Hello from the Teaching Nanay!

Hello, World! Yes, I'm a Filipina stay-at-home mom of four, ages 17(girl), 12 (boy), 10 (boy) & -whew!- 6 (girl). I homeschool our 2 boys & youngest girl now, while our eldest is a college freshman! We are Evangelical Christians.
This is our sixth year of homescooling, and so far, I have never regretted the choice we made. Let me tell you about how I got started...
The year 2002 was a landmark year for me. There was the diagnosis of our anencephalic baby girl back in November 2001, which led to her death in March 2002 upon her birth. And there was the death of my eldest sibling, Dinky, in August 2002. All these happened while I was sales manager for a leading product line of a global IT company's personal computer division. 2002 was important for my career too, because I was given a "transitional" promotion, i.e., I would be promoted from a team leader to a full-fledged manager for the product I had handled for the past 5 years.
Let me tell you, I was so proud to be part of that company, mostly because I firmly believe it was God's will for me to have joined it. When I had stumbled into my career in information technology back in 1993, I never could have imagined that I would one day work for one of the biggest computer companies in the world! Of course, I'll save that story for another entry...
Anyway, I was quite pleased that everything seemed to be going my way at work, despite the two sad events I had mentioned, not to mention the out-of-this-world quota my product line had been given! But there was something terribly, terribly wrong...I WAS NOT HAPPY!
All the signs of success were there...my product line's booming business prospects, the rosy prospects of quota achievement by year-end, the confidence & respect of subordinates, co-workers, bosses and our company's business partners, and the unwavering support of my husband and family...but still, I WAS NOT HAPPY! I began wondering, WHY? "The past years were not as good as this year was," I thought, "and I was happy then! But why not NOW?"
Deep down inside, I knew, it was God's "fault", as I had thought back then. And that was what I was afraid of! "The Lord giveth, & the Lord taketh away!" chanted my mind, but my heart argued, "It was God's will that put me here!" This battle within me raged on for months, reducing me to tears while I was at work many times. Indeed, the Lord was calling me to leave the company, and I was wrestling with him. There were many "good" reasons for me to stay, including the fact that we believed that my family needed two incomes to survive. But He made it very clear to me as I prayed to Him for months, "You don't belong there anymore. Period!"
So, after drums of tears, and despite the "nonsensical" nature of the Lord's request, I decided to heed His call & leave my career. And from the moment I made that choice, the "unhappiness" that had hounded me all those months was gone! Just like that!
In prayer, I requested for many signs from the Lord so He may confirm that I was following His will, and not mine. The most telling of all the signs I requested for was when I started praying for my inclusion in the company's early retirement program. One afternoon in November that year, I met with the company's HR Director, a respectable and friendly executive whom I looked up to. After asking about being retrenched, she stated matter-of-factly: "First of all, it's something you can't request for. Secondly, given your excellent performance this year, it would be easier to recommend you for promotion rather than early retirement!"
Given the bleak prospect of receiving a retrenchment package, I decided to let go of the request & to push through with my resignation. But the Lord has a wondrous sense of humor! In mid-December, the HR Director called me, advising me to forego submitting my letter of resignation, for I was made part of the retrenchment program! God is truly AMAZING!
After leaving the company, a headhunter approached me for an opportunity to work for the world's biggest software company. I admit, the chance was too good to just pass up, so I went through the usual routine---testing, interviews, etc.---to see if it was God's will for me to work for this company instead. I had passed every single step of the recruitment process with flying colors, according to my headhunter, and it seemed that I was a shoo-in for the position, UNTIL after I was interviewed by the company's general manager. My headhunter reported that the software company had abruptly changed its decision about hiring me, and they wouldn't - or couldn't - say why! There I was, laughing so hard after being told that I was rejected, and my headhunter was scratching his head! I told him not to worry, I somewhat expected his "bad news".
Just when all this happened, my husband and I heard about a homeschooling seminar for people who wanted to learn more about it as an alternative to the traditional education system here in the Philippines. Admittedly, we attended because we had no idea how we were going to send 3 children to school on my husband's salary alone. But as we sat and listened to the testimonies of many homeschooling parents & families that day, it was undeniable - the Lord was calling us to homeschool our children, because it is the best way to educate them, because it is God's way. And though there are days when I wish I was facing my former company's management board for a sales update meeting rather than my children, He reminds me that homeschooling will reap eternal rewards for me & my family! And that's why I'm here!