Well, after much prayer and years of stressing and going back and fourth between choices, I have decided to homeschool Whitney! I finally feel at peace about it and know it's the best choice for us and I'm actually really excited about it! It's going to be so neat to get to be her teacher and get to be in that part of her life. I've been doing home pre-school with her and it has worked so well and we've had so much fun with it. I love being able to teach her the things SHE'S interested in and being able to take as much time as we want to teach it. That girl absolutely loves to learn and read and explore...so I know we'll have a lot of fun.

We're still trying to decide on a curriculum. There are soooo many great resources and programs out there! It feels sort of like being a kid in a candy shop. I'm looking into some online acadamy programs that have attendance guildelines so I can't slack off. They also do progress reports each week so I can make sure she's grasping everything she needs to. Annnnd, they send you the supplies you'll need like science kits and health kits for when you're doing those units. They have lots of fun educational games online and workbooks and then I can just supplement whatever else I want to add in to the program.

I know it will be a lot of work and dedication, but I know that it will bring some wonderful rewards and blessings! I'll get to be the one to see the excitement in her eyes when she accomplishes something, or finally grasps something. I can't wait to get started!

Rub My Belly For Good Luck!

Happy St. Patricks Day! It was seriously SUCH a great day today! Mandy got me this hilarious shirt and everyone has gotten a good kick out of it! Then, on top of that she came over and took pictures for me. :) So, my friends, here you go! 8 months along. Woo-hoo! Thanks Mandy! You're the best!

Third Trimester Trouble!

See this picture? The gorgeous woman in the green dress...Angelina Jolie, pregnant with TWINS shortly before she gave birth. See the panda in the background? That's me pregnant with one baby at 7 1/2 months along. Seriously. Okay, well, actually, the only difference between me and the panda is the panda's preggo boobs aren't three cup sizes bigger than they were 7 1/2 months ago! And I can't do kung fu....

It's been really hard to watch my body change this past month. New stretch marks are appearing alongside the previous two sets of stretchmarks. Spider veins are showing up on my tree trunk legs (crossing my fingers that they don't turn into varicose veins by the end of this pregnancy). As previously mentioned...my boobs no longer fit in the NURSING bras from when Aaron was born...and if anyone remembers how humongous they were then...yeah...and I haven't even started nursing yet! Aaaaaaah!!! I don't even recognize my own rear end with these wide hips! My hips feel like they are breaking, my sciatic nerve is on the fritz, Kate keeps kicking my bladder, my shoes don't fit, and my maternity shirts are getting too short!

I saw some pictures of me from a few weeks ago and I couldn't believe what I saw! My face is huuuuuge! (Yet again, resembling Po the panda...) I always seem to forget how hard the third trimester is....the swelling, the not being able to breath, the not being able to roll over in bed, the heartburn and it seems like every week drags on forrrrever!

So, the reason for this post is to ask for all your help and advice on how you got through your third trimester. How did you keep from getting depressed? How did you pass the time? What did you do to keep yourself excited about the pregnancy instead of having panic attacks that the baby would never come?