Yep, we are on the final countdown to BABY MADELINE DAY!! I will have my stitches removed in 13 days then she will come anytime after that. My doctor thinks she'll come within a day or two of the stitches being removed. We are all so excited but time has seemed to slow WAY down. The days are creeping by now that we are so desperatly trying to get to the 7th of August.

My doctor found out that there was a baby pool going on. He has asked me to inform those involved in the pool that he can be bribed for an induction by bringing him nice Cigars!  

We are just about done with Wrinkle in Time. I'm suprised at how well the boys like it. I was worried that they wouldn't care for it, ecspecially Christian who isn't into anything fantasy related but they have both really enjoyed the book. There was even only minimal moaning and eye rolling when I pulled out the study guide complete with worksheets!

We are also looking forward to our upcoming Olympics Unit Study. I think we are going to have such a blast with this. My only fear is that I will go into labor halfway through the study. We are due to start it the week my stitches come out. OH well. We'll just play it as it comes. There is Olympic excitement in our house right now. We followed the trials and are now ready to cheer on the USA teams as they compete. I love watching the diving competitions and gymnastics competitions. The boys are looking foward to track & field events.

I am also really looking foward to the start of the new Woman's Bible Study that I joined. It's a group of ladies, some homeschool, some don't from one of the Catholic churches here, St. Thomas Aquinas. They are called Joyful Hearts. We will be using the book Grace Filled Moments by Johnette Benkovic. I've visited several websites and found excellent reviews for this book. I can't wait to buy it and start reading. Our first meeting will be Sept 15th.

I"m also considering joining the Familia group as well. I need to get a few more details to make sure it won't conflict with anything but I've wanted to do that study for quite a while. My sister Tammy raves about it and I even "borrowed" her books from the 4 year study to read through. I also have signed up to become a sponsor for the RCIA program at our church. It's so rewarding to help someone through their journey to becoming Catholic.

I have come to the realization that I need to make time for my spiritual growth. I have been putting my husband and kid's needs, both physical, spiritual and emotional before mine and while that is never a bad thing, I need to carve out more time for me to grow in spirit and friendship and faith with other Catholic women. I"m really looking forward to this. I think this will help me relinquish more control to Chris. I look to him and respect him as the Head of our House but I am very guilty of being bossy, nagging and stubborn. I'm trying to fill my role as wife and mother and let him take the role he is asked to take as a father and husband. I think being around other woman and doing this will help. I pray that I can model my life after our most Holy Mother. I"m getting better but I'm still a very long way from where I should be.