UPDATE****** Hannah's bone marrow biopsy and her bone scan were great. The cancer has not spread. Since the margin was not clear when they removed the tumor, she will have radiation. Chemo starts Monday at 8am. Thanks for praying. Blessings, Melinda

We are getting ready to go to the hospital for Hannah's bone scan. She has to be there by 8CST. After the scan, we will have a big appt with the oncologist. He will have all the results from her tests. Hannah will start chemo on Monday. Blessings, Melinda UPDATE****** Hannah's bone marrow biopsy and her bone scan were great. The cancer has not spread. Since the margin was not clear when they removed the tumor, she will have radiation. Chemo starts Monday at 8am. Thanks for praying. Blessings, Melinda

Updated in first post.

This is Hannah(6) eleven days ago. She had been in the hospital ten days and was very ready to go home.

Hannah has day surgery tomorrow to install a port and do a bone marrow biopsy and aspiration. We have to be there at 6:30am and should be home early afternoon. Blessings, Melinda UPDATE***** The oncologist who was going to do Hannah's bone marrow aspiration and biopsy met me outside the OR doors this morning and said he had some bad news. He had asked the labs to doublecheck the margin on Hannah's tumor just to make sure it was clear. The margin was not clear. That means Hannah will need radiation, a minimum of five days a week for a month. Radiation will not start until after the first twelve weeks of chemo are done. As far as todays port placement and the bone marrow aspiration and biopsy, everything went fine. Hannah is in quite a bit of pain right now, and the meds only help slightly. She should feel much better tomorrow though. The oncologist moved the bone scan up to Friday, and he expects to start chemo Monday morning. This chemo treatment will require an overnight stay. Blessings, Melinda

Malignant. Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma. Appts tomorrow, but not enough time to do the bone scan before then. She will be having a bone scan, bone marrow biopsy, port put in, and start chemo within two weeks. Blessings, Melinda

Thanks for the hugs and prayers, keep them coming. I never imagined something like this would happen to one of my children. I guess no one does. This has really thrown us for a loop, especially since we try and do all the "right" things. They still haven't scheduled the bone scan, but they want it done by 1:30 Wednesday when we have our appointment. We're both glad I will probably be able to stay with her. Blessings, Melinda

In the last thirteen days, 6dd was diagnosed with a tumor, had surgery to remove it, and spent ten days in the hospital. We don't know what it is yet, but will find out on Wednesday. Before the appt on Wednesday, the doctor wants a bone scan done. Online, I have read that they inject something radioactive in the veins and then a special camera is used to detect hot spots. Can anyone tell me about this? Does the radioactive stuff hurt? Does any part of the test hurt? Will I be able to stay with dd during the test or not? Anything else I should know? Dd is particularly upset at the thought of being separated from us for the test. Melinda

Dh needs to brush up on his college algebra (taken a long time ago) before he takes pre-cal this fall. Currently we are going through the Systematic Mathematics algebra 1 and 2 sections I already have on hand. Dh loves the dvd format. What exactly is college algebra? What does it cover that is not covered in regular algebra 1 and 2? Any recommendations? Dh is a slow reader, so dvds would be a plus, but not absolutely required. Blessings, Melinda

Dh needs to brush up on his college algebra (taken a long time ago) before he takes pre-cal this fall. Currently we are going through the Systematic Mathematics algebra 1 and 2 sections I already have on hand. Dh loves the dvd format. What exactly is college algebra? What does it cover that is not covered in regular algebra 1 and 2? Any recommendations? Dh is a slow reader, so dvds would be a plus, but not absolutely required. Blessings, Melinda

I have taught four children so far (currently teaching #5 and #6) to read with a combination of Phonics Pathways, the first two boxes of BOB Books, and the Bible Stories for Early Readers readers. In the last few years, I have also added the first set of Primary Phonics readers, some of the the Beginning Reading Instruction books, and the All About Reading Story Collections. Blessings, Melinda

We drive a diesel 1983 GMC Suburban and get 21mpg in the city. It seats eight.

I shop online frequently. It saves me time and money. Lots of time. I order mostly from Amazon.com. Subscribe and save will save you more money. I also have an Amazon Prime membership so I get free shipping. I buy toilet paper, kleenex, batteries, Sunbutter, allergy free chocolate chips (don't order in the summer), dish soap, qtips, floss, rice n shine, arrowroot powder, tea (loose and teabags), soapnuts, apple cider vinegar, and lots more. I order brown rice in 50# bags from Honeyville. Store them in the freezer. Ebay is good for some things, like bulk lots of toothbrushes. Vitacost.com or Bulk Herb Store is where I get our vitamins and supplements. Staples.com will deliver. I do shop the back to school sales, but the rest of the year, I order office supplies from them. Let them wrestle with the big boxes of computer paper. I stock up on coconut oil and coconut flakes from Tropical Traditions when they have a sale on. Curriculum comes mostly from Rainbow Resource, Amazon, or CBD. I save up for RR until I get free shipping. I only order from CBD when I have a free shipping code. I do not like shopping, except for the fabric store. With online ordering, I can order whenever it is convenient and not have to arrange the farm chores, getting six children to town, lunch to take with us, missing time at home, etc. There are a few things I don't order online. Dh goes to Lowe's and the feedstore. We buy dog food 4 times a year and store the extra in the chest freezer. I go to the fabric store:001_smile: Grocery shopping is done weekly. Shoe store once a year. Academy for bikes and sports things. Maybe 1-2 a year dh goes to the office supply store in person. Other than that, I order online. It has been years since we needed to go to the mall, and we go to Walmart/Target type stores maybe twice a year for something we just can't get elsewhere. Shopping online does save money, but it also saves the money you can't see. Money for the impulse items, the convenience foods because you weren't home to make something to eat, fuel for the car, etc. Blessings, Melinda

