!

April 23, 2013 - 12:11 pm

Lezlie - i love you and am so grateful for your friendship! :)

Amarillo Photographer | Aaron + Heather Day After Session

i’ve been going through some past sessions (i have a ton i have failed to blog over the last year or so) and wanted to share this one. aaron & heather aren’t only clients but are also friends. i have known heather since she was a teenager. we photographed their sweet wedding february of 2012 and they decided they wanted to do a “day after” session this last november (even though it wasn’t technically the day after their wedding). they are such a sweet and fun couple. i feel like this first images really embodies aaron and heather as a couple.

life…or something like it.

i’m sure you noticed…i took a tiny little break. i was able to take part of january, all of february, and now the majority of march off from shooting. why, you might ask? well, because i’ve been throwing up and/or enduring migraines most of every day. no, i’m not dying. yes, I AM PREGNANT!

yes it’s true. my sweet husband and i finally received the little miracle we have been praying for (and sometimes agonizing over) for the last several years. we were shocked to say the least. and i would say i’m just over the moon excited; however, i’ve been so sick i haven’t really been able to enjoy this just yet. thank the LORD my morning sickness is starting to diminish little by little. hopefully it will fully subside by the time my first 2013 wedding hits on april 6th. i sure am grateful things worked out the way they did with my weddings not beginning until april. i don’t know how i would have been able to shoot any over these past several weeks. GOD certainly is good and it’s true what they say…HIS timing is perfect.

hopefully, i will now feel up to blogging more. for those of you who pray for my family and our many life journeys (fostering, homeschooling, etc), you all hold such a special place in my heart and i am more grateful than you know for your prayers. thank you from the bottom of my heart!