I’ve never been one to follow the crowd. Perhaps because on my belief that the crowd tends to go in the  wrong direction. “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Matthew 7:13 – 14

The average American family consists of 2.5 children. I have six, five sons and one daughter all fathered by the same dad and all conceived in the marriage relationship. I remember one particular day many years ago. When I was shopping with a toddler child in the shopping cart, a younger child in the restraint seat, one walking beside me and I was quite pregnant. A woman looked at the obvious spectacle in her eyes and asked, “What are you doing? Making a career out of this?” I was very offended by her sarcasm and answered her back with a very confident and proud answer, “Yes, as a matter of fact I am!” And I went on my way without any further recognition of that woman. My declaration only fired me on to continue my pursuit to have even more babies. I determined that I don’t care what other people think of me. I make my own path, my own way. I don’t follow the common direction of others.

What should it matter to anyone how many children I have? I am not a welfare case sponging off the U.S. tax payers. We have fed and clothed our children with our own hard earned money. In fact we have paid taxes to help fund the failing public school system while putting out our own cash to buy books, computers, equipment and supplies to educate all our children at home for a total of nineteen years. I didn’t even get a tax break for not being a burden on the public system. I determined early on that nobody would influence my children but me, my husband, and my church in those early formative years. I didn’t want my children to be brain washed with all the political junk such as political correctness, exalting the animal kingdom above that of the human population with “save the whale” nonsense, nor distorted history to form heads of mush that would vote for such a disastrous President as we now have. I strongly believe in individualism. I feel that the “school system” whether public or private forces children to be nothing more than cookie cuts, all formed to the same image or model as is determined by the teacher. I want my children to think for themselves, to be themselves, as independent thinkers.  So, that was the foundation of my homeschooling for nineteen years.

Soon, I became deaf to the nay sayers with their little comments, “Boy, you got your hands full!” I will admit there were times when I thought the same thing nevertheless I persevered. I was not raised a quitter. I watched my father build his own business, and build our house out of the trees that he cut down himself. I remember going to the saw mill with that truck load of trees and watching them sawed into boards that would become the new house that we moved into when I was in the 4th grade. I was privileged to have a strong example before me in my hard-working father as he labored on building the house. It was an inspiring example to see this blank field of grass turn into a home site where we grew up. I learned a great deal from my father’s example. He was a do-it-yourself kind of man. I guess I am the same.

Nobody can tell me that it can’t be done because I won’t except that. When I hear those words it fires me up to prove them all wrong. We CAN do anything that we determined to carry out. It takes guts, courage, patience, and perseverance.  Sometimes it takes a little blood, sweat and tears but it will pay off in the end. Never let anyone stop you. Character is measured by what it takes to stop you. I am unstoppable! Keep telling yourself that until you really believe it. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Phillippians 4:13

 Learn more about Debra Carmona  https://www.youtube.com/user/dbrcarmona