We have 100+ Landmarks in our family library. A set of fifty would have lots of duplicates and wouldn't be worth it cost wise for us. Smaller sets or individual listings would be better. Blessings, Melinda

Great news!

Dh heard some of his friends talking about Build a Bear and was wondering if our children would like it. I googled it and it looks like buying a stuffed animal and accessories. Is that it? Blessings, Melinda

Got an A! Ladies, thank you SO MUCH for the feedback! Your input was a lot like going to Golden Corral, there was a little bit of everything, a heckuva lot more than I could ever get on one plate, and definitely left me full :) (Now I'm getting hungry!) I'm only halfway through the course, you may be hearing from me again. Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Thomas Aquinas this week. Thanks again! Blessings! --Steven

Systematic Mathematics

We have twelve milking does and are floating in milk. They can have milk when they want :001_smile: I do have one allergic to milk, and she does without. We don't do milk substitutes. Blessings, Melinda ETA-We drink water most of the time. Milk is like a side dish. They drink water with breakfast, but poor a glass of milk over their oatmeal. They drink water with their lunch or supper, then when they are getting seconds ask for milk. The only time they start out with milk is when you just can't drink water (like with cookies and cake), or if milk is the snack (egg nog or chocolate milk).

My name is Steven, I'm taking a philosophy class this semester. My instructor has tasked me to ask different people (differing in religion or philosophy preferably, the more diverse the better) what they perceive the nature of the human soul is. So, do I have any volunteers? My wife tells me you folks can help me out! First of all, let me tell you what Plato and Aristotle believed about the soul. Plato believed that the human soul is divided into three parts: reason (logical decision making), spirit (part concerned with honor), and appetite (feed me!). For example, a student has been invited to a party, but has an important exam early the next morning. Reason would say, “Stay home, study, and get a good night's sleep to prepare for the test.†Appetite would say, “I love partying, let's go! Will they have pizza, I love pizza!†Honor would say, “I've have to get an A in this class. But my friends are important and they want me to go. Oh my, what do I do?†Plato felt that a just, or virtuous soul, would be one that all parts function in balance and in harmony. For example, too much yielding to appetite can lead to problems, just as too much reason or too much spirit (sense of honor) could lead to problems. Aristotle, who was Plato's student, had a different take on the soul. Aristotle felt that the soul was inseparable from the body, since the body cannot exist without a soul. Aristotle believed in three kinds of soul, nutritive (absorbs food, transforms for bodily use, very basic), sentient (registers information without becoming what it observes; like touch or vision), and rational (capable of analyzing, understanding, and deliberating). These are in order of complexity, nutritive being the most basic). Higher level creatures (like humans) possess all three, lower level creatures do not. That being said, here are the questions: What do you perceive the soul to be? How did the soul come into being? How do you believe the soul functions? Thanks in advance!

Several years ago I was very low carb. That worked well for me, and in one year I lost forty pounds. I kept the weight off for two years, but have now gained it back due to a lack of diligence on my part. I know what I have to do to loose it, but I just haven't taken the time to do it yet. I did very low carb 99% of the time. No grains, beans, root veggies, fruit, sweetner, etc. I ate animal protein, dairy, eggs, fats, and lots of low carb veggies. Three eggs scrambled in butter was my standard breakfast. My treat was on Friday night when dh would bring home a pint of Haagen Dazs chocolate with chocolate chunks, and we would split it. The rest of the time I maintained the VLC. If I really wanted fruit, I would have frozen berries. VLC wasn't hard to do after the first week. I felt good and lost lots of weight. Ask if there is anything specific you want to know. Blessings, Melinda

To Be and To Have Kings of Pastry Pressure Cooker National Geographic:Inside the Secret Service Not a documentary, but Wild China was good. Blessings, Melinda

I'm looking for the post you linked, but I get "Page Not Found". Could you tell me which post. I'd like to see the schedule. Blessings, Melinda

I buy mine at Hobby Lobby when they have them for 50% off. Blessings, Melinda

On a regular day, I wash at least three loads. Dh and I wash and do most of the drying. 13dd and the littlest three, fold and put away. 16dd and 10ds have too many other chores to bother with laundry. The two little girls, 5 and 3, do like to help me. We don't have the space or the time for everyone to do their own clothes. Blessings, Melinda