Regarding having the Mass in the vernacular, I think of the new translation more like a sacred vernacular. Having the language a little less "every day on the street" style helps to elevate the Mass to it's proper level of not being something...ordinary. It's not ordinary at all, and I think the language helps the congregation with that. I hope you're able to see the beauty of the change as times goes on.

I second the artfully placed blanket/throw/afghans. It has helped my cats avoid scratching those pieces of furniture.

My best friend homeschools in Broken Arrow. Safe neighborhoods. It's a nice little suburb to live in. Plenty of things for homeschoolers to do. Best wishes to you!

I'm beginning to put out wintery stuff now (in previous years it's been a clear out and clean up time to prepare the house for the coming of the Lord but we just moved so there isn't anything to clear out!), but nothing St. Nicholas or Santa Claus shows up until the 6th of December. We do an Advent wreath during dinner and an open-the-doors calendar for the kids. Around the beginning of the O Antiphons we put up the tree with lights. On Christmas Eve we put on ornaments and other decorations. The Nativity usually comes out on Christmas Eve and by golly it stays up until the Baptism of the Lord (February!). The tree and Christmas things come down right after Epiphany. At our old house we put up out outdoor decorations the day after Thanksgiving but they didn't get turned on until the first Sunday of Advent. Our poor neighbors had to endure them all the way until Epiphany. :D Good luck, OP! If you compromise on putting the tree up near the O Antiphons, maybe he'll compromise and allow it to stay up until Epiphany.

I really like Murphy's Oil Soap for our wood furniture and floors. It's not a polish, though. I just buy a big container of concentrate and dilute it differently for different tasks.

Calandalsmom, I apologize to you. Re-reading my previous post, it could easily be inferred that I was speaking directly to you and about your knowledge of your own personal faith. That is not what I meant and I apologize for that. I was referring more broadly to the epidemic that I believe exists within the Catholic Church regarding catechesis. OP: I hope you have found the answers you were looking for.

I agree there are many different ways of defining "co-op" in the homeschool world! I think each is probably unique. We love our little group where we have a very limited scope, we're there for a very specific aspect of our homeschooling, it's definitely not enrichment. We're also in Classical Conversations (our third year) and love it. CC is not, however, a co-op (you pay and people get paid, it is not volunteer).

Yes, there is a difference between co-ops that arise from a "need" (i.e. a few families all doing chemistry get together to work on that subject) or from a "designed for you" (i.e. a committee designs the classes, recruits the teachers, sets the schedule and anyone can join). From my experience and from what I've heard from others, the "need" based co-ops do much, much better in the long run. This was how ours came about.

Hmm..I'm not a big fan of the NCR (biased and poor reporting, but it's been years since I've read it regularly) and don't know anything about the Guttmacher Institute so I can't comment on their bias. I did go to the NCR site, but didn't find much further explanation about the study. If the study is an accurate portrait of the use of artificial birth control by Catholic women, I believe it to be another example of how poorly catechized many Catholics still are. We're all responsible for our own faith and knowing what we believe and why. I wish more people who call themselves Catholic took it upon themselves to take responsibility for their own faith.

We've been happy in ours, but it is small (7 families). We agreed together at the beginning of the year on what exactly we would do and who exactly would do what. So far, so good. My kids love it. I look forward to it each week.

I'm confused about what the study actually determined. The article states in bold at the beginning: Some 98 percent of sexually active Catholic women have used contraceptive methods banned by the church, research published on Wednesday showed This is misleading, methinks. It says "have used" which does not mean "currently uses." In another thread it has been mentioned that there is grace in one's journey as a Catholic. We all make mistakes and do things that we later regret and choose not to do again. This may be the case, along with any number of other possible explanations. I would be curious to read the exact wording of the questions asked of the women in the study.

We just did the same...I'm thinking that one year lease we're in will prove a blessing and let us de-junk another time before moving into the "next house" which will be long-term!

No problem. I can understand the desire to have opinions left out of a church service where the congregation just wants to be led in worship.

Interesting this was brought up on my screen tonight. Our homily today wasn't exactly political, in that he certainly wasn't naming names or saying "vote this way or that." It was more along the lines of: there are natural laws (not this denomination or that, not even specifically Christian, but simply human laws) that can't be overruled by government and encouraging us to be involved in the process of governing and to hold our elected leaders accountable. To take our civic responsibility seriously and not be passive participants. It reminded me of something my mom used to say about dinner: if you don't like it so much, then YOU cook it! I didn't find the homily at my church today offensive. So, I'm curious, OP: was that the kind of preaching you heard today, too? Or was yours more specifically about this party, that party and who should be elected to what position?

Dictation by Susan Anthony does the trick for us. Scroll down just a little to see the Dictation book. We're using Rod & Staff as well.

I think we probably say "done" but really shouldn't. :001_smile: I've spent a long, long time in Memphis. Before that I was in Washington (state). Extended family lives in New England. Now I'm in Colorado and don't know what the heck I'm supposed to say!

We've just begun using the Creighton Model of NFP. We have decided that we won't become pregnant again due to the high risks I have for another pregnancy. After researching many methods, we decided on this one. The website is http://www.creightonmodel.com or http://www.fertilitycare.org/creighton-model. It is a mucus observation method, no internal observations or temperature-taking. It has been scientifically and clinically proven to have a high percentage of effectiveness when one is taught by a trained instructor and sticks with all the follow-ups (there are 8 over the course of a year). We have a local instructor we meet with privately. Someone mentioned the cost: ours is $240 for the entire instruction (chart, manual, all private sessions with the instructor). For most people who have $25 copays, it's about the same as one year of birth control pills. Once we have a good understanding of my biological markers, we simply won't have intercourse during high fertility times. It's that simple. Yes, it means a short period of complete abstinence while I learn how to tell what's going on in my body, but it's worth it in the long term. Good luck, OP, with your decision.

We named our white cats after popes...but then, we're pretty odd like that!

Almost anything by Robert McCloskey.

We use the one that goes with Spelling Plus by Susan C. Anthony, it's called (ahem): Dictation. I know, exciting title. :D I like that I can quickly and easily find whatever I'm looking for that's related to our English Grammar or our spelling words. I like not recreating the wheel.

SHHH!!! My '03 Honda Odyssey is chugging along just fine...except that we just moved to a place with lots and lots of hills...don't jinx it!! :D

Doubt I'll remember to change it, but it's there now!

I'm so sorry I can't help you, but wow. That one is definitely making me wonder!! Kids are so funny sometimes.

That's a lot of questions. Our peds don't ask nearly that many! They do have a list of check boxes for well visits but they're stuff like "does she eat well?" "does she sleep 8-10 hours at a time?" "is she doing developmentally appropriate things?" "is there anything you think we should know?" They definitely don't ask so many and they're not nearly as specific! My husband does actually remember the big stuff like no penicillin (in our case it's NSAIDs-ibuprofen/Motrin, Aleve/naproxen sodium, etc) due to the one time let's blow up like a balloon incident, though. I usually write down what's been going on if they've been sick and I'm the one who has been watching fevers and doling out meds and he takes that with him. I think doctor's visits are one of the areas where my dh is pretty reliable...just don't ask him what the kids ate for breakfast or who likes mayo and who doesn't. :D

Singapore Standards Edition as our main curriculum, but do Miquon once or twice a week. The IP and CWP are in use, too. We've added in MEP occasionally. We also do lots of math fact practice and memorization with CC.