We are winding down to the day when I can hold this little bundle in my arms instead of grabbing my stomach when she decides to pull her "I'm a baby mule" kicking act.  We are all so excited around here. Big Brother certainly is holding out for a boy. Now that's faith!  He said, "I've heard those tests can be wrong. I may have a brother yet."   I've got to get a few more things, but by this weekend, we should be officially ready...I hope!

School is going well. We are actually where I thought we'd be in most subjects and a little ahead in others. I've had to make some adjustments, though. Doing the Plants Grown up and Polished Cornerstones materials on Tuesdays and Thursday is too much. So, quite simply, we've dropped that part for now.  However, we are using "The Brother Offended Checklist" and our "Blessing Chart".  These are so easy to hang up and reference as needed!  Doorposts materials are, in my opinion, well worth the price.  We've also switched to working through the book of Matthew and our weekly Contenders for the Faith and Keepers at Home projects are going well.

We've had to work like borrowed mine-mules, but that two-week vacation when we bring"Charlene Darling" home is getting much closer!  The kids seem to enjoy the feeling of accomplishment at how much THEY have done. They really like the praise from their Dad, too, over their hard work.  They are more able to work independently than before and I think that's going to be an asset in several ways. One, they practice being self-motivated and disciplined. Two, it helps lighten my load tremendously. Three, it will give them a legit excuse to not be around when diaper changes are needed....

My outside activities are pretty much at a halt---well, after today they are. Contractions, fatigue, etc. have all forced my husband to tell me: "Hon, STOP!"  That was Sunday  night. I said if he could just bear with me until Wednesday, I ought to be able to slow down.

So after getting the church library out of storage and restocked on shelves [we had to store it during a recent remodel], three doctor appointments, cooking for a bereaved family at church, getting women's group flyers printed, Sunday school lessons ready, teaching two at home, killing weeds around the sidewalks, yanking up half our small garden, umpteen loads of laundry, grocery shopping, picking up garbage that a neighbor's dog spread across the back yard,  errands in town, beginning to sew a skirt, and scrubbing the kitchen floor [yikes! I hope hubby doesn't read that], ALL since Monday afternoon, I think I'll try to rest at least by Friday. But Saturday is ironing day and we have a young adults get together from church and a family reunion and I was supposed to sing at church this coming Sunday night....you get the picture.

Whew, I need cup of Yorkshire tea and a long Psalm to relax!

Better plans and a more organized approach to record keeping for school has made a  huge difference in this year already.  And I LOVE  the Bright Ideas Press materials [type it in the CBD search box in my sidebar]. Mystery of History 2 and Christian Kids Explore Chemistry are outstanding texts with fun projects. Hats off to those folks--they've got this homeschooler as a repeat customer.  They are easy to use and flexible, but are academically "meaty".   Besides, I like supporting products BY homeschoolers FOR homeschoolers.  There are so many choices these days for homeschoolers, some quality, a lot not, that I just prefer to keep our homeschool buck supporting the people who "get it." 

I'm hoping to get some pics of my  latest completed projects up--Thelma Lou's yellow gingham dress and Charlene Darling's baby blanket. My cell phone's camera function isn't cooperating with me.  We also took a trip recently to Fall Creek Falls State Park and got some pretty good pictures. Just can't get them downloaded to the computer and thus uploaded to the blog.

Thanks everyone for all the sweet comments here recently. Your prayers and friendship are valued! I'll be commenting back very soon.

In CHRIST, Gin