It's a girl and other news...

Here I am.  I've made it to just past the midway mark.  I'm 21 weeks today!  Last week I had my fetal survey ultrasound.  The baby looked healthy and we found out we are having a girl. Yay!!!  I'm very excited for Eliza to have a sister.  I love having sisters and sisters in law.


Like I've mentioned in previous posts this pregnancy has been a challenge.  Physical challenges can have just as much affect on the body as they do the mind.  I am trying my hardest to stay positive and as physically active as possible. 


Besides having difficulty walking and being on my feet too much, I'm doing pretty well.  The baby is growing larger and I can feel her moving around much more.  My heart burn hasn't been too bad lately, for which I am grateful.  I still have difficulty sleeping nightly, but it's nothing that taking a Unisom can't help.  I haven't really had any swelling, except for the swelling I noticed when I got home from girls camp.


Speaking of girls camp, I had a great time.  Our ward is blessed with really great Young Women.  Everyone was so helpful and kind to each other.  I loved the feeling of sisterhood among the leaders and the girls.  We had some bad wind for a day or two and lots of mosquitoes, but other than that we had a great time.  South eastern Utah is a beautiful area and we were able to enjoy Arches National Park and rafting down the Colorado River.


In other news, Sam and I have decided that we will be homeschooling our children this fall.  This is kind of a big deal for our family and is a decision we have not taken lightly.  We have prayed and given this a great deal of thought, and have realized this is the best choice for our family right now.  I don't really want to go into details because of the privacy of my children.  But I will say that both of our boys were struggling in some areas at school and we feel that homeschooling them is the best solution for the time being. 


I know that the topic of homeschool is sometimes a controversial topic.  Some people really believe in it, and some people really believe in public school.  I can't really say which I'm "for", because I haven't tried homeschool yet.  All I know is that I'm "for" my children.  I completely believe that each family has to choose for themselves what works best for the parents and children alike.  That's why we are choosing to give homeschool a try.  Public school was really working for me.  It was nice to be able to send my boys off each morning and have alone time with Eliza and get things done at home.  On the other hand, my boys were floundering and having a difficult time thriving and progressing in certain areas.  That was a red flag for Sam and me.  So, we're giving homeschool a try.  We intend to re-evaluate at the end of the school year to see if they should go back to school or continue on at home.